Frocks and Cave Funks

So when we got back from Tikal last night, Tess and my only goal was to find crocks to wear on the cave tour today...and we did. The only thing is that they were fake crocks, so in view of the fake-ness we named them our loyal "frocks". Good news--they held up extremely well throughout our tour today! There are no words or pictures that could describe our experience today. It was utterly amazing; probably the best thing that I have ever done! We took a bus ride up through the Mayan hills and finally arrived at our destination. It took a 45 minute hike through 3 river beds and luckily no poisonous snake encounters to get to the cave's opening. We swam, hiked, and climbed our way through the cave looking at ancient artifacts and skeletons on the way. My favorite part of the tour was that there was only one glimpse of sunlight in the whole cave! So yes we were flashlight helmets so that we could see...but for one part of the tour we turned off all the lights and our tour guide lead us through about 200 meters of the pitch black water. CRAZYYYY!

Now after two strenuous days of hiking and climbing, I cannot wait to lay out by the pool tomorrow and relax my muscles! Friday we are headed to Cave's Branch where hopefully we can do some cave tubing! I cannot believe how fast this week has gone by!

Resort Hotel---WHATTTT?!

Ok so we left yesterday morning to go to San Ignacio (which is on the mainland) and we are staying in a resort hotel which is like a palace compared to our accommdations in San Pedro!
Yesterday was a lot of traveling but today we went to Guatemala and toured the 3rd largest Mayan ruins in the world--uh huh, thats right, check that off of my bucket list! It was truly amazing and overwhelming to think that these large pieces of rock used to be a home to someone. If you know the way my mind thinks you will understand when I say this was "over my head". I have tons of pictures and so I will be sure to post some to show you a bit of how amazing it was!

On a more serious note:
As we drove through Guatemala, we were able to see how "3rd world" these countries really are. A lot of times I try and put myself in other peoples shoes and imagine what my life would be like...but when we were driving I honestly could not imagine living in the conditions that these families in Guatemala and Belize do. Sound shallow? You have no idea how ignorant saying that makes me feel, but it is the honest truth! These homes were literally pieces of wood laid up against each other--no lie! I just feel sooooo priviledged to live where I do and own what I do. We frequently forget how lucky we really are. I mean I complain about not having a washer and dryer, a dish washers, and a little things like this...driving today we saw people washing their clothes in a river that I would not dare even swim in. It is definitely an eye opener! And a dryer--try hanging your clothes on the line out front...sometimes we need a good wake up call!

So random fact Tuesday consists of me learning today that the Mayans did not predict the world to end in 2012...dumb Americans. All they predicted was that their calendar would start over! I am so glad that other countries actually do the research! And it is reliable because the tour guide is a genius when it comes to the Mayan stuff--he went to school studying Mayan's and their history/lifestyle!

Tomorrow we are going to the an ATM tour which consists of swimming/hiking through caves...loveee itt!!

Nat- 3 1/2 more weeks lover! I miss you so much! Give yourself a huge hug and kiss and consider it from me! Maybe we can skype when i get back to the island!? Ill email you!

HAPPY EASTER and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

It was harder than I imagined to spend Easter away from my family! But I did get through it by spending it with my new wonderful friends that I have made on this trip! I have to say that I have been very blessed with the group of girls that I have spent my time with over the past few weeks! Everlasting friendships have definitely been made!

Yesterday (Saturday) Tess and I laid out in the morning and just relaxed! Of course each day I "planned" on doing work but it never seemed to happen...hmmm. Around 1 we went to the superintendent's house for lunch--rice, beans, and ribs--which was delicious! The group of 6 of us that went winded up staying over there until like 430 playing soccer with the little ones! Right when we got back to Pedro's, Jeanne and I went to play volleyball with the locals again...which is always a good time! Last night we winded up going out for a little bit and actually met some really cool locals! They are all so nice to us once we tell them we are teachers! They really respect teachers around here, especially because we are American teachers.

Today we went to a local church and it was another awesome experience! I saw a few of my students do plays and stuff for the Easter service, and it was cool to see them in that setting. I really enjoyed the service, it was unique, but I am just glad we got to worship today! The preacher was just a man who one day felt led to preach and he did...no seminary school or anything of the sort...just a good christian man! They also fed us lunch and that pot luck kind of meal made me feel at home! After our tummies were full we laid down and took a nap...a 3 hour nap...ops! We have been packing and getting things together for our trip this week inland. I have a little bit more packing to do tonight and then we are going to watch NEMO! YAYYY!

I'll post mid week and let you know how the inland trip is going! I am interested to see how different the mainland is from San Pedro...every local says it is a way different environment! Should be neat to see and compare both places!