Beaches, Bug Spray, Boobies & Boats: Wrapping Up a Month in Central America

Well, after a month of island-hopping around Central America & South America, I’m finally home! From huts to hotel suites, this one was a real adventure. There were lots of picture-perfect beaches, volcanoes and animals and more boats than I care to remember. In fact, in most places (Roatan, Guatemala, Corn Islands, San Blas & Galapagos) small boats were the primary form of transportation. In the course of the month, I went through several bottles of bug spray and sunscreen and one tiny bottle of Dramamine (and I’m happy to report they all performed admirably).

I slept in boats, bungalows, one very questionable hut (see above) and, thankfully, even a hotel suite or two. I trained dolphins, hiked volcanoes, visited a village shaman, did my first scuba dive and first sailing trip, reached my highest altitude ever, played photographer for an indigenous island family, stood on the Equator and swam with sea turtles, sea lions & sharks.

The Galapagos were definitely a highlight for me and the San Blas islands turned out to be a jewel in the rough unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. I’m already missing the gentle people of Guatemala, the playful dolphins of Anthony’s Key Resort, our delightful sailing hosts Denny & Becky and the sound of waves crashing (& sometimes sea lions barking) outside my window. I met a lot of wonderful people over the past month and I was happy to be joined by my friend Shannon for the second half of the trip. She was a terrific travel-buddy as usual and here’s hoping there are far more hotel suites than huts in our travel future!

If you missed any of the posts along the way, here they are again in all their glory…enjoy!

Dolphins, Diving & Underwater Dating Dilemmas: All in a Day’s Work on Roatan

El Salvador: Exploring the Land of Volcanoes

Going Green with Glamour in Guatemala

From Pirates to Paradise: Nicaragua’s Corn Islands

Kokomo, Kuanidup & the Kuna Yala: The San Blas Islands, Panama

More than Just a Canal: Panama City, Panama

First Up in Ecuador…Guayaquil!

Land-Based Galapagos: Island Hopping in the Land of Darwin

Quito, Ecuador: Top of the World, Middle of the Earth

It’s been an incredible month in Central America and I can’t believe it’s already over! Sadly, it’s time for me to re-join the rest of the working world for the next few months. Football season looms and I’ll be kicking off my ESPN season with games at Syracuse and Ohio State. My TV crew will be working mostly in the Big 10 Conference this season on the ESPN2 noon game so tune in and join us each Saturday.

But, fear not, my time stateside never lasts for long and I have BIG things planned for Round the World #8 in January 2013. Until then…thanks for following along this summer and happy travels!