Recap

Man o'live. Right now I am on the plane, heading back to Atlanta, catching up on blogs. I can't believe that the trip is coming to a close. It has been an incredible month and I would advise everyone to do a similar trip sometime in their life. Visiting other people and other cultures has helped me to get some good perspective on my own world. The fact that there is this entire world out there, with hundreds of different cultures astounds me. At times we get so stuck in our routine of waking up early, going to the office, coming home watching TV, then repeating the routine the next day that we forget there is more out there. Things are about to get pretty crazy for Haley and I as we buy a new house, start medical school, and start looking for a job. I am glad that we were able to come on this trip.

This is where I give a special shout out to Haley. She is every bit as amazing as I always knew she was. She braved the foulest of bathrooms, climbed the most difficult of volcanoes, and faced some of her biggest fears. She did so without complaining, and I even think she had a little fun along the way. She is an incredible woman an I am grateful she chose me in life as a companion. We look forward to our next trip, whenever that may be.

Looking back, my favorite place to visit is probably the place I would be least likely to visit: Nicaragua. The way you could wave at people who see less money in a year then I may see in a day, and their faces light up as they smile and wave back to you was an event I will not soon forget. The people were so humble on the island of Ometepe, yet so happy and content that I think we could all learn a thing or two from them. I am also left with the memory of our taxi drivers, whose taxis were more run-down than the worst of cars you would see in the states, who races each other along pot holed streets, banging on the radio to get it to work. Of course they had no AC, and when they had a flat tire, it was changed in a matter of minutes.

Other trip highlights for me were all the amazing activities we did up in Monteverde, Costa Rica. From riding ATV's around mountain corners, to zip lining across the continental divide high about the rain forest. That was an incredibly fun place. Then there were the lava flows in Antigua in which the pictures tell the story of how cool it can be to get mere feet from lava. I learned that next time I visit an active volcano to take an egg so I can fry it on the rocks we are standing on. Another highlight of the trip would have to be the ATM caves in Belize. To be able to get so intimate with so religious a site it just incredible to me. I definitely have to read up on the Maya and their culture.

Of course the beaches and snorkeling were also nice and amazing, but they just don't seem to compare to the cultural experiences our trip offered. Having said that, those days we spent bumming on the beach probably allowed us to keep our sanity as our minds and bodies readily welcomed the rest.

In recap, I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to travel with. In the short month we were together, we really became great friends. Haley and I are sad that we won't be able to call you guys up to hang out sometime, but if we are ever in your countries, you better believe that we will give you a call (and you had better look us up next time you are in Atlanta). We need to start planning the reunion tour to cross trans-Siberia, and Gemma had better start learning whatever languages they speak there. We will all have to keep up with each other through websites and emails.

I don't know what next summer will hold, but I hope it is half as fun as this trip was for Haley and I.