My Heart Will Go On

Written 1-2-08

a couple of days ago in Utila i lost my chicken.
or maybe i just misplaced him.

well, anyways, i had a chicken. we shared something really special. the sunrise.

for some unknown reason this chicken would stand outside my door and cluck loudly until i woke up and threatened to kill him. one day, however, i was not awakened by the melodious sound of my pet, but by a sound so horrific, that i actually missed my morning chicken alarm clock. it was Celine Dion´s "My Heart Will Go On." at 6:37 a.m. and it was LOUD. i wrench open my door and storm out, looking for the perpetrator who robbed me of sleep. i walked 3 blocks, turned down an alley, and finally found the house. the people there are lucky as i was seperated from them with a small body of water, or else i might have killed them. and what a way to go...

Death by Celine Dion. i can see the headlines now...

after that, my chicken had disapeared. the next morning i slept in, which was a really strange feeling. same the next day. where is my chicken? and then, as much as i tell myself not to, i started thinking:
where´s my chicken?
ohmigod...what did i have for dinner last night?
chicken fajitas. shit!

Celine Dion killed my chicken, and i possibly ate it! I decided that the only thing left to do was blame Canada. that always works. but, my friend David decided to take the blame all on him, as he´s Canadian. so a guy named David Charles William Thompson killed my chicken. mystery solved.

on a seperate note, i have left Utila. it took 3 days, but i finally managed to gather the strength to leave that god-forsaken pleasure rock. the last day though...the last day was great.i woke up at 5:45 a.m. determined to leave. everything was ready to catch the 6:20 ferry to the mainland. i´m doing my final checks when i realize that i don´t have my passport. (little light pops on in my head with a small bing noise) it´s in the safe at the dive shop, which doesn´t open until 9. the Gods wanted me to stay one more day, they have spoken. so i go back to bed.

later on i sheepishly walk into the dive shop, where everyone gets a good laugh, because i was so adamant the night before about leaving, and no one believed me. so here i am, being laughed at, but glad i get one last day in paradise. some people we know talk of heading to the other side of the island to check out some fresh water caves, so after lying in the sun for the greater part of the morning, we head out. i am warned just before leaving that it´s quite a hike. it´s a good thing i was wearing my hiking flip flops and off-roading sarong that happens to be bright yellow.

so off we go! eventually, after the mud and rocks and climbing over a bunch of coral, we descend a rotted wood ladder to the caves. the first one is nice, cool, and refreshing, and we wash off the mud and talk of the beauty of the place. then Erik, one of the guys with us, says he has been through the other one. i didn´t even know what he was talking about until we went back to the ladder. there was a small hole behind it, big enough for one person to fit through at a time. Erik goes first with a pack of matches, and soon there´s a small trail of light a couple hundred meters back. we crawl, on hands and knees, around stalactites and stalagmites, around corners, and over rocks, until the cave opens, and we see the beauty of nature, slightly illuminated by candles left by unknown visitors. there are very few words to describe what we experienced in there, but i will do my best.

when i am finally able to stand, there was a small pool. then there was a small ramp, almost a stairway, up to a bigger pool, where we all jumped in. using our masks, snorkels, and some underwater flashlights, the cave beneath the surface seemed to unfold to us, allowing us to explore just a little further.
it was magical.
surreal.
other-worldly.
spiritual.
exhilarating.
fun.

all of us were spellbound by this small place on this earth we were truly blessed to find. we would try to speak, to share what we were experiencing with the others, but no words came. instead, we just took another deep breath and went under to enjoy the calm of the water; the serenity. when we crawled out again, we had to hop back into the first one to get the mud off. then we hitched a ride back into town on some big construction truck. with the wind blowing in my hair, and my friends beside me, i felt truly lucky, truly blessed to be where i was. i was trying to think of someone to thank for the day, but i couldn´t think of anyone in particular, so i just took the responsibility myself. with a great day followed a great evening. i went to a barbeque, hung out with some great people, got lost on a pier watching shooting stars, then went back to town to meet my dive shop friends.

***sidenote for the travelers: if you go to Utila, go to Utila Water Sports for diving. they will take you in, the dive instructors are kick-ass amazing people, and my experience would have been nothing without them. also, when you get off the ferry, you´ll get hounded by other dive shops, and it´s really annoying. Utila Water Sports is the only dive shop that doesn´t go there, so it´s smaller and a lot more personal. you won´t regret it.

the next morning i miraculously get up, and get ready to leave, helped by 2 Canadian girls that have been constant companions on the island, Codie and Brandy. these girls deserve comment, because they´re forestry workers in Canada. they make roads, take care of wildlife, tell loggers how many trees they can cut down, then make them plant 7 for each one they take. all around, these girls are the ultimate strong women, and we had so much fun together. plus, they could totally kick my ass, so when they showed up, i knew i needed to get a move on.

after a ferry, 2 buses, one of which broke down on the side of the highway and we had to catch a lift with a chicken bus, here i find myself in Copan, a town on the Honduras-Guatemala border, near some Mayan ruins. i have more stories already written in my head, but that´s enough for now...

I´m headed to some hot springs.