"The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last"

Preparing for our upcoming trip has me in a state of surreal anxiety ridden excitement. Thus what better way to console this idle mind chatter then to participate in the cathartic experience of musing away in type. Right? Well I know what a few of those words mean at least.

Allow me to digress for a moment.  Some background if I may on how an adventure is born.  I suppose it all starts with inspiration. When I was 14 my best friend moved with his his family to San Miguel, a small town in the mountains of Ecuador, South America. Not quite a year later, I traveled with a friend to visit him there.  I have fond memories but I never thought of the trip with much significance, but as most everything does in life, the trip sparked profound change.

I got a bug on that trip, and I don't mean a parasite, possibly that too though. I speak of the adventure bug.  Which I suppose is quite human in itself, as I think adventure is relative.  Maybe it's just challenging yourself in some way.  Doing something that's somewhat difficult, new, or possibly even uncomfortable. Here's an excerpt from my travel journal to Ecuador on a day out in service "There was just rural houses in San Vincenta, We had to walk up lots of hills. There are pigs tied up along the dirt roads, and the dogs bite, all the people are really nice."  It's not exactly summiting K2, but it was interesting, different, addictive even.  It was the first time I think, that I realized how little I really knew about the world and life in general.  And little is more exciting than that, because when you know nothing the potential for learning and growth is endless.  Now I'm not saying I always kept that attitude, I was a teenager for goodness sake. And as I get older and become what some people might call an adult of sorts, it's a struggle I must say to keep that childlike awe and desire to drink in experiences and gain all the insight that our surroundings offer.  Whatever those surroundings may be. 

And that is why I'm so excited about this trip to Belize. Because I don't feel all that different from that 14 year old kid.  I still don't know what to expect. I can plan all day, but I still don't really know what I'm doing (don't tell Ian that part), and the whole thing, like life in general, is just one big, giant unknown.  Yes, there is so much to learn.  And that is truly, a Magnificent thing!

Here's some pics of that trip . . .