Kiee1
Sahara Joined: April 25th 2007
Logged in: September 19th 2011
Logged in: September 19th 2011
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Travel Blog Posts
The storm rolling in
Because we both love to kayak (as we learned in St. Maarten) we had booked an excursion that involved kayaking, an adventure that would not begin until 11:00 or so. Unfortunately, we were awakened with a phone call and an explanation that the excursion had been cancelled. After an hour or so, I went to book a new one, nervous that I wouldn't pick one that was fun or interesting. Because it was later in the morning, many of the excursions were either filled or had left already. We did find and sign up for one that left at our planned time, and we boarded the little shuttle to take us to the dock. Once on the dock, we crowded around and waited to find our guide. We were both reconsidering what we had planned to ... read more
First off into Jamaica
When we learned that we were stopping in Ocho Rios, we talked about not taking an excursion and instead just exploring a bit on our own, either on bike or in a cab. I got onto the Jamaica forum on couchsurfing and asked locals how it was to cycle around Ochi, and they didn't really recommend it. They said that some roads would accomodate it, but most wouldn't. Tempted by the opportunity to zipline in the jungle, we decided to sign up for an excursion, but it full. Instead we signed up to climb Dunn's River falls and ride a chairlift through the the jungle to the top of a mountain. When we first landed on beautiful Jamaica, we learned that, to climb the falls, we needed a certain type of shoes, which one could purchase ... read more
First night in the cigar bar...
Having been to Eluthera on the last cruise, we wanted to do something different than last time. There was one particular excursion that a couple from the last cruise had told us about doing - a tour around Southern Eluthera in which they visited a school and a cigar rolling facility. They had us at "cigar," and so Chris and I signed up early for this excursion. Our particular tour did NOT go to the cigar facility, which was really disappointing but overall, the visit was nice. It was good to able to see more of the narrow island, and the woman showing us around, Colleen, was a lot of fun. The homes were simple, flowering plants were beautiful, and there were so many trees! One of our first stops was Ocean Hole, which was small ... read more
As beautiful as it is, Grand Turk was a difficult island for me to visit, in large part, I believe, because it was signalling the end of our trip. We rode bikes a little bit around the island, and that was fantastic. The trees and foliage that grew from crowded front yards only 20 yards from the ocean were beautiful, and I enjoyed imagining what it would be like to live there, live on one of thsoe homes, and be surrounded by that every day. As we rode we were "guided" by two locals, however, and that didn't help to improve my mood. They were truly inept. They continued to repeat some combination of brochure platitudes: "This is a truly historical part of the island" "As you can see" "As far as the eye can see" ... read more
Notice that?
On St. Thomas, we were able to just walk off the ship, which was fabulous. We quickly reached the shuttle that would take us on our tour and to Magen's bay. As we drove, the driver, Joe, asked us all to say a little prayer, thanking our higher powers for the time we had this day and to keep us protected. It was quite sweet. We wound a bit through different streets and as we went along, Joe told us stories and historical tidbits for different things we passed. We went as far as Magen's bay, where we stopped to go swimming. Magen's Bay was glorious, beautiful, everything one imagines when they think of a Caribbean beach. The sand was white, the water clear, and the sun smiling sweetly. Unfortunately, the memory is the day is ... read more
Restaurant - French-Caribbean
After disembarking form the ship and going to our "excursion" meeting point, our group headed to the boat that shuttled us to our kayaking launch point. The first steps on the island were disappointing, as the buildings around, you could tell, totally catered to Northern tourists. This was something I struggled with at many points along our trip, actually. We were led over to a dock and boarded a clean little catamaran, skippered by a weathered and wind-blown Frenchman. There were two large nets spread in the very front of the boat, and one could lie there and nap. Chris and I daydreamed about living on a boat like that and sleeping out every night. When we reached out put in point and went through a short kayaking demo, we took off from the Dutch side ... read more
At the end of Eluthera
Taking a cruise is not the way I normally travel, backpacking and couchsurfing, however, a cruise is something that Chris has done many times and really enjoys. I've never done it before, and we wanted to see how I like it. When we first got on the ship, I was overwhelmed by everything I was seeing and hearing, and REALLY uncomfortable by the luxury - I'm just not used to it! We were on our way, though, and I know that Chris was really excited to be able to show me something new. The first stop was an island in the Bahamas, on a little section the cruise line owned. Because we were already paying the cruise line a lot of money, we didn't want to give them more by renting jet skis or something, and ... read more
Mexico City
I went to for a class in social justice and politics and policy and community. I did not expect to love Mexico as much as I did. ... read more
Ruins
We hiked up around the ruins, then spoke with a women's cooperative to learn about them. It was a powerful experience to talk with them, still exhausted from the day's altitude of the day's hike and the heat. We met at a social worker's house, on a small crooked street. There were chickens in the social worker's house, as well as goats bleating. There were more people than I could count. At the end of her street is one of the most beautiful vistas I've ever seen. There was a cross someone had erected at the edge of the cliff, and underneath it, in a small pool of water, were five or six piglets cooling themselves. It was such an ironic picture. That evening, I sat in a beautiful restaurant, watched the lightening gather behind the ... read more
Walking into town
Tepoztlan is a fabulous little town! I loved the town, loved the vibe, even loved the hike to the ruins! The hike itself was hot and arduous but totally worth it. At the very top, the very first thing we saw, a stand selling taquila! I thought, yeah right! I don't want to be both drunk and wobbly on my way back down! At the very bottom of the hike, I saw a toilet more primitive than I could imagine, and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the town, smelling the cooking and spice smells, seeing the colors and the mountains, feeling the sun and the mountan air. ... read more
