I miss Spanish (Part Two)

Bueno, aquí estoy en the city of angels. But let me backtrack. .


December 6th, we got up early and headed out to the docks in B City where we grabbed a water taxi that took us about 45 minutes north to an island/cay called Caye Caulker. It's hardly 2 miles long and half a mile across, but it was so relaxing, and peaceful. This was the vacation part. By this time, we were joined by honeymooners, true vacationists, as well as a few backpackers. We stayed in the beach side hotel for 10$ each and spend the days reading, swimming, laying on the beach, and I found this yoga class that did yoga every night at sunset on top of one of the hotels. That was incredible. After a few days, Saria, the Canadian, decided she wanted to head home, so we said goodbye and I stayed on the island by myself.

I moved to a little hostel called Bellas and met a bunch of other backpackers. It was nice to be able to hang out with people closer to my age. There was a kitchen there, as well as free canoes, that we all made use of. I met these volunteers from Oregon and a Guatemalan and we canoed out and fed these giant fish. Later, we got a free ride out to the coral reef from the owner of the hostel who was going spearfishing, we rented snorkels for cheap and spent the day on the reef. Very awesome.

When finally a week had passed, I figured I should make my way back home, so I took off, and bussed back to Flores, Guatemala and stayed the night. The next morning I met these guys who were going to Lanquín, which sounded cool, so I decided to tag along. We got there in the afternoon and I was glad I joined them. Lanquín is situated in the mountains of central Guate, in a valley where the Lenca river flows through.

The next day I signed up for a cave exploration tour...We took a 45 minute bus ride with me, this Frenchie, a guy from Israel, couple Canadians, two Australians, and another United Statesian. We went to this cave, where the underground river comes out. We got down to swim suits and grabbed nothing more than a candle and entered the cave. The water was maybe up to my ankles, and the further we walked, the higher it rose. When it reached our necks, we took a turn and ended up swimming, and in many places I couldn't touch the bottom, even after intentionally trying. We would swim and climb up, and walk up waterfalls, and slide through crevices for 45 minutes, following our crazy guide. The water was freezing! When finally we reached a stopping point we turned around and came back out. This was one of the coolest things I've ever done.

When we came back out, we hiked up the side of the cliff where the river is, and ate lunch at a lookout point. The Lenca river below is beautiful. It waves out into 6 or 7 crystal clear pools that are separated by little waterfalls. We climbed down after eating and spent the hour swimming from pool to pool. Finally we returned to the hostel, roasted marshmallows over the fire and enjoyed the night.

The next day, I took a shuttle to Antigua, with the Frenchie, Julien, and the two Israelis, Maor and Raz. We arrived and stayed at the Yellow House, and enjoyed feasts of spaghetti almost every night that we made in the kitchen. The noodles were like 20 cents at the grocery store so we all pitched in and ate cheaply.

A few days before I had to be back to San Salvador, we hiked one of the active volcanoes in the region, Volcán Pacaya. It was really great, and we went around dusk to see the sunset. We were above the clouds on the top, and you could see for miles and miles. We hiked into the crater and the smell of sulfur as well as the heat from the ground began to take over. Our guide showed us a tiny hole in the rocks where he put a stick into, which immediately caught fire. We hiked a ways more and found a big crack in the ground the size of dresser, and we roasted the hot dogs that we had brought. They were delicious.

Finally, the day came to head home, and me and Julien headed on the bus to San Salvador, as he was headed that way too. We got in by dusk and made our way to my neighborhood. It was weird how much it felt like I was home when we arrived. Afterwards we went out for pupusas and I helped Julien find the place where he was staying.

The next day I spent with my family, hanging out and doing some Christmas shopping for my actual family. Yesterday I did the same before going to the airport around 4:30 and waiting my 7 o clock flight. I arrived in LA around 11 LA time, (1 am Salvador) and didn't get out of customs until 12, where I found Chelsea and together we headed home to her apartment, an hour away.

Today, I am relaxing while she is at work, and tomorrow or Thursday we make the drive home.