31/1/11

4:26pm

Oh my God! I don't think I've ever been bitten by so many bugs in my life. Some have it worse than me, but there's not one person who hasn't been attacked my mosquitos or something of the sort. They're way more itchy than anything in Australia, and they come up as red as scabs. I'm praying none of them are going to give me malaria.

Other than that, the past few days have been awesome. Hot springs are officially the highlight of my trip. Two of my favourite girls on this trop and I found the hottest pools and spent at least an hour lounging around. The water was hotter the baths I run for myself at home. It felt amazingly therapeutic. There were some water slides too, which were terrifying but exhilarating too. The night ended with (another) buffet complete with chocolate fondue for dessert. Heaven.

Today was our zip-lining and rappelling adventure. It was a lot of fun, and there were some breath-taking views, but it honestly wasn't unlike anything I'd ever done before. Still, it was a physically challenging day, and in that respect I do feel better for it.

I'm glad that I've made some really good friends on this trip. There are certain people who have been pissing me off quite a bit, but for every one of those, I've met at least two people who I've really gotten to know and connected with. I've been kept up to date with the ridiculous high school drama going on back home, but the fact that I'm here only emphasises to me how many better people there are out there in the world to be friends with.

29/1/11

8:46pm

They weren't kidding when they said today was a busy day!

We started out with horseback riding, something I haven't done much of in quite a while, but I think I picked it up rather wall. At one open part of the track we were allowed to try galloping, which was pretty intense. To have such a powerful animal in my control was definitely a big thrill. However, my horse (named Negrito, or 'Little Black'), was pretty anti-social. When I went to pat him and say thank you afterwards, he pulled away and simply trotted off. I guess, living with a crazy cat like mine, I shouldn't be surprised that even animals can have shitty personalities.

After horse-riding was a nature walk where the tour leader pointed out different things throughout the forest. We didn't see much wildlife, but we did get to see some pools of hot, bubbling volcanic mud. They weren't lying on Supernatural when they said sulfur smelt like rotten eggs! The walk ended at a waterfall, the kind out of a postcard, that runs into those clear, blue, idyllic pools of water. We jumped off the rocks into the chilling water, and the perfect antidote to the long walk.

Then, after lunch, tubing down a white water river. It was a lot of fun, and almost a taste of the class 3 and 4 rapids we'll be rafting down later in the tour. Despite still having a sore toe, it was a lot of thrilling fun. The day ended at a day spa, where we baked in a sauna before lathering ourselves head to toe in volcanic mud. After it dried, we rinsed off and spent some time in the beautiful hot springs. The weather took a cold turn, so our run between the rinsing shower and the hot springs was somewhat frantic. But come time to leave, we could barely force ourselves to get out. We have one more trip to a hot spring tomorrow, so I'll definitely be making the most of that.

Another interesting point was that we had all our meals provided for us today, and they were all served buffet style. I've never worried about my weight, or much about what I eat, but so much time spent with only girls has got me thinking like them now. Maybe I'll start 'no carbs after 6' when I get home, to counter the rice, beans and pasta I've been having nearly 3 times a day. My problem with buffets is that I want to try everything, and so probably end up eating a great deal more than I probably should.

Oh well, it tastes amazing.. and I am on holidays!

28/1/11

5:55pm

Thermal hot springs were amazing. I could have stayed in them all day, I think. They're supposed to be really good for your skin, especially when followed up by a cold shower. I can literally feel my body glowing. Between this and a darker shade of tan, I feel like a million bucks.

But I'm still so tired after last night and a day of travelling. Tonight will definitely be an early one to prepare for tomorrows multiple activities.