TravelStream™ news feed for member denden on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/denden en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:31:14 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1224448140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1224448140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1224448140/tpod.html Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:31:14 -0500 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Mahahual, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Well I finally made it here to Mahahual a sleepy town in the Yucatan peninsula. The town was hit pretty badly by hurricane Dean and is slowly but surely recovering, but there is really not a lot here.

The Expedition base is in Punta Gruesa, a place on the beach about 45mins north of Mahahual..... And there is even less here. One way is the beach, the other way is forest and mangroves.

There is no phone, no mobile reception and a very tenuous internet connection.

Our accommodation is ... er rustic. We live in huts on the beach made from slats of wood with a roof made of palm leaves, the floor is sand and we have no electricty or running water.

The base has electricity for 4 hours per day from 6pm to 10pm and we are allowed to shower once every 3 days in the main building.. luxury... i have never before got quite so excited about a cold shower.

Food is all vegetarian with lots of pasta, rice and beans. We have no fridge or freezer so food options are quite limited, but it is amazing the variations we have come up with from the same ingredients!

We started off with 15 Volunteers, or EM´s (expedition members) as they like to call us and it{s been a pretty intense first couple of weeks.

The daily routine goes soemthing like this

6.30am  Duties for which there is a daily rota of Communal, Kitchen, Boat or Grounds

This invloves cleaning communal areas including toilets, preparing meals , preparing the dive boats, or maintaining the grounds by raking sand to keep the sand flies away.

7.15 breakfast - always porridge or panckaes
8.00 start of first first dives subject to weather
12.30 Lunch
13.30 Start of second dives

if you{re not diving there are always things to do like refilling the dive tanks, radio duty when the boats are out or one of your speciality roles. I am first aid monitor, social secretary, hut rep for Tortuga (my hut), and community liason..  We also are doing TEFL stuff and will be teaching english twice a week in mahahual w}to the locals. I have also found myself being involved in the health and safety and  manual handling risk assessmesnts... amd you thought this was a holiday!

Week 1, we all got 2 dives per day and those of us who wern{t already certified, were able to get our advanced diving certificates. 1 Deep Dive, 1 Naturalist Dive, 1 Navigation dive and Peak Performance buoyancy.

Week 2 we didn´t do a lot of diving as the weather has been bad with lots of rain storms and rough sea. So plenty of time to study my list of 62 coral species including all the latin names..coral  ID test Pass mark is 95% and I finally passed on the 3rd go!



Now learning all the diseases, predation and algae and other creatures for another test next week.
We also did our Emergency first responder course which was hilarious... tell you more about that later..and TEFL stuff too

"Hola soy Denise. se primeros auxilios, te puedo ayudar?"

This weekend was my first venture off base for 2 weeks and we are in Tulum for the Turtle Festival. There were loads of activities planned which we were meant to help out with, but much of it ended up being a wash out with the heavy rain storms. Well we got to help out with a beach clean on saturday and fortunately the rain held out for the main event in the evening which was an awesome production of a the lifecycleof a turtle.

Well just wating for a bus at the moment back to Mahahual and looking forward to preparing for the Emergency Rescue Diver course next week.

well that{s it for the moment.
talk soon
den xxx
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1222436940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1222436940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1222436940/tpod.html Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:10:18 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Chichicastenango, Western Highlands, Guatemala

I´m not very good at keeping this blog thing up to date am I? So I haven´t disappeared off the face of the earth, just find blogging a bit of a chore and I know I´ll forget the detail if I dont do it. I really admire the people who can religiously keep theirs up to date, but it´s just not me I´m afraid.

Well good news is I am still alive and surely my 4 day whistlestop tour from Panama, through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and finally Guatemala, surely had to be something to write home about. Well not really that exciting believe it or not, more a test of endurance that I feel strangely proud of. I got a bit of reading done and managed to ditch 2 books..cried most of the way through 'The Kiterunner', pack at least half a kilo lighter surely.

The immigration rituals are something special, hours and hours of willing sniffer dogs to find drugs that are just not there.. they seem to search the bags of the cute girls with a much closer eye and are particularly curious of the lingerie? My bag, they are just fascinated, mesmerised even at how my Pacsafe lock works, and after making me go through the chore of opening it, they don´t even so much as open a zip or undo a toggle.. most infuriating.

After rejoicing at dirching some books, I have more tha made up for it in Chichi market..my backpack has got to be at least 5 kilos heavier now, but I feel I am nearing the end of my travels in Central America and just couldn´t resist the wonderful artesanias of Guatemala with all the striking colours and patterns.

4 hours of shopping just didn´t seem to be long enough, but probably a good thing that I had a bus to catch.. another one!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1221784200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1221784200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1221784200/tpod.html Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:37:04 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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San Jose, Costa Rica

Not so impressed with San Jose so decided to head out as quickly as I could. The National Theatre is pretty special amd they happened to have a Jazz concert on that night, so occupied my time whilst waiting for my bus at 2am.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218721440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218721440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218721440/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:46:11 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Tayrona, Colombia

Beautiful Tayrona
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218638460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218638460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218638460/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:43:38 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Santa Marta, Colombia

Rodadero and Santa Marta
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1217110380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1217110380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1217110380/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:36:26 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Cartagena, Colombia

Well, exactly one month after arriving in Cartagena for the first time, I´m back again. It´s a really long story, but to cut it short, it goes something like this..

Sprained ankle in Cartagena and unable to travel
Took flight to mexico to join diving expedition instead of going overland as originally planned
Got Bronchitis and Laryngitis 4 days before expedition - unable to talk or walk for 3 weeks
3 courses of antibiorics, and a good proportion of the regions pharamaceutical supplies later infection still not clear
Still not medically cleared for diving unable to join expedition
Decided to return to Cartagena and defer to the original plan through central america.
Pharyngitis, more bum injections, 13 in total and counting
Decided to rest and take it easy for a while.
Currently living with a hot Colombian guy and his cousin who is a priest
Taking spanish lessons and getting phsysio for the ankle.

How it all started....
Upon arrival at the bus terminal, I sprained my ankle, quite spectacularly..those damn uneven pavements and 25 odd kilos of backpack and daysack to contend with, I just went over and couldn´t stop myself landing on the bonnet of a taxi, which for fuel economy reasons was in the queue with engine and hand brake off.

With the slight incline and extra weight I recall rolling away in an immense amount of pain, but being pinned down by the weight of my pack unable to do anything about it. Several helpful colombian guys came to my assistance, trying to pull the big pack off me, not realising that it had the chest and waist straps tied. One smart guy at least jumped in the taxi and pulled on the hand brake.

The hospital experience was something else.. a story for another day, but put it this was, forget compassion, privacy and dignity. The triage system seems to bundle everyone in the same room and we´ll deal with the person who screams loudest... oh after taking $200 inital payment for hospital fees that is.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218578460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218578460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1218578460/tpod.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:11:47 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Taganga, Colombia

I didn´t think much to Taganga to be honest, a small fishing village which smelled of errr fish, with nothing more to it than a pretty bay view. The guide books recommend it as a better alternative to Santa Marta, but have to say don´t agree at all. It now seems to be an overpriced backpackers den with not much to do there other than book trips to Tayrona, or do diving courses. Beach is dirty and smelly so need to get a boat to Playa Grande if you want to bathe.

We stayed in Pelikan Hostal which was very pleasant and half the price of the other hostals in town.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1214497200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1214497200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1214497200/tpod.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:23:31 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Cartagena, Colombia

Two weeks to go until my mexico expedition
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1214334000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1214334000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1214334000/tpod.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:11:29 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Medellin, Colombia

Currently in Medellin, Colombia´s 2nd largest city en route to Cartagena.

In the 1980´s and 90´s it was the world´s murder capital due to the turf wars between rival drug gangs and the travel guide reads..

"it´s hard to think of a city apart from Baghdad, more in need of a public relations makoever than MEDELLIN"

Well we´re here, and it´s calm and relatively peaceful. Also the birthplace of artist Botero, famous for his paintings and sculptures of all things fat and oversize.

Ironic that as I was wandering around Plaza Botero, admiring the 23 giant sculptures of oversized men, woman, animals and the like that a woman ran up to me offering a weightloss programme with a guaranteed shed 20 kilos in 4 weeks!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1213978920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1213978920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/denden/gap_year_2008/1213978920/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:14:50 -0400 The denden diaries: Latin America

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Armenia, Colombia

Lesson learned - never take a hotel recommendation from a fellow traveller without checking it out first!

We were due to change buses at Armenia for Salento, but due to several delays or other, it was dark when we arrived and so rather than travel any further at night time, decided to spend the night in Armenia and complete our journey in the morning. This seemed the most sensible plan, given that we had a glowing hotel recommendation from a fellow traveller we met in Cali who had stayed there the night before... 'yeah it's awesome, great location, cable TV private bathroom' etc etc

Well we should have known something wasn't right when the cab driver kept checking that we really did want to go to this place and he and his mate kept sniggering. Anyhow, off we went and within seconds were bundled into the nearest Matrimonial Room with the tiniest double bed you've ever seen and stangely, the mattress was set in a bed of tiled concrete. I asked if there was a twin room available and the response was yes at 9 oclock, but $20,000 pesos more. Being on a tight budget, we stayed put.

Within moments of being in the room, we realised we didn't really want to be there..the sheets were dirty, the toilet didn't flush, the shower was such a dribble that it took 20 minutes or so to even get wet, and the sliding door to the bathroom fell of it's rails and the fan vibrated so much that we would most liekly fall off it's wall mounting and we would never be able to sleep with that racket in any case.

The guy at recpetion managed to fix all of the above, bar the shower and fan, and we were contemplating switching hotels, but though better of it when we saw a local newspaper headline about a 30 year old guy who, the day before at 6pm, had been robbed of the equivalent of $4 USD and stabbed to death .

Too scared and tired to leave, we decided it was just one night and we would deal with it. The lobby with it's comfy sofas seemd a good place to read, and it would have been had it not been for the continuous interruptions with the steady stream of customers in and out with all the regularity of a whore house. It went like this.. couple leave, guy at reception makes a phone call to the next lot saying the room is ready, strips the bed and remakes with 'clean' sheets and sprays some sort of deodoriser, next couple come in and so on. Turns out the place is frequented by couples, lovers and prostitutes.

Anniek and I couldn't stop giggling, wondering how the hell we ended up here and what was Gerry thinking offering this recommendation.
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