Holy crap it's been a while since I've been on this! It's been a whirlwind week and some days, so I'll attempt to start off where I last left you....
I was in San Ignacio and then decided to make the leap over to Guatemala, which was not at all as bad as I was making it out to be. I took a taxi to the border ( a whopping $2.50 US) and then just got in line, showed them my passport, and off I went. I was expecting giant guards with machine guns interrogating me as to why I was leaving Belize and entering Guatemala, but that was not the case. I think I probably could have just sauntered through without getting my passport stamped, but I decided against that. I hopped in a collectivo (mini buses of sorts) and took a bumpy 2 hour ride to Flores, which is this cute little town on an island in the middle of Lago Peten. I arrived at my hostel, Los Amigos, and then went down to the swimming docks right over the lake where locals and tourists alike enjoy diving and cannonballing into the water and splashing around. I forgot how much I enjoy fresh water until I jumped in, but it was a nice break from the salt of the sea. I met quite a few people on the dock-a couple from Oakland who are biking around the ENTIRE world (they think they will be gone a decade), a Frenchman who dove in and hit the bottom and scraped up his head and refused medical help, a really nice Isreali girl who said I looked like her sister-in-law, and a fair amount of Canadians, and one other American! yay! After some beers on the dock since you can drink beer anywhere in Central America, we went and got street food and watched the moon come up. Then it was off to bed because I was heading to Tikal and had to be up at 4 am.
Tikal was an experience to say the least. It is the oldest (?) and biggest Mayan ruin, and it's just huge. Thankfully the hostel sets up guided tours otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have been lost in the woods for a few days trying to find my way out. We toured around for a few hours and learned about the Mayan culture and their cities, and I'm very happy that I was not alive at that time. Human sacrifice was a big thing, and they don't so much love treating ladies like equals, but they did build some massive towers. Towers that I got to climb up. Which I was not intending on doing due to my dislike of heights, but I did it! And got some great pictures that I will post if the internet ever decides to work at a normal speed. After Tikal it was back to the docks for swimming and meeting more people, I met a Canadian named David who called Portland "The New York of Oregon" and I am going to start saying that from now on. Also met two really fun girls from Canada, Marina and Audrey, and a big group of us went out for steak dinner, which was absolutely amazing.
Most people were leaving the next day for Mexico or Belize and I had to decide what I wanted to do, so I decided to spend another day in Flores and then head south with David to go to Semuc Champay and do water caves! The next day in Flores it rained all day so I learned how to play cribbage and walked around a little bit and found some awesome Tikal shirts to purchase. We had originally booked a collectivo through the hostel but then found out that night that it wasn't going, so we found Doris and Silvana who were also going to Semuc Champay and we all made the 8+ hour bus ride together to get to Lanquin (the town outside of Semuc Champay where we stayed). I actually enjoyed the bus ride because the landscape of Guatemala is incredibly beautiful, it's very green with sharp hills and valleys and you're constantly winding up or down a mountain.
We got to the hostel in Lanquin, Zephyr Lodge, and found out that the only space they had available was in the loft above the bar with two double mattresses, and complete with Dieter the roommate who worked at the hostel. The selling point was the showers, which had a view of the hillside and surrounding landscape. I think I could have slept in them if that had been ok. After a whole day of traveling, we got food and drinks which were both quite necessary. We ran into some people that had been at our hostel in Flores, and ended the day watching Youtube videos. Look up Epic Meal time if you can, it's a winner. The next day was caving!! Not only caving, but water caving. We all piled into the back of a pick up truck to be shuttled to Semuc Champay, then you strip down to your bathing suit and sneakers, grab a candle and head into the cave. I was terrified and let that be known and thankfully we had a really great group of people and everyone was pretty supportive. The next two hours we spent wading, swimming, climbing, and jumping through the cave, it was incredible. After the cave there was a rope swing over the river that some people went on, but after watching all the guys hit the water at awkward angles and come out red and bruised I decided not to partake. We had some lunch then hiked up to a lookout point that looked down on the lagoons of Semuc Champay. Then we got to swim in the pools and jump from lagoon to lagoon which was really fun, and our guide kept calling us "chicos, chicos" which was also entertaining. We headed back to the hostel for dinner and some more socializing but I was dead tired and went to sleep at 10...which was perfect timing because a group sing-a-long had started, and if you know me, you know that I absolutely despise sing-a-longs.
The next morning we had to say goodbye to Lanquin and Zephyr Lodge and headed to Antigua, another long day of buses. It was Doris, David and myself, Silvana was smart and had booked a collectivo the day befor. We stopped in Coban and got some food, and then had to change buses in Guatemala City as well, as well as say goodbye to Doris. David and I grabbed a chicken bus, which is what all the locals ride and it's basically an old modified school bus that gets packed full of people and is quite entertaining to ride. We arrived in Antigua and met up with Silvana at our hostel, The Black Cat, had some dinner and then fell asleep (such wild and crazy kids we are). The next day was full of bartering at the markets and it was so much fun! My spanish is still pretty crap-ola but Silvana and David both speak it so I got them to help me barter and ended up getting way more stuff than I needed, but it was definitely an entertaining day! We walked around Antigua a bit, which is a really cool old colonial town in a valley surrounded by volcanoes. I wish I could have spent more time there, buttttt the sun and Caye Caulker were calling my name. Plus my spanish speaking friends were leaving me, and that would have been disastrous for me to attempt on my own.
So to get from Antigua to Caye Caulker was going to be a day and a half worth of riding buses, and after spending a fair amount of time on buses in the last few days this sounded terrible, so I made the executive decision to fly! I went from Guatemala City to Flores in this little plane that held maybe 30 people, and booked the ticket the night before. I never would have trusted that in the States, but apparently it's pretty common in Guatemala. Then from Flores to Belize City I flew in a little 7 seater plane and got to ride shotgun next to the pilot! Again, my fear of heights was put to the test, but the views were worth it. Then it was a 10 minute ride from Belize City to Caye Caulker and I was back in paradise! This is my final stop before I head home, I figured I would bookend my trip with some time in the sun and relaxing. I did absolutely love Guatemala though, and want to go back in the future and spend a few months there and learn Spanish. I'm really happy I went, I just wish I had more time there!
Anywho, I'm getting eaten by sand flies while I type this, and I'm kayaking around the island soon so I'm off! I'll write again soon, I promise...
Love and miss you all!
Jen
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
UnBelizeable (seriously my towel says that)
Heyyyyyyy party people! Sorry for my bloggy-absence, but it seems to be the theme here in Belize where the internet craps out, then works at a snail's pace, and my patience is no match for it. But, enough about that...
So last time I left this little journal I was headed to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary for a few days of hiking and being eaten alive by bugs, both of which happened excessively. Denise and I arrived at the Wildlife HQ and were shown to our rustic cabin. We also stumbled upon one of the volunteer interns, a guy named Seth who was from Portland! Small world I tell you. So we got settled and then Seth took us on a night hike where we went down by a big river, saw tons of giant spiders, fire flies, and thankfully no snakes. The next day we embarked on a 5-ish km loop around the Reserve that twisted and turned. We saw some cool turkey-like birds and small pheasants, but no jaguars or big animals. Back to the room and we fell asleep, but woke up in enough time to float down the river for the afternoon. And we saw a jaguarundi (it's in the big cat family, probably about the size of a golden retriever) that was crossing over the river through the trees! Very cool to see one. While floating, Denise and I were discussing what we would be doing if we were "playing by the rules"-we figured we would both be getting off work instead of floating down the river, and would have been working the past 5 days instead of our lovely traveling. We both decided we enjoyed not playing by the rules, and karma instantly stepped in and it started raining buckets on us for the rest of our float. It would have been fine if we had been about to get out, but no, we had half an hour to float down the river with cold rain pelting us and howler monkeys screaming in the background, then we ran back through the mud and forest in just our bathing suits and towels. The rangers got a good laugh when we finally returned, and we had been laughing since the rain started so it ended up being a good day.
The next day we got up super early and hiked this steep trail that led down to two waterfalls! It was absolutely beautiful, and as we hiked up and then hiked down it felt like we were passing through a few different forests. In low altitude it felt like the rainforest, but as we climbed higher and higher I almost felt like I was back at the Oregon Coast with a lot of dunes and scrub. The waterfalls themselves were beautiful and we spent a fair amount of time trying to get the self-timer on Denise's camera to work so we could get a a picture together, but that failed. Then it was back to camp, pack up and we were off to Placencia!
Placencia is this small, 17 mile peninsula in Southern-ish Belize, and it has this big, long beautiful white beach with palm trees. There are tons of lots for sale, and I have never met so many retired or relocated Americans in my life, and I can't say I blame them for moving either. We got into town, settled into the hotel (I had my first hot shower of the trip-YES!) and then went out for dinner and drinks. We ran into some funny Belizean boys who said they had seen us in Dangriga and took us to the Barefoot Bar, that was overrun with older retired people. I ended up getting cornered by this kid named Bill who had zero sense of humor or social norms and just droned on and on about how great he was, Belize is, and something else but I tuned him out.Thankfully he had to go make a drug deal (classsssssy), I rescued Denise from his cousin and we escaped and went to the Tipsy Tuna, where there was a live band and not a single soul dancing. We quickly changed that, but no one bothered to join. So Denise and I hopped around yet another dance floor, then went searching for late-night food, couldn't find any, so we ate all of our snacks before hitting the hay.
The next day was spent playing in the sand on the beach, then walking through town to find souvenirs and some really delicious gelato. We ate a really yummy dinner, but didn't have the strength to go out afterwards. We did however meet a boisterous old fellow from North Carolina in our hotel hallway who talked to us about a number of things, and took to calling me "college girl" because he couldn't remember my name. He ended up being pretty entertaining and offered some advice for traveling to Guatemala and such.
Denise left pretty early on Monday, and I was left to my own devices. I did some long overdue laundry and chatted with a shop owner, who had lived in Oregon. So we traded stories for a bit, then I ran some errands and got prepared to leave the next day. Originally I was going to try go get to Guatemala from the South of Belize by boat, but it sounded like more of a challenge then I was up for, so I decided to bus it up to San Ignacio, a small jungle town in the Cayo district of Belize that sits about 8 miles from the Guatemalan border.
I've been in San Ignacio for 2 nights now, and just spent yesterday wandering around the town, going into shops, and then attempted to run in the afternoon. That was a terrible idea, but I did get to see a good part of the town that I would have otherwise not seen. Today I went horseback riding (one of my goals of the trip) and it was amazing. I was the only one on the ride (i've never felt like a bigger loser) but my guide was really nice and we rode to the Xunantunich Mayan ruins. I got to walk around the ruins, which sit atop this mountain, so the views are absolutely spectacular. I still have zero idea how the Mayans constructed what they did so many thousands of years ago, but it is definitely impressive. On our way back it started to rain, and my guide turned to me and said "ok, so can you really ride?" and I said "yes..." and then we galloped the last mile or so home, through cow fields and down dirt (mud at this point) paths. I was soaked to the bone and grinning from ear to ear when we got back. I absolutely loved it. I am of course beyond sore now, but it was well worth it.
Tomorrow I'm heading for Guatemala, crossing the border in the morning and then taking a 2 hour bus ride to Flores, this tiny town in the middle of a lake. I've looked up some Spanish phrases and gotten some Guatemalan money, so hopefully I'm set! I've also been versed about the border crossing and what not, so I feel pretty confident about doing it, but of course a little apprehensive as well. Wish me luck! I'll write again when I get safe into my hostel.
Love and miss you all..and of course, Happy St. Patricks Day!
Jen
So last time I left this little journal I was headed to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary for a few days of hiking and being eaten alive by bugs, both of which happened excessively. Denise and I arrived at the Wildlife HQ and were shown to our rustic cabin. We also stumbled upon one of the volunteer interns, a guy named Seth who was from Portland! Small world I tell you. So we got settled and then Seth took us on a night hike where we went down by a big river, saw tons of giant spiders, fire flies, and thankfully no snakes. The next day we embarked on a 5-ish km loop around the Reserve that twisted and turned. We saw some cool turkey-like birds and small pheasants, but no jaguars or big animals. Back to the room and we fell asleep, but woke up in enough time to float down the river for the afternoon. And we saw a jaguarundi (it's in the big cat family, probably about the size of a golden retriever) that was crossing over the river through the trees! Very cool to see one. While floating, Denise and I were discussing what we would be doing if we were "playing by the rules"-we figured we would both be getting off work instead of floating down the river, and would have been working the past 5 days instead of our lovely traveling. We both decided we enjoyed not playing by the rules, and karma instantly stepped in and it started raining buckets on us for the rest of our float. It would have been fine if we had been about to get out, but no, we had half an hour to float down the river with cold rain pelting us and howler monkeys screaming in the background, then we ran back through the mud and forest in just our bathing suits and towels. The rangers got a good laugh when we finally returned, and we had been laughing since the rain started so it ended up being a good day.
The next day we got up super early and hiked this steep trail that led down to two waterfalls! It was absolutely beautiful, and as we hiked up and then hiked down it felt like we were passing through a few different forests. In low altitude it felt like the rainforest, but as we climbed higher and higher I almost felt like I was back at the Oregon Coast with a lot of dunes and scrub. The waterfalls themselves were beautiful and we spent a fair amount of time trying to get the self-timer on Denise's camera to work so we could get a a picture together, but that failed. Then it was back to camp, pack up and we were off to Placencia!
Placencia is this small, 17 mile peninsula in Southern-ish Belize, and it has this big, long beautiful white beach with palm trees. There are tons of lots for sale, and I have never met so many retired or relocated Americans in my life, and I can't say I blame them for moving either. We got into town, settled into the hotel (I had my first hot shower of the trip-YES!) and then went out for dinner and drinks. We ran into some funny Belizean boys who said they had seen us in Dangriga and took us to the Barefoot Bar, that was overrun with older retired people. I ended up getting cornered by this kid named Bill who had zero sense of humor or social norms and just droned on and on about how great he was, Belize is, and something else but I tuned him out.Thankfully he had to go make a drug deal (classsssssy), I rescued Denise from his cousin and we escaped and went to the Tipsy Tuna, where there was a live band and not a single soul dancing. We quickly changed that, but no one bothered to join. So Denise and I hopped around yet another dance floor, then went searching for late-night food, couldn't find any, so we ate all of our snacks before hitting the hay.
The next day was spent playing in the sand on the beach, then walking through town to find souvenirs and some really delicious gelato. We ate a really yummy dinner, but didn't have the strength to go out afterwards. We did however meet a boisterous old fellow from North Carolina in our hotel hallway who talked to us about a number of things, and took to calling me "college girl" because he couldn't remember my name. He ended up being pretty entertaining and offered some advice for traveling to Guatemala and such.
Denise left pretty early on Monday, and I was left to my own devices. I did some long overdue laundry and chatted with a shop owner, who had lived in Oregon. So we traded stories for a bit, then I ran some errands and got prepared to leave the next day. Originally I was going to try go get to Guatemala from the South of Belize by boat, but it sounded like more of a challenge then I was up for, so I decided to bus it up to San Ignacio, a small jungle town in the Cayo district of Belize that sits about 8 miles from the Guatemalan border.
I've been in San Ignacio for 2 nights now, and just spent yesterday wandering around the town, going into shops, and then attempted to run in the afternoon. That was a terrible idea, but I did get to see a good part of the town that I would have otherwise not seen. Today I went horseback riding (one of my goals of the trip) and it was amazing. I was the only one on the ride (i've never felt like a bigger loser) but my guide was really nice and we rode to the Xunantunich Mayan ruins. I got to walk around the ruins, which sit atop this mountain, so the views are absolutely spectacular. I still have zero idea how the Mayans constructed what they did so many thousands of years ago, but it is definitely impressive. On our way back it started to rain, and my guide turned to me and said "ok, so can you really ride?" and I said "yes..." and then we galloped the last mile or so home, through cow fields and down dirt (mud at this point) paths. I was soaked to the bone and grinning from ear to ear when we got back. I absolutely loved it. I am of course beyond sore now, but it was well worth it.
Tomorrow I'm heading for Guatemala, crossing the border in the morning and then taking a 2 hour bus ride to Flores, this tiny town in the middle of a lake. I've looked up some Spanish phrases and gotten some Guatemalan money, so hopefully I'm set! I've also been versed about the border crossing and what not, so I feel pretty confident about doing it, but of course a little apprehensive as well. Wish me luck! I'll write again when I get safe into my hostel.
Love and miss you all..and of course, Happy St. Patricks Day!
Jen
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Tobacco Caye
Just FYI-this little diddy was written a few days ago (Thursday to be precise) but since the internet was crap in Dangriga, I did not get the chance to post it. So enjoy, just a few days late...I'm currently in Placencia and will write again tomorrow!
I just arrived in Dangriga after spending two and a half days on Tobacco Caye, a teeny tiny island that is the size of about four football fields. We (Denise my travel buddy from West Linn) and I departed Caye Caulker early on Monday morning and spent the better part of the day traveling. We took the water taxi to Belize City, then hopped on a bus to get down to Dangriga. Buses are the most common form of transportation here, and they are in fact just old US school buses. The cities all have little bus depots, but you can also just go out to the side of the highway and flag a bus down and climb aboard. We wound through the Hummingbird Highway, which is a simple two-lane road weaving through the jungle down the country, with little towns dotted here and there. Once we arrived in Dangriga we got on yet another water taxi to head out to Tobacco Caye. A bumpy 40 minute boat ride later, we had arrived in another tropical paradise! The island really is tiny, and if you stand in the middle of it, you can see the ocean from every angle. Denise and I had reserved a cabana on one end of the island, only to be told that yes, they had the reservation, but no, there was not a cabana for us. Thankfully there was another hotel at the other side of the island that had space for us and we got a room squared away.
It took us all of five minutes to lock ourselves out of our cabana. So Denise had to hoist me onto her shoulders and I had to stick my arm through the slatted windows and blindly grope around until I found the key. A group of guys walked by, and instead of offering to help, they just pointed and laughed at us. Thanks friends. After getting settled we decided to do some snorkeling, since Tobacco Caye is one of the few islands in Belize where you can snorkel over coral reef right off the docks. Of course this wasn’t good enough for us, and we decided to try and snorkel around the island (which is not allowed) and then to climb over this shallow area of rocks and plants (actually coral) to get to the bigger waves on the other side. Cut to a nice man in a kayak screaming his head off at us that we were either going to be killed by the waves or fined by the rangers for walking on coral. Oops. We felt like idiots, and promptly called snorkeling off for the day, and settled for some vodka with orange juice instead. On Tobacco Caye you eat every meal family style with whoever else is staying around you, and the people who work there (think summer camp). It’s actually really nice because it offers a chance to interact and get to know the other guests, as well as the people who live on the island. They also get to play their own music, and we heard an abnormal amount of Shania Twain, Celine Dion, and Abba. This baffled and entertained me to no end. We made friends with the bartender quickly (duh) and he offered to take us snorkeling the next day. We also met the dive instructor, Brian, who is a conspiracy theorist and believes, among other things, that people should always be on psychedelic mushrooms, that the US is going to hell in a hand basket, and that the Mayans used radio frequency to construct their temples. After dinner we went to the other bar where some of the locals were doing a drum circle, which is a tradition in Garifuna culture (if you’re like me and had to google all of these things, don’t feel badly. I had no idea either). There was also a group of backpackers who were on a sailing trip that we quickly made friends with, despite them making fun of my accent for most of the night.
The next day we got up early, had breakfast, and lounged on the docks for a bit. Then we went snorkeling out from the island to the reef, and spent a good while chasing fish, looking at sea stars and finding this giant moray eel. The thing was probably the size of my thigh and thank god it was under a rock or I would have been out of the water faster than Charlie Sheen from rehab (I’m doing my best to stay up-to-date and relevant here). After snorkeling we joined in the local volleyball game. It was 5 vs 5 with a mix of locals and tourists. I’d like to say I was the star player, but I suck at volleyball and everyone figured that out pretty quickly. The local boys were of course all really good and intense, and I found it pretty great that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are or what sport you are playing, the boys will always take it too seriously. Well done team. After snorkeling and volleyball I was exhausted so it was a quick dinner then off the snooze land. We were supposed to be leaving the next morning, but we decided to extend our stay by another day so we could enjoy paradise a bit longer.
The last day we got up and went over to another dock on the other side of the island to read and lounge. We had been there no more than 10 minutes when we were descended upon by 40 people from Minnesota who were on a “work” vacation. It was some small investment company (or banking? Or something…) that was not only paying for these people to go on this expensive trip through Guatemala and Belize, but they were also getting paid while they were there. Unreal. They were also quite drunk and doing flips and cannonballs and belly flops off of the dock, so that was amusing. I tried to ask them about Mount Rose but everyone looked at me like I was crazy, I guess they don’t like Drop Dead Gorgeous in Minnesota. All this action tired us out, so we went back to the cabana to nap. We woke up and played volleyball again (my team won!) and then were off to dinner. Since it was our last night, we decided to celebrate by letting the bartender making us whatever he wanted. We ended up with a drink called a Submarine, which is just one giant mix of every kind of liquor behind the counter (mostly rum). We were told it was a shot, but it actually was almost an entire whiskey glass full of booze. Amazingly we finished these and were still standing, much to the surprise of everyone around us. Then a drum circle started up again and Denise and I were taught some of the traditional dances and got to hop around the deck with some of the locals. If you’ve seen me dance, then you should already be at the conclusion that everyone was highly entertained by my attempts to do this. Then we had the bright idea to wake up the sleeping campers and try to get them to come join us, but for some reason they were not happy when we went running and yelling through their camp. Odd. A little more dancing, then it was bed time. We woke up feeling great today (yes seriously), packed, and are now on our way to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s about an hour bus ride from Dangriga, and it is the only Jaguar Sanctuary in the world! I’m really excited for some time in the jungle and to do hiking and critter spotting, I’m just hoping I don’t get torn apart by bugs!
I just arrived in Dangriga after spending two and a half days on Tobacco Caye, a teeny tiny island that is the size of about four football fields. We (Denise my travel buddy from West Linn) and I departed Caye Caulker early on Monday morning and spent the better part of the day traveling. We took the water taxi to Belize City, then hopped on a bus to get down to Dangriga. Buses are the most common form of transportation here, and they are in fact just old US school buses. The cities all have little bus depots, but you can also just go out to the side of the highway and flag a bus down and climb aboard. We wound through the Hummingbird Highway, which is a simple two-lane road weaving through the jungle down the country, with little towns dotted here and there. Once we arrived in Dangriga we got on yet another water taxi to head out to Tobacco Caye. A bumpy 40 minute boat ride later, we had arrived in another tropical paradise! The island really is tiny, and if you stand in the middle of it, you can see the ocean from every angle. Denise and I had reserved a cabana on one end of the island, only to be told that yes, they had the reservation, but no, there was not a cabana for us. Thankfully there was another hotel at the other side of the island that had space for us and we got a room squared away.
It took us all of five minutes to lock ourselves out of our cabana. So Denise had to hoist me onto her shoulders and I had to stick my arm through the slatted windows and blindly grope around until I found the key. A group of guys walked by, and instead of offering to help, they just pointed and laughed at us. Thanks friends. After getting settled we decided to do some snorkeling, since Tobacco Caye is one of the few islands in Belize where you can snorkel over coral reef right off the docks. Of course this wasn’t good enough for us, and we decided to try and snorkel around the island (which is not allowed) and then to climb over this shallow area of rocks and plants (actually coral) to get to the bigger waves on the other side. Cut to a nice man in a kayak screaming his head off at us that we were either going to be killed by the waves or fined by the rangers for walking on coral. Oops. We felt like idiots, and promptly called snorkeling off for the day, and settled for some vodka with orange juice instead. On Tobacco Caye you eat every meal family style with whoever else is staying around you, and the people who work there (think summer camp). It’s actually really nice because it offers a chance to interact and get to know the other guests, as well as the people who live on the island. They also get to play their own music, and we heard an abnormal amount of Shania Twain, Celine Dion, and Abba. This baffled and entertained me to no end. We made friends with the bartender quickly (duh) and he offered to take us snorkeling the next day. We also met the dive instructor, Brian, who is a conspiracy theorist and believes, among other things, that people should always be on psychedelic mushrooms, that the US is going to hell in a hand basket, and that the Mayans used radio frequency to construct their temples. After dinner we went to the other bar where some of the locals were doing a drum circle, which is a tradition in Garifuna culture (if you’re like me and had to google all of these things, don’t feel badly. I had no idea either). There was also a group of backpackers who were on a sailing trip that we quickly made friends with, despite them making fun of my accent for most of the night.
The next day we got up early, had breakfast, and lounged on the docks for a bit. Then we went snorkeling out from the island to the reef, and spent a good while chasing fish, looking at sea stars and finding this giant moray eel. The thing was probably the size of my thigh and thank god it was under a rock or I would have been out of the water faster than Charlie Sheen from rehab (I’m doing my best to stay up-to-date and relevant here). After snorkeling we joined in the local volleyball game. It was 5 vs 5 with a mix of locals and tourists. I’d like to say I was the star player, but I suck at volleyball and everyone figured that out pretty quickly. The local boys were of course all really good and intense, and I found it pretty great that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are or what sport you are playing, the boys will always take it too seriously. Well done team. After snorkeling and volleyball I was exhausted so it was a quick dinner then off the snooze land. We were supposed to be leaving the next morning, but we decided to extend our stay by another day so we could enjoy paradise a bit longer.
The last day we got up and went over to another dock on the other side of the island to read and lounge. We had been there no more than 10 minutes when we were descended upon by 40 people from Minnesota who were on a “work” vacation. It was some small investment company (or banking? Or something…) that was not only paying for these people to go on this expensive trip through Guatemala and Belize, but they were also getting paid while they were there. Unreal. They were also quite drunk and doing flips and cannonballs and belly flops off of the dock, so that was amusing. I tried to ask them about Mount Rose but everyone looked at me like I was crazy, I guess they don’t like Drop Dead Gorgeous in Minnesota. All this action tired us out, so we went back to the cabana to nap. We woke up and played volleyball again (my team won!) and then were off to dinner. Since it was our last night, we decided to celebrate by letting the bartender making us whatever he wanted. We ended up with a drink called a Submarine, which is just one giant mix of every kind of liquor behind the counter (mostly rum). We were told it was a shot, but it actually was almost an entire whiskey glass full of booze. Amazingly we finished these and were still standing, much to the surprise of everyone around us. Then a drum circle started up again and Denise and I were taught some of the traditional dances and got to hop around the deck with some of the locals. If you’ve seen me dance, then you should already be at the conclusion that everyone was highly entertained by my attempts to do this. Then we had the bright idea to wake up the sleeping campers and try to get them to come join us, but for some reason they were not happy when we went running and yelling through their camp. Odd. A little more dancing, then it was bed time. We woke up feeling great today (yes seriously), packed, and are now on our way to the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s about an hour bus ride from Dangriga, and it is the only Jaguar Sanctuary in the world! I’m really excited for some time in the jungle and to do hiking and critter spotting, I’m just hoping I don’t get torn apart by bugs!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
More Caye Caulker
I’m on my last night here in Caye Caulker, and while I’m excited to leave and head to my next adventure, I will be very sad to leave this little slice of paradise. The island is really rustic and laid back, and everyone is incredibly friendly, but somehow not in a creepy way (for the most part). Everyone says hello to each other, the locals want to know where you’re from and where you’re going and talk about how great Caye Caulker is, and I’ve met some really great people here in my little hostel! I’m really glad that I chose this as my first stop, it’s been a great introduction to Belize and traveling in Central America, which is quite different from traveling in Australia.
The past few days I have spent sunbathing, playing in the water, and trying to get over this stupid cold that I somehow managed to catch the night before I was supposed to go scuba diving. Needless to say, scuba did not pan out and now I’m trying to figure out another place to do it before I come back to the States, so keep your fingers crossed! Denise and I did go on a boat tour yesterday, where we went manatee watching in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon. The boat ride was bumpy, but we went through all of these mangroves and past these little islands and it was just absolutely gorgeous. The colors of the landscape here are more vivid than I have ever seen and I am constantly in awe of my surroundings. We did see some manatees, one even came right up next to our boat and poked his snout around for a bit. We went to this little island named St. George’s for lunch, then out to the barrier reef to snorkel. I was really excited to take underwater pictures with my cool underwater camera, and then the stupid thing broke. So if you were wondering why I have yet to post pictures, it is because my camera hates me currently and won’t turn on. Fail. I’m hoping to get a new one tomorrow in Belize City before I trek downward. So fingers crossed again.
Other highlights of Caye Caulker include going to the local reggae bar and seeing how the Belizeans dance…it’s up against a wall and not very lady like. I did not partake, instead opting to bounce around the dance floor with my beer and scaring anyone of coming within 10 feet of me. I also tried the local beer, Belikin, for the first time, and can report back that I’m pretty sure it is just re-bottled Bud Weiser. We also went to karaoke night and watched the locals and some tourists sing their hearts out, which was incredibly entertaining. I’m not sure what it is about foreign countries and bad 90s music, but all that I’ve heard lately is just that. Unfortunately there are no music videos to accompany said music like in Australia, instead they play Sports Center and soft core porn (seriously) on the bar TVs. Kind of an odd mix…
I’ve met a lot of great people since arriving here, and it’s been amazing to hear everyone’s travel stories. I met two girls from Seattle, Jen and Ally, who have been really fun and we all get along really well! Unfortunately they head back to the States tomorrow. However, Ally has been traveling since October and she (along with several other hostel guests) has convinced me to go to Guatemala for a week or so. I’m still going to be in Belize for the next week or so, then I’ll head over to Guatemala for a bit then back to Belize to hopefully do scuba and come home. I’m nervous to go, but also really excited. The majority of people backpacking here are only spending a bit of time in Belize and exploring the rest of Central America, and I figured that I might as well do the same. And I’ve been reassured that it is safe, it’s ok that I suck at speaking Spanish, and will meet lots of fun people on the way, so please don’t worry! I’ll survive. And apparently it’s dirt cheap, which is never a bad thing.
Anyways, I’m rambling, as usual. If you’re reading this and having a hard time following it, I apologize, I feel scatter brained just typing it out. It’s now off to bed for a day of water taxis, buses, and more water taxis tomorrow to get to Tobacco Caye! But I’ll update again soon, and hopefully have some entertaining stories to throw in the mix.
The past few days I have spent sunbathing, playing in the water, and trying to get over this stupid cold that I somehow managed to catch the night before I was supposed to go scuba diving. Needless to say, scuba did not pan out and now I’m trying to figure out another place to do it before I come back to the States, so keep your fingers crossed! Denise and I did go on a boat tour yesterday, where we went manatee watching in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon. The boat ride was bumpy, but we went through all of these mangroves and past these little islands and it was just absolutely gorgeous. The colors of the landscape here are more vivid than I have ever seen and I am constantly in awe of my surroundings. We did see some manatees, one even came right up next to our boat and poked his snout around for a bit. We went to this little island named St. George’s for lunch, then out to the barrier reef to snorkel. I was really excited to take underwater pictures with my cool underwater camera, and then the stupid thing broke. So if you were wondering why I have yet to post pictures, it is because my camera hates me currently and won’t turn on. Fail. I’m hoping to get a new one tomorrow in Belize City before I trek downward. So fingers crossed again.
Other highlights of Caye Caulker include going to the local reggae bar and seeing how the Belizeans dance…it’s up against a wall and not very lady like. I did not partake, instead opting to bounce around the dance floor with my beer and scaring anyone of coming within 10 feet of me. I also tried the local beer, Belikin, for the first time, and can report back that I’m pretty sure it is just re-bottled Bud Weiser. We also went to karaoke night and watched the locals and some tourists sing their hearts out, which was incredibly entertaining. I’m not sure what it is about foreign countries and bad 90s music, but all that I’ve heard lately is just that. Unfortunately there are no music videos to accompany said music like in Australia, instead they play Sports Center and soft core porn (seriously) on the bar TVs. Kind of an odd mix…
I’ve met a lot of great people since arriving here, and it’s been amazing to hear everyone’s travel stories. I met two girls from Seattle, Jen and Ally, who have been really fun and we all get along really well! Unfortunately they head back to the States tomorrow. However, Ally has been traveling since October and she (along with several other hostel guests) has convinced me to go to Guatemala for a week or so. I’m still going to be in Belize for the next week or so, then I’ll head over to Guatemala for a bit then back to Belize to hopefully do scuba and come home. I’m nervous to go, but also really excited. The majority of people backpacking here are only spending a bit of time in Belize and exploring the rest of Central America, and I figured that I might as well do the same. And I’ve been reassured that it is safe, it’s ok that I suck at speaking Spanish, and will meet lots of fun people on the way, so please don’t worry! I’ll survive. And apparently it’s dirt cheap, which is never a bad thing.
Anyways, I’m rambling, as usual. If you’re reading this and having a hard time following it, I apologize, I feel scatter brained just typing it out. It’s now off to bed for a day of water taxis, buses, and more water taxis tomorrow to get to Tobacco Caye! But I’ll update again soon, and hopefully have some entertaining stories to throw in the mix.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Caye Caulker
Greetings from Caye Caulker! I found out it is in fact prounounced “key” caulker, and thankfully I found that out before I arrived, but no after I had told everyone in the states where I was going. Oopsie. It is safe to say that I have landed in paradise here. It is a quaint, laid back little island with only three streets- Front Street, Middle Street, and Back Street. Don’t ever let anyone tell you Belizeans aren’t clever.
I arrived yesterday morning after a sleepless night in Belize City, which I will blame partly on nerves and partly on the screaming match that went on outside my door until the wee hours of the morning. I may or may not have slept with my purse in my bed. I then encountered an entire children’s parade as I attempted to make my way to the Water Taxi station, and had to cross the street between the first and second graders with more than a few strange glances thrown my way. A short water taxi ride later and I landed on the wooden docks of Caye Caulker and feasted my eyes on crystal blue water, tropically colored houses, and palm trees. I am staying at hostel right on the beach, complete with hammocks hanging over the water and our own little dock. I spent yesterday on the dock reading and staring into the ocean, then took a nice siesta in one of the hammocks. I met one of my roommates, Denise, who just happens to be from West Linn, Oregon. Small world eh? So we bonded pretty instantly (yay for making friends!) and went out to grab a bite to eat. We went to this place called Bambooze (no typo there) and grabbed some food and drinks. While there we ran into an array of funny people, and got to do shots out of a bamboo pole. Basically, this guy lowers this long hollowed-out bamboo pole that hangs above the bar, and fits 8 shots into very nicely carved holes. He then acts like a drill sergeant to get everyone lined up (this included soliciting people from all around the restaurant until all the spaces were filled), and he tips the shots into everyone’s mouth. It is similar to a ski shot, if you can picture that. It was pretty funny, and apparently it has been featured on Travel Channel or something like that. After eating and socializing for a bit it was bed time!
Today was spent wandering around the little town, which took about 20 minutes, and then going to the beach, or as the locals call it, the “split.” In the 1960’s a hurricane came through and literally tore the island in two, so where there used to be buildings there is now a deep channel probably about 100 feet wide that separates the two parts of the island. On the other side are a few houses and big forest reserve. But somehow a beach was formed, I’m told it involved piling sand on top of cement, and it is where everyone goes to sunbathe and swim around. The water temperature is amazing, like being in a pool but without the chlorine and four cement walls.
Tomorrow I start scuba dive training ahhhh! Except the first day I just get to watch instructional videos and read a book, which sounds like torture when the sun is shining how it does here, but knowing I get to be diving for the next two days should help me get through it. My friend Denise is also traveling by herself, so we are going to combine forces are go to a few more beach-y places after Caye Caulker, which I’m really excited about!
I hope everyone is doing well at home and in their respective corners of the globe, I miss you all!
I arrived yesterday morning after a sleepless night in Belize City, which I will blame partly on nerves and partly on the screaming match that went on outside my door until the wee hours of the morning. I may or may not have slept with my purse in my bed. I then encountered an entire children’s parade as I attempted to make my way to the Water Taxi station, and had to cross the street between the first and second graders with more than a few strange glances thrown my way. A short water taxi ride later and I landed on the wooden docks of Caye Caulker and feasted my eyes on crystal blue water, tropically colored houses, and palm trees. I am staying at hostel right on the beach, complete with hammocks hanging over the water and our own little dock. I spent yesterday on the dock reading and staring into the ocean, then took a nice siesta in one of the hammocks. I met one of my roommates, Denise, who just happens to be from West Linn, Oregon. Small world eh? So we bonded pretty instantly (yay for making friends!) and went out to grab a bite to eat. We went to this place called Bambooze (no typo there) and grabbed some food and drinks. While there we ran into an array of funny people, and got to do shots out of a bamboo pole. Basically, this guy lowers this long hollowed-out bamboo pole that hangs above the bar, and fits 8 shots into very nicely carved holes. He then acts like a drill sergeant to get everyone lined up (this included soliciting people from all around the restaurant until all the spaces were filled), and he tips the shots into everyone’s mouth. It is similar to a ski shot, if you can picture that. It was pretty funny, and apparently it has been featured on Travel Channel or something like that. After eating and socializing for a bit it was bed time!
Today was spent wandering around the little town, which took about 20 minutes, and then going to the beach, or as the locals call it, the “split.” In the 1960’s a hurricane came through and literally tore the island in two, so where there used to be buildings there is now a deep channel probably about 100 feet wide that separates the two parts of the island. On the other side are a few houses and big forest reserve. But somehow a beach was formed, I’m told it involved piling sand on top of cement, and it is where everyone goes to sunbathe and swim around. The water temperature is amazing, like being in a pool but without the chlorine and four cement walls.
Tomorrow I start scuba dive training ahhhh! Except the first day I just get to watch instructional videos and read a book, which sounds like torture when the sun is shining how it does here, but knowing I get to be diving for the next two days should help me get through it. My friend Denise is also traveling by herself, so we are going to combine forces are go to a few more beach-y places after Caye Caulker, which I’m really excited about!
I hope everyone is doing well at home and in their respective corners of the globe, I miss you all!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Hello Belize
Hello and welcome to my blog, it’s good to be back after so long! I promise that I will be a better blogger than I was when I was in Australia, and I do hope if you stumble upon this or actually end up here on purpose I will do my best to keep you updated and entertained.
I am currently sitting in my Belize City hostel where the walls are painted a shocking baby blue color, I have 2 beds that I am fairly certain are made out of packing plastic, and I have already killed 2 mosquitoes with my bare hands. I also saw a pair of rats that would put the Portland rats to shame, but I’m hoping that I forgot about them before I fall asleep. I am exhausted after a day that started at 3:30 am, and as it always happens with me, it was not an easy day of travel.
Lindsay was kind enough to drive me to the airport, and I have made the decision that the only acceptable time to be up at 3:30 am is if you are still up from the night before and attending an after party, bonus points if bad dancing is involved. Unfortunately the airlines do not agree with me on this. I slept all the way from Portland to Houston, and woke up with a very back pain in my neck from doing the head-nod thing that I used to do in math class and long car rides. I arrived in Houston with a quick layover, and then the trouble started. Apparently one of the windows on the plane had a crack (I found this out after I bought my $6 movie) so we had to turn around back to Houston, but first we had to circle around and burn about 5,000 lbs of fuel. So that took another hour or so, then we had to land, deplane, find another plane, get on it, blah blah blah. So when I was supposed to be landing in Belize, I was in fact eating Wendy’s in Houston (it seemed fitting). Once on the 2nd plane, I decided to make friends with my row mates, two sisters who had retired to Belize after living in the states. They thought I was 18 and were worried that my parents did not know where I was. Once I told them that I was 25 and not a runaway, they tried to make me chat up one of the flight attendants. I put in my headphones and let them do the talking (I think that is what they wanted anyway) but I did get 2 mini bottles of Bacardi out of it, so I was ok.
We got into Belize around 8:30, and the airport normally closes as 7 so they made the entire ground crew stay and wait for us. I passed customs with the customary raised eyebrows that I’m wandering alone for a month and not totally sure of all my destinations, then hopped in a cab with this funny old man who sang along to the radio and told me about some couple from Portland who got married in his backyard. We drove through Belize City, and I’ll just say I’m happy I am only staying here for one night. It’s very run down and dirty and my internal alarms went off every other block.
Tomorrow I’m getting up early to take the water taxi to Caye Caulker where I’ll be staying for the first week. I’m hoping to do my fair share of scuba diving and frolicking while there, and hopefully make some travel buddies as well!
Until next time…
I am currently sitting in my Belize City hostel where the walls are painted a shocking baby blue color, I have 2 beds that I am fairly certain are made out of packing plastic, and I have already killed 2 mosquitoes with my bare hands. I also saw a pair of rats that would put the Portland rats to shame, but I’m hoping that I forgot about them before I fall asleep. I am exhausted after a day that started at 3:30 am, and as it always happens with me, it was not an easy day of travel.
Lindsay was kind enough to drive me to the airport, and I have made the decision that the only acceptable time to be up at 3:30 am is if you are still up from the night before and attending an after party, bonus points if bad dancing is involved. Unfortunately the airlines do not agree with me on this. I slept all the way from Portland to Houston, and woke up with a very back pain in my neck from doing the head-nod thing that I used to do in math class and long car rides. I arrived in Houston with a quick layover, and then the trouble started. Apparently one of the windows on the plane had a crack (I found this out after I bought my $6 movie) so we had to turn around back to Houston, but first we had to circle around and burn about 5,000 lbs of fuel. So that took another hour or so, then we had to land, deplane, find another plane, get on it, blah blah blah. So when I was supposed to be landing in Belize, I was in fact eating Wendy’s in Houston (it seemed fitting). Once on the 2nd plane, I decided to make friends with my row mates, two sisters who had retired to Belize after living in the states. They thought I was 18 and were worried that my parents did not know where I was. Once I told them that I was 25 and not a runaway, they tried to make me chat up one of the flight attendants. I put in my headphones and let them do the talking (I think that is what they wanted anyway) but I did get 2 mini bottles of Bacardi out of it, so I was ok.
We got into Belize around 8:30, and the airport normally closes as 7 so they made the entire ground crew stay and wait for us. I passed customs with the customary raised eyebrows that I’m wandering alone for a month and not totally sure of all my destinations, then hopped in a cab with this funny old man who sang along to the radio and told me about some couple from Portland who got married in his backyard. We drove through Belize City, and I’ll just say I’m happy I am only staying here for one night. It’s very run down and dirty and my internal alarms went off every other block.
Tomorrow I’m getting up early to take the water taxi to Caye Caulker where I’ll be staying for the first week. I’m hoping to do my fair share of scuba diving and frolicking while there, and hopefully make some travel buddies as well!
Until next time…
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Fraser Island-Too Much Sand
Greetings everyone! (or just me depending on if anyone is still reading this...)
so as per usual I have neglected my little bloggywog in search of fun and due to lack of internet so there are mucho updates to get out. Last I left this bad boy I was heading to Hervey Bay/Fraser Island for a 2 night/3 day sand island adventure. And it was just that! We arrived in Hervey Bay at 7 am with little sleep under our belt but managed to rally and get excited for Fraser. We went to the hostel and were briefed all about the island through this absolutely hysterical video that the Australian Government has made...there were at least 5 minutes of the video devoted to dingoes and not leaving your children unattended. "The dingo at my baby!" just kept replaying in my head. We were put into a group with 4 Irish girls-Shelley, Carol, Clare and Trish, a Swiss German-Tomas, and a Swiss-French boy, Killian. The girls were absolutely hysterical and we bonded instantly, the boys had a bit of a time coming out of their shells but once they did our little team was made. We packed up the car and we were off on the ferry to Fraser! The larger group consisted of 4 cars, so about 28 people all together were on this trip which made for good times. There were these 2 Canadian boys that stuck out right away as they HAD to be the center of attention anywhere they were. One was this huge 6'3" firefighter named Jeff (he comes into play soon), the other was this little sprite named Mike. Claire and I affectionately referred to them as Big Canada and Little Canada. I hope they never heard us say it...
Fraser Island is basically just a giant pile of sand with lots of forest, and even more sand. All of the roads are really just tracks in the sand so it is off roading heaven. We went to Lake Wabby the first day which was surrounded by a huge sand dune so the thing to do was run or jump down the dunes into the water. I chose to watch as my accident-proneness and lack of travel insurance would surely have ended in disaster. Claire and I did get into a sand fight like any mature 23 year olds would do which was quite entertaining. I'd like to say I won, but that would be a lie. After Lake Wabby it was off to set up camp along the beach, along with several other cars. I think there must have been close to 75 people in our campsite and we all ended up converging and having this huge party on our tarp that was hysterical. The London boys that we had met in Mission Beach (see the photos...they are priceless) and then run into again at Airlie Beach, showed up at the campsite so that was a fun surprise. Drinking games were abound but we learned that they are not very practical to play with 30 people trying to sit in a circle. The night ended with all of us running around in the waves on the beach and attempting to do cartwheels.
While at Lake Wabby, Big Canada told me that he was a firefighter and also dresses up as Smokey the Bear and goes around to elementary schools educating the wee kiddos about fire safety. As Smokey was one of my childhood icons (Thank you McCall Ranger Station) I was all to eager to hear all about dressing like a massive bear and dancing around. I think he mistook my interest in the fact that I was talking to a mascot as interest in him. So later he invited me to go down to the beach for a walk and an herbal refreshment and I said yes thinking nothing of it. Best decision I've ever made, because I got the best pickup line I've ever heard. We were just sitting on the beach talking, and he leans towards me and says "come give Smokey a kiss". (seriously, I should be telling you this story in person because text just does not do it justice, but I cant not share it). I kid you not, I could not stop laughing and had to eventually get up and leave because I couldn't control myself. Smokey did not get a kiss, but will forever live on with that story. So boys, next time you think it's a good idea to refer to yourself in third person as your alter ego, just don't do it. It will end in tears. Of the girl you are trying to pick up.
The next day we woke up with the sun which was far too early and headed to Indian Head which is this big look out towards the top of the island. You could see for miles when you hiked up and we saw sharks and stingrays out in the water which was pretty amazing. Then we went to this little creek and splashed around in the water before setting up camp again. We had to set up camp early because of the tide and driving on the beach, so we decided to do what anyone else would do while stranded on the beach and not able to drive-drink. Fast forward to 7:30 pm and Jen passed out under the car. After one round of drinking games I was so exhausted that I just quietly rested my head and before I knew it, I was out. Apparently people tried to wake me up and I wouldn't budge so they just played drinking games over me. Fantastic. At one point Sean did get me up and told me some BS story about how they had switched islands on me and I was all alone with these giant frogs. I was still half asleep so I wandered out to the beach to see these giant toads before I realized where I was and that I did know everyone there. I tried to be social but was still dead so I crawled into a tent and admitted defeat.
The last day we woke up and headed to McKenzie Lake which is a perched lake-which basically means that if you dug down to the bottom and cleared all of the leaves, the lake would disappear. The result is this incredibly cool blue lake that has white sand that can polish jewelry and clean teeth. We played around that before getting in the car and heading back towards the ferry. We had to stop and fill air into the tires of the car and ended up getting into this huge water fight. This was a bad idea for 2 reasons. 1) Queensland is in a severe drought that we didn't know about and we were just throwing jugs of water at each other. 2) while trying to fill up my water jug I was hit from behind with water and immediately turned my head to run away, and immediately ran my nose into a metal pipe. Thankfully it wasn't severely injured but I had a huge welt on my nose for the rest of the day. It amazes me sometimes how accident prone I am.
Back in Hervey Bay we met some funny Aussies from Byron Bay area that taught us this hysterical drinking game that involves "putting on goggles" (making goggle shapes with your hands and holding them up to your face) and chicken noises. I'm definitely bringing that one back to the states. Our next stop was supposed to be Noosa, but it ended up being Brisbane due to poor bus planning on our part. More on that later..I have to go attempt to pack now.
Until next time...
Jen
so as per usual I have neglected my little bloggywog in search of fun and due to lack of internet so there are mucho updates to get out. Last I left this bad boy I was heading to Hervey Bay/Fraser Island for a 2 night/3 day sand island adventure. And it was just that! We arrived in Hervey Bay at 7 am with little sleep under our belt but managed to rally and get excited for Fraser. We went to the hostel and were briefed all about the island through this absolutely hysterical video that the Australian Government has made...there were at least 5 minutes of the video devoted to dingoes and not leaving your children unattended. "The dingo at my baby!" just kept replaying in my head. We were put into a group with 4 Irish girls-Shelley, Carol, Clare and Trish, a Swiss German-Tomas, and a Swiss-French boy, Killian. The girls were absolutely hysterical and we bonded instantly, the boys had a bit of a time coming out of their shells but once they did our little team was made. We packed up the car and we were off on the ferry to Fraser! The larger group consisted of 4 cars, so about 28 people all together were on this trip which made for good times. There were these 2 Canadian boys that stuck out right away as they HAD to be the center of attention anywhere they were. One was this huge 6'3" firefighter named Jeff (he comes into play soon), the other was this little sprite named Mike. Claire and I affectionately referred to them as Big Canada and Little Canada. I hope they never heard us say it...
Fraser Island is basically just a giant pile of sand with lots of forest, and even more sand. All of the roads are really just tracks in the sand so it is off roading heaven. We went to Lake Wabby the first day which was surrounded by a huge sand dune so the thing to do was run or jump down the dunes into the water. I chose to watch as my accident-proneness and lack of travel insurance would surely have ended in disaster. Claire and I did get into a sand fight like any mature 23 year olds would do which was quite entertaining. I'd like to say I won, but that would be a lie. After Lake Wabby it was off to set up camp along the beach, along with several other cars. I think there must have been close to 75 people in our campsite and we all ended up converging and having this huge party on our tarp that was hysterical. The London boys that we had met in Mission Beach (see the photos...they are priceless) and then run into again at Airlie Beach, showed up at the campsite so that was a fun surprise. Drinking games were abound but we learned that they are not very practical to play with 30 people trying to sit in a circle. The night ended with all of us running around in the waves on the beach and attempting to do cartwheels.
While at Lake Wabby, Big Canada told me that he was a firefighter and also dresses up as Smokey the Bear and goes around to elementary schools educating the wee kiddos about fire safety. As Smokey was one of my childhood icons (Thank you McCall Ranger Station) I was all to eager to hear all about dressing like a massive bear and dancing around. I think he mistook my interest in the fact that I was talking to a mascot as interest in him. So later he invited me to go down to the beach for a walk and an herbal refreshment and I said yes thinking nothing of it. Best decision I've ever made, because I got the best pickup line I've ever heard. We were just sitting on the beach talking, and he leans towards me and says "come give Smokey a kiss". (seriously, I should be telling you this story in person because text just does not do it justice, but I cant not share it). I kid you not, I could not stop laughing and had to eventually get up and leave because I couldn't control myself. Smokey did not get a kiss, but will forever live on with that story. So boys, next time you think it's a good idea to refer to yourself in third person as your alter ego, just don't do it. It will end in tears. Of the girl you are trying to pick up.
The next day we woke up with the sun which was far too early and headed to Indian Head which is this big look out towards the top of the island. You could see for miles when you hiked up and we saw sharks and stingrays out in the water which was pretty amazing. Then we went to this little creek and splashed around in the water before setting up camp again. We had to set up camp early because of the tide and driving on the beach, so we decided to do what anyone else would do while stranded on the beach and not able to drive-drink. Fast forward to 7:30 pm and Jen passed out under the car. After one round of drinking games I was so exhausted that I just quietly rested my head and before I knew it, I was out. Apparently people tried to wake me up and I wouldn't budge so they just played drinking games over me. Fantastic. At one point Sean did get me up and told me some BS story about how they had switched islands on me and I was all alone with these giant frogs. I was still half asleep so I wandered out to the beach to see these giant toads before I realized where I was and that I did know everyone there. I tried to be social but was still dead so I crawled into a tent and admitted defeat.
The last day we woke up and headed to McKenzie Lake which is a perched lake-which basically means that if you dug down to the bottom and cleared all of the leaves, the lake would disappear. The result is this incredibly cool blue lake that has white sand that can polish jewelry and clean teeth. We played around that before getting in the car and heading back towards the ferry. We had to stop and fill air into the tires of the car and ended up getting into this huge water fight. This was a bad idea for 2 reasons. 1) Queensland is in a severe drought that we didn't know about and we were just throwing jugs of water at each other. 2) while trying to fill up my water jug I was hit from behind with water and immediately turned my head to run away, and immediately ran my nose into a metal pipe. Thankfully it wasn't severely injured but I had a huge welt on my nose for the rest of the day. It amazes me sometimes how accident prone I am.
Back in Hervey Bay we met some funny Aussies from Byron Bay area that taught us this hysterical drinking game that involves "putting on goggles" (making goggle shapes with your hands and holding them up to your face) and chicken noises. I'm definitely bringing that one back to the states. Our next stop was supposed to be Noosa, but it ended up being Brisbane due to poor bus planning on our part. More on that later..I have to go attempt to pack now.
Until next time...
Jen
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