jungles and a new direction.

Last time I wrote was in funky town Livingston. Man, what a trip that place was. We stayed at a place called the African Palace (or Place, can't remember), which was in the heart of the Garifuna population. And the place seriously looked like it belonged in Morroco or something. The town was such a mix of people, it was hard to distinguish between being in Guatemala or Belize. After typing that last blog, we had breakfast and while I sat there, I decided to totally change up my trip. Scuba sounds like a good idea, right? Water, cool fish and sharks and corals...but in the end, I realized what I really wanna do is SURF. I've always thought I could get into surfing, so why not learn it in warm waters with friendly people and a less touristy vibe than I would have had on the Bay Islands?? Plus I can surf in Oregon - definitely don't want to scuba there. I'm pumped.

Anyway, we walked to Siete Altares with a Chilean family and climbed up the river to an incredible waterfall that you can jump off of. One of the coolest spots on this trip thus far! We stayed in Livingston one more night and then headed into Hotelito Perdidio (little lost hotel) in the jungle on the way upstream to Rio Dulce. The owners were awesome, the bungalows comfy, the food was delicious. The plan was to stay for only 2 nights, but ended up staying for 3.

We did a kayak trip to a waterfall, another to a community project that sold crafts and had a school that taught somewhere around 400 children from the surrounding villages. And topped it off on our last night by going for a moonlit kayak trip to the hot springs. That was the strangest hot springs I've ever seen. There were little pockets where the water was hot...and right next to it, cold water from the river. You would stand on that hot spot, but it would move. Or it would be scalding hot one minute, then tolerable the next. It was bizarre, but in a really cool way. Yesterday we left via Rio Ducle town, and went on a nice bus with AC toward Guatemala City. They played the movie Anaconda, but dubbed over with Spanish...what a terrible movie! Then we took a collection of colectivos, buses, and finally a ride in the truck bed of a honduran police man looking to make a quick buck into the town of Copan Ruinas. This is the coolest town I've seen thus far. The streets are cobblestone, the people are really friendly, and the parque central is the hub of everything. In a few I'll head off to the ruins for the day. And after this, to the pacific coast and on to do some surfing!! Hell yeah.