Sunday, July 19, 2009
Elisa´s Post: Mangroves Musings
Yesterday we took a early morning boat through a mangrove forest and it was just amazing, beautifull birds of all shapes and sizes living in the contorted passages between trees and roots and plants and black murkey water. The water passages wound through miles of unknown with little houses and villages scattered inbetween, boat people living like the birds, in the small patches of earth. It was incredible to see this hidden world from the inside of a rickety collection of boards known as a lancha.
Tortugas Marinas
I´m writing from Monterrico, a little beach town on the pacific coast of Guatemala. We have been here for a week now and will be leaving today for Antigua. There we will hang out, maybe hike another volcano, for 2 days and then we are off to Lago de Atitlan. At ¨the Lake,¨ we will be working with a women´s cooperative and mayan weaving school on a permaculture project. We plan on checking out the rest of the lake, which sits among three volcanoes surrounding. I´m very excited to check it out! I want to avoid the touristy parts where there is a supposed gringo culture has risen. In just this past week I have lost much of my Spanish just from hanging out with gringos! Aye! lol.
Our week was pleasant, with weather just the opposite from what we experienced at the mountain school. Here, it has not rained and the heat forces you into the bath-temperature ocean at least once a day. The only condition that still exists, and boy does it, would be the insects. I have mucho mosquito bites, plus sand flea bites to top it off. One of the British girls here has every inch of her foot covered in bites. You do get used to it, but it is the only unpleasant thing about this place. I don´t take too well to heat. Truly, the ocean is a pleasure. I will miss it. The next shore trip will be on the Carribean side in Belize.
So we have been working with ARCAS, a sea turtle conservation group with a hatchery at their park. We arrived at the beginning of the season, so all week we helped patrol the shore at night without a single turtle sighting. Other found turtles, but not us... until our last night! Elisa and I were patrolling at 9pm, having some conversation while shining our red lights on the sand (when searching for turtles, we use red lights since white light is too bright and scares the momma turtle). Then we saw a commotion next to a hotel and lo and behold, a turtle was scampering up on shore with a crowd of tourists looking on. Unfortunately, turtle eggs are not illegal to poach in Guatemala and the locals depend on selling the eggs in the capital. To help save at least some the turtles, hatcheries have a cooperation with the poachers for them to donate at leats 12 eggs from each next they find. Our job was to collect this egg donation and in turn give them a slip which they need in order to legally transport the other eggs. Here, we had a unique situation where a bunch of tourists were looking on. So we announced to them that they can try to buy the eggs from the poacher and we will take the eggs back to the hatchery we they can survive. One man argued with the poacher for about 20 minutes and came out with buying 3 dozen eggs to donate to us. Since he sponsored those eggs, ARCAS will send photos and updates of the eggs and when they hacth and make their journey to sea. Yay! We had tortuga eggs! We took them back to the park and buried them in the hatchery. They will hatch in 45 to 60 days! Our babies!!! It was also awesome to see the momma do her thing. They lay eggs for about half an hour, clearing the spot, digging, laying the egss and then covering them back up. The poacher digs a hole next to hers to take they eggs as she lays them. The momma also does some camoflauging afterwards, shuffling around in other places on the beach to confuse the whereabouts of her nest. Then she b-lines it back to water and takes off. These are Olive Ridley turtles, by the way.
So that was an awesome experience! Last night we also have fun with the other volunteers, having dinner in town and going out dancing to the bars on the beach.
Next time, I´ll be writing from the lake. I miss you all!
-Ari
Our week was pleasant, with weather just the opposite from what we experienced at the mountain school. Here, it has not rained and the heat forces you into the bath-temperature ocean at least once a day. The only condition that still exists, and boy does it, would be the insects. I have mucho mosquito bites, plus sand flea bites to top it off. One of the British girls here has every inch of her foot covered in bites. You do get used to it, but it is the only unpleasant thing about this place. I don´t take too well to heat. Truly, the ocean is a pleasure. I will miss it. The next shore trip will be on the Carribean side in Belize.
So we have been working with ARCAS, a sea turtle conservation group with a hatchery at their park. We arrived at the beginning of the season, so all week we helped patrol the shore at night without a single turtle sighting. Other found turtles, but not us... until our last night! Elisa and I were patrolling at 9pm, having some conversation while shining our red lights on the sand (when searching for turtles, we use red lights since white light is too bright and scares the momma turtle). Then we saw a commotion next to a hotel and lo and behold, a turtle was scampering up on shore with a crowd of tourists looking on. Unfortunately, turtle eggs are not illegal to poach in Guatemala and the locals depend on selling the eggs in the capital. To help save at least some the turtles, hatcheries have a cooperation with the poachers for them to donate at leats 12 eggs from each next they find. Our job was to collect this egg donation and in turn give them a slip which they need in order to legally transport the other eggs. Here, we had a unique situation where a bunch of tourists were looking on. So we announced to them that they can try to buy the eggs from the poacher and we will take the eggs back to the hatchery we they can survive. One man argued with the poacher for about 20 minutes and came out with buying 3 dozen eggs to donate to us. Since he sponsored those eggs, ARCAS will send photos and updates of the eggs and when they hacth and make their journey to sea. Yay! We had tortuga eggs! We took them back to the park and buried them in the hatchery. They will hatch in 45 to 60 days! Our babies!!! It was also awesome to see the momma do her thing. They lay eggs for about half an hour, clearing the spot, digging, laying the egss and then covering them back up. The poacher digs a hole next to hers to take they eggs as she lays them. The momma also does some camoflauging afterwards, shuffling around in other places on the beach to confuse the whereabouts of her nest. Then she b-lines it back to water and takes off. These are Olive Ridley turtles, by the way.
So that was an awesome experience! Last night we also have fun with the other volunteers, having dinner in town and going out dancing to the bars on the beach.
Next time, I´ll be writing from the lake. I miss you all!
-Ari
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Xela y Esculea de la Montaña
¡Hola! I don´t have much time to write because I´ll be playing in a futbol game in the next half hour, but I´m here and I´m well!
Last I wrote from San Cristobol in Mexico. The next day was crazy trying to get to the mountain school. We figured out that we took about 6 different type of transportation that day. In Mexico, we were taking charter buses, but none existed once we entered Guatemala. That morning, we took a microbus to the small city at the border, then a taxi across, a cart on a motorcycle to the bus, a ¨chicken bus¨ to Huehuetenango, another chicken bus to Xela, then another bus to the mountain school. Chicken buses are the yellow school buses that have been put out of comission after use in the US. Owners paint them and decorate them to their liking and then illegally cram tons of occupants in them to make more money. We were squished in a bus with the locals... a bus that was made to carry a fewer amount of people of child size. The buses ride the curvy mountain roads and stop anywhere a person is hailing it down.
I´ve been studying spanish with a crazy local named Tito and I´m eating every meal with a family in the nearby pueblo. The mother of the family I eat with this week makes amazing food! And their daughter loves to read so I bring books from the school´s library for every dinner. It rains every afternoon here since it is the rainy season. The school has a field of coffee plants and a medicinal plant garden. They are building a small futbol field for the children of the pueblo. Sasha, Elisa, and I have been helping the groundskeeper transplant the grass.
I´ve been meeting awesome people at the school, other travelers with similar interests. One girl came with the three of us to climb Santa Maria, a volcano near Xela, this past weekend. That was an intense hike! I got a little bit of altitude sickness but all is well. It was beautiful and there were cows living on the top! You could see an active volcano from there as well. I was truly happy that I could have a real conversation with our guide in Spanish.
Next time, I´ll write more! I miss you guys! love, Ari
Last I wrote from San Cristobol in Mexico. The next day was crazy trying to get to the mountain school. We figured out that we took about 6 different type of transportation that day. In Mexico, we were taking charter buses, but none existed once we entered Guatemala. That morning, we took a microbus to the small city at the border, then a taxi across, a cart on a motorcycle to the bus, a ¨chicken bus¨ to Huehuetenango, another chicken bus to Xela, then another bus to the mountain school. Chicken buses are the yellow school buses that have been put out of comission after use in the US. Owners paint them and decorate them to their liking and then illegally cram tons of occupants in them to make more money. We were squished in a bus with the locals... a bus that was made to carry a fewer amount of people of child size. The buses ride the curvy mountain roads and stop anywhere a person is hailing it down.
I´ve been studying spanish with a crazy local named Tito and I´m eating every meal with a family in the nearby pueblo. The mother of the family I eat with this week makes amazing food! And their daughter loves to read so I bring books from the school´s library for every dinner. It rains every afternoon here since it is the rainy season. The school has a field of coffee plants and a medicinal plant garden. They are building a small futbol field for the children of the pueblo. Sasha, Elisa, and I have been helping the groundskeeper transplant the grass.
I´ve been meeting awesome people at the school, other travelers with similar interests. One girl came with the three of us to climb Santa Maria, a volcano near Xela, this past weekend. That was an intense hike! I got a little bit of altitude sickness but all is well. It was beautiful and there were cows living on the top! You could see an active volcano from there as well. I was truly happy that I could have a real conversation with our guide in Spanish.
Next time, I´ll write more! I miss you guys! love, Ari
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Cancun to Chiapas
I am in the beautiful city of San Cristobal! We arrived here this morning after an 18 hour bus ride from Cancun (yes, crazy I know). This bus ride really helped us get closer to the part of the Guatemalan border we need to be at in order to arrive in Xela in time to catch a bus to La Escuela de la Montaña.
Cancun was... interesting. The flight was fine, besides our lay over in Houston being too short and us running through the huge airport to catch our plane. It was out of a movie, I´m sure. So far, my theme is thinking that it wouldn´t be an adventure without such happenings. We laughed and high-fived after we caught out breath. Elisa and I found Sasha outside of customs at the Cancun airport. Our first attempt at transportation nearly had us ripped off. Fifty US dollars for a shuttle to our hotel? Nah, I don´t think so.
Our hostel in Cancun may be the fanciest place we´ll stay at on this journey. It was like a mansion, with brightly colored rooms and extremely hospitable service. The woman who owned the place, originally from Holland, had us stay in our own huge room with private bathroom instead of staying in the shared room (where rowdy frat boys had been staying). I realize anyone in Cancun is looking for a bit of a different experience than we are here for. It was still neat to walk around in the warm night and eat yummy mexican food, sip a cerveza while listening to a mariachi band. The boys at the hostel invited us to go dancing but we were exhausted and did not want to pay the US$45 to go to an open bar. We had some beers on the patio and watched the clouds and the stars. It was good catching up time for us, since we had not seen Sasha in months.
The next day we went to the beach by the fancy hotels, walking through them like as if we were staying there. It was sad actually, how many empty and closed resorts there were. The recession and swine flu threats have left Cancun desperate for tourists. The beach was nice and the water was as warm as a bath. The ocean floor was strangely squishy, like walking on a layer of jellyfish. I got stung by something on my knee, but I´m fine now.
The ride to San Cristobal was a beautiful trek through the mountains. It was part jungle and part pine stand. The pines had bromeliads on them! In the tiny towns, you could see children playing in the dirt with sticks and stray dogs watching the traffic go by. San Cristobal is nestled in the valley of those mountains, where the temperature is just right. Big rain drops started falling on us before we ran into this internet cafe. They stopped now, so I think we are going to venture out onto the narrow cobblestoned streets again. Each building is painted in some beautiful tropical color and you can smell the coffee, said to be organic here. The hot chocolate I had for breakfast was delicious!
Tonight, we will stay in Comitan and then arrive in Xela tomorrow afternoon.
Miss you all! I may not be able to write again for another week.
Love,
Ari
Cancun was... interesting. The flight was fine, besides our lay over in Houston being too short and us running through the huge airport to catch our plane. It was out of a movie, I´m sure. So far, my theme is thinking that it wouldn´t be an adventure without such happenings. We laughed and high-fived after we caught out breath. Elisa and I found Sasha outside of customs at the Cancun airport. Our first attempt at transportation nearly had us ripped off. Fifty US dollars for a shuttle to our hotel? Nah, I don´t think so.
Our hostel in Cancun may be the fanciest place we´ll stay at on this journey. It was like a mansion, with brightly colored rooms and extremely hospitable service. The woman who owned the place, originally from Holland, had us stay in our own huge room with private bathroom instead of staying in the shared room (where rowdy frat boys had been staying). I realize anyone in Cancun is looking for a bit of a different experience than we are here for. It was still neat to walk around in the warm night and eat yummy mexican food, sip a cerveza while listening to a mariachi band. The boys at the hostel invited us to go dancing but we were exhausted and did not want to pay the US$45 to go to an open bar. We had some beers on the patio and watched the clouds and the stars. It was good catching up time for us, since we had not seen Sasha in months.
The next day we went to the beach by the fancy hotels, walking through them like as if we were staying there. It was sad actually, how many empty and closed resorts there were. The recession and swine flu threats have left Cancun desperate for tourists. The beach was nice and the water was as warm as a bath. The ocean floor was strangely squishy, like walking on a layer of jellyfish. I got stung by something on my knee, but I´m fine now.
The ride to San Cristobal was a beautiful trek through the mountains. It was part jungle and part pine stand. The pines had bromeliads on them! In the tiny towns, you could see children playing in the dirt with sticks and stray dogs watching the traffic go by. San Cristobal is nestled in the valley of those mountains, where the temperature is just right. Big rain drops started falling on us before we ran into this internet cafe. They stopped now, so I think we are going to venture out onto the narrow cobblestoned streets again. Each building is painted in some beautiful tropical color and you can smell the coffee, said to be organic here. The hot chocolate I had for breakfast was delicious!
Tonight, we will stay in Comitan and then arrive in Xela tomorrow afternoon.
Miss you all! I may not be able to write again for another week.
Love,
Ari
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Jitterbugs
So I've packed my room and distributed my belongings (thank you sooo much to those who helped). I am now homeless. But with purpose!
Flight leaves at 7:40am, getting to the airport at 5:40ish, a.k.a. leaving the house at 4:30 to be safe. I'm meeting Elisa at the airport and then we're off! There will be one stop over in Houston and straight to Cancun from there.
The itinerary as of now includes: traveling down the coast and then into Guatemala, taking 2 weeks of Spanish immersion course, volunteering on a permaculture project with a women's cooperative/mayan textile weaving school, volunteering at a sea turtle reserve. We're hoping to make it to Costa Rica by the end of August, but we are remaining flexible.
I'm so very excited right now, but I'm also a bit out of it from not sleeping. I'll sleep on the plane. There was no way, no how I would have slept before all of this.
Once again, thank you guys for everything! I will miss you and I'll do my best to keep you updated. I think I'm too sleepy to truly convey my feelings right now. A lot has been going through my head these past few days... I'll detail on the next update.
Signing off for now... wish me sweet flight dreams. :)
Love always,
Ari
Friday, June 19, 2009
First post
I didn't really think I would do the whole blog thing, but I convinced myself just 5 minutes ago that it would the best way to keep all of you lovelies updated.
These past few weeks have been filled to the brim with visits to all of my friends around the bay. I am experienced mixed emotions of excitement for my departure and honest sadness about leaving all of you... especially right now. The past year and half or so has been amazing and you have all made me feel so at home away from home. Some of you I have only gotten to know recently and I wish we could continue on that path, not letting my trip interrupt it. Some of you I met from the start and yet i have not seen you for months due to our busy lives. I have to say, it's tough to leave you.
When I come back, and yes I will be coming back, we should all resume our plans for camping and frolicking and such.
To my family and friends on the east coast: I miss you all dearly and I'm happy to say I will coming home for one to two months after my adventure. We should resume our plans for then too! It'll be that leaf-color season and I expect some upstate NY journeys, no?! =) Or at least some baby bonding times, collective cooking, or shopping trips.
Anywho, here is my blog! Enjoy!
These past few weeks have been filled to the brim with visits to all of my friends around the bay. I am experienced mixed emotions of excitement for my departure and honest sadness about leaving all of you... especially right now. The past year and half or so has been amazing and you have all made me feel so at home away from home. Some of you I have only gotten to know recently and I wish we could continue on that path, not letting my trip interrupt it. Some of you I met from the start and yet i have not seen you for months due to our busy lives. I have to say, it's tough to leave you.
When I come back, and yes I will be coming back, we should all resume our plans for camping and frolicking and such.
To my family and friends on the east coast: I miss you all dearly and I'm happy to say I will coming home for one to two months after my adventure. We should resume our plans for then too! It'll be that leaf-color season and I expect some upstate NY journeys, no?! =) Or at least some baby bonding times, collective cooking, or shopping trips.
Anywho, here is my blog! Enjoy!
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