I thought my instructions to the class were cystal clear.
- In celebration of "love and friendship day", write a letter to send to a friend, and decorate it with pictures.

It was only when I was handed a big "M" on an A4 page surrounded by pictures, followed by an over-sized "F", that I realised that my instruction to write "a letter" had been taken quite literally.

volcano

I was a little taken aback when "la costeña", our bus, instructed us that we had arrived at the volcano. It was rather less than hilly, never mind volcanous territory. Dan likened it to a parched east anglia, although I dont think there's cacti in east anglia. In the background glistens a shallow lake. In the foreground, peeking above the scrub, looms the ''volcano.'' It was more of a molehill, with a rickety wooden staircase.
The volcano contained mud about 50m deep, and was the result of natural gases emitted by decaying organic matter underground-pushing the mud upward.

Floating in the thick roiling pool of gray ooze was the most bizarre sensation. Some locals approached us and surpised us by giving us a rigorous massage.
45 minutes of buoying later we were lead down to be washed in the nearby cienaga. Local women took our hands, leading us through ambiguous floating greenery to the lake. They showered us by scooping up the water with plastic bowls. Minutes later, Heather turned to me and in a rather bewildered tone said "oh god, shes taking off my bikini". Soon, all four of us were unwittingly skinny-dipping.