Hey guys!
Well today is my last day in Mayto. I am sad, but also ready to go home and see the family, my animals, and Dave. Oh yeah, I also need to make a plan for my future :/
Well, we have definitely had a very dramatic last couple of days...actually most of the drama was within a 12-hour time period. Wednesday night patrol started off like any other night patrol, but quickly became a bit scary. Sam and I had patrol with Jorge and cam e across this guy who had just finished raiding a turtle nest. When we came up, he ended up leaving and walking down the beach (this is what normally happens). Since another turtle was coming out of the water, we waited for her to start doing her thing. Suddenly the guy came up pretty fast on Jorge (his back was turned) and we shouted a warning at him and he turned on the lights. This guy was really drunk and staggering around and slurring his speech, so Jorge thought it wouldn't be a problem. Then we saw that he had a knife hidden up his sleeve. Jorge took the man aside and started talking to him. It looked like they were having a pleasant conversation and then it got a bit scary. Long story short, he threatened Jorge, his family, and our camp director Israel. Apparently, this guy thinks it is his duty to collect the eggs from the beach and we keep getting in his way. He was also disgruntled about having recently served time in jail for turtle poaching. Jorge was really rattled (which never happens), so we told him it would be better to just call it a night and head back to camp. We found out later that this guy has a pretty violent background, so Sam and I were glad we called it a night early.
Thursday morning I woke up to Sam shouting at me to get up bc a huge wave was coming. I wasn't really processing anything but saw that she was scrambling to get all of her things off of the floor of our tent, so I decided that it probably what I should be doing too. All of my possessions were up on the chair in less than a minute as three big waves came slamming against our tent. Our sneakers, which were outside the tent, went flying and Sam hurried to get them. Luckily, we didn't lose anything. We later found out that Israel was climbing the radio tower to get some really cool video of the waves sweeping over the camp. It would have been nice if he had warned us about the waves beforehand :)
Later that day a bee and a wasp stung me at the same time while I was in the shower. Like I said...it was a rough 12 hours.
The rest of the day was really pleasant. Tannya, our friend from Hotel Mayto, took us on an outing. We went to play del villa to see another turtle camp and her about their operation and also to a really xute resort that had the most amazing landscaping. After, we went to Tehuamixtle for a fabulous meal and to see Tannya's house, which was absolutely beautiful and had a gorgeous view of the sea.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
So... yeah
Looking back through my blog, I've realized how much of an idiot I've been. I mean it is really cool to die your hair, but it's even cooler to DYE your hair. Wow! I felt really stupid after reading that blunder.
Not too much has been going on. The worst group EVER (I know I say that about every group) finally left and with it they left a path of destruction. There was trash everywhere, the toilets were a disaster, and the swimming pool was pea soup green. Now the bathrooms have been out of order at the camp for the past 5 days. I never thought working toilets would be one of my wishes, but it is my number one right now. Luckily Hotel Mayto has been nice enough to let us use their bathrooms, so I get a good workout running back and forth using the loo all day.
Sam and I have really been trying to take advantage of our last week here (now 3 days :/). We have been laying out at the hotel soaking up the rays, swimming in the ocean (although it is unseasonably cold), and jumping on every tyurtle patrol shift possible. The tortugitas (that's baby turtles) are coming up like crazy all day long, so all of the volunteers have been really busy stopping whatever we are doing to hurry to the corral to make sure everybody is ok and not hanging out in the hot sun. We have even had turtles come up at 2 and 3 in the morning, so whoever is on patrol at night is in charge of checking on them. Sam and I were up for an extra 2 hours cleaning out 5 nests. It is totally worth the lost sleep, bc these babies are darling!
Well that's my life in a nutshell! Bye guys!
Not too much has been going on. The worst group EVER (I know I say that about every group) finally left and with it they left a path of destruction. There was trash everywhere, the toilets were a disaster, and the swimming pool was pea soup green. Now the bathrooms have been out of order at the camp for the past 5 days. I never thought working toilets would be one of my wishes, but it is my number one right now. Luckily Hotel Mayto has been nice enough to let us use their bathrooms, so I get a good workout running back and forth using the loo all day.
Sam and I have really been trying to take advantage of our last week here (now 3 days :/). We have been laying out at the hotel soaking up the rays, swimming in the ocean (although it is unseasonably cold), and jumping on every tyurtle patrol shift possible. The tortugitas (that's baby turtles) are coming up like crazy all day long, so all of the volunteers have been really busy stopping whatever we are doing to hurry to the corral to make sure everybody is ok and not hanging out in the hot sun. We have even had turtles come up at 2 and 3 in the morning, so whoever is on patrol at night is in charge of checking on them. Sam and I were up for an extra 2 hours cleaning out 5 nests. It is totally worth the lost sleep, bc these babies are darling!
Well that's my life in a nutshell! Bye guys!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Last of the pics!
Mariyln and Sammy with purple hair :)
This is what happens when you try to naturally dye your hair...maybe it happens when you use chemicals too, but I wouldn't know.
Dying my hair :) Even more! You lucky dogs!
Me holding a bat on a hike around Tehuamixtle
If you look closely, this turtle has a twin attached to his umbilical cord. Sadly, the twin did not make it.
Waiting for the turtle in front of us to lay her eggs. Eliza (bio student who comes on weekends), Sam, Me, Laura (vol from PV who teaches German)
¡Mas Mas!
Yes! There are 123 tortugitas in my towel. Israel ran off with the box so I had to carry them somehow.
Digging up turtles :) My fav chore of the day!
Typical patrol...didn't know I looked so rough. I should do something about that
¡Mas picturas!
Tuco, Jorge's pet that terrorizes everybody in the kitchen
Me with the camp boa
What a beautiful shell?!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
My hair is purple...
What do you think about my catchy title. Are you wondering if it's true? Why yes it is! But I'll get to that later :)
Not too many things have been going on this past week. You may think I jest, but I'll give you some quick highlights to prove it:
Midnight parties by Mayto's local furry friends have continued and Sam and I are lucky enough to be the ones assigned the task of cleaning out the turtle nursery. Due to the amount of turtles bits strewn about the place, it is obvious that the turtle nursery is the place to be in the wee hours in the morning.
Sam and I have also taken on a new roommate this week. I have been waking up in the morning to find Sam curled up in the middle in the tent. I finally asked her what was up and she says that we have a crab that scurries around her at night. I have yet to see this crab, but as it has happened in the past, I don't doubt the possibility.
Israel's mom, Miriam, has been visiting this past week and cooks like an angel. However, I am worried that my pants are starting to fit a bit too snug for my liking. This is a constant topic that the volunteers have been joking about (yes, we are a lively bunch) and this morning Sam managed to break a chair while eating one of Miriams awesome meals. The boys, that is to say the staff, said they were going to skip breakfast so they wouldn't end up looking like Sam. If Miriam doesn't leave soon, more chairs will be following suit.
There is a way to die your hair purple using one of the shells found on playa del amor (Lovers Beach). Laura, a vol visiting from PV, found out about it and we all decided it would be a good idea to try it. The problem with out plan was that Laura did not exactly remember what the shell looked like. So here we are rubbing shells on our hair, hoping that it will turn purple. It is only supposed to take a few minutes, but after waiting the whole next day nothing happened. Turns out we were just rubbing our hair with random bum juice from the shells...and we didn't shower bc you are supposed leave it in undisturbed overnight. After everybody left, Jorge took us back to playa del amor to show us the actual shell. It didn't work on my hair bc I didn't use enough juice, but Sam's hair turned out great. Today (Oct 26) we decided to go back (this time we took Marilyn with us) and add more, now we are all walking around with purple highlights and purple hands (nobody told us it stained your hands). We also smell really bad :(
Not too many things have been going on this past week. You may think I jest, but I'll give you some quick highlights to prove it:
Midnight parties by Mayto's local furry friends have continued and Sam and I are lucky enough to be the ones assigned the task of cleaning out the turtle nursery. Due to the amount of turtles bits strewn about the place, it is obvious that the turtle nursery is the place to be in the wee hours in the morning.
Sam and I have also taken on a new roommate this week. I have been waking up in the morning to find Sam curled up in the middle in the tent. I finally asked her what was up and she says that we have a crab that scurries around her at night. I have yet to see this crab, but as it has happened in the past, I don't doubt the possibility.
Israel's mom, Miriam, has been visiting this past week and cooks like an angel. However, I am worried that my pants are starting to fit a bit too snug for my liking. This is a constant topic that the volunteers have been joking about (yes, we are a lively bunch) and this morning Sam managed to break a chair while eating one of Miriams awesome meals. The boys, that is to say the staff, said they were going to skip breakfast so they wouldn't end up looking like Sam. If Miriam doesn't leave soon, more chairs will be following suit.
There is a way to die your hair purple using one of the shells found on playa del amor (Lovers Beach). Laura, a vol visiting from PV, found out about it and we all decided it would be a good idea to try it. The problem with out plan was that Laura did not exactly remember what the shell looked like. So here we are rubbing shells on our hair, hoping that it will turn purple. It is only supposed to take a few minutes, but after waiting the whole next day nothing happened. Turns out we were just rubbing our hair with random bum juice from the shells...and we didn't shower bc you are supposed leave it in undisturbed overnight. After everybody left, Jorge took us back to playa del amor to show us the actual shell. It didn't work on my hair bc I didn't use enough juice, but Sam's hair turned out great. Today (Oct 26) we decided to go back (this time we took Marilyn with us) and add more, now we are all walking around with purple highlights and purple hands (nobody told us it stained your hands). We also smell really bad :(
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Quick Update!
I´m only giving you the highlights...
October 16: Sam and I showed the visiting bio students (they will be coming every weekend for 1 month) how to clean out the turtle nests in the nursery. The uncool part about this is that we have to hand the nest over to the visitors if they look like they are going to be good nests to did up (meaning, no dead turtles). So most of the nests were pretty good except for this one nest at the end. There were barely any live turtles, but lots and lots of live maggots :( Yes, I got stuck with that nest. It gotten even too much for me to handle, so Jorge, being the great guy that he is, came over to help me. He was even gagging, so I didn´t feel like as much of a wimp. The good news is that we got to release lots of tortugitas (baby turtles) despite the nasty nest. That night Sam and I decided to hop on patrol with some of the visitors. Holy Cow! I though our boys drove fast, but they are nothing compared to these crazy guys. I think they were driving especially fast because they were trying to impress Sam who is tall, blonde, and has a fun accent. One of the guys was so drunk (no we did not ride with him), I thought for sure he would kill himself. Some people are just so stupid!
October 17: Today I decided to do shell diving for he first time! It was so much fun! I got loads of pretty shells, but you have to be careful because the undertow can get a bit strong. I'll take some pics of the shells I have been getting and post it so you can see how awesome they are. This is definitely something I plan to keep doing until I leave. Later that evening, we dug up over 200 hatchlings and released them :) Israel, my camp manager, showed up with his mom (I like to refer to her as y fairy godmother) and his brother. Her cooking is amazing!
October 18: The day of the 15 nests. Beside awesome food and a new group (a German school for Guadalajara)...today we released over 700 new babies. It was so much fun, but so much work! Sam and I were also entrusted with driving the German students on the quad bikes. I'm just going to toot my own horn and say that I am not too shabby a driver. We saw 2 turtles (one turtle crawlwed right up onto the beach after the other...don't worry turtles aren't too territorial when laying eggs) and got 2 more nests. Saulo, Israel's brother, showed us something school. When you dig in the sand at night, these little microsopic bugs that live in the sand release a defensive gas that glows. It was so cool! We also think we saw a crocodile. I say think bc we didn't want to get too close just in case these crocs were a bit hungry. We did see a nice pair of yellow eyes though and they were a bit close for comfort.
October 19: We decided to join the group and go to Tehuamixtle (Tehua for short) for a fun-filled day of turtle watching, playing on the beach, eating yummy seafood (so fresh), and cave exploring. On the boat ride we say 3 turtles and 1 sting ray. We got to swim with the turtles. It was neat! I just pet one bc I was afraid my 118 Ibs (most likely more after all of this good eating) would weigh the poor thing down. Afterwards, I took a satisfying nap on the beach and then ate the best fish in the world. We ended the day with going to a cave to see vats. I even got to hold one :)
October 20: Today we went to a waterfall. It was so beautiful. We spent most of the time hiking around with Xochitl...who is pregnant by the way and so much more graceful than me when it comes to climbing rocks and crossing streams. We also swam for a bit in the freezing cold water. We ended picking up litter on the beach...so much fun. Being here has really expanded my qualifications: janitor, garbage woman, gardener, carpenter, zoo keeper, world traveler (well if you consider the world Mayto-Pv by bus) and so much more! Talk about character building!
Love you all! Pictures to come!
October 16: Sam and I showed the visiting bio students (they will be coming every weekend for 1 month) how to clean out the turtle nests in the nursery. The uncool part about this is that we have to hand the nest over to the visitors if they look like they are going to be good nests to did up (meaning, no dead turtles). So most of the nests were pretty good except for this one nest at the end. There were barely any live turtles, but lots and lots of live maggots :( Yes, I got stuck with that nest. It gotten even too much for me to handle, so Jorge, being the great guy that he is, came over to help me. He was even gagging, so I didn´t feel like as much of a wimp. The good news is that we got to release lots of tortugitas (baby turtles) despite the nasty nest. That night Sam and I decided to hop on patrol with some of the visitors. Holy Cow! I though our boys drove fast, but they are nothing compared to these crazy guys. I think they were driving especially fast because they were trying to impress Sam who is tall, blonde, and has a fun accent. One of the guys was so drunk (no we did not ride with him), I thought for sure he would kill himself. Some people are just so stupid!
October 17: Today I decided to do shell diving for he first time! It was so much fun! I got loads of pretty shells, but you have to be careful because the undertow can get a bit strong. I'll take some pics of the shells I have been getting and post it so you can see how awesome they are. This is definitely something I plan to keep doing until I leave. Later that evening, we dug up over 200 hatchlings and released them :) Israel, my camp manager, showed up with his mom (I like to refer to her as y fairy godmother) and his brother. Her cooking is amazing!
October 18: The day of the 15 nests. Beside awesome food and a new group (a German school for Guadalajara)...today we released over 700 new babies. It was so much fun, but so much work! Sam and I were also entrusted with driving the German students on the quad bikes. I'm just going to toot my own horn and say that I am not too shabby a driver. We saw 2 turtles (one turtle crawlwed right up onto the beach after the other...don't worry turtles aren't too territorial when laying eggs) and got 2 more nests. Saulo, Israel's brother, showed us something school. When you dig in the sand at night, these little microsopic bugs that live in the sand release a defensive gas that glows. It was so cool! We also think we saw a crocodile. I say think bc we didn't want to get too close just in case these crocs were a bit hungry. We did see a nice pair of yellow eyes though and they were a bit close for comfort.
October 19: We decided to join the group and go to Tehuamixtle (Tehua for short) for a fun-filled day of turtle watching, playing on the beach, eating yummy seafood (so fresh), and cave exploring. On the boat ride we say 3 turtles and 1 sting ray. We got to swim with the turtles. It was neat! I just pet one bc I was afraid my 118 Ibs (most likely more after all of this good eating) would weigh the poor thing down. Afterwards, I took a satisfying nap on the beach and then ate the best fish in the world. We ended the day with going to a cave to see vats. I even got to hold one :)
October 20: Today we went to a waterfall. It was so beautiful. We spent most of the time hiking around with Xochitl...who is pregnant by the way and so much more graceful than me when it comes to climbing rocks and crossing streams. We also swam for a bit in the freezing cold water. We ended picking up litter on the beach...so much fun. Being here has really expanded my qualifications: janitor, garbage woman, gardener, carpenter, zoo keeper, world traveler (well if you consider the world Mayto-Pv by bus) and so much more! Talk about character building!
Love you all! Pictures to come!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Internet is up! Here are some pics!
Me, Christian, Jorge, Kerry, Andy, Israel, Xochitl, Joel, and Sam (I had just returned from beach)
Botanical Gardens (canpost more later)
Volunteers: Kerry, Sam, Marilyn, Jon, Andy, Me (Kerry and Andy have left)
My running buddy Toby (probably leader of the midnight parties too)
Botanical Gardens (canpost more later)
My ridiculous sunburn
Friday, October 15, 2010
Pv again!
I wish I could say that so much has been going on since I last updated, but that would probably be a big fat lie. In addition to nothing too exciting going on, the internet at the hotel where I use the computer has been down since I last updated, so even if I had wanted to update you all on the fabulous life of Cybil, I would not have been able to. Needing to get out of Mayto and touch base with everybody, Sam and I planned another girls "weekend" in PV.
Since it is just us on our own, Sam and I have decided to plan little excursions every week until we leave (Nov 7...I can´t believe it). Last week, we decided to take a day trip to the PV Botanical Gardens (this is a bit misleading since they are just outside of El Tuito). We spent a fabulous day hiking on trails, swimming in freezing cold rivers (YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!), drinking lemonade out on the veranda, and gobbling up yummy food (tortilla soup, guacamole, and BANANA SPLITS). It was great! I saw the most amazing flowers and also the biggest spiders EVER!
At camp, Sam and I have been recruited to assemble solar lights, chop back unruly vines, clean the bathrooms (my fav), and clean up the turtle nursery (a close second). We tend to get nightly visitors (mainly Toby the black lab that has us) who follow their noses right to the nursery for a midnight snack. Yes...they eat the turtles. You can tell when a big party ihas occurred the night before bc bits of turtle are strewn about the pen. Gross? Try cleaning it up after they have been baking in the sun all day. The camp manager has started designating this job to Sam and me. There has been a little war between the camp manager and us. He blames the dog for all the mess and we blame the flimsy fence that has yet to be fixed.
The days are still pretty much spent living the life of a beach bum: reading (not sure if beach bums do this), laying out, swimming in the ocean, and boogieboarding. Right now I look like super woman bc one day I got interrupted while putting on sunscreen and forgot to do my face. I got really into this mystery novel and woke up looking like I just got done with a good night of fighting crime.
Funny story: Israel decided it was time for Toby to go back home, so Joel (one of the camp workers) let us say good bye to Toby and then took him away to his real house that is 7 km away. 2 hours later he came running back and parked himself by me and Sam for the rest of the day :) That´s loyalty!
Having a tough time posting more pics. I will try to post pics from the botanical garden and staff pics later this week if the internet is working at the hotel.
Since it is just us on our own, Sam and I have decided to plan little excursions every week until we leave (Nov 7...I can´t believe it). Last week, we decided to take a day trip to the PV Botanical Gardens (this is a bit misleading since they are just outside of El Tuito). We spent a fabulous day hiking on trails, swimming in freezing cold rivers (YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!), drinking lemonade out on the veranda, and gobbling up yummy food (tortilla soup, guacamole, and BANANA SPLITS). It was great! I saw the most amazing flowers and also the biggest spiders EVER!
At camp, Sam and I have been recruited to assemble solar lights, chop back unruly vines, clean the bathrooms (my fav), and clean up the turtle nursery (a close second). We tend to get nightly visitors (mainly Toby the black lab that has us) who follow their noses right to the nursery for a midnight snack. Yes...they eat the turtles. You can tell when a big party ihas occurred the night before bc bits of turtle are strewn about the pen. Gross? Try cleaning it up after they have been baking in the sun all day. The camp manager has started designating this job to Sam and me. There has been a little war between the camp manager and us. He blames the dog for all the mess and we blame the flimsy fence that has yet to be fixed.
The days are still pretty much spent living the life of a beach bum: reading (not sure if beach bums do this), laying out, swimming in the ocean, and boogieboarding. Right now I look like super woman bc one day I got interrupted while putting on sunscreen and forgot to do my face. I got really into this mystery novel and woke up looking like I just got done with a good night of fighting crime.
Funny story: Israel decided it was time for Toby to go back home, so Joel (one of the camp workers) let us say good bye to Toby and then took him away to his real house that is 7 km away. 2 hours later he came running back and parked himself by me and Sam for the rest of the day :) That´s loyalty!
Having a tough time posting more pics. I will try to post pics from the botanical garden and staff pics later this week if the internet is working at the hotel.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Update!
So PV was lots of fun, but I don´t really have much time to talk about it in detail. Kerry and Andy were both able to get to the airport and on their respective flights ok, so they are off starting a new adventure as I type. Sam and I spent Sunday in PV shopping and eating, you know...the good things. When we got back from our weekend excursion, we were greeted by 40 loud high school students from Guadalajara. This was by far the worst group that has stayed at the camp while I´ve been here. They managed to rip both bathroom doors off the wall, turn the pool water green, steal/break the bathroom mirror, and (ny fav) smear poop all over the bathroom. After patrol one evening I had the pleasure of breaking up a makeout session taking place in the turtle nursery...how romantic. Needless to say clean-up was lots of fun. We have a group coming up this weekend and I pray that they are more well-behaved and less sex-crazed...doubtful.
Now that everybody is gone, Sam and I have managed to so a major clean-up and set up our tent just the way we like it. It´s amazing how much sand there was when 4 vols were sharing the tent. We miss them, but it´s nic eto spread out.
Sam and I have started doubling up on our turtle shifts so that we can get more action for the rest of our stay. It makes me so sad that I am leaving in just over a month. I am really going to miss Mayto, the camp, and the staff. We´ve managed to bring in a good haul of turtle eggs every patrol so that is nice. I am worried that we will be running out of room in the nursery soon. I guess they (and by that I mean we) might have to build that second one they have been talking about.
Two awesome experiences: First: I was able to witness the hatching of our black turtle nest. The black turtle is the most endangered turtle in this area. The babies are completely gorgeous (black on type and white on bottom) and very different from the pacific greens we dig up! I´ll post pics later. Second: After patrol yesterday morning, sam and I came back to one of the nests in the nursery already dug up with bird prints everywhere. We decided to check on the nests to make sure all the turtles were ok. 21 were missing, but I guess that´s life. The amazing thing is, Sam put one of the eggs to the side that she thought still might hatch and I totally got to witness a baby turtle hatching. One minute there was an egg, the next second there was a turtle...very cool indeed.
Love you guys and will post pics later!
Now that everybody is gone, Sam and I have managed to so a major clean-up and set up our tent just the way we like it. It´s amazing how much sand there was when 4 vols were sharing the tent. We miss them, but it´s nic eto spread out.
Sam and I have started doubling up on our turtle shifts so that we can get more action for the rest of our stay. It makes me so sad that I am leaving in just over a month. I am really going to miss Mayto, the camp, and the staff. We´ve managed to bring in a good haul of turtle eggs every patrol so that is nice. I am worried that we will be running out of room in the nursery soon. I guess they (and by that I mean we) might have to build that second one they have been talking about.
Two awesome experiences: First: I was able to witness the hatching of our black turtle nest. The black turtle is the most endangered turtle in this area. The babies are completely gorgeous (black on type and white on bottom) and very different from the pacific greens we dig up! I´ll post pics later. Second: After patrol yesterday morning, sam and I came back to one of the nests in the nursery already dug up with bird prints everywhere. We decided to check on the nests to make sure all the turtles were ok. 21 were missing, but I guess that´s life. The amazing thing is, Sam put one of the eggs to the side that she thought still might hatch and I totally got to witness a baby turtle hatching. One minute there was an egg, the next second there was a turtle...very cool indeed.
Love you guys and will post pics later!
Friday, October 1, 2010
I got my hair braided!
Kerry and Andy are leaving the project, so Sam and I decided to take a few days off go with them down to PV to have one last girls weekend. We decided it would be fun to go in and do a bit of shopping and decided to get our hair done. More news later!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Last night!
So yesterday Greta, the manager of my project, came up to Mayto for a bbq and brought along with her all the food I could every want and more. She also brought 2 volunteers, Jo and Georgia, who are with Outreach but are working in orphanages in PV. We had a great time and ate until are stomachs were hanging over are pants. Last night I was on patrol and since Jo and Georgia had never seen sea turtles before, Jorge said they could come along, so we all hopped into the quad bike and went on our way. It was magical! We got to see this turtle come out of the ocean, dig her nest, and then start laying her eggs. We all took turns taking photos and catching the eggs. When she was done we watched her go back to sea. THEN THE SKY OPENED UP! It was pouring and we were soaked to the bone (mind you this is the first time I have forgotten my rain slicker and the only time it has poured on me during quad bike patrol). We went on for a bit longer and got another nest, but then the lightening startied striking around us and Jorge thought it would be better if we returned back to camp bc Jo and Georgia were soaked through. All-in-all a great/interesting experience!
I tried to upload a video but it didn´t work so I´ll try again later!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Since You´ve Been Gone.....
So I was actually given my "chore of the day" which consisted of cleaning out the old nests. Israel is given funding from various organization and in return must provide them with accurate records showing turtle mortality, turtle successes,a nd unhatched eggs. For the most part, it was horribly disgusting. We pulled out moldy egg after moldy egg, some with moldy dead turtles and swarming with maggots. But then, surprisingly enough we pulled out several babies that just hadn´t made it up to the top yet. They probably wouldn´t have survived had we not intervened. Now, I´m all about survival of the fittest, but since we have already defied nature and dug up the nests, protecting them from humans and dogs, we might as well go the whole 9 yards and excavate the nests the day most of the turtles hatch to avoid unnecessary deaths. After excavation, a group of tourists arrived and we sent the babies out to sea. A storm was brewing so they had to fight some pretty big waves, but the were determined and charged in!
Yay for Sundays (19/09/2010)! It means total relaxation! I really enjoyed myself. Kerry woke us up with exciting news...they had discovered 17 nests! The downside was that I had to leave my comfy bed earlier than I would have preferred to help. Afterwards, I went for a swim with Marilyn and Jon and even got a little color. Don´t worry Mom, i put on SPF 50 all over my body and SPF 70 on my face. It´s a wonder the sun could even get through. That afternoon the sky opened up and poured. I was able to start, and finish, a new book. That night Andy discovered that a colony of ants discovered her stash of sweets so now we are headquarters for the time being.
On Monday we had a group of 35 students from PV come to the turtle camp. They had nonstop fun...we had nonstop work. Andy and I were on bathroom duty and they managed to completely make a mess of the newly cleaned bathrooms and block all 4 toilets within the hour. This probably isn´t hard to do, but since I´ve been here almost a month and it hadn´t happened it was a bit annoying. Their tents were set up close to Marilyn and Jon, and I think Jon was very close to using his military training to shut them up. On an exciting note: Jorge found a box turtle on morning patrol. When Israel saw how excited I was, he showed me their collection of turtles (seriously it´s taken this long?). They have 2 box turtles and a central american wood turtle! And to top it off Jorge gave me a passion fruit from his garden! Turtle patrol started off a bit slow bc there was a quad bike ahead of us getting to all of the nests. When they finally turned off, we ended up getting 9 nests! I even got to see a green see turtle. Unfortunately she didn´t ended up leaving us any eggs bc we spooked her (figures). On the way back we stopped and said hello to the high school group. Three of the girls (the "popular" girls of course) started flirting with Christian and asking for a ride back to the camp. They even had the guts to say that I should walk back so they can ride back with him. I cooly said, "No thank you. I´ve already done the walk." That quickly shut them up bc they assumed I didn´t know any Spanish. Well, you know what they say about assuming :)
Not much happened yesterday except I RAN FOR 40 MINUTES ON THE BEACH! Oh and the high school group left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Later that evening I was bending down to pick up something I dropped underneath the table by my tent and a black widow lowered herself down to say hi. Joel came to my rescue and killed it. Thank goodness!
Well that´s a short peek into the life of Cybil. I might go to PV tomorrow with Jorge...still not sure though. My next patrol is tomorrow morning!
Yay for Sundays (19/09/2010)! It means total relaxation! I really enjoyed myself. Kerry woke us up with exciting news...they had discovered 17 nests! The downside was that I had to leave my comfy bed earlier than I would have preferred to help. Afterwards, I went for a swim with Marilyn and Jon and even got a little color. Don´t worry Mom, i put on SPF 50 all over my body and SPF 70 on my face. It´s a wonder the sun could even get through. That afternoon the sky opened up and poured. I was able to start, and finish, a new book. That night Andy discovered that a colony of ants discovered her stash of sweets so now we are headquarters for the time being.
On Monday we had a group of 35 students from PV come to the turtle camp. They had nonstop fun...we had nonstop work. Andy and I were on bathroom duty and they managed to completely make a mess of the newly cleaned bathrooms and block all 4 toilets within the hour. This probably isn´t hard to do, but since I´ve been here almost a month and it hadn´t happened it was a bit annoying. Their tents were set up close to Marilyn and Jon, and I think Jon was very close to using his military training to shut them up. On an exciting note: Jorge found a box turtle on morning patrol. When Israel saw how excited I was, he showed me their collection of turtles (seriously it´s taken this long?). They have 2 box turtles and a central american wood turtle! And to top it off Jorge gave me a passion fruit from his garden! Turtle patrol started off a bit slow bc there was a quad bike ahead of us getting to all of the nests. When they finally turned off, we ended up getting 9 nests! I even got to see a green see turtle. Unfortunately she didn´t ended up leaving us any eggs bc we spooked her (figures). On the way back we stopped and said hello to the high school group. Three of the girls (the "popular" girls of course) started flirting with Christian and asking for a ride back to the camp. They even had the guts to say that I should walk back so they can ride back with him. I cooly said, "No thank you. I´ve already done the walk." That quickly shut them up bc they assumed I didn´t know any Spanish. Well, you know what they say about assuming :)
Not much happened yesterday except I RAN FOR 40 MINUTES ON THE BEACH! Oh and the high school group left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Later that evening I was bending down to pick up something I dropped underneath the table by my tent and a black widow lowered herself down to say hi. Joel came to my rescue and killed it. Thank goodness!
Well that´s a short peek into the life of Cybil. I might go to PV tomorrow with Jorge...still not sure though. My next patrol is tomorrow morning!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ok...a little better update
Ok everybody! Sorry about the lame updates. Everytime I get on the computer, I just babble bc I have to pay for my time and get really flustered. Now I am using Israel´s computer so I´m not as rushed, but I still can´t hog the whole thing bc that´s just not cool and I am trying to repair American stereotypes (so I can´t be as selfish as Iwould normally be).
I left off saying that I got to see three turtles and even managed to be able to catch the eggs as one of the turtles laid them. It was amazing! And of course I was being made fun of because I was taking so many pictures. It actually turned out to be more flashing than pictures bc my camera was having a rough time focusing. So storms have been rolling in on a pretty regular basis around 1 or 2 in the morning, so the other day I was unable to do my turtle patrol at 2 am...unless Iwanted to be struck by lightening and I´m not sure mom and dad would approve. Luckily the weather subsided so our person on duty for morning patrol was able to go out and save some turtles! YAY!
Yesterday (17/9/2010) Kerry, Andrea, and I hopped a ride to El Tuito with Israel and his family. We only got stuck in the mud once! All I can say is thank goodness there wasn´t a huge drop off on either side bc there totally could have been and then we would have been in trouble. El Tuito is a town about an 1.5 hrs away and looks like NYC compared to the 5 buildings of Mayto...but in actuality it´s just an ugly little town. They were still having bicentennial celebrations when we were there. Men were dressed up as women and they were throwing flower at each other and a huge parade was making its way through the streets. I´m not exactly sure how that fits into independence, but when I find out, I´ll be sure to let you know. I ended up having amazing food and an ice cream bar with choc and almonds...YAY! When we made it back to camp, we found out that the neighbors had shot our camp dog, Chatha ("flat face"), in the mouth/face area after getting into their duck pen. She is doing well and is starting to look like her old self, except of course for the lack of teeth on one side of her mouth. I have made a personal note to avoid playing with the neighbor´s ducks from here on out. They might not be so nice as to shoot me in the mouth.
This morning I was on morning turtle patrol. Since Israel went on to PV after El Tuito, Joel had to step in and take me on my patrol. We got 3 nests and even managed to save one turtle who was, in my opinion, being very last minute. Oh well, if I was a turtle, I´m sure I would be the one waiting until the last minute too. When we got back to the camp 2 turtle nests had hatched and one of the nest had managed to escape the little fence Israel had put up around the nest so they were all over the place. It was the best easter egg (except no eggs) hunt ever! Another nest ended up hatching out later so we have muchas tortugas to release esta noche! Still working on the ole spanish!
Other than that, life is pretty chill and I am enjoying my time. My next turtle patrol will be Monday night. I´m hoping to get good pictures so that I can post them sometime next week. I was able to skype my mom, dad, and dave so that made me really happy! Oh and I saw my first scorpian here...def will start wearing shoes at night :)
Love to all!
I left off saying that I got to see three turtles and even managed to be able to catch the eggs as one of the turtles laid them. It was amazing! And of course I was being made fun of because I was taking so many pictures. It actually turned out to be more flashing than pictures bc my camera was having a rough time focusing. So storms have been rolling in on a pretty regular basis around 1 or 2 in the morning, so the other day I was unable to do my turtle patrol at 2 am...unless Iwanted to be struck by lightening and I´m not sure mom and dad would approve. Luckily the weather subsided so our person on duty for morning patrol was able to go out and save some turtles! YAY!
Yesterday (17/9/2010) Kerry, Andrea, and I hopped a ride to El Tuito with Israel and his family. We only got stuck in the mud once! All I can say is thank goodness there wasn´t a huge drop off on either side bc there totally could have been and then we would have been in trouble. El Tuito is a town about an 1.5 hrs away and looks like NYC compared to the 5 buildings of Mayto...but in actuality it´s just an ugly little town. They were still having bicentennial celebrations when we were there. Men were dressed up as women and they were throwing flower at each other and a huge parade was making its way through the streets. I´m not exactly sure how that fits into independence, but when I find out, I´ll be sure to let you know. I ended up having amazing food and an ice cream bar with choc and almonds...YAY! When we made it back to camp, we found out that the neighbors had shot our camp dog, Chatha ("flat face"), in the mouth/face area after getting into their duck pen. She is doing well and is starting to look like her old self, except of course for the lack of teeth on one side of her mouth. I have made a personal note to avoid playing with the neighbor´s ducks from here on out. They might not be so nice as to shoot me in the mouth.
This morning I was on morning turtle patrol. Since Israel went on to PV after El Tuito, Joel had to step in and take me on my patrol. We got 3 nests and even managed to save one turtle who was, in my opinion, being very last minute. Oh well, if I was a turtle, I´m sure I would be the one waiting until the last minute too. When we got back to the camp 2 turtle nests had hatched and one of the nest had managed to escape the little fence Israel had put up around the nest so they were all over the place. It was the best easter egg (except no eggs) hunt ever! Another nest ended up hatching out later so we have muchas tortugas to release esta noche! Still working on the ole spanish!
Other than that, life is pretty chill and I am enjoying my time. My next turtle patrol will be Monday night. I´m hoping to get good pictures so that I can post them sometime next week. I was able to skype my mom, dad, and dave so that made me really happy! Oh and I saw my first scorpian here...def will start wearing shoes at night :)
Love to all!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tortugas mas!
So last night (15/09/2010...also Mexican Independence Day) was my first night turtle patrol via quad bike. This time Christian was my partner and we say 3 TURTLES! One turtle was in the middle of laying her eggs so I got to actually catch the eggs as she was laying them. It was amazing! I tried to get picture but found out too late that I needed an extra light in order to get a good picture. Next time (which may be around 2 am!!!!!!!!!!) I will be prepared!
Since I´ve been here we have managed to release 5 sets of baby turtles! Everytime I let the little ones go I feel like a camp counselor sending her campers out to face the world. Glad they made it, but super nervous about what lies ahead for the little guys...especially the huge wave up ahead. Releasing them never gets old though. We´ll see if I am singing the same tune at the end of my stay here.
Camp life. Hmmmm well camp life during the day is still pretty relaxed. We normally get about one task during the day (cleaning bathrooms, raking the property, scrubbing kitchen stuff) and then we are on our own to swim in the ocean, read a book, whatever!
As I said before, I might be going out early this morning bc the conditions are just right (windy and quarter moon). Wish me luck! I´ll post pics later!
Since I´ve been here we have managed to release 5 sets of baby turtles! Everytime I let the little ones go I feel like a camp counselor sending her campers out to face the world. Glad they made it, but super nervous about what lies ahead for the little guys...especially the huge wave up ahead. Releasing them never gets old though. We´ll see if I am singing the same tune at the end of my stay here.
Camp life. Hmmmm well camp life during the day is still pretty relaxed. We normally get about one task during the day (cleaning bathrooms, raking the property, scrubbing kitchen stuff) and then we are on our own to swim in the ocean, read a book, whatever!
As I said before, I might be going out early this morning bc the conditions are just right (windy and quarter moon). Wish me luck! I´ll post pics later!
Monday, September 13, 2010
First turtle patrol!
Hey everybody!
Well it´s official! This morning I had my first official turtle patrol...meaning it was organized and we followed through. Apparently during the month of September the turtles tend to beach as far away as possible due to the the way the tide is flowing. By the end of my stay, they should start beaching closer to the camp. Anyway...back to the turtle patrol. We´ve been waiting for these quad bikes to show up so we can do the full 12k of beach. I was second leg with my partner Jorge. We didn´t actually get to see any turtles but we did happen upon a nest of 127 eggs (woohoo!) and we ended up chasing a fox from another nest. Unfortunately only about 10 eggs were left from that nest :( Since those eggs were already so far along we were not able to move them so we had to bury them again and make a fake nest just in case any other animals decide to come for a midnight snack. It was funny because while I was digging up the nest I told Jorge that I felt like I had hit the Easter bunny jackpot and he looked at me strangely. Then I explained about Easter and how for some odd reason we´ve assigned a rabbit to the holiday even though it´s not about bunnies at all and he just looks at me and starts laughing and saying, "Cybil, rabbits don´t lay eggs." I was so shocked all I could do was sit there thinking, "Wow! He must think I´m a huge idiot." When we got back to the camp to put our eggs in the nursery, some of the babies were hatching from another nest. So after burying ours we helped dig up the hatching. Now they are in the kitchen waiting to be released tonight! EXCITING!
Other than that, I was on bathroom duty, but I finished that early on. YUCK! Don´t exactly know what to do for the rest of the day since I already finished all 6 of my books that I brought with me.
Friday, September 10, 2010
A little better update...
Hi everybody!
So life has been crazy and laid back all at the same time. We haven´t done too much turtle work yet bc the camp director had to get get his wife and kids from PV bc a bridge collapsed there before I left and they were stuck on the other (wrong) side.
So let´s see where did I leave off? Yes. We had a flood and now all is well. Mother nature has managed to right herself and there is now a sand bar between the 2 stretches of beach. This is nice bc I hate smelling like poop on a regular basis and might have completely given up internet completely to avoid smelling like it. We still have to wade or kayak across the river to the road that gets into town but you can´t have everything. I have managed to go for a couple of swims in the ocean...my main motivation being to get rid of the pink eye that was immediately passed onto my on arrival. Oh yes 22 years without pinkeye and I get it when I come to Mexico. Many of the staff asked me if I had been smoking something but when my eyes started to swell shut they quickly knew what the problem was. Running in the mornings for a half hour to an hour has been my favorite time of day, because everything is so beautiful. I spend most of my days cleaning the camp which is not that exciting even if it is in mexico. At night I am lulled to sleep by the waves and a good book :) When I actually start doing turtle stuff I´ll have more to write about. Until then take care!
Much love!
So life has been crazy and laid back all at the same time. We haven´t done too much turtle work yet bc the camp director had to get get his wife and kids from PV bc a bridge collapsed there before I left and they were stuck on the other (wrong) side.
So let´s see where did I leave off? Yes. We had a flood and now all is well. Mother nature has managed to right herself and there is now a sand bar between the 2 stretches of beach. This is nice bc I hate smelling like poop on a regular basis and might have completely given up internet completely to avoid smelling like it. We still have to wade or kayak across the river to the road that gets into town but you can´t have everything. I have managed to go for a couple of swims in the ocean...my main motivation being to get rid of the pink eye that was immediately passed onto my on arrival. Oh yes 22 years without pinkeye and I get it when I come to Mexico. Many of the staff asked me if I had been smoking something but when my eyes started to swell shut they quickly knew what the problem was. Running in the mornings for a half hour to an hour has been my favorite time of day, because everything is so beautiful. I spend most of my days cleaning the camp which is not that exciting even if it is in mexico. At night I am lulled to sleep by the waves and a good book :) When I actually start doing turtle stuff I´ll have more to write about. Until then take care!
Much love!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Hey everybody!
So this is going to be really short! I got here safely and have a bit of adjusting to do. I live in a tent on the beach (love!), outdorr bathroom and shower (growing on me...def not like the awesome on ein Kenya), lots of bugs (hate! my knew perfume has become (100% deet). Love the staff. Released baby turtle the other day and saw a green sea turtle. The lake/swamp flodded and washed away a giood chunk of the beach and now I have to wait for low tide to wade across a nasty river to get to the internet. It´s very isolated here (more so than Kenya) so I don´t know how often I will be able to write. Love you all and have to get going before tide changes again or I´ll be washed out to sea...
More later!
More later!
Friday, September 3, 2010
A day of mishaps...
After having a few days of success, Marilyn, Jon & I decided a food stand nearby the house. We thought our spanish was doing fairly well, but we quickly learned that we definitely need some extra time with our spanish teacher Lupita. We were trying to order a vegetarian meal (probably would have been better to ask for a meal without meat...¿Comida sin carne?) and ended up with a whopping plate of meat in front of us. Needless to say we were surprised with the outcome. We ended up taking the meat back for the fiesta (Marilyn is a vegetarian) that night and ordering some quesadillas for us to eat instead.
Well I am starting to feel a little more at home here. The people are lovely and are willing to help you out, given they know English and you know a little Spanish. I have managed to run in the mornings a few more times since my first day here. The track is quite the happening place in the morning. I have to make sure I get up early enough or the traffic makes it a bit hard to get to there. Each run is a little better. The first day I felt like an elephant was on my back...now I only feel like a large man has decided to hop a ride.
Tomorrow we leave for the turtle camp. It´s about a 3 hour ride. We are taking a bus, so that shoud be an adventure. I am really looking forward to seeing Mayto (Maito). Everybody raves about how beautiful it is. I´m hoping to be able to load some pictures on soon!
TURTLES HERE I COME!
Well I am starting to feel a little more at home here. The people are lovely and are willing to help you out, given they know English and you know a little Spanish. I have managed to run in the mornings a few more times since my first day here. The track is quite the happening place in the morning. I have to make sure I get up early enough or the traffic makes it a bit hard to get to there. Each run is a little better. The first day I felt like an elephant was on my back...now I only feel like a large man has decided to hop a ride.
Tomorrow we leave for the turtle camp. It´s about a 3 hour ride. We are taking a bus, so that shoud be an adventure. I am really looking forward to seeing Mayto (Maito). Everybody raves about how beautiful it is. I´m hoping to be able to load some pictures on soon!
TURTLES HERE I COME!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
So....
So I was going to try and limit internet, but since I will have to start abiding by the 30 mins/week in the Turtle camp on Saturday, I decided to take advantage of the internet cafe down the street :) And since the bridge into PV collapsed yesterday, Greta has not been able to make it into the city to do a few last minute things with the 3 of us.
I really enjoy being with the other volunteers with my group. Jon and Marilyn are super nice and allow me to tag along with them bc there are only the 3 of us and Greta says it´s a good idea to travel in pairs at the least. We´ve been in to PV a couple of times...people pretty much think we are a happy family until they here my American accent and know that there is no way I could possibly be their child. Yesterday we went in search of some yummy authentic food and found this lively little bistro by the river. During our lunch we had a visitor...AN IGUANA! It was Marilyn and Jon´s first time seeing an iguana so they were really excited, and being the reptile love that I am, I was excited too. The staff must have been confused as to why we were jumping up and running over to take numerous pictures of an iguana, but whatever.
Spanish lessons have started and I feel like I have run a marathon after each session (we started a day earlier than expected). I am pleased to find that I am understanding more than I thought I would be, but it is still hard to find the words when I am conversing with our teach Lupita.
Well I guess that´s it. Nothing too exciting right now. I am hoping to drop off my laundry and go to this burrito stand my other roommate keeps raving about for lunch.
Love to all!
I really enjoy being with the other volunteers with my group. Jon and Marilyn are super nice and allow me to tag along with them bc there are only the 3 of us and Greta says it´s a good idea to travel in pairs at the least. We´ve been in to PV a couple of times...people pretty much think we are a happy family until they here my American accent and know that there is no way I could possibly be their child. Yesterday we went in search of some yummy authentic food and found this lively little bistro by the river. During our lunch we had a visitor...AN IGUANA! It was Marilyn and Jon´s first time seeing an iguana so they were really excited, and being the reptile love that I am, I was excited too. The staff must have been confused as to why we were jumping up and running over to take numerous pictures of an iguana, but whatever.
Spanish lessons have started and I feel like I have run a marathon after each session (we started a day earlier than expected). I am pleased to find that I am understanding more than I thought I would be, but it is still hard to find the words when I am conversing with our teach Lupita.
Well I guess that´s it. Nothing too exciting right now. I am hoping to drop off my laundry and go to this burrito stand my other roommate keeps raving about for lunch.
Love to all!
Monday, August 30, 2010
First full day in PV
This morning I woke up and went for a run. The humidity is so great here, it hurts to breathe. It was a nice 25 min run though. Lots of people were at the track. One guy was even doing a workout with his coach. I think I will have to ease back into the running though.
Later Greta took us to get a mobile phone. We also stopped at this great place called Las Gorditas Nortenas for lunch. I had 1 carne en mole, 1 frijoles con queso, and 1 quesadilla. The fijoles con queso was by far my fav. We also had a flower drink that tasted really nice.
After lunch, Greta took us around PV again and then dropped us off to walk arlund. Jon, Marilyn and I walked along the beachfront eating ice cream (helado). We took a bus back to the apartment. Now that I´ve done it once. I feel a bit better.
During the evening we sat down to watch a Woody Allen film (it was storming outside). It was Christina and Vikki take Barcelona and was really funny. I stayed up the rest of the night finishing my book and listening to the rain.
Later Greta took us to get a mobile phone. We also stopped at this great place called Las Gorditas Nortenas for lunch. I had 1 carne en mole, 1 frijoles con queso, and 1 quesadilla. The fijoles con queso was by far my fav. We also had a flower drink that tasted really nice.
After lunch, Greta took us around PV again and then dropped us off to walk arlund. Jon, Marilyn and I walked along the beachfront eating ice cream (helado). We took a bus back to the apartment. Now that I´ve done it once. I feel a bit better.
During the evening we sat down to watch a Woody Allen film (it was storming outside). It was Christina and Vikki take Barcelona and was really funny. I stayed up the rest of the night finishing my book and listening to the rain.
I MADE IT!
After 5 hours of sleep and one last panic attak about overpacking, I finally made it to PV. On the flight over I lucked out and had my own row, allowing me to stretch down and read my book until drifted off somewhere over Alabama. Greta met me at the airport and took me to the Outreach apartment where I am sharing a room with a girl named Claire from the UK. She seems very nice and adventurous and has enjoyed being in PV since May working with the deaf. She leaves this next Saturday (judging by Claire´s luggage I did indeed overpack). Then Greta and I walked down the street to a fbaulous cafe for lunch. I hand a mango, apple, and spinach salad with an amazing vinegarette dressing. We followed up with a smoothies that tasted like heaven. After lunch we headed back to the OI APT to do some paperwork. Unfortunately my other turtling buddies were delayed in Mexico City, due to their flight being cancelled, and did not arrive in PV until after 7 without their luggage :( However, Marilyn and Jonathan seem to go with the flow and will be nice to have aroun for the next 3 months. They are a charming couple out to explore the world and save turtles (my kind of people).
After finishing up with the docs, Greta droive me allaround PV and the neighboring town of Pitillal (spell check). She told me the best ways to get around, but honestly it was all so fast I had a hard time keeping track of what she was saying. All I know is that you must take a green bus to get pack to the OI Apt. There is a nice running track down about 1200 meters from the OI Apt so I am looking forward to doing a jog their in the morning.
I spent the evening relaxing and talking with Marilyn and Jon. NBow the rain has started and there seems to be a fiesta with festive music happening right outside :)
Tuesday I start Spanish and Sat I leave for the turtle camp! YAY!
After finishing up with the docs, Greta droive me allaround PV and the neighboring town of Pitillal (spell check). She told me the best ways to get around, but honestly it was all so fast I had a hard time keeping track of what she was saying. All I know is that you must take a green bus to get pack to the OI Apt. There is a nice running track down about 1200 meters from the OI Apt so I am looking forward to doing a jog their in the morning.
I spent the evening relaxing and talking with Marilyn and Jon. NBow the rain has started and there seems to be a fiesta with festive music happening right outside :)
Tuesday I start Spanish and Sat I leave for the turtle camp! YAY!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Adios!
Hola!
Well the time has come for me to pack my bags and begin yet another adventure. I call it "Mission: Yoruga la Tortuga". Confused...let me give you a hand! It's Spanish for Yertle the Turtle! Creative...I think so. My idea...I think not. Kudos belong to my friend Kara :) Without her, it would have surely been something super lame.
Some background for those popping back into my life: I am leaving for 3 months to help protect different sea turtle species, meet lots of new people, improve my Spanish-speaking skills (this will be quite a feat), help teach English if time permits, and hopefully get back into tip-top shape for a half-marathon I plan on doing when I return stateside. I AM SO PUMPED!
As always, packing has been the biggest difficulty for me so far. Instead of 2 bags at a whopping 50 pounds each like I did for Kenya, I have limited it to 1 bag (oh and a backpack). This was SO TOUGH, but I think I succeeded quite nicely. You would not believe how much toiletries weigh, but after experiencing the "wonders" of Dr. Bronner's firsthand in Kenya I will gladly sacrifice for a bottle of Head 'n' Shoulders.
Well, I just wanted to give you all a brief update before heading out. This (or my e-mail) will probably be the best way to keep in touch with me throughout my journey.
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