Jan 2006

today my awesome friend Courteney and i finally went out and got that backpack i've been leading up to for so long. it RULES!!! 55L of pure awesomeness.

and it's still a transformer like the 70L. it comes with a detachable day pack and turns into a duffel bag,

and even has a special rain cover which is totally awesome. :D

i also got my shots today. Hep A and B, plus a Polio shot, and a vaccine for cholera and diarreah as well as a perscription just in case i get it anyway. ha. mmm...lovely.

all that's left to do is book the hotel for our stay over in mexico city, pick up the small stuff (like ziplock bags) and head out!!!

i'm going to practice packing for DAYS!!!!

HOORAY!!!!!

-stacey

We offically booked our flights today. YAY!!!!

We leave Vancouver at 1pm on Feb.2, arrive in Mexico City by 8:25pm, and spend the whole night! (we're going to sleep on the plane so that we don't have to sleep the entire time we're there) and then we're up bright and early at 7am the next morning so that we can be in Guadalajara by 8:10am. we'll bum around for a while and then catch an afternoon bus to Zihuatanejo so that we can check into whatever we're sleeping in (ha).

On March 1st we'll pick up all of the crap we've accumulated and head out to the airport to be on our flight by 7pm in Guadalajara, which will take us to Mexico City by 8:05pm. we'll probably do a little more sight seeing after checking into our hotel, and then at 7am the next morning we'll be on a flight and hopefully back in Vancouver, safe and sound, by 11am.

I shouldn't be going back to work until the 4th or 5th of March, but we'll see. Hopefully I can alott myself some vacation recuperation time. ha. i hear these things can get stressful.

Summary:

Going There:
Feb.2: Vancover: 1:00pm
Mexico City: 8:20pm

Feb.3: Mexico City: 7:00am
Guadalajara: 8:10am

Coming Back:
Mar.1: Guadalajara: 7:00pm
Mexico City: 8:05pm

Mar.2: Mexico City: 7:00am
Vancouver: 11:00am

I'm ridiculously excited. While we were in the travel agency i kept grinning from ear to ear like some kind of village idiot. hopefully i played it off as cute. ha. who knows.

I'M GOING TO MEXICO!!! THIS RULES!!!

-stacey

I had a hard time finding a good map that showed exactly where Zihuatanejo was. So...to save you all some time and effort, here's a map!!!

and a lovely photo of Zihuatanejo at night. (of course, the photos I take will be MUCH better thanks to my brand spankin' new digital camera! :D)

and last but not least, here's a picture of the hostel we'll be staying in. Angela's Hotel and Hostel, right in the middle of downtown Zihuatanejo. It's the only one in the Ixtapa/Zi area, so our choices were pretty limited. ha. but i think it'll be great.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Tomorrow, we're booking our flight (FINALLY!), and on Thursday I go for shots, shorts and a backpack. (After much searching and trying on and "this one's too big, and that one's too expensive, and blah blah blah".) And then it's time to practice packing.

Hooray!

-stacey

Having purchased a rockin' pair of trekking sandals, all that's left on my checklist are the following:

- shorts...because i'm lame and really don't own any

- an expedition bag...alex and i looked at some the other day but all we could find was a 70L transformer...i wish i were kidding. it turned into a duffel bag!!!! i have to find one real quick though because the shop we went to only had 5 left, and if i can't find anything smaller but still with back support then i'm just going to have to settle...still...wish it were cheaper. heh.

- plane tickets...of course. we talked to a lovely fellow named Jordan at the travel agency who's working hard to find us the cheapest flight out. we might even get to spend a night in Mexico City!!!! Whoo!!! we're definiely booking something 14 days in advance though.

- regular ol' toiletries....i hear the bandaids in Mexico aren't great so I have to pick up a lot (Alex has a habit of smashing himself to pieces. HA!) and allergy pills. yee haw.

then all i have to worry about is giving Robyn rent money for February and March (gulp...we'll see if i can get away without paying for march just yet.) and making sure to leave money so that Xiu Xiu can eat.

i still have to make an appointment to get my hair cut and i'll have to see my parents for real before i leave.

i'm scheduled for my Hep A and B shots, as well as rabies and some sort of cholera/diarreah (lovely, i know) vaccine that i can take orally on the 19th. thankfully...courteney is going to come with me so that she can hold my hand and help me pick out a backpack.

in a week or so i'm going to clear my camera out so that it's ready to go, and then i'm going to practice packing. haha. it'll be great.

i'm really really getting excited!!!

i can't wait to go!!!

-stacey