Tijuana

Kacie and I spent the last 2 weeks in Mexico. First we travelled to Tijuana, which is just south of the US border on the west coast. When we first crossed the border into Mexico, we didn't really know what to expect. Tijuana has a reputation for for being a sketchy city... and I'd say it lived up to that reputation. We were provided accommodation on a university campus that was gated with security guards who followed strict rules about entering/leaving the premises.

The 'athlete's village' in which we stayed was decent, but also strict.. there were designated hours to have fun (play ping pong, access the internet, etc). The rest of the time, we just killed time... and played some volleyball of course!

Our first game was against the Cubans. It was a tight match and we lost the third set with a score of 14-16... which was disappointing. At least is was nice to see that we could be competitive with some of the stronger teams here.

Our next match against Mexico the following day did not go well at all. It was one of those games where nothing was going right for me. I was served the entire game... if I tried to hit the ball I'd be blocked, and if I tried to make a shot it was dug. It was very frustrating to feel like I was not in control. The game was over in two quick sets and needless to say, I was feeling pretty upset afterwards.

To take my mind off things, Kacie and I decided to go into downtown Tijuana with the other Canadian team (Becky and Colleen) to do some shopping. This was definitely very distracting.. Tijuana is crazy! Not to mention that the four of us got some extra attention for being the only blond people in the entire city. The next day we went on a mission to find a beach. We got there for sunset and rode horses along the water. It was so amazing, I was definitely starting to feel better!

Our next event was the following weekend in Manzanillo, Mexico. Instead of going there directly, we decided to stay one night in San Diego because that's where we were flying out of. We spent a full day at Pacific Beach boogie boarding and playing around with a volleyball with a Canadian men's team from Quebec, Simon and Fiji.

Now we're heading back into Mexico. Our flight arrives in Puerto Vallarta, and from there we'll make our way to Manzanillo!!