Jenni's Big Trip

March 16, 2001

Destination:  San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico

Mission:  To travel in small, cramped school vans with people I did and didn’t know and arrive in San Blas, Mexico 30 hours later.  We will do Ecological and cultural studies through out our stay.

Schedule:

Day 1- Packed up the vans, picked out our seats, and left Murray State College.

Day 2- Stopped in Lardio, Texas and exchanged our money.  Next we drove over the boarder and stopped to get our Visas and three car permits.  (Here is where we ran into problems)  We then drove till we got to Bustamante for our first camp out.

Day 3- Hiked around Bustamante then loaded back up and drove till we hit the Pacific Ocean.

Day 4- Arrived at the campsite we called home for five days.  Set up camp in the dark and got ready for a long day of rotation. We were split up into groups with a mix of Mexican, Kansas, and Oklahoma students.  My group left camp to study reptiles.

Day 5- Woke up to the sound of waves hitting each other and ate breakfast, which was always eggs, beans, and tostadas.  We got ready for a day of bird watching and studying the ones we caught.  After our bird rotation was over with we started the mammal rounds.  All we had to do was set up small mammal traps out in the brush. 

Day 6- After the wonderful breakfast (ha ha) my group had to go and check the traps.  We brought back the small animals that were inside and studied them.  After lunch we had free time so I HAD to go to the ocean.  A few of us went swimming and went to the tide pool. 

Day 7- I got ready for Fish rotation.  This is what I wanted to do the most.  We started the day off with going into the ocean and dragging it with a big net.  After the ocean we went to an area where fresh water met the ocean.  We did some studies of the water and what animals lived there.  Later that day we went to a crocodile farm and swam with them.  The water was a little cold so I did not stay in long. 

Day 8- FUN DAY!!  First we tore down our camp so we did not have to mess with it in the morning.  Then we went on a boat ride that went through a mangrove forest.  There were crocodiles and birds all over.  The trees made a canapé over our heads like we were going through a tunnel.  The boats stopped and let us out when we got to the end of the waterway.  It was like a little resort.  The water was so clear you could see every fish.  A few of the people went swimming and swinging off the swing.  I stayed dry.  After the boat ride we drove back to camp and a van full of students went to this waterfall one of the teachers herd about.  It took us an hour to get to the top of the falls then we had to hike down the side of a mountain (I really mean that) for about 15 min.  When we got to the end of the hike we were standing around a little lagoon area with a 120-foot waterfall coming out of the mountain.  We all swam and a few of us jumped off the cliffs.  We stayed for a little more than an hour.  I could have stayed all day but we had to get back so we could go to San Blas.  We had free range of San Blas we could do what ever we wanted.  Brandi and I went shopping in the little square and bought some native stuff.  As we were walking around Brandi was pooped on by a bird.  I could hardly control myself I was laughing so much.

Day 9- Today we left camp for good and headed for Real de Catorce.  I was so pumped for this because Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts just made a movie here (The Mexican).  We got in to the hotel around 9:30 pm.  Since we were a day early our rooms were not ready so we had to stay in one of the managers apartments.  I had to sleep on the floor since there were only two beds and they were called quickly.

Day 10- I got up at 6:30 am ready to go.  I had to walk by myself since everyone else wanted to sleep.  I walked all over taking pictures of everything.  I went shopping at the town street market.  Around lunch time a group of us went on a horseback ride to the top of a big hill where you could see the town in a valley.  This was not that fun because we were taken to the wrong place and the leaders were rushing our horses and making them mad.  At the end of the ride they wanted us to pay WAY more than we were told before the ride, but Derrick fixed that and we only paid the original price  Later that day I was switched into a new room that had a bed and hot shower which was great.

Day 11- We did our last bit of shopping and got loaded back in the vans and headed home.  We drove all day and night. 

Day 12- We said our goodbyes to Kansas at a gas station.  We washed off the vans and unloaded them and every one went home.

I had a GREAT time on this trip.  It was worth all the hard work I had to do to raise the money.  I am glad I went and experienced another country’s culture and environment.  I thought I would not have a fun relaxing spring break but I was wrong.  Yes there is a lot of walking and some studying but where else are you going to get the chance to catch vampire bats, swim with crocodiles, and see birds you will not see anywhere else.  Thanks to everyone who took the time to make this trip possible.