Eight days, two beautiful countries...

It's been an action packed week, traveling from an island, to an inland mountain town, across the border to Guatemala.

Caye Caulker was incredible...it was beautiful, with the most friendly, outgoing people ever. Even though it was an island, it didn't have any real good beaches. It did have the most beautiful clear water though, and the second largest coral reef in the world after Australia.

I was lucky enough to meet a few awesome US marines who invited me for some drinks, where I met two sweet girls who turned out to be my roommates!

Life is good with awesome people, so I spent the weekend with these cool kids.

Sunday my roomies invited me to go on a snorkeling tour, and it turned out to be such an amazing experience!! We started out boating over clear blue water, to our first stop where a huge manatee was floating around with some big fish. He ignored us as we jumped in the water and slowly stalked him, but unfortunately my camera doesn't work very well under water so the creature will remain anonymous. :)

Next was the coral reef, swimming among sea turtles! We saw three different kinds of turtles, all with different shapes and designs on their shells.

The coolest was swimming with sharks and stingrays. Our guide would toss in a conchal shell and the critters would go wild trying to get the food. They let us swim along side them and up to them, and let us pet them! Dude. I pet a wild stingray! One of them scared me when he came up behind me, swimming three inches below me. He was bigger than I was.

We also got to kiss a shark (nurse sharks are generally harmless unless severely threatened) when our guide swam along one and pulled him to the surface, holding him on his back. The shark was so chill, he didn't struggle or try to get away, he just sat there as we stroked his belly and kissed him just to say we did. :)

After shark adventure my roomies and I headed out for some ice cream- I've since been told that it's not that unusual, but I thought it was completely unique and awesome when the local mixed up the ice cream and poured it on a frozen pan. 

After a few minutes of smoothing out the bumps, he scraped the milk-and-sugar-turned-ice cream into rolls. He said he taught himself with the help of YouTube.

Monday morning I took a last walk around the island and randomly ran into Leonell who I had met earlier. He was such an energetic sweetheart who engaged me in conversation for quite awhile before I said goodbye to head back to the mainland. I love these people.

I headed back and got the boat to Belize city where I met up with my dear friend Marya! We grabbed some lunch and hung out with a dear old man Tom who works at the bus station. Such a dear soul and I so wish I had gotten a photo with him. He was such a helpful guy and helped me through many bus exchanges this week.

Anyway...we grabbed a bus to San Ignacio, bought some watermelon and tamarindo juice in plastic bags, and settled in for the three hour bus ride across the whole country of Belize.

In San Ignacio we had a lovely time meeting this Scot named Chris! 

Together we adventured into an old Mayan cave - a three mile long, pitch black cave with a river running through it, huge rock boulders and tight spaces, tons of antient artifacts from over a thousand years ago, and human remains...

This was an untouched skeleton of a 16 year old Mayan girl who had been forcefully hit between her head and shoulders from behind, likely as a human sacrifice. It's crazy the story the bones tell, and unbelievable to think about the reality that happened hundreds of years before in the same place we stood. 

Sporting helmets and headlamps, we explored only 3/4 a mile of the cave for over two hours. When we got back, we were treated with a typical meal and Belizian rum punch!

It was an amazing experience with an amazing group of people, and my goodness did our guide, Patrick, love to laugh. Everything was a joke, and you couldn't help but love to be in his presence.

The other San Ignacio adventures included trying cow-foot soup! It's a local favorite, and even though the broth was delicious, I couldn't bring myself to take more than a few bites of the foot itself.

There are little lizards everywhere.

We make the best food when we travel.

And try lots of new ones.

(Dragon fruit)

(Red avocado)

And a wonderful "farmers" market.

This morning, we said goodbye to Chris and San Ignacio and caught a collective taxi to the Guatemala border. We had a flawless crossing - one man tried to tell me we had to pay to enter Guatemala (Which is common. Often they don't let you enter unless you pay a bribe.) but I just laughed at him and the conversation was about like...

"You need quetzals to pay to enter Guatemala."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"Haa. No. I don't." I laughed and walked away as he shook his head...but I didn't have to pay. Luckily he was the only annoyance and the stamps went quickly with not a single bag check.

At the border we met four girls traveling the same direction, so we hopped a taxi with them and came to Flores, a lovely little island town. It's beautiful, and I'm in love.

The Spanish speakers mostly. I'm so excited to speak soanish again. Guatemala is also so much more of a third world country than Belize, and it's obvious. But it feels like home.

Also, it's loads cheaper. Let's talk about the food...under three dollars for this delishiousness. 

So looking forward to the next month in this beautiful place. :D

I can't Belize it.

Not going to lie, half of me doesn't want to blog about these first four days of my trip because my goal in life is not to make people jealous. :)

I didn't plan on going on "vacation" in Belize but when you have no plans and simply go where the wind takes you, sometimes it happens.

This is a teaching trip, really. But since I have two weeks before I am scheduled to start working in Guatemala, I decided to fly into new country #17 and check out Belize.

As I arrived with the typical new-places excitement and euphoria, I was greeted with reggae and dread heads, tie die and the smell of weed filling the streets. I had been expecting something of a Latino country, but Belize is definitely Afro-Caribbean, and it is incredible.

My first impression was that I was in Jamaica, not a country nestled between Guatemala and Mexico. They all speak English, but they have such a laid back beach drawl I usually only catch half of what they're trying to say. They are also ridiculously friendly. Easily the most outgoing, selfless, and friendly people I've ever met. Everywhere, people call out to ask if you need help, or just to talk. It's refreshing to feel so welcomed as a foreigner.

The first stop, undecided until my layovers on the way here, was Hopkins, basically because it was the cheapest hostel I could find. After 20 hours of flights and layovers, I began a 4 hour bus journey on an old school bus through the Belize countryside. Mostly flat with tropical fields, with a few houses and mountains thrown in.

The bus boy told me he would tell me when it was time to get off, but after a few miles of no longer seeing Hopkins signs, I caught his eyes to see an embarrassed smile. I thought they might back up like they do when they forget to pick someone up, but instead they stopped, said good luck, and kept driving. So I started walking...

It was only about 85 degrees and I was only carrying 40 pounds on my back and wearing tshirt and jeans...it wasn't too hot. :P

Thankfully after a few minutes a couple stopped and offered a ride. They were originally from Bangladesh and on their honeymoon, and happened to be going to Hopkins, so the wonderful souls gave me a ride right to the doorstep of funky dodo hostel.

The hostel was wonderful, comfortable, chill, a two minute walk to the beach, and currently home to just three others. We became traveling buddies, and decided that the next morning we would go hiking on a Jaguar reserve to some waterfalls.

As we hiked, it poured. It got muddy. Rain rivers ran down the trails. We slipped. Got soaked. But, it was beautiful, because it kept the intense sun away and detected the killer Mosquitos. 

We arrived in a little over an hour to swim under beautiful waterfalls, and the sun came out. Can't complain. 

We also found this pretty sick plain that had crashed while the pilot was monitoring Jaguars. He was fine...the plane wasn't, but we didn't see any big cats..

After the hiking adventure, we decided that we didn't want to pay the $25 for a taxi, so we started walking. Luckily, we got picked up pretty quickly by an adventuring couple, then hitched a ride in the back of two different trucks. Free rides. Cool people. Yes. :)

Of course, later I found some kids in a field and couldn't help but stay and play with them for two days. They rode around on their stick horses and wanted to know all about my real ones.

They always asked if I was coming back when I left, and were so excited to see me when I came back. They were also pretty excited to show me their library. Just a little different than ours in the states, and way more kids hanging out there.

 

After Hopkins, I felt that deep need to move, so I booked a hostel on an island, got the bus with a few friends, then hopped a boat for an hour long ride into paradise.

So now, I'm sitting on the beach. Listening to fun music and people playing corn hole and talking to new people. Someone just stole someone's boat, as the owners back was to the water. There was a few minutes of yelling and swearing, but now the owner is back laughing and talking to tourists. All in the laid back mentality. It's so chill...nothing phases anyone. Walking along the beach, everyone is sitting around, visiting. I talked to countless and they say, "that's how we do life here." 

Something beautiful for sure.

Unwinding.

I'm sitting in my favorite coffee shop.

In Wisconsin.

It's been three days, and I miss Panama. I miss Costa Rica. I miss the adventures and meeting new people, the palm trees, the creative graffiti, the buses, and the Spanish language. 

I love it here. I love the snow and the crip 18 degree weather. I love my horses and cows and working on the farm. I love having my car and being able to drive around (even though I can't really enjoy that currently because my blinkers quit working and people like to honk at me.) 

But I don't think this is my only home anymore.

Teaching has opened so many doors I have no reason to stay here anymore. I have this little piece of paper that is recognized all over the world, and the people who possess them are in great demand. Somehow I got one.

I can't wait to begin my next journey. Next time, it's not going to just be a month or two...It's going to be my new life. To say that I am excited would be an understatement.

It's been a month since I blogged, and I suppose that I have to give a little wrap up post, if not for you all, then at least for me, to unwind, to reflect, to process, and to make being home seem a little more real. 

The last few weeks were spent mostly relaxing. With my English and Spanish classes finished, I felt some guilt for not working and just having a vacation with no end in sight. But, the Lord is good to me and blessed me with unforgettable experiences.

Hiking. Running. Visiting rodeos...

Eating food. Hanging out with wonderful Panamanians, sitting on the edge of cliffs, and crying quite a bit, because I knew that I would be leaving soon.

Christmas was spent in both Costa Rica and Panama. I greatly debated coming home for the holidays, but after some encouragement from my mama, I decided to stay and experience the 25th in another country.

I can't say that it felt much like Christmas, being surrounded by palm trees and 75 degree weather, and the snowflakes hung in the mall just seemed wrong when it was so warm outside, but it was cool to see. 

I decided to head back to Costa Rica the 24th to catch my flight the 29th. I was nervous about crossing boarders around the holidays, but it was one of the fastest crossings ever, taking only 1 hour and 22 minutes and the fastest bag check in history...basically, unzip my backpack, a glance from the officer, and zip it back up. Boarder crossing from God himself. :)

In many Latino countries, most families celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve with a traditional dinner, and Christmas day is spent relaxing with family. In Costa Rica, Cheistmas dinner means rice, beans, and tamales. I had planned to spend the evening with my Tico family, but unfortunately, I missed my stop to get off the bus and ended up spending three more hours driving around the outskirts of San Jose. I tried to make the best of it and take in the simply decorated houses and Christmas lights, but by the time I made it back to San Pedro, I was exhausted and decided to spend the night at my beloved hostel. Luckily, the travelers were also celebrating with a huge dinner of nachos and guacamole and tiramisu and welcomed me to join them. Some fun, having every traveler in the hostel around one table! :)

I did get to spend a few last days with my family and met up with my friend Becky who I had met in Panama...good times at a carnival and holiday festivities. 

One of the coolest experiences came the Saturday after Christmas. Tope. An annual parade of thousands of the best horses in Costa Rica flooding Avenida 2 in down town San Jose. 

A thousand horses and one cow. This man is brilliant. 

My heart was so sad to be going home, but my three months was up and I knew it was time. Becky didn't exactly make it easier, telling me every five minutes that she was going to miss me. :) 

What else...not much. Same old same old. Life here is the same. Beautiful. Busy. My heart lives in Panama. And I'm going to go back ASAP. And until then...life is good.