Wowza I went on the boat for one week and eight weeks later ended up working six, having dengue for one and Hurrican Felix mucking up the other. All and all everything is fabulous now. Time really flies when you're on 24/7 for 6 weeks and you really learn a lot. Courtney and spent last week working together and now he is on with another new guy. I'm pretty sure we're testing the captain and the first mate's patience with the learning curve. Next week it is going to be all three newbies so I'll let you all know how that goes. A typical day on board is jumping in at 7:30 to tie up the boat then an 8:00 dive then deck duty, then serve lunch. Move and tie up again, deck duty, and dive for the afternoon. If you are the night diver you get eat dinner with the guests and typically you skip your afternoon dive. With taking pictures both topside and underwater, cleaning, and generally keeping the guests happy your day is full. Needless to say I sleep really well and I've only woken up once in the galley 'sleep eating' some bread and another instance in which I fell/ jumped out of my bunk during a nightmare. The chef, steward, and the 2 divemasters all stay in one cabin about the size of most people's bathrooms with our toilet and shower next door. It is literally impossible for us to all be standing in our cabin at the same time however we have just enough space for sleeping and storing our stuff. Fortunately the chef and steward are really friendly and we have been getting on really well. Diving has been incredible and we got to swim with dolphins, whalesharks and manta rays. Putting so much time in underwater you start seeing things that you never spotted before which is amazing for oneself and keeps guests happy. Week before last we had a underwater photography school on and I got to sit in on lessons that people were paying big bucks for which was a bonus. Soon I will Photopro all on my own and resposible for taking all the photos for the week.
Courtney is taking this week off from diving but working the deck wearing finger protection. He is hoping next week he will be in the water. He had an x ray this week and there is some nail growth which no one expected! Gotta run but hope to write more this week while I'm off. Hope all is well with everyone!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Utila - High and Dry
So we are both out of the water in Utila.
My hand is coming along well, it went out on it's first drunken night and didn't get hurt, a big bonus and due to a lack of funds at the moment, it won't be happening too much.
But Meagan, she, the poor gal, has had a bout of Dengue Fever. Doesn't that sound like fun?! A few people have had it, and luckily it seems to be a milder strain than the Colombian horror stories I'd heard about. You basically end up in bed for a week or more with a crazy fever and then get a bit cranky and itch for the last few days. So the poor girl has not been the best at all, but she is definitely on the mend.
Internet is down at our shop on the island as well so all those skype calls I promised will have to wait a little bit.
We really don't have too much news, all we've done is bum about and rest up. We did have to try and dodge hurricane felix. Utila was evacuated and then the hurricane just puffed itself out and was no problem at all. It actually looked like for a moment that the place we had evacuated to, where my doctor was, was going to be flooded worse than the islands as the hurricane changed directions, but never fear it all worked out okay.
well best be off, much love to all
My hand is coming along well, it went out on it's first drunken night and didn't get hurt, a big bonus and due to a lack of funds at the moment, it won't be happening too much.
But Meagan, she, the poor gal, has had a bout of Dengue Fever. Doesn't that sound like fun?! A few people have had it, and luckily it seems to be a milder strain than the Colombian horror stories I'd heard about. You basically end up in bed for a week or more with a crazy fever and then get a bit cranky and itch for the last few days. So the poor girl has not been the best at all, but she is definitely on the mend.
Internet is down at our shop on the island as well so all those skype calls I promised will have to wait a little bit.
We really don't have too much news, all we've done is bum about and rest up. We did have to try and dodge hurricane felix. Utila was evacuated and then the hurricane just puffed itself out and was no problem at all. It actually looked like for a moment that the place we had evacuated to, where my doctor was, was going to be flooded worse than the islands as the hurricane changed directions, but never fear it all worked out okay.
well best be off, much love to all
Sunday, September 2, 2007
no more hand modeling
So we're both back together (yeah!) in Utila and Meagan is on the Aggressor this week while I am on some extended shore leave; I blame meagan's laziness for not blogging in the last week. She just bummed about Utila town and as she is not able to read this blog for a week, or so, i'll get away with saying this.
All is great with our new job, i loved my time on the vessel and i know meagan will do as well.
The only major hitch we (actually, just I) have right now is that i smashed my fingers in a weather tight door after just a couple of days and am out of work for two months. Even the doctor said I did a good job of it.
So although i am typing one handed i will try to give a little story for those that want to know other wise it is pretty safe to say that i am lucky to still gave the ends of my middle and ring finger on my left hand.
Early in the morning i went up to the wheel house to talk to the captain, opened the big metal door, was knocked off balance by a little wave put my hands out to steady my self and then... bang! the door slammed shut on my fingers. So i found my fingers jammed in hinge side of a door that is designed to have nothing come through it in even the biggest of storms.
I'll take photos soon and put them up on the blog...or maybe not.
So we headed to the nearest hospital, about 90 minutes away, where they did nothing but scare me at the level of service and expertise. So my lovely boss had his plane fly out and pick me up, fly me to San Pedro Sula, have a friend pick me up and drive me to another hospital where his surgeon friend did a great job of piecing the ends of my fingers back together. I was very very very grateful for his help. It was the only time i got a bit teary, when Shara (a co-worker from the boat) was describing all that had been organised and was about to happen. I felt tears well up in gratitude and then they soon abated before leaving my eyes as the bills started to get written up.
After 5 days in hospital, surgery, a bunch of drugs and bandages; my hand is still bleeding a little bit but i have all my fingers. What is going to work and what it will all look like is a bit unknown, but it will depend on making sure that i don't get an infection and i stay still and relaxed. I thought about coming home.... and then realised that i'd probably just be more bummed about not being able to drink, hike, party and shave fisky, baz and wises eyebrows off.
So i'll be here for a bit, in and out of hospitals and reading and studying about fishes. Probably trying to improve my spanish as well.
I hope everyone is good, i don't have much to do over the next few weeks so if you have a skype account or a phone number send it to me and i'll be in touch, cheap internet phone calls, and bad movies will dominate my life for the next little while.
much love to all,
Courtney
PS - i won't be here when the hurricane (Felix) hits, and meagan will be safe with the boat, so don't worry too much... but still throw an odd pray in for the hurricane to lift and head north.
All is great with our new job, i loved my time on the vessel and i know meagan will do as well.
The only major hitch we (actually, just I) have right now is that i smashed my fingers in a weather tight door after just a couple of days and am out of work for two months. Even the doctor said I did a good job of it.
So although i am typing one handed i will try to give a little story for those that want to know other wise it is pretty safe to say that i am lucky to still gave the ends of my middle and ring finger on my left hand.
Early in the morning i went up to the wheel house to talk to the captain, opened the big metal door, was knocked off balance by a little wave put my hands out to steady my self and then... bang! the door slammed shut on my fingers. So i found my fingers jammed in hinge side of a door that is designed to have nothing come through it in even the biggest of storms.
I'll take photos soon and put them up on the blog...or maybe not.
So we headed to the nearest hospital, about 90 minutes away, where they did nothing but scare me at the level of service and expertise. So my lovely boss had his plane fly out and pick me up, fly me to San Pedro Sula, have a friend pick me up and drive me to another hospital where his surgeon friend did a great job of piecing the ends of my fingers back together. I was very very very grateful for his help. It was the only time i got a bit teary, when Shara (a co-worker from the boat) was describing all that had been organised and was about to happen. I felt tears well up in gratitude and then they soon abated before leaving my eyes as the bills started to get written up.
After 5 days in hospital, surgery, a bunch of drugs and bandages; my hand is still bleeding a little bit but i have all my fingers. What is going to work and what it will all look like is a bit unknown, but it will depend on making sure that i don't get an infection and i stay still and relaxed. I thought about coming home.... and then realised that i'd probably just be more bummed about not being able to drink, hike, party and shave fisky, baz and wises eyebrows off.
So i'll be here for a bit, in and out of hospitals and reading and studying about fishes. Probably trying to improve my spanish as well.
I hope everyone is good, i don't have much to do over the next few weeks so if you have a skype account or a phone number send it to me and i'll be in touch, cheap internet phone calls, and bad movies will dominate my life for the next little while.
much love to all,
Courtney
PS - i won't be here when the hurricane (Felix) hits, and meagan will be safe with the boat, so don't worry too much... but still throw an odd pray in for the hurricane to lift and head north.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Turtle Love
Well I thought I best write to you all with news of turtle love. Congratulations! You all have an adopted turtle to love. You don´t need to donate money, or anything really, but Meagan and I thought that buying everyone a turtle was far better idea that just some stupid fluro pink Panama singlet top. Although I know that some people maybe gutted that they won´t get the top. Kathy particularly.
So you´re turtles name is Ashima. It´s from the book The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri (I know I must have spelt her name wrong), a wonderful read and a talented author (her book of short stories, Interpreter of Meladies, is as equally brilliant). Now this name, Ashima, means something very cool in Bengali, but I can´t remember what. Someone read the book and get back to me can you.
The Turtle is a female Green Sea Turtle that was tagged in 2004. If you want to check out the work of the organisation doing great work here and in other areas of the caribbean, check out www.cccturtle.org, I have a certificate and everything!
The past few days have been long with travel and rich with experiences. Last night I saw a female green turtle laying eggs and then waddle and puff back to the ocean. It would have been even better if it weren´t for the 6 israeli´s that would not shut up. Be especially annoying as it was all in deep gutteral hebrew.
This turtle was huge, about the size of two Svenos. No joke. For those of you in Tasmania you´ll realise how big this is and as I´m sure sveno will never read this, I´m sure I´m safe in saying so. Honestly, it was massive. Even the young gal from california beside me at one stage said... "Like, Oh my god! That thing is totally huge. Is that its head up there? No way! It must be like at least 400 pounds." Unfortunately God/Nature/Allah had not endowed her with 400 brain cells (or looks to make up for it, before some of you ask).
Aside from having to hang out with twits, the nature side of things was awesome. I got to look in as the turtle layed the eggs, covered it´s little nest, then covered and disguised it´s 2 metre wide body hole, before hauling her worn out and completely non-terrestrial self back to the ocean. Then today and yesterday on the boat rides, plus the canoe tour at 6am this morning; I saw... Crocodiles, Caimans, Toucans, Herons, Iguanas, a River Otter (!!!!!), Spider Monkeys, Howler Monkeys and my favourite, the three-toed sloth. No doubt I have forgotten some creature but this is all I could remember and I just had to write and tell you all. Especially the poor souls in a Tassie (or Victorian) winter right now.
Well, quite obviously everthing is just fine and dandy with me. Heading back up to Honduras right now, it´s going to take a couple of days. I´m looking forward to work and getting in the water. Hope everyone is well, all my love and cuddles.
Cap´n Turtle Courtney.
So you´re turtles name is Ashima. It´s from the book The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri (I know I must have spelt her name wrong), a wonderful read and a talented author (her book of short stories, Interpreter of Meladies, is as equally brilliant). Now this name, Ashima, means something very cool in Bengali, but I can´t remember what. Someone read the book and get back to me can you.
The Turtle is a female Green Sea Turtle that was tagged in 2004. If you want to check out the work of the organisation doing great work here and in other areas of the caribbean, check out www.cccturtle.org, I have a certificate and everything!
The past few days have been long with travel and rich with experiences. Last night I saw a female green turtle laying eggs and then waddle and puff back to the ocean. It would have been even better if it weren´t for the 6 israeli´s that would not shut up. Be especially annoying as it was all in deep gutteral hebrew.
This turtle was huge, about the size of two Svenos. No joke. For those of you in Tasmania you´ll realise how big this is and as I´m sure sveno will never read this, I´m sure I´m safe in saying so. Honestly, it was massive. Even the young gal from california beside me at one stage said... "Like, Oh my god! That thing is totally huge. Is that its head up there? No way! It must be like at least 400 pounds." Unfortunately God/Nature/Allah had not endowed her with 400 brain cells (or looks to make up for it, before some of you ask).
Aside from having to hang out with twits, the nature side of things was awesome. I got to look in as the turtle layed the eggs, covered it´s little nest, then covered and disguised it´s 2 metre wide body hole, before hauling her worn out and completely non-terrestrial self back to the ocean. Then today and yesterday on the boat rides, plus the canoe tour at 6am this morning; I saw... Crocodiles, Caimans, Toucans, Herons, Iguanas, a River Otter (!!!!!), Spider Monkeys, Howler Monkeys and my favourite, the three-toed sloth. No doubt I have forgotten some creature but this is all I could remember and I just had to write and tell you all. Especially the poor souls in a Tassie (or Victorian) winter right now.
Well, quite obviously everthing is just fine and dandy with me. Heading back up to Honduras right now, it´s going to take a couple of days. I´m looking forward to work and getting in the water. Hope everyone is well, all my love and cuddles.
Cap´n Turtle Courtney.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
By myself
You know you are on the caribbean coat when they put coconut milk in the rice and beans. Well I'm in Costa Rica right now, traveling by myself. It's definitely a different feeling, but I was blessed enough to be traveling with a cool crew of people I met on the farm and we stuck together for about a week.
But first, the farm. It was hysterical at worst. Between making friends with the town drunks, milking cows with Ronald and hearing one of americas finest state that "I thought only the old school people spoke french in Canada" (there's actually a whole provence that tried for independence); i definitely laughed very very hard. a lot. deep laughs that were very very good for me. The farm was a great place and apparently i loved it so much i donated my trusty head lamp. bugger. But at least it is in a good place.
From the farm I set forth with Josh, Karissa y Francais. To the caribbean coast we went and a fun time we had. Free avocados dictated our diets, and whilst Francais tried to recruit people for his french separatist movement back in Quebec , the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful beaches and chilled out atmosphere. Puerto Viejo was great fun we rented bikes (francais crashed his, and nearly had the rest of us die in laughter) and snorkeled a beautiful beach in Manzanillo.
After a few days on the coast we headed to Bocas del Toro for a few more days of relaxation, whilst francais tried to grow his army. We had a great time there on little Basimentos. Great food and any tropical island with 50 cent beers gets my vote of approval. the coco bread, pan dulces and cheap lifestyle was a welcome retreat from Costa Ricas stupid high prices. Damn gringos. We also saw strawberry poison dart frogs!! Unfortunately we heard news of MASSIVE development projects attempting to get underway on Bastimentos right now and i fear this little paradise will soon look like the big isla, isla colon or any other stretch of Costa Rican beach front property... over run with horrible trashy homes. The beaches there were gorgeous, but maybe the frogs won't last much longer; in vain irony to just how splendid an environ they wallow in.
So now i'm back in the land of high prices and really looking forward to tomorrow. I'm heading up to Tortugero a national park where a bunch of turtles come to nest each year. I will be one of many whitey touristas but it been is something i've been looking forward to for a while. I know meagan will really miss this bit, so i won't talk about it too much.
I've laughed a lot over the past few days and life on the road has been fun, but only a week before i meet up with Meagan again... and that i am looking forward to a lot. It was great to travel with Josh, Karrisa and Fran; but new adventures await in Honduras. I can't believe the new job opportunity. Sorry Alpal, you're right I'll be swimming in bath water whilst you are trotting to work each morning in more clothing than i have with me.
hope everyone is well. If you get the chance, buy, borrow, steal or loan out a great book called "three cups of tea" by greg mortenson and some other author dude, a brilliant read and idea in todays tough world with the "war on terrorism".
But first, the farm. It was hysterical at worst. Between making friends with the town drunks, milking cows with Ronald and hearing one of americas finest state that "I thought only the old school people spoke french in Canada" (there's actually a whole provence that tried for independence); i definitely laughed very very hard. a lot. deep laughs that were very very good for me. The farm was a great place and apparently i loved it so much i donated my trusty head lamp. bugger. But at least it is in a good place.
From the farm I set forth with Josh, Karissa y Francais. To the caribbean coast we went and a fun time we had. Free avocados dictated our diets, and whilst Francais tried to recruit people for his french separatist movement back in Quebec , the rest of us enjoyed the beautiful beaches and chilled out atmosphere. Puerto Viejo was great fun we rented bikes (francais crashed his, and nearly had the rest of us die in laughter) and snorkeled a beautiful beach in Manzanillo.
After a few days on the coast we headed to Bocas del Toro for a few more days of relaxation, whilst francais tried to grow his army. We had a great time there on little Basimentos. Great food and any tropical island with 50 cent beers gets my vote of approval. the coco bread, pan dulces and cheap lifestyle was a welcome retreat from Costa Ricas stupid high prices. Damn gringos. We also saw strawberry poison dart frogs!! Unfortunately we heard news of MASSIVE development projects attempting to get underway on Bastimentos right now and i fear this little paradise will soon look like the big isla, isla colon or any other stretch of Costa Rican beach front property... over run with horrible trashy homes. The beaches there were gorgeous, but maybe the frogs won't last much longer; in vain irony to just how splendid an environ they wallow in.
So now i'm back in the land of high prices and really looking forward to tomorrow. I'm heading up to Tortugero a national park where a bunch of turtles come to nest each year. I will be one of many whitey touristas but it been is something i've been looking forward to for a while. I know meagan will really miss this bit, so i won't talk about it too much.
I've laughed a lot over the past few days and life on the road has been fun, but only a week before i meet up with Meagan again... and that i am looking forward to a lot. It was great to travel with Josh, Karrisa and Fran; but new adventures await in Honduras. I can't believe the new job opportunity. Sorry Alpal, you're right I'll be swimming in bath water whilst you are trotting to work each morning in more clothing than i have with me.
hope everyone is well. If you get the chance, buy, borrow, steal or loan out a great book called "three cups of tea" by greg mortenson and some other author dude, a brilliant read and idea in todays tough world with the "war on terrorism".
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Back home again in IN
Crazy, exciting, and unexpected opportunities have come our way. The dive shop that we did our divemaster and assistant instructor has offered jobs on their live aboard boat the Utila Agressor! It is still all just sinking in as we prepare to start on August 25th. We will have some amazing work schedules. Courtney being on the boat for 5 weeks and off for 3 and mine being more flexible but something similiar maybe 4 on 4 off. Besides getting to dive everyday in the Caribbean we are planning to travel in our breaks. At the moment I am feeling like one lucky lady because I also got the opportunity to come home before work and visit with my family. I got to meet Kylee my new cousin (who is absolutely adorable) and road trip with family from California and Texas. We drove from Indiana to Wisconsin and for those of you who don't know Midwestern US geography it is a good haul. Well worth the journey to watch cousin Justin play in the collegiate summer league.
For the time being I'm soaking up Midwest life... a little slower, more humid, and more consumer driven than I remember (I swear malls are starting to surround my home). Naturally I've been taking advantage of the family garden and cooking all sorts of fresh food with the novel ingredients you can only get in the developed world. All I have left to do is get ready to go back to Honduras on the 21st. Hope everyone's summer/winter has been treating them well and everyone is taking a little time for themselves. Keep us posted by leaving a message, much love to all!
For the time being I'm soaking up Midwest life... a little slower, more humid, and more consumer driven than I remember (I swear malls are starting to surround my home). Naturally I've been taking advantage of the family garden and cooking all sorts of fresh food with the novel ingredients you can only get in the developed world. All I have left to do is get ready to go back to Honduras on the 21st. Hope everyone's summer/winter has been treating them well and everyone is taking a little time for themselves. Keep us posted by leaving a message, much love to all!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Scorpions and Hospitals
Well, you know how we usually write and say that well not much has really happened bla bla bla, well after the last blog we were walking through a park and i was stung by a Scorpion. Some how it was on my jacket right near my chest/heart area and i didn't see it when i went to unzip it a little. Damn it hurt. A real intense throbbing, deep ache and then swelling so as i couldn't move my finger. Thankfully it was just my finger. It was a big bugger too and I had no idea what to do. We took off for the nearby pharmacy which gave us directions to a nearby clinic. There, we were in and out in under an hour and a half. In that time I was registered, seen by a doctor, given two jabs, one in the butt and one in the arm, and handed a bunch of drugs. They treated me with spanglish speaking doctors and pharmacists.
The worst thing about it all was that when i was told i was going to have to have the injections we went to the pharmacy and Thought that one of the two hot young pharmaists was going to have to jab my butt, but luckily there was a nice little older nurse, and my ego is still intact (I write as if it was ever in danger).
At the end of it all I asked the lovely lady doctor where do i pay and it was all for free! The Australian and most definitely the American medical systems could learn a huge thing or two about efficiency, service quality and cost. I'm thankful this happened in Costa Rica.
And i'm okay, the drugs made me all weird (or just weirder i guess) and then i went to sleep.
So yeah, not much has been happening, just cruising around, safe and well. Hope the rest of you are just as well. Take care everyone, love to all
Hensley, when the hair starts falling from my head and accumulating on my back and shoulders in the density of your own body, or when Cleo lists you as one of Australia´s hottest young professionals, then i´ll listen to your advice about vanity and hair styles.
Wescombe, I think the fact that you are still talking about goon bags and trying to do your phD means that maybe i shouldn't listen to you at all, ever. And as for manning up? Unfortunately I've hand to punch or shove a bunch of weird guys in Nicaragua either grabing at meagan or our pockets. Meagan tries to kick them but her legs are too short. So that's where the angry rugby player is. Like the brilliant first 3 minute foul against fisher in 2000, i can still go from focused to overly angry in under 2 seconds.
love you both
The worst thing about it all was that when i was told i was going to have to have the injections we went to the pharmacy and Thought that one of the two hot young pharmaists was going to have to jab my butt, but luckily there was a nice little older nurse, and my ego is still intact (I write as if it was ever in danger).
At the end of it all I asked the lovely lady doctor where do i pay and it was all for free! The Australian and most definitely the American medical systems could learn a huge thing or two about efficiency, service quality and cost. I'm thankful this happened in Costa Rica.
And i'm okay, the drugs made me all weird (or just weirder i guess) and then i went to sleep.
So yeah, not much has been happening, just cruising around, safe and well. Hope the rest of you are just as well. Take care everyone, love to all
Hensley, when the hair starts falling from my head and accumulating on my back and shoulders in the density of your own body, or when Cleo lists you as one of Australia´s hottest young professionals, then i´ll listen to your advice about vanity and hair styles.
Wescombe, I think the fact that you are still talking about goon bags and trying to do your phD means that maybe i shouldn't listen to you at all, ever. And as for manning up? Unfortunately I've hand to punch or shove a bunch of weird guys in Nicaragua either grabing at meagan or our pockets. Meagan tries to kick them but her legs are too short. So that's where the angry rugby player is. Like the brilliant first 3 minute foul against fisher in 2000, i can still go from focused to overly angry in under 2 seconds.
love you both
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
The story of chocolate
We have been helping out on a chocolate farm lately, i personally would volunteer for a beer farm first but apparently they don't grow on trees around here. As such it is the elusive yellow or orange cacao pod that we have been hunting and wielding machetes at. Yes, they let us hve machetes. I think they actually give them out as first birthday presents around here. Although the farm we are at is very young and the first time they harvested the cacao pods this year they only gave the machetes to the boys and the girls had to follow behind picking up the pods and then carrying them in little sacks. ha ha ha brilliant!
The family we are staying with is great, very... rural and sweet. One of the brother, cousin dudes maybe/should be in Gero's blast program but you can always learn more about cows and good wood. We eat some brilliant meals of beans and rice, rice and beans and Gallo Pinto (a Costa Rican Meal of beans and rice) but it's kind of like Jane Franklin or camp, enough chile sauce (thai sweet chilli or Tapito) will fix anything. And, here in the land of meat lovers and fried food (I think KFC is a health food) they have this awesome veggie sauce everywhere. it is really good with rice and beans or rice and bean soup, or even gallo pinto.
No real plans for when we may leave yet or anything else but we'll be sure to let you know when and if we make our minds up. The farm is very relaxing and I need to practice my spanish and learn the making of chocolate if i am going to continue to eat so much of it.
well sorry it is short and sweet but best be off, take care
The family we are staying with is great, very... rural and sweet. One of the brother, cousin dudes maybe/should be in Gero's blast program but you can always learn more about cows and good wood. We eat some brilliant meals of beans and rice, rice and beans and Gallo Pinto (a Costa Rican Meal of beans and rice) but it's kind of like Jane Franklin or camp, enough chile sauce (thai sweet chilli or Tapito) will fix anything. And, here in the land of meat lovers and fried food (I think KFC is a health food) they have this awesome veggie sauce everywhere. it is really good with rice and beans or rice and bean soup, or even gallo pinto.
No real plans for when we may leave yet or anything else but we'll be sure to let you know when and if we make our minds up. The farm is very relaxing and I need to practice my spanish and learn the making of chocolate if i am going to continue to eat so much of it.
well sorry it is short and sweet but best be off, take care
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
So we´re in Costa Rica!!!
Lot´s of stuff going on right now, especially as we head to the ends of our travels with just a month to go. We have two weeks planned volunteering on another farm, some diving, lots of hiking, some camping and probably some more bad chinese food. Last night they served the chop suey with wonder bread.
So the highlight since meagan last wrote was our week long stay at a little permaculture farm on Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua. It was awesome. We ate really well. They had so many goodies it´s tough to talk about them, but fresh wholewheat bread, woodfired pizzas, honey, homemade salsas, nutella, tahini and a bunch of sweet treats. The chocolate cake was awesome. Needless to say, my slim toned diving physique (if you believe this your drunk) from Utila has wasted away and whenever we finish wherever we finish i´ll be needing a new pair of running shoes and a bit of time with them.
The farm is very very very tranqilo and the locals in the area son muy amable. The place was great, except for the fact that all this humidity is making most of our stuff get a a nice layer of mold on it... mmmmmm yummy! that definitely blows but what are you going to do about it hey?
We´re really looking forward to getting to our next farm and seeing what we can learn and offer and also looking forward to doing some good hiking in a few of the beautiful parks.
well, i best be off, take care all and stay in touch!
Lot´s of stuff going on right now, especially as we head to the ends of our travels with just a month to go. We have two weeks planned volunteering on another farm, some diving, lots of hiking, some camping and probably some more bad chinese food. Last night they served the chop suey with wonder bread.
So the highlight since meagan last wrote was our week long stay at a little permaculture farm on Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua. It was awesome. We ate really well. They had so many goodies it´s tough to talk about them, but fresh wholewheat bread, woodfired pizzas, honey, homemade salsas, nutella, tahini and a bunch of sweet treats. The chocolate cake was awesome. Needless to say, my slim toned diving physique (if you believe this your drunk) from Utila has wasted away and whenever we finish wherever we finish i´ll be needing a new pair of running shoes and a bit of time with them.
The farm is very very very tranqilo and the locals in the area son muy amable. The place was great, except for the fact that all this humidity is making most of our stuff get a a nice layer of mold on it... mmmmmm yummy! that definitely blows but what are you going to do about it hey?
We´re really looking forward to getting to our next farm and seeing what we can learn and offer and also looking forward to doing some good hiking in a few of the beautiful parks.
well, i best be off, take care all and stay in touch!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Many Thanks!
Thank you all for the kind birthday wishes! It was a fabulous one to say the least. We spent 5 days on Little Corn Island on the Carribean side of Nicaragua. We went diving, lazed on the beach, and enjoyed some peace and quiet. The ocean sent a gift which will most likely make an appearance in the slideshow. A gold lined sea goddess which is a tiny nudibranch we have been looking for the entire time we have been diving in the carribean. I was also treated to a lovely Thai meal and a glass of wine. It just doesn´t get much better than that for a birthday. Since the last blog we have been to the cities of Granada and Leon and stayed in the tranquil Reserva Miraflor. We stayed with a family that is a member of a organic farming cooperative supporting tourism. We arrived in the mountains and were astonished by the splendid quiet. All you could hear were birds, insects, and cows. After baking in the big cities the cool fresh air was a relief. We drank fresh roasted organic coffee and milk straight from the udder. Our mom prepared vegetarian dishes with eggs from the chickens, homemade cheese, and vegetables and herbs from their amazing gardens. The extended family that worked the small farm had ducks, chickens, cows, a deer, horses, organic coffee, fruits (white peaches, bananas), and vegetables (broccoli, carrots, herbs, the works). After asking what they fed each of the animals we discovered that everyone ate tortillas. I could have stayed forever but hopefully we will find more of those luxuries along the way. For now we are on Isla de Ometepe heading for a farm to lend a hand check out the area.
Hope all is well with everyone and thanks again for all the happy birthday´s it really made my day!
Hope all is well with everyone and thanks again for all the happy birthday´s it really made my day!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
rainy rodeo = muddy meagan and courtney
So by a whim we came to San Juan del Sur and decided that tourists had taken over (this information was in the guidebook but I didn´t think it could be that bad). Luckily the rain broke and we decided to get the hell out of touristland and out to the rodeo. What a rodeo it was, Central American machismo at its best. Hoards of men, women and children crowding around a muddy arena. Literally people occupying every square inch of squishy space. Occasionally a man would try to ride a bull for a moment but otherwise it was all bout the cowboys lasso-ing (I have no idea how to spell that) the bulls and getting them back in their pen. The arena though was filled with drunken men in the middle and along the edges. I suppose this was safe enough considering the cowboys were there to protect them. Occasionally one would stumble across and dance amidst the cowboys which was an entertaining enough especially when for a lack of females they started dancing with each other. We were up close next to the bull pen and were splattered a few times and even saw the bull rider get a deep gash in his arm... lots of blood yikes! The best part of the evening is when 2 cowgirl clad men started hitting on Courtney. They weren´t messing around either these guys were serious beckoning me to get his attention. Of course Courtney was gracious and gave them some attention. Considering these guys were in a pretty unfriendly environment for cross dressing the attention was appreciated and we went on our muddy way.
Tomorrow Granada.... hopefully since we were meant to get there today
adios
Tomorrow Granada.... hopefully since we were meant to get there today
adios
Monday, June 18, 2007
Pupusaa 24/7
well i wrote this really cool blog with a bunch of funny things on it and then the power went out and it was lost. so now you all get this crummy blog instead.
Life has been very interesting to say the least, we{ve been rejected at a border, driven about by a crazy (funny) man, been bought treats on a bus by a lovely granny, ate pupusas at least once a day (i{d eat em more but meagan and fried food don{t work too well) and are now staying in a mansion for just $20 a night with a gorgeous view of a lake and amagnificent hammock that lie in a finish my book - shadow divers! It is the most expensive place we{ve stayed in so far though... ohhhhhh Costa Rica scares me.
So many of these stories need to be told in person so as not to scare our parents and to get the full effect. So i'll just write about one.. lets see Meagn farting... no, looks like it's the border fiascos instead.
So everything is hunky dory, we've only got a few days left on our 90 day visa for the CA 4 (Nica, Gaute, Hond, El Sal) and we're going to go to Immigration in San Salvador and buy another month. Good ol lonely planet says just $20, beauty.
We get to the borderof honduras and El Salvador and after a bunch of buses anbd taxi end up getting grilled. We try to laugh and joke and they say piss off. bugger, apparently something about our exit stamp from Guatemala, we're not meant to have one. Honduras don't give two hoots, no one is even on the border, but the El Salvadorians mean business, so we make a dash To Guatemala from El Salvador through Honduras to get another entry stamp and all will be cool. Besides meeting a bunch of cool people we end up in Guatemala, hitching in the back of a truck to find out after and hour of discussions with 3 different people (they all got mad at talking to stupid whiteys with no espanol) that the rules changed on the 5TH OF JUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and they don't use stamps anymore, it's just all one big computer system. Except honduras don't use computers and El Salvador are meant to but maybe they don't. I swore andthen while we were walking away a bunch of dogs, street dogs tried to bark and come at us. Usually meagan squeala a bit and then we throw rocks. Meagan yelled em down and then i chased them. Dogs can sense emotions it seems. I was so mad i wanted to really beat that german shepard thingy up.
That night we make it back into Honduras and sleep the night and the next day we try to pull a swifty and just sorted of rush over the border. We haven't done anything wrong! we get caught by the last border dudes and they (after more lengthy discussions and me citing the changing rules) finally let us in but strictly for 6 days only. Bugger, so huge change of plans, in just a few days we are catching an express bus to Costa Rica to get our passports stamped and then heading back up into Nicaragua for a few weeks before finishing off our time in Costa Rica.
But i can understand why the border patrol is so tight here in El Salvador. The place is AMAZING! and we won't even make it to the beautiful playas. The people are nothing short of wonderful, and the pupusas.... ohhh the pupusas.
We're both very well and having a great time, but i must get going and go drink some rum as the sun goes down. take care all
Special mention to owen for his achievements is attaining the highest comment blogger of anyone outside our families. Love you owen, not too much though.
Life has been very interesting to say the least, we{ve been rejected at a border, driven about by a crazy (funny) man, been bought treats on a bus by a lovely granny, ate pupusas at least once a day (i{d eat em more but meagan and fried food don{t work too well) and are now staying in a mansion for just $20 a night with a gorgeous view of a lake and amagnificent hammock that lie in a finish my book - shadow divers! It is the most expensive place we{ve stayed in so far though... ohhhhhh Costa Rica scares me.
So many of these stories need to be told in person so as not to scare our parents and to get the full effect. So i'll just write about one.. lets see Meagn farting... no, looks like it's the border fiascos instead.
So everything is hunky dory, we've only got a few days left on our 90 day visa for the CA 4 (Nica, Gaute, Hond, El Sal) and we're going to go to Immigration in San Salvador and buy another month. Good ol lonely planet says just $20, beauty.
We get to the borderof honduras and El Salvador and after a bunch of buses anbd taxi end up getting grilled. We try to laugh and joke and they say piss off. bugger, apparently something about our exit stamp from Guatemala, we're not meant to have one. Honduras don't give two hoots, no one is even on the border, but the El Salvadorians mean business, so we make a dash To Guatemala from El Salvador through Honduras to get another entry stamp and all will be cool. Besides meeting a bunch of cool people we end up in Guatemala, hitching in the back of a truck to find out after and hour of discussions with 3 different people (they all got mad at talking to stupid whiteys with no espanol) that the rules changed on the 5TH OF JUNE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and they don't use stamps anymore, it's just all one big computer system. Except honduras don't use computers and El Salvador are meant to but maybe they don't. I swore andthen while we were walking away a bunch of dogs, street dogs tried to bark and come at us. Usually meagan squeala a bit and then we throw rocks. Meagan yelled em down and then i chased them. Dogs can sense emotions it seems. I was so mad i wanted to really beat that german shepard thingy up.
That night we make it back into Honduras and sleep the night and the next day we try to pull a swifty and just sorted of rush over the border. We haven't done anything wrong! we get caught by the last border dudes and they (after more lengthy discussions and me citing the changing rules) finally let us in but strictly for 6 days only. Bugger, so huge change of plans, in just a few days we are catching an express bus to Costa Rica to get our passports stamped and then heading back up into Nicaragua for a few weeks before finishing off our time in Costa Rica.
But i can understand why the border patrol is so tight here in El Salvador. The place is AMAZING! and we won't even make it to the beautiful playas. The people are nothing short of wonderful, and the pupusas.... ohhh the pupusas.
We're both very well and having a great time, but i must get going and go drink some rum as the sun goes down. take care all
Special mention to owen for his achievements is attaining the highest comment blogger of anyone outside our families. Love you owen, not too much though.
Friday, June 15, 2007
We are still in Honduras but we are on the move. We are in the western highlands in the quaint town of Gracias enjoying the cool mountain air and friendly people... the type that walk you personally to what you´re looking for. We passed through El Naranjo and stayed at a brewery, I know a b-r-e-w-e-r-y. I didn´t believe it until i saw it. We had porter, pale ale, apricot ale, homemade rootbeer (just like rootbeer stand when i was a kid) and we were in heaven. Of course being gringos we headed for the local waterfall, to find we were the only gringos there. Basically we had 43m of unleashed fury to ourselves and our guide of course. He took us behind the curtain and you can imagine water falling 43 m has some bite to a cave and then to some nice cliff jumping. All in all it was a good time however typically tourista we were being. Today we took a walk to some hot springs and tomorrow I have no idea and I´m happy about that.
Before leaving Utila we had some fun nights out including Courtney´s birthday. We had a great time for his birthday starting on June 8th going well into the 9th . The next day everyone was so wiped that after a big dinner out food coma hit hard and we were home by 11:00. It was really wonderful to celebrate with people we had befriended over the last two months.
Speaking of friends hope everyone is doing well and let us know how you all are doing. Leave us some comments about whats going on if you have some time!
Before leaving Utila we had some fun nights out including Courtney´s birthday. We had a great time for his birthday starting on June 8th going well into the 9th . The next day everyone was so wiped that after a big dinner out food coma hit hard and we were home by 11:00. It was really wonderful to celebrate with people we had befriended over the last two months.
Speaking of friends hope everyone is doing well and let us know how you all are doing. Leave us some comments about whats going on if you have some time!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
PILOT WHALES
We were blessed by the seas and snorkeled with a pod of pilot whales a day or two ago (they are starting to blur together). They move quick but these magnificent animals are even more beautiful underwater if you can keep up. I saw 3 pairs mothers with calves and one on its own. They are rarely spotted around Utila and it is especially unheard of to swim with them. After a bit of research I learned that short-finned pilot whales frequent warmer waters and they are a member of the dolphin family. They are believed to equal the intelligence of a bottlenose dolphin and are second in size within the dolphin family only to killer whales. Pilot whales are very social, and are most often found in groups of 20 to 90. Within these groups are at least some stable associations, usually between related females and their offspring. There are usually some males in these groups, but genetic evidence has shown that these males are not the fathers of the calves in the group. Several calves in one group may be fathered by the same male, indicating that a male can enter a group for a brief period and mate with more than one female. OK I hope that wasn't too much information but it explains why we saw so many mothers and calves.
We have been getting into fun diving again because... WE FINISHED OUR INSTRUCTORS! Whew we both passed without any problems and we're looking for students. I know Courtney's mum will be at the top of the list and I'll have to get my sister to do her advanced diver. Anyone else interested we would love to get some certifications under our belts. Next PADI step is the Master Scuba Diver Trainer and we will need 25 certifications. For the time being we are diving, diving, diving and enjoying not having obligations like reading PADI manuals. Thanks for the comments, its always good to hear from people keep 'em coming.
Kylee Williamson I hope I get to meet you very soon!
Owen back at CELP! I bet that was fabulous reunion:)
Mom I did get the fax and thank you again! you're the best
We have been getting into fun diving again because... WE FINISHED OUR INSTRUCTORS! Whew we both passed without any problems and we're looking for students. I know Courtney's mum will be at the top of the list and I'll have to get my sister to do her advanced diver. Anyone else interested we would love to get some certifications under our belts. Next PADI step is the Master Scuba Diver Trainer and we will need 25 certifications. For the time being we are diving, diving, diving and enjoying not having obligations like reading PADI manuals. Thanks for the comments, its always good to hear from people keep 'em coming.
Kylee Williamson I hope I get to meet you very soon!
Owen back at CELP! I bet that was fabulous reunion:)
Mom I did get the fax and thank you again! you're the best
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Back in action....
Whew its been a whirlwind here on Utila like Courtney mentioned we are being PADI-ifed and we are now nearly halfway done with our Istructor Development Course. The first day they asked why do you want to be an instructor and I have honestly not figured it out yet. Hopefully by the time we are finished I will know. It would be a fun way to make money (enough to survive hopefully) and always live near an ocean. The shop we have been with has some of the most lovely people many from the UK and Courtney's accent has picked back up again, not quite Australian more British but nonetheless not American which he would get a hard time for back home. Marine life updates include swimming with spinner dolphins out in the blue, a golden spotted eel, and, a lettuce sea slug, and two mysterious head shield slugs (nudibranchs)!!!! We have no plans past studying and hopefully passing the Instuctor Exam. We will keep you all updated but for now we are happy healthy and focused on diving. Please let us know how you all are!
CONGRATULATIONS AUNT PENNY!!!!! I was thrilled to hear my aunt Penny brought a beautiful, healthy little girl into the world on Mother's Day!
CONGRATULATIONS AUNT PENNY!!!!! I was thrilled to hear my aunt Penny brought a beautiful, healthy little girl into the world on Mother's Day!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
PADI Slammed
We're still on Utila.
We've been PADI Slammed. It's what we like to call it when you just keep on going through the PADI system and doing more and more courses (paying more and more). So now, we have done Rescue, Dive Masters (the original Plan) our night and Nitrox specialities, have enrolled in the deep and wreck specialitiesour Assistant instructors course and drum roll please.... are currently 2 days into the week long IDC (instructor development course) soon we will then take the 2 day exam to try and be instructors. Holy Shit. Sorry parents, but i never thought we would end up at this stage. Considering the fact that Mastercard doesn't work in the ATM here it's lucky that i had some cash in the bank. I've had to pay for all the courses and living here for the nearly two months now... i feel pretty poor, but it's nice to know that meagan will have to pay for the rest of the trip... and then some.
Other than that, we haven't been up to much, had our snorkel test the other night and we were both pretty drunk. When you finish your DM the Shop buys you a horrible concoction of shots and you have to drink it through a snorkel. It was fun though, I'll put the photos up soon on the blog.
Well not much else to say right now, will right more when (if) we pass this instructor exam.
take care all
We've been PADI Slammed. It's what we like to call it when you just keep on going through the PADI system and doing more and more courses (paying more and more). So now, we have done Rescue, Dive Masters (the original Plan) our night and Nitrox specialities, have enrolled in the deep and wreck specialitiesour Assistant instructors course and drum roll please.... are currently 2 days into the week long IDC (instructor development course) soon we will then take the 2 day exam to try and be instructors. Holy Shit. Sorry parents, but i never thought we would end up at this stage. Considering the fact that Mastercard doesn't work in the ATM here it's lucky that i had some cash in the bank. I've had to pay for all the courses and living here for the nearly two months now... i feel pretty poor, but it's nice to know that meagan will have to pay for the rest of the trip... and then some.
Other than that, we haven't been up to much, had our snorkel test the other night and we were both pretty drunk. When you finish your DM the Shop buys you a horrible concoction of shots and you have to drink it through a snorkel. It was fun though, I'll put the photos up soon on the blog.
Well not much else to say right now, will right more when (if) we pass this instructor exam.
take care all
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Utila, Honduras
We're sorry.
we've been pretty slack lately, but it is a combination of lots of study to do for this Dive Masters course and the fact that the internet here is sporadic at best and then hounded and hogged by many and all when i t is working. So i'm putting my foot down and abusing all my privledges to stay on the computer and write and i cop some crap from a few people around me here.
So we are on Utila, and have just nearly finished our DM course and about to start our Asst Instructor course. We are planning on leaving in about 10 days, but we truely are the slowest travellers that central america has seen in quite a while.
So much has happened since we wrote last, but onw of the most stand out events has to be the aquatic life we have been seeing. In fact, between the turtles, the eels and the crazy fish that inhabit these tropical waters it's hard to think of something more special that the next, but undoubtably the WHALE SHARKS have rocked my world. We have a lot of sad chaotic style stories about people harrassing the sharks to see them or touch them, but the one day we got a good "jump" on a big one it was incredible. The fish was about 35' long and just magestic. I remember taking a few photos and then just ditch my camera by my side as we snorkelled and free dove beside this gorgeous and huge creature. So very inspiring and awesome.
Apart from the diving not much else has happened, we helped out in a beach cleanup for earth day and have been having some large nights in between. Yesterday we finished our "stress test". We had to change mask, fins & BCD whilst breathing from just one regulator. During this our tanks are being turned off and on again, swapping our air source, our masked are being removed and flooded, sand kicked up in our faces and all other sorts of stuff going down. But we did it, the first time we tried. Meagan was brilliant and showed her better underwater skills, helping me out, but we got through it and that was that.
well not much else to report except that we will try and write more often and keep you all up to date with what's going on.
Hope you are all well, take care
Courtney
we've been pretty slack lately, but it is a combination of lots of study to do for this Dive Masters course and the fact that the internet here is sporadic at best and then hounded and hogged by many and all when i t is working. So i'm putting my foot down and abusing all my privledges to stay on the computer and write and i cop some crap from a few people around me here.
So we are on Utila, and have just nearly finished our DM course and about to start our Asst Instructor course. We are planning on leaving in about 10 days, but we truely are the slowest travellers that central america has seen in quite a while.
So much has happened since we wrote last, but onw of the most stand out events has to be the aquatic life we have been seeing. In fact, between the turtles, the eels and the crazy fish that inhabit these tropical waters it's hard to think of something more special that the next, but undoubtably the WHALE SHARKS have rocked my world. We have a lot of sad chaotic style stories about people harrassing the sharks to see them or touch them, but the one day we got a good "jump" on a big one it was incredible. The fish was about 35' long and just magestic. I remember taking a few photos and then just ditch my camera by my side as we snorkelled and free dove beside this gorgeous and huge creature. So very inspiring and awesome.
Apart from the diving not much else has happened, we helped out in a beach cleanup for earth day and have been having some large nights in between. Yesterday we finished our "stress test". We had to change mask, fins & BCD whilst breathing from just one regulator. During this our tanks are being turned off and on again, swapping our air source, our masked are being removed and flooded, sand kicked up in our faces and all other sorts of stuff going down. But we did it, the first time we tried. Meagan was brilliant and showed her better underwater skills, helping me out, but we got through it and that was that.
well not much else to report except that we will try and write more often and keep you all up to date with what's going on.
Hope you are all well, take care
Courtney
Monday, March 26, 2007
There is a reason Belize is sooo popular
We were skeptical of Belize before going but had a fantastic two weeks. We started out in the Garifuna- Chinese community of Dangriga where Courtney scared me high fevers and sweats. He quickly recovered and in 24 hours we found ourselves at a private campsite overlooking the Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary with a short walk down to pristine waterfalls fit for drinking. After a two days of hiking, floating on the river, and swimming in the waterfall we went for a day at Gayles Point. This tiny Garifuna community is sprawled out along a very narrow pennisula in a huge lagoon. The lagoon is a favorite breeding and hang out spot for the manatees. Our guides were quite literally the Grumpy Old Men of Belize. They were sweet old guys but had clearly been working together for a long time and loved to bicker. "Sticka da pole tha" the boat driver is demanding of the owner and he ignores him and waits until it is too deep and the driver gets frustrated and they go back and forth for awhile.They were really comical guys when I could make out what they were saying. In the end we saw 6 manatees, hung out in the magroves and took a dip in the ocean, which we hadn´t been in months (it was a relief to get wet). We spent a few hours with a rad drum teacher who called us over and chatted with us about life in Gayles point, drum making, drumming, coconuts, and even played for us. Really one of the nicest guys I have ever encountered. Back in Dangriga we stocked up on groceries and set out for Glover´s Reef Atoll. It was seven days of bliss. We had a secluded campsite on the backside of the coconut palm covered island that you could walk around in 2o minutes. The snorkeling just off of our site was incredible! Our first time in we saw a spotted eagle ray, two nurse sharks, and a plethera of fish and coral. All of this is in less than 3 m of water. One late afternoon snorkel we encountered and were checked out by a shark that made our hearts pound. It was either a bull shark or a black tip that measured well over 9 ft. and had some girth. I´ll never forget how fat that thing looked especially in about 10 feet of water and it was headed for shore! He slowed checked us out, I screamed, Courtney followed, the shark turned toward us, Courtney stopped following and then the shark continued on his way. Definitely a thriller and so were our dives. On three dives I saw some of the healthiest coral and sponges I have ever seen... so vibrant and diverse. Some of the highlights were an ooooold loggerhead turtle (a magestic slow swimmer with a thick neck and huge head and a barnacle encrusted shell) and a pod of dolphins in the distance. We were surrounded by some lovely people that were so generous and gave us their excess fish and even taught how to clean and prepare a conch...mmm coconut conch was incredible. Speaking of coconuts they were abundant and the only thing for free in all of Belize. We took full advantage and Courtney husked and cracked probably 50 coconuts and saved us a bundle on buying water. Overall Belize was far from a bust but we were happy to spend 2 days back in Guatemala on the Rio Dulce before arriving here in Honduras. Next stop is Utila to take the Rescue Diver course. Hope everyone is well and please keep us updated on what you all are up to.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
C: So we ended up going to El Mirador and dragged scotty boy along with us. He agreed that the food on the trip couldn`t be have as bad as in flores so so we all took off with what was meant to be no more than 7 people. That`s what the tour guy said...
M: Ok so nine hikers, 3 guides, 5 mules, and a lot of ticks made the glorious five-day journey north. In the end we traveled well over 120 km, trekking through jungle and lots of mud. Fortunately it has been ¨drying out¨ and we didn´t have to wear gum boots. We began in the tiny village of Carmelita a chiclero settlement of 368 people which was founded on camping out in the woods collecting chicle by slashing a particular tree with a machete and and collecting the white gummy substance for chewing gum. Now they receive 5Q or about 75 cents for a pound which is primarily sent to Asia to make cosas (things). All of this was directly from our endearing guide Alex....
C: it`s good to see meagan talking in kilometres. it was a great trip. the hiking was tough and I have a lots of bad stories about our tour organiser but a lot of it is my own fault and he is just a shadey guy. But the trip was worth it and i definitely enjoyed my time there. Our guides were great people and amazingly hard workers. My favourite part by far was this tunnel that we got to go in. I can`t publish the photos as part of our being allowed to go into the tunnel, but they are digging away at a tunnel to find the old layer of different temples that were built upon each other over many centuries. It was awesome! A huge Jaguar Head and paws were carved and painted and sitting right there! it was awesome. I also loved the sunset over the past few days and then today we just got back from a great trip to Tikal. I really enjoyed seeing the amazing amount of work they have done there and trying to understand the enormity and massive scale of these Mayan cities.
M: Enormous doesn´t even begin to describe some of these temples. Dante at El Mirador soars above the canopy with a height of 71m and we climbed right to the top aided by a rope. You can´t do shit like that at Tikal. My favorite part of the trek was spending 5 whole days in the jungle away from civilization yet surrounded by the remains of some very prosperous civilizations. Howler monkies were everywhere and climbing a temple meant getting to be right at their level. Courtney and I witnessed a whole family moving and playing completely aware of us but still tending to their young and not moving away either... magical.
C:We got a lot of ticks on us hiking and we had to hike with our heads down looking at mud most of the way, plus scotty got a bunch of blisters - really bad ones. Poor guy. But it has been great hanging out with him and he`ll be missed, maybe we can get him to hang out in the bay islands... if we ever make it there.
tomorrow we are heading to belize to explore about the most expensive country in Central america - damn english speaking countries! But our penny pinching ways will only keep us there for about 2 weeks until we head back in guatemala for a few days and finally on to honduras. Hope everyone is well and hope to hear from you all soon
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Hotter than.....
well its hotter than a lot of places. For instance the water off of Catalina island. Way to go CELP crew on your lifeguarding checks! Hope you all are having a wonderful training and I wish you the best of luck. To Travis or someone that will talk to Travis, we wish you a feliz cumpleaños!
Seriously the heat here in Flores is incredible but nothing we can´t handle mentally but physically my body has revolted and I have a solid heat rash. Don´t worry mom nothing serious and I will be just fine. While we are waiting for Scotty we have spent some time for ourselves relaxing, shopping in the market and cooking some amazing meals and swimming in the lake. We are pondering whether to do a 5 day trek to the unrestored Mayan site of El Mirador. More news on that it happens.
Seriously the heat here in Flores is incredible but nothing we can´t handle mentally but physically my body has revolted and I have a solid heat rash. Don´t worry mom nothing serious and I will be just fine. While we are waiting for Scotty we have spent some time for ourselves relaxing, shopping in the market and cooking some amazing meals and swimming in the lake. We are pondering whether to do a 5 day trek to the unrestored Mayan site of El Mirador. More news on that it happens.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
In the jungle
Well were in Peten now and so much has happened over the last few days, it´s been a long journey to where we are. After we ate a bunch of fatty fair food in Xela and lounged in the gorgeous thermal pools, we heading north past Huehuetenango to Todos Santos, which was awesome. I was a bit sick, but it was a cool spot. People here were very poor and yet very friendly and the kids just wanted to play. I played a lot of marbles and we meet a lot of little kids that wanted to practice their spanish with us. For the majority of kids in this town schooling stops after grade 6. in fact there is no high school about at all and people have to go to a different town for any more education, which just doesn´t really happen.
All the girls is this town leave to weave and start at about age 10. If they don´t learn to weave how can they become good mothers and wives, because they cant make clothes for their families?! Don´t worry about algebra, but these women really can weave and make amazing clothes. the mean mostly wear the traditional clothes as well and it is a great site to see. the town was great and we bought a few little pieces of fabric to remember the place by. I wasn´t feeling the best so i left meagan to make the decisions and it took her nearly 4 hours. I know her family out there can understand.
After Todos Santos we cruised through amazing scenery in no less than 5 different vehicles over about 12 hours to reach Coban. Coban sucks. it´s weird and it sucks. But we headed to the great tourist destination of Semuc Champey and it was amazing. We stayed close to the park and got up early to have the park to ourselves and about 2 others for a couple of hours before the masses arrived. It was awesome. I loved it.
Semuc Champey is a huge limestone bridge formed into swimming pools as a fast flowing river is subducted below the bridge leaving a smaller amout of water to trickle through the pools and provide people with an awesome place to swim. You really do feel like a big kid just swimming and diving and climbing from pool to pool and lounging and letting fish nibble on your toes before trying to dive about and catch some bigger ones. I LOVED this place it was awesome. The whole time i couldnt stop thinking about how many of ýou out there wold be loving this as well.
Today we are going to head over to San Andres (we´re staying in Flores) to see the place meagan lived last year as we wait and hang out for the arrival of.... Cap´n Scotty Boy Cincotta himself! He´s left his boat and been traveling in our wake for a while in Guatemala and we wanna catch up so hopefully we´ll see him soon.
Well i hope everyone is well, we´ll be traveling to tikal soon and be sure to make a sacrifice for my sisters and travis´s birthday. We´ll make a sacrifice to the God of the 30 yr olds for you travis and hope we don´t need a goat or something. Bub´s I´ll try and see if i can get a beer or two for you on me at knoppies, that´s a lot better than turning 30. ONLY joking travis, i´m not that far away.
Take care all
All the girls is this town leave to weave and start at about age 10. If they don´t learn to weave how can they become good mothers and wives, because they cant make clothes for their families?! Don´t worry about algebra, but these women really can weave and make amazing clothes. the mean mostly wear the traditional clothes as well and it is a great site to see. the town was great and we bought a few little pieces of fabric to remember the place by. I wasn´t feeling the best so i left meagan to make the decisions and it took her nearly 4 hours. I know her family out there can understand.
After Todos Santos we cruised through amazing scenery in no less than 5 different vehicles over about 12 hours to reach Coban. Coban sucks. it´s weird and it sucks. But we headed to the great tourist destination of Semuc Champey and it was amazing. We stayed close to the park and got up early to have the park to ourselves and about 2 others for a couple of hours before the masses arrived. It was awesome. I loved it.
Semuc Champey is a huge limestone bridge formed into swimming pools as a fast flowing river is subducted below the bridge leaving a smaller amout of water to trickle through the pools and provide people with an awesome place to swim. You really do feel like a big kid just swimming and diving and climbing from pool to pool and lounging and letting fish nibble on your toes before trying to dive about and catch some bigger ones. I LOVED this place it was awesome. The whole time i couldnt stop thinking about how many of ýou out there wold be loving this as well.
Today we are going to head over to San Andres (we´re staying in Flores) to see the place meagan lived last year as we wait and hang out for the arrival of.... Cap´n Scotty Boy Cincotta himself! He´s left his boat and been traveling in our wake for a while in Guatemala and we wanna catch up so hopefully we´ll see him soon.
Well i hope everyone is well, we´ll be traveling to tikal soon and be sure to make a sacrifice for my sisters and travis´s birthday. We´ll make a sacrifice to the God of the 30 yr olds for you travis and hope we don´t need a goat or something. Bub´s I´ll try and see if i can get a beer or two for you on me at knoppies, that´s a lot better than turning 30. ONLY joking travis, i´m not that far away.
Take care all
Monday, February 19, 2007
Xela- the big city
M: Arriving here was just as I remember which actually helped. We made it to the town center and found a brand new hotel. Today we went to Zunil and Fuentes Georginas pictures are coming soon but we are having trouble with USB ports. It was market day in Zunil and the women were decked out. Most of the vendors were women and their children as well were in impressive dress. Intricate hupils, cortes, and headress... I couldn´t keep my eyes off of them.
C: so we went and bought a hupil that we will now be lugging around for 6 months but it is pretty cool. the women really did look awesome.
Here in xela, there seems to be some sort of fairia on with all the usual bad rides and food of fairs or shows in the western world, but guatemalan style. The ferris wheel was hand operated and the food is everything from churros to typical guatemalan fare and we will be indulging again tonight. They is also this really weird, but cool, custom here were people break egg shells filled with confetti stuff on your head. It only happens near the end of February. So we bought some and some little kids smashed them on my head.
M: The hot springs of Fuentes Georginas are surrounded by lush temperate forest and the pool was quiet and relaxing. Wendy knows what I´m talkin´about. We spent the day reading and bathing in the hot hot hot mineral water. The man who promised to pick us up from the spot atop a winding 8 km road surrounded by patchwork fields was late so we started walking. Luckily for us we came a across another pick up who took us back down for half price. That man´s karma just skyrocketed. Tomorrow we are planning on heading north away from the cities on our 150 km 3 day bus trip across the highlands... the road less traveled. First stop we hope is Todos Santos Cuchumante and then 3 other towns until we pick back up in Coban on the more popular road. We are looking forward to the adventure and we will give an update when we reach the city. Cuidate mucho y hasta pronto.
C: so we went and bought a hupil that we will now be lugging around for 6 months but it is pretty cool. the women really did look awesome.
Here in xela, there seems to be some sort of fairia on with all the usual bad rides and food of fairs or shows in the western world, but guatemalan style. The ferris wheel was hand operated and the food is everything from churros to typical guatemalan fare and we will be indulging again tonight. They is also this really weird, but cool, custom here were people break egg shells filled with confetti stuff on your head. It only happens near the end of February. So we bought some and some little kids smashed them on my head.
M: The hot springs of Fuentes Georginas are surrounded by lush temperate forest and the pool was quiet and relaxing. Wendy knows what I´m talkin´about. We spent the day reading and bathing in the hot hot hot mineral water. The man who promised to pick us up from the spot atop a winding 8 km road surrounded by patchwork fields was late so we started walking. Luckily for us we came a across another pick up who took us back down for half price. That man´s karma just skyrocketed. Tomorrow we are planning on heading north away from the cities on our 150 km 3 day bus trip across the highlands... the road less traveled. First stop we hope is Todos Santos Cuchumante and then 3 other towns until we pick back up in Coban on the more popular road. We are looking forward to the adventure and we will give an update when we reach the city. Cuidate mucho y hasta pronto.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Solo Espanol
Nosotros hemos estado aqui en San Pedro por casi un mes. Voy a estar un poco triste porque hay muchas personas buenas aqui. La escuela de espanol ha sido excelente. Yo he aprendido mucho, pero tengo que aprender mas. Necesito practicar con muchas personas y quiero tomar mas clases de espanol.
Los ultimos dias han sido grandiosos, Meagan y yo subimos el volcan San Pedro con otros estudiantes y algunas maestros. La vista para amanecer fue increible. En la noche hubo una pequena fiesta. Muchos rones baratos y hombres con machetes. Sin duda es un punto culminante del viaje hasta el momento.
Adios todos,
Courtney
Los ultimos dias han sido grandiosos, Meagan y yo subimos el volcan San Pedro con otros estudiantes y algunas maestros. La vista para amanecer fue increible. En la noche hubo una pequena fiesta. Muchos rones baratos y hombres con machetes. Sin duda es un punto culminante del viaje hasta el momento.
Adios todos,
Courtney
Friday, February 9, 2007
Unbelievable Guatemalans
C: Todas los dias yo digo "Mira a que hombre!, Mira a que chica!"
and everyone laughs because i can{t speak spanish properly (or escribe it for that matter). but i have to try to speak more, the whole writing thing is hard but i am practicing that lots, i have at least 3 hours of home work every day on top of my 4-5 hours of study. I{m super impressed with meagan though, she seems to be able to get us out of any problem and can usually help me with whatever word or verb i don{t know.
Pero, i am more impressed with the everyday lives of the people here. We went to a market today in another lake town, Santiago. It was really cool, lots of bright colours and i can not get over the amount of work that goes into making the traditional dress they all wear. The Hupil (sp?) are first hand woven and then some little ol lady goes and handstiches a bunch of amazing intricate designs - birds, flowers, food - it{s really cool. i{d have a photo of them but the little ol ladies get grumpy if you take too many snaps. Rightfully so, i{d get pissed if someone was taking me as a tourist attraction... and boy did we meet some ugly tour group in the market.
M: I´m sure as individuals there were some lovely people but as a long procession of pushy, overheated, and way out of their comfort zone of elegance they were nasty. Courtney and I treated our Spanish teacher to a morning out after 3 weeks of lessons. We took the hour long lancha ride around Volcan San Pedro passing terraced lake front fields and enjoying a tranquillo ride. Luckily the lake was calm and we sat on the tippy top. The fields of maize, frijoles, cebollas and coffee are watered using a petrol powered pump and hose. We often go for early morning jogs at dawn along the path we pass men carring the pumps strapped tied to a leather strap that they place across their foreheads. It must weigh at least 50 some odd pounds. The woman we pass are mostly carrying corn soaked with lime en route to the machines that grind it into masa for the staple tortillas. In one the few areas left you still see men wearing the traditional pants which they keep amazingly white. Anyhow back to the market. We wondered snacked on the local fruits, atol, and tostadas, learned about the traditional dress and bought a cookin´spoon for our camp stove. Yesterday we visited an all organic coffee farm for one of its first "tours"
C: I learned a lot and yet i didn{t really understand a thing. well.... i understood a bit but meagan will no doubt tell me more over the next few days. it was really cool though and it was a real grass roots program. it was just meagan and i and the director of the museum we had visited and his cousin, who just happened to be the owner of the farm. it was great and it cost less than $3 each for over 2 hours! we might do another tour or two later on this week. oh yeah meagan decided we are going to stay for another week, and my spanish will be all the better for it. she will no doubt learn even more about how to get me out of trouble when i fumble my illiterate way into it.
When we were at the farm we saw guys carry huge bundles of coffee on there backs using the head thing meagan talked about. one guy in one day picked over 140 lbs in one day. the people here amaze me. Young, young children (tommy kern would have a solid year of work experience under his belt by now if he lived by the lake); old, old people and everyone in between is either carrying huge bundles of stuff either on their heads (women) or with their heads and backs (men and kids). Just when i think i{ve seen the biggest bundle on a person i see something else. It wouldn{t be so bad if the people weren{t so short. I feel massive around here. in fact i am, and people are carrying things well over twice the size of me. it{s unbelievable. no talk of ergonomic backpacks for kiddies, people that would be quietly enjoying retirement in our lovely first world nations are carrying nearly twice their own body mass in corn husks to feed the horses.
Yet through what we may perceive as hardship flourish a people so happy and beautiful and proud. at the market today a guy was walking/ultramarathon shuffling back and forth with humungous bundles of produce on his back. He was sweating and looked tired and then as soon as he saw my jaw drop and his work ethic he started to laugh and joke and even tickled me on his way. he was a very cool human being.
M: Una semana mas we have been saying for 4 weeks now. I can´t belive it has been a month. I find myself thinking that we don´t have enough time for all we want to do. I realize that there is no need to worry and I should just keep living in the moment and we will have all the amazing experiences we are meant to have. It has been nice to connect with the people here and we have stayed far away from any real tourist activity. This week I am going to have a reunion with my wonderful teacher Letty whom I studied with last year. She taught me a lot and welcomed me into her life and family. Kenny you will be happy to know that your beloved Rosalia and Bartolo (Wendy´s teacher last year and now Courtney´s) are a hot item. Laurie your teacher is still at the school but his outfits are more cheery and he has a little boy. Enrique is still shakin´his booty at salsa lessons. Thats all for now hope everyone out there is safe as houses, happy as a pig in shit, and smiling heaps. much love.
and everyone laughs because i can{t speak spanish properly (or escribe it for that matter). but i have to try to speak more, the whole writing thing is hard but i am practicing that lots, i have at least 3 hours of home work every day on top of my 4-5 hours of study. I{m super impressed with meagan though, she seems to be able to get us out of any problem and can usually help me with whatever word or verb i don{t know.
Pero, i am more impressed with the everyday lives of the people here. We went to a market today in another lake town, Santiago. It was really cool, lots of bright colours and i can not get over the amount of work that goes into making the traditional dress they all wear. The Hupil (sp?) are first hand woven and then some little ol lady goes and handstiches a bunch of amazing intricate designs - birds, flowers, food - it{s really cool. i{d have a photo of them but the little ol ladies get grumpy if you take too many snaps. Rightfully so, i{d get pissed if someone was taking me as a tourist attraction... and boy did we meet some ugly tour group in the market.
M: I´m sure as individuals there were some lovely people but as a long procession of pushy, overheated, and way out of their comfort zone of elegance they were nasty. Courtney and I treated our Spanish teacher to a morning out after 3 weeks of lessons. We took the hour long lancha ride around Volcan San Pedro passing terraced lake front fields and enjoying a tranquillo ride. Luckily the lake was calm and we sat on the tippy top. The fields of maize, frijoles, cebollas and coffee are watered using a petrol powered pump and hose. We often go for early morning jogs at dawn along the path we pass men carring the pumps strapped tied to a leather strap that they place across their foreheads. It must weigh at least 50 some odd pounds. The woman we pass are mostly carrying corn soaked with lime en route to the machines that grind it into masa for the staple tortillas. In one the few areas left you still see men wearing the traditional pants which they keep amazingly white. Anyhow back to the market. We wondered snacked on the local fruits, atol, and tostadas, learned about the traditional dress and bought a cookin´spoon for our camp stove. Yesterday we visited an all organic coffee farm for one of its first "tours"
C: I learned a lot and yet i didn{t really understand a thing. well.... i understood a bit but meagan will no doubt tell me more over the next few days. it was really cool though and it was a real grass roots program. it was just meagan and i and the director of the museum we had visited and his cousin, who just happened to be the owner of the farm. it was great and it cost less than $3 each for over 2 hours! we might do another tour or two later on this week. oh yeah meagan decided we are going to stay for another week, and my spanish will be all the better for it. she will no doubt learn even more about how to get me out of trouble when i fumble my illiterate way into it.
When we were at the farm we saw guys carry huge bundles of coffee on there backs using the head thing meagan talked about. one guy in one day picked over 140 lbs in one day. the people here amaze me. Young, young children (tommy kern would have a solid year of work experience under his belt by now if he lived by the lake); old, old people and everyone in between is either carrying huge bundles of stuff either on their heads (women) or with their heads and backs (men and kids). Just when i think i{ve seen the biggest bundle on a person i see something else. It wouldn{t be so bad if the people weren{t so short. I feel massive around here. in fact i am, and people are carrying things well over twice the size of me. it{s unbelievable. no talk of ergonomic backpacks for kiddies, people that would be quietly enjoying retirement in our lovely first world nations are carrying nearly twice their own body mass in corn husks to feed the horses.
Yet through what we may perceive as hardship flourish a people so happy and beautiful and proud. at the market today a guy was walking/ultramarathon shuffling back and forth with humungous bundles of produce on his back. He was sweating and looked tired and then as soon as he saw my jaw drop and his work ethic he started to laugh and joke and even tickled me on his way. he was a very cool human being.
M: Una semana mas we have been saying for 4 weeks now. I can´t belive it has been a month. I find myself thinking that we don´t have enough time for all we want to do. I realize that there is no need to worry and I should just keep living in the moment and we will have all the amazing experiences we are meant to have. It has been nice to connect with the people here and we have stayed far away from any real tourist activity. This week I am going to have a reunion with my wonderful teacher Letty whom I studied with last year. She taught me a lot and welcomed me into her life and family. Kenny you will be happy to know that your beloved Rosalia and Bartolo (Wendy´s teacher last year and now Courtney´s) are a hot item. Laurie your teacher is still at the school but his outfits are more cheery and he has a little boy. Enrique is still shakin´his booty at salsa lessons. Thats all for now hope everyone out there is safe as houses, happy as a pig in shit, and smiling heaps. much love.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Rumblings in our tummies...
C:well actually there has been more rumblngs in meagan´s tummy than mine.
M: Although it is getting better I think I may have overindulged in our mom´s food. She thinks that I eat as much as the boys which I can and being a CPC (clean plate club) memeber for life I ate a whole lot and got myself sick for the first time this trip. I´m sure its not the last. Enough about that, we have been enjoying small town life and spent the entire weekend just reading and relaxing. Last week we went to a neighboring pueblo´s annual fair....
C: it was my first fairia (sp?) and it was very cool. lots of really loud musica vivo and people in funny costumes. i must say that i am continually amazed at how cool and committed the people of this region are to wear their traditional dress, the women look so great in all the colours and patterns of the different cortes and i have no idea how the men pull off wearing white pants and keep them clean. i can´t keep myself clean in various earth tone colours. It looks like we may end up being here in San Pedro for another two weeks. i really need to pick up some more spanish (I´m horrible) and therefore i also need meagan to get a whole lot better to cover my inabilities on the road.
M: We have spent some quality card playing, drinking/thinking about swimming time with Leslie and Andrew some folks from Queensland. Good fun was had by all celebrating the day of Australia my second and best thus far. The lake is actually a great place to bathe as long as the wind is blowing in the right direction otherwise it is mud/trash soup. We took our little brother Balbino swimming for his first time and he is 9!!!
C: Balbino was shit scared to begin with but in no time he was stroking with the best of them and would give any golden retriever a run for it´s money. tomorrow we continue the lessons and by the end of our time here i´m sure that he´ll be accepted in to the australain olympic team like the whole of our ex eastern block weightlifters and pole vaulters.
we hope you are all well and it has been great to hear from so many of you!!!
Rone - thanks for the well wishes and hopefully i can catch up with you bro sometime in the not too distant future. if we got a date together would you wann come along??
Alpal - keep putting them away my son. hopefully by the time i{ll get back the streets will be clean and there willbe no chance of me getting beaten up.
kenny - you still in the office??
M: Although it is getting better I think I may have overindulged in our mom´s food. She thinks that I eat as much as the boys which I can and being a CPC (clean plate club) memeber for life I ate a whole lot and got myself sick for the first time this trip. I´m sure its not the last. Enough about that, we have been enjoying small town life and spent the entire weekend just reading and relaxing. Last week we went to a neighboring pueblo´s annual fair....
C: it was my first fairia (sp?) and it was very cool. lots of really loud musica vivo and people in funny costumes. i must say that i am continually amazed at how cool and committed the people of this region are to wear their traditional dress, the women look so great in all the colours and patterns of the different cortes and i have no idea how the men pull off wearing white pants and keep them clean. i can´t keep myself clean in various earth tone colours. It looks like we may end up being here in San Pedro for another two weeks. i really need to pick up some more spanish (I´m horrible) and therefore i also need meagan to get a whole lot better to cover my inabilities on the road.
M: We have spent some quality card playing, drinking/thinking about swimming time with Leslie and Andrew some folks from Queensland. Good fun was had by all celebrating the day of Australia my second and best thus far. The lake is actually a great place to bathe as long as the wind is blowing in the right direction otherwise it is mud/trash soup. We took our little brother Balbino swimming for his first time and he is 9!!!
C: Balbino was shit scared to begin with but in no time he was stroking with the best of them and would give any golden retriever a run for it´s money. tomorrow we continue the lessons and by the end of our time here i´m sure that he´ll be accepted in to the australain olympic team like the whole of our ex eastern block weightlifters and pole vaulters.
we hope you are all well and it has been great to hear from so many of you!!!
Rone - thanks for the well wishes and hopefully i can catch up with you bro sometime in the not too distant future. if we got a date together would you wann come along??
Alpal - keep putting them away my son. hopefully by the time i{ll get back the streets will be clean and there willbe no chance of me getting beaten up.
kenny - you still in the office??
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
No hablo espanol
C: we{ve thrown ourselves into spanish school and are doing well. actually i´m struggling, but meagan is doing well.
M:I don{t know about doing well in with spanish but I do know that we are eating well. Our host mom prepares all sorts of wonderful vegetarian food. She says, "La comida...es...muy...moderna" she speaks very slowly and loads. We really lucked out with her and her husband, son, and Maria. Our house just down the street is very comfortable. We have been avoiding all "busy" places and spending time studying, swimming off the rocks in Lago Aititlan, and attending school activities. I have four hours and courtney has 5 hours of one on one study with a teacher. Last night was salsa lessons at the school and courtney tore it up and I nearly fell out the window. We have also had some other fun times at La Iguana...
C: We had the chance to pretend we were back at camp/college/knopwoods and went to a cross dressing bbq. when we find a internet cafe that lets us upload photos we will be sure to show you one of me dressed as kathy roses granma. meagan was well porportioned......
Speaking of balls... the photos from the hiking were when we thought we would hike up volcan agua - i was panting like a dog, meagan was okay. we ended up befriending some people who gave us a lift home in the volunteer fire fighters truck.
best run and go to a presentation at school, hope you are all well.
take care
M:I don{t know about doing well in with spanish but I do know that we are eating well. Our host mom prepares all sorts of wonderful vegetarian food. She says, "La comida...es...muy...moderna" she speaks very slowly and loads. We really lucked out with her and her husband, son, and Maria. Our house just down the street is very comfortable. We have been avoiding all "busy" places and spending time studying, swimming off the rocks in Lago Aititlan, and attending school activities. I have four hours and courtney has 5 hours of one on one study with a teacher. Last night was salsa lessons at the school and courtney tore it up and I nearly fell out the window. We have also had some other fun times at La Iguana...
C: We had the chance to pretend we were back at camp/college/knopwoods and went to a cross dressing bbq. when we find a internet cafe that lets us upload photos we will be sure to show you one of me dressed as kathy roses granma. meagan was well porportioned......
Speaking of balls... the photos from the hiking were when we thought we would hike up volcan agua - i was panting like a dog, meagan was okay. we ended up befriending some people who gave us a lift home in the volunteer fire fighters truck.
best run and go to a presentation at school, hope you are all well.
take care
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Antigua!!!
Courtney: We are now in Antigua! My favourite thing is the fact that i can eat fresh tortillas and avocado and lime for 40 cents!!!!! We made it safe and sound mum, i know you have been worrying, but we made it. The most terriffing part was the constant "National Security is now at Code Orange" annoucements in the Chicago airport. Nothing like trying to keep a population scared... and then i decided that taking the bus from the airport to the bus station to get to antigua would be really easy... "look meagan, the book says it´s just up this road on this bus..."
but the bus station was not there...
Meagan: Quick fix jump in a taxi right? time spent lost meant a solid traffic jam, just like LA, outside of Guatemala City. Not a worry how can you not have fun in a retired school bus with a pounding bass. To be perfectly honest I fell asleep but I´m sure Courtney loved my drool on his shirt. Today has been lovely and relaxing enjoying pupusas (fried up tortilla stuffed with cheese and topped with cabbage, yumm), walking around, and hiking up to a large cross with a view of the city.
Tomorrow we´re taking our adventurous booties where no normal travel agency goes....
Courtney: don´t worry parents, it wont be a problem. So we plan on being here for a few days, then heading to Lago Atitlan for some much needed spanish schooling. After that we are heading Norte. We´ll keep you all up to date. Not much else to add, hope you are all well, take care and much love from Guatemala!!
thanks for the comments everyone
Braddes - can you possibly give sveno another address and say i changed it?? No they were high in the trees.
Karen - Laugh it up, hope you are well, let us know what is going on in your life right now
Carmody - right at home pal... very little chance i will be home, but let me know if you want some advice, it´s the least i could do.
Combe - what the heck are you doing out in the burbs? don´t go inciting any race riots
Touche - any advice?? email me, my address hasn´t changed. i may end up that far down.
Mum - Never fear mum, we´ll be alright and remember... i´ll always call if im broke.
Christine - We will do our best to find the best Margaritas in Central America
Lorie - Brilliant to hear from you, hope you like the pics!
Shea - what the heck???!!! you have to be in touch!!!! if we could meet up that would be great!
The Beautiful Becky - you are always blog worthy.
but the bus station was not there...
Meagan: Quick fix jump in a taxi right? time spent lost meant a solid traffic jam, just like LA, outside of Guatemala City. Not a worry how can you not have fun in a retired school bus with a pounding bass. To be perfectly honest I fell asleep but I´m sure Courtney loved my drool on his shirt. Today has been lovely and relaxing enjoying pupusas (fried up tortilla stuffed with cheese and topped with cabbage, yumm), walking around, and hiking up to a large cross with a view of the city.
Tomorrow we´re taking our adventurous booties where no normal travel agency goes....
Courtney: don´t worry parents, it wont be a problem. So we plan on being here for a few days, then heading to Lago Atitlan for some much needed spanish schooling. After that we are heading Norte. We´ll keep you all up to date. Not much else to add, hope you are all well, take care and much love from Guatemala!!
thanks for the comments everyone
Braddes - can you possibly give sveno another address and say i changed it?? No they were high in the trees.
Karen - Laugh it up, hope you are well, let us know what is going on in your life right now
Carmody - right at home pal... very little chance i will be home, but let me know if you want some advice, it´s the least i could do.
Combe - what the heck are you doing out in the burbs? don´t go inciting any race riots
Touche - any advice?? email me, my address hasn´t changed. i may end up that far down.
Mum - Never fear mum, we´ll be alright and remember... i´ll always call if im broke.
Christine - We will do our best to find the best Margaritas in Central America
Lorie - Brilliant to hear from you, hope you like the pics!
Shea - what the heck???!!! you have to be in touch!!!! if we could meet up that would be great!
The Beautiful Becky - you are always blog worthy.
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