Ruins and Cenotes

Today was action packed! Emily has wanted to see a sunrise since we arrived but I have been too nervous to awaken the Crak'n in the early hours despite some spectacular vistas. But this morning I braved it using one of my more adorable moves. All 200++ lbs of me rolled on top of her and, just like Elsa from Frozen throw my arms apart I exclaimed, "the sky's awake so I'm awake! Wanna go see the sunrise?" She giggled tiredly then ambled out of our fairy-tail white curtained bed and followed me to the beach. The sky was interesting, everywhere was clear except where the sunrise was going to happen. Firefly I front of us was an isolated thunderstorm no more that 0.5 miles in diameter  and sure enough at 6am just as the sun began to rise a torrential downpour engulfed us.  Warm rain instantly soaked us and we sought shelter under a nearby bamboo but, laughing. Emily, in her wet puppy dog face stared at me and smoothly asked, "'wanna see a sunrise?' or get soaked?!" It was still a sight to behold, radiant colors mischievous cloud formations and a relentless ocean. 

We set out towards Chitsa Nisa and the famous Mayan temple. The bus ride was long and we chatted away while practicing Spades (Emily is getting better everyday). When we arrived it was a smorgasbord of venders but the ruins we impressive. The central Mayan temple was HUGE.

It towered over us like an ancient alien skyscraper. I got goosebumps when I imagined explores stumbling upon this place in the midst of the jungle. We explored around for several hours taking in the massive and ancient stone structures, rows and rows of weather worn columns that looked straight out of Tomb Raiders. There were enormous iguanas sunbathing and people watching. We were a bit enamored with the local artisans for sale a made a few purchases.
With the sun having waged war on our bleached hospitalized skin we opted to trek towards It Kil, Mexico's famous Cenote. A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. This was one of the images that drew us to the part of the world and it did not disappoint. As we approached this massive hole in the ground surrounded by thick luscious jungle we could here the echoing of hidden cascading water from the roots of the surrounding trees.  Once we reached the edge we peered down into the murky green water 90 feet below. Quickly we stripped down to our suits and followed the manmade cave to the waters below. Emily and I each started this adventure by diving from the highest perch into the cool water and floating on our backs to taken the pure splendor.

 I wish I was a better writer but I cannot adequately describe how incredible this place was in words. The edges of this underground cavern were lined with rope so you could sit in the water and take in the massive tree roots stretching down towards the aged below with mini-waterfalls draining from the soaked jungle up above. Occasionally the sun would brake through the clouds illuminating the cavern enough that you could see all the fish swimming with you. We were dumbstruck. Finally we pulled ourselves away after a few for cliff dives and had a booze riddled dinner laughing about our adventures and the tenacity of the venders near the ruins.  

The bus ride back was filled with sleep and a never ending thunderstorm. When we arrived tired but happy late into the night Emily was surprised by a romantic candlelit bottle of champaign waiting for her with rose peddles sprinkled throughout the room. We smiled, kissed, drank, and let the night slip away into pure bliss. 

A Mexican Paradise

Mexico here we come! In a last minute Hail Mary Emily booked us for Tulum, Mexico. I had just finished a spectacular week-long conference in Orlando and I could not wait to see her. As my plane was deboarding so was her's, serendipitously and we met at baggage claim in Cancun and made our way through customs. As we sat waiting for a taxi I opted for 2 giant margaritas which seemed to incite the very essence of our location. The drinks took a bit longer than anticipated and the taxi driver (with a van full of tourists) stated, " [in Spanish] margaritas are as important as punctuality" as he made everyone wait until our delicious concoctions arrived. Through the van windows the views were of well manicured landscapes, American businesses, and the westernization of a whole culture. Emily's parents had surprised us with reservations at their 5 star timeshare! Excited, I sat back sipping on my margarita and watching the city melt away into beautiful hotels along a turquoise Caribbean coast.  Our hotel Casa Maya was impressive, though the minute we entered they began their sales pitches.

But after sitting through a mini timeshare presentation and some free drinks we were rewarded with our room key and promptly suited up and headed out to the beach where a table was setup for us on the sand with fresh ceviche and cool cocktails. Now this is a vacation! We ate and drank merrily letting all of our residency woes melt away into the sunset. 

And so it begins... Wedding log entry #1

So I crushed the proposal. Absolutely nailed it. Though, after announcing this to the whole world nobody seemed to notice the spark, that initial amazing spark that lit this 5 alarm proposal fire. Nope, I received the obligatory congratulations which was immediately followed by, "when's the date?" The date? I thought incredulously!?! After hunting down/buying the perfect ring, designing a romantic proposal, and managing to get her to say "yes" I figured it would be all champaign and caviar dreams for a couple of months/years, you know, smooth sailing.  But no, that insesent nursery rhythm began  echoing in my mind, "first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage." The wedding date questions inundated us. Not that I am opposed to getting married, obviously, but this pace was unexpected. And.. nearly all of my remaining single undergraduate friends all got engaged within 2-3 weeks of my own proposal. But Emily, being of strong character, determined our date and set out looking for sweet locations.  We both truly wanted an Alaskan wedding.  What marvels, magic, and misadventures we planned to share with our guests in the last frontier.  However, it turns out that my little town is just that, a little town that is too small to support the splendor that we imagined our wedding to be. So we decided that a Northwest wedding would be our spectacle, our ode to our upbringings, and a glimpse to our friends and family of the environment we envision living.  We chose Kitsap Memorial State Park. The park offers beautiful natural surroundings of 300 foot trees, sweeping views of Hood Canal, and a rustic CCC lodge from the early 1930's.  But here is where the story really begins....

As with any wedding venue, we were not the only ones wanting a summer wedding at this site, but being on the other side of the country presented a slight problem for securing a date. Luckily we had Sam and Mary Jo Eck on the case. After exhaustive research they discovered that on the specific opening registration date we could call in our request but in-person requests were always honored first. The ranger cabin opened at 8am.  So the Eck clan set out the day before and lo and behold there were already other power couples/parents milling around looking to obtain their magical dates too. That evening a ranger came out and literally shoo'd everyone away from the ranger office stating that, "we can't allow non-campers to be hanging around this station waiting to get wedding dates." Begrudgingly, the Ecks, a mountain climbing couple, a world class running fiancee, a bridezilla, and several other competitors slinked cautiously away from the cabin and hovered at the minimum allowable distance waiting to pounce. At one point the bridezilla turned to Mary Jo and while glaring she stated, "I'm going to get first in line even if I have to throw some elbows". The day dragged on slowly, poor Mary Jo needed a recharge and sought refuge behind a dumpster for a quick power nap. The ranger, sensing the tension in the air, casually inform the bloodthirsty participants that he would be clocking out at 10pm, at which time the attendants could form the, "official line". Just as the ranger made his way out of the office around 10pm, climbed into his white pickup truck and cast one last furtive glance at the conspicuous group of solicitors attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible, before starting his car and driving out of the park. As soon as his taillights disappeared around the bend; It. Was. On.  Full grown, educated, and normally pleasant adults devolved to a childlike state as the made an all-out dash for the ranger cabin.  Mary Jo, bridezilla, the mountain climbing couple, and the world class runner were in the lead.  Though the sprint lasted mere seconds across the small parking lot, time seemed to standstill. It was an all out war; tripping, tackling, biting, and various other means were utilized to gain ground towards the those few golden front-of-the-line positions. Bridezilla Nancy Kerrigan'd the world class runner early which slowed her down just enough for Mary Jo and the young 20-something-year-old to take the lead.  Long legs churning furiously, Mary Jo was head-to-head with this double iron-man olympic athlete. But his many years of training and stretch-armstrong-like arms paid dividends in the final legs of the race as he threw himself in a kamikaze-like manner forwards snatching victory merely nanoseconds ahead of Mary Jo who arrived for the silver place. Nearly collapsing with exhaustion and with sweat pouring from her brow Mary Jo was met by Sam who sauntered up with his lawn chair, and plopped down next to her to further stake their claim.  Sam came well prepared, he wore layers and brought stacks of sophisticated literature to past the time. I believe it was the coldest night, for that specific date, in recorded history. Mary Jo found shelter in her Prius while Sam endured the elements all night.  The following morning Sam still sitting vigilantly, shook off the frosted morning dew and stood to greet the refreshed looking ranger as he walked towards the motley crew shaking his head in knowing exasperation. Needless to say, we got our wedding date set.

2016 Annual Rafting Trip

And so we find ourselves back on the water for the 2nd annual Rafting Trip! This year's crew consists of a spectacular bunch of idealists and adventurers including; yours truly, the famous Mateo, the infamous Missy, Hannah (rhymes with banana and Mateo's better half), and Hannah #2 (rhymes with fauna), one of America's foremost authorities on clean air and green living. Unfortunately,  Delaware had a surge in sexuality 9 months ago which means Dr. Eck's services were required on the, ever so busy, Labor & Delivery floor. So instead of standing in knee high raging river she was standing in knee high amniotic, blood, and other fluids. She was sorely missed.

Our first night was every thing I had hoped. We all arrived in the dark and with superb efficiency we set up camp to the sound of gleefully screaming children in the surrounding campsites. Next, after much overdue salutations we proceeded to have our opening ceremonies which incorporated imbibing intoxicating concoctions while solving vitally important 'would you rather' issues around a crackling campfire with the sweet smoky perfume hanging in the air. With the night spent, we all cuddled up in a mansion-sized tent under a blanket of twinkling stars.

After a satisfying slumber we awoke bright and early for our rafting foray. I must admit, opening my eyes to blue skies and looming trees forming the ceiling view to our tent was mesmerizing.  We arrived at the rafting place with the gittiness of of high schoolers arriving at their first dance. Our river guides were a pack of young bearded men who looked as if the summer had began to take its toll, after repeated daily rafting trips and wrangling the Oswald's-family-type tourists who often behave like herds of cats.  We were briefed on the rules of the river and piled excitedly into pristinely yellow school buses. After a short bouncy trip with full bladders we arrived at the launch site. One by one we were corralled into our own boats.  I thought the lead guide was going to have a coronary as Hannah waded through the waters towards our boat with one fastener amiss on her life jacket. "What the hell are you doing?!" boom the Chris Farley like voice, "we are on the RIVER! This is the most dangerous part of the trip (wading through tepid water)! Fasten your.." The words trailed off as the raft he was anchoring jolted forward knocking him off his feet and sending him flailing backwards into the icy water. Trying hard not to laugh out loud we clambered into our orange vessel declaring Missy our captain. Oh, by the way, Missy in her infinite wisdom has joined our motley crew with an avulsed tendon fracture in her thumb requiring a 24 hour splint (this is her 3rd one as little-miss-action-star has destroyed her previous two).

We were titans on the water. Pure braun and power strokes pouring from the boys with decisive and cunning maneuvering from the girls.  We were unstoppable. The first few hours of the trip were filled with boisterous renditions of famous musicals while spinning backwards, forwards, and sideways over death-defying rapids. The day was warm and sunny and the water was cool and swift.  The heavy humidity was rot with smells of the surrounding forest, and our boat was filled with laugher and smiles. But that all changed...

As we rounded a corner our captain noted some jagged metal railroad pieces off to our right and had began to steer us away but we observed that some of the other, less coordinated boats, did not follow suit. We watched in horror as, not one, but two boats smashed against the unforgiving metal tearing into their hulls amidst a loud 'hiss' and an unnatural collapsing of part of the boats. Without hesitation our crew locked in and charged valiantly towards the closest distressed boat. It was filled to the brim with a very pleasant, yet terrified, Indian family. We offered our services and wild-eyed men and women stampeded into our raft. Two remained and we floated away from a jagged metal towards the opposite shore to await instructions from our guides who were flirting with girls from another rafting company. Bret, our favorite guide was the first to arrive, "are there any able-bodied rafters who would be willing to take whats left of this raft over the next few rapids?" he barked. My powerful raised hand was matched by Missy's splinted hand and before anyone could object we had climbed into the sinking boat and headed out into the rushing waters. Braving the monstrous waves, and with one of us injured we heroically conducted the injured raft through the mighty rapids despite having one of their crew with us who refused to paddle (most likely paralyzed with fear). Finally, we arrived at the midway section and stopped for food. We hobbled our semblance of a raft over towards our old boat and preceded to make formal introductions with the Indian family who were all courteous and doctors. We traded PB&J sandwiches for spectacular Indian cuisine that tasted of generations of family recipes culminating into a gustatory explosion of sweet spicy splendor. This food alone made the whole ordeal more than worth any extra inconvenience. Hannah#2 was learning Hindi phrases and asking, "how do you say 'refund' in Hindi." Much to our chagrin, one of the elderly women comically responded, "there is no such work in India, any exchange is followed by 'thank you come again'" she recited in her heaviest Indian accent.

Our guides shuffled the boats around leaving ours intact and deflated the damaged vessels. The remainder of the rafting trip was a game of how ridiculous we could approach rapids.  The annual tradition of someone falling out of the raft was maintained by Missy as we struck a boulder head on and she went sailing out the back. Exhausted and smiling we hauled our raft out of the water at the end of the trip and boarded he buses home. That night we ate, drank, Spaded, and watched blue fire as we continued to solve riddles and brain teasers alike. As with all aging professionals we crashed exhausted at ~10pm.

Our final glorious day was equally action packed as we decided to hike towards a seemingly accessible waterfall. After an interesting dining experience with the locals we set out, Tomb-Raider-style. The Hannahs had done some pre-emptive research by reading a blog, which described a much more adventurous route towards these mystic waterfalls.  The day continued to be warm and sunny and tourists were milling around various trailheads with an air of happy-to-be-alive wafting through the valley. We approached an ostensibly recognizable path, however less traveled, and began our epic journey towards these mysterious waterfalls. The once vary plausible trail began to whither and wane into a discernible nothingness. Soon we were scrambling over boulders the size of houses, edging around perilous cliff faces, bush whacking through thick brush filled with monstrously enormous spiders. Hours into our hike, maybe days, we continue to beguile ourselves at every turn believing that a broken branch or some uncovered moss meant a path towards glory. It wasn't until Hannah#2 after careful deliberation with Hannah and their phones discovered that there were NO trails on our side of the stream and that we had been aimlessly charging through mountainous terrain like our courageous ancestors before us. Just as we were all about to turn around the forest gave way to the precipice of our coveted waterfall.  Tired, worn, disheveled, and incredibly badass we emerged from the Pennsylvania jungle triumphantly.  Standing at the waterfalls edge staring out across the valley made the entire ordeal worth it.

What a weekend...

The Lap of Luxury

You know? I'm going to miss this sleeping in till 9am business. This morning I opened my eyes to the thatched roof overhead and the sound of ocean waves competing with my new best friend, the fan in our room. Emily was pleasantly snoozing beside me (no pug snores this am). A few geckos were milling about on the walls and the temperature was beginning to assert itself.

During quiet moments like these I like to reflect on my life and so far it has be perfect. Amazing and caring family, supportive friends, and a drop dead gorgeously intelligent fiancé (thank you spell check), I am not well read but I'm sure great writers have aspired to depict such utter perfection and bliss in a multitude of famous novels/poetry. I can't help but smile at my 31 spectacular years on this planet.   But the moment was short lived, the 20-something-year-old have risen from their prior night of drunken misadventures and are just as rambunctious this morning.

We saunter towards breakfast and grumble over the poor internet.  Today we'll venture out in search of new quarters. Elated I'm going to splurge for the last time and shoot for overwhelming decadence at half the US price. We checked out and each hopped on the back of motorcycles without helmets and zoom off towards new luxury. After a lengthy trip into the boonies we found a gorgeous spot.  

We arrive at Aite which has luxury resort of the year award for 2015 on the wall. It's pricey but also our last night. This place blew our minds. (See pictures). Huge property with a villa-like terrace structure overlooking everything and sitting above the trees.

Below is a beachside pool with bungalows looking out over teal waves. The property is dotted with palm trees and exotic birds. We gush our engagement in front of the staff and they ate it up. I spoke in rapid Spanish so Emily couldn't follow and told them to make the room special if they could, and they did.  The owner came out and was super excited we chose her place for our post engagement stay (yes, we neglected to mention it was 2 days ago). We lounged around the pool by the beach sipping Coco-locos and margaritas. The owner called us to lunch with pan fried red snapper over coconut rice and fried plantains.

Emily had jumbo prawns in Tamarindo sauce with mashed yuca. The owner came out with glasses of wine on the house. Our special set table was out on the Terrance of the restaurant over looking everything. Perfect. We made some calls then lounged awhile.
And by awhile I mean I woke up 2 hours later in a blissful fit stretching out in the heat fully relaxed. Emily decided we should hike to the famous Palomino river only a 1.5 hour round trip hike along the beach at sunset. Romantic, aside from the copious amounts of sweat we both produced. It was still sticky hot out. We finished the night with a candlelit dinner on the terrace balcony. Perfect. We eventually retired to our personal porch/balcony sipping from our bottle of white Cali wine and reminiscing about our trip.

Emily has read all of her books and is now moving on to mine. She read it aloud for a bit before we turned in for the night. All the while, toads scamper over well cut grass, a well fed Rot sits guarding/surveying his territory (though sweet as a teddy bear), and the stars fight for attention through the thin clouds. Again, what a trip. Emily fell asleep admiring her ring. Nailed it!

She said YES!

 She said YES!

Last night was fun, swinging in hammocks under a thatched roof listening to distant thunder. At one point the was a little rain too. I slept like a baby, that is, until 3am. You see, as a few of you are aware, I set out this trip as both an adventure and with the intention of proposing to Emily.  This has been a long time coming. I had let my parents know months ago and I recently flown to Seattle to celebrate Emily's Match Day and ask for her parent's blessing and fill in my siblings. Over the past few months I began the search for a ring, given the innate nature of the endless learner I endeavored to learn all I could about diamonds. Mr. Cohan, the father of my Cheif resident is a gemologist and we spent several days together pouring over textbooks and looking at different diamonds, needless to say it is an expensive, i mean, extensive field. After scouring the East coast and flaunting my amateur knowledge of diamonds I found the perfect one. So had a simple ring made and decided our adventure through Colombia would be the perfect time to propose. I was looking for something secluded, majestic, and intimate.

As I fell asleep last night I realized that we were with a bunch of early 20s travelers who have probably never gotten up early enough for a sunrise in their short lives (they probably didn't know sunrises existed). So I had my plan, wake up early take Emily out to the far outcropping of rocks mentioned earlier and propose at sunrise. 

I awoke at 3am nervous as ever and not wanting to fall back asleep as I could miss the sunrise. So waited nervously, and waited...and waited. Time had never moved so slow. Bats whizzing around looking for a place to sleep before sunrise, a few roosters getting an early start, and the gentle ambient noise of crickets were my only company for the longest two hours of my life. Well, and Emily will kill me for putting this in here but, she has the cutest little snore, it sounds like one of those little pug dogs' snores as if one were lying on its back on a comfortable couch.  Anyways, I started to notice the sky transforming from a dark canvas speckled with stars and a hazy moon to a deep Royal blue. I gently rocked out of my hammock and lovingly stroked Emily's thigh to wake her. Her eyes shot open and she leapt up in terror hands flailing, "$&#*!" she exclaimed (remember we are sleeping in an open air hut in the jungle). After a minute of letting her catch her breath and regain her composure I asked if she wanted to see the sunrise with me. After the I'm-going-to-kill-you expression slowly dissipated she nodded and merely remarked, "babe we've got to work on your wake up technique." And off we went into to darkness holding hands.
I have to pause here in the story to interject a second small story; The Chronicle of the Ring. You see I decided to propose in Colombia. While we were backpacking, this meant we would be in close proximity and in each other bags all trip. So I had to hide the ring and I couldn't lock it up with our other valuables because she would be keenly aware of its presence. So I wrapped it in a lintless cloth and hid it in my earphones case.

For the majority of the trip it remained with me in my personal bag or  locked up when we could lock our bags up. Occasionally it was left in my back pack in a lobby (terrifying), in the back of a bus (more terrifying), or, as you may have read before, carelessly tossed about like an ordinary earphones case. There were also several near miss moments as we would both go through security check points and they would rifle through our belongings in search of contraband. Let's  just say it was one panic inducing moment after another with this little surprise.
Now back to the main event. As dawn took shape we softly marched forward inundated with sounds of an awakening jungle. We made our way to the cove and ducked under a sign in Spanish that Emily deftly ignored while I quickly interpreted some of the words in my head as reading "danger"' "do not pass" and "you idiots can't you read!"   That last one may have been translated incorrectly, and I could imagine my good friend Matt saying, "really?!? 3 YEARS in a Spanish speaking country and you still can't speak Spanish, Puchíca!" But we pressed on and arrive atop a large boulder on a tiny peninsula surrounded by rolling waves deafeningly hurtling themselves at the rocks.

I searched the ground and found a soft spot that would be ideal for kneeling but Emily had other plans. She pick a spot higher on the rock with a crevasse at our feet. We sat together awhile. Normally I love winging speeches, I am a talker and a story teller, and I consider finding words my forte. But for one of the first times in my life I was speechless, I couldn't think of what or how to proceed. As the sun rose so did my panic. Eventually I went for it, I wish I could remember what I said, I know it included several versions of, "I love you" and culminated in "Emily Kathleen Eck will you marry me?" while awkwardly kneeling in front of the love of my life un zipping my little earphone case with the sun rising behind me. Being the absolute luckiest man alive, this teary-eyed beauty gave the one answer that made my heart soar and universe pause for a whole second. She said emphatically, "Yes!" Then a lot of mushy stuff happened next then I put the ring on her finger and we sat in each others arms and watched the sun rise.

Emily Eck: It was strange because he is usually very verbose and great with adjectives but he was fidgeting and strangely awkward. "You know how much I love you right?" He asked. I replied, "of course I do! I love you too". Then several minutes passed and he asked again, "You know how much I love you right?" Strange. Then, "I have something important to ask you," and he got down on one knee awkwardly fumbling with his earphone case and then I knew. (I imagined I was more suave than that)

Elated and starving we strolled back to grab breakfast. No one knew, it was our little secret piece of history to hold and cherish (at least until we were back on the grid). The day was a blur, we hiked back through the hellish jungle caught a bus back to Santa Marta, showered, and took a late bus to Palomino. When we arrived I splurged and got the private sweet we drank, laughed, ate, and were the merriest people in the whole world. Me with my large mouth told everyone who would care to listen and those that didn't. The staff pitched in and brought us a dessert and a whole bottle of wine! Unfortunately I cannot in good conscious write any of the following events though just before crashing my last thought was, I don't know how to spell feesnce....fiencee...fiance... Damn the French!

Lazy days and Love

Well now that Mission Proposal has been accomplished, Houston we have a problem! Out of all the fun and exciting hostels we've stayed in this one just happens to have the worst internet. I mean, it's not like we've been trying to call our families or friends with great news or anything....

Every other 5 minutes we have a blip of connection so we've turned into "those travelers", you know, the ones constantly on their cell phones or computers despite all the intriguing people and action that surrounds them. We both have a small credo to not have cell phones out when dining or in good company (we shattered that credo today, for good reason though!). Besides the communication conundrum, this is day 1 of 2 of pure gluttony and sloth.

I always hated returning from a vacation more tired than when I left. Don't get me wrong, I love adventure, travel, and activity but I also need some R&R given my insane schedule back at home. So most of today was spent poolside.

 I finished my book The Martian, it was hilarious and I recommend it to anyone with a short reading attention span. We ate great food, and got flat out drunk with our German companion while wielding deep discussions on how the world should be managed. The rest of the night we spent together smiling, laughing, and having fun. Emily got a kick out of the Craig Schuh quote book, "you've got a great woman, I'm glad you're going to lock that $*#% down!" Thanks to all for the kind words we are both soo excited to start a life together (and get a dog!).  Stay tuned for the last two logs of the journey. Also thanks for the comments below I like that someone is reading this besides my #1 fan and critic (Emily).

The Jungle Trek

Got up early this am because Emily had arranged (in her inebriated state) to go trekking with our new German travel companion Chole

to a secluded beach known for its clear waters and beauty located in Tayrona at the playa El Cabo. So we hastily divided our bags to create a two day pack for hiking that I would carry through the jungle. It was going to be a hard hike so after we packed everything we wanted and I could barely lift it (without water) so we had to revise. I removed Emily's in-case-I-get-cold outfits and she removed my long pants and my headphone case by carelessly tossing it over her shoulder and I watched it slide under the bed (remember this detail). We had lite breakfast of oats and yogurt then set off a little later than expected. Then we waited for the bus which arrived a little later then expected. Oh, how I have forgotten these bus rides. Loud music, bright colors, and chickens! Emily revealed her girly side as a crate of baby chicks was placed next to her.

Through the city we preformed accelerations and decelerations that would make a NASA astronaut queasy our horn thundered like a fog horn that could raise the dead. Then once out of the city our driver really cut loose. Threading the needle at 1000 mph between lumbering trucks/semis, whipping around tight cliff side corners, and some times off-roading to get around obstacles. My favorite part was that, as I tried not to view my life flashing before my eyes as I watched the chaos unfold out the front window, Emily sat nonchalantly reading her book without a care in the world. Man, I love this girl! We arrived super late to the trail head, why do I keep mentioning being late you ask? It's because now it was 1130am and the sun was near it's precipice providing a heat-stroke-inducing temperature of 103 with humidity at 110%. So we set off through the sweaty jungle in the blistering heat for our 3 hour hike, Emily bouncing around like a sexy deer and myself carrying all of our supply's feeling like we're on the million-mile-march.

And it grew hotter. Though despite the heat, humidity, weight, and elevation changes it was a beautiful hike. We stopped frequently to watch superhighways of fire ants carrying chunks of leaves to their home,

listened to the diverse birds in a symphony of surround-sound, and stared awestruck at monstrous Jurassic-looking trees.

At one point we lost the trail and had to cross a mile of beach at noon.  I was wearing a towel like a hijab because I could feel my face on fire.

Ironically, it was through this portion of the trek that Emily was trying to convince me that our next trip should be to the Middle East (at this point I would prefer a extra "s" in my desert).

But alas! We made it! Please ignore every gripe/complaint up until now. The jungle gave way to an immaculate cove straight out of a good novel by a great writer.  Crystal clear water as far as the eye could see, with a hint of sapphire blue gently massaging a white sand beach etched with bowing palm trees. At the far end of the cove large boulders stretch out into the ocean where more violent waves smash themselves in an explosion of froth and foam. We check in a a little tiki-like stand and got our hammocks for the night under a thatched roof. The rest of the day was spend frolicking in the translucent water and napping on the beach. Ah, this is the life... Sorry these were late but we have been completely off the grid lately. Stay tuned for the next installment. It is life changing....

Santa Marta time!

Oof. After a night of salsa dance lessons my dogs are barking and our packs are beginning to smell like my forgotten trash can back home.... But we are loving every minute of this trip!  Everyone at breakfast was jealous of the fresh avocado that we picked up last night. Today the plan is to head off to the Northern Caribbean beaches near Santa Marta. Our first step was a bus that was supposed to take 4 hours which turned into 6 as expected. It was hot, somewhat cramped but, to two experienced travelers, we found ample reading time. For all those that laugh at my car, we played Spark slug on the way because there are too many Sparks to count in this country. 58 in Cartagena alone. After a LONG ride we arrived at our destination. Hot but cooler than Cartegena and smells ripe with sizzling street food. We hoped in a taxi and headed to our top choice of hostels, which was a party place busting at the seams with young, thin, muscular, and tanned patrons in board shorts/bikinis (I miss my 20s, and I thank God everyday for a smoking hottie who loves me). It was full so we searched and ended up in a hostel that was once a mansion owned by Pablo Escobar. This place was just at our pace, beautiful pool, giant 4 person hammock, politically minded company, and cheap booze. The owner is this kooky Australian who believes there is money or cocaine still hidden in the walls.  Despite the urge to level the place in search of loan repayment money we decided to take a relaxing poolside day and spent our leisurely hours in the pool, drinking 3$ cocktails and discussing world/US politics with a Swiss gentleman who speaks 5 languages, is a lawyer who quit it all to travel (side note, the two most sought after jobs in Switzerland are doctor and gym teacher), and who was a world traveler himself. We continued drinking late into the night arguing with Germans and Swiss over how to rule the world and ended up in a hammock together. Pictures to come. Off to a hike tomorrow. Will write when I can.

Move Beach get out the way!

As we further endeavor our practice of sleeping in we made it till 930am today! Today's goal is to explore the city and get some beach time. Cartagena is a modern port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. At its core is the walled Old Town, with 16th-century plazas, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings. It was at this core were we were staying.

The city is walled and Emily educated me as to the history as we walked along the Great Wall.

The heat here is stifling, muggy, and down right oppressive. Despite the sun's rage against our feeble melanocytes we pushed on walking through the colonial streets stopping to sample the street food as the interest rose. It is fun how this walled city has been maintained. After awhile of walking Emily and I would tempt each other with ludicrous excuses to duck into an air conditioned store (neither willing to admit defeat by the heat).

Soon we grew weary of walking and headed back to the hostel where we lounged in hammock chairs, chatted, and read books as the weather melted to a pleasant (tolerable) temperature.  Now this was a vacation. After a bit we arose and grabbed a bite at the local Cuban hut before setting out to the beach. It was late afternoon and the weather was perfect. We settled in a small rent-a-tent and had fresh ceviche on the beach while taking turns swimming in the near lukewarm Caribbean Sea. As Emily was swimming this woman came up and offered to massage my feet. I politely declined but she persisted. At this point in the trip Emily and I are attempting to be money conscious. The women would not relent stating, "free sample, quick, etc."  I attempted to refuse again but she plopped down grabbed my foot and it was all over. Thank God Emily showed up or I would have given this woman all of my money, obtained a working visa, and brought her back to the states as my own personal foot masseuse.

It was heaven. Emilys simple foot massage became a leg and back massage somehow, and she jokingly chided me for spending $7 on a foot massage (worth it!).  We headed back for a bread and avocado dinner with fresh market fruits that we picked up on the way back. Ahhh, now for a beer and more relaxation. Stay tuned.