Monday, June 18, 2007
We're Back
We returned on June 14th. The sunny blue skies of the Bay Area welcomed us back. We look forward to our next life adventures now that we have closed the book on the Central America experience.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Xela II
On our return trip to Xela we decided to invest time in several activities. On our first full day back in town, we signed up and sought out classes for area of interest.
1) Well, first we signed up for more Spanish classes. These went really well. We finish off a significant part of the most important grammar (conjugations of course), and we gained plently more practice between our classes and just hanging out with our teachers and other students.
2) Second, we sought out volunteer opportunities. We found a project involved in sustainable development. The project was based around the building of stoves for a pueblo about an hour outside of Xela. We participated in the construction of the stoves, interacting a bit with the locals and observing rural life.
1) Well, first we signed up for more Spanish classes. These went really well. We finish off a significant part of the most important grammar (conjugations of course), and we gained plently more practice between our classes and just hanging out with our teachers and other students.
2) Second, we sought out volunteer opportunities. We found a project involved in sustainable development. The project was based around the building of stoves for a pueblo about an hour outside of Xela. We participated in the construction of the stoves, interacting a bit with the locals and observing rural life.
3) Third, we signed up for salsa classes. Whew! We learned several, several moves. We also learned a couple of exercises to help move more elegantly on the dance floor.
4) Fourth, we sought out yoga classes. I never attended a yoga class, and Ami took me to an Ashtanga class. This type of yoga is pretty intense and I managed to keep up until it came to the exercises requiring flexibility. I had to go through the motions of simpler exercises while I watched other students wrapping their feet around their head. Alright, not that difficult, but too difficult for me nonetheless. After that first class, we found a much better beginner level class.
5) And finally, we found a sports complex to continue our marathon training.
As full as these days were, we also made time to hang out with our teachers and fellow students from ICA, and some time visiting with our wonderful host family. Hopefully we have created long lasting relationships, as we met some amazing people here in Xela.
4) Fourth, we sought out yoga classes. I never attended a yoga class, and Ami took me to an Ashtanga class. This type of yoga is pretty intense and I managed to keep up until it came to the exercises requiring flexibility. I had to go through the motions of simpler exercises while I watched other students wrapping their feet around their head. Alright, not that difficult, but too difficult for me nonetheless. After that first class, we found a much better beginner level class.
5) And finally, we found a sports complex to continue our marathon training.
As full as these days were, we also made time to hang out with our teachers and fellow students from ICA, and some time visiting with our wonderful host family. Hopefully we have created long lasting relationships, as we met some amazing people here in Xela.
A few interesting facts we learned during our last few days in Xela are the following:
1) The McDonald's Happy Meal, or the Cajita Feliz, originated in Guatemala
2) Instant Coffee originated in Guatemala
3) BBC indicates that the #1 country in the world for a cultural desination is Guatemala
4) Zacapa Centenario 23 year aged Rum has been ranked #1 in the world for the past 5 years
Diving in Utila
Utila is a Caribbean island off the coast of Honduras. The attraction to this island is the world class diving. The cost to become certified is less than in other locations, perhaps the cheapest in the world. Ami came here in November 2003, became certified, and raved...and raved....and raved about diving ever since. Well, since we are in Central America, and again Utila offers the best deals to become certified, we decided to head to Utila.
Utila is a tourist island, with businesses established to cater to the thousands of divers who come annually. Unfortunately, due to the tourist atmosphere, English is the dominant language. There are numerous dive schools, and because of the business they bring, numerous restaurants and bars. But, not to bore you with the island, I am going to jump to the obvious reason we went to Utila...The Diving!
Dive School Shopping: We didn´t spend much time shopping for a dive school. We went to Alton´s Dive Shop, the dive school Ami attended in 2003. The school is right on the Bay, with a sundeck extended over the Bay to relax on, and accommodations for divers with great views of the Bay.
The Course: The Open Water Dive Course lasts three and a half days. The course includes classroom time, as well as time in the shallow waters to learn skills. By day three, we are heading to sea to dive. Days 3 and 4 are dive days, but they are not very focused on what you see, but rather doing more skills and getting comfortable in deeper waters. The first level of a diving certification only allows a dive as deep as 60 feet. Plently deep for now!
Experience: When you get in the water, a whole new prespective opens up. The first time you go down deeper and deeper, I was thinking this is crazy. This place is for fish and other sea animals! My first impression of diving was how different could it be from snorkeling. Well, it is entirely different. Not only do you have tons of gear on, but the deeper you go, the more you see and the more angles you have. You swim alongside schools of fish, alongside the reef, you touch the sandy surface, you swim below fish.....just crazy! Swimming and exploring is very effortless, and definitely worth it!
There are at least 60 dive sites in Utila, and we only scratched the surface by visiting 6. But along the way we lucked out. We had the opportunity to see a whale shark. The way the process works is if one boat sees a whale shark, the capitan informs another, and the word spreads. The capitans have years of experience watching the surface of the sea to see where the whale shark is swimming. So, how do we leverage that experience? We line up on the boat, and when he gives the word, we gently slide into the water. Jumping in scares the shark(s) away. Well, the word is more like ´Go, go, go...now, now, now,´with his arms waving us on. We slid into the water, and going directly beneath us and our boat was a whale shark. It wasn´t a huge whale shark by any means, these sharks definitley can be massive, but nonetheless, we saw and swam with a whale shark!
Utila is a tourist island, with businesses established to cater to the thousands of divers who come annually. Unfortunately, due to the tourist atmosphere, English is the dominant language. There are numerous dive schools, and because of the business they bring, numerous restaurants and bars. But, not to bore you with the island, I am going to jump to the obvious reason we went to Utila...The Diving!
Dive School Shopping: We didn´t spend much time shopping for a dive school. We went to Alton´s Dive Shop, the dive school Ami attended in 2003. The school is right on the Bay, with a sundeck extended over the Bay to relax on, and accommodations for divers with great views of the Bay.
The Course: The Open Water Dive Course lasts three and a half days. The course includes classroom time, as well as time in the shallow waters to learn skills. By day three, we are heading to sea to dive. Days 3 and 4 are dive days, but they are not very focused on what you see, but rather doing more skills and getting comfortable in deeper waters. The first level of a diving certification only allows a dive as deep as 60 feet. Plently deep for now!
Experience: When you get in the water, a whole new prespective opens up. The first time you go down deeper and deeper, I was thinking this is crazy. This place is for fish and other sea animals! My first impression of diving was how different could it be from snorkeling. Well, it is entirely different. Not only do you have tons of gear on, but the deeper you go, the more you see and the more angles you have. You swim alongside schools of fish, alongside the reef, you touch the sandy surface, you swim below fish.....just crazy! Swimming and exploring is very effortless, and definitely worth it!
There are at least 60 dive sites in Utila, and we only scratched the surface by visiting 6. But along the way we lucked out. We had the opportunity to see a whale shark. The way the process works is if one boat sees a whale shark, the capitan informs another, and the word spreads. The capitans have years of experience watching the surface of the sea to see where the whale shark is swimming. So, how do we leverage that experience? We line up on the boat, and when he gives the word, we gently slide into the water. Jumping in scares the shark(s) away. Well, the word is more like ´Go, go, go...now, now, now,´with his arms waving us on. We slid into the water, and going directly beneath us and our boat was a whale shark. It wasn´t a huge whale shark by any means, these sharks definitley can be massive, but nonetheless, we saw and swam with a whale shark!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Semuc Champey
Semuc Champey is a beautiful natural reserve. The hype that draws people here is what I am about to describe. Although, when we have the time to upload pics, you will understand a whole lot better.
Semuc Champey is a collection of seven or so natural, crystal clear pools. The pools sit atop a thunderous river, viewable before the pools start. The river disappears into the darkness, and as you continue past from where you can see the river, the crystal clear pools come into site. All are there for your eyes to enjoy, and even better for anyone to go for a swim. The pools gently continue flowing downwards and cascade gently into the next and the next, until utimately the final pool flows into the river that continues on through the countryside.
A trail takes you from the entrance area of the park up for about a 25 minute walk. During the walk, while huffing and puffing, you truely wonder what all this phyiscal exertion is for. But, once the view comes into site, you catch your breath and look in amazement. The view of Semuc Champey is a birds eye view of the pools set within the mountains. The green of the mountains meshes perfectly with the crytsal blue water of the pools.
The area of this natural beauty is set within the central part of Guatemala. Road maps will show one way in and one way out. The reason for this is the pools are surrounded by mountains on three sides.
We spent two days at Semuc Champey, and we discovered one con. Mosquitos will eat you alive. So, if you ever travel to this attraction, bring the long sleeves and the deet! But, that aside, it is definitely worth the visit.
Semuc Champey is a collection of seven or so natural, crystal clear pools. The pools sit atop a thunderous river, viewable before the pools start. The river disappears into the darkness, and as you continue past from where you can see the river, the crystal clear pools come into site. All are there for your eyes to enjoy, and even better for anyone to go for a swim. The pools gently continue flowing downwards and cascade gently into the next and the next, until utimately the final pool flows into the river that continues on through the countryside.
A trail takes you from the entrance area of the park up for about a 25 minute walk. During the walk, while huffing and puffing, you truely wonder what all this phyiscal exertion is for. But, once the view comes into site, you catch your breath and look in amazement. The view of Semuc Champey is a birds eye view of the pools set within the mountains. The green of the mountains meshes perfectly with the crytsal blue water of the pools.
The area of this natural beauty is set within the central part of Guatemala. Road maps will show one way in and one way out. The reason for this is the pools are surrounded by mountains on three sides.
We spent two days at Semuc Champey, and we discovered one con. Mosquitos will eat you alive. So, if you ever travel to this attraction, bring the long sleeves and the deet! But, that aside, it is definitely worth the visit.
Warriors Shock the World!
Well not really, but they certainly did some damage. In my previous entry about the Warriors, I informed you that the Warriors made the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Well, for the first time since 1991 they won a playoff series. As the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, they dominated the No. 1 seeded and team with the best record in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks. They won the series in 6 exciting games.
Unfortunately they bowed out in 5 games to a more physical Utah Jazz team in the semi-finals. Nonetheless, each of the 5 games were very exciting, as each of the 4 they lost came down to the end of the games.
Let´s see what happens in the offseason, but hopefully the team carries the momentum into next year and Warrior fans are not waiting another 13 years to enjoy playoff basketball!
Unfortunately they bowed out in 5 games to a more physical Utah Jazz team in the semi-finals. Nonetheless, each of the 5 games were very exciting, as each of the 4 they lost came down to the end of the games.
Let´s see what happens in the offseason, but hopefully the team carries the momentum into next year and Warrior fans are not waiting another 13 years to enjoy playoff basketball!
Belize con Mis Padres
On the 26th of April, Ami and I welcomed the Chima parents to Central America!
We met them at the Belize City International Airport in the morning. And, from there Ami and I were reintroduced to a world we had not experienced since we left the states, more or less. We had an airconditioned minivan pick us up at the airport and drive us cross country (only an hour, as Belize is a small country) to San Ignacio, the fist stop on the Chima train. We checked into a resort with a pool and an air-conditioned room. Now, for the large part, Ami and I have enjoyed our experiences sweating out our travel days on chicken buses, and attempting to fall alseep in humid, stuffy hostal rooms. But, this was a welcome break.
The highlights from San Igancio:
1) Tikal. Tikal. Tikal. We made the trek into the northeastern part of Guatemala from San Ignacio in order to lay our eyes on the amazing, breathtaking sites of Mayan architecture present in Tikal. We made the hike up 3 of the monumental sites to take in the breathtaking views of the region. We also made the hike through about 80% (a quote from our guide) of the Tikal ruins.
2) Chaa Creek. A eco-friendly resort. We went to this resort to spend some time relaxing. Little did we know that the ´pool ín this ecoo-friendly resort was actually a creek. We were allowed to borrow two of the canoes and row ourselves down the creek. We swam a bit in the chilly creek and with teams of Dad and Mom versus the young ACs, racing in our canoes. I don´t know if growing up in Fiji was an advantage, but Dad along with Mom took the cake each time we rowed down the creek.
The next stop was Ambergris Caye, a resort island set in the Caribbean. We made the hike from San Ignacio via minivan and water taxi, arriving at the Holiday Hotel in the early afternoon.
The highlights from our stay here are the following:
1) We rented a golf cart, the primary means of transportation (in addition to bikes and walking), and drove around to see parts of the island removed from the main tourist location. Quite a bit of development is ongoing, mostly of homes and condos.
2) We went snorkling in the Caribbean waters, and wow, the worlds second largest reef (behind that of Australia) and the sea life did not disappoint. We saw several types of fish, a shark (not a man eating type) and numerous, I mean numerous sting rays.
The last stop on the Chima tour brought us full circle and back to Belize City. We stayed at a hotel named The Princess Hotel. Our time in Belize City consisted of happy hour drinks, shopping at the tourist cruise ports and exploring downtown. The city itself is not exciting, but nonetheless an area my parents wanted to see. We made the trek over to Old Town Belize, about a 10 minute drive from downtown and a tourist creation to provide tourists with a history of Belize. Our departure from Old Belize back to downtown was the highlight of our trip to old town. We had arranged a cab to wait for us and take us back. But, of course, business called, so he left. Cabs are not plentiful from Old Belize, and when they are there, they are expensive. So, we walked to the side of the road in hopes of catching a cab back to town, but while waiting, my folks decided to pose for a picture trying to hitchhike. Well, it worked. Next thing you know a pickup is waiting for us to take us back to town!
Overall, having the Senior Chimas around was great, and just as quickly as we welcomed the air-conditioned transportation and accommodations, within a blink of an eye we were back on the Chicken Buses.
We met them at the Belize City International Airport in the morning. And, from there Ami and I were reintroduced to a world we had not experienced since we left the states, more or less. We had an airconditioned minivan pick us up at the airport and drive us cross country (only an hour, as Belize is a small country) to San Ignacio, the fist stop on the Chima train. We checked into a resort with a pool and an air-conditioned room. Now, for the large part, Ami and I have enjoyed our experiences sweating out our travel days on chicken buses, and attempting to fall alseep in humid, stuffy hostal rooms. But, this was a welcome break.
The highlights from San Igancio:
1) Tikal. Tikal. Tikal. We made the trek into the northeastern part of Guatemala from San Ignacio in order to lay our eyes on the amazing, breathtaking sites of Mayan architecture present in Tikal. We made the hike up 3 of the monumental sites to take in the breathtaking views of the region. We also made the hike through about 80% (a quote from our guide) of the Tikal ruins.
2) Chaa Creek. A eco-friendly resort. We went to this resort to spend some time relaxing. Little did we know that the ´pool ín this ecoo-friendly resort was actually a creek. We were allowed to borrow two of the canoes and row ourselves down the creek. We swam a bit in the chilly creek and with teams of Dad and Mom versus the young ACs, racing in our canoes. I don´t know if growing up in Fiji was an advantage, but Dad along with Mom took the cake each time we rowed down the creek.
The next stop was Ambergris Caye, a resort island set in the Caribbean. We made the hike from San Ignacio via minivan and water taxi, arriving at the Holiday Hotel in the early afternoon.
The highlights from our stay here are the following:
1) We rented a golf cart, the primary means of transportation (in addition to bikes and walking), and drove around to see parts of the island removed from the main tourist location. Quite a bit of development is ongoing, mostly of homes and condos.
2) We went snorkling in the Caribbean waters, and wow, the worlds second largest reef (behind that of Australia) and the sea life did not disappoint. We saw several types of fish, a shark (not a man eating type) and numerous, I mean numerous sting rays.
The last stop on the Chima tour brought us full circle and back to Belize City. We stayed at a hotel named The Princess Hotel. Our time in Belize City consisted of happy hour drinks, shopping at the tourist cruise ports and exploring downtown. The city itself is not exciting, but nonetheless an area my parents wanted to see. We made the trek over to Old Town Belize, about a 10 minute drive from downtown and a tourist creation to provide tourists with a history of Belize. Our departure from Old Belize back to downtown was the highlight of our trip to old town. We had arranged a cab to wait for us and take us back. But, of course, business called, so he left. Cabs are not plentiful from Old Belize, and when they are there, they are expensive. So, we walked to the side of the road in hopes of catching a cab back to town, but while waiting, my folks decided to pose for a picture trying to hitchhike. Well, it worked. Next thing you know a pickup is waiting for us to take us back to town!
Overall, having the Senior Chimas around was great, and just as quickly as we welcomed the air-conditioned transportation and accommodations, within a blink of an eye we were back on the Chicken Buses.
NPH (Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos)
We offically left Costa Rica on April 17th, and arrived at NPH in Nicaragua in the evening. A close friend of my mother runs this orphanage site and we wanted to visit while she was in town and spend some time with the children. NPH has several orphanage sites throughout Latin America. We wanted to visit the location in San Jorge, Nicaragua because of the personal connection.
The site, off the shores of Lago de Nicaragua, is a picturesque location home to approximately 40 children ages 7 and younger. There is an affiliate location for children ages 7 to 18 located on Ometepe, a large island set within the lake. The organization was started some 50 years ago by a priest who happened to walk into an idea. A young boy was caught stealing from the church funds by the local police. The priest, called in by the police, confronted the boy and sincerely asked why he was stealing. The boy responded that he was hungry and had no other options. The reaction by the priest set the wheels in motion for NPH. The boy was taken in by the priest, as he realized that a young man in a desperate situation needs proper attention and care. Each subsequent boy caught commiting some type of crime was immediately turned over by the police to the priest. So, boy by boy, an orphange grew. Young girls became part of the orphanage in time.
Today, the concept in San Jorge and Ometepe is such:
1) Children from a few months to 7 are educated and raised at the San Jorge location
2) Children ages 7 to 18 are educated and cared for at the Ometepe site
3) At the age of 18, the children are encouraged to pursue higher education and required to serve a year of community service with NPH.
Like all concepts, there are pros and cons, but the primary cause is to give children of very poor backgrounds the opporutunity to grow up healthy, be educated, and have more options presented to them. Now, one point to add is that not all of these children are truely orphans, but rather children of very poor backgrounds where their parents cannot care for them properly. Hopefully after the age of 18 or higher education, they can help their families in their struggle against poverty.
Our role was primarily spending time with the children, in whatever capacity that was required - playing, talking, making sure they ate their dinner.......in a nutshell, another positive influence.
The site, off the shores of Lago de Nicaragua, is a picturesque location home to approximately 40 children ages 7 and younger. There is an affiliate location for children ages 7 to 18 located on Ometepe, a large island set within the lake. The organization was started some 50 years ago by a priest who happened to walk into an idea. A young boy was caught stealing from the church funds by the local police. The priest, called in by the police, confronted the boy and sincerely asked why he was stealing. The boy responded that he was hungry and had no other options. The reaction by the priest set the wheels in motion for NPH. The boy was taken in by the priest, as he realized that a young man in a desperate situation needs proper attention and care. Each subsequent boy caught commiting some type of crime was immediately turned over by the police to the priest. So, boy by boy, an orphange grew. Young girls became part of the orphanage in time.
Today, the concept in San Jorge and Ometepe is such:
1) Children from a few months to 7 are educated and raised at the San Jorge location
2) Children ages 7 to 18 are educated and cared for at the Ometepe site
3) At the age of 18, the children are encouraged to pursue higher education and required to serve a year of community service with NPH.
Like all concepts, there are pros and cons, but the primary cause is to give children of very poor backgrounds the opporutunity to grow up healthy, be educated, and have more options presented to them. Now, one point to add is that not all of these children are truely orphans, but rather children of very poor backgrounds where their parents cannot care for them properly. Hopefully after the age of 18 or higher education, they can help their families in their struggle against poverty.
Our role was primarily spending time with the children, in whatever capacity that was required - playing, talking, making sure they ate their dinner.......in a nutshell, another positive influence.
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