For the final stop on our amazing holiday we wrapped up by going to L.A. While there we went to Santa Monica pier and Warner Brothers studio before heading back to NZ

Costa Rica was the most animal heavy portion of our trip so enjoy.

This section is about our time spent in Guatemala with places like Tikal, Flores, Antigua, Panajachel, and San Pedro.

25/12/24

Christmas Day! We started with a quick ferry across the split to the South Island of Caye Caulker (Caye Caulker was cut in half after a hurricane in 1961 ). On the south side, we had some amazing barbecued jerk chicken and lobster. Later on, we discovered a place where you can feed tarpon ( a massive type of fish). It’s hard to explain but I’ll let the videos show you what it is. Later on, we went to a beach at sunset to see stingrays that came right up to our legs looking for food.

26/12/24

Today on Boxing Day we went on a snorkelling trip with the first stop to feed tarpons and frigate birds. On the second stop we went to a reef where we saw nurse sharks, turtles, stingrays, and fish. Next we went to Shark and Ray Alley where the guides fed ten nurse sharks and I swam under them and went right next to them. For the final stop of the day we went to the wreck of a cargo ship that was sunk to be turned into a artificial reef.

28/12/24

Today we started off with a short walk around the jungle next to our hotel before heading into the centre of San Ignacio to visit The Green Iguana Conservation Project where we learned that the green iguana’s main defence is to whip predators with its tail.

Later we visited the AJAW chocolate LTD where we learned about how the ancient Mayans fermented and crushed up cocoa beans and added it to hot water with spices such as cinnamon, chilli, and even honey which of course we got to try ( my favourite spice combo was chilli, honey, all spice and cocoa). Back then cocoa tea was only for people of high class because spice was very expensive. We also learned that raw cocoa beans can treat diabetes, lower cholesterol and give you lots of great vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

Later after dinner we toasted marshmallows by the fire pit ( I did mine the scouts way; set on fire, burnt to a crisp and gooey on the inside!

17/12/24

First day in Mexico was a big travel day with a taxi, a two hour flight to Cancun, a two hour taxi, a 30 minute ferry, and a buggy through the streets of Isla Holbox. Once there we we greeted by a beach-side hotel that looked like it was carved out of stone with two infinity pools and an amazing beach.

18/12/24

Second day starts with us going on a walk on the beach and seeing lots of washed up wildlife such as sea urchins, stingrays, and lots of horseshoe crabs. After a drink in town we spent the rest of the day relaxing around the resort.

21/12/24

Hi, it’s Emma guest blogging about our visit to Chichen Itza or ‘Chicken Pizza’ as our tour guide called it!

Chichen Itza is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is located about 2.5 hours inland from Playa Del Carmen where we are staying for 4 nights. It was built by the Mayans and is dominated by a huge pyramid called El Castillo.

We happened to be there on the winter solstice when the sun directly aligns with the pyramid and casts a shadow that looks like a serpents body: unfortunately it was overcast when we were there so we didn’t see it.

Human sacrifice happened at Chichen Itza and this is depicted on some of the carvings on the ‘ball courts’ where games were played. Daniel counted over 300 stones on an adjacent building that had skulls carved on them – they have real human skulls inside from the sacrifices!

The only downside to Chichen Itza was the presence of hundreds of hawker stalls trying to sell all manner of tat. It made it difficult to appreciate the place as such a significant historical and religious site but I guess that comes with mass tourism.

It’s Daniel again, later on in the day we went to a Cenote which is a sinkhole. The cenote we went to was about 100 meters wide by 150 meters deep. Walking down the stairs you are greeted by a boardwalk submerged one meter deep with catfish and freshwater turtles swimming near the edge. After some photos under the waterfall, I headed up to the jumping platform. Once there I pencil jumped into the 25 metre deep water and I enjoyed it so much that I jumped another thirty times.

23/12/24

On our last day in Mexico, we went to a small town called Bacalar where there was a crystal-clear river with silky smooth warm water that we floated using our life jackets as chairs. In the end, you had to swim to the side of the river to catch yourself in an eddy then go back to the start and rinse and repeat.

12/12/24

On our first day in the Everglades we took a short drive to the Everglades National Park where we collected the Junior Ranger booklet and we set off on our first walk called The Pinelands Trail.

On the trail we saw a red-headed woodpecker and a variety of plants. 45 minutes into our National Park day we had already seen 105 birds including great white herons, turkey vultures and egrets and were already on our second walk through the grasslands, but it was quite windy so we moved on. On our third and last walk before heading to the Flamingo portion of the park, we did a walk though a mahogany forest where the trees seemed to stretch into the sky endlessly.

At Flamingo we were greeted with a pleasant surprise in the form of a manatee feasting on algae by the marina. For the final walk of the day we went to the Royal Palm board walk over wetlands where we saw loads of fish, hundreds of turkey vultures, two red-bellied turtles, two great blue herons, 30ish egrets, an anhinga, a handful of great white herons, purple gallinules, four adult alligators, and one 30cm baby alligator all amongst the lily pad covered lakes.

13/12/24

It’s second day in the Everglades and this time we’re doing a 24 kilometre bike ride next to a river filled with alligators! While my parents were hiring the bikes I went a turned in my Junior Ranger booklet and collected my Everglades National Park badge.

After starting our bike ride, and not even two minutes in, we saw a gator lazing by the river and then another and another. By the time we reached the half way observation tower we had seen 58 alligators! Coming back we biked into extremely strong winds and while I was slowly biking I noticed a shape in the grass – a snake which I later learned was a cottonmouth snake, one of four venomous snakes in Florida.

Closing up our bike ride, our total amount of gators spotted was 79. Finally when we exited the National Park, we took a relaxing airboat trip around the Everglades adding a couple extra alligators to the amount we spotted.

16/12/24

Not in the Everglades but for our second day in Miami we took a hop-on hop-off bus around to a outdoor art museum called Wynwood Walls with a baby hulk, a decorated train carriage, and a picture of Gotham 2.

On the next stop of our journey we went to Little Havana where there were chickens, owls, and even a bat in the street . For lunch we went to Sala’o Cuban Restaurant and I had braised beef that was then grilled and marinated with Cuban mojo ( basically citrus, herbs, and salt).

Miami Nights ( and day )

06/12/24

On the first day of our 6 day adventure in the Keys we had a slow start hanging out at the pools before we went to the car rental place and got B.O.B. (Big Ol’ Beast) – an eight seater beast.

Driving down to Long Key we saw lots of wildlife such as pelicans, fish and the Raptor migration. Later we checked into the Lime Tree Bay resort and went for a swim in the pool. Finally to wrap up the day we went up to the Florida Boy Bar and Grill and we had Alligator bites (basically fried chicken but with alligator).

07/12/24

Still in Long Key we started our day off with a trip to the beach where we saw lots of small fish and a pelican diving into the sea. Fun fact: Long Key used to be called Rattlesnake Key because it looked liked a rattlesnake’s open jaw.

For the main activity of the day we went to Long Key State Park where we went on a 1.1 mile walk through the mangroves. In the mangroves there were lots of animals such as crabs of all different sizes, skinks, and a variety of fish. Some animals we could have seen were crocodiles, snakes and horseshoe crabs.

08/12/24

On the road again, this time heading out to Key West. On the way we stopped off at the Dolphin Research Center where we saw, parrots, sea lions, a tortoise, and Dolphins getting trained ( with a couple of mistakes!). Continuing down the road we stopped off at Key Fisheries for lunch.

Next on our trip a seven mile bridge across the ocean. Nearing the end of the bridge we stumbled across the Bahia Honda State Park where I got my first junior ranger badge and we saw a Southern Black Racer snake, which is a non-venomous species of snake, relaxing in the sun. Still at the state park while watching a pelican fishing we saw hundreds of tiny birds running up and down the beach.

Later on Big Pine Key while driving to Key West we saw a deer munching on some grass by the side of the road. When we arrived at the resort I won five dollars off my mum by serving a shuttlecock into one of the pockets of a pool table from ten meters away. At the end of the day after dinner back at our apartment we saw a gecko on our balcony wall.

09/12/24

We started off our day with a short walk into the centre of town in Key West where we went for the first activity of the day, the Hemingway House, home of author Ernest Hemingway. On our way to the Hemingway House we saw hundreds of chickens roaming the streets which we later learned were protected descendants of the original cock fighting chickens before it became illegal in 2004.

Inside the house we learned that Hemingway was an avid big game hunter, deep sea fisher, he was an ambulance driver for the military, he wrote books and poems, and he had a six toed cat called Snow White which was a gift from a friend.

Next we went for lunch at the Old Town Tavern and Beer Garden. Wrapping up our day we went to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park where we saw cannons half buried from the 1800’s, and we also saw two iguanas lounging in a tree.

10/12/24

After a long morning of driving we arrived at the Pigeon Key visitor centre where we caught the Pigeon Key Express which took us along the original seven mile bridge. Once there we took the tour around the key where we learned about Henry Flagler who brought the Florida economy back after the American civil war by building hotels, trains and even the seven mile bridge.

After the tour we fed tarpon and even a nurse shark. Nearing the end of our drive we saw the giant lobster statue ‘Big Betsy’ alongside the road.

11/12/24

For our activity of the day we had a short drive to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park where we caught a glass-bottom boat tour to the coral reef. Once there we saw lots of sea creatures like parrotfish, angelfish, barracuda, green sea turtles, eagle rays, great white herons, osprey, frigatebirds, and more.