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Tuesday Jul 28, 2009

New York and it's time to go home!

With the 21st of July came the time for me to leave Mexico, after a month of being there I was quite sad to be leaving the place, after having gotten so used to the seemingly nationwide friendly and laidback approach to life, I was really going to miss it! I was and still am sure that I will return there some day though, so I set my mind on the next couple of days, and seeing New York instead.

I had never been to the US before (other than on my journey out that is, and airports don't really count) so I was pretty excited at getting a look around the Big Apple for the first time. We only had one actual full day to spend in the city, but we crammed plenty in, buying tickets for those "hop-on hop-off" open top bus tours (around £40) like they have in London and other cities in the UK, which lasted for 48 hours so we were sorted for transport for the whole of our stay!

So firstly, we got on the bus and listened to the tourguide until we reached the stop for the Statten Island ferry, which is free and gives great views of the Statue of Liberty, although there's really not much to do actually on Statten Island, you can just get the free return back again! Then we walked over to the Liberty/Ellis Island ferry, as our bus tickets included free entry onto this ferry as well, and went over to get a closer look at Lady Liberty. Got to admit, she wasn't as big as I thought she would be, but still really impressive! Was a great sunny day when we were there so we stayed and wandered around the tiny island for a little bit just to enjoy the weather really. Unfortunately, you have to book about 3 months in advance to go up the statue now, as it's been so busy since they re-opened it for entry, but it's still great just to go over and see it up close anyway!

Then we got back on the bus tour (which are great by the way, although it largely depends on the guide) and then wandered around Central Park, as we were in a hotel that was only about 2 blocks away from the South end of the park. The park was maybe my favourite part of New York, completely man-made it's a real escape from the bustling city, and yet it's always busy as well, filled with people jogging and cycling and just generally relaxing as well. It just felt strange to see all this wildlife, in the middle of such a giant city, but it's obviously really appreciated by everyone who lives there, unlike loads of the parks in the UK.

Anyway, one bit of advice for anyone going to New York, go up the Empire State Building at night! We went at midnight (it's open until 2am) and firstly, the bright city lights are beautiful to see, but also and maybe more importantly, there was barely any queue! During the day we had seen the queue outside the Empire State Building stretching right around the block (bearing in mind there's miles of queues inside the building as well), yet at night we were able to walk almost straight up, with only a short queue near the lifts. Definitely a great experience (and Empire State entry was included in the bus tickets too).

The next day we decided to check out the uptown loop of the bus tour, which unfortunately wasn't altogether exciting so we got off and wandered around the Northern side of Central Park instead, before spending our last hour or so in the Central Park Zoo. It costs $10 for entry, and although it's pretty tiny, it is a nice place to visit with lots of animals to see including two Polar Bears and some proper show-off Sea Lions! Of course after working in a monkey sanctuary last summer, I always love seeing the monkeys, so I thought it was a great way to spend the last little while we had in the city. But with that, it was time to get to the airport and head home!

So after a 7 hour overnight flight, I eventually arrived home again. I loved every minute of Mexico and really enjoyed New York too (finding it much less busy, and much more friendly than movies portray it to be), but I have to admit I'm glad to be home again. 5 weeks away from my boyfriend has been really tough, and I'm not sure if I've ever grinned more than when I saw him waiting at the airport! He's been really supportive the whole time, and I guess knowing he was on the other end of a phone line really helped me anytime I felt things were tough at the Refugio in Puerto Vallarta. I guess voluntary work (especially abroad) is always a bit tough, and you need to be confident and a bit brave to go it alone, but it really does help when you have people at home who support you with it, whether they realise they're helping or not.

So with that, I guess I'm finished! My time in Mexico will stay with me forever, and I really hope I will go back some day, especially to see the children at the Refugio. It's encouraged me to take up a proper Spanish course as well, so hopefully in future if I go back I will be able to speak to them properly. So until next time, adios! Fi.

Posted by Fiona ( 11:40 AM )
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3 little days in Cancun...

Ok, so that last blog was so long that I felt the need to have a whole day's rest...sorry for blabbering on for so long it's just that I love travelling around!

Right, so with Chichen Itza done with, we then took the long straight road back to Cancun, where we had booked to stay in a really nice hotel for the last 3 days of Mexico. We were staying in the Hotel Zone which is basically a tiny strip of an island joined by a road on either end to the real Cancun. It is completely tourist orientated with massive 5-star resorts along the whole 20km stretch of it which to me, was a bit daunting! A completely different experience than staying in my local Mexican apartment in Puerto Vallarta. I have to admit I'm not a fan of the Cancun hotel zone, which is designed to make you stay in your hotel really! There are restaurants and shopping plazas around, but not many in relation to the number of hotels and they are pretty spread out as well. Also, it is insanely expensive! So if you're on a budget, I'd say steer clear or head to Downtown Cancun instead, where prices will be cheaper.

I couldn't bear the thought of staying in the hotel for my few days in Cancun, so instead, I went scuba diving (the diving in the Caribbean was far better than on the Pacific Coast by the by - more varied largely thanks to a massive coral reef near to the coast) and also zip-wiring, again. The zip-wiring was a bit more timid this time as it was just between trees with the absence of the mountains they had in Puerto Vallarta, as the whole of the Yucatan Peninsula is extremely flat, but they make up for it by letting you do it upside-down (AMAZING FUN) or on your stomach like Superman! For our last day in Mexico, we had booked to go swimming with whale sharks (aka basking sharks) as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it was incredible! 30 miles or so out into the ocean, and there was at least 50 of these massive things swimming about, totally oblivious to or just not bothered by our company. They only eat plankton so it's totally safe - although I'm sure their mouths are big enough they could quite easily have swallowed me - and you get to swim right up beside them as long as you don't touch them. I really would recommend going to something like that because it was so amazing to see these creatures and in their natural habitat unlike a lot of the swimming with dolphins tours they run now, although it definitely wasn't cheap at $190 each! Definitely a fantastic way to end Mexico though.

So anyway, although I wasn't so keen on the Hotel Zone in Cancun, I have to admit that the massive tourist trade definitely helps to make up for it, with no shortage of activities and outings to go on if, like me, you don't relish the idea of just lazing by the pool and never leaving your hotel when staying somewhere. With the caribbean sea and the second largest coral reef in the world right on your doorstep, it's a great place for scuba diving, snorkelling, or just any trips which involve a boat! There's also chances to take trips down to places like Tulum (Mayan ruins on the beach) or Cobá (another impressive ruins site) if you're into that, and nature reserves are nearby as well. So all in all, I did love Cancun as well, though if I ever return I'll definitely be staying in Downtown, for a more 'Mexican' experience, rather than the far-removed clinical world of the Hotel Zone, where you might not even realise you were in Mexico! Fi.

Posted by Fiona ( 11:00 AM )
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Adios ninos

Well today has been heart wrenching! My last day working in the refugio, and I am of course really sad to be leaving the kids. It is impossible to stop yourself from getting attached to them, so saying goodbye today was really hard, especially when with an eclectic mix of Spanish words, and miming an aeroplane they understood what I was trying to say, and their faces fell!

I will never forget my times at the refugio, or any of the children there, its hard to think that I might not be able to come back again - but who knows what the future holds! Though I was very careful not to make any promises. Especially as for the last few days, one of the youngest girls - Lucy - has taken to calling me Mama, no matter how many times I told her "no!", it simultaneously hurts and is comforting to think that they will most likely forget about me within a couple of weeks when it comes to situations like that! I know that I couldn’t help becoming attached, but I am still angry at myself for letting her become too attached as well, with a turbulent past already behind her at such a young age, she doesn’t need me to add to the confusion.

I have to admit that this placement has been really hard! We have received a lot of time off, but working 4-5 hour shifts in this heat has always been trying, and facing temper tantrums was always a bit daunting! Especially as some of the kids had conditions such as ADHD, and also just with the language barrier meaning that I often found it hard to figure out what was wrong in the first place, or to explain to a child why I was stopping them from doing something! Also the staff have not been altogether supportive or appreciative of any of the volunteers, which has been quite hurtful! Never mind the fact that they would often use the volunteers by making us do the tasks they didn’t want to do... one volunteer was even made to clean the bathrooms and unblock the toilets when they broke, staying 2 hours after her shift was meant to end! However, cheesy as it is I have to admit it is true, that anything I had to endure during my stay here has been totally made worth it, purely by the way the kids faces would light up and they would shout "Fiioooonaaa!" each day when they first saw me, and how they would come and cuddle me while watching tv before bedtime.

I will miss the kids so much, and I doubt they will be far from my thoughts for a long time, they have a good chance at life thanks to the refugio, which offers many of them the chance to attend private schools, and they are never short of food or toys there. Many of these children have come from terrible backgrounds so it is a great job that the refugio and those who work there do, and I am so glad to have been a part of it and contributed at least a little bit to their lives.

So now I am about to set off on the second part of my adventure, and travel east towards firstly Chichen Itza, and then Cancun before hitting New York on my way home...hopefully I will get a chance to update on that part of my trip soon, until then...Adios! Fi.

Posted by Fiona ( 10:39 AM )
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