Guatemala

 The day before Guatemala, I started a little rumor that turned ship-wide that we are being diverted due to Swine Flu and an anticipated earthquake. Some people even believed that they were taking us to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The announcer voice came over the loud speaker and said, “despite the rumors started, we are STILL going to Guatemala, and we are NOT being diverted, so we’ll see you at the pre-port meeting at 20 hundred hours.” Well, there wasn’t any swine flu in Guatemala, but we all had our SARS masks that we got in China just in case.

Gillian, Mary, Cecily and I went to Tikal, Guatemala. Tikal is in the north-east part of Guatemala, and it is known for the famous Myan ruins, the oldest ruins in the world. The ruins were built in 600 B.C. and remain there in the jungle. On the way to the airport, and throughout the ruins and even in the hotel we had 24 hour armed-officers for protection. There is something like 40 murders a week in Guatemala…crazy town. We were craving some Guacamole and tortilla chips, so we went to a restaurant across the street and we probably wiped them out of their avocados, but we got our fix. Early the next morning we checked out of the hotel and went to the Jungle to see some ruins. It was an all day hike through the jungle, and if there wasn’t a path to follow, we would’ve needed a machete to get through the trees. We saw Howler monkeys, and a baby howler monkey too. They were throwing their breakfast at us from up in the trees. We also saw Tucan’s, and other wild peacock/turkey looking birds. Jungle trekking was fun, but after a while the ruins start to all look the same, so we made it interesting.

We sat on the monuments and took pictures in front of signs that said “No Sentarse en los monumentos” or climbed up the monuments when it said, “No Subir”, we were able to climb most of the ruins, but there were some forbidden areas that we had fun exploring. On top of the highest ruin was the most beautiful view of the canopy of the jungle, and we could see all of the ruins poking out from the trees. It was soooo beautiful. But this was not a task for old people or those afraid of heights. The purpose for some of really tall ruins was to sacrifice ones self to the gods by climbing up, letting someone chop your head off so the blood could drip down the temple. No one wanted to be sacrificed, so we left the jungle and returned to Puerto Quetzal.

Getting through the airport terminal was quite a task for me. Since we didn’t have security at the airport on the way to Tikal, I assumed we wouldn’t have it on the way back to Puerto Quetzal—but we did. I bought a machete with a wooden and bronze Jaguar handle with a special blade that has a side for heavy-duty severing, just in case I get lost in the jungle. The leather case has a jade rock and a cool design. I put it through the security bag check hoping that the guy watching the screen would look the other way when my bag went through—but he didn’t. So they pulled my bag, they took me out of the security check point and detained me for 20 minutes in a private office. I wasn’t allowed to leave until I spoke with the head security officer. I was really scared that they would take away my machete, or arrest me. The officer was really understanding—I have a feeling they’ve dealt with this situation before—and he wrapped my machete up in packaging and had someone check it for me. Then they let me pass through security and I didn’t miss my flight or get in trouble or anything. And I also snuck my machete onto the ship…shhhhhhh.
That night, I wanted to go to Monterrico beach to meet up with a bunch of our other friends who rented bungalows on the black sand beach at this hotel called Johnny’s. We met the driver around 10:30 pm. We got extremely lost on the way there, and our two drivers had no idea where we were, or cell phones or anything. I had my cell phone, so after an hour of being lost, we found our way and got to Johnny’s safely around 12:30. When we walked into the hotel area, there was a pool filled with naked friends. Then there was a bar filled with other friends, and on the beach, more friends running around in the dark. I knew within the first 15 seconds that this was going to be an epic night at the last port on Semester at Sea. The beach was the scariest thing at night. It was hard to see with the black sand against the pitch-black sky, but the water was so warm and tempting. Jason threw my glow stick in the ocean, so I had to go rescue it, and that’s when I realized the waves were probably too strong to really go swimming in it. Mary, Gillian and I got split up into different bungalows, but we weren’t actually planning to go to sleep anyway. I actually ended up taking care of a girl who split her chin open (I’ve been there before)—she found a cat in her bungalow, so she went down to the beach to free it, and couldn’t see b/c it was so dark, and she tripped and fell. She really needed stitches, but it was too late and probably too dangerous to go to a hospital. Poor girl. I slept for about 3 hours, and went back to the ship with her and a few other girls. I wish I could’ve spent the day on the beach, but the night before was enough fun for me. The last port was so much fun!!!

After Guatemala, I had one more final. Then we transited through the Panama Canal—an all day event. The panama canal is a set of these dam-like water gates that lower/lift boats through the canal. The canal is too shallow so that is why they have to manage the water flow. People staked out beach chairs before breakfast even started Then we had the Ambassador’s Ball where everyone gets dressed up in their global attire and we eat fine dining style, take pictures with the captain and dance in the Union. I wore the red dress I had made in Vietnam, but other people wore Indian Sari’s and other weird outfits. It’s amazing what kind of shenanigans went on throughout this night. Including me. I was in a friend’s room waiting to go to sleep in her roommates bed (b/c I don’t sleep in my room anymore b/c I can’t stand my roommate, who never sleeps, and stays up all night on the computer and the complaints could continue). Then a bunch of other people came into the room, so we were making jokes and messing around, and someone was DESTINED to get hurt in this situation—the boat was rocking a lot too and we were all hyped up from the dance. My good friend CJ accidentally shoved me, I lost balance and fell into the night stand. I busted my lip and chipped my tooth. This is where the night ended for everyone because I couldn’t stop crying and I was miserable. CJ felt really bad but I don’t hate him. Once I calmed down a little, Gillian and I walked around the ship and sat outside in the fresh air. The next day, I decided to embrace my new look after Dr. Steve assured me he could fix it as soon as I get off the ship. Gillian drew a tattoo on my arm that said “Mom” encircled in a heart, I also wore a wife beater and huge shorts, I looked everywhere for a trucker hat, but I couldn’t find one. Basically it was battered white-trash dress up day for me.


Right now I am looking forward to getting home! We arrive in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow morning. At this time, my friends are blasting music and screaming out of a classroom singing the Team America song “America, Fuck Yea” and eating an American Flag cake…oooooh man. So that’s the journey around the world.

Xoxo