TCI Life~ 🇦🇨

*I tried adding a voice audio, if you'd like to listen and read along!! ☺

The island of Providenciales (aka Provo) is only 38 square miles in area. Public transportation is challenging, so we rented a car for the 7 days we were there, and it was totally worth it!! 

We did a mini road trip on the west side of the island where our Daihatsu Mira 🚙 can reach:

Chalk Sound 

Lunch at Da Conch Shack

Conch Salad + Drinks at Omar's Beach Hut

 

Those were the main stops we had on the mini road trip, and then we went back to our villa by Grace Bay Beach to enjoy the sunset. Some establishments close early or had limited hours or already closed for the off season. When we looked up coming to Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), it said it was hurricane season... so it was a risk for us to come, but we got lucky with the weather!! It did rain here and there, but it wouldn't last long. 

Sunset at Grace Bay Beach

My friend Jojo found this place on the island where we can walk potcake puppies!! We did this Saturday, August 27th in the morning. We went to Potcake Place K9 Rescue store front and was assigned Tinka!! She mostly wanted to chill on the beach in the shade. Folx can foster the puppies, and you can be a courier too!! I applied to be a courier, but maybe i gave too short a notice to help bring a puppy home to Miami cuz i didn't hear from them. It was nice to be able to walk the puppy and we saw other folx walking the puppies along the beach too. 

Potcake K9 Rescue Dog Walking

Saturday Night!! We had to go out! even though we all wanted to stay home in pjs and watch Indian Matchmaking Season 2... We decided to check out Aziza Lounge, which was all open air and we randomly found out that Kevin Durant was there!! Apparently Drake was in Provo the same time too, but we did not see him... he went every other night to Aziza, BUT Saturday night... hahah. I'm not even a super big fan, but I thought it'd be fun to see him in real life~ We did see KD, and that was super neat!! It must be annoying to be famous, cuz everyone's just taking pictures of you the whole time you're in public and watching you... 👀

Night Out at Aziza Lounge

Kevin Durant on his phone 🏀

Sunday [o8.28] was Jojo's last day with us, and we were looking for the Guinness Extra Stout beer to take back to LA, but we forgot that there are NO alcohol sales on Sundays.

Our last few days were chill~ Jess did parasailing, we chilled on the beach, and we did kayaking. We also went to our fave fresh juice spot called Tropical Taste by Jamaican owner Ricky, and we also tried Jamaican patties at The Patty Place. Ricky said there's lots of Jamaicans, Bahamians, Filipinos, and Thai folx on Provo.

Last Dinner in Provo at Mr. Groupers

Kayaking in a Clear Kayak in Mangrove Cay

Sea Turtle Swimming Along

It was truly a grand experience to be in Provo~ There are other islands you can visit, and there is a ferry you can take to North Caicos island, but Provo is the most populated island of TCI. If you wanna check out Providenciales, I highly recommend it AND be prepared to pay higher prices since almost everything is imported to the island!! 💸

Also, if you want to see more pictures of food I had... here it is!! 😋

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch7LomngdZS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

island life 🏝

I didn't realize that not many folx are still friends with their childhood friends~

When I told Laura that I was going to Turks & Caicos with 1 friend I've known since 1st Grade (circa 1992), and 1 friend I've known since high school (2001), she was surprised. I thought it was common for folx to still talk to friends they've known since grade school days!! Well, lucky for me I am traveling with these two amazing girls + we are having an amazing time. ☺

Here's what we've been up to on the island of Providenciales, Turks & Caicos:

Arrived in matching clothes! White shirts, and olive green bottoms (not planned!!) [o8.23]

Adjusting to driving on the LEFT side of the road, and driver side on the RIGHT side!! 😮

Turquoise Blue Waters on Grace Bay Beach [o8.24]

Sunset Photos [o8.24]

We did a half day snorkeling tour with Caicos Dream Tours:

Snorkeling in the barrier reef~ [o8.25]

Caribbean side of Halfmoon Bay!

And every Thursday night there's a fish fry event!!

Coconut crusted grouper with crab rice and coleslaw!! 

I've been reading and learning about some of the history of the islands on their tourism website (https://www.visittci.com/nature-and-history/history) and the indigenous people before Columbus colonized the land are the Lucayans or Tainos. There is not much natural resources, but in the past they used to harvest salt and trade it to neighboring islands. Currently, only about 35% of the island are locals, and the rest are expats!! No wonder why prices are so high here... almost everything is imported and catered to tourists. Another fascinating thing is that the official currency is USD! I read it is because that most folx visiting are Americans, even though it is under British rule, but it makes more economical sense to use USD. 

ay, dios mío

8 nights in México City aka CDMX (cuidad de méxico) went by way too fast!! ☺

churros~ !! [o8.15]

Frida Kahlo Museo [o8.16]

   

On Wednesday, August 17th, we had a full day (6AM - 10PM) trip to Tolantongo in San Cristobal, Hidalgo!! It was exhausting, AND definitely worth the experience. I think if I ever go back, it'd be amazing to stay at one of the lodges there!!! Check out their website!! ➤ http://www.grutastolantongo.com.mx/en/index.php

We chilled in the hot spring pools, had lunch by the river + soaked in the river, and finally explored the caves!! I bumped my head twice in the caves, because there was one part of the caves where we had to dive under for a few seconds but i was nervous, AND bumped my head when I came back up! It's okay... just a few scratches!! 😅  This was one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.~

ángel de la independencia [o8.17]

swimming in a cave~ [o8.17]

view of the river [o8.17]

CDMX is known for its gastronomy, and I got so many great recommendations from folx! We did go to Contramar, Máximo, Lardo, Panadería Rosetta, AND more!! There's soooo much gooooood foood, and it was so hard to not be able to eat everything cuz ... I ended up getting gastrointestinal issues... cuz I was brushing my teeth with the tap water!!!! 🙈 ooops!! 

Good ol' Treda (anti-diarrhea medicine) +  I became good friends!! It saved me!! 💩

By Friday night, I felt well enough to go take a Zumba™ class in the park nearby!! It cost $20 pesos~ It was soooooooooo much fun, and I think younger me wouldn't have gone and done it because it was out in public at a park, and I don't speak Spanish fluently. I'm so glad I went, and everyone was so kind and welcoming. If I lived nearby, I definitely would go attend regularly with them. 

Zumba class 🎶 [o8.19]

On Saturday, most folx from the group were flying out of CDMX, but NOT me!! I stayed in the historic center of CDMX. I was walking distance from Zócalo, and it turned out that it was the last weekend of the VIII Fiesta de las Culturas Indígenas, Pueblas y Barrios Originarios!! ➤ https://www.visitmexico.com/blog/fiesta-de-las-culturas-indigenas-2022-conoce-todos-los-detalles

Finally, on Sunday I attempted to take public transportation to the Museum of Anthropology, but since on Sundays they have ciclovía in CDMX, I had to walk part of the way... or maybe I could've figured out a way to rent or ride a bike, but I just stuck to walking. It worked out in my favor because then I was able to explore the Botanical Garden too~

   

  

Wow, we did sooooooo much!! 😆

Okie dokie... that's a wrap for CDMX ... for now, and i hope that i can return again soon someday (and not get diarrhea!!)!! and i hope i can also travel to Oaxaca. ☺♥

Ciudad de México | day 1

Greetings~ I am still waiting to hear from Fulbright Teachers of Global Classrooms (FTGC), and so I decided to travel before I find out my international field experience placement!! 

Here's to the start of my sabbatical year off from teaching at Seattle World School. ☺

Mi amiga Laura (who I met at Seattle World School) was going to ciudad de méxico (CDMX), and I had to tag along!! 😈

time to fly ✈️

We arrived late Sunday night, and walked around to find some food! And we found a food stand. BUT apparently folx get harassed by police late at night for money!! Late = after 12AM. Luckily we were out around 11PM, but there were 2 police officers at the food stand too. 😅

Monday was our first full day here, and we slept in (true vacation fashion) then strolled around the streets of the Roma Norte neighborhood we are in. 

It is still sinking in that I will NOT be at school this year. After teaching for 10 years, the anticipation of the approaching new school year has been ingrained in me!!! I wonder if after this year off if I will continue teaching or find another job? or some other option I don't even know exists. I really want to take this year off to delve deep into what I want to do, AND I want to be open to what the universe has in stored for me too.