Belize - Guatemala

Erm so I completely forgot to update the blog but I'd just wanted to briefly recap the last few weeks:

We went to some island with mega Carribean vibes called Caye Caulker where we swam with sharks, snorkelled and saw beautiful tropical fish and then ended up having a booze filled boat party. I have to say this was the best day we had in Belize!

The island wasn't to my taste it was too relaxed and didn't have that much to do except chill, sunbathe and drink rum.  We did end up going to a Reggae bar which is cray. I met some Rasta man who bought me drinks all night and we partied until the morning when a torrential downpour decide to walk us home. He kept trying to get me to dagger and I told him to stay an arm's length away from me; it  was pretty jokes.

After we went to a few markets in a mountain and then  set off to San Ignacio. Half of us went to the ATM caves but I opted to go to  the Caracol Ruins as I didn't want to be stuck in a dark, wet cave for a few hours. It was such a good day our guide was incredibally knowledgable about the plants, insects and the history of the Mayan kingdom. I loved it especially as we went to the waterfalls after for a little swim.

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Tulum

Tulum was beautiful; pearly white beaches and clear turquoise seas. It was a real life paradise and I wish I had stayed longer. On our first day we went to the Tulum Ruins. They were pretty cool but not much to be seen mainly the raised residentially platforms. There was also a beach in the place which was so beautiful and tropical we decided to sunbathe and swim around for a bit.

We walked to Papaya Playa which was another stunning beach. It didn't feel real imagine walking out into the most perfect setting stunning blue sea and skies and glistening sand, then scatter some palm trees and adorable beach shacks and suddenly butterflies are flying around and a pelican swoops down and scoops a fish to eat. 

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Exploring Mexico City

What a long day I managed to cram so much shit in.

I started off actually waking up in time for breakfast despite only having 5 hours of sleep. It really wasn't worth the early morning as I only got 2 slices of broken toast, horrid grape juice  and a banana. Still, it was better than nothing.

I set off to go to the Museo Nacional de culturas populares as my first stop as google told me it was free. I attempted to find my bus but for some reason none of them have numbers on them. So I decided to get on the one at the roughly correct bus stop that everyone else seemed to be getting on. Turned out it was the right one huzzah :)

It was a beautiful colourful building inside were a few exhibitions for a Mexican illustrator and a photography exhibition. I also walked into another gallery that I had to pay for I struggled to understand the guy trying to explain where to buy a ticket so he gave up and let me in for free *sigh* seems to be happening to me everywhere.

In this place there were many stalls selling traditional Mexican clothes, ointments, jewellery and food.

After a wander I went to the Frida Kahlo museum which was the main thing I was looking forward to. I loved her beautiful bright eclectic lifestyle. After watching Frida I became intrigued in her way of thinking she was brave strong and concealed her pain throughout her life through fashion and her lust of life. I feel like she's a bit of an idol for modern day women. Her belongings were all equally unique, handcrafted and so quaint and personal. 

After this I found that Leon Trotksys apartment was down the road so I had a little visit. It was a bit empty and abandoned and you could tell there was less TLC for it than Frida and Diego's house. Still, it was interesting to read about his life before he was assassinated.

I googled the area after and Cinetec Nacionale was a 15 minute walk and id read that they played a lot of indie films and had a gallery and shops etc. It was a bit like a cultural building like the barbican (but less cool). I got there and the architecture was beautiful. It was very modern and really stood out in the street of traditional houses. I really liked it there and wanted to stay so I went to the box office and asked if any of the movies on were in English and the guy told me only 1 and it's just started and was 2 hours long. It was called a Blue Ruin and apparently was about a guy who goes crazy and goes around shooting people.

So...I bought a ticket for a mere 25 pesos (I wacked out my alumni student card oops) and went and watched this random indie film I knew nothing about. Turns out it was crazy but I loved it. It made me laugh, squawk and my skin crawl! 

I came out walked around more streets found Walmart got tired then went home.

I had a roomie!!! My first hostel roomie sort of and he was super lovely and wished we had more time to hang out and explore Mexico but I was going Cancun to playa del Carmen the next day to start this intrepid explorer style travel tour. Then more roomies turned up! All of my roomies were Mexican and it was great I got along really well with the girl as she spoke English a little bit better than my Spanish and we were talking, laughing and helping each-other. I've kept in touch with them as she welcomed me to Zapatas.

Zzz goodnight! 

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Mexico City

This morning I woke up super late because I was jet lagged. I was pretty gutted as it was 2Pm by the time I had left. I planned to go see the Freda Kahlo museum and where she also lived which I was super excited about. Id recently watched the film Freda and instantly fell in love with her strength, beauty and bravery.

I decided to walk around the Palacio de Bellas Artes as it was down the road but I  couldn't find the entrance or how to get in so I explored a little bit. I enjoyed an awesome live jazz/rock street band, tipped them and looked through a book market down the next street.

I got on the metro to find my way to the museum and got off and had been waiting at the bus stop for a 200 to Oceania Norte for a while and decided to ask a street merchant and he told me that it was a km down the road. I walked and got lost then gave up and decided to get on a bus going to Metro Chapultepec.

Here I found a huge park which was surprisingly beautiful. There were a lot of couples canoodling in there which was eeckkk but there was lots of other cool stuff to see. I found some ruins which looked like baths I think they were from the 1700s. There was a huge castle, Chapultepec Castle, which I could barely see because of the trees and plantation so I never bothered to look. I walked for about 2 hours around the castle and found a really pretty pond and lots of street stalls. There was also an arts and culture building but nothing was currently on. 

I walked some more and found a bigger pond and then the Museo de Arte Moderno and decided to go in and take a look. They ended up letting me in for free because there was only 1 hour till closing time which was great. I walked into the other building and found a photography exhibition. It was exhibiting  the life of Lee Miller who was a celebrated model and photographer for Vogue in the 1930-50s. She had such an interesting and eventful life I was captivated through the imagery and biography snippets written about the different points in her life. She led a great desire to help people which fed into her photography and had provided coverage of WW2 for Vogue which produced some graphic and really thought provoking shots. . She was also friends of famous artists such has Henry Matisse and Pablo Picasso. I actually really enjoyed this exhibition. When I had finished the gallery was closing so I headed back to the Metro to go home.

I decided to have another little explore before I went back and found myself down a street of shops selling electrical  parts and then I found myself in a mini Chinatown which was all run by Mexicans. Lo siento, no Chinos were present. After that I found the gadgets street with all the phones, the fakes and the laptops etc. It reminded me so so so much of China. I wanted to buy a cheap pair of headphones but was too shy and scared to ask how much as I'm not too confident with the little Spanish that I know. I think I will try to push myself tomorrow to ask how much and perhaps try to haggle a bit before I head out to try and find the Frida Kahlo museum again.

So it's now 8.30pm and I'm hoping the day has worn me out so I can sleep at a normal time and wake up early tomorrow

So for now, Adios amigos! 

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I'm In Mexico!

Well I got here at 5am and it's now 9.55pm and I have done precisely nothing! Why? you ask. Well I got here early morning which totally effed up my

sleep and so I when I got to the hostel I slept. Now I'm jet lagged USA style :(

To be honest, I've enjoyed my own company and being alone today. I've not had a proper days rest indoors for weeks as there's been so many activities and I've been surrounded by awesome people I wanted to hang out with.

My hostel is lovely and I'm the only person in my room. It's a bit too fancy tbh but it was a total bargain.. £24 for 3 nights! 

What I did get done was booking a flight and transfer to Playa Del Carmen. I decided against the 24hour bus due to being able to spend an extra day in Mexico City. I am joining a travel/explore group for 17 days through Central America which I'm super excited about. I chose the cheapest package which gives you a lot of options of add on (paid) activities or free (alone) time. I thought this would be safer for me as a single female lone traveller for 2 weeks to get me use to the country with a group and not have to deal with the stress of organising transport/accomodation! I'm super excited but also a bit nervous as I haven't bought my return ticket yet as I don't know where I will be or end up. It will prove a bit costly to do it last minute but oh wells!

Adios for now as I am planning an itinery for the next 2 days here super excited :)

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Aloha Kauai - My Last Day in Hawaii

Today was my last full day and we decided to go see the lighthouse. We also went to the Opaekaa Falls view point and someone was advertising a food truck near the Original Hawaiian Village bit and so we drove there for food and the were loads of peacocks just chilling. This is the point id like to mention about the Chicken infestation on the island. There are an insane amount wherever you go. On the motorway, inside the jungle, randomly in your hostel kitchen the chickens were everywhere it was crazy! After the snack break we went back to the hostel and picked up a beautiful pregnant Indian lady called Sonia. She was also travelling and staying at the hostel with her insanely cute 2 year old daughter Anya. She had travelled a lot in her past, and it seemed that being pregnant with a child wasn't stopping her either which was super cool. She had a lot of knowledge to share with us and was very charismatic and sweet. So all 6 of us set off to Nini beach. It was super pretty, empty and chilled. Me, Anne and JC went snorkelling and I saw so many exotic fish I didn't even know there were so many so near the shore. It was a fun and  relaxing day we all needed after a jam packed week. I will travel tomorrow to Mexico even though I have no accommodation or set plans. I'm a bit nervous and will try to book something tonight or tomorrow morning. 

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Dragons Breath

I've just finished eating dinner. I cooked for another German girl called Anne at the hostel as I have been eating the same meal for 3 days and wanted to finish the spaghetti and eat my msg noodles tomorrow. Today was tiring I sneaked in an afternoon nap whilst everyone had their helicopter rides around the island. I was too stingy to fork out the 200 bucks. I was also pretty exhausted from kayaking yesterday but still wanted to do stuff so when they came back I dragged myself out of bed and we drove to a few look outs points of some waterfalls, streams and mountains and then Poipu beach. We saw monk seals sleeping in the sand there it was so cute! We also accidentally found the sprouting hole which apparently is called the Dragons breath from an old tale of a dragon that chased a man into the hole and got stuck. Every time it sprouts water it means the dragon is breathing. We wanted to go to a botanical garden but it was $30 which was way out of our budget so we sun bathed for a bit then a dark cloud started brewing and we decided to go back to the hostel. Just as we got into the car it started raining. Andrea commented on the drive back that we did every thing in perfect timing this week and I truly felt the same too. Everyone in Honu'eu International Hostel had become a little family picking up more arrivals as they come and losing people by day to their other travels. It was really nice to have such a group whilst being alone so far away from home. What we also noticed was that everyone seemed to be between 30-40, mainly female and travelling alone. Anne said it was because the island isn't a party one which I believe is the great thing about it. You get to experience culture the nature and all the activities in peace :)

I know I will be sad to leave

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Kayaking Down Wailua River

I've just come back from drinks with people from the hostel at Tree Lounge. Today was so much fun and probably the best day so far! So in the end 7 of us went Kayaking we hadn't properly all hung out yet so we just invited whoever was at the hostel. We kayaked some of the Wailua River for about an hour or so to where we found other Kayaks parked and stopped off and asked people where the trail lead to. We followed the trail for another hour which was super duper muddy and had cross a few rivers one of them the water was so rapid I nearly got washed away but there was rope to hang on to which was scary but fun to get over! There was also a bit through really long 7ft grass which felt like we were in Jurassic park on our little path hacking away at the leaves!  At the end of the hike we were rewarded with another beautiful waterfall and rock baths called the Uluwehi falls where we swam around an swam under the heavy 20ft falls! We had so much fun it was such a good day. Kayaking back was super difficult though as we were against the currents and we didn't manage to go see the Wailua falls. I don't think I would have made it my arms would have dropped off!

We then went back to the hostel after and the Powow festival was still going on across the street from us so we had a look and the others bought some stuff and we watched a few random dance things and decided to drive to Lihue to find the Hula competition.

We got to the place but unfortunately we were about 4 hours too late haha and so we asked the receptionist for some pointers on where to go and he gave us a list.

On our drive to the first on the list, Tree Lounge, we bumped into the rest of the hostel gang on their way to the same place as another local they had met had also suggested this spot so we all went in for drinks. There was awesome live music, good vibes and a great end to such a fun day!

Mahalo Kauai I've had the best time here so far everyone has been so kind and generous I feel so happy :) 

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Waimea Canyon

I'm so tired right now we woke up later than the day before and I went to check my food to make lunch but my shopping was missing from the fridge! I thought maybe they chucked it away even though I put my name and check out date on - I was so pissed off I hadn't even eaten any of it yet! 

So we set off after I had to rebuy my lunch and managed to walk the Cliff Trail which was apparently 150m what a lie! It was at least half a mile but the view of the Waimea Canyon was incredible. We didn't continue on or do the Pu-u trail because it was so muddy and we saw some people return completely covered who said it was super slippery and a vertical climb up boulders and rocks. The weather was started to get super foggy so we decided to halt as we thought we wouldn't even see anything after the hike so it wouldn't be worth the hassle. The couple also told us views we saw already were just as good but the hike gives you the same view but from another angle so we were pleased with what we had seen anyways.

After our hike and picnic we went to Walmart for more food and then to the Coconut Marketplace for a live performance by Larry Rivera. He was this 85year old singer song writer ukelele player and was sooooooo funny! The little entertainer he was played many songs for us got a dance competition going and had little anecdotes to eat song and even said he was a friend of Elvis! It was a lovely performance by such a chirpy fun guy I wish I had filmed it - very entertaining.

So we go back to the hostel after super tired Andrea (one of the other solo travellers I met in the hostel I've been travelling around with) booked a helicopter flight which I am so jealous about but it was just too expensive for me. I made dinner then we decided to hire the hostel's Kayaks for a trip tomorrow around the rivers and maybe to Wailua Falls to try to find the secret falls also.

To begin with there was 3 of us going then suddenly 4,5 and then Agnes (the other solo traveller I met in the hostel) comes down and says we have a 6 person. I went upstairs to get my money and the girl had only just arrived. It made me laugh because the exact thing happened to me. I arrive to the hostel go into room then we talk the suddenly I am going on adventure the next morning. So that was nice all of us solo travellers coming together :)

I went to go bed started talking to the new arrival a lot then suddenly the owner opens the door and tells me the police are coming for me? I freak out inside my tummy hurts I have no idea what I've done and I ask her what happened? And she asks me "you're Rebekah right? I heard your food went missing well the police are here to take a statement" I was like "no no that's okay I think someone accidentally threw it away that's all" thinking she was going overboard but she told me she watched the CCTV footage and a homeless guy had come during the night and stole only my food. WHAT THE FUCK to thought I was annoyed but I couldn't stop laughing. This would only happen to me! 

So tomorrow we go kayaking for my first proper time and I'm super excited! First time surfing, first time hiking and first time kayaking! This adventure to Hawaii has been amazing so far!

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Kalalau Trail - Hanakapiai Beach and Waterfall

Today we woke up at 6.15am and drove an hour to the Kalalau trail to start our hike to Hanakapiai beach and falls. It was my first ever hike and was 8 miles long in total and I found it doable. There was a lot of mud as it kept raining so it was super slippery which was annoying and made it so much harder than it could be but I didn't get tired until right at the end as we had to climb up steep rocks to get back. We had to cross many cute streams and tiny waterfalls. The first stop was the  beach was so beautiful and really calm; not that many people. The scenery along the whole hike was insane and just so natural and beautiful all the trees had some sort guava/passion looking fruit which I couldn't stop eating it was absolutely delicious! It took us a couple of hours to get to the waterfalls and let me say this, I have never seen anything so beautiful! It was a 50ft looking waterfall into a water pool where you can swim around an swim under the fall. We had a picnic there it was such a great day and I was so happy! On the long hard trip back we saw a beautiful rainbow in the mountain which was also a lovely treat.
Today was such a fun day I enjoyed hiking and I think we will be doing the same tomorrow to Waimea Canyon.

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