spencerlulling-blog

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 38-39 - Panama City

Days 38-39 – Panama City

Hello, all. I’m writing this post from back home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It’s been over a week since my last post. Sorry for the delay. I wanted to fully enjoy the last leg of my trip without having to worry about posting material. But, now I’m home and ready to share with you all  the last portion of my journey. The final two destinations of my trip were Panama City, Panama and Toronto, Canada.…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 36-37 - Bocas & Panama City

Days 36-37 – Bocas & Panama City

https://videopress.com/embed/SQvFnp0L?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Greetings all! I’m writing you from Panama City—the last destination of my trip through Central America. But first, I’m going to discuss my last day in Bocas del Toro. I woke up very early at Hostel Mamallena’s to make myself some coffee and pancakes. I decided to go diving in the morning, so it was essential for me to be…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 35 - Kayaking Bocas del Toro

Day 35 – Kayaking Bocas del Toro

https://videopress.com/embed/IR734Kdj?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Today was absolutely amazing! I started the morning with absolutely no plans and a slight hangover from yesterday. I made myself and my mates a few stacks of pancakes first thing. I then downed two coffees with the full intention of doing nothing for the whole day. I laid around for a few hours listening to music, watching…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 33 - Traveling to Bocas del Toro

Day 33 – Traveling to Bocas del Toro

placeholder://

I woke up early yesterday morning in Costa Rica fue a shuttle ride down to Bocas del Toro, Panama. Typically, I wouldn’t write a whole post about a travel day but things were particularly interesting today. The shuttle emailed me a few days stating it would pick me up between 6:20-6:50 at my hostel. I started getting a little worried but it eventually showed up just in time at…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 32 - Last Day in Costa Rica

Day 32 – Last Day in Costa Rica

https://videopress.com/embed/tsgRKae2?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

I spent the morning of my last day in Costa Rica with Andrew. He took to me a local orphanage run by a woman named Doña Melba. Doña Melba is a unique woman. Here’s why: Most of the orphanages in Costa Rica are state run. Two tías run each organization and are cycled around. This means that each orphanage is constantly…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 30 - Day Trip to Playa Jacó

Day 30 – Day Trip to Playa Jacó

https://videopress.com/embed/76zIMOId?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

On Day 30, I decided to take a quick day trip to a local surfing beach called Playa Jacó. It’s about an hour and a half away from San José via local busses. I woke up in the morning and immediately started doing research on where the Jacó busses leave from. Between checking my hostel and two websites online, every single…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 27-31 - Leaving Utila for Roatan & San José

Days 27-31 – Leaving Utila for Roatan & San José

https://videopress.com/embed/1Lsxn56n?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

On Day 27 I had to reluctantly part ways with the island of Utila after a week’s stay. My last morning started out with an unbelievably wholesome breakfast—bread with peanut butter, because eating economically helps offset the cost of diving, right? Not so much. I wanted to eat a baleada for my last day but I devastatingly I…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Battling Fear, Embracing Bliss

There’s a really interesting video on YouTubewhere Will Smith talks about confronting fear. He walks through a battle with fear he experienced before skydiving for the first time. He describes himself lying in bed the night before feeling complete terror. Then, the next morning, when he realizes all his buddies still want to do it, his fear multiplies. He gets on the plane and holds conversations…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 20-26 - Diving in Utila

Days 20-26 – Diving in Utila

https://videopress.com/embed/mYhB7KAL?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

I’ve definitely caught the diving bug since my last post. I last left off midway through the Advanced Open Water diving course. On day 21, I completed the final three dives which were the wreck dive, the peak performance buoyancy dive, and the night dive. For the wreck dive, our instructor chose to explore the Halliburton…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 16-19 - Antigua to Utila, Honduras

Days 16-19 – Antigua to Utila, Honduras

https://videopress.com/embed/MHbV7LQg?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Day 16 was the last day in Antigua. After Acatenango, Clay and I were supposed to go a surfer hostel in El Peradón but the shuttle was already full when we got off the mountain. We decided to just stay in Antigua for the last day. We killed time by walking around the city and the farmers market—only this time we actually…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 13-15 - Antigua & The Acatenango Hike

Days 13-15 – Antigua & The Acatenango Hike

https://videopress.com/embed/McrWprUp?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0 https://videopress.com/embed/7VNOs5x6?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

I woke up on Day 13 to the sweet sound of victory from the beer pong tournament the night before. Clay and I had been traveling through cities so quickly that we decided to take the day to relax, especially since we were going to hike Acatenango the…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 10-12 - Travel to Lanquín, Semuc Champey, and Antigua

Days 10-12 – Travel to Lanquín, Semuc Champey, and Antigua

https://videopress.com/embed/NzX68v8Z?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

The bus ride from Flores to Lanquín was approximately 9 hours with no AC. Even though it was a private shuttle booked through the hostel, it felt like a collectivo. We made a thirty minute stop in Coban for food and restrooms. We actually stopped at this resort hotel, so it was really nice. I almost walked into the middle of…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 9 - Tikal & Flores

Day 9 – Tikal & Flores

Clay and I booked the 4:30 AM tour of Tikal. We were told by our hostel that this was the best time balancing both price and temperature. Tikal is another Mayan ruin site. It’s a special place in the Mayan religion and lifestyle because it is the holy city. Followers of the Mayan religion still travel to Tikal to this day to worship and are protected under Guatemalan law to do so. Only 20% of the…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 8 - Spelunking & Traveling to Guatemala

Day 8 – Spelunking & Traveling to Guatemala

https://videopress.com/embed/TRjeCNZb?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

https://videopress.com/embed/1yK788ed?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Today marked the last day in Belize. I’m sad to leave this beautiful country. I ended up spending almost 6 days here when I had originally intended to only spend 2 in total. For our last day, a decent portion of our hostel chose to do the ATM maya cave…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 5-7

https://videopress.com/embed/RDm381U8?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0 https://videopress.com/embed/NI2dObma?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Day 5 – Last Day in Caye Caulker

Sorry I have not written in a few days. It’s really easy to get distracted from writing on busy days. So, on day 5 I started the day by getting breakfast at Ice N Beans. I can’t say enough good things about this place.…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Day 4 - Caye Caulker

Day 4 – Caye Caulker

https://videopress.com/embed/U9oWQLdJ?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Yesterday I woke up fairly early around 7:30. I had a few hours to kill until my snorkeling tour left at 10:30. I decided to explore the island with my spare time. I walked down the main strip (I say main strip but it’s really on the side of the island) and found a delicious breakfast place called Ice N’ Beans. They greeted…

[spencerlulling-blog]

Days 1-3

https://videopress.com/embed/3BYqCfKv?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

I am only three days into this trip and I am already having the time of my life. I cannot put into words how amazing things have been so far. I’ve met backpackers at every single step of this journey (flight, tours, busses, hostels). I stayed in Cancún the first two nights at Mezcal Hostel. It was a really great hostel with…