Hello all,

As many of you already know, I had some bad luck in Guatemala. My friend and I were robbed of our passports, money, cameras, iPods and more. We're both okay, just a little shaken up. We gave chase to our bandits, barefoot into the jungle, but unfortunately couldn't catch them. We've spent the last couple of days cancelling credit cards, making our way to our respective Embassies to sort out our passports and just generally trying to make sense of the craziness in the moment.
The positive part of the whole situation are the people we have met that have offered their support and assistance. An American Army medic, a fellow traveller willing to translate and even the women assisting me at the Embassy.
Mostly I want to say thank you for the love I've received from my family and friends. All the e-mails and wall posts with offers of love, concern (and even money!) have lifted my spirits and made me realize how lucky I really am.
I will continue my journey and my blogging and not let the actions of two people dictate how I spend my time.
Thank you all again! Keeping sending me messages!

Finally Some Sun!

Caye Caulker has already provided us with more nice days than Mexico and we've taken full advantage. Our first day here on the island was spent just lounging in the sun and laying in the hammocks provided by our hostel. It's an idyllic setting for not doing much...



The following day we all headed out on a snorkeling tour on a sail boat. It was amazing. We saw fish, turtles, rays, small sharks and a whole lot more. We were also provided food for the trip which included ceviche. Yum.



The next day, we went kayaking around the two small islands that make up Caye Caulker. It was relaxing except crossing the split (the space between the two islands) where the current is a little strong. We finished out evening dancing at the Reggae bar. Norwegians sure can party hard!

Perhaps my favorite thing about the island is the relaxed pace everyone has. There are no cars (only Golf Carts and bikes), all the roads are sand and most businesses are only open for a half day at best. I haven't had shoes on in 3 days and I haven't missed them at all! Even our lobster supper takes about and hour to get from Fran's open air grill on the beach and nobody really cares. Just more time to relax and socialize.

I'll definitely miss both the island and the Norwegian girls who I've come to love!

*The connection here sucks, so I'll post more photos later today

Rain Rain, Go Away...

Hello from Tulum,

As I'm sure some of you know, we are in the midst of Hurricane Ida. We haven't had much wind, but more rain than I've seen in a thousand years. (Bonus points if you can identify what song that last sentence is from) Despite the rain, I've been determined to see all that I can, and am willing to get wet to do it. My new friend Phillip from Germany, the hot Argentinian guy and myself went to the ruins on the beach and they were spectacular. They are located right on a cliff, overlooking the ocean.



They are smaller then the ones at Chichen Itza, but have a different vibe and are very cool. Of course it rained and we tried to hide in a stone walkway, but eventually gave up and just walked in the rain.



As a result of being wet and in air conditioning constantly, I have a wicked head cold...of course the cheap Mexican Rum doesn't help either. In my defence however, there's not much to do in Mexico when it's raining! The only really nice side effect of the rain is that I've gotten to know all the people at the hostel quite well because we usually eat dinner together and then spend the soggy night playing cards and such. I've met Americans, Canadians, French Canadians, Norwegians, Dutch, Germans, Belgians, Argentines, British, Welsh and a whole lot more. It's really awesome!

Today, a couple of British girls and I went to Akumel, just north of Tulum, and swam with the sea turtles. It was spectacular. They are only meters away from you grazing on the ocean floor and they are huge. We had a nice morning without rain and I of course managed to get burned in the 10 minutes of sunshine today! Oh, and I also saw a manta ray.



Tomorrow I'm off to Belize with a couple of girls and who know what adventures await. Love to all my friends and family!

Mexico

Hello people of the interwebs...actually probably just people that know me personally. I finally made it south and am currently in Cancun. Yay!
I went yesterday to the Chichen Itza ruins which were amazing until it decided to rain on us and I got completely drenched from top to bottom. It was ridiculous, but I give our tour guide credit for powering through and finishing the tour despite the massive downpour.


Then we headed to the second part of the trip, an underground cave. It was really neat and would have been even more fun if I hadn't still been soaked from the ruins. Wet jeans shorts suck...especially for 5 hours.


At least the food was amazing. Authentic Mexican, which is hard to find in Cancun!
Adios for now, amigos.