The last leg

The last night of my trip was well spent celebrating with a couple new friends.

We ended up cutting our time short in Costa Rica because of a longer visit to Nicaragua.

The victory of the fire!

We met Jeff and Nate on the boat ride over and ended up hanging out with them for most of our stay in Ometepe. Nate and Jeff are like the odd couple-super different from each other, but it just works. After about a an hour of collecting the perfect dry sticks, layering the sticks in just the right way, trying to get an empty lighter's sparks to catch a napkin on fire, and rigging up a beach towel to block the wind, we finally have a beautiful bonfire! We sent the boys to pick up some beers, enjoyed telling late night stories, listened to music on Nate's ipod with portable speaker, had a refreshing midnight swim, and ended up deciding to bring our sheets out to sleep on the beach. It was a good idea until Kamille got two mosquito bites on the tip of her nose.

We boated to Isla de Ometepe, a large island comprised of two volcanoes surrounded by a HUGE fresh water lake. Did you know that there are sharks that live in the lake?

I bought a beautiful handmade hammock from this place. It was interesting trying to strap it onto my backpack, but I was able to make it work, and I am glad for it!

My first time gambling! Jonathan from Granada was really excited to take us to a Casino, so Kamille and I both used $2.50 to play on some slot machines. Verdict: After 3 free drinks and sandwiches, an hour of slot machines, and feeling like I am a bit like a fish out of water, we walked away with a net gain of about 25 cents (hey, we are both traveling on a budget). I have a feeling this is not going to become a habit.

In Granada, we were able to get Kamille in to see a doctor for her mysterious, migrating disappearing, reappearing rash that started on her foot and has since moved up her leg. The doc's verdict was 1. It could be an allergic reaction 2. It could be an infection from a mosquito bite (which I highly doubt). Armed with some cream and the intent to keep a food diary, Kamille decided to get another doctor's opinion in Panama City.

"Freedom is to have nothing to lose"

Nicaragua: Leon, Granada, Ometepe Island

Blog Catch Up

This beautiful beach is 20 minutes from Amado's house. It's HUGE waves are perfect for surfing, although the waves were a bit too intimidating to try it out.

I like that there is nothing touristy about El Salvador. It's been a nice break from hearing"chinitas" (little Chinese girls) when Kamille and I walk anywhere. We couch surfed with Amado, a retired teacher who was also hosting two other backpackers. He lives small minimalist home filled with stacks of books, a collection of classical music CDs, a few paintings on the walls, and not a whole lot more. His warm kindness and hospitality reminds me that there are good people everywhere despite the poverty and lack of work that many people are facing. The city turns off the water every once in a while when it gets low so I am learning to adjust accordingly. I like the feeling that living from my backpack gives me-that I don't really need much at all to be content and satisfied. With good company, Kamille and I enjoy going to the market and cooking dinner for everyone in the evenings. Although I still need a lot of practice, my spanish is getting better and I can understand the gist of most conversations.

When I am traveling, I like to eat whatever the locals eat because food is such an important part of anyones culture. My diet has consisted of lots of beans, rice, fried chicken, tortillas, and fried plantains, but I was able to mix it up a bit at a food tour with rabbit-it tastes like moist chicken.

El Salvador

"Guate, Guate, Guate"

Kamille, Efrat, and I woke up at four in the morning to catch the sunrise. We realized that the sun wasn't going to come up for a while, so we laid out our blankets on the dewy grass and fell asleep again. Suddenly I awoke to a frog about the size of my hand on my leg--perfect timing!


It kind of looks like a Pankiewicz's nose!
Tilt you head to the left, and you might be able to see the side profile of a face.

I met up with a few other travelers for a lovely day hike up to the top of the nose. There have been a few robberies lately, so I opted to only bring water. Towards the top, there is a small village that harvests corn and coffee. As my fellow hiking buddies and I huffed and puffed our way up the mountain, 60 year old women carried sacs of potatoes up the hill. How they do it so gracefully? I have no idea.

*note: Check out my new fisherman's pants! Super practical for traveling...

San Pedro, Guatemala

Goodbye Outpost, Hello Civilization

Stopping for a moment of peace...
I luckily stummbled upon an amazing place to do yoga. It was quite magical to be surrounded by birds sing to you in the downward dog position.



Right outside of Antigua, I hiked the active volcano, Pacaya. Normally, I am not the biggest fan of group hikes, but it was nice for saftey reasons. I loved having rolling clouds come over me and then hiking above the clouds! It felt like I was in a dream. Once we got to the top, Kamille and I proceeded to rost marshmellows with hot lava! We did an evening hike starting at 2:oo becuase you can see the lava better at night, although it made for quite an interesting descent in the dark.



The three pictures above are in Tikal. This has been one of my favorite places so far. Kamille and I even heard some jaguars! Can you find the monkey in the trees?

Yay! I made it to Guatemala!



The last time I sat three to a seat on a bus was in kindergarten!

Riding the chicken buses (an old school bus used for public transportation) in Guatemala has been quite the experince.

1) The bus rarely comes to a full stop, so you have to grab onto the handle bar and hope you make it on in one piece.
2) You sit shoulder to shoulder, three to a seat, and every turn is like playing a game of corners.
3) The driver's assistant will suddenly tell you that you have arrived, throw your bag off the bus, (mind you, it is still moving but has slowed down) and a cluster of people will be pushing to get out the door as theyjump off one by one.
4) You believe that you are at your final destination, but being "there" really means you have to take another transfer to do it all over again.



I would like to introduce you to my new furry friend, Mango (sorry Rudy). She's cute, cuddly and loves to play a mean game of 'haha... you can't catch me' with the neighborhood dogs.

Belize---> Guatemala

From the Outpost, I will greatly miss:
The amazing homemade food
The other volunteers
The amazing wildlife
Beautiful scenery
Fruit with every meal
Mango, the monkey

From the Outpost, I will not miss:
My daily serving of insect bites
Never being able to get your clothes 100% dry from the humidity

This Way to the Jungle!!

Embracing My Inner Hippie in the Jungle

Most people know of Belize for its beautiful beaches and touristy hot spots, but I will forever remember Belize for the jungle I lived and worked in. Let me paint a better picture of exactly where I am. Once I got to Belize City, I rode an old rundown school bus to the small town of San Ignacio. When I say small, I mean the main part of town runs about three blocks and everyone knows everyone. From there the only way to get to our final destination of Barton Creek is to hitch a ride from one of the three neighbors that live out there. Taxis won't go out there because a)it's way too far out there and b)a car can't handle the rocky terrain and creeks in the middle of the "road." So, Kamille and I rode in the back of Mike's truck with the kids. I knew we were really getting out there when we started passing a few Mennonite families riding horse and buggy style in their traditional clothes and bonnets. It was like watching a clip from Little House on the Prarie, but apparently there are about 30 Mennonite families who live in the area. They've been there for about 40 years. We continued to drive deeper and deeper into the jungle until we hit Barton Creek. Since the previous owner of the outpost was a botanist who spent 18 years tending to a citrus grove, tropical plants and flowers, the land is extremely well kept. I've definitely come to rely on what the land has to offer since there aren't any modern conveniences (such as electricity) out here. For example, we bath in the creek, eat dinner by candle light and paddle up the creek to the neighbors to refill our jugs of drinking water. Work is pretty varied. Some days I am teaching the kids a math lesson, other days I am planting flowers in the nursery, picking fruit, baking bread, or doing other house hold chores. Here are a few more things I've done: Attended a rabbit funeral put on by the kids (for Ace the pet rabbit), learned how to use a machete, rebuilt a cage out of bamboo for the animals, gained an excellent proficiency in hammock testing, fashioned the lepracy look with a galaxy of insect bites, had a toucans flying over my head, played with the neighbors monkey, and gorged myself with the tastiest homegrown fruit I've ever had.

Indeed, I love adventures.

We spent a couple days on the lovely Island of Cozumel! We hit up three different spots on our snorkel tour, and what we saw was incredible-schools of thousands of fish, beautiful coral reefs, and brightly colored tropical fish all encompassed in crystal clear turquoise water. We proceeded to get caught in a downpour while riding a moped around the island and had some good laughs as we splashed through the HUGE unavoidable puddles with soaking wet dresses and smiles on our faces.


A local recommended that Kamille and I stop by Tecoh to see the cenotes. Holy moly, they were incredible! The whole experience was pretty National Geographic-esque. Being in a deserted cave off the beaten path, climbing through tunnels on our hands and knees, looking at the different shapes that the stalagtites formed, and swimming in a 70m deep lagoon quenched my desire for a good adventure! And yes, that blur at the top of the picture is a bat!




*In Merida, Tecoh, Playa Del Carmen, and Cozumel Island

Here is the hostel I stayed in Palenque!



Still exploring Mexico! Here are a few more highlights.
Oaxca, San Cristobal, and Palenque

Distrito Federal (Mexico City)

We made fast friends a pair of fellow traveling adventurers from Stockholm, Sweeden. Chris, who was a scuba diver instructor in Thailand is slowly convincing me of the possibility of scubaing in Honduras! We caught up for drinks and ended up seeing an amazing live band that we rocked out to all night.



"Los Pyramides de La Luna y El Sol en Teotihuacan"
"That's a big one"
"Let's climb those prymids!"

Being a Bellingham-er for five years in counting has trained me to brave the ever so common torrential downpour that we call rain. Instead of adjusting my schedule according to the predictable golf ball sized rain that hit Coyoacan between 4:00-6:00, I've decided to trudge through the rain and bear wet pants.
"La casa y El Museo de Leon Trotsky"
I was able to take a peek into Trotsky's minimalist home. I had a mini history lesson from the museum dedicated to his life lead by revolutionary ideals. Here is a picture from the outside of his home.

"La Casa de Frida Kahlo y Diego Rivera"
We are staying in the neighborhood of Coyoacan, where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived. We navigated through their house and museum filled with Kahlo's emotionally expressive self portraits and paintings.


Welcome to Unam, the first university in Mexico. The immense campus is filled with beautiful murals that puts WWU's pseudo sculpture art to shame.