Puerto Vallarta

How to tell you about Mexico? - It's a bit like going through a fairground, one minute there are lights and bright colours with interesting things going on around you, the next you are behind the caravans and trailers and it's dirty and smelly with things going on you don't want to see. The food looks and tastes wonderful but holds a risk element. Wednesday I went down with a tummy bug, and am just recovering now. Fortunately no-one else in the apartment seems to have gone down with it.

There are four of us in the apartment, Jon and me, Claire who teaches deaf children in Puerto Vallarta and Cybil who is coming to the turtle project with us. We are doing spanish lessons in the afternoons for about 3-4 hours, and Lupita comes to the apartment for that purpose. I think Jon is her greatest challenge as he sort of 'times-out' if he doesn´t understand and scowls at her in a menacing way if she presses him too much.

There is a nicely kept swimming pool in the grounds of the apartment, and we go and 'veg-out' it it when the heat and humidity gets too much. The overhead fans in the apartment are going constantly, night and day, but it still feels hard to drag ourselves around. But it's the drums, those damn drums! (just kidding). Hopefully we will aclimatise before we need to do some actual work.

Tomorrow another volunteer, Andrea, is arriving from UK and all four of us are going by bus to Mayto. I am not sure how long it will take us as I get conflicting answers every time I ask - it probably depends on the bus we take. Travelling can either be in air-conditioned splendour or shared with chickens apparently.

We are being looked after very well. Greta our co-ordinator was poised ready to rush me to hospital with my tummy bug. I will post some photos on the blog, but we haven't taken many yet.