Day I don't know

I went to paradise today.

I don't mean to brag, but I can't lie, because I did.

Let's start at the beginning.

On my way out of the house at 6:45am I got a lecture (in Spanish) from Abuela about sunscreen. She asked if I had any, what it was called, if she could look at the bottle, and if it was made in the United States. She must not realize I am 26 and have had white skin and freckles my whole life. Geez!!

I met a few others at school and we all took a "bus" which is actually a large van to the coast where the boats leave to go to Cayos Cuchinos. There were about 12 of us that went, mostly Americans and all volunteering in or near La Ceiba. It was nice to meet other expats! We all already have plans to go out tonight!

When we arrived at the coast, I realized we were not taking a ferry or a taxi boat, but a small 15 passenger speed boat, across the Caribbean to the island. We picked out flippers and climbed in the small boat. As we got further out into the water the waves slowly started getting bigger and bigger. And then BIGGER. These waves were probably 8 feet high, and just a reminder, were in a small 15 passenger boat! It was the most fun I've had since the last time I went to an amusement park! As we went over the wave I got that funny feeling in my stomach, the one I used to get when we were driving to Gram's house and Dad would step on the gas when we went over the hills. The only problem was after we went over the wave we had to come down. So our small boat smacked onto the water. I wasn't completely confident that the boat (and my spine) weren't going to break but it really was so much fun!!

After 45 minutes of boat rollercoastering we arrived at Cayos Menor, the smaller of the two islands. Our guide told us a little about where we were going. It has the second biggest barrier reef after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the reefs along with the Great Wall of China are the only two things astronomers can see from space. So cool! Before getting back on the boat we ordered lunch, fish, fish soup, or shrimp. It was only 8am but we had to order then because there is no electricity on the island so the fish had to be caught and cooked that morning. They had to know what we wanted so they would know what to fish for!

We took the boat back out, put on our masks and flippers and snorkeled! (weird word to spell) It was so beautiful, the coral was all different colors and the fish were sooo cool. I saw a barracuda! I had a slight panic attack because I didn't know if I was supposed to be seeing this and I came above water and attempted to get the guide's attention. But he was under water and unable to hear me so I just swam away quickly. Apparently barracuda are attracted to shiny silver things and there was a girl with a bracelet on. She had to take it off so it would leave us alone. Ugh freaky...this thing was like 5 feet long!

We snorkeled (got it that time) for an hour and saw some pretty neat stuff then climbed back into the boat and went to another little island. We laid on the beach a little bit and they offered fresh coconuts (sucks I dont like coconut). The guy actually climbed up into a tree and shook them out then cut them open.

We then went to Cayos Major, the bigger of the two islands, for lunch. I chose the soup, which I thought would be some kind of seafood soup, plantains, and rice, but it was actually soup with a whole fish in it. Head and all. They popped the eyes out of the poor guy, so luckily I didn't barf. For those who don't know, I don't eat fish, or seafood. BUT this dish was deeelish! I ate (almost) all of it (I was stuffed).

I wandered and took a few photos and then we got back in the boat for another bumpy ride back. But bumpy is an understatement. The waves had gotten even higher in the past few hours and now they were too high to "drive" over and slap down. So instead we boat surfed!! The guys would turn on the motor until we got to the top of the wave and then turn it off and let the wave carry us. The whole boat would ride on top for a minute like we were surfing! It was hilarious and the guys driving the boat had so much fun with it, they were laughing the whole time. It was a bit scary since the waves were like 10 feet high now, but I felt safe because our tour guide told us these guys learned to swim before they learned to walk. Hmmm...

Oh I forgot!! Speaking of trusting the guide...Cayos Cuchinos is the only place in the world where the Pink Boa Constrictor lives. So of course, we took a short hike in the jungle to find one. When we did, our guide said it had ticks on it that need to be taken off so he PICKED IT UP and pulled off the ticks (ew). Then he offered to let us put the snake on our necks for a photo. So I figured 'when in Rome...'

So I think that's it, and you might not be dying to see photos but I'm dying to show you because it's just gorgeous! However, I'm afraid of another lecture in Spanish if I'm late for dinner so I'll have to upload tomorrow. Oh the suspense!!

Love you all!!

xx