On Patzcuaro Lake sits the small island of Janitzio where the largest celebration of The Day of the Dead takes place each year. Some 10,000 people or so will jam themselves onto this little island every November 1st and go to the even smaller cemetery. I think I would join the dead if I had to be on this island on November 1st. You would understand why if you saw how small it really is. However, when it's not November 1st, the place is quite pleasant for a short ...

Paid to Play Episode 8: The one about the amazing lava flow that ate an entire Mexican village. In 1943, in a small village in the state of Michoacán, a farmer noticed that the middle of his cornfield started smoking and began cursing the fact that his property value was about to go down the toilet. The small fissure in the earth's surface was shooting ash and rocks into the Mexican sky. A week later, the new volcano had grown five stories tall and after a ...

Paid to Play Episode 4: The One where the author realizes he is a "workaholic", even though those that know him will think that statement is absolutely ridiculous. I realize I have no time to update this blog regularly because I am working all the time. I even dare to say that I am a workaholic. It seems I am always on the move with my passengers; climbing volcanoes, paddling canoes, swimming in rivers and cenotes, going to the beach, snorkeling, going out to di...

Today we explored the Mayan ruins of Tulum. They are perched right on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean sea and are most impressive. The people who lived here also had their own beach so I went for swim in the warm clear water while looking up at 1000 year old ruins. Very cool! In the afternoon, it was back on a bus and down to Chetumal, the last Mexican town before the border of Belize. We stayed in a $5 hotel room and had a look around the city. Tomorrow, we'll...

Finally I left Isla Mujeres for Tulum. I am still traveling with Mick and Aaron from Oz and Cheryl from S Africa. We checked in to Hotel El Crucero which is pretty cheap and right down the road from the Mayan ruins that make Tulum a worthwhile place to stop. The food here is incredible. Today I also took my first Doxycycline pill. It is an anti-malarial medication that they say I need for Belize. The directions say to drink plenty of fluids with the pill so I swa...