Travel Chronicles of Central America

Travelers to Central America have the opportunity to visit warm and sunny terrains and escape from the cold weather that plagues most of its north American neighbors during the winter. Being that the eastern coast of Belize gives way to the Caribbean sea, there exists a vast array of aquatic activities for a water enthusiast to pursue. The Belize Barrier reef lies within the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which worldwide comes in second place where size is concerned to the Australian Barrier Reef. The following is a list of events to attend and/ or activities to pursue that an individual who’s interest in Central American travel may lead him/her to the Belizean coraled coast.
The exposed area of the Barrier Reef is composed of sandy cays (pronounced [kee, key]. While tourists have the opportunity to take in the visual beauty that these finite earthly grained and unique small masses of islands display, they also serve as a protective barrier between the Belizean mainland and treacherous and stormy weather that can occur between September and October. Some cays consist of sand itself, while on others one will find various plant life such as mangroves that grow in fascinating ways or coconut palms that bear delicious tropical fruits. Some cays provide their Central America travelers with the opportunity to enjoy privacy as most are unpopulated. Some cays tout highly rated and acclaimed tourist hot spot accommodations such as the Blue Reef Island Resort.
Visitors to the Belizean reef may wonder how these coral creations developed their awesome God-given beauty. Living organisms called coral polyps (with cylinder bodies, external skeletons, and fingered-looking tentacles) produce kaleidoscopically shaped and colored minerals. The development of the vast array of underwater reef is accomplished through the existence and growth of coral colonies that coral polyps live in. In conclusion, one could describe the continual life of coral reefs as a cycle of the uniquely shaped and colorful coral polyps pushing through their external skeleton combined with skeletal debris from non-living coral polyps dispersed by aquatic waves and aquatic organisms, which equals a vision of underwater beauty for all to see.

Top Reasons to Travel to Central American Country of Nicaragua
Nicaragua is not the first destination that comes to mind where travel to a Central American country is concerned, but this under populated tourist attraction has a number of intriguing and unique activities that tourists can partake in.

1) Granada, Nicaragua offers travelers the opportunity to casually sample unique Nicaraguan cuisine such as Vigorón (chopped cabbage, chimichurri (sauce used for meat), tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, yucca, and pork) or carne pinchada (Nicaraguan food item where the meat (chicken, beef, etc.) is marinated in an alcoholic sauce and served on a stick) in its central park. Granada’s central park also allows visitors to take a trip into the past to view notable landmarks such as the Cathedral and Episcopal Palace from the Plaza de los Leones via a tour of the antiquated city by horse drawn carriage.

2)San Juan del Sur has a vast array of exotic animals and plants surrounding its beach such as Nicaraguan sea turtles, sawfish, and howler monkeys. San Juan del Sur is know as a quaint, under-the-radar fishing town with simple American amenities, such as common American food items and comfortable air-conditioned accommodations that allow visitors the opportunity to unwind from the physical and mental strains of urbanized life.

3)Ecotourism is responsible travel to small tourist attractions that are small-scaled, naturally protected areas. Ecotourism is possible in the country of Nicaragua being that it doesn’t draw the high volume of tourists that larger tourist economies such as Costa Rica attract. One resort that has won numerous accolades for its promotion of ecotourism include the Finca Esperanza Verde (Green Hope Farm). This lodging has been a recipient of awards for providing socially responsible and conservation-promoting tourism due to its providing environmentally and culturally based activities. These activities include classes that teach students how to prepare and cook native Nicaraguan food and observing native Nicaraguan animals, such as toucans and trogons (bird family) in their natural habitat.

Top Reasons to Travel to Central American Country of Belize
Its fun to travel to places that aren’t popularly spoken of or traveled to. As far as travel in Central America is concerned, Belize is a country that people rarely mention as a great travel destination. The following is a list of the top reasons why travelers should visit Belize and see what this hidden jewel has to offer:

1) Language barriers erased: Travelers who only speak English or who only know a little Spanish can relax because travelers to this Central American country will learn that English is the official language of Belize. No need to feel apprehensive about how to communicate to a tour guide questions or concerns you have about places you want to see or the activities you want to do. You can use that energy that might have been used to effectively communicate in a foreign language to enjoy what memorable and intriguing sights this unknown country has to offer.

2) Travel to Belize is budget friendly: Its cheaper to travel and explore Belizean sights than to travel to popular U.S. or European hot spots. The exchange rate is $2 Belizean dollars to $1 U.S. dollars which allow your money to go twice as far. It only takes about 2hrs to travel by plane from the U.S. to Belize. Tourists interested in traveling luxuriously can spend as little as BZ $350 ($170 U.S. Dollars) for 5 stars accommodations and cuisine.

3)Travel to Belize allows travelers to see a tropical environment in its purest form: Over 40% of Belizean land is protected from being destroyed or modernized, which allows for greater exposure to the exotic wildlife and plant life. Belize has a population of around ¼ million, which diminishes that chances of a traveler having to limit their sight-seeing activities which may include scuba diving off the Blue Hole or snorkeling around nature’s unique and intricately designed coral reefs.

Top Reasons to Travel to Central American Country of El Salvador

Travelers to Central American may feel apprehensive about making a journey to a country with its 20th century history of civil wars. Fortunately, an almost 20 year span of internal peace has allowed El Salvador to developed into a unique tourist spot of wonderful and unique attractions worth visiting.

1) La Libertad (The Liberty): Because the country of El Salvador isn’t one within the Americas that is popularly traveled to, overcrowding is the least of a traveler’s worries in pursuing water sport activities at the 200 mi. span of beaches within La Libertad. Tourists interested in surfing can experience riding waves as high as 8ft that offer a ride that can span 300 meters (~984 feet!). Individuals also have the opportunity to visit some of the many Americanized & urbanized restaurants sprinkled along the beach. If visitors are looking for sites or cities that have experienced few cultural changes, one might want to

2) visit the city of Suchitoto, El Salvador. This quaint town is infamous for being one of the few places in El Salvador that maintain cobblestone roads. This town gives its visitors a taste of what life was like before industrialization by observing an environment where the rural population is 3x as large as the urban population (19,000 rural population vs. 6,000 urban population). The town expresses strong cultural identity with its own flag, seal and hymn.

3) More adventurous travelers may like to visit the natural resource known as the Santa Ana Volcano/ llamatepec . What sets this volcano apart from others in El Salvador is that the it is the highest volcano in the country and that it is a stratovolcano, which has visually unique layers of lava and volcanic ash. Volcanic activity has created natural elements such as crater lake in the innermost part of the stratovolcano layers and the Acajutla Peninsula.

Travel provides one with the opportunity to escape from the fast-paced, yet repetitive daily routine of life. It allows a person the chance to experience the tastes and flavors that make up the environment and life experiences of other individuals around the world. Traveling can serve as a catalyst that allows you to realize how the laws and freedoms that are upheld in the country in which you live permit you to experience a truly blessed life. On the other hand, traveling to Spanish speaking countries of Central America allow people who have lived in the United States for most of their lives to realize how relatively antiquated and money-oriented their country is compared to seemingly less developed or underdeveloped countries. This blog serves as an interesting resource for readers to visually and mentally inform themselves of the opportunities associated with travel and pique their interest to travel to the intriguing multilingual countries of Central America.