Three Years Later

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It wasn’t until I finished writing this that I remembered that in 2008 I had written the same type of reflection except it was titled “One Year Later” instead of three. I am so glad to see that I am now over the “survival” phase and onto the “living” phase. Whew. I am grateful for that. I don’t know if this reflection is as well written, as this one was more of a reflection for myself and not necessarily to be shared with others – but I am sharing it anyways. So read along….

December 27, 2010

Three years ago today I sat in a Starbucks as I watched my husband tell me that he no longer wanted to be married to me anymore. Three years ago, I saw my sweet, perfect, little world crash before my eyes. And three years ago, I thought that life had ended and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to go on.

Today – exactly three years later – I am sitting in a Starbucks yet once again, but this time I am not sitting in that dreadful corner table on Superior Street in Duluth, MN. This time I am sitting at the Starbucks in the Lima, Peru airport awaiting my flight to Cusco. This time I see that my life didn’t end, that in fact it did go on and that it has done a pretty good turn around, as it is oh so sweet again.

Though three years later, I still struggle at times. The Holidays still have ways of bringing back flashbacks of Tyler, his family, and the hellish pain that I went through that first Christmas alone. I still struggle with insecurities, trust and the wonder of believing in a lasting marriage again. Sometimes the emotional turmoil that I put myself through with these thoughts knocks me off my center. Makes me lose myself. Makes me forget my true being.

My true being – she who is loving and kind. She who smiles often and throws her head back in laughter. She who is strong in herself. She who trusts and loves freely – not withholding her love because of pettiness. She who lets go and lets God. And she who remembers to trust in Him and just live life in by which doing so, she will answer all of her questions.

I forget to do this sometimes. I forget to trust in God and I don’t always love unconditionally. I get caught up in the negativity of these lower realms of life and become afraid of losing and being hurt again. And I forget that I am strong and that in my core I am already everything that I want to be, I just have to move my awareness there and recognize the reality of my own soul. And most of all, I forget to forgive. I forget to forgive myself. I forget to continually forgive Tyler and Jonny and everyone else who has once caused my heart pain. And I forget to forgive others whom I have judged and forgive myself for judging them.

So where does this leave me three years later? Well….an obvious work in progress I guess. I’m happier – that’s for sure. I have learned to love again – and it’s been wonderful. And I’m still working on finding and creating myself – though I have a feeling I will be working on that for the rest of my life. Am I totally content? Not quite yet. Can I freely say that this divorce happened for a reason (still somewhat unknown to me) and that I am better because of it? Yes. Though I can’t say that I have seen the full circle of it yet, but I don’t know if I will until I have my own family again and feel truly happy and secure. But, I can see clearly that if I hadn’t gone through the divorce, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t have this amazing job, or experienced these phenomenal travels, or be in love with this darling Jonny of mine – who I feel is so much more compatible for me than Tyler ever was.

So am I doing okay? Yeah. I sure am. Though I still have a lot to work on and get through – but don’t we all?

So cheers to the New Year, growth and resilience. I want to declare 2011 to be a year of dedication to myself, to love and to God. I want to laugh often, love freely and align spiritually. I want adventures, travels, good health and joy. And I want to do this in partnership with myself, Spirit and others….being aware of the divinity that is within us all….. Starting Now.

So with that, so long 2010

…..and the beat goes on!

The blessings already are.

Viva Oaxaca

So I have been meaning to write this post for about a month now, but haven't really had the ganas (desire) to do so, until now. I'm not sure why, but I didn't. I feel a little afraid, a little excited, a little nervous, some disbelief and a decent amount of happiness about the fact that I will be - moving to Mexico - in March - for a year - with Jonny Roman. Woah. Big news.

So I am sure that you are all wondering, how the heck did I get this commitment-phobe boy to 1. commit to me and 2. Leave Peru and 3. Move to Mexico - speaking of which, why Mexico? Well....let me fill you in on a little bit of the backstory.

It all started when we were saying goodbye to each other once again at the airport and as we cried and hugged and felt knots in our stomachs, we decided that we were so sick of saying goodbye to each other at airports. We had essentially done this way too many times, and we didn't want to do it anymore - we wanted our lives to be together and we were ready. So, we wrote a proposal to our jefes, explaining the situation and asking them if we could live together but continue to work for ProWorld. They came back to us and were incredibly supportive and asked me to write up my ideal scene for my job. At first I was a little overwhelmed with their request, because I felt like what was ideal for me was not necessarily ideal for the company, but I decided - screw it - I am going to ask for everything that I want and then they can say yes to some and no to others. So I did - I asked for a whole list of things that I wanted - and I got everything. It was amazing and a great lesson in learning to just ask for what you want, because you never know when people will completely comply and the Universe will get in line and give you what you are asking for. I have a lot to be grateful for right now.

Anyway...back to the story...so originally one thing that we had asked for was that I move to Peru, as that seemed the most logical decision - Jonny is living there, I love it there, I would be happy to live there, etc etc. However, when the jefes came back with their decision, they offered us Mexico instead as it was more in line with my position in the company. Jonny just happened to be visiting me in the States during the week that we were presented with the Mexico option, so we talked it over and came to the conclusion that really it was much better for both of us than Peru was. I would get a promotion, Jonny would get to live in a new country, Mexico is closer to the States which makes it easier to visit home and it is a neutral place for both of us - one of us isn't moving for the other - we are moving together and I love that. So Mexico it is! We are leaving in the beginning of March and are thinking of possibly driving. So if any of you know someone who has recently driven to Mexico can you please put me in touch with them? We are trying to research our options so that we can stay safe if we decide to drive and cross borders through - oh you know - major drug war areas.....

So until then, whats next? Well....I am currently in Duluth. On the 11th I head to San Francisco where I meet up with Jonny and we attend a ProWorld conference, then I come home for Christmas, then head to Peru Dec 26-Jan 20, come back to the States for six weeks and then Viva Oaxaca! It's kind of a lot in the next few months, but I am so looking forward to it. And for any of you who want to start planning a trip to come and visit us in Mexico....let me know....we would love to have visitors! And just so you know, where we live in Oaxaca is super safe and far far far away from any of the drug war infested areas - so would be a perfect, and authentic way to vacation! Plus, you would get to hang out with me :-)

And just a little side note - two years ago - I had just left Belize, Jonny and I had ended our relationship because he was moving to Peru, I was convinced that I would never see him again, and was pretty much heartbroken over the situation. And now two years later we are back together, life is really sweet, and we are moving to Mexico together. I love how life continues to surprise, challenge and uplift me. The Blessings already are.

Traveling....

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I began writing this blog entry back in July while I was still in Peru....and I finally just finished it tonight, but wanted to post it all together as it didn't seem right to split it up. So the beginning is written while in Peru and the rest was written in the States....

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In the past seven months I have traveled to six different countries and worked in four. I’ve been lucky enough to have lived and worked in the United States, Mexico, Belize and Peru and have traveled for leisure to Cuba and Guatemala. I tell you this not to brag, but to explain my life and both the excitement and difficulties that come with moving around to a different country every month and a half. Currently, I am in the rare position to be able to work for an amazing company – ProWorld – which grants me the ability to have this lifestyle. But soon, this lifestyle of being a traveling nomad abroad is going to come to an end and I will be returning back to the States for the next five months or so. As the reality of this begins to sink in and I start to process what this means for my life, I continue to find myself in a state disarray – not quite ready to leave the mountains of Peru, but also somewhat excited for the sweet lakes of northern Minnesota. My heart doesn’t know where to rest as I feel like I am being pulled in two different directions. There is a part of me that feels so alive and content when I am living my life abroad – and it is a completely different life than the one I lead in the United States. I feel like my body reverberates with the energy and simple lifestyle that I get from living in countries like Belize, Mexico and Peru. However, then there is also this part of me that feels like I am missing out on family and friends back at home – and this is what leads me to my feelings of disarray. So today, when I was feeling especially confused – I started to look up quotes about traveling and I found that reading them helped to bring some clarity and explanation to my thoughts. So with that I am going to try to explain my experiences abroad the past six months with quotes, as I feel that they will help me to organize my thoughts and with that, here is the first quote:

“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux

Oh Paul Theroux – how right you are. This life that I currently lead of constantly traveling; never having stable home, community, relationship, and friends is a hard one. It brings to me fantastic life experiences and memories, but also feelings of disruption and being displaced. I feel like my friends who look in on my life feel like it is a glamorous one – and it is to some extent – but it is also really hard, because I fall in love with every place I go, and as soon as I begin to love it, it is time to leave. Currently I am in Peru and I want to stay here for a long time. Finally here I have relationships, I have community, I have a healthy work life, a fantastic environment to live in with mountains in my backyard, fresh veggies and fruits for every meal and contentment. It’s a good life these folks lead in Peru and I am not looking forward to leaving it. So yes, my life is glamorous, but it is also difficult. Falling in love with a place and then leaving it so quickly is never an easy thing and in the moment it can be really hard. But when I look back on it – in retrospect – it is glamorous and amazing and I am often so glad that I took the opportunities to travel, even it if meant me having to be uprooted month after month.

"Good company in a journey makes the way seems shorter." - Izaak Walston

I love this quote, because when I read it alls I can think of is that sweet Jonny Roman of mine. In the past eight months we have traveled through Belize, Guatemala, Peru and the States and each trip has been amazing. We’ve jumped off cliffs into waterfalls in the rainforests, roasted marshmallows over lava, climbed Machu Picchu, watched the sun set and moon rise over Lake Titicaca, and explored Chicago and the Midwest together. We have spent a lot of hours together on bumpy, sweaty buses, in dirty taxicabs, in rental cars, and airports and the time has always flown by. We travel well together. We support one another, watch out for each other, keep each other safe and healthy, and most of all – we have so much fun together. All of those long hours spent traveling seem so much shorter when Jonny and I are together. This past week he came and visited me in the States and traveled around with me going from school to school and state to state – and it was the best week of travels that I have had this fall. Jonny made renting cars fun. He made being lost in a city, while starving and freezing, fun. He calmed me down when I was stressed out, and made me laugh the entire week. And he found all of these little things to appreciate about every city that we were in, which made me more appreciative of them as well.

So long story short – all of these travels that I have had the past year, wouldn’t have been nearly as great if I had to do them all on my own. But because of my friends and having people to share them with – the experience was so much greater. I have traveled a significant amount with people who are not good traveling companions, people who you want to leave at the rest stop in the middle of your journey, and people who complain the entire time, or who bring the excitement of your adventures down. And so therefore I have found that it’s important to find the right traveling companions – ones who help make the journey seem shorter. And I just so happen to be pretty lucky in the fact that my best friend and guy that I love madly also happens to be my favorite traveling companion. We have a lot more traveling to do in our future, and I can’t wait to see whats in store….

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

As much as I love traveling and exploring new areas, there is no better feeling than arriving home and sleeping in a familiar bed, with a familiar pillow. I love nothing more than arriving home from a long trip, going to bed and sleeping so hard in my own bed that I wake up and wonder where I am, only to be pleasantly surprised to realize that I am home.

I have traveled so much this past year, that I feel like George Clooney from the movie Up in the Air. I miss home. I miss having constant community. I miss feeling settled. I miss my family and my friends. I miss not being able to see Jonny day in and day out. And I miss not being able to sleep in the same bed night after night.

So yes, there is something beautiful and exciting about traveling and through this traveling I have experienced amazing things. Though, I think that I am ready to stay in one place for a while. Sleep in a familiar bed with a comfortable pillow. Use my own bathroom and get rid of my travel-size shampoo. I’m ready for all of this. And I think that I’ve found a way to combine the beautifulness of travel with a constant feeling of being settled….Stay Tuned.

Machu Picchu!

I'm a little behind on my blogging....but that is because I'M STILL IN PERU! I extended my plane ticket and will be here until August 1....yes :-) Anyway, to catch you all up...the other weekend Jonny and I took a trip to Machu Picchu and it was absolutely amazing.

In order to get to Machu Picchu you either have to take a 2-4 day trek, or you can take an hour and a half train ride - we definitely took the train. We arrived at the base of MP on Saturday night and then woke up at 5am the next day so that we could get there and watch the sun rise over the ruins. The minute that we walked into Machu Picchu, I was struck into silence by beauty, complexness and amazing energy that surrounds the ruins. I feel like I have been to a lot of different ruins before, but Machu Picchu is unlike any other. Not only are the ruins amazing, but the mountains that surround MP are absolutely breath taking and add so much to the entire experience.....

Jonny and I at about 6:30 am at the Machu Picchu....

The llamas.....

Sunrise....

Oh hey!

We hiked to the top of Waynu Picchu and I felt like we were at the top of the world....

Then we hiked down to this Incan cave...and the hike had some pretty intense ladders...

We got to the cave which was full of ruins and was amazing....

Then we hiked back up to the top of Machu Picchu and took what Jonny calls "The money shot picture"

After the full day of hiking and climbing and adventuring, we were totally exhausted. We got back on our train and completely passed out until we arrived back in Urubamba. Being here was absolutely amazing and is probably up there with one of the top 5 days of my life thus far. For any of you who haven't made it here before, you should definitely put it on your bucket list...it's worth it.

Thoughts on returning home...

So every time that I go abroad, I always get in country and then never want to leave. I've become really good at extending my plane tickets, and this time in Peru is no different. I love it and want to stay. I am having so much fun here. Now that I am out of Lima and living in Urubamba, I am loving it. I love that there is no TV or Internet at the house, I love that I wake up in the mornings and walk outside to beautiful mountains in the backyard, I love the dirt roads and how tranquilo this part of Peru is. It fits with me, this small town, relaxed feel. And up until two days ago, I was completely set on coming home to the United States on July 11 - which is when my plane ticket is. But now that the 11th is just around the corner, I am getting nervous because I don't feel like I have enough time left. I have all of these amazing towns and ruins in the Sacred Valley to experience. I need more time with Jonny. And I'm loving my job here - going out on projects, working with the Peruvian/American staff, having group dinners, making friends with staff, etc. I want more of that and I am not quite ready to leave. But then the thing is, I love summer in Minnesota and I haven't been home in a really long time. I know that my parents really want me to come home, and that my cousins and friends are excited to see me. And there is a part of me that feels like I need to be there, to be centered, to be with my family, to just be home. Currently I am feeling pulled in both directions and I don't know which one I will chose. I haven't even spoken to Jonny about this yet, as he has been in San Francisco all week for work (gross right? The Jefes (bosses) sent him to San Fran in the middle of our lovecation! What??!!) Anyway, it's been fine and I have actually enjoyed having some quite time to myself. I've played guitar, made new friends, had quiet breakfasts and snuggled lots with Ollie, that sweet dog of his. However, I can't wait for him to come back to me tomorrow, as we head to Machu Picchu tomorrow night so that we can get up early and watch the sunrise over the ruins....yup....should be amazing :-) I'll post pictures....

Anyway, at this point I have no idea when I'll be home. My thought is that almost everyone who is reading this in MN is pulling for July 11th, and there is a good chance that I'll still be home then....but there is also this other part of me that just wants to extend that ticket one more time....Vamos a ver... Here are some pics...

Me and Jonny in Lima.

We went to this super cool bar, that had these awesome bottles....

Back in Urubamba. The red door is the entrance to our office. Look at those mountains! Can you see why I am in love with working here? Hello!

Out on a project with some of our volunteers. Every year we have an annual river clean-up day, and this year we ended up picking up 40 bags of trash - most of which were plastic bags. Don't use plastic bags folks - they are killing our environment! Get reusable bags!!

My love letter to Belize

Well Belize, you did it again and stole my heart once more. There is something about your country that resonates with me – that fills my soul and makes me happy.

This was my third time being back, and I really feel like I got a good grasp on what this country has to offer and was able to dig in deeper to all of the guts and glory that lies within Belize. And when it comes down to it, there is some pretty dark stuff going on here, but to me, all of the light and goodness of this country outshines the dark and makes me love so many aspects of it.

So where do I start with my love letter to Belize? Well, I guess I will start with what I love most. I love the people. I love how friendly and welcoming they are and how they greet you with their eyes and make eye contact while talking to you. I love the fact that when I walk down the streets in the evening that everyone greets me with “Good Night”, and I especially love that my response is “Good Night” back to them. I love how Belizeans answer the phone with “Tell me” and how they say “Rrriiiiggghhhttt Nnnooowwww” in their long, drawn-out Belizean accents. I love that it is a melting pot of people, with the Mayans, the Rastas, the Creole, The Garifuna and even all those crazy old ex-pats. I love the different languages that are sometimes all mixed into one, and I love that I can hear reggaeton, Spanish music and Michael Jackson all blasting from different houses on the same street. I absolutely love that all of the grocery stores are referred to as “The Chinese”, and I love how no one is politically correct in this country. I love that I don’t have to wear shoes and that my feet are constantly dirty, and I love how I can sit barefoot on the windowsill of a bar, drinking my Belikin, while talking to an old friend and feeling completely happy and content. I love that I have gotten addicted to coconut water and how drinking it is a daily part of my life here. And I love those thick, white flour tortillas that you can’t get anywhere else except for Belize. I love that I can swim in pristine, beautiful waterfalls and have no one else around, and I love how I can sit alone on top of a Mayan ruin and overlook Belize and Guatemala at the same time and feel the spirit flow in…. I love the beauty and intensity of the jungle (though I hate the damn bugs that come with being in paradise), and the way that life just seems so good and sparkly when I am out in nature here. And finally, I love how comfortable that I feel here. How I feel like I am at home. How people tell me that I “walk strong” when I walk down the streets - for that is the ultimate compliment - as it shows that I feel at home, that I am comfortable, that I know what is going on and that please, don’t mess with me, cause I am no longer your average, white tourist.

There are so many more things that I love about Belize – but this love letter has to end sometime. So to Belize – thank you for everything that your country has to offer. And to my friends in Belize – thank you for sharing your goodness and love with me and for opening my heart once again to all of the sweetness here. I can’t wait to come back and see you all again. Bless.

So this is life....

I just posted about how our trip was beautiful, and amazing and flawless. And it was – until we got home. We arrived home late Monday night, when I got a phone call asking Jonny to call the States, because one of his good friends had died. When he called home he found out that one of his best friends from high school had died in a car accident over the weekend. Hearing that news was so sad and was so hard for him. So that night, as we were reflecting about life, we both decided to write a little bit – and here is what I came up with – it’s nothing special, but I thought that I would share it with you.
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Life is precious. The joy if it, the love it brings, the integrity that comes with being alive and sharing that life with others. Being able to appreciate others physical time on this planet is so important. To take those moments where you feel truly alive and cherish them. We forget how lucky we are and what a blessing this life is. I thank God that I am still here appreciating each moment, learning, loving and at some point finally completing. This past weekend I really lived my life and I was able to share in it with a wonderful person. I am so grateful that I was able to share my experience with him – because without Jonny there it would have been less sparkly, because the joy would have been more inward and because of that – less magical. Life is about so many things, but to me the relationships that we have in our life and how we share our expressions with others is key. In this moment, I am appreciating my life, but even more so appreciating all of those that I share it with who make my life worth living. May God bless my world and may light be sent to all of the beautiful souls out there. I am so grateful for all who have made my life and will continue to make my life grand.

Lago de Atitlan

The day after the volcano excursion, J and I went to Lake Atitlan, which is a beautiful lake that is surrounded by volcanoes. This day was much more chilled out, which was nice as the two days before it were jammed packed with excitement. At Lake Atitlan we took a boat around the lake and stopped at different villages, shopped around, went to markets and really just relaxed. It was super nice and a great way to end our trip.

One note about our trip – it was by far the best spontaneous vacation that I have ever been on in my entire life. We went without a guidebook, not knowing where we were going – let alone staying. We had never been to any of these places before and in a sense it could have been kind of risky to set off on this adventure with a complete lack of information. However, the entire trip went flawlessly and the Universe provided for us in so many ways. We were always taken care of and everything was so easy and it all just fell into place. Everyday we were amazed at our good luck and how beautifully our unplanned day had gone. We both agreed that it couldn’t have gone any better – part of that was because we were with each other, but the other part was just that it all fell into place and because of that we experienced some amazing things in those 5 days of our trip. I wouldn’t recommend traveling like this often, as I am sure that it always doesn’t work out this well, but in this instance, the spontaneity of it was great….

Living the dream....

About two years ago, I heard that there was a place in Guatemala where you could climb a volcano and roast marshmallows over lava. As soon as I heard about it, this activity of roasting marshmallows over lava went to the top of my bucket list. Jonny and I daydreamed about going there together – not really thinking that it would happen – but then when he came back to Belize, we decided to go on vacation together, and we changed plans to go to Guatemala, we realized that our dream was about to come true and we got so excited.

We left for the volcano around 2:00 en la tarde and started hiking around 3:30. It was a long hike up, but totally worth it. As we got closer to the lava and the volcano, we could start feeling the heat underneath our feet and see the steam coming out of different areas in the ground. When we finally got to the area where we could make our lava-roasted smores, it was hot and intense. We had carried sticks up from the trail (as obviously there are no trees on an active volcano) and put our mallows on the sticks and placed them right over the lava. They started on fire instantly and we let them burn for a few moments, before we blew them out and put them with graham crackers and chocolate. And that was by far the best damn smores that I have ever eaten in my entire life – hands down. Nothing will ever compare with that ever again. Being up there on the volcano was so much fun and by far one of the best days of my life. I was livin’ the dream folks, and it felt good.

After we got our fill of lava, marshmallows and melted shoes, we started the hike back down. During this time, it turned dark and as we looked up at the peak of the volcano, it started to erupt and we were able to watch hot magma (think Austin Powers here with the word magma) blast out of the volcano. They said that it only erupts about once a month and so we were really lucky to be able to witness it. Seeing that was also another dream of mine that was fulfilled (I kind of have an obsession with lava – it’s so cool!) and was a great end to a perfect day.

P.S. My favorite quote of the day was "Did I just hear someone say 'holy shit - there's lava??!!" hahahahaha

Semana Santa - Guatemala Style...

So last weekend, Jonny and I were supposed to go to Honduras, but we literally changed plans last minute and decided to go to Guatemala instead. We were supposed to take a boat to Honduras, but last minute decided to take a boat to Guatemala and then take a bus to Honduras, and then once we were on the boat we decided to scratch Honduras completely and just go to Guatemala - and we are so glad that we did as it ended up being one of the best vacations of our lives.

When we were on the boat, we met this guy who was driving to Guatemala City and he offered us a ride, so we jumped on it and drove to Guat City with him. I've never been to Guatemala City before (or hitched a ride with someone I have never met in another country) and everything that I have heard about it is that it is so dangerous and that you just want to get in and get out. However, on the boat ride we also met this girl who was going to Guatemala City and then down to Antigua and she said that she was staying in a really safe part of the City, so we went with her and stayed in the same hostel and it was great - super nice and felt pretty safe.

The next morning we woke up at the butt-crack of dawn we went down to Antigua for Semana Santa. Antigua is famous throughout Central America for it's Easter celebrations and rightfully so as it was one of the most amazing Easter celebrations that I have ever witnessed. They cover the streets in these elaborately designed flower carpets and then they have these massive processionals where they walk through the flower carpets, and then they just make new flower designs throughout the day - it is so beautiful and a phenomenal cultural experience.

During the processionals, everyone is either dressed in purple, black or another color. The people in the processionals carry these massive, extremely heavy floats on their shoulders that sometimes weigh up to two tons and they carry them for hours to represent the pain and struggles that Jesus went through. One thing that I loved about this (among many) is that the men all carried a float, and then the women all carried one just as big and as heavy. A lot of times in Central American countries, women do not have as much importance as the men do and therefore wouldn’t participate in something like this – however in every single procession, the women were right there alongside the men – working just as hard and carrying almost as much weight – and I loved that.

I don’t think that my words or pictures can do this experience justice, as it is something that one has to experience in person. With that, I highly encourage all of you to someday make the trip to Antigua, Guatemala for Easter as it will by far be one of the most profound Easter celebrations of your life – it was for me anyway.

Two Years

Today it has been two years since Tyler and I got divorced. The day of my divorce, I remember thinking about if I would ever feel happy again, and I am proud to say that right now, in this moment I am happy and I have been happy for awhile.

Last year the one-year anniversary was a killer for me, whew it was hard. But this year, it snuck right up on me and it has hardly even crossed my mind. Someone took this picture of me the other week and I feel like I look pretty happy in it....so this is my picture of the day.

Horrah for letting go of pain, enjoying life, moving on, staying present, laughing, loving and right now....being in Belize. In this moment, although it is over 100 degrees and I am sweaty and sticky, life is good. I feel like this is such a good testament to the fact that one does heal, life does move on, and even when we are in our deepest despair, we can know that eventually we will experience happiness again.

No...this is not fake....

The other week, I went to this little island off the coast of Belize called Rendezvous Caye. It was this little deserted island and there was no one on it except for our group. It was kind of like one of these places that only exist in dreams or fantasies, but you never really actually get to go there....but yet, I somehow did....

Take a look for yourself - it is stunning. Another reason to love Belize. Speaking of which, I love it here so much that I extended my plane ticket for three more weeks. I was supposed to leave this upcoming Monday, but with all of the work that has to be done, with the fact that Jonny is here, and because of the fact that I love it in Belize....I am staying a little longer before I officially head back to Oaxaca on April 13....