The conversation started because she thought we were gay.

I was sitting at a bar chatting with a cute American girl that was getting drunk after 30 days of being sober on a yoga retreat. The two of us were sharing mint margaritas, which was a wise decision considering we were taking advantage of the two-for-one special.

An American gent approached and sat on the opposite end of the bar, menu in hand. Sensing competition, my alpha male instincts immediately kicked in and I asked her if she wanted to move the conversation to someplace else. We finished our drinks and after some serious consideration, she decided it was best for her to turn in and do some drunk packing instead.

“Nice try buddy”. The yank yelled from across the bar.
“She was too young anyway”. I replied.

We continued the small talk until Karin, a local Guatemalan, stood in between us and exclaimed:

“Why are you two sitting so far apart?!”. 

Drunk, she proceeded to introduce herself to us and ask where we are from.

Her eyes immediately lit up when I told her I was Canadian. She responded in French and we continued the conversation in a language the American couldn’t understand. Boom! I’ve got this one in the bag.

I learned that she spent seven months living in Montreal and that she wanted someone to practice French with. Knowing I already had plans tomorrow, I agreed to have a coffee date with her to continue the language lesson. We exchanged numbers and parted ways.

“She was drunk. There is no way she is going to remember our conversation, let alone want to meet for coffee”, I thought to my self. Sticking to my original plan, I packed up my stuff for the day trip to Lake Atitlán. It wasn’t until 15 minutes outside of town did I get a text message from Karin. She wants to have that coffee date!

I explained the situation to her and asked if she wanted to join me on the road trip to the lake. We could practice speaking French in the car. In exchange she could be my tour guide.

Turns out San Pedro is one of her favourite places and I didn’t need to twist her arm. She agreed and I turned the car around to pick her up.

The tensions eased up quickly during the two hour drive to the lake. We got to know each other and laughed all the way to Panajachel, where we parked the car.

“Let me do the talking” Karin suggested. She was trying to avoid us having to pay Gringo prices.

I promised her that we would be back in Antigua around 7 or 8pm, so we both agreed that we would return to the car before the lot closed at 5:30pm. I payed the $25GTQ and got a receipt in return. 

I was excited to see a new part of Guatemala and Karin was excited to return to one of her favourite places. We hop on the boat and head west along the lake to San Pedro.

We had a great time in San Pedro. Karins awesome personality and great sense of humour made her the best tour guide I could find in Guatemala. We walked up to a lookout point where I was able to get an amazing view of the lake.

Feeling the time pressure to get back to the boat in time, we order a burger to go and pound back some beers. Eating on the run we make our way to the dock where Karin asks someone in Spanish when the next boat departed for Panajachel.

I see the look on her face go from happy and excitable to horror and worry.

“What’s going on?” I ask.
She pulls me aside and says: “The next boat isn’t until 5:30, after the parking lot closes!”. 
I can see panic on her face. I quickly put on the charm and reply: “Don’t worry! Let your friends know about the situation and that you’re ok”.

We chatted about our possible options, all of which included spending an unplanned night at the lake. After the situation had time to soak, her face lit up again and she said: “I have a friend who works at a hotel here in San Pedro. Maybe he can help us out!”.

Hmm.. did she plan this all along? Always one for an an adventure I agreed to heading over to the hotel to see what we can do about tonights accommodation. After all, this place did have a hot tub that we could use…

For the second half of my time in Mexico City, I moved north to the Guerrero neighbourhood. Again, in a pretty kick-ass AirBnB ($30CAD a night for a whole apartment? Yes Please!).

My apartment was within walking distance of some of the best attractions of the city, including the Museo del Tequila y el Mezcal. The museum is small and wont take you more than 45 minutes to enjoy the exhibits. Your ticket includes a shot of tequila on the rooftop restaurant. I passed, instead opting for a delicious lunch of empanadas and beer. 

If you love craft beer, and great burgers, then you have to hit up Kitchen 6 in La Condesa. The Pub Burger is amazing! Cheese, beef, and pulled pork all on a delicious brioche. I paired the meal with two Mexican craft beers. A Helles style brew called Jbalí and a Brown Ale known as Cucapá Obscura. Both great!

If you’re looking for amazing tacos, check out the street vendor on the corner of 2 de Abril and Avenida Hidalgo (near The Bellas Artes metro entrance). He offers 5 tacos for $30MXN. 

Ending my trip to Mexico city with the above mentioned taco stand put things into perspective. Mexican cuisine is simple and easy. Five to seven ingredients on a platform made of the all-mighty corn. The tortilla is the foundation of Mexican dishes. Whether they be a taco, burrito, enchilada, nachos, or quesadilla.

Looking forward to eating food that is not wrapped in a corn blanket, I board the plane for the quick flight to Guatemala City.

I had to visit the Brazil Embassy in Bogotá to submit my Canadian passport for a tourist visa. The process was relatively painless, however some “lost in translation” instructions made things a little more difficult than they needed to be.

So, in English, here is the exact process if you need to do something similar. Of course, the official word on what you need and costs can be found on the Consulate General website.

Collect Your Documents

You will need to submit the following documents in order to get your visa. 

1. A print out of the form given to you after you fill out the necessary details online.
2. A copy of your receipt/itinerary from an airline showing your inbound and outbound flights into and out of the country. 
3. A bank statement showing “sufficient funds” during your stay in the country.
4. Your passport with an empty page free of any stamps or visas.
5. A passport photo.

You will need to bring the following in order to process your application.

1. A form of ID (drivers licence, identity card) as collateral in exchange for a keycard to enter the building.
2. Sufficient cash in Colombian Pesos for the application fee. For Canadians, that’s $308,000COP.  

The Embassy

The embassy is located on the 8th floor of a commercial office building. It is only open from 9am – 12pm for visa applications and 2pm – 4pm for document retrieval. So plan your trip accordingly. To enter the building, find the entrance located off of Calle 93.  It will be the eastern most entrance on this street.

When you enter, let the receptionist know you want to head to the embassy. She will ask you for a form of ID (don’t give her your passport) and in return you will get a keycard to go through the security gate. 

Use the card to enter the building, and use the elevators to get to the 8th floor. The elevator will dump you right into the embassy lobby. Let the receptionist behind the bullet proof glass know that you are here for a visa application. She will record your passport details and photo as an entry log.

Go through the metal detector and the steel doors to the waiting area. Before sitting down, find the kiosk where you can grab a number. Be sure to press the “non-brazilian” button to get your number. 

The Process

Once your number is called, hand in all your documentation and your passport. If you require the use of your passport during this time, ask the official for a letter and a copy of your passport photo page. These two items can be used for domestic travel within the country. The official will file everything into a folder and give you a deposit slip for the Banco de Occidente around the corner.

Take this slip and head back to the elevators. 

Use the same keycard to exit the security gate on the main floor and keep it. You will be coming back.

Exit the building, turn right and head towards Carrera 15, then make another right. You are now walking north. Cross Calle 93a and on the right hand side you will see the bank (Banco de Occidente). You will have to write your name, telephone number, and passport number on the deposit slip before handing it over.

Give the teller the completed slip and money. She will deposit the cash, give you your change, and give you a receipt. 

Time to head back to the embassy! Go back the way you came and back up to the 8th floor. It wasn’t busy when I arrived, so I went straight back to the same wicket that I handed all my information to and gave the official the deposit receipt.

He then gave me a card with a number on it. Keep it safe! This is how you retrieve your passport and visa in 10 days. 

Return downstairs and give the keycard to the receptionist to get your identification back. 

Take every stereotype you have of Mexicans and throw them out of the window: That’s México City.

My previous encounters with the country have only been in the Yucatan peninsula. You know: Cancún and Playa Del Carmen, the typical resort and tourist towns of eastern México.

México City, Distrito Federal (DF), CDMX, or whatever you want to call it, is a modern and vibrant city that is full of energy.

Every Mexican that I encountered tried so hard to prove to me that they are a hardworking people. Trying desperately to break the stereotypes of the drunk and lazy Mexican wearing a sombrero.

Cities in Canada and the United States can learn a few things from the largest city in North America. Mexico City is safe, very safe. Not once did I not feel that my personal security was at risk.

For the first half of my visit, I was staying in an amazing AirBnB in a neighbourhood called La Condesa. It’s been described to me as a “hipster” neighbourhood with coffee shops and “artisanal” restaurants (read: a restaurant that serves non-mexican food).

Suffering from a brutal cold, I had to get a decongestant to help me breathe. A simple task considering there are pharmacies (Farmacias en Español) on every street corner.

I explained my symptoms to the clerk in broken Spanish and she gave me a box of pills for $15MXN. I get back to my apartment and look up the ingredients before popping a pill.

Not a single decongestant was to be found! Damn. I hit up another pharmacy, and asked for a specific drug: Pseudoephedrine. No dice. You need a prescription for them to sell anything that’s an amphetamine. She did give me something else and promised me that it would help my situation.

Drugs in hand, I was now able to conquer this amazing city.

First Stop: The National Museum of Anthropology. As soon as you walk through the front doors, you’re blown away by the way the place is set up. You step into the courtyard, which contains a huge concrete umbrella that is supported by a single large pillar. To visit the exhibits, you enter and exit rooms that form a ring around the outside of the courtyard.

The museum focuses on Aztec and other rarities from México’s past. However, a small section includes information and artifacts about how humans evolved from all around the world. If you are interested in how we lived thousands of years ago, this is the place to visit. 

After spending a few hours in the museum, I decided to walk the city. There is a lot to see within an hours walk of the Museum and I recommend strolling through Chapultepec park then head north-east along Paseo de la Reforma to visit the Angel of Independence. 

Along this route you will stop by a monument commemorating the Niños Héros. These Boy Soldiers stopped Chapultapec Castle from falling into American hands during the Mexican-American war in 1847. 

 

No visit to Mexico City would be without seeing the Angel Of Independence. The 7 tonne, 24 karat gold statue of Nike (the Greek goddess of victory) sits atop a 36 m tall column commemorating the centennial of the beginning of Mexico’s War of Independence. Crossing the insanely busy traffic circle to get up close and personal with the statue can be a challenge, but is worth it. 

Sybil hooked us up with a sweet AirBnB close to all the action. It was walking distance from the bus station as well as the infamous 5th avenue.

This was a party town and it was confirmed within the first five minutes of us walking the strip.

“Weed, Molly, Blow?” I hear someone whisper to me.

We keep on walking.

“Coke, blow, coke you want?!”. Someone else says in broken English.

Damn. The drug dealers were not subtle at all down here. If you’re looking to score, it shouldn’t take you more than a five minute walk down 5th avenue.

This continued the entire length of the street as we darted in and out of shops.

Earlier in the day I had been swiping around on Bumble to see if I could find a date for New Years eve, when I matched with someone oddly familiar.

She sends me a message:

“You’re in Playa too?! If you wanna come for drinks we’re at Abolengo on 12th!”

Last September, Alana and I went on a date back in Toronto!

The three of us met up with her crew and had a few drinks at Abolengo Bartina. If you’re looking for a fun, cheap place to dance and drink. This is the place to be.

The town was hopping. All the bars and clubs were packed and overflowing into the street. Confirmed: This is the place to be on new years eve.

We didn’t want to go too hard tonight as we were saving our selves for New Years Eve at The Blue Parrot.

San Pedro attracts a lot of Americans. So much so, a lot of the bars and restaurants cater to them directly. Wings, American Beers, and Football.

Carlo & Ernie’s runway bar is one such place that Vivien and I hit up to soothe our hungry souls. We plopped down and ordered some drinks while fat Americans yelled at the TV screens. 

I wanted to go to this place for its proximity to San Pedro airport. It’s literally a stones throw away from the runway. I was only able to catch one or two aircraft taxiing around before feeling guilty for leaving Vivien alone at the bar. 

Belekin in hand, we came up with theories as to why this place was so popular amongst Americans. Was it because it’s the only English speaking country in Central America? Or because it was close to the USA? Unsure, we continued to sip on our drinks.

After fifteen minutes or so my heart-stopping burger arrived. 

The food was delicious! If you’re looking for good pub food in San Pedro, then hit up Carlo and Earnie’s.

If you are looking for a more healthier option in town, Syb and I hit up Wild Mangos at the end of Barrier Reef Drive. Smoothies, salads, and fresh ceviche. The chicken burger with side salad that I ordered was amazing.

Vivien and I inhaled our meal then headed out for a evening ride in our golf cart….

Yes… golf cart.

Most everyone in this town gets around on a golf cart. I’ve been unable to find any details as to when this trend started. But here we are, in our basic Club Car cart with a foldable back (to store luggage). It wasn’t the most luxurious of rides, but it got us around quickly.

This portion of the trip had no itinerary. The plan was to stay here for a few days, unwind, hit the beach, and recharge before the big New Years Eve party in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

So we spent lazy days on the beach, where I took some amazing shots of both Sybil and Vivien. Sometimes I really miss lugging around my (old school) Nikon D70. Maybe I’ll get back into photography again?!

Rested up and sunburnt, we pack up our stuff and prepare ourselves for the long travel day back up to Mexico. The 90 minute boat ride back to Belize City, then another 8 hours or so on the ADO bus to Playa Del Carmen. 

I was planning my next destination when I learned that I needed to get a travel visa before being able to enter the country. As a holder of a Canadian passport, this is a rare affair and got me thinking: which passport holder would be able to visit the most countries visa-free?

Turns out Henly & Partners, a company that handles residence and citizenship planning, produces an annual Visa Restriction Index for every country. 

Canada ranks as the 6th least restrictive country when it comes to visa-free travel to the rest of the world.

Rank	Visa-Free Countries	Passport Holder’s Country
1	177	Germany
2	176	Sweden
3	175	Finland, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom
4	174	Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, United States
5	173	Austria, Japan, Singapore
6	172	Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Switzerland
7	171	Greece, New Zealand
8	169	Australia
9	168	Malta
10	167	Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland

172 out of 212 countries isn’t bad. Data is for 2016. 

The visa application process can be a pain and you need to do some planning ahead of time. My visa application for Brazil will take 10 business days to process. During this time I will be without my passport. 

If you are travelling, with no fixed address, what’s the best way to receive your passport with your newly minted visa in it? This is where you can take advantage of consulates (I’ll discuss the difference between consulates and embassies in another post). 

My next major stop will be in Colombia, which happens to have a Brazilian consulate in Bogotá. I can bring all my paper work, my passport, and the visa application fee to this location for processing.

They will take a look at the all the paper, do the necessary background checks, then use up an entire page in my passport to glue the visa in. So make sure you have a free page available. 

Twelve to fifteen days later, I can return to the consulate to pick up my passport. Phew! In the mean time, I’m stuck in Colombia without a passport.

There is another gotcha that you might run into when trying to enter into another country: reciprocity fees.

In my particular case, Canada requires citizens of Argentina to apply for a tourist visa and pay the necessary fees. Although Argentina doesn’t require Canadian citizens to apply for a tourist visa, they charge a reciprocity fee to enter the country. This fee is the exact same amount Argentine citizens need to pay to apply for their Canadian tourist visa.

These fees can be paid as part of your immigration into the country or online ahead of time. I decided to pay online and print out my receipt, which I will show to the immigration officer when I arrive.

To get a list of which countries you can travel visa free, visit your countries department of foreign affairs or similar. For Canada, you can visit travel.gc.ca. 

If there is only one thing you do in Belize, make sure it’s to visit the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) caves.

We did the cave tour with Maya Walk ($95USD) and have only the best reviews about the tour company. The guides were knowledgeable and the provided lunch was top notch. We left San Ignacio early in the morning (before 8am) as to ensure that we were one of the first groups to arrive at the caves. Since there are multiple tour companies that provide excursions into the cave, it’s essential to beat the crowd.

It’s hard to describe the feeling you have when you swim into the caves and you are face to face with the actual skeletal remains of a people who lived hundreds of years ago. As you venture deeper into the darkness you start to imagine the types of rituals and activities that happened here by fire-light.

We were lucky enough to have the owner of Maya Walk (Aaron Juan) be our guide into the caves. His extensive knowledge and passion played a really important part in enjoying the history that happened in these caverns. The science nerd in me got really excited when he went above and beyond and demonstrated abiotic fluorescence in the cave walls by using his purple laser pointer to make the rocks glow!

I met a really great French couple (Chloé & Jonathan) who also decided to travel around the world for a year. Their strategy is to work on farms as they make their way around the globe. WWOOFing as it’s called (Working Weekends On Organic Farms) pairs farmers with willing volunteers. You get free room and board while you work on the farm. They have been blogging their experience (In French) at behindthelandscape.com. They have some amazing shots on their Instagram: tdmbio.

We got up early the next day to catch the chicken bus to Belize City. Our destination was San Pedro, Belize, the most southern city on the island of Ambergris Caye.

Wait.. What!?! What the hell is a “Caye”? Allow me to explain:

Caye, can be pronounced both ways: “kee” or “kay” and is not to be confused with quay. It is a sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Another example would be the Florida Keys (yes! another acceptable alternative spelling) or Rama Cay (yup, the third way you can spell it) in Nicaragua.

Whereas a quay (also pronounced like “key”) is a wharf where ships dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.

Anyway, we pay for our round trip tickets ($70BZD) on the San Pedro Belize Express and pile into the boat. I decided to stick to the rear, where it was open to the outside air. The rest were packed in like sardines.

I grab my headphones, press play, and hunker down for the relatively smooth 90 min ride.

San Ignacio is only 115km by road to Tikal National Park (a UNESCO site) and home of one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization.

We piled into the van and headed west to the Guatemala border. Enroute I asked the son of the tour operator: “So, how many people have forgotten their passports when going to Tikal?!”.

He smiles, lets out a chuckle and replies: “seven so far this month”.

It’s amazing people forget that Tikal is not in Belize and you need to do the immigration and customs song & dance when entering Guatemala before heading to the ruins.

Those that forgot their passports? They get 50% of their money back and take a cab back to their hotel.

In order to expedite the crossing, we hand our passports to the owners son while he waits in line #1. Line #2, the one we’re in, is to pay the Belize exit fee of $40BZD. Once we get our receipt, we meet up with our passports to get our exit stamp.

I’m heading back to the van and I start laughing. I see our driver swapping out the licence plate on the van. He replaced his Belizean plates for a Guatemalan one.

“Is this for tax purposes?!” I joke.
“Something like that!” the driver replies.

We spend the next 80 minutes or so on the road heading to the national park and ruins.

Today was hot. It was in the low 30s with the humidity only a rain forest can offer. Even with the sun beating down on us, the trip and views were worth it.

We climbed Temple IV, the tallest Mayan structure ever created. The views from the top gave you complete oversight over the entire city along with tens of kilometres of visibility to the horizon.

Tikal was the first place where I saw jungle wildlife. We encountered spider monkeys and came across a few groups of Coatis. Spotting what looked like a peacock ended up being an Ocellated turkey.

 

 

We stopped in the mid afternoon and found a vendor where we spent some of our quetzals on some local beers. Like all beers brewed in this region, it was light and refreshing, just what we needed after climbing all those steps.

By four o’clock we were beat from the sun and the stairs. Our driver was waiting for us near the entrance of the park. The three of us piled into the van and passed out on our drive back to Belize.

Being Christmas eve, we wanted to hit up a nice restaurant for dinner. TripAdvisor lead us the way where we headed out to the #1 rated restaurant in San Igancio: Guava Limb Cafe.

The atmosphere was great and the staff were pleasant. It was a welcome change from the restaurants along the tourist strip on Burn’s Ave. They even had a Turkey dinner special for Christmas.

With full bellies our heads hit the pillow hard. Another action packed day under our belts.

At some point during your travels, you’ll be forced to pay for something with cash. Whether it’s for a tip on a bike tour or to pay a departure tax at a border crossing. Cash is still king and getting foreign currency can be tricky and expensive.

Here are some of the strategies I’ve used to get the best exchange rate possible.

 

ATMs

Using an ATM to withdraw cash is usually the quickest and easiest way to get foreign currency. There are three main gotcha’s you need to watch out for:

1. Foreign ATM fee charged by your home bank.
2. Foreign card fee charged by the ATMs bank.
3. Foreign Exchange rate charged by your home bank.

Lets use a recent example where I had to get $300BZD in Belize:

1. My bank charged me $3.00CAD
2. The Belizean bank charged me $8.00BZD ($5.55CAD)
3. 3.34% markup on the exchange rate ($1BZD = $0.694318CAD) or $7.40CAD

Strategy

My home bank will always charge me $3.00CAD regardless of which ATM I use, nothing much we can do here.

Different foreign banks will charge me different rates for using my ATM card. This particular bank was the cheapest I could find at $8BZD. Another bank wanted to charge me $20BZD. It pays to shop around

My home bank (PC Financial) charges a 3.34% markup on foreign exchange, one of the worst in the country. I could use a different bank or just deal with it.

Conclusion

This transaction cost me $15.95CAD to withdraw $300BZD, or 7.39%. The best strategy here is to make one large withdrawal to maximize on the fixed costs (#1 and #2 above or $8.55CAD). The more money I take out in one transaction, the cheaper it will be.

Cash Advance (Credit Card)

Another popular option is to get a cash advance on your credit card. As always, there are a few gotchas:

1. Cash advance fee charged by your credit card
2. Foreign card fee charged by the ATMs bank.
3. Cash advance interest charged by your credit card.
4. Foreign exchange rate/markup from your credit card.

Lets use an example of me getting $2,000MXN from my credit card:

1. Visa charged me $5.00CAD for the cash advance (1.0% of the Cash Advance amount, minimum $5.00CAD)
2. The Mexican bank charged me $25.52MXN ($1.61CAD)
3. Interest for a month would be $2.13 (1.67% per month or 19.99% per year).
4. I have a no-fee foreign exchange card, so my exchange rate is the same as the market rate.

Strategy

The $5.00CAD minimum fee is a little steep, considering that it could have only cost me $1.27 at the 1% rate. In this case, it’s best to take out more than $500CAD equivalent.

Different foreign ATMs will charge different fees for using your card. This particular bank was the cheapest I could find in Mexico, so I went with it.

Cash advance interest is charged from the moment you take the money out, not at the end of the statement like purchases are. The order in which payments are applied differ between cards so make sure that cash advances are paid off first.

I will take a look at my credit card statement online and pay off the portion of the cash advance right away to minimize on the interest.

Using a Amazon.ca Visa means that I don’t have to pay any foreign exchange markup. This can save me over 3%.

Conclusion

This transaction cost me $6.61CAD – $8.74CAD (5.25% – 6.94%) depending on when I pay off the cash advance portion of my credit card. I could get more bang for my buck if I took out more than $500CAD worth of cash, to be charged the 1% fee instead of the $5.00CAD minimum.

Other Methods

If you already have a universal currency like US Dollars or Euros in your wallet, then using a black market or street money changer might work in your favour. I don’t like to carry around lots of cash in USD or EUR, so this doesn’t really apply to me here.

Make sure you have smaller notes though. A lot of places I went to would not accept the $100USD note. Don’t expect them to pay the market rate either, since they still need to make money.

Final Thoughts

Following these rules will get you the best rate:

• The least number of transactions, the better. Try to withdraw money once and make it as large a sum as possible. Avoid going back to the ATM multiple times.
• The fee that the foreign bank will charge you will be converted into your home currency at the same exchange rate of the amount being withdrawn. In my Belize example above I actually took out $308BZD not $300BZD, so the fee is also being marked up 3.34%.
• Try to find a card or bank that offers zero foreign exchange transaction fees. All banks in Canada charge a markup.

There is no way to avoid paying these fees, but with a little planning and research you can minimize them as much as possible. As always, I try to pay for everything on my credit card as its safe and gives me the best exchange rate.