The first day we went canopying and had a hoot!! The next day was also incredible. We started by going white water rafting. Angel knew I have been rafting a few times and seeing how I wasn’t a paying customer I got to be the guinea pig for the raft guide he was training. When we came to a point in the river, Angel looked at me and said “if anything happens, swim to the left”. I yelled at him for saying that for now we were jinxed. Sure enough, next thing I know I was scrambling for air after the raft flipped. Not only did we flip but when I fell in, my bikini bottoms came undone! So now I am trying to keep my head above water, my bikini bottoms on and avoid any rocks. I have fallen out of a raft before but nothing like this. I was pretty scared. After we got to safety and finished our trip, Angel took me on hike to a waterfall. But he didn’t take me on the route the tourists take, oh no. He had me jumping off cliffs into the river, swimming through rapids, wading through water up to my waist, climbing slippery rocks and dodging army ants. It was definitely a real adventure. He was walking along catching toads and other various creatures. I was jealous so I caught him a lizard which he put on his hat and kept for the rest of the walk.

That night Angel and I were bored so we decided we’d split up and see who could catch the most geckos. I unfortunately lost, but I also didn’t grow up in the jungle catching them daily. He put one up to my cheek to make it “kiss” and the little bugger bit me! Then he made another bite my leg as well! I was not impressed!

On the third day we went canopying again and Angel insisted that I eat termites. He stuck his hand into the termites nest and grabbed a few. He held two in between his forefingers and put them into my mouth; they didn’t really move and freak me out as much as I thought they would. I just chewed them up as fast as I could and to my surprise they taste like carrots! After canopying I helped the boys out cleaning helmets, we took all of them apart and put them into bleach. We scrubbed them right down until they looked new again.

I woke up the following day and when I came downstairs I was shocked to see a familiar face!! Imran, a friend from Utila, had come to the jungle with some friends to do some rafting. After they finished that afternoon, we all hiked back to the waterfall. His friend, Rich was like a little kid once he got there. His smile was ear to ear and he was in awe of this feat of Mother Nature. We all jumped in and took a million pictures of ourselves playing in the falls.

Imran and Rich the next day decided I was going with them to Copan. I knew it was going to be hard leaving the jungle. The guys that work there had made me feel like family. As I was saying my goodbyes I was trying my hardest to keep it together. Though once I got to the jeep to take us back to the city I burst into tears. It was the hardest goodbye I’ve had to deal with since I’ve started this trip. The jungle was the first place that made me feel at home, and I had to leave that behind. I was lucky to have Rich and Imran with me to keep me together. I don’t think I could have done it alone.

The hotel Chillies where we stayed had two puppies named Messy and Max. We fell in love with them instantly. Max was a very sleepy puppy and Messy had more pep, yet needed attention consistently. We took Messy out for the day to West Bay for a relaxing day on the beach. People flocked to her because she was so adorable. We had a great lunch at a resort right on the water then followed lunch by tanning on the gorgeous beach.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay in Roatan on account that G had to finish his Dive Master. Monty and Christy helped us get in contact with a man named Captain Vern who has a catamaran he uses to and from Utila and Roatan., This is a very popular and affordable option to get from one island to the next. The ride is smooth and the company is great. Ask any dive shop in Utila or Roatan(West End) to get information. On the ride you wouldn’t guess who got to come with us, Messy! We got to keep her for a week while we were in Utila and then we sent her back home with Captain Vern.

Once we got back to Utila I decided to get my Open Water and Advanced Open Water Diving certificate. It was a neat feeling going underwater and being able to breath. One of the courses I took was called Peak Performance Buoyancy Control, they had us going through hoops underwater and knocking over weights in the sand with our regulators. It was such a blast, though my favorite part of the class was when I got to do ninja moves with my friend John underwater. They had us doing flips and kicks and punches all in slow motion Matrix style, so much fun!

It took no time at all to get my certificates and start fun diving. We saw so many amazing things underwater such as; lion fish, parrot fish, moray eels, barracuda, lobster, eagle rays, dolphins, turtles and my favourite… WHALE SHARKS!

Once G left I moved in with our friend, Noemi, also from Quebec.  She and I got along like two peas in a pod. Noemi works at Coco Loco’s bar and there were nights it could be rather dead and lonely there.  One night I dropped by to keep her company and there was the biggest storm I have ever seen on the island.  The rain was pouring, the thunder crashed all around us and the lightening lit up the sky.  It was a spectacular show.  Noemi and looked at each other, looked out at the dock being pounded by rain, looked back at each other then ran to the end of the dock.  We were soaked the second we stepped out from under cover .  We blared the music and danced for hours  like crazy fools.  It was one of my most favourite nights!

Before my shift on July 4^th my flat mates and I went to a house party. I was not drinking because I knew I had to work in an hour or so.  Big G was distressed about what my boss had told me and wanted to have a few words with him. I told him to calm down and not to say anything to him, I did not want to lose my job at this point.

Later in the evening around 12AM once I had been working for about 2 hours, Big G and a few friends showed up. They all got some drinks and made their way to the dance floor. After dancing for a while I saw Big G talking to the other bartender, I was curious to know what they were talking about so I walked on over. Big G was asking the other bartend if my boss, Patrick, was still in the club. Patrick was in the back mopping. Once Big G found out where Patrick was I just shook my head and walked in the other direction thinking to myself “well, so much for this job”.

Next thing I know I see Big G heading towards the exit of the bar, he looked at me and shook his finger as if he knew he did something wrong. My heart started racing. I started to walk to the back of the bar towards where Patrick was, that’s when the other bartender came running up to me and yelling “YOU KNOW HE’S GOING TO JAIL NOW RIGHT?”. I started shaking and crying immediately. I told the other bartender I needed to go. He insisted that I had to stay and if I left to not bother coming back. I had no intentions on staying.

I got down stairs some of the patrons pointed me in which direction G had walked off in. I started yelling at him once I was face to face with him. I told him the cops were on their way and that he had just done something really stupid. At this point, he didn’t care about anything, he was too drunk. I finally convinced him to just make his way home. I walked over to a wall, sat down and continued crying. I didn’t know what was going to happen at this point and feared the worse.

One of the local patrons I had been chatting with all night noticed me crying and offered me a hand up from the cold cement. He walked me home and helped me figure out the dos and don’ts of dealing with the police in Utila. There’s was nothing I could do for Big G at this point in time. I did pay off the cops so they would not hurt him while he was in jail, he was also supposed to get out of jail in the morning, but Patrick has more money than I do and made sure Big G would not get out that easily.

I did not sleep that night in fear of what was going to happen to Big G and what may happen to me as well. The next morning one of our flat mates went up to see Big G in jail. It looked like he might get out later that evening on a 24h hold. No such luck. I went up to bring him some food, water and a t-shirt, but once I arrived everyone was there (Patrick’s wife, her sister, and two friends of Patrick and his wife). None of them looked impressed. Next thing I know the police are going to Big G’s cell and telling him he’s going to jail in Roatan. Patrick’s wife, Nellie, was making it out that Patrick’s injuries were especially bad and he was in the hospital in La Ceiba. She was also going on how she was scared for his life and the G was a threat to him. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what to say but I did know that I was not going to let him go alone.

I ran home and packed a bag with a change of clothes and all of mine and G’s vital information. I made as many phone calls as I could to inform all of our friends and anyone who could help of current the situation. I had a hard time holding it together; I was feeling like this was my entire fault and now G may have to do real jail time. I had not heard good things about the jail in Roatan either.

I was scared and so was G. The cops put G in cuffs and we made our way in a taxi to the ferry. Everyone’s eyes were on us. I just wanted to yell at the top of my lungs that this was just a huge mistake. Luckily, the cops were all in good humor and were very kind to G and I. I was waiting in line to pay my ferry ticket with Nellie’s sister Juanita. She was giving me her take on what had happened and over exaggerated everything. She said G approached Patrick like he was going to hug him then attacked him and looked as if he was trying to kill Patrick.

Now the true story… G hit Patrick twice, this is only after Patrick laughed in G’s face when G told Patrick it’s not appropriate to talk to me that way and ask what he had asked me to do. Patrick said “I can say pretty much whatever I want to whoever I want”, it’s understandable that G punch after saying that about me. I don’t know many people who wouldn’t have.

We arrived in Roatan at 6pm after an excruciating 5h ferry ride to the unknown. We climbed in the back of the cop truck and made our way to Coxen Hole where the jail was located. I could see the fear in G’s eyes and it killed me that there was still nothing I could do. As soon as we got to the jail they took G into the back where the cells were. I asked the cops to not put him in with the other cellmates. They did as I asked and G spent the night in the corridor outside the cells.

I left the jail and headed towards West End. I was told to go to Sundowner’s Bar and to ask for one of three people Will, Monty or Erin. I was lucky to have found Monty. Turns out his girlfriend’s, Christy, parents are the Canadian Wardens. If anything happens to a Canadian on any of the Bay Islands, they are the first to know and to inform the Canadian government. Christy took me to see them right away. I sat down in her parent’s, Bill & Danie’s, living room and gave them all the details I possibly could. In the meantime Christy and Monty went out to find me a place to stay for the night.

Bill and Danie were very informative and made every phone call they possibly could to help us out. They called lawyers, attorneys, the embassy, the hospital etc. They told me to come back in the morning and we’d discuss further and they would give me and update with the information they got back from everyone.  At this point, it was not looking good in G’s favor. If Patrick had been sent to La Ceiba, there was a possibility that because he has money he could bribe the doctor to give a false medical statement stating that his injuries were more severe than reality.

I grabbed a bite to eat and sent out some emails to G’s flat mate back at home and his girlfriend. I went right to bed after I finished, I needed to get a good night’s rest after not sleeping the night before. I had a feeling the next few days to come would be emotionally exhausting.

I got up the next morning and went to Bill and Danie’s to see if they had any news. The first thing they told me was that the medical exam turned out to be minor. I started to cry I was so relived. This was great news. I knew things good could only get better from here. Danie told me she would give me a ride up to the jail to bring G food and water. So, with a big smile on my face I went to get food, water and a pack of smokes for him.

We got the jail and Danie started talking with the Chief of police, she asked if I could see him and he looked at me and asked “Do you want to go see him?” I nodded eagerly. He then replied “No”, so I pouted and bowed my head down. He laughed and said “Don’t cry, you can see him”. With a big smile plastered to my face I impatiently waited for G to come to the office. He walked in and I ran to give him a hug and told him the good news. After hearing the news, he still had a look of fear in his eyes. That morning they had thrown him in with the rest of the jail mates and the “Boss” was asking him for money to have a “place” in the cell. It was still unknown how much longer he would have to stay in jail, possibly another night. Fortunately for him I had brought him smokes. Once he was sent back with them and shared the smokes everyone was now his friend.

Danie took me over to the lawyer’s office, and introduced me to Pamela. Pamela had been the one who made sure the medical statement did not come back with a false statement. She threatened the doctors and told them if they gave a false statement and our doctors came back with a different report then they would be in big trouble. Pamela and I discussed everything that had happened and she told me everything that was going to happen. G was going to get out later that afternoon. It cost $2200 to get him out, but it was better than the alternative.

Pamela and I went to the Fiscal General de Honduras where we awaited G’s arrival. I was pacing back and forth looking over the balcony of the building to see if I could see G coming into the parking lot. After 10mins of waiting in came the police truck with G (in cuffs) in the back. I have never been so happy to see a police truck. I waited at the top of the stairs for G. He turned the corner and saw my face at the top of the stairs with a smile that said “I did it”. He was shocked. He thought he would have to stay in jail for much longer than it took. He was out within the hour after his arrival at the Fiscal.

Pamela gave us a ride back to jail to collect G’s passport and other possessions. She then gave us a ride to the hotel I had stayed the previous night at. After G showered, four times, to get the smell of prison off of him I took him to meet the people behind the scenes helping him get out as quickly as possible. Everyone was in good humor and pleased to meet the man they had been trying to save the last couple days.

We went out for dinner and drinks with Christy and Monty that night. I have never seen a smile as big as the one G had one his face that night. He couldn’t be happier to be out. I was also very happy, I was proud of what I had accomplished and I now know that even in the stickiest of situations I can prevail.

Later that night while working at La Pirata Sports Bar, I was standing on the patio around 3:30AM just cleaning up a bit before close. All of a sudden, this local girl walked over to where I was standing, grabbed a bottle and smashed it on the ledge right in front of me scattering glass alll over my legs and in my flipflops. She then kept the neck of the broken bottle in her hand and went back to dancing.

I walked over to the other bartender to see if he saw the incident that had just occurred. Right when I was about to talk to him he ran over to the DJ and told him to cut the music. Once the music was cut you could hear two girls yelling at each other in the corner of the patio. Before I knew it a girl, surrounded by people, was walking towards me just covered in blood holing a heap of napkins to her bloody face. The other bartender had taken the girl with the broken bottle neck out of the bar and I was taking care of the girl with the slashed face. I’ve never seen so much blood. I had to clean the blood splatter which covered most of the patio, chairs and tables. The girl who got slashed was later taken to the local doctor, she will defiantly need stitches. I had a night off after that horrifying accident. I was very thankful.

My flatmates and myself decided it would be an ingenious idea to shave Big G’s chest. Our first thought was to do a happy face, but that seemed too average. Then, we thought “Well how about a Superman symbol?”. Once we pulled up the Superman symbol to copy from we had one more great idea. A Super G symbol for Big G’s first initial.  It was a night full of fun and laughter. The next morning while walking with Big G down the street people would stop and laugh or stop to take a picture. It was great fun.

The next morning, Kyle and I set out to find breakfast, which just turned into a 3 hour hike but it involved so many great things. The trip began with a dog, who followed us from the first town right until the end of the trip. We stopped at a family’s house who was selling something (we had no clue what it was), though once she brought us an example, it was a popsicle-like thing and some kind of frozen juice in a bag. Kyle and I bought one of each; they were GREAT and also cooled us down on our walk. We got to the next part of town parched, so we bought some juice and I got a Pepsi. I love that they hand you the Pepsi in a bag with a straw. Once we were making our way back, still without finding a place for breakfast, we stopped at the river to dip our feet in and cool down. There were a million little minnows nibbling at our toes it was so neat! I stood in the middle of the river just letting the minnows nibble away… some of them were actually quite big, it tickled like crazy!

As we were walking back we asked a couple women sitting outside their house where to get some food, the woman who owned the place asked us to come in and she’d cook us up something! Everything was cooked over a fire stove and we played with the children after dinner. They were adorable and very interested in our digital camera. Oh, there was also a baby kitten there as well! As we went to pay, I gave the woman a 5 Lempiras tip. Her eyes widened when she realized I hadn’t made a mistake in the amount that I handed her, she was shocked that I wanted to tip her! 5 Lempiras is $0.28 Canadian. Breakfast/Lunch cost us under $7 for both of us. It was amazing that we got the chance to see directly where the money was going and it was an experience of a lifetime.

• Learn the dances of the world
• See all the world wonders
• Climb Kilimanjaro
• Attend Carnival in Rio
• Visit Iguaçu Falls
• Go to the Amazon
• Go to the Perito Moreno Glacier
• Dive in Cenotes
• Go skydiving
• Go paragliding
• See the Great Barrier Reef
• Go to Timbuktu just to say I did
• Volunteer in Africa
• Go on an African Safari
• See a whale shark
• See a panda
• Experience Zero Gravity
• Heli-boarding
• Set foot on all 7 continents
• Climb Mount Aconcagua in Argentina
• Become Famous
• Partake in Japanese Tea Ceremony
• Attend Burning Man, Nevada
• Visit India
• Attend the Love Parade, Germany
• Learn to dive
• Visit Matchu Pitchu
• Go to the Galapagos
• Run with the bulls
• Ride a bull
• Learn to ride a motorcycle
• Climb an active volcano
• Learn to sail
• Visit the Nile
• See the Pyramids in Egypt
• See the iron throwing “fireworks”, China

• Walk along the Great Wall of China
• Be in China for Chinese new year
• Go to Oktoberfest
• Join a caravan in the Sahara
• Ride a camel in Egypt
• Visit the Salt Fields in Peru
• Get married by Elvis then have it annulled (or not)
• See the northern lights
• Get a tattoo
• Learn to sand board
• Motorcycle across Canada
• Get something named after myself
• Donate blood
• Go dog sledding
• Drive a dune buggy
• Learn to drift
• ¼ mile race
• Live with an African Tribe
• Listen to the Dali lama speak
• Go to the Thailand Vegetarian Festival
• Fly in a hot air balloon
• Use a fire extinguisher
• Fire a gun
• Stage Dive/ Body Surf
• Black Water Rafting, New Zealand
• Go spelunking
• Take a submarine to the Titanic
• Drive a hovercraft
• Take a homeless person to dinner
• Go to Antartica
• Go to the Opera
• Partake in a gameshow
• Attend Mardi Gras
• Visit Easter Island
• Ride a donkey in Greece
• Visit the Taj Mahal
• Fall in love
• See the Terracotta Warriors
• Learn to wakeboard
• Go to a nude beach
• Visit the Sex Museum in Amsterdam
• Live Life to the fullest

Once we got the Lazy Lizard we decided to go our separate ways, as it is easier to meet people that way. I was quickly noticed by an Aussie guy who brought me over to his group of friend he had made. We chatted for a while, made some other friends and headed back to the hostel for a few more drinks. It was a really amazing night. I became very close with one of the guys I met the night before, Erik, and we decided to do a tour together. We took the full day tour with Raggamuffin Tours. The full day tour included sailing to three different locations to go snorkeling then Rum Punch on the way back! While we were snorkeling we saw stingrays, moray eels, sharks, colourful fish, sea cucumbers and I saved the best for last… Manatees! Sailing on the way back drinking our Rum Punch we met a group of guys who went to school together years ago. They were a real hoot. We also spent some time with them later that night at the Lazy Lizard.

After a week’s stay there we made our from Caye Caulker to Placencia, through Guatemala and onwards to Honduras. As we traveled to our final destination in La Ceiba we saw some of the devastation caused by tropical storm Agatha that has struck Central America and Southern Mexico. We saw swollen rivers that overflowed and flooded people’s homes, very upsetting.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
-St. Augustine

I grew up with parents who love to travel. My mom would never book a vacation at a resort. She would dig and dig and dig until she found a place that looked perfect. Sometimes, yes it would be a hotel. But never a big hotel that you can find anywhere, she would find something quaint and simple. In Thailand she found this amazing place where we stayed in floating raft houses. It was a string of little huts floating in the middle of a gigantic beautiful blue lake. There was a central area for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but other than that… nothing. She likes to find places out of the “norm”. Maybe that’s why I enjoy travelling like this. Or maybe it’s because I can go for a walk on the beach and see a little boy with a can of coke with fishing string wrapped around it and using it as a fishing pole or sit for hours with a Mexican “surfer dude” and talk for hours. You may love where you’re at at home, but you could be missing out on so much more away from home. If you had the chance to do it, to just go. Would you? If yes, then anything you say is just an excuse because you’re afraid.

Kyle has introduced me to a bunch of locals who I get along really well with. They have taken us out to many popular events and local bars. Thus far, we’ve been to an outdoor concert on the beach, a fishing tournament in town where they are catching Marlin and the anniversary of a bar opening. Also, I have seen many beaches since I’ve been here, my favorite was Barra De Potosi.

I have been reluctant to go out on my own for fear of getting lost. Though, the other day Kyle gave me a grocery shopping list and booted me out the door. To my surprise it wasn’t as scary as I thought and I did not get lost once! I came home pleased to tell Kyle that I made it back in one piece and did not break down crying at any point in my travels.

On Sundays almost the entire town shuts down, so Kyle and I decided to go adventure. We found a huge staircase that looked like an exciting challenge for us to climb. Also, after the lunch we had we could afford to do some cardio! Once we climbed to the top of the stairs we found a cute little village. The village was very poor; their homes had dirt floors, sheets for doors and a bush outside as the washroom. Kyle asked one of the men living in the village to show us where the best view would be. We trekked through the bush and up the hill to a clearing where you could see the bay of Zihuatanejo, La Noria, Las Gatas and much more. It was absolutely stunning. Afterwards we insisted that we buy our new found friend Jose a beer, we would have never found that lookout if it weren’t for him.

Feb 14th, St. Valentines day was the start of the most recent part of my journey. That evening I went to a local bar to hang out and see what kind of local festivities were going on. It turned out that it was just a slightly busier night then usual. That is all. But then a weird set of coincidences started to happen.

I met a person from Canada. Not terribly unusual, I admit, and we got to talking. The usuals “oh what part?” and “oh really, I used to live there.” Then I mentioned that I used to live on the other side of the country. Well it turns out that this guy not only lived on the same street as me in New Westminster, BC but also on the same street I grew up on in Ottawa. How strange. Further he turned out to be an excellent web programmer who owned property here in Zihuatanejo. My rental was just about up at my current apartment and With times being tough down here, his geodesic domes were being left un-rented.

Back to the night at hand. I met a group of really fun and curious group of Mexicans at the bar and was practically pushed into talking with a shy but cute girl from Morelia, Mich. We hit it off and started going out. Food, parties, shows, and just hanging out it has been an interesting couple of weeks.

I moved out of my place in La Noria and moved into my Canadian friends place near La Ropa Beach. We decided to try to push each other to program online to make money. It worked and we are both doing fairly well right now freelancing and competing with Indians and script kiddies for online work. The plan has always been to take it slow, earn dollars and spend in pesos. Simple enough, it took longer then expected to get here, and it still has some ruff spots, but in general I hope this works. Time has passed and times have changed. I have settled into a pattern here working most weekdays, hanging out with friends in the evenings and weekends and generally enjoying myself.

But with a group of Mexican friends I can say I am learning more intricate things about the culture and people here. But then how to describe such things without coming off as a person who is judging, misinformed, or generally naïve? There is certainly nothing like black and white in any culture and this is no exception. Most of the people I have met have been honest, good people with good intentions and interesting things to say. Others seem to be just out for a buck or barking up the wrong tree, but this is just par for course in what merely feels like a magnified reality.