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 :) 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!
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