The end is coming. No, I'm not talking about the Mayan calendar, like in my previous post. I'm talking about something almost equally distressing: the end of bananas. At least, bananas as we know them.

In this Huffington Post article by Johann Hari, Why Bananas are a Parable For Our Times, he discusses the fungus Panama Disease, which is gradually devastating the world's banana crops. Inevitably, the fungus will make the Cavendish -- the proper name of the yellow, creamy bananas you've eaten all your life -- extinct within the next 10-30 years. According to the article, poor farming practices and corporate greed are the culprits, as they so often are. Another variety of banana will be cultivated into stardom, but the fruits won't taste like the ones we know and love.

I wonder what this will mean for Central America. Bananas are a massive export in most Central America countries -- for example, they account for nearly 30 percent of Honduras's export income. That's a sum the already-poor country can't afford to lose. Not to mention some of the region's best meals and snacks, like banana shakes, banana cake, and more.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- A 6.2 magnitude rocked most of Costa Rica Thursday, January 8th, leaving at least 34 dead and dozens more still missing, says CNN. The earthquake was the strongest to hit the Central America country in 150 years.

The earthquake's epicenter was about 20 miles north of San Jose, Costa Rica's capital, and was felt in Nicaragua as well as all over Costa Rica. According to Wikinews, Red Cross was forced to evacuate hundreds of people (many of them foreign tourists) at the La Paz waterfall near the Poas Volcano, due to fallen boulders. Most of those killed were trapped by landslides in that area. At least 2,000 aftershocks were felt in the areas near San Jose in the following day.

The Mayan Calendar ends in 2012. That's a fact. However, what that means is subject to intepretation. In the Mayan regions of Central America, the end of the Mayan Calendar has always been a common topic of conversation. Now that fascination has come to the United States, most prominently with the upcoming Roland Emmerich film, 2012. Watch the trailer.

My first thought: Hello, CGI!

The film 2012 definitely looks like a worst-case scenario. Fortunately, most people of Mayan heritage I've spoke to about the Mayan Calendar believe its culmination will signify the end of an era -- paradigm shift, not the end of the world. Which could mean anything at all.

Soon I'll be putting up more information not just on the 2012 film, but on the Mayan Calendar itself. Is there anything you'd like to read about? What do you think the end of the Mayan Calendar means?

In honor of the new year (is 2008 over already?) I'm highlighting my most popular destinations and articles featured throughout 2008. All are still pertinent. But as always, let me know if there is any Central America destination I should feature -- or visit!

• Costa Rica travel stole the show in 2008. Central America travelers love Costa Rica -- but most of all, they love Costa Rica Beaches. Other popular Costa Rica destinations include Jaco Beach and the Nicoya Peninsula.
• We all love to eat, and my culinary tour of Central America Food and Drink was a favorite with readers, especially my pieces on Honduras Food and Drink and Costa Rica Food and Drink.
• I'm happy readers took advantage of our new Central America Travel user paths, which you can visit through the above tabs: Where to Go, Plan Your Trip, and Maps and Photos.
• Surprise surprise -- my article on Nude Beaches in Central America was a hit in 2008.
• El Salvador is emerging as a popular Central America destination, judging by the popularity of these pieces on San Salvador, El Salvador Photos, and El Salvador Food and Drink.
• Lastly, I'd like to mention a selection of the particularly beautiful places I visited in 2008: Flores, Guatemala; Tobacco Caye, Belize; and Cayos Cochinos, Honduras.

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to a well-traveled 2008... and 2009.

Photo: Boy in a boat on Chachauate Caye, Honduras. Copyright Kirsten Hubbard, 2008.