Another week already!

I have to start this entry out the same as the last, I can´t believe my second week has come to an end and I´m already well into my third week.  I´m afraid I´ve gotten behind and have somewhat avoided writing because the task of writing about everything I´ve done thus far is daunting.  With that said, I think I´ll skip ahead to now because well, I can... It is my blog afterall and recounting every detail of each of my trips and days sounds like a bit of a bore for readers and an impossible task for me.  They certainly weren´t boring to experience but I don´t think you need a play-by-play.  Instead I´ll share high (and a couple) low points.

Let´s start with the trip to Tikal, Rio Dulce & Livingston .  I scaled ancient mayan temples with howler monkeys claiming their territory in the distance, hiked through the jungle, rode standing up in the back of an old pick-up truck through the afro-caribe town of Livingston with 15 germans, saw the biggest spider I could ever imagine (in my bungalow), spent approx. 25 hours in a van, drank fresh coconut water, and spent the whole weekend in layers of sweat, deet and sunblock.

Last weekend we went to the Pacific Coast town of Monterrico.  It was relaxed in comparison to the last weekend, but fantastic in it´s own way.  I´m now known by a girl I met from San Diego as Tortuga (turtle) Girl because every time I talked about them she said my face lit up.  My love of sea turtles goes back to a report I wrote in 5th grade and reignited 10 years ago in Hawaii on a sea turtle covered beach.  They´re incredible creatures and Monterrico didn´t let me down.  After walking for almost two hours on the beach in the dark, we finally came across the tracks of a sea turtle and had the opportunity of seeing her lay her eggs and venture back into the see.  I have pictures to prove it.  The rest of the weekend consisted of a lot of sitting and talking with people I met on the trip, quizzing each other on spanish, hammocks, cards, loosing a very expensive flashlight to the Pacific and a little bit of indigestion.  Oh, and I can´t forget the layers of sweat, deet and sunblock!

All in all it´s been a great couple weeks and time is flying by.  It´s a double-edged sword because I can´t wait for Evin to join me down here and at the same time am afraid it´s going to be over before I know it.  It´s hard to describe life down here, but it´s been pretty amazing.!

It´s been especially fun to get to know people and see my relationships with my teacher, Carolina, and with Guillermo and Alice (homestay family) develop.  I´ve met some pretty fantastic people so far.  In fact, Carolina and I just had one of the funnest lessons we´ve had as we joked about exes, sex and our love of food and Guillermo, Alice and I are headed for pedicures tomorrow.

Here´s to another week of great experiences!