Belize and Guatemala

Made it back from Belize and Guatemala on Saturday night. It was an amazing experience. Krishelle, Will, Megan and I started in Belize City (AKA--the sketchiest of all sketch places of all time) and ended in Guatemala City. As usual, we made absolutely no plans before going. And we ended up seeing every square inch of both countries. As a result, I never again want to see a bus, boat, plane, or anything else that moves.

Krishelle is posting the long detailed emails we sent home during our trip and I won't bother repeating that here. Rather, I'll give the list of the stranger things we encountered:

1. MIS-guided by the Lonely Planet Guide, we ventured out to something that we thought was an island called Tilapita. What resulted was a horrifically miserable day of traveling, the most terrifying night of any of our lives in a four dollar "hotel" that had a dirty toilet right in the center of the rodent infested concrete room, a day of getting chased by pink-eye infected dogs and pigs on the world's hottest/dirtiest beach (of which we were the only visitors), another night in a four dollar room where we suffered from the worst sunburns any of us has ever experienced, a long painful escape by boat through croc-infested waters (I'm really not kidding), and an infinite amount of hours on several buses until we finally made it back to civilization (during which the urination incident occurred). My entire body is still peeling and I look like leprosy.

2. We stayed at a place that I think I've seen on every horror movie made before 1970, run by an old couple who starred in each of those films. Likely the targets of the next murders, we rolled out of there just in time.

In the middle of the constant strange moments we explored jungles and ruins, snorkled with sharks, backpacked through cities, tubed down rivers in deep dark caves, zip-lined in the trees, dodged the crazies, befriended the funnies, and searched pharmacies desperately for Aloe Vera. Now we'll spend the rest of our lives in recovery. I need a vacation.

Now life has hit me. And hard. School starts on Monday and I'm wondering why I ever committed to do twice as much as anyone should be able to do. But it will all work out. It somehow always does.

~It Just Gets Stranger