Tikal!!

Waking up at 3 in the morning is never fun, however, I am so glad I did it! We were supposed to see sunrise in Tikal National Park but the clouds were not participating. What I did see was a few howler monkeys and heard many scary jungle sounds. I would've been scared to death had we not been in a huge tour group with 2 security guards. The sound from the howler monkey was like that of a ferocious dog gobbling up its prey. I can not even describe to the extent of how scary this was!! But I'm safe aside from the incident of the monkey chasing me and causing me to fall. I now have a sprained ankle but unfortunately, it was not from a monkey chasing me. Just my own unsure footing walking down steep steps of the pyramids we climbed. What a fantastic experience though! I imagine it would have been even more spiritual with less people. The other great thing about the timing was we avoided the brunt of the heat. This is weather like the rainforest, very hot and humid, which the parts of Guatemala I've traveled to thus far have not been as they've been pretty high up in elevation. There were some super tall pyramids I climbed via a staircase and so tall I was afraid to look down but I didn't let my fear of heights nor my ankle hold me back..... The pictures turned out well, I can't wait to share.....

So....I'm taking the plunge and am about to spend 7 days 6 nights on a catamaran to the Belizean cayes! We leave in an hour and will spend this afternoon on Rio Dulce and Lago de Izabal. If you're interested in checking out my trip, the website is www.sailing-diving-guatemala.com
I feel sort of guilty as this is a trip I'd love to take with Ryan. I am definitely living this one up. I'm making up for it though in the hotels and hostels I've been staying at. Definitely going for the cheapest but safest options. Let me just say, I'm glad I never saw the movie Hostel!!

What is cool about this trip is I keep running into former housemates and other travelers I've met along the way. I'm loving communicating in another language even in my limited vocabulary I'm able to get my point across and then some. I love to hear about others' stories and there's a definite theme in that everyone hates their job and most are traveling for far longer than I am. I have come to a number of realizations on this trip which I'll get into at a later time but suffice it to say traveling is a wonderful way to get to know yourself better. I appreciate what I have so much more and I can not wait to eventually not worry about what I'm eating or be able to brush my teeth without bottled purified water!!

Well, I'm off... Muchos abrazos