My students are always asking me about my travels, and their most common question is "what is your favorite place that you have been to?" I explain to them that this is a really hard question because the countries and places I visit are so different. I like many different places for lots of different reasons, and it would be impossible for me to pick one favorite. With that said I would like to point out some of the highlights of places I have visited around the world. I decided to start with Central America since I have visited every country in this region.
Mexico - I have been to Cabo San Lucas and Cancun in Mexico. Cabo is known for great fishing and surfing, and when I went back in 1999 it was just starting to become developed. When I was in Cancun the first time I went Scuba Diving and spent much of the time lounging by the pool. My second trip was a quick weekend trip for a wedding that took place on the beach. I enjoyed Mexico, but I wish I would have made time to visit the Mayan Ruins at
Chichen Itza. If I ever make it back to that area of Mexico I will definitely visit the ruins.
Belize - Belize is known for their islands off the mainland. When I visited in 2011 I had a great time on the island of
Ambergris Caye where we went scuba diving at a site called shark ray alley where I was able to interact and even touch the rays and nurse sharks who hung out there.
On the mainland we went on an excursion to
ATM cave. It was amazing! We also happened to meet some locals who owned some private land, and they took us to a cave that has been visited by less than 50 people in the last 200 years. We had to repel into a 60 foot hole, and army crawl through a narrow passage which opened up into an enormous cavern the size of Madison Square Garden. I was the first in, and filled with excitement. My friend and I ran around the cave for 45 minutes until our guides decided to make their way in. All was great until we ran into a scorpion spider the size of a baseball, but he didn't bite so all was still good. Not sure being the first one in was the best idea after the spider ordeal though.
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about my travels:
vernford@aol.com
Next up will be Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador