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Central America 2007 "sure we're ready for Guatemala, but is Guatemala ready for us?!"

If Captain Van reads this I am screwed

GUATEMALA | Saturday, 10 November 2007 | Views [701] | Comments [6]

day after my birthday, and so much has happened since I last blogged...

first, they are called the bay islands not the key islands.yes Im a bit of a dumbass.

next, day of the dead was very interesting.above ground graves with families alternating between crying and making out over them..weird. got lost with a friend in the back streets trying to return to our super gross hotel...apparently I sat down at one point and decided it would be best for us to just sleep in the street until our other companions found us in the morning...or so im told. fortunetly the voice of reason spoke, and it was off to the bay islands the next day...a journey that would take FOUR very long days of chicken bus rides through several countries and many unexpected towns.

we didnt realize that it would take us so long to get there by land, but we kept just missing the last bus out of each town! it ended up to be a really fun few days...we are trashing hostels and hotels all over central america...just kiding...kind of.Turns out that its a bad idea to try to do a chin up from the doorway of a hotel in chiquimula (spelling?), guatemala.Who knew. (by the way that one was all Kate)

several impromto pool parties and and feasts later, (oh yeah and we also hit the copan mayan ruins.amazing except for the pouring down rain and the loss of one very emotionally important walking stick by one of our traveling companions)we arrived on the bay island of Roatan in honduras. Guess we should have checked the weather forcast because the day we arrived was the beginning of the rainy season.What this means: Puke Fest 2007 on our TWO HOUR boat ride to the island from the mainland. ever watched 150 people puke for the entire duration of the movie "along came Polly" (subtitled in spanish of course)? well i did. it was amazing, and I have never been so motion sick.Kate was green.

Got to the island and it continued to pour, but weve been hear a few days and had some sunshine. Yesterday was my birthday and it was prety great. Tried to scuba dive but it just didnt take (turns out i CANNOT handle breathing through a mouthpeice, but at least I tried.) instead I rented a scooter for the day and drove myself around the island. it was beautiful and super fun until I acccidently took a turn weird and crashed into a ditch.full of raw sewage. it was horrible and hilarious all at the same time. im fine except for the bruised shoulder and the broken side mirror.

Later that night: after a cold shower that sort of washed off the sewage, Kate and our new friends and I enjoyed a yummy seafood dinner and then returned to our cool island hostel where Kate suprised me with a birthday cake! totally unexcpected. apparently she had to improvise on the cake pan thing, but shes known for her baked goods. later that everning we met some locals and one of them replaced my scooter mirror. thank god because the place where I rented it from (captain vans)would have been totally pissed and charged me an arm and a leg for it.literally (just kidding mom, and it should be noted that everything was totally within the realms of legality when I was driving it-also for mom, but true)

all in all a great week. We are trying to decide wether to go to Nicargua after this, or back up to Guatemala. that is if I dont get dengue fever from all of the mopsquitos feasting on me as I write this...

Tags: Beaches & sunshine

Comments

1

i'm glad to hear you had a lovely b-day! also, i'm imagining you riding around on that scooter...perfect :) how 'dem armpits?

  lisa Nov 12, 2007 1:14 PM

2

Is all sewage considered 'raw'?

Being that it's already sewage, does it even need the adjective of raw to describe it?

I'm going to be thinking about that all day now.
much love!

  Bill Patterson Nov 16, 2007 2:01 AM

3

gosh, bill...i've got to ask again...what planet are you from????!!!! those are the kind of questions worth asking in life and i'm not even kidding. i have had a glass of wine, though. and laura...i'm at brad daugherty's house right now and a tori amos song just came on itunes shuffle...THINKING OF YOU...HAD TO VISIT YOUR BLOG...I MISS YOU SITLL. XOXOXOX

  lisa Nov 17, 2007 2:40 PM

4

LAURA WRITE MORE OFTEN!!!!! OOoooops, I wrote "sitll" in the comment above, what's that? Meanwhile, it's getting cold in OHIO. I'm going to put plastic on my windows tonight.

  Lisa Nov 20, 2007 1:52 PM

5

Lisa you are so organized. Bill, I just spoke to my brother, former sewage plant worker, and apparently raw sewage is the first step in a series of processes involving bacteria and filters, culminating in the sewage being sprayed on a cow pasture (that last bit was joel's special job). E coli anyone? I'm going to go have a rare steak now. Oh, and by the way, hi Laura. Happy very belated birthday.

  Amy Nov 23, 2007 10:10 AM

6

After being awake for a collective three days straight, for some reason we thought it might be a good idea to leave you a witty, holiday-inspired message of good tidings. Turns out, this is near impossible. A fool's game, really. So, this is our best effort at wishing you a happy thanksgiving. Much love. Pillows, yes, the pillows are near. What are they playing at? I don't know, but they're blessedly near. This is all extremely amusing to us. Oh, Steph is jet lagged and I am bloated with turkey. Also, send Steph your phone number, she was in the air and unable to recieve your call. So she says. Hussie. Be safe, dear one.

  Brad & Stephaine Nov 23, 2007 2:55 PM

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