You can't visit Central America and not make at least some effort to see the monkeys. That's just wrong. Monkeys are way too cute to be missed.

Like Costa Rica, and other countries in this region, Belize is also trying to brand itself as an ecotourism destination.

The Community Baboon Sanctuary, a conservation project in which over 200 private landowners in Belize have voluntarily pledged to conserve their land for the protection of the Black Howler Monkey (called 'baboon' in the local Creole dialect) habitat, is well-worth the trip inland. It's only about an hour drive from Belize City.

But, there is a but.

Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes.
Before I begin talking about how cute the monkeys are, I am going to say this: I had never, ever before, seen so many mosquitoes before visiting the Community Baboon Sanctuary (CBS). Anywhere.

The closest I had ever come to this kind of mosquito infestation was in Venice. (Camping outside a city built on a swamp is not a good idea, note to self.)

Isn't this heaven? (Sorry if these photos find you in the middle of cubicle hell.)

I took these pictures last week in Caye Caulker, one of the northern islands off the coast of Belize. Most people opt to go to the bigger Ambergris Caye, which is a bit more family friendly, but also more expensive.

Caye Caulker is smaller (about 5 miles x 1 mile), cheaper and hence packed with backpackers. The last time I saw so many backpackers in one place was probably Yangshuo, China. These are the kinds of places where you literally see more backpackers than locals. Kind of defeats the point of adventure travel, doesn't it.

There are a few great things about Caye Caulker, though:

Greetings from Belize.

If you come to Belize, chances are you'll stay on one of the islands, not mainland. Not only is it easier to find nice beaches on the islands (cayes), but it is much closer to the Barrier Reef. And if you are visiting Belize, you simply must see the reef. Even if you don't dive, the ocean is shallow around here and the opportunities for snorkeling are plentiful.

If you're not sold on the idea of island vacation and decide to stay inland and spend time in the jungle instead, you should at least visit the islands for a day or two.

Flying tips
If you arrive in Belize by plane, you will most certainly land at Belize City International Airport. The most convenient way to get to the islands is to fly straight from here.

There are two local airlines that operate all those island-hopping routes: Maya Airlines (owned by Belizeans) and Tropic Air (owned by American expats living in Belize). I have flown both and I couldn't really tell the difference in quality or service between the two. Both use the same planes and operate efficiently. Tropic has more planes than Maya.

If you've ever wondered exactly how Jelly Belly jelly beans are made, you can do more than just watch candy being made through observation windows. The Jelly Belly Candy Company in Fairfield, California has opened its doors for exclusive tours called Jelly Belly University Tours. The tours are reservation only and cost a pretty penny.

For $47 you'll get to don a white coat, gloves and a hairnet for a personal tour through the actual factory. Reading about this reminded me a bit of Willy Wonka, except when you taste the good stuff and the experience won't turn you into a blueberry, shrink you to a tiny size, or have you taken away by squirrels.

The reason why the tour is so expensive is that it's exclusive. Only six people are taken through at a time so you'll have an up close and personal experience while surrounded by the sweetness.

If you don't want to pay this kind of cash, you can still take the company's free factory tour but it doesn't give you that personal touch. Here's the link to factory tour information.

For anyone who loves Jelly Belly jelly beans, the store would be a blast. All those flavors. My son, though, would need some coaching beforehand, or he would go totally nuts with the excitement of seeing such splendor.

The first mishap was when we nailed a possum in Illinois east of Chicago the first night of our road trip to Montana. The critter was lumbering across the interstate about 10:30 p.m. That was a sad moment.

Thursday, driving to and from Regent, North Dakota we had several sad moments. Honestly, there are some things that can't be avoided.

I already posted about the two pheasants we hit. The chipmunk and the blackbird came later.

We didn't hit them all at once, but over the course of several miles. Such is one of the realities of traveling on small two-lane highways--but this was ridiculous. Particularly when two raccoons made a mad dash in front of us as I was typing the previous sentence. The second one didn't make it.

With each thump, I'm shouting out from the passenger seat, a strangled "Arggh!" Seriously, it was a nightmare. "That's one way to damage a car," I said.

"It's not like I'm trying to hit them," said my husband. It's true, he wasn't, and swerving too much is dangerous. He pointed out the deep ditch on the side of the road.

Thursday afternoon we turned off of I-94 at exit 72 for Regent, North Dakota for a detour. Three years ago, we became so enamored with this stretch of two-lane road called "The Enchanted Highway" that we decided it was worth the forty or so miles out of our way for a return visit. Our goal was Billings, Montana by 10:30 p.m.

Every five miles or so along the 32 miles to Regent, there is a large scrap metal sculpture grouping. A tin family, schools of fish, grasshoppers, Teddy Roosevelt on a horse, and a pheasant family. They are the largest scrap metal sculptures in the world. They are superb.

Back in 1989, Gary Greff, a former teacher and high school principal, came up with the idea of this series of sculptures as a way to draw people to Regent. It's worked with us twice now. The first time I heard an interview with him on National Public Radio three years ago. As I listened to the interview, I thought heading through North Dakota to see the sculptures was a fine idea.

Although we head to Montana every summer, each year holds something different. Even if we travel on the same highway, we'll take in something new. This time, I found Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, North Dakota, a few miles from Bismarck.

This is a perfect place for brushing up on a history lesson and getting a sense of what life was like on the Great Plains back when the Mandan Indians and Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer lived here.

The Mandans lived between the deep ravine and the Missouri River from 1575-1781 prior to Lewis and Clark's arrival on the scene. Custer and his gang were later than that, but now, each part of history converges in the state run park.

Even though the fort was abandoned back in 1882, and the settlers took down many of the buildings for lumber, Custer's house, army barracks, a granary and the stable have been either refurbished or reconstructed. There are stone markers that show where the missing buildings used to be.

United just posted a secret sale to Buenos Aires, Argentina last night that has lasted well into today, slurpee day (7/11), from several corners from the country.

From departure points such as Los Angeles, Washington DC (Dulles), and New York City you can get to Buenos Aires LATER THIS MONTH for only about 600$ total. For high tourist season in the United States, that's a downright steal. So if you haven't got plans for the kids' summer vacation, now is the time to strike.

Check your local airport to see if there are similar deals or cheap connections to a target city.

And don't forget -- it's winter down in Argentina right now, so you might want to consider a trip over to the Andes for some skiing or maybe some time down in Patagonia watching some glaciers fight. You also might want to pick up a couple kilos of some of that delicious Mendozan wine and that Argentine steak while you're down there.

If you're worried about visas, American's don't need any pre-departure paperwork for immigration.

To book the ticket, use a flex search on Kayak over the next few weeks to find availability. You shouldn't have a problem finding seats for flights later this month.

Happy Trails!

John Lopinto is one of those savvy frequent fliers who always manages to yoink that last upgrade from you (he racks over 100,000+ miles each year). But he also happens to be a top flier guru who helps travelers make the airlines work for them through his award-winning site, ExpertFlyer.com, the #1 destination for frequent fliers. He's here to give some exclusive tips and insider info on getting the best deals on your next flight.

What Are the Most Effective Ways to Work the Upgrades Game?

The Holy Grail of air travel is flying in business or first class for the price of a cheap coach ticket. Short of "squatting" in a first class seat and hoping you won't get caught (you will, so don't try it), there are ways to use your frequent flier miles to score that seat in the front. If you are an "elite" status member in your favorite frequent flier program, you have a better chance than the average member, but if you are at the program's very highest elite level, you have more options and better odds at getting that upgrade that sometimes can be free.

For the rest of us, however, using miles to upgrade is usually the easiest and can be booked at the time of ticket purchase. They also offer a better value for the miles used compared to using miles to "purchase" a coach award ticket. But upgrade inventory is always limited so it is best to book as far in advance as possible and for mid-week travel if possible. But if you can't upgrade when purchasing your ticket, go on the wait-list. Most upgrades don't clear until days or hours before departure.

Got some free time over the next three weeks? Delta just launched a promo offering 9,999 miles for each rental with one of their auto partners Avis or Budget. Each qualifying rental gets you the miles, regardless of how long you keep the vehicle, as long as you book with Delta's Car Search tool. You have until the end of the month to rent and you need to sign up to become a SkyMiles member first.

Sure, you may not be traveling three times in the next month, but do you need to? If you can get three car rentals cheap enough, the time and money invested in getting a car at the airport for 24 hours can easily be less than a domestic ticket that you could book with miles.

Rental car fees vary wildly across geographical boundaries, but almost every airport in the country has either an Avis or a Budget rental car location. And many of those rural locations have plenty of inventory (at damn good prices) available for the rest of July.

Here in Detroit, a car rental over a weekend night on Budget is about 55$. Times three is 165$ for 29,997 miles or an award ticket. In Kalamazoo, a more rural airport near where my parents live, it's 24$. That's 72$ for a flight.

Sure, you have to factor in what you're going to DO with the car and what you're going to do with YOUR car while you have the rental. You could always just take it home or to a parking lot and park it. Or park it on the lawn of the rental company.

But it's not a bad way to rack up a few frequent flyer miles to use for future adventure on Delta Airlines.

What could you do with 25k miles or a domestic award ticket? You could fly from your freezing hometown in New Hampshire down to Phoenix next January to get some sun and play some golf while your coworkers freeze. You could fly to Colorado to get some kick ass skiing in next May. You could pay for your girlfriend to come visit you next time you're in San Diego on business.

Sound like a good use for your 74$ invested this month?