Antigua

I have been ignoring my blog for eons! I think I only write on this thing when I'm back here in Chicago. It's my way of procrastinating...I just noticed how I never put up pics from my trip to Antigua, Guatemala last July - August when I lived with the nicest & funniest homestay family, volunteered at a clinic, & had lots & lots o' fun:

Lake Atitlan sunset.At Tikal. Kim & I just climbed the top of a ruin temple

Volcan Pacaya. We had to climb this volcano at the butt crack of dawn when it was dark. I'm afraid of the dark & heights : ( But, here's proof that I made it!

"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason,

bringing something we must learn.

And, we are led to those

who help us most to grow

if we let them

and we help them in return."

~Wicked Soundtrack

Puerto Villarta Jungle Pictures

Kim and I went to a cruise to Mexico last spring break and Puerto Villarta was one of our stops. We went to the jungle. Yeah, if you know me, I would never sign up to go do an "outdoor experience." But, I really didn't know what I was signing up for...Here are some pictures to prove that I really did do some nature stuff. Now that I am still alive, I can look back and say that it was fun. But, if you asked me while I was in the jungle, I probably would've told you differently.

Here's Kim riding a mule. We had to ride a mule up a mountain. Everyone knows that I swore off riding horses or any animals like horses, but I didn't know that this was part of the "outdoor experience."

After we rode mules up a mountain, we had to go down the mountain. First, we had to zip line down the jungle....see Kim looks like she's having fun. Yay.

I got stuck. They told me not to grip the rope and just "glide," but if a gorge was right underneath you, you'd grip the rope too. Okaaay. They told me if I got stuck to pull myself backwards, but I don't have any upper body strength, so this guy Gabriel had to go get me. Scary.

The second way to get down the jungle was rappeling down waterfalls. This is me trying not to freak out --->

This is me slipping while rappeling down our second waterfall. I mean really, wasn't one waterfall enough "outdoor experience" for ppl?

Yay!!! We are still alive!

I can now check this off my been there done that list:

Ride a mule. Check.

Zip line through a jungle. Check.

Rappel down waterfalls. Check.