Just this last week.....

This last week, like the elevator business, has had it's ups and downs. We visited a local nature preserve that specializes in orchids native to the area and other preservation efforts. We are looking into volunteering with them and will be visiting there again this week. We plan on writing an entry dedicated to the preserve. A little glimpse into our daily life here: we rely on our laptop and internet for some of our nightly entertainment. We have found websites that allow for international users to view American television programming and movies, we are very thankful for this might I just mention. So, as we get comfy and settled to watch some of our favorite shows we place our laptop on a chair or table at the foot of our bed. One serious leap in technology that is needed is to have wireless electricity because as I got up to get some candy for our movie the other night I clumsily tripped over the wires and sent our laptop crashing down onto our tile floor. Gravity has never been so cruel to me. Needless to say, our laptop seized to function and we lost a large portion of our progress in the college applications we have been slaving over.

Luckily everyone in this town knows each other and the workers at our apartment complex knew of a computer technician. Turns out we destroyed our hard drive and needed to replace it. So, after about three days of being looked at and 1,250 pesos (about 100 dollars) we had our laptop back with a pirated version of windows 7 all in Spanish. Not too bad of a deal considering the Geek Squad or whoever would have charged an arm and a leg. So, Faith and all her computer wizardry figured a way to turn the majority of the system into English. Faith's mom found my writing samples on a hard drive we left at home as backup because we all know I destroy things because I have these beautiful yet awkward feet (smart move to back that data up). So, now that we are back in action we are getting back into the swing of things and getting these applications going again. On the weekends we allow ourselves fun time - check out our weekend.

We wanted to do some good Eco-tourism and found an all day trip that goes from 9am to 9pm that visits a cave, waterfalls, and a group of lakes for about $20 US each. The first stop was the local cave, Rancho Nuevo Cave, where you are able to hike in and see a kilometer of the known 10 km of this enormous cave. Limestone stalactites and stalagmites can be seen and heard because of the dripping water which has been their source of creation for the past million or so years. The cave was so large and spacious it made you feel dwarfed within it. Next up was the Eco-park, El Chiflon where around eighty members of local communally run farms operate the park and maintain the river that flows over five majestic waterfalls. There is a walkway that places you parallel to the meandering river where you climb up stairs to the breathtaking views of each waterfall. The giant Blue Morpho butterflies along with other colorful butterflies guide you through their natural wonderland. The park's cleanliness is impressive, the pride they take in keeping it as pristine as possible is evident by all the signs in place promoting care and love for nature with proper instructions on where trash, camping, and picnicking is allowed.We made friends with an older couple from the neighboring town of Comitan who were there enjoying the natural beauty for their second time. At the end of the walkway is Bridal Veil Falls where you can get on a platform that is so close you get drenched by all the spray coming off the rocks from the 400 foot drop. We were wet the rest of the day, but it was well worth it.

The last stop of the day was the Lakes of Montebello - some fifty lakes that share the border of Mexico and Guatemala. We met some children who have cleverly come up with a way to entertain tourists - they recite poetry and incorporate your name into the rhymes. They definitely earned the candy we gave them as a prize.

The lakes we saw were beautiful and we were surprised by the amounts of vendors at each stop. While in Cancun on our honeymoon at each stop (Chichen Itza, Tulum, etc) we were swarmed by vendors with goods draped over their arms and on display for sale. Here the level of pressure by the few vendors was minimal and we didn't feel an obligation like other tours we have taken. The lakes had a "balsas" ride we turned down, which turned out to be a raft of wooden poles you paddle across the water. It looked like fun but not worth the 150 pesos each.