Gearing up for Guaty

While Erin is busy frolicking in the wilderness of Utah, I thought I'd start us up a blog. We're off to Guatemala . . . eventually. I'm flying into Cancun on the 15, holding down the fort and hopefully holding in all necessary intestines (sketchy parts of Cancun have been rumored to harvest kidneys and such. Don't worry - I have my Luche Libre mask for intimidation, and I can do one mean Indian Burn). Erin will be joining me the next day at the Cancun Nest - how romantic! From there, we are hoping to catch a bus (if there actually is one) through Belize and into Guatemala (or Guaty, as Erin has aptly named it). Cross your fingers because Erin/Courtney adventures rarely go according to plan.

In honor of our second Central American backpacking adventure, I thought I'd reminisce and give you some highlights from the first.

- We had a sloth and her baby sleeping outside one of our hostels

- While peacefully eating at a restaurant, the waiter behind me was shaking out a napkin that happened to be holding a fork. This fork sailed through the air and stabbed the back of my skull. My bloody head saved Erin's left eye, and she is forever in my debt.

- While playing on the beach, a herd of long horned cattle strolled right up next to us for a dip in the water.

- We ate bananas fresh from the tree, and drank coffee fresh off the fields

- We rode ruthless, speedy buses and sat next to roosters

- We zip-lined over the top of a rain forest

- We played chess with Costa Rican children

- My backpacking bag was rather large, with blankets tied to one side, and a tent to the other. I couldn't make it through most doorways and I ran into a lot of people in the streets.

- We unknowingly walked into a street festival and had confetti thrown in our eyes

- While cruising around some islands, a mother monkey and her baby swung onto our boat. The mother stole my Popsicle and finished it off. Every time the baby would go in for a lick, he would get a bop on the head.

- Roaming the streets of Nicaragua on Christmas, a family invited us into their home for drinks. We also met a Rastafarian Santa Clause

-We befriended many cockroaches

-One night we slept in a tent only big enough for one normal human, maybe two midgets. We had no food or flashlights, so we went to bed hungry at 6, when it became dark. We 'slept' for 12 hours, waiting for daylight. A woman actually did take pity on us and gave us a hunk of cheese. Well, I'm lactose intolerant, so that choice of dinner did not help our small sleeping quarters become any more comfortable.

- We learned from our newly made Swiss friend that Americans have a plethora of 'Damage Pleasure.' This is when someone hurts (damages) or embarrasses themselves, and we laugh and find pleasure in their pain.

- We hiked up to a 'Miracle Crater,' where swimming in and drinking the water will make you live longer. We swam for about 20 minutes, and celebrated the extra 2 weeks tagged onto our life. On our hike down, I slipped. As I slid down the muddy mountainside, Erin laughed, and our Swiss friend yelled, "Damage Pleasure!"

Erin and I are working on a book with the theme, "What not to do when traveling." We are filling it with our many, many mishaps, and this trip to Guatemala is sure to add a few more chapters. Our lack of direction, interactions with awesome and bizarre people, inability to make decisions, poorly spoken Spanish, and animal encounters are sure to bring you much Damage Pleasure. I don't know how often we'll have opportunity to blog . . . but stay tuned!