I guess I should write about my experience on the train and coming back home, since I've been back for a week now. The plane from Atlanta to Salt Lake City was an hour and 45 minutes late leaving the airport because the brakes needed a new part or something, we just sat inside the plane while they fixed it. I was really worried because my train was going to leave whether I was there or not and the next one didn't leave til the following evening. Crosswinds helped us out a lot and we made it, the airline let people off first who had connecting flights and were in a hurry, I got off with them, met with my ride and made it to the train station right on time!
The train wasn't bad actually, it was long but not bad. I took Amtrak, and it was suprisingly comfortable. I have never ridden a train before and I didn't buy a sleeper car, just a normal seat. I could recline my seat all the way, had a really big footrest and I had enough legroom to completely stretch out.. And I had two seats to myself so it was nice. My only complaint was that it was cold at night.
After 1130 is quiet hours, they turn out the lights and you aren't allowed to talk unless you go to the lounge, they said if you do talk they would kick you off the train lol. So crazy, I felt like I was in preschool but it's alright, it was nice to be able to sleep. I woke up early in the morning really cold, and some guy in front of me gave me a blanket. The next morning he offered to buy me breakfast. I didn't want to take it because I didn't even know him.. He proceeded to introduce himself, shake my hand, and buy me breakfast from the dining car. His name was Victor, he was probably in his early 30s, he had an 11 year old son, not married. He was really cool, we talked a lot. He's from Midvale, UT but originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. He made me speak Spanish to him, which was fun. He knows a lot about the church because of friends and what not, so that was cool.
We parted ways at the train station, he was sad but what was I going to do? He's too old for me anyways lol!
Anyway everything was good, I made it back, my mom and Amber picked me up from the train station - it was weird to see my mom because she has lost so much weight since I last saw her!
This is where I'm going to end my travel blog, if you want to read more please visit my personal blog, it is private so leave your email in a comment and I'll add you to the readers list! :)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
San Ignacio, Belize; Day 24
Last full day in Belize! Bittersweet. This morning we got up a bit early, walked to Hode's Place for a PANCAKE breakfast! lol and then headed to Actun Tunichil Muknal cave!!! It was a couple hours to the cave, and it started raining and the ride was on super sketchy dirt roads, I swear I thought our bus was going to get stuck so many times.. But we made it just fine! We separated into groups of 8 and went with a guide. Our was this little Belizian five foot tall guy named Jamil, but we called him JamJam :) We hiked for about 40 minutes down to the cave, had to cross the river 3 times in order to get there. Once we got there we left our bags at the top (I didn't take one but some others did) and headed to the mouth of the cave. We had to swim for maybe 10-15 feet into the cave so we were totally wet right off the bat. From there we continued in, over rocks and through water that was anywhere from ankle deep to chest deep. That was probably the coolest thing I've ever done in my life, hands down.
There is lots of artifacts inside, like ceramics and human remains and stuff. We weren't allowed to take cameras inside, because tourists are dumb and drop their cameras on top of skulls and break bones, so since 3 weeks ago, no one can take cameras inside anymore.
The cave was way cool though, there were drops and sharp rocks and you have to be careful because you could easily hurt yourself or die. Haha. I totally loved it though and JamJam was a GREAT guide! He had us turn off our headlamps and lead eachother in the dark for a while, he would just disappear though and we'd start freaking out, but then he'd be right next to us and we'd feel dumb. lol. It was fun.
After ATM we just came back, showered and ate dinner at Hode's.. BBQ Chicken, potato salad, beans and tortillas. I forgot to mention that we had cake the other night 5/15 for someone's birthday, and tonight we had donuts for the same reason! yay birthdays!
Well I'm all packed up and ready to go tomorrow, for all day of flying and then a 16 hour train right, wooooo.
There is lots of artifacts inside, like ceramics and human remains and stuff. We weren't allowed to take cameras inside, because tourists are dumb and drop their cameras on top of skulls and break bones, so since 3 weeks ago, no one can take cameras inside anymore.
The cave was way cool though, there were drops and sharp rocks and you have to be careful because you could easily hurt yourself or die. Haha. I totally loved it though and JamJam was a GREAT guide! He had us turn off our headlamps and lead eachother in the dark for a while, he would just disappear though and we'd start freaking out, but then he'd be right next to us and we'd feel dumb. lol. It was fun.
After ATM we just came back, showered and ate dinner at Hode's.. BBQ Chicken, potato salad, beans and tortillas. I forgot to mention that we had cake the other night 5/15 for someone's birthday, and tonight we had donuts for the same reason! yay birthdays!
Well I'm all packed up and ready to go tomorrow, for all day of flying and then a 16 hour train right, wooooo.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
San Ignacio, Belize; Day 23
Our trip is coming to a close! This last week is like a party though, everyday is great, new things and we don't have homework or classes - at least I don't! I'll have a little bit of work to do when I get home but maybe I can get some done on the train.
This morning we woke up and had to be at the dock to catch the charter boat to Belize City at 7. I feel bad for the boatmen because they have to load all of our stuff, and we have so much of it! One of the guys looked at our bags and said, "What, have you guys been here for a month?" Little did he know that we pretty much have, HERE as in Central America. We had our 45 minute boat ride back to Belize City and are now on the bus with our Beloved Bus Driver Frank and Erik on our way to San Ignacio. Today we will go to the Iguana Conservation Project and ziplining! We are dropping off Emily and Taylor at the zoo because they have interviews for internships here!
It's so stormy right now! Like pouring rain and lightening and thundering, it's awesome! We haven't seen rain our whole trip until now, it's alright with me :)
The Iguana project was really cool! We separated our large group into two and half of us went to the project and half of us went to lunch, and then we switched. The Iguana project is there because in Belize a lot of people hunt iguanas for meat, they call them the Bamboo Chicken because they often live near rivers in bamboo and they apparently taste like chicken. They are a delicacy here. Since so many people hunt iguana, the project has rescued them and raises babies until they are large enough to fend off predators, then they are released into the wild to raise the population.
We got to go into a cage with some huge iguanas, there was a couple dominant males that were HUGE! Like 3-4 feet but I guess they can get to be even 8 feet long. We got to hold some little babies too, they wanted to climb to the highest place so they all ended up on our heads. One of my friends on the trip, Dana, ended up with about 9 on her head at once, it was awesome.
We went to lunch after and ate at some Creole buffet, they had stewed chicken, stewed beef, fish in creole sauce (tomato base with coconut milk), salad, coleslaw, potato salad, fried plantains, bans and rice, and more that I can't think of. I love the food here it's so yuummmyy.
Then the zipline! So fun. I can't really even describe this. We separated into groups of 14-15 and went with a guide who suited us up with harnesses, gloves, caribiners, etc. The course had 7 lines, and 15 stations. Sometimes we had to hike, cross bridges, climb ladders, etc to get to the next station. It was way fun! you get up to the line and the guide would hook me up, when he was ready I just jumped off and you fly away! I had a glove with a thick piece of leather, when you get close enough to the end you just pull down on the line and you stop. If you don't stop you end up running into the guide or the tree or something and you die. lol. It was all really fun! I would definitely do it again.
We ate dinner at this restaurant/bar/grill called Hode's Place. It was pretty chill, I liked it. Chicken, potato salad and rice - typical Belize.
I'm rooming with a girl I have really learned to love dearly! :) If this trip has taught me anything, it's love and charity... At first I was annoyed by certain members of the tour because I didn't think my personality meshed with them.. What doesn't mesh is my attitude - once I realized that it's up tome to make that choice, to change my attitude, I can love anyone, and I definitely learned to do that on this tour.
This morning we woke up and had to be at the dock to catch the charter boat to Belize City at 7. I feel bad for the boatmen because they have to load all of our stuff, and we have so much of it! One of the guys looked at our bags and said, "What, have you guys been here for a month?" Little did he know that we pretty much have, HERE as in Central America. We had our 45 minute boat ride back to Belize City and are now on the bus with our Beloved Bus Driver Frank and Erik on our way to San Ignacio. Today we will go to the Iguana Conservation Project and ziplining! We are dropping off Emily and Taylor at the zoo because they have interviews for internships here!
It's so stormy right now! Like pouring rain and lightening and thundering, it's awesome! We haven't seen rain our whole trip until now, it's alright with me :)
The Iguana project was really cool! We separated our large group into two and half of us went to the project and half of us went to lunch, and then we switched. The Iguana project is there because in Belize a lot of people hunt iguanas for meat, they call them the Bamboo Chicken because they often live near rivers in bamboo and they apparently taste like chicken. They are a delicacy here. Since so many people hunt iguana, the project has rescued them and raises babies until they are large enough to fend off predators, then they are released into the wild to raise the population.
We got to go into a cage with some huge iguanas, there was a couple dominant males that were HUGE! Like 3-4 feet but I guess they can get to be even 8 feet long. We got to hold some little babies too, they wanted to climb to the highest place so they all ended up on our heads. One of my friends on the trip, Dana, ended up with about 9 on her head at once, it was awesome.
We went to lunch after and ate at some Creole buffet, they had stewed chicken, stewed beef, fish in creole sauce (tomato base with coconut milk), salad, coleslaw, potato salad, fried plantains, bans and rice, and more that I can't think of. I love the food here it's so yuummmyy.
Then the zipline! So fun. I can't really even describe this. We separated into groups of 14-15 and went with a guide who suited us up with harnesses, gloves, caribiners, etc. The course had 7 lines, and 15 stations. Sometimes we had to hike, cross bridges, climb ladders, etc to get to the next station. It was way fun! you get up to the line and the guide would hook me up, when he was ready I just jumped off and you fly away! I had a glove with a thick piece of leather, when you get close enough to the end you just pull down on the line and you stop. If you don't stop you end up running into the guide or the tree or something and you die. lol. It was all really fun! I would definitely do it again.
We ate dinner at this restaurant/bar/grill called Hode's Place. It was pretty chill, I liked it. Chicken, potato salad and rice - typical Belize.
I'm rooming with a girl I have really learned to love dearly! :) If this trip has taught me anything, it's love and charity... At first I was annoyed by certain members of the tour because I didn't think my personality meshed with them.. What doesn't mesh is my attitude - once I realized that it's up tome to make that choice, to change my attitude, I can love anyone, and I definitely learned to do that on this tour.
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