Mexico and Belize

The start of our roundtrip to and from the Caribbean all through Central America has begun. And boy, you should have seen us, after the isolation and deprivation of Cuba. Every brand name sprung out, and Americans were suddenly everywhere.
On our transit to Cancun via Panama airport, we just sat on the ground in front of a Subway because it had free Wifi. Pathetically funny.
The first thing that happened in Cancun, Mexico, was that we got ripped off, like all beginner backpackers. The sole reason for it, though, was the fact that the ATMs at the airport weren't working, so we couldn't pin Mexicon pesos. All we had were some US Dollars pinned on the way, in Panama, and apparently, Mexican taxi drivers love US Dollars. Who knew? /sarcasm
Our first stop was Isla Mujeres. We had anticipated being absolutely knackered after our study trip on Cuba, and had planned a (very wise) day and a half of absolute nothingness on the pretty island. And pretty it was. Absolutely tacky touristy, but pretty none the less. We lazed about, we slept and napped and sum and showered, ate tacos with shrimps and fish.
Next stop on the list: Cancun. It isn't a very interesting city, if you ask me. It didn't leave any impression on me. The hostel we stayed in, however, totally did. It was awesome.
It had a kitchen free to use (and you get advised on where to get your food cheap), breakfast included (pancakes, waffles or french toast), airco in the dorm., a tv, computer and wifi for public use. And I guess that describes plenty a hostel, and that's fine.
This hostel was messy, though. In a good way. Hammocks were scattered around the 'yard', there was a table and benches for a big group to sit. The people both visiting and working there are completely loco. The variety of nationalities was also striking to me: a Scot, a Francaise, a German, Swedish cousins, a few Americans, a Mexican-Canadian brought up in Miami, etc. They give free advise, joke around a lot, are completely loveable, open minded, interested in who you are and interesting. It was sort of like a big dysfunctional family. Though I have to admit it's not for everybody: Anouk had much less fun than I did there. She was ready to leave after two nights, I would have been willing to stay longer.
Whilst sleeping in Cancun we went on a day trip tour to Chichén Itzá. Because it was a scheduled tour, there was a lot of unnecessary fuss and waiting everywhere. We visited a Cenote, or Sink-(water-) well, and I swam in the cave. Totally cool. There was a holein the ceiling, through which a ray of sunlight lit up this spot in the water as well as colour the cave's walls. 
The downsides of the tour? I have never seen a more arrogant tour leader. If I had said on my tour "If you guys fall asleep during this long (and boring) busride, it's a sign that you're not interested. Don't come asking me questions later on. I'm not repeating anything I said." I would have failed. For sure. My lecturers would've simply stopped listening.
On that note: I passed my tour with an 8! Pretty happy about that! Thankyou Hemingway :)
In the cenote 'fake' (ie. Dressed up) mayans stood so you could take their picture (A. and I refused on principal), and then we left for this handcrafted Mayan market which was supposedly cheap. Then we had lunch, which was all-inclusive: except for the fact that drinks weren't, and one bottle cost more than what I averagely spend on my entire lunch.
When we finally arrived at the entrance of Chichen Itza, though, the thrill totally hit me again. Here I was at the entrance to see the leftovers of yet another grand ancient civilization. And impressive it was. Not so much in size, because the Egyptian pyramids are bigger, but because of the systematical and logical way it's been built. Surfaces exactly facing North, East, South, West. Grids with the exact amount of days of the year, or 9 months, which represents fertility (pregnancy). Places where the sound you make will echo exactly six times, always, so that the leader and his six team members were all represented. Specific hours of the day where light falls so that you see shapes and shades otherwise not apparent.
I'm already looking forward to Guatemala, where Tikal has a trip quite similar, and yet completely different.
After Cancun we headed to Tulum, a place to the south, along the coast of the carribbean: the only place with Mayan ruins along the sea shore. (All other ruins are way more inland).
We met a couple of Americans, Canadians and Australians in Tulum's hostel, whom we had tacos with (I have had nothing but tacos and waffles in Mexico, honestly), and ended up watching a basketball game with. (Watching the Superbowl with some Americans is now officially on my bucket list). A Canadian couple was leaving to Cuba, so they were interested in our stories.
We also ran in to (or got run into by) a few of our classmates: Tessa, Jan, Tom, Stacey, Inge and Tim were all staying in Tulum together.
Belize was next: merely a stop over to get to Guatemala. The bus drive was uneventful except for the funny fact that Stacey, Inge, Tim and Jan were also riding the same vehicle. But they sat in the back, we in the middle, and most of us dozed off for the longer part of the ride, so nothing fancy there. But maybe the fact that they showed Nanny McPhee and Salt.. in spanish..
Then we took a taxi to the dock, and a jet to the island: Caye Caulker, Belize. The water ride took frigging two and a half hours, half of which I was kinda queasy. It was a bumpy ride, on the most uncomfortable chairs we'd had to sit on for that long.
All in all we spent the entire day travelling. When we finally made it to Belize, a funny guy called James confessed to receiving a commission if we walked along with him.
He talked in Creole to whoever he met on the street, has been doing this job for 18 years, and at some point halfway through walking to our hotel, he just yelled "I'm so sorry, young ladies, I have to take a leek! The Belizean way!"
He parked the cart with our backpacks, turned to the first wall he met and zipped his pants open. I laughed so hard I nearly got hiccups.
I also laughed at things like the Zippy Zappy Tours. Or Rasta Pasta place. I laughed so hard Anouk had to throw me a "what the hell is wrong with you?" - look. I think Belize has a sense of humor though. (See warning in picture). They also have slogans around of "Unbelizable" or "You better Belize it!"
First plan was to go to Belize City the next day, because the bus left for Guatemala the day after. James assured us that we did not want to stay in Belize City at all though, and dragged us to the ticket center of the jets to confirm for us that we could delay our ticket for a day (Turns out you can delay your ticket for three months.) Which would be cool. If it weren't for the fact that we've seen almost the entire island in one day. And our flight leaving in a rough month.
So two nights on Caye Caulker, which seemed both more safe and nice. It looks more Caribbean than Cuba, even. People here call each other "mon" or "rastafari", which is brilliant. It's just like on Jamaica, is my guess, if it is anything like I imagine it to be.
It rained almost the entire day, and we were more than content hanging, sitting or laying on our beds, watching the wetness outside. I actually spent some quality time talking to my parents, Elz and other friends, and got confirmation that the letter I sent without name and with incomplete address arrived well, which was a relief. We went for short walks around the island, and got a bracelet, some cards and orange juice. And for dinner, to make up for the night before (only some nacho chips with dip): Lobster, for the first time in my life. I was a bit wary, having heard it is even sweeter than crab, and slightly dry. I was completely pleasantly surprised, and am now officially sad it costs about 8 times more in any restaurant in the Netherlands. And we rested. Because we knew what was up: an early morning twice in a row, with one trip to Guatemala of a rough 8 hours, and a sunrise trip to Tikal for which we have to be picked up at 4. We noticed little funfacts about Belize in the short period that we were there. The fact that they have their cemeteries "alongside" the road, which you can smell when you get nearer. We even had a small cemetery in the backyard of our hotel, though you could't smell it. The areas of land were fully covered with tombstones and crosses. A morbid but beautiful sight. Crosses brings me to the next point: religion. I don't think I have yet seen so many forms and quotes of Jesus hanging around, graffitied, bannered. " Of Latter-Day-Saints', protestants, catholics, mormons, you name it. Some I couldn't even place. All the schools I recognized as such had a sort of (9gag) priest on it. We got up 06.30 the next morning, because our boat was leaving at 07.30 to catch the 10.00 bus to Guatemala. Problem was, that bus never crossed the border, basically because someone had been silly enough to travel without applying for a visa. Without any fuss, the kindest woman, a Belizean with Mexican and Spanish ancestors and very interesting stories about Cubans who'd "fled" to Belize, changed our ticket so we could hop on the next bus of 13.00. That meant more waiting, about 4 hours in total, which Anouk and I filled with playing games, reading up about Guatemala and whining about being hungry. The bus got there, though. And there were no further problems. And Belize is a pretty site, with enough nature to fill 250 National parks. Which was what they did, being aware of the worth of it. Now, another adventure awaits us in Guatemala! Xx The Gypsy

Cuba till the end.

I'll start with some happy stuff before I'll start complaining :)

Swimming with DOLPHINS! Next on the list. Epic epic epic! One big jump in the air. Oh boy.
First we got a show, in which,for the first time, I was actually chosen as a volunteer. To hula hoop ( chipmunks anyone?) And fail at it, like Hannah and an other girl who was chosen. Fail, because we dropped it after max three twirls. Fail, because the dolphins were great at it. They twirled those hoops around their snouts whilst swimming circles in the basin. Jeremias was asked to volunteer as muscle man, jump in the water and have those dolphins raise him in the air.

Afterwards we got divided in two groups of eight, to have actual interaction with two other dolphins: Seos (Zeus?) And Triton (Poseidon?).
Clap on the water and point at your cheek? They'll 'kiss' you. Twirl your finger? They'll roll on their backs. Float on your belly with your knees locked and legs straight? They'll wait for the command and then find the soles of your feet so accurately, push you forward and then upward, as if you weigh nothing. It makes you feel like you're flying. Yet still standing on even (solid) ground.

We were all so giddy when we came out of the water it was kind of funny.
We went snorkling afterwards, but the water was unclear as hell, tide not helping, and most fish nowhere to be seen. First time I get to swim with flippers though. Heavy and not the most comfortable shoewear. But it didn't matter that snorkling was a failure, because it had been the only day off up till now, with no tours. I had given myself a day off. And because of the dolphins. Because of the weather.

And now for some lesser than happy news: travellers should always be aware of itchiness. Bugs, sun, heat, food allergies. No matter what it is, all of us are itching away grumpily at the bumps and rashes it all results in. And after-bite doesn't help a notch. So annoying. Right now, my entire lower back (all the way down to my left knee) is covered in the biggest, hottest and itchiest boils I've had in a long time. The heat is radiating through my clothes. And the problem is, I have no idea what is causing it. Probably an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite, but there must be several kinds of mosquitoes here, because some bites react 'normally'.

Cienfuegos, unfortunately, or at least the bungelow park we were staying at, was full of creatures. Not only the friendly ones either, though the cats and dogs there were cool enough. Crabs. Lots of them. Everywhere.
And insects. Mosquitoes, roaches, tics. Lizards. Salamanders, gecko like creatures, newts.
We were quite relieved when we left those houses and the place to go to Trinidad.

Trinidad, another pretty city. We haven't seen much more then the square, which is a shame, because it looked like a nice enough town. Our tour and city trip weren't the most complete, so I guess we'll never find out.
The accomodation, though, was much. Nice enough rooms (though on the small side), and everything was, well.. uncomfortably all-inclusive. Every drink, every meal. We ate even when we weren't really hungry. Just because it was there. And it was free.
Which is unlike me. Especially in a country like Cuba.

We went on two nature hikes this week. One, el Nicho, had been an optional. And though it was a nice hike, the information had been slightly lacking.
The other, to Topes de Collantes, was more interesting. Because of the rainfall we've been having since we came here, the waterfalls were terrific. And terrifying.
We saw the national bird, the Tokororo, which is said to be a rather shy animal. (Yuh right). Coffee plants, banana plants, the royal palm trees. Lots of scary bridges. And a swim in one of the lakes.

There had been a 'rumour' about the existence of a disco cave in Trinidad. A cave with a party. A cave, that had shiny lights and lots of music echoeing off its walls.
Needless to say, our group was curious.
And, by the overheard commentary of those who had gone, it was great. Nobody who had gone had regretted it, which is good to hear. My body has not regretted staying home. At all.

Yesterday, we left our luxury early morning (though all mornings have been early, I haven't woken up after 07:30 since the before I left for Cuba) to head to Sancti Spiritus via a Sugarcane plantation. Lora had just heard Rochelle wasn't feeling well, and had agreed to take the entire group on tour, something which demands respect if nothing else.

The plan had been for us to board the Steam train to Iznaga from Trinidad, but like the optional of the Canopy Tours before it, it was cancelled due to the heavy downpour of rain. According to Griselle (our Cuban silent guide, an awesome woman), the rails had been wrecked, and in some places water was waist high. It would take a good three months to repair..

So we went by bus, and Lora gave her tour. She did it well enough, with a slight story trail twist to it. Sugar cane and slavery were the topics. Then we continued to Sancti Spiritus, about at hour drive, where we first had lunch (and I walked into roughly four jewellers in one street) and then got toured around. Topics were healthcare in Cuba, the difference between bodegas (necessity shops) and tiendas (dollar stores). And religion, and the difference between catholicism here and in the rest of the world, due to the Santeria (an african rooted belief in a lot of Orishas -Gods-).

Sancti spiritus is the first city that comes even close to Habana's atmosphere of an actual city. The shopping street even reminded me a bit of Maasmechelen Village in Belgium, though without the big brand names.

The accommodation was, as always, just outside the city's boundaries. Big, with an actual bathtub and warm water. A big pool. Cheap food. Also, unfortunately, sort caterpillarish insects in my bed. That didn't make me too happy.

This morning, after only one night, we had to check out at the unholy time of 07:25. Luckily it was possible to have breakfast from 07:00 (usually breakfast here starts half an hour later). Now, we're in the bus, prepared to sit through a good five hours to go to the North Coast of the island: to Cayo Guillermo.
Our second 'free' day these three and a half weeks. And my last, because if I don't finish writing my tour quickly, I'm going to be screwed in three days.
_______

Right now, just one more day before my tour, I'm only slightly nervous because I'm not allowing myself to be. 

We went to Cayo Guillermo, which was pretty. A key, like all keys, created of sediments of dead animals, compressed by waves and pressure over the years, to become like islands along a shore. In 1988 (!) they built the bridge to the three cayos: Cayo CoCo, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Romero.

The sea, however, wasn't as awesome as expected. It was pretty, but there were stretches of seaweed and patches of clear sand. We were at least quarter of a kilometer in, and the water still didn't reach our waists. And there were jelly bugs, but of course only I was stung.
We took the day off easy, none of us did too much.

From Cayo Guilermo we moved to Santa Clara. /Everybody/ was looking forward to this: Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. The tour took two days, and was impressive to say the least. If there had not been any discussion about whether Che was a good or evil man already, there was one now. The fact that he believed in his ideologies (justice, liberty, courage), didn't care if he died protecting and spreading them, makes him a good symbol. That he killed a lot of human beings makes him less than friendly.

I don't like the fact he killed people. I don't like the notionof a human's life being thought so worthless. But I like what he stood for. And according to his pictures, he looked like a man with plenty of charisma to persuade anyone to do anything. And he had asthma. Like my sister. Which makes everything just slightly more personal. And he was an Argentinean. Like Jeremias. ;)

Though I sincerely believe that if he hadn't died when he did (right after the start of the revolution) and where he did (Bolivia) doing what he had always planned (spreading his ideologies), he would never have been this much of an icon. Fidel could never have used him as such. Also, Che wouldn't have allowed it himself. Because ironically, he stands for everything that icon (and especially its merchandize) is not.

On day one, we visited Che's statue in front of communist chief centre of Santa Clara. A rather personal thing, I've never seen a statue I liked more.  And that's not just because of his pretty smile. It had the smallest details, that slightly remind me of some fairy tales.
We also visited el Tren Blindado, or the Armoured Train, that was full of Batista's soldiers and got taken over by Che and his men, 27-28th december 1958. 

The next day we went to his mausoleum (memorial), where his remains now are. Apparently when his body was first buried, nobody knew where it was. It was only in 1996 that they discovered he was buried along the take off road of the airport of...
When they dug him up, it became apparent that they had cut off his hands so that nobody could tell it was him(?). Nobody knows where these hands now are. His remains where sent to Cuba, to his daughter, who immediately presented it to Fidel, saying Che belonged to the Cuban people.

Right opposite the mausoleum is the museum, full of his pictures and items. Though not his world famous coat. Then we walked over to the square, where his huge (7 m. Long) bronze memorial statue is, and next to it his 'farewell' letter and a stone engraved some of his 'scenes'. Anouk and Jan did a great job touring it.

After Santa Clara we had a long bus ride to Varadero. The. Most. Beautiful. Beach. Ever.
Or at least of Cuba. The water was seriously clearer and cleaner than most swimming pools our hotels had. We didn't have to walk long to reach swimming and diving heights, and even at night (last night I swam from 0200 till 0500), it was gorgeous. Especially because there were tiny sea creature (or plants?) that glow in the dark.

We had a visit from a representative of Thomas Cook, who explained what it is like, not to be a tour manager, but to be a local host and representative. To receive groups, transfer them to their hotels, and then continue to make sure they are having a great vacation until they're back on the plane. I don't know if I would like it as much as touring around. But maybe I would..

Now, we're in the bus back to Havana. We'll be visiting the Dutch Ambassy this afternoon, and I wonder what they'll have to say. I hope it'll be interesting, if for no reasn but the fact I haven't slept for more than two and a half hours last night. (Totally worth it though!)

I'll probably update one last time after my tour, cause the next thing on the agenda will be a flight out of Cuba.

______
So... the Ambassy visit was enlightning. The women said so much using so little words it was beautiful. And she also said it was sure everything that was said was being taped, sent to the CDR and national security to be translated and overheard in about a week's time. A rather strange notion to be aware of.

We watched the football match: Ned-Den at Hotel Nacional all together! It was awful! Regardless of all the orange t shirts, all the red-white-blue stripes on our cheeks and the passionate and fiery hopefulness in our hearts, Denmark still won. Now the question is, will Netherlands get through the first pool at all, now that they're playing Portugal and Germany.. At least we showed patriotism and comradeship I am proud of! :)

La Habana was almost like coming home from a trip, rather like 'home'. A lot of places and people looked familiar, we all knew where to go and what to do. Quite remarkable.
I skipped  the evening out to study for my tour, but really ended up falling asleep.

The day after, I woke up feeling horrible. I'd hardly slept, I had an infected (swollen and painful but not pink) eye, and was feeling queasy and stressful. It was warm, and tiring.
It was not the best tour I've given.
But it was sufficient :)
I passed. With positive criticism.
And I'm happy :)
And our trip here is almost done.

One more thing on the bucket list I managed to tick off officially: get in contact with/sleep at a local's. Because Grisel, our silent guide and angel, invited Anouk and me over, notonly for dinner, but to sleep as well. We were flabbergasted and weren't sure how to respond. In the end, Stacey joined us for dinner, left, and Anouk and I went for a short walk through what we felt was the real Cuba. Houses in disrepair, streetvendors, kids playing football in the streets.. lots of people doing a lot of.. nothing, actually. Busy doing nothing but standing or sitting and watching passersby.

We (Anouk and I) talked. We (A and I) watched a Cuban woman get her hair styled. We went up to the sacred corner of Angel's (Grisel's husband). All we had learned at school was that religious beliefs were very much limited to the Santaría, a mix of the African Yoruba and Christian Catholicism. However, Angel was of a totally different 'branch', Palomonte. A religion more like Wiccans than anything else I could link it to besides the African influences. More focused on men than women. More focused on offering than sacrifice.

He demonstrated a seance, which made both Anouk and myself speechless. Anouk loved every word, I got slightly freaked. I had never seen anything like it before. I wrote down all advises and premonitions and things he said..
We played dominoes (Cuban style) with Grisel's neighbour and daughter, and won a cuple of times as well. (Twice, both of us). Then anouk went to take a shower to go to bed, and a dancer (and friend of G's oldest daughter) taught me some Salsa and Son steps..

All in all a day I wouldn't have wanted to miss.
Now:
Leaving the Caribbean.
Central America, here we come!

Xx
The Gypsy

Cuba so far

Friday and Saturday (19/20-05: before leaving) everything went wrong. I got robbed, things got lost, Luna ran away. All in all a rather dismal start. Then, on Sunday, I got a call from the Organisation Team of Cuba: they managed to check in everyone online. That is to say, everyone but me. Horror and stress ensued, though I tried to keep calm. All I had to do was go show my face at an airport desk. As might be obvious (from my long internet silence if nothing else, which you may or may not have noticed.) I made it through.

Right now I'm typing this on my phone, taking my time , my feet in the water of the hotel's swimming pool. I'll snatch the first opportunity to post this, but I'll probably only be able to use wifi after Cuba.

When we landed, we had a very watery welcome. Rain, and lots of it. (Another stitch since the weekend?) I think I was the only one who didn't mind much, but then again I am the only one who can't really appreciate the sun. I am still grateful for every day I live in Holland.

Since the first day, there has been plenty of sun. We started our Tuesday by breakfast at our Hotel Vedado, which was surprisingly good. I remember all too clearly that food in Latvia was 'meh', and though I will repeat again and again I'm glad I eat to live, and don't live to eat, I'm really secretely relieved the food here is nice so far. (They had told us not to expect any culinary niceties, but I'll disagree. I've already had the best grilled fish I'll have in a long while)

After breakfast, it was a gathering in the lobby, to take the bus to Miramar, and the Escuela de Idiomas (or language school).
The barrio (neighbourhood) is supposedly on of the places where the really rich people lived,until everything became property of the state and the all left, either to the States, or Spain, or elsewhere.

Dick (our spanish teacher) had already divided us into groups, so we heard that morning that the class of 35 peeps had been divided into 5 groups of 4 levels: next-to-nothing, basics, two groups of 'normal' and one advanced. Was dealt into the last one, with only three other girls (Nikki, Anouk and Emma) and one guy (Tom). And Jeremias, but he was just there because otherwise he'd probably have to wait out, bored, every day of week one. Explanation: Jere is an Argentinian. He needs as much Spanish classes as I need either Dutch or English ones.

After classes (and the realization I might starve whenever a restaurant told me they had nothing but 'carne'), we went on our first ever tour: la Habana vieja. Jeremias toured us along 'el Cinco Plazas', or the five squares. We saw the cathedral, the forts built to protect Habana from the pirates harrassing the coasts (the Dutch, the English and the French).
I had my only swim in the swimming pool of this week. I think it's the only day I managed to relax.

The second tour was the day after. Gloria toured us, Hannah toured the second half of the group. On the schedule were the Capitolio (basically the Eiffel tower of Habana in terms of importance), and el Barrio Chino (Or Habana's Chinatown, only without the abundance of the Chinese themselves. The only ones we saw were tourists, and there will probably be a lot of them working in the kitchens).

We got two tours on the day of our Oral Spanish exam. (Can you say tough?). One was a tour I was looking forward to a lot: Museo del Revolucion, or, in other words, Fidel's own piece of work. His entire life, as well as parts of -mostly- the twelve survivors of the first 82 to land back on Cuban grounds from Mexico, the best 'friends' of "the Beard". Amongst them: Che Guevara, current president and his own brother, Raúl Castro, Almeida, Cienfuegos and more. It was muy interesante.

The second tour consisted of Hotel Nacional, and opposite to the hot and suffocating museum, this tour turned out to be a pleasant surprise, not only because of the airco (though it played a big part), but also because I had no idea what to expect. I knew there had been 'some' famous people visiting it since forever, but I never imagened the bulk of names that hit me: Johnny Depp (!), Louis Amstrong, Frank Sinatra (I touched his doorhandle 8D ), the first actor to play Tarzan, who used to jump off the balcony of the first floor into the 1.3m deep swimming pool, as well as LOTS of mobsters. The maffia actually held a conference there that shut down the hotel's usual running for it.
____

It's been a couple of days since I had my feet in the pool, typing out all of that. And I will give an update of everything promise, but I need to get this off my chest first:
I JUST RODE A HORSE!
Woooh!

That, and today was epic from every angle. First of all, when I woke up and opened the door, the view took my breath away and left me momentarily speechless. Pinar del Rio, and specifically Vinales, is gorgeous. It's not called Cuba's Back Yard without good reason. Nowhere else do they have scenery and greenery like here.

Stacey, with whom I had had that Storytrail workshop in the beginning of this month (May), had to tour group 2, Elise our group. I managed to tag along with the other group, for the sole reason of being intensely curious as to what Stace had created. She was awesome. Her tour through the cave of a mogote (lime stone formed mountains), with a story about Cubans first hero: Hatuey, an indian, and an interesting debate in front of Cuba's biggest (and ugly) murial was interesting throughout. 

After the storytrail we had lunch, and afterwards went to a tobacco farm. Lots of green, lots of interesting facts told by Mark and Kirsten. The entire proces was explained, from planting the seeds all the way to rolling the cigar, although we only went to the 'factory' to see it happening the day after. Mark also introduced something called Guayavita, which, as the name indicates, is a liqour-ish drink with small guavas in the bottle. Apparently there are two versions, and everybody who had a taste seemed to prefer the sweet to the dry one, judging by the looks on their faces. It all merely smelled like alcohol to me.

After we got back to our bungelows (yeees, the luxury, so much fun, your own little house) we had about fifteen minutes to get ready for the next activity, horsebackriding. I had 'stolen' some of the left-over meat off our tables to give to my new best four-footed friends (besides Luna, of course). They practically ate it without chewing, wagging their tails all the way.

Choosing horses was a tad difficult, they all looked fairly skinny and like followers. Hannah and I were silently squabbling over the most beautiful of steeds, a black one, firey and passionate. I asked for a fast one, and a fast one I got. Not our black beauty, but a greyish white horse who didn't look all that. Turned out he was far more eager to run than Blackie, which Hannah got, so I was satisfied. Hannah and I were quick to jot ahead and leave the rest of the group behind, and I tried out my steed the first opportunity I got, a meadow. Best. Thing. Ever. The horse guy wasn't too happy with me, though the old man who had assigned me the horse had twinkly eyes and the biggest smile.

After horseriding I took a swim, a shower, sang happy birthday to Emma at 18.00 exactly (midnight in Holland), admired a colibri with Stacey, and got ready for some bat-watching. The cave we had been at in the morning was full of them, and we'd been told that we could go see them. A pretty sight, but damn do they make a racket for such tiny animals. One of them, it looked like a baby still, came gliding so close to me I squealed (of happiness). Which says plenty.

---

To get back to before we left to Pinar del Rio, there's not a lot to tell. Mostly, spanish classes. The last evening in la Habana Anouk and I visited Habana vieja to eat something, though I wasn't hungry, and we ended up seeing Habana by night. Especially the Capitolio was a grand sight.

At the spanish language school we all got to prepare a little act, and after our written exam, which took place on the last day of us being in Habana, we got to watch this little show. It started out with everyone receiving their certificate, and afterwards a dance performance of a couple of children from a neighbouring school. After that, one by one we performed our own acts to each other, which was as much fun(ny) as it was good.

The bus trip to Pinar del Rio didn't take too long, two hours top. We were all pretty flabbergasted by the sights of the mogotes as we got a little talk about them and the other mountain ranges of Cuba. I personally wouldn't have minded if we had stayed here a week in the Spanish school, instead of Habana, which I had pretty much become tired of after 3 days.
________

I'll end this post here, for it's length and your tired eyes if nothing else. I'll keep on typing, of course, so stay tuned! 

Xx
The Gypsy

Doing a Good Job

We sort of threw a benefit party yesterday, from which my ears are still ringing, even though I was wearing earplugs. We already had about 30 suitcases of secondhand clothing collected, and about 8000 soaps. But that wasn't enough. As a Good-Cause-Committee we wanted to do more: Collect as much money as possible for pencils, pens, notebooks, vitamines and aspirins. (Basically anything they don't have on Cuba)

We agreed with one pub that half of their wardrobe income was ours, we could ask for a voluntary entry fee, and we held a lottery (amongst the prices were: Breakfast in bed, a CD coupon of 15€, a clothing cheque for 25€, and as the number one winner: A holiday and hotel. Pretty good, eh?). And if that wasn't enough, we also managed to borrow the owner's polaroid instant camera, for which we only had to him back for the film. (I must've shot about 30 people together with Stace 8D )
Think there must've been some 250-300 people in there last night.
The exact amount raised still to be counted up, but it looks pretty awesome :)

We had a May Holiday of a week, but I spent it either being sick or practicing and practicing more to hold my tour through Utrecht with Stacey, instead of the actual plan: Working for school, finishing essays, buying and packing for Cuba. But: It was epic. It really was. The audience was terrific and grateful, and the compliments seemed never ending and did our ego a lot of good.

Apart from that we had our final exam at the school yesterday, a debate about Gorilla tracking in Uganda. And we had to write a report about it, as well as an essay. Which brings me to the next point: I feel like I've gained so much more general knowledge than I have in the longest while, having to research China culture, New Zealand's Maori, Roman history in Utrecht, Uganda's Wildlife, the world's geography (topography, politics, history, export-import, etc) and everything Cuba amongst many other things. I've learned a lot about myself, all thanks to those Group and Human Dynamics. I have even discovered a new interest: everything Geology related. :)

And we're not there yet. The school year still has another 4 busy weeks ahead, in Cuba: with intensive Spanish courses, exams (written and oral), and of course, the biggest part: Our Tour.
My part is Hemingway. Final day of the study trip. And I'm already drop dead nervous.
I'm hoping that my experiences so far have made me grow, the tours in the Museum of Tropics as well as the ones through Utrecht and Breda.. That I can apply what I've learned, and more importantly: That it is clear that I've worked my butt off for it. That people enjoy it.

I'm going to try and keep my blog whilst travelling, but we've been told internet's not as abundant in Cuba as anywhere else in the world (6% of Cubans have access to internet at all). Hotels don't do wifi, and private homes/people have neither the money nor the power to even own a computer.
But that's all good.
There used to be a time when there was no internet abundant anywhere.
And people still managed fine. :)
Anyway, as soon as we start travelling to part of the "normal" world, I'll give a shout.
Stay tuned :)

Xx
The Gypsy

The Hotspots of Happiness

There are a lot of theories going around about happiness.
Some say it comes from within you, others find it genetically linked, still others think it depends on the situation or country you grow up in. Maybe it is a bit of all three.

I've just finished reading Eric Weiner's The Geography of Bliss. (If you have time: Do read it. It is brilliant.)
Yes, you read that right, happiness has a geography.
According to Weiner anyway, and Ruut Veenhoven, who does his Happiness Studies right here in my little country: in Rotterdam. He has a happiness database of countries, selected so that the number one country is the  happiest, the last country the unhappiest.

A few things that struck me: the happiest countries in the world are not the ones you'd go on for a lazy, relaxed beach holiday, nor are they particularly warm. The top ten actually consists of a lot of Scandinavian countries. Long winters, cold nights.
Thai people say that thinking leads to unhappiness, so the less you think, the happier you become/are.
People in Qatar are not happy, though they have more money amongst than the more productive countries, simply because they have oil. ((aka: proven, money doesn't buy happiness.)) The Swiss prefer boredom and rules to any spontaneousity or chaos, they are happiest when they know what to expect.
Also, the United States only has a (rather measely) 23rd place in the list. Not unhappy, but definitely not one of the happier states. Apparently, being the economic super power isn't everything.
The Netherlands is the third country on the list though, so I'm not complaining.

New research I just stumbled upon last week found that teenagers here are actually happiest in the world, here in the Netherlands. And so are the women.

Also, according to http://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/ (an good blog you should totally read if you're planning on visiting/moving to the Netherlands), Dutch people also work the least in the continent where the average working days are already not the highest in the world. An average of 30.2 hours per week, we work a whole day less than the 37.2 hours of Europeans, not to mention the gap between us and the hardworking North Americans, who work an average of 44-52 hours per week!
And if you ask any random Dutchie what they do in all this extra free time? Well, the answer is almost unanimous: they are enjoying themselves.
Most impressive about this? The Dutch do manage to top the list of productivity in the EU, so we're doing something right. :)

Another theory I was told about yesterday somehow spiked my interest. It is convinced that people are happiest when they are thinking about what they are doing. The extreme variant of living in the "now" and present, and forgetting about both future and past.
It says, for instance, that people are happiest when they are doing something they love, and concentrating on only that. But it also says that when people are doing something they dislike (ie. a chore, homework, etc) they are happier if they think of what they're doing, rather than if they think of something fun (like the clubbing last night, or a party tomorrow, or all the fun things you could be doing instead.)

And that's exactly Buddhism/Hindiusm for you. A lifestyle. A way of thinking "Carpe Diem, and we'll see what happens tomorrow when it comes."
Thing is, it needs to come from within you. With some, it comes naturally. They have either been brought up in that way, or they can't remember the past or plan the future very much. For others, unfortunately, it is more difficult. Some people cannot stop thinking about the future (all the things you have to get done when you get home), or the past (all the good and bad that's happened to you up till yesterday). Thing is, they have difficulty ever being truly happy, because they can't enjoy the moment when it's there, and usually end up morosely regretting it when it's over.

You can train yourself though, I'm sure of that. I'm neither brought up in the Carpe Diem way, nor am I naturally very optimistic. I have an inclination to get depressed easily, if anything. But I came to a realisation, somewhere along the way, that any negative feeling, ranging from worry to anger or downright resentment, is nothing more than a waste of time. And as soon as I really understood that, it was just a matter of time before a new me emerged, bubbly, cheerful, and full of self confidence.

Seeing as I only heard about that theory of "thinking in the now" yesterday, I haven't had the chance to try it out a lot.. I think ten things at one time, past, present and future, and am probably the most difficult person to teach how to meditate. I did smile to myself when I reprimanded myself on the bike yesterday when I was thinking of what I was going to do when I came home, instead of just thinking of biking, so it sorta works. ;)

Going back to Weiner's book about Bliss, though: The moment when you start thinking about your own happiness, or when you ask yourself whether you are happy or not, you cease to be happy (or in a lesser degree, become unhappier). Which leads me to think (ouch, there's that word again) that the Thai are right. So you should actually be forgetting about everything you just read (if you ever actually made it this far), and not think about how happy you are, or how you could become happier.
I'm not sure if telling (or forcing) yourself to enjoy the moment as it comes is going to work, but it might just become a habit if you train yourself to do just that.

See, this is what happens when it's almost your birthday.
You start thinking about life. And, surprise: I'm still happier than I've been in a long time :)
And I wish you all all the happiness you deserve~ -- because you got here, to the end (;

Xx
The Gypsy

Time traveling.

Three years ago, I was one anxious wreck.

I just realized this, reading back the posts.

I was intimidated of moving (again).

I was horrified at taking that big a step and leaving loved ones and places behind.

I was worried whether I was doing the right thing.

I can understand why.

I wish I could travel through time though, and look the Me I was back then in the eye.

I would look her in the eye and smile.

I would sing to her, "Jessie dear.. Every little thing's gonna be alright."

I would give her a bear hug just to convince her I am real.

I would probably twirl and wink and (try to) disappear.

Just to convince myself I'm still as crazy as I was.

So changed. So much more self confident. So much more happy.

But still crazy little me. :)

Xx

The Gypsy

Epic Weekends - A necessity.

I am in dire need of a cheering up, thus figured this was the perfect time to remind myself of one of the more special weekends ever. It happened just last week, too. So I'm up to date as can be ;)

The week before it did end in a disastrous exam on Friday, so I was already glad it was over.

The sun was shining (which caused everyone around me to be in the best of moods already) - and I started off my adventure by going to Nieuwegein. Koen had promised me a slideshow of Nepal - pictures, and it sure wasn't a disappointment. I've got travel-itchiness already, I can't wait for Nepal, even though there's still Cuba first.

Also, his kid is awesome. Like, foreals. And anybody who knows me understands how high that praise is, seeing my 'normal' view on children.

I continued through to Den Haag, and arrived at my destination - Elly's place.

Happiness all around, cause I feel right at home there. :)

Saturday, our tourist day.

After braiding up our hair the wrong side up, we set off to Delft.

The day had already started out fine, but when people in the train were cheerfully chatty, we knew that it was going to be special.

(Shot by El (: )

It was a market day, which gave it an even more cosy atmosphere.

We visited the New and Old Church, saw the blue Heart of Delft and I even spotted the secret door through which William the Silent left Delft for secret meetings and the "final escape".

(Epic secret door!)

(Tsk. Shame on you if you have to look up who he is.)

We continued this travelling to Utrecht, Holland's centre, physically and.. figuratively?

Almost all trains end up at its station, and it is a internation hub (especially on a Saturday).

Again, a chatty Polish girl who studied in Utrecht and was heading to Rotterdam interrupted our own trails of thought.

First, we were distracted by some Turkish/Dutch kids who were playing in a playground and were wide-eyed at the sight of some adult (me, mainly.. ) trying out their swings and games. They begged us to stay and play a little, and Elly and I certainly enjoyed it almost as much as they did.

There was an open day at the Wood Mill- De Ster in Utrecht, and I had kept it a secret that that was the plan. It was well -visited, and it was definitely cool to feel the wind pushing and pulling as we stood near the Mill's sails.

Afterwards we walked over to the Dom Tower, through the central Station. The Church was built to be the center at the intersection of four other churches, built in the form of a cross at the heart of.. Holland's centre.

I also remembered (just in time, I might add) what tour I had given in Utrecht, and I sort of skimmed through a summary and showed her the remains of the old Roman's castellum walls.

(Built roughly 210 AD)

Our last stop that day was Amsterdam.

I'd known that by the end of the day I'd be too tired to actually think of anything remotely interesting to say, and thought that a cliché of a highlight-cruise might do the trick..

It would have, also, but we stepped into the wrong cruise. (Isn't that hilarious?)

Instead, ours was a hop-on-and-off taxi, which dropped us off at the Rijksmuseum.

We walked back to our starting point. Which did kind of force us to do some sigh-seeing. (I wasn't too bothered.)

We'd been torn about whether to take our cruise whilst it was still light, because as I had read, by night it also had it's specific charms.

Thus, when we arrived at our starting point just in time for the last cruise to depart, it became clear that it was fate doing all the (awesome) talking. And we hopped on again. This time for our actual cruise. :)

After dinner (which was good and a lot), we made our way back to Den Haag.

The next day, Outrun CF had been scheduled.

I think we did a rather good job, Djuna collected about 3600€ all in all.

It was good seeing everybody again.

It was good just walking along the beach (lots of sailboats to watch).

Elly and I ended up having Kibbeling, walking up the Pier,

nosing in all kinds of souvenir shops.

And last, but definitely not least: On our way home, we passed a Japanese restaurant I'd looked up: We had BUBBLE TEA!

Lychee Bubble Tea, moreover.

I've been wanting to try that in forever.

And that was definitely NOT what I'd been expecting.

But it was all good.

I can definitely advice everyone to go ahead and try it. :)

Xx

The Gypsy

Ps: I'm missing some pictures I'm pretty sure were taken by El's camera.

Might upload those later. Check back in a couple of days ;)