I've been loving the fact that my new job is only a ten minute ride on the bus, and only one bus at that no transfers or crap. Just a straight shot down Belmont St.. So this morning I was riding merrily along in the back listening to some String Cheese Incident on my Ipod when an older lady with a walker gets on. Now the bus is pretty full at this point and all the front seats that have signs above them stating that you must give up your seat for the elderly or handicapped. So she's stand at the front kind of looking around wondering were to go since no one is getting up to give her a seat. Finally someone gets up, and who might you ask was this kind soul... Some frail 80 year old man who's hunched over gets up and gives her his seat, he ends up having to stand for the rest of his ride. But don't worry it was only fifteen blocks. Now if I had been anywhere close to the front I would have happily given up my seat, but I was up on the second level about 7 rows back. I don't think I need to go into a rant about my feelings on this, hopefully you all feel the same.

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise today, and another unexpected surprise. They bring you tea or coffee to your tent in the morning for the wake up call. So I forgot to add in the last post but the past couple days before the climb I had been waking up with a scratchy throat. So today I woke up to a full cold glad I brought lots of TP and some meds. Today was a pretty short day of hiking 8:30-2:30 with about an hours stop in between for lunch. The day started of beautifully until lunch when it poured down rain and then we were in the clouds and drizzle for the rest of the hike. Our camp tonight is at 12,600ft; after we got in I hiked out to an overlook to get some pictures of a couple peaks across the valley. The landscape has changed drastically since yesterday. The thick forest has given way to a very rocky terrain, there are still some small trees around and some low lying shrubbery. Some people have already started taking Diamox, which is supposed to help with the altitude. I told myself before the trip that I was going to do the climb with out any help from drugs of by people carrying my pack. Had another great dinner and the mountain finally came out of hiding this evening, and it’s another great night. Heading of to bed at 8:15 tonight, I didn’t sleep very well last night because of the cold so I need some rest.

Well this is it, the first day of the climb. It still feels a little unreal to me that I'm about to spend six days trying to reach the top of the highest peak in Africa. So we left the Keys hotel around 8:45 this morning and headed out to the Macheme gate where we will start the climb at 5600ft. So I've been hanging around Moshi (the closest town to the mtn.) for about a week now and the weather has been great. Talked to a bunch of people coming of the mtn. and everyone said that they had great weather. So of course an hour or two into the hike it starts raining, a pretty good down pour for about 2 hours. (Bring a poncho) So the guides try and take it really pole pole (Swahili for slow) but I just couldn't handle it. I hate having to hike right on someone’s heels, so I had to leave everyone behind and hike on alone. It was a great hike today up through the jungle/forest lots of birds and insects to inspect (Cath you'd love it). So I arrived at the Macheme hut at 3:45 having left the gate at around 9:45. The elevation here is 9500ft all the porters hike up ahead of the group and setup camp. Which is quite nice they have the tents up and bring you a bowl of hot water to clean up. They also setup a dining tent for everyone to eat in, all of this was unexpected by me I thought it would be a lot rougher. Not that I'm complaining. They fixed us a great curry dinner with soup and mango pineapple desert. Heading to bed now its 9:15 the sky has cleared up and we can see the mtn. the stars up here are amazing reminds me of Tajumulco in Guat.

Well this is the first time I'm spending Christmas in another country. No regrets though, I'm with a lot of good people and am having a great time. Wow I thought that the people down in Central America that I saw were poor but it's nothing like this. They told me the average income in Tanzania is somewhere around $5 a month. It's hard for me to even comprehend how some of these people survive. All the people are very friendly and kind. I've been trying to learn a little Swahili it's funning they spend about the first 5 minutes of each conversation just greeting each other. As with every other country I've visited outside the US everything goes by at a much slower pace. You can go to a restaurant and be able to just hangout and drink a cup of tea or whatever and read a book for an hour without feeling like your being pushed out the door or asked if you want something else every 5 minutes. I admit most places are dirtier and smellier than back home but he people are much friendlier and more likely to help you out if you need anything. Well that’s all for today there's going to be quite a few of us meeting up a this hotel in town on Christmas since it like 4 story’s tall and has a great rooftop bar/restaurant. I hope everyone has great Christmas I know I will.

Well after 2 back to back 8 hour flights and then a 6 hour shuttle I finally made it to Moshi in Tanzania where I will be starting the climb on the 26th. For now I'm just hanging out with some friends relaxing and enjoying the mountain looming in the background. I'm staying in this great house up on the side of the mountain, were my friend that used to live here is staying. It's got to be one of the greatest locations ever. Up at 6000ft in this little village in the forest. Great people very peaceful. We spend six says on the mountain so I get back on the 2nd and leave the next day for the safari. Not sure where I will be going after that . I've been asking around to try and find out what are some good options. More post to come.

Crossed the border into Honduras at Copan last Wednesday, no problems there it costs 10Q to leave Guatemala and $3 to enter Honduras. We stayed at the Via Via Hotel in Copan($14) very nice place. You get 2 beds private bath free water. Great food there also. The town of Copan is also quite nice very small and even though it´s right by the ruins it doesn´t seem that touristy.

Got back yesterday from my hike up Tajumulco with Quetzaltrekkers. They are a volunteer organization that offers backpacking trips throughout the Guatemalan Highlands(www.quetzaltrekkers.com) to help raise money for Escuela de la Calle, a Xela based organization for at risk youth. They provide all gear, food, transportation, and guides. Tajumulco is a dormant volcano and the highest point in Central America at 4220m(13845ft) we left Saturday morning at 5am with are group packed into the back of a pick-up to the bus station, where we caught a chicken bus to San Marcos. Once there we had breakfast at a local Comidor and then took another bus to the trail head if you can call it that. We began hiking around 10am the weather was cool and we were stuck in the clouds with only brief glimpses of the surrounding landscape. There were 17 people in are group a few to many for my liking but a good group none the less. This was not the most difficult hike I'd ever done but due to the altitude and some pretty steep sections of trail it was a definite workout. We finally got above the clouds about 2pm. You can see numerous other volcano's sticking up through the sea of clouds. We hike until about 3pm then had a great lunch of salad, curried potato's, chips, and bread which helped lighten are load. We then hiked another hour and a half to the camping area(4000m) where we setup the tents gathered some firewood and relaxed before we hiked up the smaller of the 2 summits for the sunset. We got back to camp in time for soup and pasta and which hit the spot because it was starting to get cold out. The stars were amazing a haven't seen that many in a long time along with lightning way off to the south of us, it's pretty neat to be above and see it light up clouds. We all hit the tents pretty early after a hard days climb. We got up at 4:15 to frost and the final 220m climb to the summit to catch the sunrise. It took us about 45 min to reach the summit which felt even colder due to the high winds. We hung out for about an hour taking pictures and admiring the view of the landscape and into the crater that was until now hidden from view. We then hiked back to camp made breakfast and packed up. We headed out about 9am and made it down before noon. We repeated the same transport as before stopping off in San Marcos for lunch at the same Comidor. We got back into Xela by 3:45. This was a great trip and I would highly recommend it to anyone, you are given plenty of time to make the climb, and anyone in fair shape should be able to do it. The price at the time of this post was 320Q which includes everything. It's entirely possible to do this hike on your own if you wanted, the most difficult part is getting to the trail head. the trail is pretty obvious just keep going up and ignore the smaller trails that lead off the main one. I'm going to do another hike with Quetzaltrekkers tomorrow from Xela to Lago de Atitlan. So I'll make that report when I'm in San Pedro relaxing by the lake. I'm sure it will be better than the bus ride I had been planning on making.

Well I left Belize and headed to Tikal, Guatemala. Took me about half a day to get there from San Ignacio. There were no problems at the border crossing. Took a bus to El Remate then caught a shuttle up to Tikal. I was able to string up my hammock at the Jaguar Inn, and they have lockers you can use(25Q). Went wondering around the ruins a bit that evening and saw lots of birds and Howler monkeys, for being so small they sure can make a lot of noise. I you buy your ticket after 3pm you can go in the next day also(50Q). I got up at 4:30 the next morning to be able to catch the sun rise atop Temple IV. You can't be in the park before 6 without a guide so I tagged along with another group until we got past the guard shack. It was a great morning being there hearing the jungle wake up around you, howler monkeys and bird cry's echoing through the jungle. After a few more hours I was ready to go and caught the first shuttle down to Flores(12:30pm) and got a bed at Dona Goya which was a nice Hostel and pretty empty. The town of Flores is nice but there's really not much to do around there so I bought a ticket for a night bus the next day to Guatemala City(12hrs $24). I splurged and went for a nicer bus since it was at night and also acting as my bed for the night. I got into Guat about 5am and was able to jump right on a bus to Xela which is another 4 hours(35Q). I got ito Xela and check out a few hostels which were not great. So I was wandering around looking for this place in the Lonely Planet but couldn't seem to find it. This girl asked if I needed help. she said that she could show me were the hostel was but that she also rented out rooms from her house. Well I decide to check her place out first and I'm glad I did it's in this really huge old house right in the middle of downtown, she's the only one living there and only has 3 rooms for rent$5/28/100 for a day ,week, or month. She also makes breakfast in the morning and for $2 she will do lunch or dinner for you to It's a great place and I highly recommend it.Sary Munoz(54084361)12 Avenada 8-31, sarymunoz@yahoo.com.mx. I'm going to be staying here for about a week there's a few hikes I want to do including the highest peak in Central America. will be updating more some, and hopefully with pictures.

I spent one night in Dangriga and Ruthies cabana's 20 BL a night. I got up early the next morning and took a bus to Maya Center then got a taxi up to the Cockscomb Jaguar reserve. It's a rather remote place with on electricity and unknown to me until I got there no were to get food. So I spent 2 days camping in the jungle surviving on water and sprite. Very beautiful area with hardly anyone there, but the birds and insects at night are so loud I had to wear ear plugs because the camping area is set aways from the main headquarters. They have a great trail system here and I did a lot of hiking. I found going barefoot helped you move quietly. I saw tons of different birds, lizards, frogs, snakes, insects, also I spotted a jagarundi( a small black long tailed cat), and a herd of wild pigs. There's a river that runs through the area and some waterfalls you can hike to also. It's also great to take a light and go out after dark to see some of the nocturnal creatures. I'm now just west of San Ignacio by the Guatemala border staying at the Trek Stop which I highly recommend, great American couple running the place who have lived in Belize for the past 18 years. Their very knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna, they even have a butterfly breeding area on site you can visit. I've got my jungle hammock strung up for 10Bl a night but they also have cabins for about 20Bl though they seem a bit stuffy no fans. I'm going to hole up here until after easter weekend to try and avoid the craziness, then head over to Guatemala with my first stop being the ruins of Tikal.

Well after leaving Tulum I made an easy crossing over the Mex/Belize border and made it down to Belize City in the same day. I stayed at a nice called the Seaside hotel right on the bay, very friendly lady running the place. Got up early the next morning and taking the advice of the hotel took the Triple J water taxi instead of the instead of the more well know one. A good deal at 22BL for a round trip open ended ticket to Caye Caulker, they just don't run as often as the taxi association. Found a cheap place to stay at Alberts on the Caye shared a room with a girl I meet in Tulum 21Bl for a room with two beds, though the showers were crap no pressure what so ever. Good thing I have short hair because I think it took Kirstin about 30+ minutes to wash her hair. The island is nice not really any beaches but very laid back. I did 2 dive trips with Paradise Down Diving the first day was just out to the reef, didn't want to do anything to hard being its been awhile since my last dive. In between the dives we went snorkeling in this shallow area with dozens of rays and nurse sharks. Some them so when they here a boat engine they swim towards you , they were literally swarming you could easily touch them actually you couldn't help it because they kept swimming into you. The next day we went out the the famous blue hole for a 3 dive trip. The first being a deep dive in the blue hole and the other 2 were some great wall/reef dives in the area. We say 2 reef sharks and a bunch of grouper in the blue hole and way to many other things to mention over the next 2 dives. We had lunch on half moon Caye, and walked to a boobie bird nesting area that was on the island. The rest of the time on the island I spent laying in a hammock , swimmming, and eating wonderful BBQ'd chicken and fish. I left the island on Monday bound for Dangrigaon the southern coast.