Win a 5-night package at Chaa Creek luxury eco-resort in Belize

by Katie Hammel on

Chaa Creek, an eco-resort in the jungle of Belize, is giving away a 5-night stay for two to the winner of their Nature Quest Sweepstakes. To enter, you’ll need to write a 300-word essay on why you want to visit the lodge, and answer a series of questions about the property (the answers to which can all be found on the website). If you score 85% or above, you’ll be eligible to win the 5-night Inland Expedition package.

There are four additional prizes as well, which include a 5-night Inland Expedition package for one, or 50%, 40% and 30% discounts on 5-night Inland Expedition packages for two. The packages include round-trip transfers to the lodge from Belize City, a trip to the Belize zoo, all meals, and several tours and activities including bird-watching, canoeing, a trip to a butterfly farm and more.

The resort is set on a 365-acre nature reserve, has been operating since 1981, and has won numerous awards for its quality service and commitment to the environment. The 5-night Inland Expedition packages normally cost $1625 per person. Entries for the contest are due by October 30.

Photo of the Day (8-26-09)

by Jamie Rhein on

Anyone who has traveled in a developing country may notice how this photo by TR Ryan captures perfectly the ingredients of every day village life. See it as a check list, if you will. Chickens? check. Goat? check. Plastic cup? check. Flip flops and bare feet? check and check. A bit of old rusty corrugate serving as a partial wall? check. Bicycle? check. It almost doesn’t matter in which country the scene is set. The ingredients will be the same.

If Dutch painter Jan Vermeer were alive today, he’d turn this shot into a painting. Instead of the woman pouring milk into a bowl, as his subject does in, “The Kitchen Maid,” he would encapsulate in oil and canvas the life of this woman where she lives in Villa Esperanza, Nicaragua ensuring that her children get a meal.

If you have captured a story in a photograph, send it our way at Gadling’s Flickr photo pool. It may be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

Gadlinks for Monday 8.24.09

by Brenda Yun on


One of summer´s last weekends has come and gone. Enjoy the warm sun while it lasts! … and take some time to enjoy these travel tales as well.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks HERE.

Lava Leering: Getting up close and personal with Volcan Pacaya in Guatemala

by Aaron Hotfelder on

One of the few places in the world where you can stand just inches away from blisteringly hot lava, Guatemala’s Volcan Pacaya is the country’s most popular and most accessible volcano. Just a ninety-minute drive from the tourist mecca of Antigua, Pacaya offers visitors the chance to roast marshmallows over glowing orange lava, witness the flowing of a long “river of lava” which was formed back in 2006, and even plunge a stick into lava and watch it instantly catch fire.

Is it touristy? Oh, yeah. I guarantee you will not be alone on this hike– almost every travel agency in Antigua runs daily tours to the volcano for under ten dollars. But despite the crowds of tourists that ascend it every morning and night, Pacaya is one of Guatemala’s absolute must-see’s, and not only for the “I stood next to hot lava” stories you’ll be telling when you get home.
The two-hour ascent of Pacaya does not actually go to the 8,400-ft. summit, which is both incredibly steep and volcanically very active, but to a lower, safer area where most of the lava is visible. Here, you’ll find people roasting marshmallows, rocking back and forth to make sure their shoes don’t melt, and just generally marveling at the steaming pools of liquid rock (see bottom photo).
Most tours from Antigua leave at 6 am or 2 pm. The later hike, although it usually carries a greater chance of rain, often affords brilliant sunset views like this one.

If you go…

  • Be sure to wear close-toed shoes, not flip-flops, as the volcanic rock on Pacaya can be sharp and very hot. Long pants are also recommended if you want to avoid singed leg hair.
  • Bring rain gear and a flashlight if you’re visiting in the afternoon.
  • Don’t forget a liter or two of water as well as some snacks for the hike.
  • Purchase a stick for about fifty cents from one of the young boys who will approach you as you begin your hike. Even if you don’t need a stick for walking, it’s nice to be able to drop it into the lava and watch it catch fire.
  • Buy your ticket in one of the many travel agencies in Antigua; it shouldn’t cost more than $7. Tickets can also be purchased in Guatemala City.

¡Micheladas! The perfect recipe for Mexico’s (unofficial) national drink

by Aaron Hotfelder on

“Want to order some micheladas?” my Mexican friend Gustavo asked me as we sat down for breakfast one morning in the beachside village of Mahahual, Mexico.

“What’s a michelada?” I asked.

Gustavo gave me the look a school teacher might give a student after he asks a particularly dumb question– a looked which seemed to say, “Don’t you know anything about Mexico?”

“Mexican breakfast,” he told me. “Let’s get two.”

After the first sip of my michelada— a disturbing-sounding but great-tasting concoction of beer, Tabasco sauce, and Worcestershire sauce– I was hooked. Like a soccer mom sampling a delicious casserole at a dinner party, I just had to get the recipe.

So here, without further ado, is a simple recipe for the perfect michelada:

Ingredients

2 tsp. Tabasco sauce (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
half of 1 lime
pinch of salt
1 beer (I prefer Negra Modelo or Dos Equis, but most lagers work well.)

Rim a glass with salt. Squeeze juice from the lime into the glass and add a pinch of salt. Fill the glass with three or four ice cubes. Add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Finally, pour in as much of the beer as will fit into the glass. Give it a stir and enjoy your breakfast.

There are dozens of michelada variations– a popular one uses tomato juice or (yuck) Clamato as well as the ingredients above– so feel free to experiment with any of the recipes found here.

After all, there’s no wrong way to get drunk in the morning.