Back to the States

I failed to mention before, that I'm backtracking on my blog. I arrived back to the states on December 5, and am now finally catching up on the last bit of the year.

Although traveling in Central America was fun, eye-opening and new, there is nothing like coming back stateside to see friends and family. Strangely enough (since it always seems so difficult to plan these things) all of the girls who lived with me my senior year in college on Fulton St. in Grand Rapids were able to come to Colorado for my first weekend back. Several months ago I had rented a cabin near Colorado Springs, and I was a bit nervous about what it would be like after I had committed our whole group to it, but it turned out to be a great place and perfect for 6 girls. We had a great time catching up, and on Saturday we went to Garden of the Gods in a snow storm. It hampered our plans for a big outing, but we were able to do a short hike and see some of the main formations in the park under a layer of snow, which was so beautiful. It was a short visit since there were plenty of teachers who needed to get back to work. I love those ladies!

Playing games (guess who is losing):

Very talented:

Walking in the park:

Me and Brianne (who is always good for a "Come-back-to-Colorado-guilt-trip"):

We found this out a bit too late:


Once they had left, Brian came to Denver, which meant it was time for some snowboarding. We stayed in Frisco for the week and skiied and boarded at Breckenridge, A-Basin, Copper, and Vail. My brother was able to come up for a couple nights and Bri and Joel also made it for a day too. My legs had never done that many back to back days on my snowboard and I think they were ready to see the week finish up but I don't think I'd ever get sick of being in the mountains again and not have to worry about working or waiting in the weekend lines at the resorts.

Matt getting the hang of skiing:

View at Vail:

Hero shot of Brian:

Belize

I went to Belize since Jared, my college RD who I worked for, and his wife Meghan were living on a farm as part of a college program to teach students on a variety of topics from biology to sustainability. It was great to catch up with them and see their 'new daughter' and formulate a picture of what they are doing and what their program is about. I tagged along through various activities, listened to student presentations, made Christmas ornaments out of salt dough, went downtown San Ignacio for cheesecake, went horseback riding in the surrounding land and went to see some Mayan ruins (nearly in their backyard) called Xunantunich (surprisingly easier to spell than to say). It was a great stay and coming out of Antarctica is felt just fine to blend in the background and participate whenever I felt like it. The students were fun to talk to and play games with, and the rest of the staff that they work with were solid people and I enjoyed having some 'cultivated' conversations with them which seems few and far between during my time at the South Pole. Definitely a program that I would have enjoyed doing in college. Thumbs up!

Jared and Meghan's house:

Saddle up!:

The horseback riding was one of the highlights, we meandered through palm trees, crossed rivers, and enjoyed the sunny evening:

Xunantunich:




My last day in Belize I spent at Caye Caulker. I wish I would have stayed a bit longer and maybe gotten onto a snorkeling tour out to the reef. As it was, I spent the day swimming off the pier and did some snorkeling there, had some lobster for dinner and turned in early at my little cabina. I also took a walk through the locals' neighborhood before sunset, which featured a lot of colorful stilted houses and dirt roads.

My room on the top floor at Real Macaw:

A typical beach scene:

The pier (distorted from a past hurricane) where I swam and snorkeled at the end of the southern island:

Honduras

After a long bus ride from Managua to Tegucigalpa, I arrived there at noon and had a couple hours before my next bus ride. Everyone whose been here will tell me how great and hospitable all the people in Central America are. I don't doubt this and I'm sure if I was around long enough to get to know any of them I would sing their praises as well. However, I have found that in the cities people who supposedly would want my business (stores, ticket counters, etc) were consistently treating me curtly, if not, rudely. Ignored at the store counter, stared at while buying tickets, avoided until last when being loaded on the bus and all with not so much as a crack of a smile. Personally, I thought it humorous that I was bumbling through my minimal conversations with my weak Spanish, but no one else did. Traveling was already feeling a bit isolating, and even more so after every interaction I had. I found this especially apparent in Tegucigalpa. On the flip side, most of the hostels where I stayed were quite welcoming, and when I arrived late that evening in La Ceiba on the northern coast, the taxi driver was very helpful in getting me where I needed to be and the deskie at the hostel was very friendly.

I found out a bit too late that a ferry to Roatan left in the morning AND afternoon, so I missed that and walked around the town for most of the day. I had heard complaints about this city, but I quite liked it. It was pretty 'clean' and had a nice park in the middle. No way swimming could be safe, but the beach looked nice and there was a quaint neighborhood on the beach. My plan was to stay in Roatan for a couple of days with two girls who also went to my college, who I knew through a friend. In order to get back from Roatan and over to Belize on the taxi/ferry/taxi/bus/bus/ferry/bus it was going to take more than two days. So, after some indecision I stopped at the nearest airlines office and bought a plane ticket from Roatan to Belize which would only take a couple hours. A bit pricey, but all the legs of a bus trip would have added up fast, so I didn't regret the choice for a second.

Views from La Ceiba's Port:


But, back to Roatan. I rode the choppiest ferry I've ever been on over to the island. I didn't feel sick until I noticed that other people were getting sick, and then it was a battle the second half to keep everything in where it belongs. I survived, and after a rainy taxi ride across the island, I found Kate and Christie at a local bar/restaurant right on the beach in the West End.

The rest of the days consisted of sleeping in, going to the beach to hang out or snorkel at West Bay and catching up on some TV (which was very captivating after a year without).

The snorkeling at West Bay was pretty neat, although a bit 'regulated'. There were only certain places that you could go, although things got a lot more lax on the second day I went when all the cruise ship traffic had left and I was the only one on the beach!

West End near where I was staying:

West Bay (the crystal clear beach around coast from us):