ENTRIES FROM THE GLOBAL TRIP BLOG CHRONICLES
Sisters
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted November 22, 2007
DAY 1: Perhaps it is fitting that this latest trip — which by popular demand is titled, “The Central American Eviction Tour” — starts not in New York City (where I got evicted from my apartment), but in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for Ann Arbor is actually the sister city to the destination I would land in after eight hours of airline transit: Belize City, Belize. How or why these two cities are related I do not know, but according to the Sister Cities International website that informed me of their sibling status, Ann and Belize were paired together to learn from each other, in terms of development, economics, and politics — although really, I think the reason is because who else will tease Ann over her crush on that cute new boy city in school?
Thanksdiving
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted November 24, 2007
DAY 2: Thanksgiving is the time of year in late November, at least in America (and in October in Canada), where we get together with loved ones over a big meal and pretend that our forefathers didn’t wipe out an entire race of indigenous people. It is also a time when we are to give thanks for the things we have in life. This year, 2007, I am thankful for two things:
1) Not being eaten by sharks
2) Canadians
Last Night I Dreamt Of Some Bagel
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted November 25, 2007
DAY 3: For the longest time, perhaps thirteen years or so, I thought that the opening lyric to Madonna’s Spanish lullaby, “La Isla Bonita” was “Last night I dreamt of some bagel…” (as well as “I fell in love with some bagel…”) If you Google search that misheard opening phrase, you’ll see that I’m not the only one that grew up with the mondegreen. Of course, Madonna Ciccione was not dreaming of bagels (at least not in the song) for the actual lyric is, “Last night I dreamt of San Pedro.” San Pedro is actually a town on the Belizean island of Ambergis Caye, dubbed by the tourism authority as “La Isla Bonita” — I’m not sure which came first, that or the song.
Before the day was over, I’d go to San Pedro with visions of sugar plum bagels dancing in my head.
Are You As Wishful As A Sixth Grader?
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted November 26, 2007
DAY 4: The monsoon-like rains continued through the night and straight on ‘til morning, leaving everyone on the island with a feeling of uncertainty. By eight in the morning, the rain had cleared up for a bit — revealing a magnificent rainbow — only to start dumping again for an unforeseeable amount of time. The flooding rains put uncertainty in Camilla’s and my respective plans for tours that day: Camilla was planning to see the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha on the mainland, while I’d go tour the manatee reserve. So far, nothing was set in stone and confirmations of going out to see things were unclear, mostly due to the number of tourists being skeptical of the weather clearing up and staying that way.
Accentuate The Positive, Eliminate The Negative
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted November 29, 2007
DAY 5: “What is there to do here?” Camilla had asked Leon, the bartender at Lazy Lizards near the Split in Caye Caulker.
“Nothing,” the big bear of a bartender answered after giving it some thought. “Snorkel… This is the relaxation island.”
Camilla and I had heard similar answers from other travelers:
“There’s not much to do here but look for a snorkel tour or do nothing.”
“It’s nice, but I think you only need a couple of days here.”
With that said, Camilla and I packed up and hopped aboard the first water taxi back to the mainland.
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ABOUT ERIK R. TRINIDAD
When he’s not making a living as an interactive/motion designer or playing with fast food, Erik R. Trinidad is a travel writer, blogger, video host and producer focusing on adventure and culinary content. His work has been featured on National Geographic Intelligent Travel, Adventure.com, Discovery.com, Saveur, Condé Nast Traveler, and 
Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why, which also includes the work of Tim Cahill, Doug Lansky, Jennifer Leo and Rolf Potts. He has also referenced his travel experiences in his solo book, Fancy Fast Food: Ironic Recipes with No Bun Intended.
For over ten years, Erik has traveled to the seven continents of the world — from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo — with a curiosity for exotic foods and a thirst for adventure (and writing material). In his travels, he has been mugged at knifepoint in Cape Town, extorted by corrupt Russian police on the Trans-Siberian Railway, stranded in tornadic storms in the American midwest, and air-lifted off the Everest Trail by a helicopter that was thankfully paid for by his travel insurance. But it hasn’t been all fun; he has also donned a tuxedo amidst the penguins of Antarctica, paraded with Carnival-winning samba school Beija Flor in Rio, run for his life at Pamplona’s “Running of the Bulls,” cage-dived with great white sharks, gotten shot point-blank in the stomach in Colombia (while wearing a bulletproof jacket), and above all, encountered many people around the world, including some Peruvian musicians in Cuzco who learned and played “Y.M.C.A.” at his request. He loves the irony that, after everywhere he’s been, he has never been to Mexico.
Erik writes stories and news articles when he’s at his base camp in New York City, and continues his blog when he is on the road — provided he’s not occupied tracking down lost luggage.
Additional news/article clippings at ErikTrinidad.com.
See Erik talk about travel in an American Express ad:
Read about Erik in this feature article from Filipinas magazine by National Geographic Traveler Associate Editor Amy Alipio.