Leaving Mexico! - Trip day 16/17

The final leg of the trip. For the last time we had a walk around the town of Akumal where we were staying and took in all that we had experienced there.

 

And just like that it was time to make our way home. The coach picked us up around 11 am and took us straight to the airport. When we got there we still had a couple hours until our first flight from Cancun to JFK so we just went around some shops and got some last minute items. Mostly treats. The first flight went alright although it was a bit slow and where the plane had 1 TV for every 10 rows you basically had to put up with what's on, on a TV 5 metres away and 10 inches wide or you had nothing.

(Landing at JFK)

The second flight wasn't until around 11pm from JFK back to Heathrow. Some people had a cheeky McDonald's and others, including me had nothing. Once we boarded the flight and took off it was around midnight so all we wanted to do was sleep. The crew had other ideas though. At around 1 am they decided to bring around dinner. A curry of all things. It was nice but not something to eat on a plane at 1am. Arrival was safe and we quickly collected our bags but due to the times of the National Express, we had to wait a couple hours until we could leave the airport. The rest of the journey though was alright. We had a nap on the coach on the way to the ferry and once we got on that ferry, we knew we were home. My parents and my brother were there waiting for me. I had an awesome time but it was so nice to be home!

(Final flight home)

 

Toodles for now.

Our final full day in Mexico! - Trip Day 15

I got up at 7. I just couldn't stay in bed any longer. But everyone else seemed to still be sleeping so I very quietly left the room to get myself breakfast. Watermelon, scrambled egg and they graced me with my favourite of French toast. My morning was filled by a couple hours at the beach before our last dive at 11. We had to wait for a storm to pass but once it had, we ventured out for the very last time. We ended it all with a barracuda and some turtles.

Our final lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich and chips. Some people after lunch volunteered to do some turtle blood testing. This would've included trying to catch the turtles in the first place and they are very strong. I passed on that one. Instead I went for a snorkel around the bay and saw a ton of turtles. Great way to end the trip.

I showered for the final time in Mexico and we finished the evening with an ecology quiz with dinner. This trip has been amazing. I am so glad I experienced this.
Toodles for now.

Lionfish dissection -Trip Day 14

I woke up at 6.30 after sleeping for 10.5 hours! Cornflakes today with a lecture on threats to a coral reef and then 9 am was our Open Water Diver Theory test. You needed 38 out of 50 to pass and I got 46 so I definitely passed! I went and bought some gift items then headed to the beach for the rest of the morning.

Lunch was hot dogs and egg and potato salads. I started to pack a few items which I knew I didn't need any longer on this trip and then made my way back to the dive centre for the last dive to complete the practical side of the divers course. We had to take our mask off fully an put it back on again, lower and only float up and down by natural breathing and then use a compass to navigate our way through the ocean. Once that was done, we did a bit of a fun dive since we had plenty of air left in our tanks and saw a turtle and a lionfish. Then at our 5 metre stop we all held hands and did the Mexican wave to celebrate finishing the course.

After our dinner of shepherds pie and veg we had a lecture and talk on lionfish and Rachael did a lionfish dissection demonstration to see how much it has eaten, whether it's male or female etc. It was kind of gross but cool at the same time.

 

It also happened to be one guys birthday so we got to have ice cream cake for his birthday which he didn't know about. I videoed his reaction whilst Rachael brought the cake out.

 

It was then an early night for me. I'm beginning to become old.

Toodles for now.

Scuba Diving - Trip Day 13

Breakfast today was chocolate cheerios, a lecture on mangroves and seagrass, then theory classes for our dive theory test. Our final hotel pool session which for me started with an incident which was pretty funny and just something I would do. I started to dive into the water without putting the regulator in my mouth which since 2 days ago it being weird to breathe underwater, I am no comfortable to think I can breathe without one! I choked. It was funny but luckily only Steve and Analie knew it happened so I wasn't too embarrassed.

Nachos and salsa with cheese flatbreads for lunch, then onto dive 3 in the open water. This one was at motorcycle reef (I've added a map so you can see where these places I'm talking about are.) and funnily enough, there is an actual motorcycle at the bottom!

We saw a blue parrotfish, another ray, a lobster and a trumpet fish. It was so cool and this time my ears weren't so bad with descending and I managed to get to the bottom easier and faster. Alex is awesome. Every time we see each other (not just when we are diving together but around town) he goes 'Hey Katie, My Buddy!' in his Italian bad man accent.  (That's Alex below)

We did some exercises at the surface then boarded the boat. This driver was different to the one we had before but it was ok because this one was a fast driver and that made it more enjoyable. It was great. We unloaded and disassembled our equipment and marked of our log books.

I had a shower in one of the outer showers today not the one in our room. Mainly because there were 8 of us trying to use the one shower. It was lovely. I had a relaxing time ready up on the Padi information ahead of our test. Dinner was mac 'n' cheese with garlic bread and another lecture on how to survey a coral reef then I went to bed by 8. I was so tired. I never thought I would willingly go to bed that early!

Toodles for now.

Day 2 of the Open water diver course! - Trip Day 12

Day 2 of the dive course started with pancakes, a lecture at the CEA and a theory class and quiz. Then our second trip to the hotel pool to learn some more dive skills which included taking the mask off and on again under the water. It took a little while for our entire group to master. It's harder than you think.

Lunch wasn't until 2pm and consisted of a burger and chips. Once lunch went down we went back to the dive centre for our second open water dive to practise what we just did in the pool but this time out in the open ocean. This time we went to Half Moon Bay and did the skills 16 metres deep. This dive was incredible. After we practised the skills we had time to go around some of the coral reefs and 2 eagle rays glided past us. It was a thing straight out of Finding Nemo! Also a barracuda and some turtle egg shell too.

When we ascended, after a 5m stop to decompress, we did some tired man tows. I pulled Alex along by his tank whilst he laid on his back but I don't think we even went anywhere. He found it funny and turned and pushed me the rest of the way by my feet. So much for him being the 'tired man'. We got back onto the boat and out of our equipment and basically became a speed boat on the way back to shore. It was a lot of fun. Alex and Analie signed our Padi dive books and got them stamped.

Dinner was chicken and rice. Then a lecture and a turtle talk and a turtle walk. We walked along to Playa Tortuga to see some turtles nesting, a couple were beginning to. We had a bucket of baby turtles to release into the ocean but they were sleeping so we couldn't release them otherwise they'll just get eaten. I fell asleep on some random hotels sun lounger as we were told we would be woken if anything happened. Unfortunately nothing really did and the rest of the team had to wake me up so we could go back to our hotel. As we were walking back along the beach some woman said hello to us and then continued to follow us for a while. It was creepy.

 

Toodles for now.

First full day at Akumal! - Trip Day 11

Breakfast consisted of fruit loops with better milk than the weird stuff at camp but still not great and some toast. A lecture at the CEA (Centro Ecologico Akumal) at 8am about reef ecology and then our beginner divers class in a hotel pool next door. At first the whole breathing under water thing was scary since it's not exactly normal, but after a bit you kind of get used to it. We had to learn how to get ourselves to go down and back up without swinging and also to balance in mid water and no go anywhere. More difficult than you may realise.

Lunch was a tuna sandwich and some chips and at 2.30 we had to be back at the dive centre for our first open water dive. You could say I was nervocited. (Nervous and excited if you didn't get that) We went on a boat to a barrier reef system outside of Akumal bay. We barrel rolled off the sides of the boat and took hold of a rope to wait for everyone. It was scary as the waves were hitting me in the face. As we started to descend I started to panic a little so took a couple minutes at the surface to calm down before continuing. My ears have a hard time equalising so the instructor Alex helped me with that and since we had an odd number of students Alex ended up being my buddy. Buddies are for in case of emergency. If your air stops working you can join onto your buddies tank. Once you are down at the bottom of the ocean and have gotten used to breathing via a tank it was actually very tranquil. We saw a ton of fish including Dory! The reef looked amazing.

A shower then some haddock, rice and veg for dinner. And just as last night. We sat on the beach for a while.



Toodles for now.

Trip Day 10

It was an early start as our coach was leaving at 7.30am for Akumal. We had to empty our tent, sweep it and mop it before taking a group picture in front of the sign. We said our goodbyes and left Calakmul for probably the last time. The coach on the way back up north was the same as the one we rode down on. Comfy seats, apparently was used for a baseball team.

 

The journey was long since Akumal wasn't too far from Cancun and it took us 7 hours to get between Cancun and Calakmul last week. We stopped again at that little shop on the way for some snacks. These Doritos are really good by the way.

 

 

 

When we arrived we got a tour of the facilities and our room. A room which was filled with 6 bunk beds and 1 bathroom. Then we had lunch. It was pizza. I loved the food the local village made for us but to have some normal food was incredible!

After lunch we had a couple hours free so we headed to the beach. It was about a 3 minute walk and it was well worth the wait. We hadn't been given our snorkels yet but we still went into the water and found some turtles! It was the best feeling ever. One stuck its head out of the water right in front of me.

For dinner we had spaghetti and garlic bread. Once again it was normal food. Afterwards we went down the road to this little ice cream place and had some rocky road ice cream. Sat on the beach for a little bit before it shut. The beaches shut at a certain time to let the turtles come onto the shore to lay their eggs. We moved to the bar/restaurant that was by the beach for a while. They didn't seem to care about the age limits for drinking. Everyone had a drink anyway. The beer was called Sol. Never heard of that one before, it must be a Mexican thing.

Toodles for now.


Trip Day 9

Officially half way through the trip! Can't believe how quick it's going. 8 more days to go!

We were up at 6am for mammal tracking. Not my favourite one of the week but everyone had to do something twice and we ended up with this one. Still couldn't see and tracks myself though. We had gotten back about 10 so still a solid 3 hours until lunch with nothing to do. Treated myself to some snacks and sat down with my book and puzzles. This day was going so slowly so I half packed up my things. This was the last day in Calakmul. We leave tomorrow morning.

Lunch was a weird mixture of beans, mash and rice with lemon juice. After lunch was jungle skills with John in which we were split up into 3 groups and we had to follow coordinates and the winning group get a prize. We did arrived in first but apparently missed one of the points so we were disqualified.

For the final night there were sign ups to either monkeys or birds if you wanted to got on those and I love monkeys so of course I wanted to go see some in real life! I was so fast to that sheet and my name was top of the list. It was so cool! We saw Howler monkeys and spider monkeys in the wild. Some had babies on their backs and a small juvenile was just messing about in the trees. We also saw a crocodile. Not in the tree, in a swamp.

Dinner was spaghetti again with hibiscus water. And as tonight was our last night in Calakmul we had a bonfire with marshmallows! The movie 'Shutter Island' was put on the projector in the lecture room but as I'd already seen it, I knew what was going to happen so I only watched a little bit. I got some M&Ms from Tim's Tuck Shop and ate them by the fire. I also got Pringles for tomorrows journey back up north.

I was so tired I went to bed about 10, which for this last week at camp, was extremely late!

Toodles for now.

Trip Day 8

I can't believe I have survived a whole week! It was a habitat day today. We walked all the way down to transect 1 to a 20 by 20 metre plot to do some touch poles and measure trees. Once we did that we walked back via the old transect 3 and up the road. You could say I was a little sweaty! I needed a shower by this point since I didn't have one yesterday and as I did I rinsed a couple of my tops at the same time. A sit on the sofas in the museum with my book before lunch, which was delicious. Spicy minced meat and carrots with rice and hibiscus water.

I had a free afternoon and at first I laid in a hammock which Mira lent to me then I ventured to the science room because it was quiet, played some cards, did some puzzles and chatted with Jamie the habitat guy and Josh - part of the monkey team. Dinner arrived but we didn't notice. Deep in conversation. We noticed when a large queue began to form out of the kitchen. Vegetable soup and pineapple juice AND finally they brought back some bananas. We had some on the first day which were lush but hadn't seen them since.

Today was Katie and Etienne's birthdays and they had an angry bird piñata full of sweets. Which was a nice 'dessert' since we haven't really had any treats since being here.

We had a late night bat session as well and luckily we managed to get 3 and one of them were pregnant! Considering the last bat night got cancelled. I got a surprise when Veronica released the bat and it flew straight into me! At KM27 (where we were for these bats) the radio signal isn't very good and we couldn't get through to base camp since we finished our research early. The truck was coming to get us at midnight anyway but as we were early we ended up laying in the road for 45 minutes. (As I think back on that now, all the creepy crawlies that could've been on us and we didn't have a clue. Imagine the tarantulas!!) The sky was incredible though. There was a gap in the trees above us and with everything being pitch black the stars lit up so bright. There was a perfect view of the Milky Way! Best thing I've ever seen!

 

 

Toodles for now.

Mayan Ruins! - Trip Day 7

A jungle lie in today as our museum tour wasn't until 9.30 but I woke up at 5am just like every other day of the trip. I didn't mind though, it keeps me closer to UK time. Vanessa gave us a tour of the museum talking mostly about the Mayans and their temples. At 11am we set off in mini buses to the Mayan ruins of Calakmul. It was the most interesting thing I have ever seen in person. We climbed all the way to the top of structure 1 which was very steep and then to the top of structure 2 which was even steeper. By this time I was covered in sweat and smelt like a skunk but still we went up another structure which to me felt even taller than the last ones. At the top there was a swarm of dragonflies. It was beautiful but of course couldn't get them to stay still to catch a good photo. (see below)

 

 

We saw the Mayan king's house but weren't allowed in because they were excavating something. We had our lunch in the carpark. It was mole (anyone know how to put an accent onto a letter?) chilli and chocolate with chicken and rice and more hibiscus water. We left the ruins at about 4.10 pm (very specific) and took about an hour to get home and by the time we did the showers had a queue. 25
people trying to get in 2 showers. I waited until after our second lot of herpetofauna surveys so I wouldn't go to bed smelling.

We were sitting in the lecture room when the science team came in to watch a movie and since the only plugs were in this room I gathered they needed some power for the laptop. Dinner was shell shaped pasta with veggie chunks and pineapple juice. John asked me how the food was. Which was very nice, then translated it to the cook lady from the village who smiled back at me and said thank you. Some of us chatted for a bit and some played cards to pass the time before the herps.

We left around 8pm in the back of the truck to KM27. Unfortunately we didn't get any snakes but we did get some frogs. A couple really big ones and a couple really, really small. We got to the end of the transect and headed back to the truck to go jungle cruising to find random animals. We got to about KM35 and turned around to come back to camp. We had a few emergency stops because Ettiene was seeing snakes in the road. He jumped out only to find it to be a trick. It was funny. The only thing we definitely saw was a tarantula. It was a biter but Ettiene decided to pick it up anyway. We really weren't that keen but he obviously was! We got back to camp around 11pm, the latest I'd been up since we arrived at camp.  I couldn't be bothered to shower at that time of night so I wet wiped it!

Toodles for now.

Lazy Day - Trip Day 6

I woke up to a high pitched noise but the rain from last night had finally stopped. It's the 1st of August and our first activity was herpetofauna surveys on transects 1 and 2 using pitfall traps. We didn't have any herps but there were a few spiders in one of the pitfall traps. Eww.

 

 

It was probably the hottest day of the week so far since I was sweating buckets and smelling of crap after only an hour. We had some time before the next lecture so I went and got some Pringles. The lecture we had lasted just over an hour in the steamy hot lecture room/dining room and I honestly kept falling asleep. I don't even remember what this lecture was about. Oops. We had another break before lunch so I sat in the museum on the sofa for a while because even though it is still hot in there, it is slightly cooler than anywhere else.

Lunch today was lentil soup and hibiscus water. I had a completely free afternoon so I just hung out in a hammock in the science room and read my book whilst waiting for dinner. Egg fried rice with carrot bits mixed in with what Hannah called 'still lemonade'. Purely just lemon juice.

 

We were supposed to be going to do a bat project but it had been raining and bats can die from the cold so that was postponed. I went for a shower in the dark with spiders and a huge butterfly instead. Bit of a lazy day for me this one but should pick up tomorrow.

 

Toodles for now.

Trip Day 5

Up at 5 for another session of birds. This one was at a place they called KM27 so we had to take a truck ride. Mexico: the place where health and safety seemed to be out the window and I find myself sitting in the back of a pickup truck.

This session of birds was more successful than the last. We had 2 hummingbirds, a pygmy kingfisher and a yellow breasted tanager. There was a 5th bird in the mist net but managed to untangle itself just before we got to it. All I got was that it was red. I released the tanager back into the sky unharmed of course. For part of the Operation Wallacea research we needed to take measurements of the birds wings, beak and body.

 

 

On the way back from the bird surveys the truck had metal railings around the bed so we were able to stand up. Although you do have to watch out for any branches hanging low!

 

 

Lunch today was rice, beans and plantain and our second lecture. This time about reptiles and amphibians. I found out that slow worms have legs! Small ones but still legs. I never knew that.

 

4 o'clock was a trip down the road to transect 4 to measure some trees and to do a touch pole experiment. A touch pole experiment means you put a pole vertically every 2 metres in a 20 mete square plot and see how many points of a plant touches it. Trying to walk through a very dense forest with a pole and  cobwebs everywhere was a mission alone. After that we went on a 1km walk to try to find peccaries again. We were unsuccessful but did find a tarantula nest. I know the best thing to find ever! Luckily no tarantulas came out of it no matter how much Natalia tried to make them.

 

Dinner arrived later than expected tonight but when it did arrive, the swarm of people that ran towards the kitchen was crazy! It was like no one had eaten all week. Pasta and veg with iced tea.

 

 

We had an evening lecture on neotropical mammals with Kathy - the expert on spider monkeys. She was making a joke about how they hug each other just to get favours. A nice torrential downpour, which they haven't had in weeks so they were loving it and off to bed.

 

Toodles for now.



First proper day of the expedition - Trip Day 4

7 am start with cornflakes and powdered milk and mammal transect lines, looking for tracks. Our team leader for this activity was Natalia from Ecuador. She was a genius because she was finding tracks everywhere when I couldn't find a thing. She pointed to indents in the leaves where an animal had trod and the faint footprint underneath, another indent where a red rocket deer had been laying and on our way back we saw a group of about 6 or 7 peccaries. One even came towards us until Natalia shooed it off.

At 11.30 we learnt some jungle skills with John the Australian. It lasted 2 hours with a detailed discussion on how to survive if your plane crashed in the middle of a jungle and some knot tying.

Lunch today was chicken soup with rice and mango juice. Definitely much better than I was expecting. Since it's a conservation trip. we were here to learn as well as help in the projects. We had a lecture about the Calakmul area that we were in. At 3.30 I was in the bird group with Tiffany the Canadian and Enrique the Mexican who knows what any bird is just from hearing its call. Unfortunately we had no birds in the mist net this afternoon. They were probably put off by the thunder going on around us.  We'll have to come back.

I had a shower in daylight today which was much easier than the dark. The shower was in a little cubicle. And dinner was those beans and mashed potato with hibiscus water. I am starting to sense a theme with those beans and also I now know I like to drink flower juice!

Toodles for now.

Journey to Calakmul - Trip Day 3

Day 3 of the trip began at 5am to have breakfast and be packed and ready for the coach at 5.45. The hotel made us packed lunches with ham, cheese, lettuce and mayo sandwiches (which tasted pretty disgusting actually), a banana, a water bottle and a mango juice carton. Our journey on the coach was approximately 7 hours with a stop at the dive centre to pick up a guy named ross then a stop at a random shop in the middle of nowhere to grab a snack and to drop ross onto another coach which had people going the other way. They had just had their first week in Calakmul and were moving onto the second half of the trip. They were all saying how amazing it was.

 

KM20 was the name of the camp we were on our way to. We put our bags in one little room and had a tour of the facilities, got our tent allocations and our first lunch at the camp. All the food is prepared by a local village. It was beans but not the Heinz baked kind, some brown version that had a weird texture and weren't as tasty. It came with chicken and pure melon juice. Much better than I was expecting for a camp in the middle of nowhere.

We had a relaxing afternoon with my first trip to the loo. It had one section for your pee and another which basically was just a hole for number 2's. It'll take time to get used to but the paper goes in a bucket in front of you not down the hole. (It took just as long after I got home to get used to not putting the paper in the bucket because my bathroom at home has the bin in the same place as the bucket was in Mexico! Some awkward moments happened there!). The 'door' to the loos was a tarp. The team leader, whilst on our tour, demonstrated how to enter like Indiana Jones with the disinfectant to keep the stench down.

Dinner from the village was more brown beans and spicy scrambled egg with lemon juice (I'm sure you are loving the dinner chat right after a loo chat aren't you?) And that was followed by a shower in the dark. Not the most pleasant or easy thing to do.

Toodles for now.

Cancun, Mexico - Trip Day 2

If you haven't seen my last post I found my diary from back in 2013 when I did a conservation trip to Mexico and I decided to relive it and share it with you at the same time. I'm also trying to find all the photos too, currently not on my present laptop.

Day 2: Cancun, Mexico.
After a really hot night I managed to find the air con switch and after that it was lovely and cool. We were told the night before that we were to be outside by 9am and since I was still on UK time I was out way before that. I made the most of it and sat out in the sun. It was already getting hot. Although we were told to be out by 9, the guy who said that was no where to be seen until way after that himself.

Breakfast was watermelon, grapefruit, bread and jam and muffins! Still so weird to me that people eat those for breakfast. It was so good. We got ready and headed to the beach which didn't take long as it was only a 2 minute walk away. White sandy beaches with perfectly clear blue sea. Paradise. Of course I went for a swim. A short one as it was very choppy, but swimming none the less. We decided to go back to the hotel (before we were a burnt crisp) via Exxo - the Tesco of Mexico, they're everywhere! - for a refreshing bottle of freezing cold water. It was heaven in a bottle. We spent the afternoon on sun lounger at our hotel under a gazebo because being burnt whilst carrying a heavy rucksack just didn't seem at all fun. One person didn't think the same though. I thought I saw a lobster in the middle of our hotel.

Dinner was a restaurant ten minutes down the street to a local Mexican place. I had chicken enchiladas and a number 9 juice of strawberries, pineapple and orange. Seriously there was about 30 different flavours and it was huge! The food was delicious.

And after our very busy day (don't worry the sarcasm follows me everywhere! There's plenty more where that comes from) we went back to our hotel for bed. Tomorrow is down to business. The expedition begins.

Toodles for now.

Rewind to 2013 - Trip Day 1

I have a special treat for you guys for the next couple weeks. I have found my diary from when I went on a conservation trip to Mexico July/August 2013. I thought as I go down memory lane whilst reading it I shall let you read what my 17 year old self got up to whilst being 5000 miles from home. So here goes:

Day 1:
We left home at 3am after a couple of pictures of me in my clothes and rucksack on my back. The ferry at 4 arrived and I said goodbye to my family. The journey across the Solent went rather slowly but as soon as we landed in Portsmouth, we walked around and waited for the bus. 5.20 am the National Express coach arrived. Rucksacks went in the hold and I found a seat by the window. Southampton seemed huge. Felt like we were driving through it for ages but at least the seats were comfy. At Southampton University a guy got on and sat next to me. He was on the way to Heathrow Terminal 1. (I was being nosy) We got off at Heathrow terminal 3 after leaving half the group at terminal 5 since they were getting a different flight. The machine to get boarding passes wasn't working so we had to queue for check-in. A lady asked what electronics were in my hand luggage and for some reason stuck a sticker on the back of my passport. (Still to this day, 7th October 2017, I have no idea what that was for). The check-in guy gave us our boarding passes and name tags to put onto the rucksacks and sent them away on the escalator. Mine weighed 10.4kgs.

We made our way through the airport via WHSmith's for snacks. I had a prawn sandwich, a twirl, wine gums and a Ribena. We then went to our gate, ready to board the plane. I collected some free reading material and we took of on our flight around 11am. The plane ride was really good and for the 7 hour flight, the entertainment was great. I took interest in 'The Amazing Spiderman', 'Admission' and I did start 'The Impossible' but remembered I had seen it before and knew I cried. I did not want to be a sobbing mess on a plane. I put on some music and the first song that came on was 'Home' by Philip Philips which didn't help when I was travelling 5000 miles away for the next 17 days.

We landed in JFK airport with plenty of time for our next flight to Cancun. At the security gate, a 100% American was giving me a lecture on how to enter someone's office politely whilst he took my photograph and fingerprints. Didn't have to collect and check our bags again since we were on a connecting flight the bags automatically made their way to my next plane. We had to pass through some more security where I had to stand in a cylindrical machine with my arm up, feet apart.

Once on our flight, my seat happened to be in between two of our chaperones who also happened to be married to each other so I switched with one and got myself a window seat. No personal entertainment on this flight but a TV situated every 10 rows or so had some Matt Damon film playing.

It was dark by the time we landed in Cancun. Since being in London we were used to the air conditioning systems the airports had so the moment the automatic doors opened to Cancun, we were hit with 100% humidity. We arrived at our hotel for the next 2 nights around 11pm. It had been a long day but it will be worth it.

Manuel a member of Operation Wallacea met us at our hotel to get us sorted. We were give room keys and bracelets so we get breakfast!

Operation Wallacea - Named after the Wallacea region in Indonesia where a guy named Wallace discovered evolution around the same time as Darwin. Wallacea was where the first expedition began.



----------------
That is day 1 of my Mexican expedition. I promise not every day is as long as this one but stick around for more about the trip.

Toodles for now.

Post Birthday Weekend

I had an amazing time up in London for my birthday. Shout out to my aunt for letting me crash at her house! Thank you! I was surprised with a cake and a candle when I arrived and also a candle in my dessert and happy birthday singing at the restaurant they took me too. It was fabulous.

If you didn't read my last post and have no idea why I went to London, it was for the NFL London Games. I went and saw the Saints vs the Dolphins play at Wembley Stadium and since I am a Seahawks fan usually, I chose to support the Saints. Mainly because their jersey colours are better than the dolphins clashy colours and luckily Saints won so it wasn't at all awkward next to the Dolphins fans which were pretty much the majority of the stadium.

For one weekend out of the four games there was a NFL tailgate thingy at Regent Street in London and as it happened it was on the weekend I was going up. I met Sam Madison. He played for the Dolphins for 9 seasons and also won the Superbowl with the Giants. Those rings look good up close! Twan Russell and Troy Drayton were also there doing some entertainment and explaining the rules to those who weren't sure.

 



 

The game itself wasn't a big scoring game at 20-0 but with the amount of penalties going around it kept it interesting.

This game was the first time I wasn't right in the far back of the seats. I bought myself a ticket for the middle section of seats and for one, the food options were better and more of them, I had a padded seat and a cup holder! Exciting stuff I know. I got chatting to one woman. Her husband happened to be one of the officials for the game. I asked where she was from and when she replied with Birmingham, Alabama in her American accent I said back, ROLL TIDE. She looked at me and said 'No, I support the other Alabama team.' Oops on my part but in my defence I had forgotten about Auburn. She told me she had been to the Superbowl a couples years ago where the Seahawks lost to the Patriots and I'm glad we were both in agreement that Lynch should've run the ball.

 

I had an awesome time. There is always the best atmosphere at an NFL game and I cannot wait for the next one! It's sooner than you think. ;)

 

Toodles for now.

Birthday Weekend!

Tomorrow is my 22nd birthday. I don't feel particularly excited about it but I did treat myself to a weekend away. I am off to London for the weekend to stay with my aunt and to go to the second NFL game to play at London's Wembley Stadium this year.

I am a big lover of the NFL with my team being the Seattle Seahawks. Which FYI I am seeing them on my big trip around North America in November but you'll hear more about that at a later date. The game this weekend is between the New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins. Someone I work with supports the Dolphins so on purpose I got a Saints Jersey to wear but I honestly don't mind who wins since it's not the Seahawks, I am just hoping for a good game. Anyone else an NFL supporter? I'd love to hear from you.

Luckily for me London is only a couple hours away on the train so it won't be a long journey, I'll probably just listen to music or read a book to pass the time. Maybe I'll have a nap!

Just a quick one but I hope you have a good weekend yourself.

Toodles.

Essentials for an adventure holiday!

Today I felt like it was needed to create this list. Everything on it is purely things that I believe to be essential for my own adventure holiday though I'm sure most of it is stuff that we can all relate to.

Firstly, a comfortable yet sturdy rucksack. I think it's easier to carry things on your back than to watch out for whose child you're going to run over next with your way too big wheelie suitcase you just had to bring because it has a cool pattern on it.

Comfortable shoes, ones that have room to breathe yet are supportive and won't provide you with a blister the size of china that you will be moaning about the entire time because of your not so good shoes are rubbing on it.

A camera, depending on what you plan on doing during your trip depends on what to take. Regular compact camera is my go to but for my next trip, I have splashed out on a GoPro Hero Black5 (not sponsored but GoPro feel free to) because it has an amazing look to it and I think I personally will benefit a lot!

First aid kit! Knowing me - a bit clumsy - safety comes first. Always take a first aid kit no matter how big or small. Mine is measured on my clumsiness level but as long as you have the basic plasters, bandages, antiseptic etc you'll be fine to patch yourself up.

A phone- my friend pointed out to me he would take his phone on holiday and my first thought was I'm on holiday why do I need my phone but to me honest if on an adventure holiday and you are as clumsy as I have said I am, then you may need to call someone for help. Google maps have a great directions feature (also not sponsored but willing to be) so if you become lost you can find your way again. Phones are also handy to use as a camera if you're lazy and can't be arsed to take an actual camera.

For the germophobes out there a nice pocket size bottle of antibacterial sanitizer might be good too.

And to finish my not too long yet covers the bare necessities list for an adventure holiday, protection! Don't forget a hat and sun cream if your trip contains the sun and heat etc always wear protection!

I hope this helps just a little bit and you make it safely through your next trip.

Toodles for now.

Top 10 USA places I want to visit

             I created a World Travel Bucket List with the top 11 destinations I want to travel to in my life time. I did choose Hawai'i as my top one but even though it is my favoured destination, it isn't the only place in the United States of America that I want to go to. So without further ado, I am sharing with you my top 10 destinations in the USA alone that I want to visit.

So here goes, my USA Travel Bucket List:

·         Hawaii - Number 1 on my list of course. Hawai'i is by far the place I want to go most in the USA. Beaches, beaches, a little mountain hike and more beaches. Sounds perfect! I keep seeing the image of black sand beaches in Hawai'i which I would love to see but also a little someone known as Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett might have something to do with my love of Hawai'i too.  ;)

·         Route 66 - It is not in just one state, it's in quite a few actually, but it is something in the states I do like the sound of. Maybe not the entire route since it may take some time getting through so just like the Great Wall of China, a small section of it will do fine.

·         Chicago - To most people what I want to see just looks like a chrome baked bean but the iconic Cloud Gate is a must when in Chicago. Maybe a hot dog too, I heard they don't like you putting ketchup on it. Hmm strange.

·         New York City - NYC is one of the places in the world most people have to visit. So far my experience is seeing the Manhattan skyline from inside the JFK airport while waiting for a connecting flight but that isn't close enough. Christmas time is the time I want to go. Visit the Rockefeller Centre with the giant xmas tree and go ice skating in Central Park. Time square with a meal at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It sounds like a Hallmark Christmas movie to me.

·         Seattle - I am one of the few but growing number of NFL fans in England. I support the Seattle Seahawks and of course I would love to go to an actual Seahawks game at their home field, CenturyLink. But other than the NFL and Seattle I do love a bit of Grey's Anatomy and if you watch it too you'll know that it is set in Seattle. In nearly every episode you see the Space Needle and now of course I just have to go there.

·         Washington D.C. - D.C is probably one of the most iconic places in America with the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. For me Washington D.C. is a must see.

·         North Dakota - I kind of have a little interest in the US Presidents and so Mount Rushmore has always been one of those things I need to see. I'll get there one day.

·         Orlando - I have been to Orlando twice before in my life and I am probably going to go again next year but I can never get enough. There are so many things to do and see that you have to go more than once, or twice, or 3 times in my case.

·         Wilmington, NC - It's not the biggest, most popular destination to go to but back in my teenage years I was obsessed with a little show called One Tree Hill. You may have heard of it. It was a big part of my life, going through the awkward stage and as a true diehard fan I just need to visit the place where it was created. The place where Leyton's love story grew. Yes Leyton fan here, Brucas people go away. No jokes, don't go! The reason I started watching Chicago PD was because of B. Davis.

·         Niagara Falls - Some may disagree with me and say that Niagara Falls is in Canada but please it is on the border so I am going to class it as half USA so worthy of my list!

My USA list has got mostly the usual places when it comes to what tourists want to see but also a couple different. I hope you like my list. Someday I will get to some, maybe even all of these places. Stick around on this blog page you are currently on and maybe one day, sooner than you may think, I will be visiting some of these incredible places!

Toodles for now.

I am back!

I have just returned from a 2 week trip to Orlando, Florida for the second time in the last 8 months. There was a time where we never went on any holidays growing up but now with my own job and money, I am able to expand my horizons just a little bit and do what I love to do most. Travel.

Like I said. I have just got back from Florida and I am here now to tell you about how I got there. I hope you are ready. It's riveting.

The first day of my trip was obviously a travel day so nothing too exciting. Coming from the Isle of Wight, England it is a little bit of a trek all with the ferry at 1am, an hour and a half in a taxi to Gatwick Airport, a long wait in departures (although that did include a full English breakfast at the residing Wetherspoon), a nearly 9 hour flight to Orlando and then finally picking up our rental car and heading to our hotel. It was long but totally worth it.

Our car was a Toyota Yaris IA. Now I don't know too much about cars but back home when you say Yaris we all picture a car an older person would have. A granny car as I call it. Not knowing that there are more than just the one type if Yaris. It was actually a nice car (See image below).

                                                    

We were all exhausted by the long day so our only thought was..... BUFFET! The best place for buffet in my opinion is Golden Corral (not sponsored). It is literally 15 dollars for all you can eat salad, steak, shrimp, chicken, pizza etc and not forgetting the desserts! They've got everything. I came out of there full, tired and ready for bed. 

Oh and a hotel room for myself was nice. First time ever I didn't have to share any of it! 2 beds worth of pillows were piled up on the one bed. It was so comfortable! Still woke up the next morning way too early though. Stupid time zones!