Paid to Play Episode 2: The one where the author goes on a training trip called the Volcano Trail from San Jose Costa Rica to Antigua Guatemala and learns how to be a Tour Leader as well as other various aspects of getting paid to play.

And so it begins. To learn to be a tour leader I will have two training trips by following an experienced guide. In the end, I will finish in Playa del Carmen Mexico. Shortly after that, I will get my very own group of adventure tourists who will entrust their life to me. Why they should trust me I´m not too clear on myself but I suppose this is a learning process.

First stop, La Fortuna Costa Rica where I had to go white water rafting in the morning and then take a group of girls to the hot springs later in the evening. So far so good! Moving on to the Monteverde Cloud forest the highlight, without a doubt, was doing the zip lines through the forest canopy. I have to admit I didn´t really "see" much as I spent the entire time wondering if the cable was going to unexpectedly break while I was on it. The longest zip-line was over half a mile long. This was an amazing day of work and I am slowly adjusting to this new life of continuous employment.

Moving on from Costa Rica took us to Isla de Ometepe, an Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua and a place I had visited in 2004. The pace of life is slow here and finally the weather has a very humid tropical feel. For those of you who are suit-wearing office monkeys, the climate is similar to what you would find in your boxer shorts on a hot summer day while walking the city streets to your next meeting or appointment. Except here, it´s enjoyable.

After a couple days in Granada, we moved on to Leon Nicargua where I celebrated my birthday and visited Quetzaltrekkers, the organization I volunteered with five years ago hiking volcanoes to raise money to help street kids. I was glad to see the sign I painted still hangs in reception! Cool!. And they gave me a free T-shirt too. Traveling north took us to the Caribbean Island of Roatan in Honduras. Ahhhh....the real deal. Roatan does not disappoint. After visiting the ruins in Copan, we finished in Antigua Guatemala.

Most of you know that traveling like this is not the way I do things on my own so I constantly have to remind myself I am employed. Well, now I am headed to Cancun Mexico.....more training.