We made it back to Belize city and my mom left yesterday afternoon (did you make it safely home, mom?) Today is my first day w/ the Red Cross. It's been interesting - sat through a first aid presentation this morning to employees at the central bank in Belize. Of course, the instructor kept saying "we have nurses in house so if you have any health questions, ask now". Just because I'm a nurse doesn't mean I know everything! However, I was able to answer some questions about diabetes and epilepsy. We learned all about poisonous snake bite treatment as well as other very practical information. I was very glad to have sat in on it. They pretty much switch constantly between english and creole so I don't always catch everything...
This afternoon we are going to be going to the auditions they are holding for a radio campaign for HIV AIDS that they have received funding for.
Sounds like we may eventually be "instructor trainers" for the peer education program called "together we can" which focuses on HIV/AIDS. So, we'll be going to rural areas (accomodations and everything arranged through red cross) - probably each of us with a local belizian instructor - to go do these trainings.
And of course, if there is flooding or tropical storms, we will be a part of the response for these events as well.
I'll keep you all posted! My host family is great. She is a wonderful cook. No A/C in the house (but their car has A/C). Nice part of town. We were planning to travel down to Tobacco caye this weekend however there are more "tropical waves" set to roll through and so the weather and flooding will create challenges. I think we'll stick around and maybe visit the Belize zoo. I'll really try and post some pictures soon. My memory card is getting full anyways, so I won't have much of a choice~
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Island Life
Well, here we are on Caye Caulker. It is our last night here and mom's last night in Belize. We've had a great time! The weather has been iffy. We arrived here Monday on an EXPRESS bus! Yes, praise the Lord, they do exist. It was just like the kind I used to drive in AK, a nicer tour bus with A/C. Although, it was so crowded from San Ignacio that we had to stand for around the 1st hour. That was fine though. All in all, it took us around 2 hours from San Ignacio to Belize City and it didn't stop except for larger cities. We had bought some fresh pineapple and a banana from a street vendor before we left and it was great.
Got to Belize city and bought tickets for the water taxi out to the cayes. We had about an hour before it left so we explored only a bit of Belize city. It's crazy there (compared to the other places we've been). Busy, dirty, loud, etc. So, we didn't explore around too much. About everyone we've met now along the way has been robbed there.
We water taxied out to Caye caulker. We grabbed a seat under the bow in the shade and were so glad. As we left dock the crew started to unroll this tarp for the people in the last 2/3 of the boat. They basically sat on part of it and then had some along their backs and enough to hold up over their heads. Basically, they got soaked and windblown and burned. I liked my spot under the bow.
Got off in Caye Caulker and it was hot! We had our packs on and didn't want to venture far to find a place so we stayed at the De Real McCaw the first night. It did fine. A/c and 2 beds and a private bath and fridge. We even had our own deck with a hammock. And we had a nice family with loud children above us with what sounded like plywood flooring. We were up late and up again early. The next day we moved to a different hotel with a room on the 2nd floor with views of the ocean. It's been better here. Except for when it rains and we have a flood from the front door and the slider. We just put down extra towels. It has rained a lot since we've been here. Great storms. Tons of thunder and lightening and wind and pouring rain. We have it down to a science now. We'll be out and about and can see the black clouds approaching in the distance. We know that once the wind starts to pelt us we have around 2 minutes or less to find cover.
Tuesday we were gonna snorkel but it was stormy, so we each finished a book. We've been enjoying the food and local drinks called "panty rippers" - cocount rum and pinapple juice. Very tasty. Today we did get out and snorkeled the local reef. We were on tour with 2 English people and one person from Holland. Mario was our tour guide and thankfully he gave a little more instruction than the last guide. We got to swim with around 10 Sting Rays - even touched them. It was scary at first jumping into a bunch of them (along with a 4-5 foot baracuda), but it was incredible. We also saw all kinds of colorful fishies and neat coral. It was perfectly fit into our day from 10:30 to around 12:45 - right inbetween storms. We were so glad we went when we did!
Tonight for dinner we at shrimp at Jolly Rodger Lobster man's hut on the beach. It was excellent food and we shared a table with 2 swiss, one german, one norwegian, and a gal from belgium. Very interesting and fun. The 2 swiss were robbed at knifepoint in belize city with a guy who recently served 14 years in prison for murder. Mom says "yikes"....too bad Red Cross isn't headquartered in Caye Caulker!
Well, I've called my homestay and they are ready for me tomorrow. The other 2 classmates arrive by plane tomorrow as well. I'm sure i'll be busy ~ Glad to have had this time to rest and explore.
In regards to food - lots of seafood (lobster, shrimp, conch, fish). They do serve rice and beans as a side with most things, although there is also cole slaw and fries....mainly if you ordered a sandwich or a burger. They serve Folgers coffee. There is surprisingly a lot of chinese restaurants and stores around - it appears that the taiwanese goverment has done a lot of social projects in partnership with the Belize government. We haven't tried chinese food yet, although we had excellent chicken curry today for lunch...
Real estate is very expensive here, Brandon. Not a lot of true land for sale on these islands -- a house would probably run around 300k and up U.S. I did take a picture of a nice place for sale (make an offer) along some highway that we traveled by bus. It was rather large, but needed a lot of work. Maybe you could recruit the hispanic lady you have rented my condo to help run a B& B or something? Sounds like Alyssa is enjoying her and the kids~
Love to all of you. Trying to take pics, haven't been able to download them yet. Actually, the truth is I haven't tried. Hey, I'm on vacation.....Enjoy the seattle sun. Sounds like you may be having more of it than we are!
Got to Belize city and bought tickets for the water taxi out to the cayes. We had about an hour before it left so we explored only a bit of Belize city. It's crazy there (compared to the other places we've been). Busy, dirty, loud, etc. So, we didn't explore around too much. About everyone we've met now along the way has been robbed there.
We water taxied out to Caye caulker. We grabbed a seat under the bow in the shade and were so glad. As we left dock the crew started to unroll this tarp for the people in the last 2/3 of the boat. They basically sat on part of it and then had some along their backs and enough to hold up over their heads. Basically, they got soaked and windblown and burned. I liked my spot under the bow.
Got off in Caye Caulker and it was hot! We had our packs on and didn't want to venture far to find a place so we stayed at the De Real McCaw the first night. It did fine. A/c and 2 beds and a private bath and fridge. We even had our own deck with a hammock. And we had a nice family with loud children above us with what sounded like plywood flooring. We were up late and up again early. The next day we moved to a different hotel with a room on the 2nd floor with views of the ocean. It's been better here. Except for when it rains and we have a flood from the front door and the slider. We just put down extra towels. It has rained a lot since we've been here. Great storms. Tons of thunder and lightening and wind and pouring rain. We have it down to a science now. We'll be out and about and can see the black clouds approaching in the distance. We know that once the wind starts to pelt us we have around 2 minutes or less to find cover.
Tuesday we were gonna snorkel but it was stormy, so we each finished a book. We've been enjoying the food and local drinks called "panty rippers" - cocount rum and pinapple juice. Very tasty. Today we did get out and snorkeled the local reef. We were on tour with 2 English people and one person from Holland. Mario was our tour guide and thankfully he gave a little more instruction than the last guide. We got to swim with around 10 Sting Rays - even touched them. It was scary at first jumping into a bunch of them (along with a 4-5 foot baracuda), but it was incredible. We also saw all kinds of colorful fishies and neat coral. It was perfectly fit into our day from 10:30 to around 12:45 - right inbetween storms. We were so glad we went when we did!
Tonight for dinner we at shrimp at Jolly Rodger Lobster man's hut on the beach. It was excellent food and we shared a table with 2 swiss, one german, one norwegian, and a gal from belgium. Very interesting and fun. The 2 swiss were robbed at knifepoint in belize city with a guy who recently served 14 years in prison for murder. Mom says "yikes"....too bad Red Cross isn't headquartered in Caye Caulker!
Well, I've called my homestay and they are ready for me tomorrow. The other 2 classmates arrive by plane tomorrow as well. I'm sure i'll be busy ~ Glad to have had this time to rest and explore.
In regards to food - lots of seafood (lobster, shrimp, conch, fish). They do serve rice and beans as a side with most things, although there is also cole slaw and fries....mainly if you ordered a sandwich or a burger. They serve Folgers coffee. There is surprisingly a lot of chinese restaurants and stores around - it appears that the taiwanese goverment has done a lot of social projects in partnership with the Belize government. We haven't tried chinese food yet, although we had excellent chicken curry today for lunch...
Real estate is very expensive here, Brandon. Not a lot of true land for sale on these islands -- a house would probably run around 300k and up U.S. I did take a picture of a nice place for sale (make an offer) along some highway that we traveled by bus. It was rather large, but needed a lot of work. Maybe you could recruit the hispanic lady you have rented my condo to help run a B& B or something? Sounds like Alyssa is enjoying her and the kids~
Love to all of you. Trying to take pics, haven't been able to download them yet. Actually, the truth is I haven't tried. Hey, I'm on vacation.....Enjoy the seattle sun. Sounds like you may be having more of it than we are!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Xunantunich
Today we made it to San Ignacio - left Placencia at 6:45 and got in here at 11:30...a bit of a ways, but not too bad. Thankfully we made all of the connecting buses in time and didn't have to sit around too long at the crazy bus depots. They are hot and dirty -- and chaotic. There's really no such thing as a bus schedule around here, you kindof just wait around until one headed in your direction comes along. So, thankfully it wasn't too bad! The buses here are simply old school buses. There is a driver and then a "conductor" who helps with luggage (tossing your pack through the back emergency door) and comes around to collect fares. You don't buy tickets before you get on, so you never know how much it's going to cost. The conductor simply makes his way up the aisles and stops next to your seat and stares. Then you pay him. If people want to get off along the highway (there are really only 2-3 main highways here in the country), they just whistle. The bus comes to screetching halts to drop people off or pick people off who are standing near the road and difficult to see too far in advance. Apparently "express" buses do exist that only stop at the main cities and bus depots but I've yet to see one. We have been told that one leaves from here tomorrow morning at 7:30am and goes to Belize city. We'll see about that. I'm hoping to catch some of the people who vend Empenadas on the street before we head out. I'd really love to eat an empenada and since we're closer to Guatamala right now (the Spanish is coming in handy), they are more common. SOunds like they start selling around 7:00am so perhaps it can be my breakfast.
At the stops there are people that hop on and sell various food and drinks~ people drink a lot of pop and juice around here and seem to eat a lot of cheetos. For the most part, a very impoverished country. People live along the highways in what we would consider shacks.
I've come across several HIV/AIDS campaign signs throughout the country. I've also passed one or two hospitals or health places, but nothing ever seems to be going on. It will be interesting to begin with the red cross.
So, we got in and found a place to stay, got some lunch and then hired a taxi to take us to Xunantunich (mayan ruins). We were told by some that they are right in town and we could walk. Thank the Lord we took a taxi because it was about a 15 minute drive at decent speed. We would have been walking for a long long time. We had to cross a river on a hand-cranked ferry in order to get there. They were amazing! We stayed for a few hours until they closed at 4pm and the military with their machine guns closed up behind us.
So, back to town get some dinner, buy water and a few bags of cheetos for the trip tomorrow and now I'm in an internet place w/ A/C. It's tricky to find rooms w/ A/C around here. Our hotel tonight simply has a ceiling fan.........
All in all, san ignacio seems like a fun little town. Tomorrow we are busing back to Belize City where we are taking a water taxi out to Caye Caulker. Honestly, I'll be glad to get back to the ocean. I like it out here in this area...there are pretty hills and rivers - it feels more like the countryside than the jungle to me. The vegetation is not as thick as some other parts of the country, and they actually raise cattle around here.
Okay, that's all for tonight. Love~
At the stops there are people that hop on and sell various food and drinks~ people drink a lot of pop and juice around here and seem to eat a lot of cheetos. For the most part, a very impoverished country. People live along the highways in what we would consider shacks.
I've come across several HIV/AIDS campaign signs throughout the country. I've also passed one or two hospitals or health places, but nothing ever seems to be going on. It will be interesting to begin with the red cross.
So, we got in and found a place to stay, got some lunch and then hired a taxi to take us to Xunantunich (mayan ruins). We were told by some that they are right in town and we could walk. Thank the Lord we took a taxi because it was about a 15 minute drive at decent speed. We would have been walking for a long long time. We had to cross a river on a hand-cranked ferry in order to get there. They were amazing! We stayed for a few hours until they closed at 4pm and the military with their machine guns closed up behind us.
So, back to town get some dinner, buy water and a few bags of cheetos for the trip tomorrow and now I'm in an internet place w/ A/C. It's tricky to find rooms w/ A/C around here. Our hotel tonight simply has a ceiling fan.........
All in all, san ignacio seems like a fun little town. Tomorrow we are busing back to Belize City where we are taking a water taxi out to Caye Caulker. Honestly, I'll be glad to get back to the ocean. I like it out here in this area...there are pretty hills and rivers - it feels more like the countryside than the jungle to me. The vegetation is not as thick as some other parts of the country, and they actually raise cattle around here.
Okay, that's all for tonight. Love~
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Jungle
Today we started our tour with Evar at 8am. We got into his boat and headed out to the head of the Monkey River (about 50 minutes away via ocean). The Mangrove trees are really cool! As we were just leaving the beach we saw 2 bottlenose dolphins~
We got to monkey river town and placed our order for lunch later that day - fish and beans and rice. Then we continued on up the river to spot various birds and wildlife. When we were about 1/2 way up the river, we stopped at the bank and our guide got out w/ his machete to check out the monkey situation for us. He came back to take us to where they were. We saw several up in the trees - howling and swinging from trees. The Mosquitos were really bad (glad we had brought long pants and shirts). After we watched the monkeys for a while we wandered in the jungle as he pointed out land crabs, termites nests, lizards, birds, blue butterflies, and all kinds of plants and things which he explained. He knew the botanical names for everything. He grew up around there and has lived here for 46 years....
So, once we were back to the boat, we continued up the river and spotted a ton of baby crocodiles (no mama in sight). Evar asked if we wanted to go swimming, to which the 4 of us in the boat declined.
Then, we headed back and ate, and then on the way back to placencia from Monkey River town, we spotted several Manatee. One came right up to the boat! They are very cute and kindof look like seals when they surface. You find them by lookiing for the huge mud clouds that they stir up from the bottom as they move along and then you just wait for them to come up for air every now and then.
So, all in all, a lucky wildlife day. We're back here at purple space monkey for some dinner. Neither of us very hungry - slightly uneasy stomachs. Buddy, you had asked about the advil in the title of the last post and its meaning.....being out on the really rough sea did a number on my back and butt and head. My brains are slightly jarred.
Tomorrow we will be up at 6:00 to catch the hokey pokey water taxi to Independence, and then buses to Dangriga, Belmopan and finally San Ignacio.
Thanks for checking this and posting comments! It's way easier than dealing with emails. Time to eat and then get gelatto for the last time~
We got to monkey river town and placed our order for lunch later that day - fish and beans and rice. Then we continued on up the river to spot various birds and wildlife. When we were about 1/2 way up the river, we stopped at the bank and our guide got out w/ his machete to check out the monkey situation for us. He came back to take us to where they were. We saw several up in the trees - howling and swinging from trees. The Mosquitos were really bad (glad we had brought long pants and shirts). After we watched the monkeys for a while we wandered in the jungle as he pointed out land crabs, termites nests, lizards, birds, blue butterflies, and all kinds of plants and things which he explained. He knew the botanical names for everything. He grew up around there and has lived here for 46 years....
So, once we were back to the boat, we continued up the river and spotted a ton of baby crocodiles (no mama in sight). Evar asked if we wanted to go swimming, to which the 4 of us in the boat declined.
Then, we headed back and ate, and then on the way back to placencia from Monkey River town, we spotted several Manatee. One came right up to the boat! They are very cute and kindof look like seals when they surface. You find them by lookiing for the huge mud clouds that they stir up from the bottom as they move along and then you just wait for them to come up for air every now and then.
So, all in all, a lucky wildlife day. We're back here at purple space monkey for some dinner. Neither of us very hungry - slightly uneasy stomachs. Buddy, you had asked about the advil in the title of the last post and its meaning.....being out on the really rough sea did a number on my back and butt and head. My brains are slightly jarred.
Tomorrow we will be up at 6:00 to catch the hokey pokey water taxi to Independence, and then buses to Dangriga, Belmopan and finally San Ignacio.
Thanks for checking this and posting comments! It's way easier than dealing with emails. Time to eat and then get gelatto for the last time~
Friday, June 20, 2008
Sea Sickness and Advil
Hi all,
So we went out today with Splash tours to whale shark snorkeling. It was cloudy again when we left this morning, but it wasnt raining. It was ROUGH out there. Before we even left the dock he handed around a box of motion sickness medication. I thought it was rough even within the reef area, but had NO IDEA of what we were getting into once we crossed into the open water.
Whoa.
Seriously huge swells. And we had to bob around in this? Before I knew it we were being told to hurry and put our gear on and jump off. I had never snorkeled before so had no idea what I was doing. I have been diving before, so figured it couldn't be too bad! Threw myself off the boat and took a peek under me. Not much. Just a big open ocean with huge swells. The kind where the rest of the people on the tour totally dissappear for a few minutes and then re-appear. I had felt a little sick on the boat, but being out in the water was actually worse. So, we saw nothing. No sharks. The divers didn't see them either. I saw 4 large mackarrel.
We got to snorkel around the reef some and I did see neat fish there. After we came back into the reef and had lunch we went BACK OUT into the open water. We had to drop one lady off with the ranger who stays within the reef. She'd been puking all morning. Sick. I was glad I took the meds (she didn't).
Ah, same when we went out the 2nd time. No sharky sharks. Bummer! Oh well, if nothing else I had my own "deadliest catch" type experience with the waves.
Glad to be back on land. Just now getting hungry. we will stay here another night and go up the monkey river tomorrow. hoping to see monkeys, crocs, other things. Although, nature can never be counted on. This I know. We have however seen dolphins....and there is an excellent gelatto place here.
Then on Sunday we will head to San Ignacio to see Xunantunich (ruins). Then we will be off to Caye Caulker. Right now I'm at the purple space monkey about to eat and using freee internet! Yay. Well, gonna sign off. It's a miracle i typed this thing. every 5 seconds the cursor magically appears to a previously typed sentence and I start typing new stuff into the old. I think it's a spanish keyboard too, so a little funky. love you all
So we went out today with Splash tours to whale shark snorkeling. It was cloudy again when we left this morning, but it wasnt raining. It was ROUGH out there. Before we even left the dock he handed around a box of motion sickness medication. I thought it was rough even within the reef area, but had NO IDEA of what we were getting into once we crossed into the open water.
Whoa.
Seriously huge swells. And we had to bob around in this? Before I knew it we were being told to hurry and put our gear on and jump off. I had never snorkeled before so had no idea what I was doing. I have been diving before, so figured it couldn't be too bad! Threw myself off the boat and took a peek under me. Not much. Just a big open ocean with huge swells. The kind where the rest of the people on the tour totally dissappear for a few minutes and then re-appear. I had felt a little sick on the boat, but being out in the water was actually worse. So, we saw nothing. No sharks. The divers didn't see them either. I saw 4 large mackarrel.
We got to snorkel around the reef some and I did see neat fish there. After we came back into the reef and had lunch we went BACK OUT into the open water. We had to drop one lady off with the ranger who stays within the reef. She'd been puking all morning. Sick. I was glad I took the meds (she didn't).
Ah, same when we went out the 2nd time. No sharky sharks. Bummer! Oh well, if nothing else I had my own "deadliest catch" type experience with the waves.
Glad to be back on land. Just now getting hungry. we will stay here another night and go up the monkey river tomorrow. hoping to see monkeys, crocs, other things. Although, nature can never be counted on. This I know. We have however seen dolphins....and there is an excellent gelatto place here.
Then on Sunday we will head to San Ignacio to see Xunantunich (ruins). Then we will be off to Caye Caulker. Right now I'm at the purple space monkey about to eat and using freee internet! Yay. Well, gonna sign off. It's a miracle i typed this thing. every 5 seconds the cursor magically appears to a previously typed sentence and I start typing new stuff into the old. I think it's a spanish keyboard too, so a little funky. love you all
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Change of plans...
Well, today we woke up to hear the pattering of rain outside. Hence, no snorkeling trip. The sky was dark gray and the sea angry. Thunder and lightening were plentiful. It did roll on through later in the morning, but it was too late to do a full day trip. So, we are on the list for tomorrow. The clouds are still hanging around, so pray for better weather!
So, instead, we walked around town, had fresh smoothies, bought some bread from Jon the bakerman, ate a typical lunch of coconut rice, stew chicken and slaw. Then, we layed on the beach and swam in the caribbean which is VERY warm. It's like a bath.
We're gonna head out to happy hour in a bit and then on to dinner. It gets dark so early here, around 6:30. this is very deceiving compared to Seattle where the sun has been setting around 9:30.
However, we are safe, enjoying ourselves, and unwinding to the slow and easy pace. There's really no rush around here at all, for anything. Such a change. A nice one.
So, instead, we walked around town, had fresh smoothies, bought some bread from Jon the bakerman, ate a typical lunch of coconut rice, stew chicken and slaw. Then, we layed on the beach and swam in the caribbean which is VERY warm. It's like a bath.
We're gonna head out to happy hour in a bit and then on to dinner. It gets dark so early here, around 6:30. this is very deceiving compared to Seattle where the sun has been setting around 9:30.
However, we are safe, enjoying ourselves, and unwinding to the slow and easy pace. There's really no rush around here at all, for anything. Such a change. A nice one.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Safe Arrival
Hello from Belize! After a long day of travel yesterday, my mom and I made it safely. We got as far south as Dangriga last night, where we stayed. This morning we made our way down to Placencia via bus and water taxi. It's beautiful here and very, very hot!! I don't think I have ever sweated this much in my life. Seriously.
Tomorrow we are going snorkeling -- hoping to see whale sharks. Howevev, the lady at the dive shop said if we didn't see whale sharks we'd probably see hammerheads or bull sharks (to which my eyes got really large). "They don't hurt do they?" So we get three snorkels; 2 with whale sharks and one off the reef. We'll keep you posted on what we see!!
The landscape is beautiful - jungly with lots of bright flowers - hibiscus, birds of paradise, mango, banana, coconut trees, you get the picture.
Alright, headed back to the beach......more to come!
Tomorrow we are going snorkeling -- hoping to see whale sharks. Howevev, the lady at the dive shop said if we didn't see whale sharks we'd probably see hammerheads or bull sharks (to which my eyes got really large). "They don't hurt do they?" So we get three snorkels; 2 with whale sharks and one off the reef. We'll keep you posted on what we see!!
The landscape is beautiful - jungly with lots of bright flowers - hibiscus, birds of paradise, mango, banana, coconut trees, you get the picture.
Alright, headed back to the beach......more to come!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Graduation
Yesterday for graduation the weather in Seattle was beautiful....Thanks God for the sun! Amazing since last week I was bundled up in fleece and even turned on the gas fireplace again. My family and friends roasted in their seats directly facing the sun at Quest field (where the Seahawks play for you out-of-towners). Meanwhile, I cooked down on the field in my nice black polyester robe.
When they called my name (and said it correctly, hooray) i felt a smile creep across my face. Yes, I am really done! It felt very surreal and liberating at the same time. Thanks to all of you, family and friends, who have supported me in this endeavour. I could not have made it without you!
Our plane leaves at 6am tomorrow...so the next post will be from Belize!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Another adventure with mom
The first ten days of my trip to Belize will be spent traveling around with my mom. The most recent time we adventured out like this was when she came to visit me in Alaska where I was working as a tour guide for Princess cruises in Skagway. She boarded my bus which was headed into the Yukon for the day. Lucky for her and my other passengers, she heard my lovely voice chime out stories, jokes and songs about Alaska and the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897/1898 for a whole 8 hours. Every now and then, mostly when I'm watching Jeopardy, these facts come in handy.
While she was visiting, we rented a car and took a road trip up to Atlin, BC. We stayed in this great little cabin that had no electricity. It had gas lanterns on the walls, a gas stove for cooking, and a wood fireplace for warmth. And an outhouse...the kind with room at the top of the door so you could see the stars at night! We had to chop the wood ourselves, and I was thankful that mom knew what she was doing. I realized fast that I'm not a good wood-chopper. We went to the little store in town and bought hot chocolate, peppermint schnapps, cheese, apples, bread and pancake mix. I'm sure there was candy in there too. And so the evening progressed, with us playing cards 'til all hours of the night. The next day we had arranged to go kayakaing on this serene lake in the middle of nowhere. It was amazing, and funny - paddling around a beaver dam and getting stuck in reeds. Nothing really compares to driving through the Yukon in all its majestic splendor. The vast wilderness. Living simply.
So, here's to another great trip with mom! So far, we have ideas of where we want to go, but no reservations have been made. We're winging it. We leave on Tuesday and she'll be with me until the 26th. I'll meet up with the other girls at my homestay and she'll head back to Seattle. A few ideas on the agenda: Placencia for snorkeling (hopefully with whale sharks). Somewhere in the jungle for cave tubing/exploring, ruins and monkey sighting. And, lastly, Caye Caulker for more sun, snorkeling and maybe sea kayaking? I think Lobster is on that agenda too.....
Okay, back to packing~
While she was visiting, we rented a car and took a road trip up to Atlin, BC. We stayed in this great little cabin that had no electricity. It had gas lanterns on the walls, a gas stove for cooking, and a wood fireplace for warmth. And an outhouse...the kind with room at the top of the door so you could see the stars at night! We had to chop the wood ourselves, and I was thankful that mom knew what she was doing. I realized fast that I'm not a good wood-chopper. We went to the little store in town and bought hot chocolate, peppermint schnapps, cheese, apples, bread and pancake mix. I'm sure there was candy in there too. And so the evening progressed, with us playing cards 'til all hours of the night. The next day we had arranged to go kayakaing on this serene lake in the middle of nowhere. It was amazing, and funny - paddling around a beaver dam and getting stuck in reeds. Nothing really compares to driving through the Yukon in all its majestic splendor. The vast wilderness. Living simply.
So, here's to another great trip with mom! So far, we have ideas of where we want to go, but no reservations have been made. We're winging it. We leave on Tuesday and she'll be with me until the 26th. I'll meet up with the other girls at my homestay and she'll head back to Seattle. A few ideas on the agenda: Placencia for snorkeling (hopefully with whale sharks). Somewhere in the jungle for cave tubing/exploring, ruins and monkey sighting. And, lastly, Caye Caulker for more sun, snorkeling and maybe sea kayaking? I think Lobster is on that agenda too.....
Okay, back to packing~
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Venturing into the world of blogs
Hi Everyone,
Well, if having three emails isn't enough - let's add in a blog! I figure this will be an easy method of keeping in touch with many of you as I travel to Belize this summer and continue with life beyond.
I graduate this Sunday with my Master's degree! Hard to believe that three years of my life have flown by. That's three full-time years....winter, spring, summer and fall.....all spent in school. Needless to say, I welcome this change. And yet, even in welcoming this change comes the loss of all that has been familiar the past few years. It feels like an identity crisis of sorts.
However, I'm excited to see what lies ahead. Stay tuned; I'll try and post regularly...
Well, if having three emails isn't enough - let's add in a blog! I figure this will be an easy method of keeping in touch with many of you as I travel to Belize this summer and continue with life beyond.
I graduate this Sunday with my Master's degree! Hard to believe that three years of my life have flown by. That's three full-time years....winter, spring, summer and fall.....all spent in school. Needless to say, I welcome this change. And yet, even in welcoming this change comes the loss of all that has been familiar the past few years. It feels like an identity crisis of sorts.
However, I'm excited to see what lies ahead. Stay tuned; I'll try and post regularly...
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