March Madness!!!

Life has been pretty hectic as usual. This March has been really rough for me. Definitely no luck in it for me. The window in my car was replaced do to a large growing crack, I fell down my sisters steps with Josh in my hands, and ended up really sick after taking a trip. This whole blog will recap some of the things that have happened.
When I fell at my sisters, it was down 3 wooden steps onto cement. I have to say that is the most painful fall I have ever had (and I have fallen many different times in my life). Josh didn’t even know that we had fallen. I could barely get up, couldn’t talk, and was fighting back tears. I was hardly even able to walk or sit down. The bruise that I ended up getting was about 8 inches by 5 inches and turned pure black in a matter of hours. It took two weeks to even start fading away. And what is worse, if I didn’t wear shorts over my swimsuit, the giant ugly bruise could be seen popping out.
I just took my first real spring break trip with some colleagues of mine. It was an ok trip. Not the best, but it was not the worst. I don’t think anything can beat that terrible trip that I had in October. If I were to do it again, I think that I would either stick with family members or go with friends who I am real close to. It’s just hard to surround myself with people who I am not always around. Real personalities come out that people tend to hide, and that is one thing that was hard to work around.



The Costa Atlantica!!!! Nice ship but terrible food and entertainment.

On this trip, I was able to visit Key West Florida, Grand Cayman Island, Roatan Honduras, and Cozumel Mexico. I have to say that my favorite place was Grand Cayman Island. It was beautiful. I was able to finally do a fun water involved excursion.
When I went to Grand Cayman, I was able to do a Stingray sandbar, “Hell”, and Turtle Farm excursion. It was a lot of fun.
Here is what the cruise lines had as the description:
After leaving the tender pier, your first stop will be at the Governor's residence on the famous Seven Mile Beach for a panoramic view of the glistening white sand and crystal clear Caribbean water. The next stop will be at the "Ol Homestead", world renowned for its historical importance and old Caymanian architecture. You will then head for the turtle farm where you can see thousands of turtles and other species indigenous to the island, after which there will be some time for shopping at the gift shop. The world famous Tortuga Rum Cake Factory, featured in many television shows, will be your next calling point. Then into Hell, an incredible expanse of jagged limestone rock formations, an enthralling sight that looks like flames frozen into the rocks. You can send your postcard from here with the postmark from "Hell", and buy products exclusive to this site. Your last stop will be the Stingray City Sandbar. At this stop you will interact with tamed stingrays in 3-4 feet of water where you can feed and pet them.


In Hell, Grand Cayman.


Meeting the Devil in Hell. Grand Cayman.



At the turtle farm in Grand Cayman.


Turtles that weigh between 200 - 500 pounds each.... and they are biters!!!


Grand Cayman Islands with a Starfish pulled right from the ocean. Beautiful and heavy!!!


Swimming with a giant stingray. I was so afraid it would rub up against me.


The stringray sandbar


When I went to Cozumel, I went and saw some San Gervasio ruins and a Folkloric Show. This was not my favorite excursion by any means. Here is the description, and then I will explain what really happened.
This adventure will start with a scenic drive to the ruins of San Gervasio, occupying almost 10 acres located in the middle of the Caribbean forest. San Gervasio was the sacred pilgrimage centre for the Mayan women and the residence of Ixchal, Goddess of Fertility and Health. In ancient times Mayan women would come here and spend a week worshipping and praying to Ixchel for a normal birth and healthy baby. After visiting the ruins, the tour will head to a folkloric dance show. This show will take you on an imaginary voyage throughout Mexico's regions brilliantly displayed by its colorful costumes and romantic dances.
Now what really happened is that Tracy and I got on a bus and had to listen to Alex our tour guide. I thought we really were paying attention to him, but apparently not. When we made it to San Gervasio, I thought that Alex said a 5 minute bathroom break, no shopping, then on the bus. Well, we were the first ones out and the first ones back on the bus. The driver (who speaks no English), moved the bus and locked us in on the bus. I would say we were on there for almost 10-15 minutes before we knew something was wrong. So we tried to unlock the doors, but had to pry open the windows and shout for help. It took one American and 5 Mexican’s to get the door open for us. I was so upset. We missed the entire story of the ruins. After the ruins, we went and to the area where the folkloric show was done. It also ended up being an Agave farm. That is the plant that they make Tequila with. It was very interesting to see the history of tequila making.


Mayan Ruins in Cozumel.



Agava Plants in Cozumel



Dancer



Dancers in Cozumel




That is really all I did on my trip besides relax. By the end of the trip I was so sick of beach music, sun, and water. It was nice to get home until I realized that I was really sick. I ended up with what the Doctor said was colitis. Let me just say that it was extremely painful and that I have never experienced anything like it before. It almost put me in the hospital, scared me nearly half to death, and made me extremely dehydrated. Most of my symptoms are gone now, I did however get really sick again this past weekend and threw up. I still have a low fever and am on quite a bit of restrictions still, not to mention I am tired almost 24/7!
Now I am just trying to stay on track, catch up on some course work, and trying to stay healthy. I can hardly wait for May to get here and finals to be done!!!!