The end of WILD and the beginning of ??????

So aside form saying that the end of WILD was bittersweet I don´t think I said much else. So therefore it is time to give you all the low down.



WILD was the most difficult thing that I have ever done. If you ask Jason he might say something to the effect of, "Well she says she liked it but there were alot of times when it was really hard to tell." Alot of nights were spent venting about how I was having a hard time doing things or was afraid of this or that. I learned that I could do alot more than I gave myself credit for. Realizing that if I relaxed and tried hard I could do amazing things. My confidence grew and I have a much greater appreciation for water. I am looking forward to putting all my skills to use in the next little bit of time and eventually on the Ottawa River - when ever that will be.

So reach back in your memory, all the way back to the last week in Nov. and that will be when this post occurred.

We left the sweet campsite near the ocean (in Huatulco, a sweet resort town) on a Monday and made camp beside the Copilita River which was about 1.5 hr drive away on some crazy bump, curvey roads. We spent the rest of the week there using this as our base camp. Generally things went smoothly with the usual kayaking and rafting routine. The only difference was that as a group we were supposed to be in charge and lead everything. It was a hard transition for us to make as we´d been given so much support for all the rest of our training. A little chaos errupted with food preparations, as well a few local kids liked some of our gear ( rope and knives) enough to try to take it. The other excitement was one day that I was on the river one of the girls had a concussion. I was choosen to administer the medical attention. As a group we had an adventure as we evacuated her out.

We had two special days. One was a cascading day that included a rapell down a 75ft clifff. I had a little slip at the top and decided that was enough for me. I wasn´t too keen on the idea anyways!! Cascading reminded me of the swamp walk that I did when I was at summer camp, the major difference was that we were making our way down this great stream of water that was a blue, greeen colour and had varying sizes of waterfalls on it. Most were small enough that you jumped or walked down. The big ones had swinging ropes or ladders.

The last day was pretty amazing! Earlier that week we had been doing the upper section of the rive, but Friday we finished off the river by starting at our campsite and paddling out, all the way to the ocean. It was a 4 hour paddle with mostly class 1 and 2 rapids ( so some people were bored) with a few class 3 at the beginning. We all paddled into the ocean together and tried surfing. Mine was just a small baby surf and then I was done ( didn´t want to flip and scratch my face on the sand). Prior to going out we all stopped ang Jim shared with us how proud he was of what we had done. He also reminded us that thought this was the end of our trip it signified much more: an open door with many options and excitements ahead that where waiting to be explored. It was an amazing feeling!!

Esprit booked all of us into an expensive hotel ( which was so awesome after many nights spent in weird and wonderful places). We had time to clean up and get ready for our closing party. It was a big affair that involved getting dressed up. I got to wear a dress that I had bought when we were in Texas!!! The food was great - the second best shrimp I´ve ever had and cake for dessert. We each drew a name and had to give that person some sort of award and congratulate them on a job well done. It was really fun to hear the highlights and see what where some of the fun things that stuck out in people´s minds. From there we went to a bar with big screen TVs to watch the video that our camera guy, Mike had made. It was an hour and a half and featured all the places we´d been. It was so great to watch.

After that people went their own ways. Most spent the night partying and from there began their journeys. Some returned home, others to Jacolmulco and others to new jobs. Each of us has changed in some way and wondering what that will mean for the future.

We have adjusted to the idea of not getting the internship ( a 4 month training program while in Mexico using the skills that you´ve just learned.. We realize that it gives us more flexibility and independence. We aren´t tied to Esprit except if we want to be. And we still have the opportunity to join in their trips if there is room. We have the benefit of having them and their expertise around. Instead we have rented an apartment and are just relaxing. We hope to have some cultural experiences such as cooking lessons or coffee bean picking. We will take trips from here, using this as our home base. And of course as much kayaking and guiding as we can squeeze in.

What we will do with all that we have learned is still a pretty big question but we have plenty of time to work that out. Travelling and doing WILD has already taught us so much!

A few other things that I forgot to mention ....

There are several other things about Mexico and Jacolmulco that I wanted to tell you all about that I wasn`t able to include in my last email.

The first is how beautiful a place Jacolmulco is. The village is located in a valley or canyon and on both sides are hills/ small mountains which rise up to a flat "table top" or mesa as the locals call it. The deep ravines and flat table tops are said to be created by volcanic activity that happened many years ago. The hillside is covered in mango trees ( which are not ripe until March :0). Several Saturdays ago we took a hike through a dried up creek bed up the side of the mountain to the top of the mesa where we had a most excellent view of the city and the river. It was amazing to do. I was a little afraid at first because we had to climb up these rickety ladders.

In Mexico the public water infrastructure ( the pipes delivering water to your house) is not very great and as a result nobody uses tap water for drinking. It takes a bit to get used to when you are brushing your teeth. The pipes that the water comes through are not very clean and don´t have a lot of water. Most people have a "holding tank" in their back yard, where they leave the tap open so that whenever their street receives water it fills up for the day. When your street will receive water is not advertised, so the first night when we heard running water at 5 in the morning we were a little confused. The people who are more wealthy have a special tank , usually found on their roof , that they get water delivered to by a truck. At our first apartment we were lucky to have a shower but the pressure was a little weak, sort of like a dribble at first.

The other thing is that you never put toilet paper in the toilet you put it in waste basket beside it. As you can imagine, with hot temperatures it doesn´t take long to get smelly. We are learning that a toilet seat is also not a necessity. Maybe Mexicans figure why add the extra part! Luckily most hotels and touristy places have them. Often you have to pay 2 or 3 pesos to use the bathroom, which seems like a real drag after spending so much time outdoors. I imagine that the majority of people in the world don´t have our caliber of technology for sanitation systems. I guess what we take for granted back home is probably one of the most commonly missed things as you travel to other places.

Reflections about Jalcumulco

I wish that I could take each of you who reads this in my pocket for a few days so you could each experience first hand what life in this small village is like. It would feel very strange and weird at first but with in days it will have grown on you. And you might even be sad to leave the people and the beautiful place that they call home. Well at least that was our expereince and we enjoyed it so much that we plan on going back.

WILD is completed!!! It is bitter sweet ( but more of that to come another day.) We are currently in a little place called Zipolite which has a population of about 1000 people. It is on the West coast of Mexico. The "motel" where we are staying is 75 feet from the ocean and a beach ( our first and one of the most popular nude beaches in Mexico.) We spent the afternoon drinking beer in hammocks. It was amazingly relaxing.

So let´s start with a typical morning routine in Jacumulco. And this is one of the most hard to explain parts of this blog because really you need to hear this first hand. The village is probably alot like what the pioneers would have lived like, very simple and focused on survival. There are animals that live bside people´s one storey homes. Those animals include donkeys and pigs. The donkeys bray the worst sound in the world. I can´t quite figure out why they sound so awful and different than I remember donkeys sounding from home. But when you hear them at 4 or 5 in the morning or really any time of day they just seem so unsatisfied. The pigs are paraded through the town and then stay in people´s yards until they get eaten. If you live close to a butcher you may be woken by piggy squeals. The meat is then kept out for the day so people can buy it and may be cut into pieces using an axe on a stump of wood. I can´t quite figure out how I´ll be able to buy and cook meat when we get back. We might be vegetarian for a bit :0)

So on our way to breakfast we´d pass men saddling up there donkeys who would later come back carrying loads of coffee or bamboo weighing maybe between 30 to 50 pounds. The saddle was composed of a burlap bag and a wooden horn. Beside the donkeys would be cars (particularly VW beatles) that were any where from brand new to 20 years old.

The women often work out of their home. This means that all of the necessities of life are sold from someone´s home. There are paper stores, cornerstores, bakeries, and resturants that serve anything from freshly squeezed juice to sandwhiches to milkshakes to tacos to full chickens. There are an array of sights and smells as you walk down any given street. YOu holler at the door or they have a table at the side of the house on the sidewalk. One lady in town even does laundry and we were so thankful for that ( as our gear certainly was in need of some TLC.)

There are many delicacies that we have tried from street vendors. The strangest may have been corn on the cob cooked in wheel barrows and then peeled and slathered in mayo. The corn isn´t the same texture as what I´m used to so it was a bit of a surprise.

The village is on the river so there is two bridges in town. People are always sneaking jumps off the main bridge (even though it is illegal because people have died trying it). The other bridge is a suspension bridge and I have even walked across it a few times. From the bridges you can see a few small rapids one of which is surfable at this time. I can´t wait to give it a try.

Well that is a few highlights. There is certainly more but it is getting late and we are sleepy, so good night.

On the road again

Well, we ve said good bye and handed in ours keys to the family that has taken care of us for the last three weeks. For the next week we are running the show as participants, with the leaders taking a step back. We board the buses and vans in half an hour ( after we grab a home made ice cream for 5 or 10 cents) to make the last stretch of our journey to the West coast. We have been well cared for and expereienced so many things. Our program will be over in a week and that is hard to beleive because we have learned so much and sort of become like a huge extended family.

We will be rafting, kayaking, cliff jumping, cascading (rapelling down waterfalls) and visiting a turtle restoration place. Needless to say they tell us this next week is more like a vacation than the crazy and intense days we{ve recently had. We had two scenarios and one of them was at night and the other was a day long one this past week. We also learned some basics about teaching beginner kayaking.

We decided to stay in Jaculmolco for a while. How long? That is still to be determined. We sent out a few emails to other guides who are in Costa Rica and Guatamala to inquire about working there. But we have rented an apartment starting when we get back (which will probably be 2 or 3 weeks from now) and gave them half a months rent (500 pesos or $50 Canadian) to make the deal complete. It is a one bedroom place with a bed and a front room (which will become the eating area) and a rooftop patio ( the family has 3 dogs that live in that part only) and most importantly a bathroom with a toilet and shower (mini sized). We ve stashed some stuff there and look forward to having a place to call our own. We hope to get as much time on the water as possible. Jay would love to get alot of commercial whitewater expereince and we are not exactly sure how that will work out. We do know that Esprit will do their best to include us in things and give us stuff to do. We also hope to take trips from here to see new places.

Hope everyone is well. WE have enjoyed the many updates we ve received so keep it coming. When we return I will include more reflections about what we have seen, expereinced and learned over the last three weeks.

New Photos from Mexico

First days in Mexico

The white water in Mexico

I need to close your eyes for a moment and just imagine this, because I think that it is pretty spectacular.

The last three days I have been rafting while Jason was kayaking. There are several different rivers in the area with various features however they are all quite continuous ( the white water just keeps on going and going with very little flat stuff in between) and rocky. But that´s not so amazing. The scenery around it is and I´m certain that despite my best attempts to describe it I won´t do it justice. The rivers around us are all at the base of valleys and table tops mountains that were made due to a volcanic erruptions years ago. We are down paddling away in canyons, so when you look up you see walls of rock and clay. Some of the walls have hieroglyphics on them, while others have tress and cactuses. The water is very narrow is some spots and widens in others. The water is a green blue colour and it is very clear. We paddled through a cloud forest which has ferns that grow a foot in 100 years. This area in particular was awesome because the canyon is steep and rocky so people are unable to survive there, thus it is virtually untouched by people. Occasionally we come across civillization as noted by cultivated banana, corn or coffee fields. A random horse, burro ( donkey) or cows tied (or not) at the waters edge is also a good clue. The birds and butterflies that flutter overhead can be pretty colourful. We also discovered fire ants and this invisible bug (darn sand flies) that leave red marks all over my legs.

More about Mexico .....

First and foremost I need to say that being in Mexico is truly amazing. We have been so blessed and enriched while we have been in this village of Jaucamolco ( which has not even been one week!).

Where to begin .....

The Hospitality in Mexico

So first I must let you all know that we are still doing the whitewater program, however it is beginning to wrap up. There are 3 weeks left and some of that time is testing our skills, so yesterday and today we have been doing review. Some of it is water skills, while other is first aid and safety. It is crazy to see how much we have learned in such a short time.

Part of the program is a 3 week home stay with a family in this community. Each person is paired up ( Jason and I are together - imagine) and then matched with a family who provides them with a place to stay and also with breakfast and supper. Jason and I have been given an apartment that belongs to an elderly woman. Her adult daughter is out host "mom." We share the apartment with one other couple from the WILD group. We then go to the family´s home for our meals. In our family it´s the mom, dad and two early 20s kids. The son and daughter are home today and for the weekend to celebrate Day of the Dead. Both usually reside in Xalapa ( a huge city about an hour away) where they go to school.

We were a little disappointed that we weren´t actually living with a family because we thought that we might be missing something. But on the flip side we quite enjoy having our own space and a fully equipped bathroom ( soem of the other students come over to use it.) The house is large and it has a terrace on the top of it. It is an open concept which means that there isn´t really alot of doors but alot of windows and that the walls don´t go all the way up to the ceiling and so when Jason was sick a few nights ago everyone heard it.

We head over to the family for 7:30 in the morning and 7pm for dinner. We sit on the couch and watch TV if the mom doesn´t quite have supper ready. A huge plate of fruit with yogurt and granola awaits us each morning. Each meal is served with warmed corn tortillas ( wartmed in the microwave). Jason just couldn´t bring himself to eat any today because his tummy is a little upset. Breakfast usually consists of some sort of eggs with beans. She has also prepared sugared buns for us and ceral is an option. I´m still getting used to the idea of drinking warm milk out of a tetra pack. Our mom has a little shake and sandwhich business that she runs out of the house so she makes us chocolate milkshakes whenever we want( yes we are spoiled). For supper we are served raw veggies that make up a salad and chicken with other soups, pasta or rice. The idea is that the family prepare meals as they normally would but I get a sense that she isn´t.

Instead of celebrating Halloween the Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead. This celebration actually lasts several days. I´m not entirely sure what it all entails but I´ll let you know what I´ve seen so far. The family has built an altar in their how. It is an arbor made of flowers ( marigolds specifically) with a table beneath it. On the table is photographs of people who have passed away and also of dieties. They also place food and drink on the table (I´m guessing as an offering for those they rememeber.) There is water, fresh squeezed orange juice and beer, as well as 3 cups of coffee (maybe). For food there is homemade bread, a vartiety of fruit, and tamales ( like a pizza pocket but made the Mexican way with corn paste on the outside and hot spicy filling on the inside that are wrapped in banana leaves and boiled.) There is also lots of flowers around. Also the cemetary is unlike anything in Canada. It has headstones but they are adorned with photos and flowers that are most extravagant and colourful. My first impression of it was that it was celebratory rather than solemn ( I think that is spelled wrong but I can´t figure out what´s the right way)