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Friday, February 11, 2011

More on Patrick's adventures in Punta Gruesa!

Good morning faithful readers! Ready for another dose of our blog magic? Lots of good news to send your way. Starting with more diving. As of a few days ago, we have all officially become Advanced Open Water divers. This means that we can dance like dolphins under the waves (see first blog for reference). We have all jumped on to Rescue Diver certification, continuing our march towards the upper echelon of diving excellence. However we are still waiting to see a shark. In fact, some members on base have begun performing nightly rituals to align us with the shark spirits. Weird stuff. But keep your fingers crossed!

Following up on last week's mouse epidemic, we have a new volunteer (besides Darren the Australian) who has agreed to help us control the outbreak. Mr. Boa Constrictor! There is now a lovely snake living in one of the hut roofs. In most cases, this would be a very disconcerting situation. But since snakes love mice, we by default love snakes. This made the author pause to reflect on the circle of life and our connection to the ecosystem and how we can all benefit from protecting the fragile balance of life that we depend on. Plus snakes are seriously cool. We are going to take turns wearing him around our necks and looking bad ass.

In other news, TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) has begun in the local community of Mahahual. Your author and 4 other brave volunteers taught classes at Mahahual's primary school, with children ranging from age 6 to 11. Imagine teaching 50+ hyperactive children, that don't speak your language, and also have a penchant for impersonating professional wrestlers and/or superheroes. You get the idea. Yet at the end of the day, no matter how many paper airplanes we got hit with, and no matter how deep the language barrier, teaching those children automatically became an unforgettable life event for all of us. Trust us. We have the scars to prove it.

Remember when I said that Lion fish were tasty? You do remember, don't you? Either way, another Lion fish was snared by our brave staff member, Rhu. It was so big he literally had to fight this thing for 7 hours until it could be brought it back onto the beach. That is how nasty
these things are. Yet after another artful and equally smelly dissection, we got a chance to sample some Lion fish fillet, ceviche style with just a hint of lime. Those babies go down smooth!
Throw in a warm bottle of beer, and what more do you need really?

Looks like we have a pirate themed party coming up this Friday! We also have some volunteers checking out local ruins and going on a kayak trip. Other volunteers will be headed to Mahahual to work on their tans, and to get some much needed internet service. In summary, the fun never stops here at Punta Gruesa! Why don't you come check it out?

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