Christmas Holidays

So, i arrive in Mazunte a day or two before xmas eve to find the gang in the bar on the tail end of a two day bender,the reception i receive is so warming on the heart, the guys all offer to carry my bags and i couldn't hesitate less to leave the Swiss' that drove me there. We eventually get back to our home for the duration, with a Rhys in a red robe and a now achy back from my overloaded rucksack, we all sit down and debrief our stories up to that moment, they ply me with tequila, i share dried grasshoppers with them and stories of hitchhiking and gifts the universe had given to me. They begin dropping like flies, it is clear the party has come to an end for them, for me it has just begun. I head down to the beach for a swim and cervasa. Some children yell to me to get out of the water, for there are some foreign objects floating around, they are shark guts, ERGH. I meet a guy who shares a smoke with me, immediately i discover he is a sleaze ball and i set about getting home. I am now drunk and incredibly stoned on some extremely strong pot, i cannot remember where home is, every road looks familiar yet not correct, luckily i have the address written on my hand. That night i had a hammock designated for me as the final room in our house hadn't become available yet. I get into the hammock and shut my eyes, the combination of swinging and the spinning out makes me feel nausea, i lay on the floor in major discomfort, after squirming for some time i eventually fall asleep. I wake up several hours later feeling a lot more together, its late, and i'm hungry. Jerome and Katy are in our restaurant so i eat some food with them before  getting a good nights sleep, its been a long and eventful day. The coming days i was completely out of sync with the gang after not having made the full moon party, so i make my own fun and set myself loose on the town to meet the locals and hoop my way around all the bars making friends, teaching tricks and learning tricks too. I find some banging electro in a beach bar and have a great night partying.

A couple of nights in and its our first party night out together after the boys dj at our nightclub. Our house is out the back of the most popular nightclub in town, nightmare but its such a lovely house with a lovely garden. We shop for xmas dinner and the build up begins. Christmas morning a big vat of Sangria is made by the Wizard of Ellis and we all to the la playa with frisbee in hand, rugby frisbee in the sea is played by all followed by glasses of sangria and general festive cheer. Dinner is to be served about 4ish, everyone pitches in to set the table, cook, get decorations and tableware. we have four guests for the feast including two Greenpeace staff, the evening is filled with conversations/debates and lots of booze oh and turkey, we head to the club and then end the night on the beach.

The lead up to new years was spent with muchos lazyness, beaches, natural jacuzzi's, walks, internet, new friends and old friends. We had a night at the nightclub where Rhys, MexicO'Shea, and Andy Ellis playing rocking the scene, skinny dipping as the sun comes up and general innocent mischief. New years was a big event planned by afar new friends and ourselves we had a remote place in Agua Blanca to host our own party, there was another party in San Augustinillo which was competing for some of our guests. We expected more from our party however we rocked their worlds anyway and left around 3am back to Mazunte, we then took over a little cafe bar where the guys played some bad ass tunes till well into the next day. Around 6am me and a couple of the girls headed down to the beach to catch a beautiful view of the sun rise, however we were shocked to find that a young man had died on the beach, potentially due to drink drugs and the ocean, he was a local boy. It was a devastating reality check, i decided to lead the conversation towards a celebration of life and how we were so lucky it wasn't any of us. Death is a major part of life and shouldn't be disregarded. It happens every day.

"Our only role during this time is to be like the tree who remembers its true nature and gracefully lets go of its leaves to return to the earth" Sandra Ingerman

After the new years three day bender, everyone was pretty keen to leave, in fact the whole town was keen to leave so we had to leave a day later than hoped in order to get a bus to San Cristobal. We stayed there for 3/4 days, went out on a boat trip through a canyon and saw crocodiles, monkeys and some birds. Got the flu and moved to Palenque, El Panchan. AMAZING. felt better as soon as i entered the jungle i felt able to breath again which is always a bonus. Lots of wildlife here. We went to the ruins which were magikal... Agua azul is breathtaking, swimming under the waterfall at Misol Ha gives a mixed feeling of panic and utter WOWness... pure adrenaline. We returned to Agua azul a couple of days later for Siwans birthday party complete with a suitcase full of booze, it rained the whole day so we took over a restaurant and got to the matter at hand. we spent the whole day there and then continued the festivities back in the jungle, i went a little crazy that night. I went out without my purse or camera to the 'baaa' and then proceeded to think i had lost all my belonging, throughout the night i would take each member of our crew to search all the destinations we had been to, apparently even getting on stage to ask the band if they may have seen it. i remember jumping on some peoples beds, and then when all went to bed around 5am i was found in the dark complete with head torch, bread, peanut butter and crisps stuffing my face, asked if i had found my camera i casually said 'yeah' and continued eating. hehe.

We sadly left the jungle the following day, many nursing heavy hangovers. Me and Rhys got the cheap bus and we really got our moneys worth, it stank of sick, we were searched by the military on two occasions i woke up to see a gun brush past my face. Arrived in Tulum about 5am and found a hostel after about 20minutes. A lovely place called 'casa del sol' it was 120 pesos for a dorm bed or 250 for a room. Tulum was beautiful and very expensive so we ate in every night and spent the time maxing the chillaxing. the beach is UNREAL, white sand and clear blue water, we snorkeled and saw a turtle, a manta ray and many cool fishes, we were lazy and bought cooked food from the supermarket which we could heat up, the last night Rhys cooked a mean thai style fish with thai curried veggies.

It was sad to leave Rhys, as i had been with familiars for nearly 3/4 weeks now, however i was keen to get on my journey. I caught the bus to Chetumal in order to get another bus down to Flores, Guatemala. I had to stay the night to wait for the connecting bus and my best and cheapest option led me to some Posada opposite the bus station, outside the landlord and a big black Caribbean dude were chatting, a kind Argentinian dude drove me around town to drop me across the road from where he had picked me up, he negotiated a cheap bus ride to Flores for me, Winner. After i drop my bags in my room, which is very basic, completely unluxarious. The landlord cycles off to buy us some coffees, the big black dude is called Cafe, how apt. he spends the entire time trying to chat me up and bribe me into being his girlfriend, money property he trys it all. Along comes a one armed midget baring a boom box around his neck and a tip jar in his hand, cowboy hat and completely wasted. it was a surreal situation.

The next morning i snooze past the point i was supposed to get up, the landlord is banging on my door at 10 to 7 saying i had 10mins to get on the bus, he cycles with me to the bus station and ensures i get my discount and my seat on the bus. The journey is due to be 8hours, thats nothing these days. I did not know we had to pay to leave Mexico, and i never received a visa on arrival which is usually a 50dollar fine however i get away with a 50 peso bribe. a couple of hours later after traveling through the beautiful belize we get stung with another 15 dollar charge to leave Belize, daylight robbery.