Trip Koliber: July 2,2015

Obstacles and Perseverance

Yesterday wasn't very exciting, so I did you all a favor and didn't write so you wouldn't get bored. ;)

Oh actually, we did some yoga on the beach-- we both tried the Scorpion pose which requires a lot of balance. I sped it up:

Just like the perseverance it will require to get the scorpion pose, we must also exercise our perseverance on this trip. 

While yesterday was kind of boring, today was quite challenging:

Technology has seemed to fail at every corner. First the GPS in the plane, then the GPS in our phone, then not being able to connect to the internet, not being able to make phone calls, landline in the last hotel didn't work, internet at the airport down, then the internet in the hotel was crawling at a snail's speed, then when we got to the airport today to attempt to fly, I tried to boot my laptop...... It wasn't turning on, it just started a loud alarm sound:

BEEP BEEP BEEP.... 

I started to panic: "Did my motherboard die? Did my hardboard fry?" 

Am I going to have to buy a new laptop?! Damn I can't afford that right now!

So I decided to google it before I jumping to any conclusions. I googled it- I learned it was the RAM! Wow, okay I think I can fix this. So I called Best Buy, locate the ram I need, they hold it for me and the friendly cab driver took us there to pick it up. 

Then another technology glitch: my debit card didn't work. Not sure why but, whatever, I have cash. 

The Brownsville Airport

Moving on --  Decision: not flying those storms aren't stopping, well shit.

What do we do? Cancel? Go to the beach and relax? Nah, we are here, this is my only gap of non obligation times for the near future, we must go! We decided to fly commercial. This is business.

Trimming down our luggage, back pack style, y'all!

So we're on the way to Matamoros in the cab, I cannot wait to try and fix my laptop - I am so impatient at this point. So, I performed surgery in the backseat of the cab with an eyeglass repair kit, the new ram and the lid to my iPhone earphones to hold the screws. I open the baby up, clean out the dust, take out the measly 2GB ram cards and pop in the new ones...Wa-La! Success! Screw the tiny screws back in, and YES YES! My baby booted back up. I feel like I saved a life today. And on the bright side of this rainy few days... I HAVE 8GBs OF RAM!

Okay, so now we are at the Matamoros Airport. We missed the 2pm flight, but were expecting to take the 6pm flight. The man at AeroMexico failed to tell us that the 6pm flight didn't go to Tapachula, it only goes to Mexico City. We don't want to stay the night in Mexico City, so we plan to take the flight tomorrow.

So we get a hotel. This one is strange and modern- all fancy and shit. Cheap, but all new and modern. Lots of Mexican business people. Free coffee, it looks like a Japanese Ikea. 

We went to a restaurant where I chose the Enchiladas Verdes (I know, how American), but hey, when you have a food allergy - you play it safe. 

Wow - that food was FULL of MSG. No joke. I couldn't finish it. They brought me a "snapper" but when they brought it, it was completely breaded. Nope! Sorry, extremely allergic to bread, I cannot eat this...So they brought me ANOTHER plate, by this point I gave up on eating. Give me a double of tequila please!

Then I planned out the rest of our trip on a napkin. Planning makes me feel better...Hence why I'm an event planner back home. We are done lolly-gagging, I am making sure that we make the absolute most of the little time we have left. I have to be back in Austin by the 10th. We are doing this. 

Plans change 1039485737 times a day

So we will have at least 4 full days in Guatemala.

July 3: Fly to Tapachula, hangout, catch bus at 1145pm to Guatemala City, arrive in the morning.

July 4: Nap, Go to the Market where we pickup the Headbands and shirts (Sonia)

July 5: Ricardo's Family time

July 6: Find Women's Cooperative

July 7: Drive to Lake Atitlan, See Seamstress (Maria) for the Hammocks

July 8: Lake Atitlan, Bus to Tapachula

July 9: Fly back to Matamoros, Cab to Brownsville, fly private plane back home.

Most of the time when I travel, it is NOT this hard. Having so many obstacles is new to me, so I'm having to learn this thing called patience and persistence. 

Thanks Tommy- that helps. 

Love,

Litty