Reece Robbins: An Around the World Adventure!

Traveling summed up quite succinctly.

2010-02-26T22:05:00.001-08:00

This was sent to me by a good friend who is on the tail end of a 17 month around the world journey. I think these words sum up traveling exceptionally well. If you are considering a big trip, or just a way to change your quality of life, read this and factor it into your decision.

And disregard the bit about me and girls and partying, I am a man of the utmost morale standing....I swear!

Reece

"yo man I know you have a deep side to you behind all the girls and partying, haha! I figured you would dig this piece of travel reflection by a guy I met in Buenos Aires. Sums up a lot of my feelings from the last 17 months, Im sure you will dig it, enjoy!

I really can't articulate what my vagabonding adventure has done for me better than this. I find the lessons very resonating especially as my current adventure is nearing its end.

Im sure you fellow past and present vagabonders I have the pleasure of knowing will find the lessons in this note very relevant to your experiences. I wasnt able to tag everyone because of the tag limit. Enjoy!"

Bradon

5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home: Written by Tim Ferris

Here are 5 key ways in which the lessons you learn on the road can be used to enrich the life you lead when you return home…

1) Time = Wealth

By far the most important lesson travel teaches you is that your time is all you really own in life. And the more you travel, the more you realize that your most extravagant possessions can’t match the satisfaction you get from finding new experiences, meeting new people, and learning new things about yourself. “Value” is a word we often hear in day-to-day life, but travel has a way of teaching us that value is not pegged to a cash amount, that the best experiences in life can be had for the price of showing up (be it to a festival in Rajasthan, a village in the Italian countryside, or a sunrise ten minutes from your home).

Scientific studies have shown that new experiences (and the memories they produce) are more likely to produce long-term happiness than new things. Since new experiences aren’t exclusive to travel, consider ways to become time-rich at home. Spend less time working on things you don’t enjoy and buying things you don’t need; spend more time embracing the kinds of activities (learning new skills, meeting new people, spending time with friends and family) that make you feel alive and part of the world.

2) Be Where You Are

A great thing about travel is that it forces you into the moment. When you’re celebrating carnival in Rio, riding a horse on the Mongolian steppe, or exploring a souk in Damascus, there’s a giddy thrill in being exactly where you are and allowing things to happen. In an age when electronic communications enable us to be permanently connected to (and distracted by) the virtual world, there’s a narcotic thrill in throwing yourself into a single place, a single moment. Would you want to check your bank-account statement while exploring Machu Picchu in Peru? Are you going to interrupt an experience of the Russian White Nights in St. Petersburg to check your Facebook feed? Of course not — when you travel, you get to embrace the privilege of witnessing life as it happens before your eyes. This attitude need not be confined to travel.

At home, how often do you really need to check your email or your Twitter feed? When you get online, are you there for a reason, or are you simply killing time? For all the pleasures and entertainments of the virtual-electronic world, there is no substitute for real-life conversation and connection, for getting ideas and entertainment from the people and places around you. Even at home, there are sublime rewards to be had for unplugging from online distractions and embracing the world before your eyes.

3) Slow Down

One of the advantages of long-term travel (as opposed to a short vacation) is that it allows you to slow down and let things happen. Freed from tight itineraries, you begin to see the kinds of things (and meet the kinds of people) that most tourists overlook in their haste to tick attractions off a list. A host of multi-million-dollar enterprises have been created to cater to our concept of “leisure,” both at home and on the road — but all too often this definition of leisure is as rushed and rigidly confined as our work life. Which is more emblematic of leisure — a three-hour spa session in an Ubud hotel, or the freedom to wander Bali at will for a month?
All too often, life at home is predicated on an irrational compulsion for speed — we rush to work, we rush through meals, we “multi-task” when we’re hanging out with friends. This might make our lives feel more streamlined in a certain abstracted sense, but it doesn’t make our lives happier or more fulfilling. Unless you learn to pace and savor your daily experiences (even your work-commutes and your noontime meals) you’ll cheating your days out of small moments of leisure, discovery and joy.

4) Keep it Simple

Travel naturally lends itself to simplicity, since it forces you to reduce your day-to-day possessions to a few select items that fit in your suitcase or backpack. Moreover, since it’s difficult to accumulate new things as you travel, you to tend to accumulate new experiences and friendships instead — and these affect your life in ways mere “things” cannot.

At home, abiding by the principles of simplicity can help you live in a more deliberate and time-rich way. How much of what you own really improves the quality of your life? Are you buying new things out of necessity or compulsion? Do the things you own enable you to live more vividly, or do they merely clutter up your life? Again, researchers have determined that new experiences satisfy our higher-order needs in a way that new possessions cannot — that taking a friend to dinner, for example, brings more lasting happiness than spending that money on a new shirt. In this way, investing less in new objects and more in new activities can make your home-life happier. This less materialistic state of mind will also help you save money for your next journey.

5) Don’t Set Limits

Travel has a way revealing that much of what you’ve heard about the world is wrong. Your family or friends will tell you that traveling to Colombia or Lebanon is a death-wish — and then you’ll go to those places and have your mind blown by friendliness, beauty and new ways of looking at human interaction. Even on a day-to-day level, travel enables you to avoid setting limits on what you can and can’t do. On the road, you naturally “play games” with your day: watching, waiting, listening; allowing things to happen. There’s no better opportunity to break old habits, face latent fears, and test out repressed facets of your personality.

That said, there’s no reason why you should confine that sort of freedom to life on the road. The same Fear-Industrial Complex that spooks people out of traveling can discourage you from trying new things or meeting new people in own your hometown. Overcoming your fears and escaping your dull routines can deepen your home-life — and the open-to-anything confidence that accompanies travel can be utilized to test new concepts in a business setting, rejuvenate relationships with friends and family, or simply ask that woman with the nice smile if she wants to go out for coffee. In refusing to set limits for what is possible on a given day, you open yourself up to an entire new world of possibility.
Naturally, this list is just a sampling of how travel can transform your non-travel life. What have I missed? What has travel taught you about how to live life at home?

Link to the Video

2009-03-01T13:14:00.001-08:00

I could not get the Video to upload, so I am posting a link to Mattis' page where it is located at the bottom of his post. Also, his blog is a great read for more travel adventures.

http://www.flashpackerbackpacking.com/travel-blog-comments.aspx?blogID=100&picture=19&commentAdd=true

Pictures!

2009-03-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

Luckily, Mattis was able to recover some pictures and post them, along with a great video. Those videos are really awesome and I wish I had been doing that myself as there are a million incidents that I can think of just off of the top of my head where a video would have done so much more to capture a moment than a still, like when the Mayans woke me up in the middle of the night, or being stuck in the creepy old house in rural Mexico during the thunder storm, or when the Alligator swam under my hammock! Oh well, in my future travels I will certainly be taking videos.

I am home, after a 30 hour ordeal consisting of 4 flights, taxis, a bus and a train. My cold came back as a result of being awake for so long and the stress of travel, so I have a nice hacking cough and runny nose. It feels great to be home and to be able to talk to my family and friends. Mattis will be home as well on Tuesday before he heads out for what will likely be the final leg of his journey, which is a 5 week trip to Japan, so we are all going to get together and say hi to some people we have not seen in over a year, which will be fantastic.

Carnival was one hell of an experience, but I just do not want to travel to do things like that anymore. I am itching to go camping or hiking or rafting or something like that on my next trip. I think I will hang tight for the next few months though, get a job to refill the coffers a bit and then I am thinking that I will head out to Utah and Arizona to do some cycling and trekking out in some of the national parks there. But, I have to admit, Asia, Africa and India are still calling my name. I am traveled out for the time being, but those places are still out there begging me to come and explore. If I have learned anything on this trip, it is that the world is a huge and amazing place. It is something that deserves taking in over a lifetime, not all in one go. I will never lose the desire to travel and experience new things, but I have grown at least a little wiser in that I have come to realize that it is better to take your time and to do things at a slower pace so that the experiences can be enjoyed. In my grand ambition to do it all at once, I missed out on the fact that some things are better done slowly.

So, for the time being I will happily settle into a mundane life and focus on other things that I love and in time I will head back out to see what other kinds of trouble I can get myself into. I still want to raft the Amazon, more so now after spending time in Brazil, but I think I will wait until I can find a partner to go with me after the experience of the guy I met who had attempted it and had been beaten and robbed less than a week into the trip. Horseback through Mongolia and Camel through the Sahara are still way up on my list of things that I have to do before I die (which is a really long list, I am starting to realize!) as well as a host of other less grand, yet equally appealing adventures life has to offer. So, the blog will be mostly silent for the next few months at the least. I want to thank everyone who has written me with encouragement, the friendships I have made now with people all around the world who have enjoyed reading about my wacky trip and to those who have been inspired to go out and take a bite out of life as I was inspired by the logs of others. That really makes me happy to think I had a positive impact on people’s lives. For the time being, goodbye to everyone, and I look forward to hearing from everyone again on the next adventure!

Mattis and I at a Camarote, a party overlooking the Carnival route. We are both super tired in this pic and barely hanging on!

The dance floor at the Camarote.

Just one of many, many Carnival floats making their way all around the city.

Another Carnival float.

Tons of guys wore these sons of Ghandi outfits, although most of them behaved in a way nothing like what Ghandi would have been to happy about!

These are the shirts you had to buy to go to a Camarote or to be in the Parade. Also, this is our teeny tiny room!

The uncrowded part of the Campo Grande parade route.

Our totally sweet room, you could only stand up straight near the wall!

Yet another group of revelers.

About 1/3 of the men the first few days were dressed in drag, which was really weird, and I had the misfortune of attracting a group of them!

The crowded part of the Campo Grande route, there were more people here than I have ever seen in one place before!

A plaza near our hotel.

Hey look, another carnival float!

The street when it was not busy outside of our hotel.

These little girls chased us around spraying us with shaving cream, which was pretty funny.

I Survived!

2009-02-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

I made it through Carnival! Wow, I feel like one of the walking wounded. After 6 days and nights of debauchery, I am just spent. Mattis and I were seriously happy that it was over, I just do not have the party endurance for this kind of thing any more. I am glad I did it as it was one of those events that like the running of the bulls, I just had to do before I died. I can honestly say though that I have no desire to do it again. If by some chance I were to find myself in Brazil for Carnival in the future, I would only go out two or three nights and space them out. Every time you go out for Carnival you end up seeing the sunrise. I hate that! I like the way we do it back home where you go out have dinner at a decent hour, maybe go to a bar or dancing and head home before or around 2. That way you can do something with your day and wake up at a decent hour. Man, I am getting old. If I would have come here at 19 or 21, I would have been in hog heaven!

It was a great experience though, like nothing I have ever seen or done before. Pictures, unfortunately, will be slow in coming as Mattis´ camera got stolen on the last night and so we are trying to find some to post as I did not take any. Hopefully we can find a few on his computer to post as we had some great ones. Some of the videos he took were really fantastic too, so it is a shame he got his camera stolen.

I am heading home tomorrow and am glad to be getting back to the states. I am upset that I will not get to do any trekking in Patagonia as that is something I have wanted to do for many years, but oh well, there is always next time.

For now I can leave Brazil feeling that I had a wonderful experience, met some great new friends and really went wild for Carnival. Until the next adventure!

Brazil, Brazil, Brazil.

2009-02-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

Carnival is mad, totally mad. I have been to quite a few parties in my day and I can safely say that this takes the cake.

The first night we took it easy as I was still feeling a bit sick. Trying to sleep while samba bands blare their way down the street outside of your room is difficult to say the least, but we managed. Speaking of our room, boy did we get horn-shwaggled! I think this room was Quasimotos old hang out. It’s at the top of a 6 story building, accessed by a winding wooden staircase. After making the ascent you are rewarded with a wonderfully tiny attic room with a slanted ceiling so low you can’t even stand up straight! We have one lovely window about the size of a postage stamp in the corner and two beds that must have come from the finest local prison. All that at the exorbitant Carnival prices! Oh well, its cool and dry and right in the middle of the action, so who cares. The owners are super nice too, if a little hyper. These guys like to party too and could not comprehend that I was not going to go out the first night. They told me to just drink extra if I was sick!

The atmosphere here is like nothing I have experienced before. All day and night groups of revelers walk the streets in groups playing music, wearing elaborate costumes and dancing. And EVERYONE dances, all the time! No joke, I have seen children in diapers here dancing the samba better than I can. It is a part of their blood here and the complex steps of the dance they have down before they can properly walk. Everywhere the people dance, even your waiter or the police (who thankfully are everywhere), it’s funny.

The second night of carnival we went out with a group of Aussies we had met in Rio. We went to a part of town called Campo Grande, which is one of the three carnival areas. We are staying in Pelorino which is in the old town and is a beautiful area of cobbled streets and traditional architecture. The Pelorino is a family oriented area although the party is still pretty wild. Campo Grande is definitely more of a young party area and it had some of the large floats you see on TV. We had a really good time walking the streets and drinking cheap beers with our friends. I took it easy though and called it a night early.

The next night we went to the Baha part of town which is meant to be the big, crazy and most elaborate party, and we bought Bloco shirts which are expensive but allow you to walk along with the parade in and among the big floats. That was incredible! We were in a group of thousands and everyone dances down the carnival route next to their float drinking and going crazy to live music from the biggest groups in Brazil. All around us on both sides of the street were thousands upon thousands of people rocking out on the sidewalks in apartments, clubs, everywhere. It was just out of control and one of the most fun nights of my life.

One of the strange things about the event that I knew about but Mattis did not, was the tradition of the boys trying to kiss as many girls as they could. It is a part of the event for a guy to grab a girl that he thinks is pretty and plant a big wet one right on her lips. The guys try to kiss as many girls as they can, the girls try to kiss the cutest guy they can and hang on to him all night. It creates a weird dynamic of girls trying to avoid being kissed by guys they don’t like and guys trying to woo every girl they lay eyes on. To someone who didn’t know better it would look like repeated sexual assault, but everyone, you and old, is doing it.

As I had said I knew what to expect coming into this but Mattis did not. The first time we saw a young guy very eagerly trying to kiss a girl who was trying to get away, Mattis reacted the way either of us would have back home and flattened the guy! I had to jump on him and tell all the people giving us dirty looks that we were just dumb tourists and explain to him that that is the way things worked here. He thought I had lost my mind until he saw the same thing repeated over and over again. Then, enough beers into the night and he was running around partying it up. I laughed at that as the guy lecturing me about passing up on culture was rocking out with the best of them!

We met a ton of amazing Brazilians again and had a simply awesome night. We were dancing and drinking and just loving life. It started raining sometime around 2 or 3 in the morning and no one even noticed. It felt good actually as it was a warm tropical rain and everyone just started making out and dancing more! I took it easy on the alcohol again but had a wonderful time and am looking forward to doing it all again. Although tonight, we bought tickets for a Camarote which is a space on a big platform where you hold still and dance and drink and eat and watch the parade instead of joining in. I have a feeling it wont be as good, but we want to try all aspects of the Carnival since we will not likely return. For the record, as I know people will ask, yes I kissed a few girls too, it is almost impossible to avoid it (not that I was trying to avoid it!). Girls would just come up and start dancing with you and plant one on you, then the kiss has to be good or everyone boos! So you really have to put your energy into it or look like a silly gringo! It makes for a unforgettable night of wild dancing, kissing, drinking and generally being really happy all night.

If anyone out there is contemplating Carnival, go for it, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced and is well worth the money. I hope everyone back home is well! I will post pics tomorrow of the following day, the internet is really slow today.

Brazil, top three countries I have ever been to.

2009-02-19T11:24:00.000-08:00

This was our spot in Rio, we ate here everyday. Great food and super friendly staff.

The Botafogo side of the stadium.

The Flamenco side.

A shot of the Marvelous City from the top of Sugar Loaf.

Our gang at the soccer match.

Brazil is just flat out an amazing place and Rio specifically is wonderful. So far we have met nothing but incredibly nice people and been having a great time. On top of that I get to hang out with my best bud after a year away. Mattis and I lived together for 8 years, so to say that we are close is an understatement, the guy is like a brother to me and being able to hang out again in such a cool place has been a really fantastic experience.

Brazil is a country full of friendly people, super friendly. Even the touts and street vendors, who in other countries can be a major nuisance, here will go out of their way to help you out without expecting anything in return. Everyone loves to dance and sing and is always smiling. People here seem very happy.

We went to a soccer game last week which was a really cool experience. It was the two biggest teams from Rio, and arch rivals: Flamenco and Botafogo. I have always wanted to go to a Soccer game in a big Latin American city as they are so passionate about the game and it was definitely worth the money. The crowds go nuts, they sing songs the entire game, wave huge flags, beat drums, dance. The atmosphere is fantastic. They don’t serve alcohol at the games, and I could see why, it would just get out of control. They even had helicopters flying over head with police officers carrying machine guns!

Soccer is not my game, but it was pretty neat being there. Botafogo was winning with an early goal but in the last 15 seconds Flamenco scored with a truly impressive leaping side kick (I am just describing what it looked like, I have no idea of what the actual move was called!) to tie the game and the place went nuts. It was really fun.

The weather turned beautiful that day, and stayed so for the rest of the time we were in Rio. We hit the beach and soaked up some rays, swam and had a nice chill one. Brazilians just do not like wearing clothes, is my theory. At the beach or cruising the streets of the city the guys wear soongas, speedos, or little shorts and the girls are very nearly nude. They have thong bottoms and the top has just enough material to cover the naughty bits. They sell beer on the beach for about a buck to a buck fifty and everyone hangs out and chit chats with each other or plays some sport. Needless to say, Mattis and I definitely enjoyed the day!

Our last day in Rio, Mattis went on a tour of the city and I went on a boat cruise around the harbor. The boat cruise came with all you can eat food and alcohol (not bad for $30!) and was full of 20 something Brazilians and travelers from all over the world. Mattis couldn’t believe that I was passing up a chance to gain some culture in favor of going to a party. That made me laugh as not too long ago Mattis was the one always wanting to go out and do fun stuff and I was the serious one always working. It just goes to show that people are constantly changing.

The boat cruise was fantastic, I hung out with a big group of Aussies who, as typical Aussies, were a ton of fun. We sailed around dancing, swimming, drinking Caprrinhas and eating Brazilian bar-b-que. It was one of the most fun days I have had in a long time. A little too much fun, unfortunately as I basically pulled an all nighter, only getting about two hours sleep before getting up to catch a flight to Slavador where we now are. On the flight I started getting chills and my muscles were aching, then by the time we got to our hostel I had a scorching fever and nasty cough. I was worried I had Malaria or something as I was pouring sweat and having difficulty breathing. We got to a pharmacy and I got some medicine and by about midnight the fever broke and I was feeling a little less like I was going to die.

Slavador is gearing up for Carnival around us right now and there is electricity in the air. This is going to be a crazy good time, you can just feel it. Carnival in Salvador is the biggest party in the world, and something Mattis and I have always wanted to do. I am going to take it easy tonight as I am feeling a lot better and don’t want to regress, but I am not going to miss out on this just because of a little bug. It is a shame I wont be getting down to Argentina as I really wanted to do some trekking there, but it is out of my control. Brazil though, is turning out to be plenty of fun and full of new experiences.

If anyone out there reading this is considering a vacation in the near future, think about Brazil. It is an amazing place, and easily one of the best I have ever been to. I will absolutely be returning.

Rio, The Marvelous City, is aptly named.

2009-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Some pics and a video thanks to my buddy, Mattis.

Rio is an incredible place, it definitely lives up to all of my expectations. Brazil is one of those countries that has always captured my imagination. It brings exotic images to mind of the Amazon, beaches, and beautiful women. To be here now and see it all confirmed is really cool.

the city itself is a mix of old and new, with skyscrapers sitting right next to stone buildings that are hundreds of years old. There is also a striking mix of poverty and wealth. The city is long and narrow, crowded between the beaches (which are beautiful) and the mountains. The further from the beach you go up into the mountains the poorer it becomes. The flavelas, or shanty towns, are very dangerous and home to extreme poverty. But only a few blocks close to the water and you have beautiful tree lined streets and lifestyles very similar to the USA.

Speaking of which, the people here are amazing. They are really outgoing and eager to talk to you , even if you have no common language! Portuguese is tough to understand as unlike Spanish, it is not phonetic. It sounds a lot different than you would think looking at it written. There are lots of sh and z sounds and they speak pretty fast, making it difficult to pick up words. However the natural friendliness of the people tends to make communication no problem.

It seems like a lot of the people here are really into fitness as well as everywhere you see people jogging, cycling, playing volleyball, soccer, or footvolley (volleyball with your feet). Most of the guys go around shirtless and most of them are ripped! The girls as has been said a million times, are very beautiful as well. The people here also LOVE to party. They go out early and all night, usually until the sun comes up.

Last night we went out to a part of town called Lapa with a group of 25 backpackers and had a great time. The entire section of town is one great big party, with people walking the streets drinking, eating street food, going into and out of bars and clubs. There are Samba bands on the street and people dance anywhere and everywhere. It felt like a festival there were so many people, but its like that every Friday and Saturday night! We had a great time dancing with the locals who like Colombians, are very good. The culture here is very exuberant and it seems like everyone loves to live.

Mattis and I also went out with a local named Rafeal who is a friend of a Brazilian guy Mattis met traveling in Russia named Luciano. Rafeal took us to a great club not knowing us from a can of paint and introduced us to all his friends and gave us the VIP treatment just off of the good word of his buddy. That is pretty typical of the people here.

We are going to do a tour of the city but it has been raining during the day for the past few days, unfortunately. We also plan on going to watch a soccer game tomorrow night which should be really fun. After that, we wrap up our time in Rio and head up to Salvador for Carnival which if normal life here in Rio is any indication, should be insane.

I will upload some pics tomorrow.

Made it!

2009-02-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

Well, a long long journey later I am in Rio, tired and in dire need of a shower, but well. It is so wonderfully beautiful here! The weather is perfect, I left behind hail and snow back home, if you can believe that for the California coast (I have never in my life seen the hills near my house snow capped) to come to amazing white sand beaches and perfect 75 degree weather. This is nice.

The city is great too, I have not seen enough to give a full report, but suffice it to say that this is a beach lover´s paradise. There are more beautiful people strutting around here than I have seen in a while. I am definitely going to enjoy my three weeks and I am stoked to be seeing my best buddy here...as soon as I can find the hostel! It´s always a bit of an adventure getting your bearings in a new place, but that is part of the adventure. I have it narrowed down now and it only took an hour, which is pretty good considering I have not slept a full night in well over 24 hours and speak only a few words of Portuguese. Luckily some friendly locals have pointed me in the right direction, everyone so far has been very friendly and helpful, which is always a pleasure.

I will post pictures as soon as I take some! Love to everyone back home, I made it safe and sound.

A new year of my life, a new adventure!

2009-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I am 28 today, survived another year, and today I am also beginning a new adventure. I am off to Brazil to meet up with my best buddy to explore and to celebrate carnival, something we have always wanted to do. It should be a wonderful time and I am very excited about it.

Due to unforeseen events in my personal life, I have to cut this trip shorter than expected. I will only be gone for the month of February, so no Argentina this time around, or trekking in Tierra del Fuego which is a bummer, but is unavoidable.

So, this will be a relatively short three week adventure. Funny how experience alters your perceptions. I am bringing a little duffle bag and that's it, I barely even thought about what I would bring, in my mind I barely register a three week trip when a year ago that would have been a major expedition.

I will post regularly about my adventures with my friend, Mattis and look forward to seeing what the largest country in South America has to offer.

There's Hope Yet!

2009-01-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

Mr. Marolt, the gentelman who rode his bike across the United States had this to say about our country:

Hi, Reece
I read your web page containing large article about my tricycle traveling across United States. It was for me memorable adventure indeed. At the end I had to change my old opinion about Americans, which was wrong owing to television, movies, newspapers ..., always full of violence, criminal, etc. At the beginning of trip I was a little scared of new unknown country and people. Now I can say, that Americans are much more friendly as I ever could imagine.
I am continuously watching your travel progress in South America. Wow!
I hope you understand my weak english.

With best regards,
Joze Marolt

That is good news to me! And I have been to SLovenia, and can say it is also a wonderful country full of very friendly people. It is beautiful too. I look forward to returning one day in the future.

Best of luck to you in all of your future travels, Joze,

Reece

Update for the New Year

2009-01-02T19:59:00.000-08:00

Well, when I said I was going to lay low on the blog for the next month, I guess I was fibbing a bit. Truth be told, writing in the blog has become habit and something that I really enjoy. So, I will continue to post on occasion between now and the time I leave.

The reason I was prompted to write though was an account of a really scary event that happened to my friend who is now traveling in Costa Rica. Mattis, my friend, was sitting in his bed in his hostel, working on his computer when he heard several loud bangs. He looked out his window and saw a female police officer in hysterics, as he put it, over the body of another police officer that had been shot in the head.

Apparently, some armed men had attempted to rob the Hostel that Mattis was staying in and when the police arrived, shot one of them several times in the chest and once in the head before running away.

It is a terrible tragedy, and I sincerely hope that the officer is OK. A lot of those guys are corrupt, but still, that does not warrant a gunshot to the face in my eyes.

Things like that make you really stake a step back and realize how fast it can all go. A lot of people would take that story and say, see, stay away from the third world! Well yes, the third world is not the safest place but things like that can happen anywhere. Violent crime is a big problem here in the states.

I just hope that my friend is not scarred by this event and that the Officer lives to fight crime another day. Mattis said the officer was still alive when the ambulance showed up, so that is good news. I also hope that the degenerates who did this receive justice. You can blame the society that they live in, the poverty that encourages crime, or what have you, but no one chooses to pull that trigger other than the man attached to the finger. That deserves retribution.

I have a lot of friends that are police officers and to think that someone like that could come to such a terrible end really angers me. But, it is out of my hands in this case.

At any rate, that is a story that I thought was relevant to the blog as I had just been there. The game plan now is to fly into Brazil on February 11th, to meet Mattis, stay through Carnival which should be a blast, and then head down into Patagonia to do some trekking.

I hope everyone had a great New Years!

Inspiring Story!

2008-12-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

A gentleman I met while riding my bicycle across the USA named Joze Marlot from Slovenia just sent me a Christmas email along with some pictures from our meeting. At any rate, Joze was also riding his bicycle across the USA and he was in his seventies! How fantastic is that? He rode on a recumbant bike with a device called a Schlum that gave him something like 30 or 40 gears if I remember correctly, it was quite an engineering marvel.

So I am very happy to report that he made it all the way! Way to go Joze. That is incredibly inspiring and I would hope that if anyone is considering making the trip that this will prove that all it takes is the will to see it through.

Here is a link to his blog, although it is in Slovenian. http://mostovi.blogspot.com/

A funny picture of me contemplating something or other. We crossed pathes in Florida, in the panhandle.

Mr. Marlot on his bike, crossing the USA.

Back in the US of A!

2008-12-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

Well I made it back home and it feels great to see friends and family again. It was a bit of a marathon getting back, but I made it.

I am experiencing reverse culture shock having come from the third world where I have been for so long to California in the middle of the Christmas shopping frenzy. It is such a dramatically different set of circumstances that the average person lives in here, and I hope everyone appreicates how amazingly good they have it! Plus, its cold! Holy smokes, I went from incredible heat and humidity to dry, cold December weather. It played havock on my sinuses, but that is a minor price to pay.

I am returning to Brazil on Februrary 11th, after my birthday (turning 28, when did I start getting so close to thrity?!?!) and will be there through Carnival with my buddy, then I am heading south through Argentina to do some trekking in Patagonia, which is something I have always wanted to do.

As for my sailing down the Amazon trip, I am postponing it for now. Why, you ask? Because I bumped into a friend in Colombia, a guy I had met earlier in my travels who also enjoys adventure and risk taking, that had attempted what I was planning on doing, but with a group of locals as guides. Well, long story short, they beat him to a pulp and robbed him. On top of this, this guy was no wimp either, he was a big solid dude, with a shaved head, biker beard and tattoos all over the place. He was not the kind of person you would expect to get victimized. He and I talked for a while and I decided this is still something I want to do, but with at least one other person. It is just too great of a risk to go it alone. I think I am getting older to make that kind of deiscion, as a few years ago that would have just made the trip more appealing. I would have simply brushed up on my Ju Jitsu, got a weapon of some sort and gone for it. These days though, I prefer to take calculated risks wherein the reward is worth the potential loss, which is the same reason I did not hike the Darrien Gap.

At any rate, I hope everyone is well. All my love, I hope Christmas was wonderful and that the New Year is as well. I am going to let the blog go silent for a few weeks here, so I highly recomend that if anyone wishes to continue to follow along in Februrary that you have the automated blog updates sent to your email. To do this there is a box on the left hand side of the web page where you fill in your email address and each new blog update will be sent to you. You wont get any spam mail, so no worries about that.

So for now, I will be resting up and spending quality time with loved ones, and then it is back to South America for some more adventure!

Lessons learned and great news for me.

2008-12-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

Day: 282

Location: Santa Marta, Colombia

Well, I must say, this trip has been a huge learning experience for me. I look back and see that I set out to try and ride a bicycle around the world because I wanted to do something big and exciting. Something that would make me feel good about myself and that would impress people.
Well, I got sick as a result of riding my bike too much, chose to stop and continue on by backpack. At first I was terribly upset that I would have to fall short of my goal, but with some thought I came to realize that a big part of me wanted to stop because I was no longer enjoying myself as much as I had at the beginning. With time and introspection I came to realize that the reason I felt this way was because I had set out on my journey for the wrong reasons. I wanted to ride a bike around the world not because I love to travel by bicycle so much as because I wanted to do something that would impress other people, which in turn I thought would make me feel better about myself.

It was a tough lesson to learn and it forced me to eat a big slice of humble pie as I had made such a big fuss out of my attempt, but in the end it was a very good lesson. You should only do something because you love to do it. If that is your motivation, then no matter what happens, what anyone else thinks of you, if you succeed or fail, you will be happy with yourself and feel fulfilled.

So, as I have toured around Central America with my backpack, I had a chance to do a lot of things that I would not have been able to do on my bike. I saw a lot of amazing things, met some wonderful new friends, and had a chance to really get to know a portion of the world that I did not know too much about beforehand. I also had a chance to see what volunteering was all about and had a chance to give of myself to those in need. I had a lot of fun in the process and feel that I am now doing everything that I really want to do because it is what I enjoy.

I had another moment like this the other night while I was out with some new friends. A big group of us at the hostel went out to dinner and it was a typical backpacker international crowd, and we were having a very typical backpacker conversation, consisting of where are you going, where are you from, where have you been, how long are you traveling, etc. Etc. Etc. If you have ever backpacked you know the routine. I swear we should just make name tags with answers to the main questions to save each other time.

At any rate, during the conversation an Australian girl was saying that she was going to go to the USA as a part of her trip, I said great, make sure to visit San Diego, as I always tell people, and proceeded to tell her about some of the many great qualities of California and San Diego, specifically. She smiled and said it sounded great as she didn´t like America in general.
At this, I reacted in the way I always react, and sprang to my country´s defense. I asked her why she did´t like America and didn´t she think it was unfair to make a blanket statement about a place and all of its people when she had not even been there? That it was imposible to make a statement about a group of people, especially when its 300,000,000 people, that would apply to them all? I have heard the same rhetoric so many times that I have a sort of stock response. We went back and forth a bit, with different people adding their opinions and in the end all I succeeded in doing was making her feel bad and defensive.

So, later in the evening, I was talking to a some of our group and going over the fact that I couldn´t believe people thought it was OK to trash talk an entire group of people, that America was by no means perfect, but it was an overall great place to live, etc. Then Chris, my traveling companion, who is a truly kind and gentle person, looked at me and without any malice at all said, well Reece, you have a really strong personality and I can see how you can anger people when you express your opinions.

Now, if anyone else there had said that to me I probably would have just gotten more angry and argued with them, but Chris is such an unassuming guy with his ego very much in check, that it made me realize that it was just an honest critique, and not meant to be a character slam.
So I started thinking a lot about it and a sort of domino effect went off in my mind. I wouldn´t say it was a revelation or anything, perhaps just a moment of clarity when I saw myself as other people probably see me.

It made me realize that in all of my impassioned appeals to her to see things from my point of view, I never even really listened to her beyond trying to find faults in what she said to counter when it was my turn to speak.

That really isn't communication, that is a form of verbal combat. The point isn't to prove someone else wrong, its to listen to their ideas and to hopefully communicate what essentially were noble ideas on my part that came out all wrong.

The problem as I see it was this: when she said she didn´t like America (which, as it is her opinion, she is perfectly entitled to) what I hear is that she does not like the people and places that constitute America, the people and places that I love, and ultimately, that she (or anyone who says these things) does not like me, as I am forever a product of those things.

Now, she may not have meant it that way, but that is what I heard. So, feeling that all of the things I love, my town, my family, friends and myself, have been attacked, I react in kind. The problem is, that if I really want to help someone to see that America is not a country full of stupid, frightened, greedy, warmongers (which sad to say, is how a lot of the world sees us) then verbally attacking them is not the right strategy to use. All I really end up doing is reinforcing the stereotype.

So, it dawned on me that if I want to help people to see all of the things there are to love about us Americans and our home, I need to change up my tactics. I need to listen more first of all, try to understand what they are saying and see if I can, gently and with respect for their opinions, show them that perhaps they should rethink some of their beliefs. You can not control what other people think and you should not want to. I know that there are plenty of things that can be improved back home and I would love to hear them, but blanket negative remarks are not constructive nor very thoughtful. In order to show people this, I need to ask them more questions as opposed to just talking at them. The greatest teachers in history asked more questions and listened more than preached. Demagogues talk without listening, and that is not what I want to be or how I want to represent myself as an American.

So, while I feel that my opposition to blanket negative statements regarding vast groups of people are inherently flawed and lead only to conflict, hitting someone over the head with my ideas isn't the right way to share that. Being kind, patient and attentive to others, and hopefully through well placed questions and personal example I can show people that America is not the land of the idiot.

So that is that, it was one great lesson learned on this trip for me out of many. Also, I apologized to the girl for jumping on her back, and we made up. I just asked her to please think about what she said in regards to groups of people in the future and she agreed that that was a good idea.
As for Santa Marta, this is a killer place. Its on the Caribbean, beautiful with a ton of nice people. Colombians are just very engaging socially. They walk up to you, shake your hand, chit chat with no reservation. And they are also a very passionate people that love to celebrate life.

Parties here are something else, we went out with some locals we met to go dancing and wow. First of all, everyone was smiling and laughing and dancing seductively with one another, having a wonderful time. And let me tell you, the rumors of Latin people being good dancers is so, so, so true. I have never felt inept on the dance floor before in my life. Back home, I would say I am above average when it comes to strutting my stuff. I always feel confident and have a great time. Am I Justin Timberlake? Not even close. But I would say I have better moves than your average guy!

Well here, I felt like an epileptic with two club feet. Everyone here is so amazingly graceful on the dance floor, it was crazy! They all salsa like champions and they have grown up with the steps so they can improvise and change things up as they go which is fantastic to watch. Some girls were trying to show me the steps and while I got the basics fine, as soon as they took me out on the floor and started really going for it, I was just getting in the way! Despite the fact that I looked like a big tall oaf, I had a lot of fun and was continuously blown away by how friendly everyone was.

Oh yeah, and I had to cover this for my buddies back home. All the rumors of beautiful Colombian women are very true. There are some jaw dropingly beautiful girls here.

Lastly, and this is such great news for me, I found a cheap ticket back home to the states so that I can be home for Christmas! It is actually cheaper for me to fly home, and then return to Brazil to meet my best friend for Carnival than it is to fly there form here??? Go figure. But, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, I will be home for Christmas!

All the best to everyone and happy Holidays.

Just pictures for now

2008-12-15T10:16:00.001-08:00

I am not feeling very good so I wont write much, but I have plenty to write about. For now, I will just put up some pictures.

Leaving Panama City

The airport we got to spend 13 hours in.

Chris and Tim, my really great traveling companions.

Tim and Chris took some of these really cool panorama shots.

Cartegena, Colombia.

Chris and Tim in Cartegena.

Some of the beautiful streets of Cartegena.

The walls of the old town in Cartegena.

My cheesiest tourist pose.

The city really was gorgeous, Cartegena.

The walls and the Caribbean sea of Cartegena.

Another shot of the old town.

This was an enormous hotel in Cartegena,like a city block in size, it was crazy.

A park in Cartegena.

Made it to South America, finally!

2008-12-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Day: 277

Location: Cartegena, Colombia

Beautiful sunset at Las Penitas, Nicaragua.

Las Penitas, Nicaragua.

The mostly empty beaches of Las Penitas.

I love this place, Las Penitas again.

Rooftops of Leon.

Leon, Nicaragua.

I arrived yesterday in Cartegena Colombia after a bit of an adventure. I got to Panama City after a marathon bus ride only to find out that the next boat to Colombia was not leaving until December 22nd, which was too long of a wait for me. On the bus ride I had met two English brothers, Tim and Chris, who are also on an around the world trip and were also on their way into Colombia, so we decided to go together and started hunting around for other options to get there. We found a flight from Panama City to Cartegena, Colombia for $158, which was about half of what every other airline charged.

Thinking that this was a great deal, we promptly bought our tickets and prepared to leave bright and early the next morning.

We got up at 7 to get a taxi to the airport, as we had been told that frequently this particular airline would change flight times, sometimes even leaving earlier than scheduled, so we wanted to make sure we were there to catch our 11am flight.

Well, the flight time was changed, but not to an earlier hour. We were delayed after getting on the plane because they said they did not have enough gas to get to Colombia. So, instilled with a great sense of confidence in our airline, we got back off of the plane and went to wait until 1:30, which they told us would be the next flight. They also gave us a $10 credit towards lunch, which was nice.

So, we ate, figured we would burn some time until 1:30 and then get to Cartegena while it was still light out. I do not like arriving in a new city when it is dark.

Well, 1:30 comes and the flight is delayed again...to 6:30. So, we accept the fact that we will be arriving after dark, call ahead to a few hostels to make sure we can get a room and settle in to wait another 5 hours.

6:30 comes around and apparently they still have not scrounged up any gas so they comp us another $10 bucks for dinner and tell us to wait until 9:30. At this point, we are losing our minds with boredom, and in what was probably a bad decision, decided to buy a bottle of Vodka at the duty free shop. It was $11 bucks for a liter and we prefigured we would just have a few sips to pass the time and save the rest for Cartegena.

Well, a bottle of Vodka and three hours later we stumble onto the plane after 13 hours of waiting in the stupid airport. We arrive in Cartegena after midnight, a little inebriated, tired and more than a little annoyed.

We had to get a cab to our Hostel and assuming that the same breed of human sharks ply the asphalt oceans here as in other Latin American cities, I decided to go in prepared and asked people in the airport how much we should pay to go to Old Town. They told us 1,000 pesos (about 40 cents American) should do it. So, I flag down a cab, ask him if we can get a lift to our place for 1,000 Pesos. He says sure, that is fine. Then I tell him that we only have American dollars (we had not had a chance to exchange currency and did not see an ATM at the airport) and he says, yeah, no problem.

So, we get a lift to our Hostel which is in a bit of a shady part of town, get out and I hand him a dollar and tell him to keep the rest as a tip, more than doubling his asking price.

He proceeds to tell me we owe him 5 bucks. I say, no, you said 1,000 pesos, this dollar is 2,200 pesos. He tells me a dollar is just 500 pesos (which would mean we would owe him 2 dollars anyway, not 5), and I say no it is not. He says it is a different exchange rate in Cartegena, I say he is a lying $%&/!! which probably did not help the situation, but I was still feeling pretty loose from the Vodka we had stupidly downed in the Airport.

The guy gets a little upset because of my colorful words, and says he will call the police, and a crowd starts to gather. I tell him to go right ahead, which was really stupid because often, police in Latin America can be very corrupt and you are better off simply having nothing to do with them if you can help it. I even ran into an internet Cafe right next to us and pulled up the current exchange rate on the internet to show he and the other knuckle heads what the exchange rate was. Then I offer to go to the ATM, and get pesos to pay him with and he says no, he wants 5 bucks. I even asked one of the guys in the crowd how much a dollar was worth and he said, 2,200 Pesos. The Taxi driver said he told me it was 10,000 pesos, not 1,000, which I call out for the lie it is and then more local guys come out and start defending him and I blow up and start yelling at everyone, which again, was dumb as it only escalated the situation further. Eventually, in an inebriated, I can´t believe the injustice of this situation fury, I storm off to the ATM to get some Pesos to pay the lying crook of a Taxi driver.

On the way, I found the ATM but it was closed, so I started heading back not wanting to leave the English brothers alone too long with the gathering crowd. Heading back, I bumped into a couple of young Colombian guys who were hanging out on the street corner who were drinking a bottle of something which they kindly offered to share with me. So I did, and I told them in my broken Spanish what had happened as we pass the bottle around, and they said that was baloney, got really angry and then we all stormed off together to find this crook of a Taxi driver and tell him what was up.

I come charging in with a couple of drunk Colombian guys ready for WWIII, and find only an empty street with two rather fed up looking English brothers. In the time I was gone, they had simply paid the Taxi driver what he asked for and he had left. I was pretty upset that they had done that as it was pandering to a lying, two faced jerk, and my blood was up so I was looking forward to yelling at the guy with some locals to give me more leverage.

However, Tim and Chris said they just didn´t want to deal with it so they paid him and got it over with. Honestly, that was probably the smart thing to do, but I just absolutely HATE being taken advantage of or encouraging that type of behavior. The amount of money was negligible, but it is the principle of the matter. If you make a deal, you stick to it, end of story. That is why I can´t stand most cabbies in this part of the world, its par for the course to try and screw every gringo that gets in your cab. Not all of them are like this, many cabbies I have met were really nice and honest guys, but the majority have been terrible.

At any rate, the Colombian guys and I had a laugh, they offered me some Cocaine (hey, it is COlombia after all!), which I kindly refused, and we parted ways friends. Tim, Chris and I found a decent place to sleep and crashed, with me muttering and fuming about the jerk cabbie the entire time.

Well, lesson learned. Do not expect a flight to leave on time in South America. Do not enter a country without some of their money beforehand, if at all possible. Do not get drunk before entering a new country, especially one that is one of the 5 most dangerous places on earth. And lastly, video tape a cabbie agreeing to a price before getting in the cab, draw up a notarized contract as to said agreement and have him sign it in blood. Simple!

Cartegena though is a beautiful city, surprisingly so. It is very old, founded in the 15th century, and the old town is surrounded by a huge wall used to keep Pirates out in days gone by. It feels very European and I have to say, other than the not so fun episode last night, is a great place. The city is filled with beautiful building, both old and new, and everything is very colorful. There are huge forts around too, also used to defend the town from marauding Pirates, and they add a really neat flair to the place. It is very cheap too, with hotels at every price range, from 5 bucks a night to some very expensive, ultra luxury hotels. You can get a glass of fresh squeezed, ice cold Orange Juice on the street for 20 cents, or a fried piece of bread filled with cheese for 25 cents, both of which are delicious.

Walking around, we bumped into one of the young Colombian guys that had come to my aide the night before and we had a laugh and talked for a bit. Then he told me he was going to meet up with his buddy because they had found some magic mushrooms and were going to eat them and walk around the city. He then started doing a really funny dance pretending that he was on a good one and seeing funny things, which had us cracking up. He then jumped in the air and took off, laughing the entire way. He was a cool cat, if a little fixated on drugs, and he and his buddy were really funny.

I have to say that Colombia seems like it will be a lot of fun, provided I can avoid any more difficult situations like the one last night. Tomorrow we are heading up the coast to a city called Santa Marta for some beach time on the Caribbean.

A change of plans....is anyone surprised?

2008-12-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Old pic, but some of the cool costumes the kids run around in in Leon.

Two pups hanging out by the water.

Not a bad way to end the day!

Day: 273

Location: San Jose, Costa Rica

Well, these plans they keep a´ changin! Although at this point I am taking for granted that the only constant on my trip is change, but that is OK, I like to travel by the seat of my pants.

Sarah and I met up a day later than anticipated in Managua, and then took off to Leon. From there, We went for a few days to a wonderful beach called Las Penitas. I almost do not want to spill the beans on it as it is such an amazing place, but it is already turning into a tourist town and so I doubt my blog will do much to speed up the transformation.

Essentially Las Penitas is a small fishing village on the Pacific coast, but now it is turning into a tourist and surf destination. To get to it you have to grab a chicken bus down a long, bumpy dirt road. The town itself is really just two streets along the water with untouched coast along either side of it. We went for a walk down the beach for a few miles and saw nothing in either direction from the town but wild grass land, sand dunes and beautiful ocean. It is remarkable how untouched parts of the coast in Nicaragua are. Especially the Caribbean side, there are hundreds of miles of virgin coast line there, but also no infrastructure at all.

At any rate, Las Penitas is a great place with sunshine, nice people (as is true is all of Nicaragua, I have found) cheap hotels and great food that comes in large portions.

We planed to only stay for the day but ended up staying for two. I will assuredly be returning to that town at some point in my life. I have some great pictures, but i am having trouble getting them uploaded. I will do so as soon as possible though.

Back in Leon there was a huge festival celebrating the Virgin Mary. We didn´t actually see much of it as we left town that same day. We did see a lot more of the strange costumes that I saw last time I was in Leon. They consist of a group of kids, usually boys, that roam the streets. There is always a big costume of a woman in a hat, that stands about 10 feet tall, and a little costume of a man with a great big head and little arms and legs that is about 5 feet tall. Two little boys wear these get ups, while two to three other boys play an assortment of drums. They roam the streets dancing and banging on their instruments getting people they pass to dance with them. It is really neat and good for a belly laugh when you see them going full swing.

Leon is a very cool place. Each visit has me liking it more and more. It is a bit run down and at first you feel like its a bit on the dirty side, which it is, but it has a charm you catch on to if you stay long enough. At night, families sit in front of their homes talking and passing the time, and kids run around playing soccer and baseball. It is a very safe feeling city unlike some you encounter in Central America. There are also a load of beautiful churches and squares to check out if you are so inclined. There is also a cemetery which is huge and full of some amazing tombs, although the grounds could use a bit better maintenance!

I have really come to feel normal and at ease in Central America. I forget how much of a shock it is for people from the west to come here and experience all of the differences. For me it just feels normal now to have cold showers, ride crowded chicken buses and walk the chaotic streets of the cities. You come to realize that life is essentially the same for everyone, its just the details of how one goes about it that change. But, we tend to notice the differences first and they can shock us at times.

I am now in San Jose, Costa Rica, getting ready to head to Panama City tomorrow. I am going to catch the first boat out of here into Colombia which I am very excited about. Sarah and I decided to part ways, and my Buddy is going to be a lot later getting to where I am than I had thought, so I am going to catch up with him, or more precisely, he will catch up with me in South America.

I have an 18 hour bus ride tomorrow, then I should be out of Central America (finally!) within the week. I am very excited to change Continents after me extended, but wonderful stay in Central America.

New Traveling Companion and my Computer is back!

2008-12-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Day: 269

Location: Leon, Nicaragua

Good news all around today. I have a new friend to travel with, I got my computer back in action, and my best buddy is going to be flying into Central America in a few days. All things that make me very happy.

My new traveling companion is Sarah, one of the people I had been hanging out with way back in Bocas del Torro. She decided that the working world just was not what she wanted to do for the time being and so sold her stuff, quite her job and came out to Central America with the intention of working for a few months. We had tentative plans to meet up in Argentina down the road, but since my plans totally changed and I ended up staying in Central America for so much longer and my buddy was going to be arriving soon, everything ended up working out.

Its funny how much things have changed for me on this trip. I had only intended on being in Central America for 2 months, but here now I am going on 5 months! I have really grown to enjoy Latin Culture. There are downsides to it of course, but for the most part it is a great place to be.

I think there is really something to be said for taking it easy and traveling at a leisurely pace. I feel that going slower and learning more about a few places is more enjoyable, at least for me, than rushing through places and getting only a surface level understanding of them. You may see less this way, but you get more out of what you do see. When I set out on this trip I had the intention of trying to see as much of the world as possible, but I have come to realize that its just to big to see it all. I believe now that you should only go to the places that call to you, get to know them really well, make friends there, maybe even live there for a while. Revisit them from time to time, and branch out to new places only when you really want to go, not just going to say you have been. In this way, I feel like your time and money are better spent and you will be happier. But then, that is just me, everyone has there own preferred method of travel.

So, now I can continue to travel with a friend, soon to be 2 friends, which is fun. Also, Sarah was kind enough to bring out a new wall charger for my computer as I lost mine the first time I was in Nicaragua and have been unable to get a replacement. I can not even express how happy I am to have this little guy back back! Now I can take time to properly edit my posts as I won't be paying per minute to use computer, and in a situation where people are waiting on a me to finish. Plus, I can upload pics onto this computer without a USB cord so I will have pictures again! I am very happy to have my trusty little computer back in action.

As for the current game plan, we are going to hang out in Nicaragua until my friend arrives, who is also traveling around the world, and we will all join forces to spend Christmas together, which will make it less lonely. After that we are heading into South America where we have a lot of fun things planned.

Things are going well and I will post some pictures in the next update.

Goodbyes are never fun.

2008-11-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Today was a bit of a sad day, I said goodbye to Tamarah as she flew back to Costa Rica to finish out the last few days of her trip and then head home to Canada. She is going to visit some faily friends and then take off. It is never easy to say goodbye to someone you have grown close to, but that is the nature of traveling and knowing that coming into anything makes the seperation easier. She is a fantastic person and I feel lucky to have gotten to know her and spend the time with her that I did. I hope our pathes cross again some day.

I learned another thing too, and that is that traveling with a girl can be a lot of fun. Now, I know to a lot of people that sounds a bit rediculous and that what makes someone a good traveling companion depends far more on their personality than their sex, but here is my reasoning. I have only ever lived or traveled with guys as an adult. With guys, I know what to expect for the most part. I assume they wont mind getting dirty, traveling in places that may be a bit intimidating, occasionaly sleeping in places that may be a bit dirty, and dealing with stressful situations that invariably arrise while traveling in a way that I am used to dealing with.
With a girl, I had a bit of a fear that there would be too many feelings involved with everything, and that there would be a need on my part to have to always look for ¨cute¨ places to stay as opposed to practical places. I was afraid that I would have to skip out on stuff that I wanted to do as most girls would probably not be interested in the same types of activities. I was afraid that during a stressful situation I would have trouble communicating and dealing with it in a way that I was used to and that would not cause friction. And, mostly, I was afraid that I would always be on high alert and stressed out a bit trying to look out for the girl with me as a lot of the places I have been are a bit on the scary side around here.

Now obviously those thoughts are stereotyping quite a bit, and that in reality there are a lot of women that would love to do out doors types of activities, explore chaotic central american cities and be fine in stressful situations but in truth, the types of girls that I am normally around, would not. So, to meet a girl that I was attracted to, that was fun, self reliant, easy going and helpful in any situation, no matter how stressful really was great for me. I was happy to have my fears disproved, and now with experience, they seem silly to me. There were still times where I was a little on edge going though rough areas with Tamarah, but that is an unavoidable part of traveling and an acceptable risk.

So now I look forward to traveling with anyone so long as they have the right charactersitics. It also makes me think that one day down the road I can live with a girl, as that was something that I have always worried about! I have only ever lived with guys as an adult and it was tough for me to imagine it otherwise, although it would be a pretty lonely life for me if I didn´t try it! These past two months have really been a great learning experience for me and have made me reevaluate how I look at a lot of things.

As for now, I am in Managua, which is a pretty rough city. I have never seen a city so impoversihed as this, not even Tijauana. People live in dirt floored houses if they are lucky, and cardboard lean-toos covered in plastic tarp if they are not so lucky. The roads are as often dirt as paved and covered with mountains of litter and the people drive like maniacs, especially the cabbies. Speaking of which, the cabbies here are absolute sharks. They try and screw every gringo out of their money. I dont mind paying a bit more than the locals, but here it is obscene. They try to charge you 20 bucks for a ride that should cost 4. They lie, beg, renig on deals agreed upon, all to try and squeeze you for ever last penny. I hate it and seriously lose my temper at times and start yelling at them. When you agree on a price, get in, and then the cabbie tries to up the fare mid trip, I just cant handle that. I dont like most cabbies much, to be honest.

We got stuck here because our luggage didnt come with us from the Corn Islands on the morning flight we took back to the mainland. So, we had to wait for the second flight over of the day, which arrived at night. That ruined our plans as we were going to go to Leon and hang out there for our last few days, but obviously we couldnt go anywhere without our stuff. So, we had to get a room in a hotel in a really bad part of town, go back to the airport and find our bags which luckily did make it over. Then to get our bags, we had to ¨tip¨ the guys who helped us. Tip here meaning bribe. Finally, we got our stuff, and then decided it wasnt worth it to go to Leon for only a day and come right back. The Corn Island trip turned out to be a really bad move as the weather was terrible and it is very expensive there. It was really dissapointing as we had been looking forward to it, but oh well. Lesson learned, always check the weather before going somewhere! We managed to warn a group of Canadian travellers staying at our Hotel about the Corn Islands and saved them from a similar experience.

The people here are very poor, too. You see kids everywhere working their butt´s off. They stand in traffic carrying all manner of food and drinks to sell for a few cordobas (one cordoba is 5 cents). Sometimes you see little kids swinging hammers or diggin ditches alongside their parents, its crazy. I am gong to bring my kids to the third world when they are young and show them how other people in the world live. Hopefully they will see how incredibly lucky they are to live in the States.

However, despite the poverty, Nicaragua is still, along with Costa Rica, the safest place in Central America. The people are really nice so long as they aren´t sitting behind the wheel of a cab and I still love this place, despite some of the downsides.

So that is all for now, all my love to everyone back home and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Quick Update: The Corn Islands

2008-11-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

Well, I am questioning the intelligence of our decision to come out here. First of all, getting here was a big pain in the rear, invlovling a million different forms of trasportation, including a little puddle jumper airplane that felt like it would fall right out of the sky if one of the passengers broke wind with a little too much gusto. The thing bounced and bumped its way to the tiny Big Corn Island and we arrived to pouring rain and howling winds, which have not ceased since we have been here.

Thankfully, the room we got is very nice with a pool that sits right on the water. Unfortunately, the weather has been so foul that we have had no chance to enjoy it. We were meant to meet up with friends that we have travelled with that got here a few days before us, but the ocean was so rough that they were stuck on Little Corn Island and could not get back over to the big island. They finally made the voyage back yesterday but said the boat ride over was a harrowing experience, and that it felt like it would capsize at any moment in the huge swells.

Tamarah and I are going a bit stir crazy as all we have to do is eat, watch DVD´s and look out the window at the near hurricane like weather. Well, it is not that bad, but it feels like it. I may not stay here for long as I am considering fairly strongly to return to the mainland where it is nice and sunny and cheaper. Everything out here is the same price as back home so my wallet has definitely been taking a beating.

The connection here is very slow and due to the weather, not always working, so no pictures for now.

Heading back to the Caribbean!

2008-11-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

Day: 257

The last few days have been a series of big build ups to rather unexciting climaxes, rather like a lot of people´s Prom night.

When we arrived in Leon, we knew coming in that there had been a lot of political tension, warnings by the state department for Americans to stay out, and political protests, some of which had turned violent. We decided to come anyway and on our way in saw bus after bus of protestors making there way into Managua, the capitol, waving Black and Red flags. Apparently in the recent elections there was such a high level of fraud that the government decided to veto the results and hold a new election.

So, in light of this decision locals expected huge protests with rallies clogging the streets, cops with tear gas, rubber bullets, fire hoses, the works. The night we arrived we heard constant firecrackers, what sounded like gunshots and sirens going off. People were walking the streets banging on drums and dancing around in bizarre costumes, which looked to be culturally significant, but as for the political meaning, if any, I never found out. It razzled us a bit and the owner of the hostel here told us to expect a crazy day of political activism and that there was a good chance we wouldn´t be able to go outside. So, Tamarah and I called it a night wondering if we had made a bad choice in coming, but also a bit excited by the electricity in the air and for a chance to see firsthand people exercising their rights to protest a corrupt government (or in some cases, their support for said government).

The next morning was beautiful, sunny and hot, with people peacefully going about their day. We hung around for a few hours to make sure nothing would erupt suddenly, but in the end nothing happened. We were both relieved and a little disappointed to be honest.

So, we made our way out to a little village called San Jacinto, which was home to what we thought were hot springs and warm mud baths. We were picturing warm, bubbling mineral pools we could relax and soak in, and exotic mud pools possessed of some cleansing powers that cured the locals of all manner of illness. Well, this turned out to be another overly hyped tale, and in reality consisted of a few bubbling pools of sulfurous mud so hot that the local kids could cook corn in them. It was more like a vision of one of the middle levels of hell than the relaxing paradise we imagined.

But, it was still a fun excursion as the local kids that showed us around were very funny and energetic and made the day enjoyable. The village itself was really interesting, being built along a dusty, rocky road. It is crazy to go from Leon, a beautiful if somewhat run down colonial city some 500 years old to a tiny village just down the road and probably just as old that looks like it is just a few steps from the stone age. Every hut was dirt floored, with no electricity or running water. The kids had to run down to the river with large buckets to get water for the household. People got around on horseback and there were all kinds of livestock milling about.

The people were however, universally friendly and nice. A characteristic that seems pretty common in this country. The kids were just kids too, the boys running around kicking each other and laughing, shooting things with sling shots. The girls smiling and picking flowers. Its funny, no matter where you go, kids are all the same. Its only the culture they live in that shapes them into adults different from those of any other place.

We gave the little munchkins a few bucks for showing us around and came back to Leon. Tomorrow we head off for the Corn Islands, which we are both really looking forward to, but it will be a bit bittersweet too as it will also mean the end of our time together. That is the thing with traveling, you meet great people, bond, only to go separate ways with the chance of seeing one another again not so good. But, you never know. I have two friend coming in to travel with me in the near future too, so that will be nice.

Until next time!

The oh so luxurious mud baths...

Looks inviting, doesnt it?

It smelled like rotten eggs.

We saw a lot of people walking the streets in this strange costumes playing music.

The kids that helped us out, weird, none of them are smiling in the pic, but the entire time we were with them they were running around laughing and singing and what not.

San Jacinto in all its glory.

One of the little boys made this for Tamarah, he even put her name on it, although he speeled it wrong, but that makes it even cooler!

Rush hour!

Leon, Nicaragua.

2008-11-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

Day: 255

The amazing man powered Ferris Wheel!

The fair with the Rodeo in the background.

Some of our new friends.

More of our new friends after the moonshine incident. Just for the rcord, I almost never smoke, that was a rare, rare occurance.

New buddy.

The city of Granada, Nicaragua.

A very happy cat.

One of the many abandoned houses near the lake, this one providing a home for a family of goats.

The beautiful lagoon.

Sunset over the crate of the volcano.

The festival in Altagracia was a fantastic time, Tamarah and I definitely blew off some steam. The day began with a parade in which the locals were wearing costumes and carrying palm fronds. I do not know why they did this, as I never remembered to ask any of the locals.

After the parade, we made our way to the fair, which was a load of fun. I really enjoy fairs back home and this one reminded me of a fair that we would have seen in a small country town in the states if we stepped back in time about 60 years.

There was a rodeo with bull riding, roping, horse showmanship, etc. A wide selection of tasty and cheap food, beer, the local liqour of choice, Flor D´Caña, potent stuff, a dance hall and some rides. The rides were the coolest part of the fair as they were all hand made out of spare bits of metal and plastic from all kinds of sources like car parts, scrap metal, and kids toys that were somehow melded together and covered with a coat of paint. The craziest part about it though was the fact that they were all man powered! There was a merry go round that used the transmission of an old truck and children's toy carts and bicycles and was powered by the owner of the ride who manually spun the thing. The kids didn't mind though and enjoyed the experience as much as kids back home enjoy our fancier merry go rounds. The ride that really blew me away though was a Ferris wheel that was made of scrap metal and was spun by two burly guys. They literally flung each carriage into the air, spinning the entire massive contraption! I was thoroughly impressed.

We met a ton of people to hang out with, including some expates from Colorado that moved to Ometepe island to farm and open a small hotel, a lone traveler from Kentucky and a boat load of very friendly, and very inebriated locals. I, being the dummy that I am, decided to take them up on a drinking challenge they issued to me. Thinking that it would be beer, I was sorely mistaken when one of my new buddies pulled a clear, unmarked bottle of moonshine out of his jacket and encouraged me to share it with them. Well, being the hyper masculine guy that I am, I couldn't let a challenge go unanswered, so I took a big chug of the stuff and it felt like someone shot a flame thrower straight down my throat! That stuff was potent! So, after going rounds with these guys, we all hit the dance floor and made quite a ridiculous site. First of all, Tamarah and I are much taller than the locals, plus we were the only two gringo's dancing, and lastly, we were both feeling pretty loose at this point and so ended up dancing like total idiots with a bunch of Nicas. Despite that and all the attention we were getting from the locals, we had a great time. We were out most of the night before we bid farewell to our new buddies and made our way home.

The next day we both strongly considered drowning ourselves in the lake to make our hangovers go away. Whatever they distill that rotgut with must be pretty crude stuff. We stumbled our way to the city of Granada, which is a great place to hang out. Its a lovely city and easy to get around.

We went on a day trip to a lagoon outside of town that sits on an active volcano and so has nice warm water. We spent the day there with a big group of travelers and floated around the water on inner tubes, played some basketball, and passed the time with fun people and good conversation.

We came back to Granada that night, had another excellent and incredibly cheap meal and got ready to head to Leon. We arrived today and are getting set up to go on a day trip to a hot spring that also has hot mud bathes. It sounds like a really fun day of relaxing and soaking up some natural beauty.

I sincerely love Nicaragua. It is a great country with friendly people and it is so cheap that you can really have a great time without breaking the bank, unlike Costa Rica which is fairly pricey. It reminds me of the stories I hear of the way America was during the great depression. I don't know if that is an accurate comparison obviously, as I never lived in that time, but from books and movies it seems like a good fit for the most part. People don't have much but they are still proud of who they are and their culture. They work hard, share what they have with each other and make up for any deficit in financial assets with a good attitude. People seem happy despite not having a whole lot. There are down sides though, things go a lot slower and there is a ton of corruption in the government, but hopefully that gets worked out in the next few generations.

Speaking of which, the state department issued a warning about traveling in Nicaragua as the recent elections here have caused a lot of protests, some of which have turned violent. We have experienced none of this and feel perfectly fine, but we have seen a lot of the protestors on their way to rally's. Things like that really make me thankful to live in a country where a pretty dramatic change in leadership can occur peacefully.

Well, I am enjoying my last week with Tamarah before we go our separate ways. Until the next update!

Goin to a watch some bull runnin!

2008-11-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

A picture of our hotel in Merida, wonderful place.

The waterfall that I never got to see!

The new gang in front of the chicken bus that took us to Altagracia, this thing was so full you cuold barely move.

Walking from the bus to our hotel.

A shot of the lake from the beach.

The path to the beach from our hotel.

Me in the lake, busting the pose as usual.

My foot after my not so smart Ninja jump into the water.

The view from out place in Chaco Verde.

Another shot of the lake.

Our hotel in Chaco Verde

Our ride to the other side of the island.

Altagracis gearing up for the festival.

I cook a mean omlete!

Volcan Concepcion, the one I climbed last time I was here.

Making our way to our hotel in Chaco Verde.

I forgot how great of a place Nicaragua is. The people are just so nice here, for my money the friendliest people I have met so far on this trip (even the guy who tried to rob us on the bus pointed us in the direction we needed to go when we got off). It is very cheap here for traveling and the countryside is gorgeous.

After staying at Chaco Verde, Tamarah and I made our way to the other side of the island that is formed by the smaller volcano, Maderas. We intended to climb it as there is a waterfall on the way up and a lake sitting in the now dormant volcano´s crater.

Ometepe is a wonderful island full of friendly people and amazing scenery, but the infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired. Getting from Chaco Verde to Merida, which is maybe a 20km journey, was like trying to perform brain surgery. There is no bus stop there, you just have to flag down a bus, but most of them do not go to the Maderas side of the island because the roads are not paved there, but instead are horribly potholed, bumpy and muddy trails. We would have had to take about two or three forms of transportation to go the short distance. Fortunately for us, a tour was leaving from out hotel to go to the waterfall on the other side of the island. We asked the driver if we could get a lift to Merida and he said sure. Then, an Italian tourist tried to tell me that we had to pay him so that he could get his tour cheaper.

Now, I don´t know how things work in Italy, but where I am from, you pay the person performing a service for you, not some other yahoo that happens to be there as well. I told him I was paying the guy who owned the truck, and he threw a hissy fit like a true baby. After wasting everyone´s time, the owner finally relented and said I could pitch in on his fair. That isn´t right in my opinion, as if you agree to pay a certain price to go on a tour, then some other people join in, your price doesn't get divided by the number of new people, they pay their own fair. But, this guy was being a cry baby and had to save himself 3 bucks or else he was going to make every body´s day miserable. That three bucks would mean a lot to the guy operating the tour, as most of the people on the island are very poor, but this jerk had to save himself that money so he could feel like he got a good deal. As soon as we get going, the guy pulls out a camera that looked like it most have cost a good 3 grand complete with a lens that would make a National Geographic photographer turn green with envy. What an ass!

Then he and every other stupid tourist on the truck made the driver stop every time we passed some locals that were going about there business, washing clothes in the river, cooking over a wood stove, etc. to jump out, take their picture without asking permission, then jump back in the truck and drive off.

That sort of things just pisses me off so much and is what makes locals hate gringo tourists.You do not just run up to someone and take their picture without asking first, these people are not animals in a zoo, they are human beings just going about their day. How would you like it if a tour bus full of foreigners came through your neighborhood and then took a bunch of pictures of you taking out the garbage and then drove off, and then the next day a new bus full of idiots came and did the same thing? I was about to tell them all they were a bunch of morons but Tamarah asked me not to make a scene so I swallowed my protests. For the record though, she hates that too, she just doesn´t like confrontation whereas I almost enjoy it when I feel I am in the right about something.

At any rate, we got to where we were jumping off and the idiot Italian guy (henceforth referred to as the IIG) then tells me to give him double what the truck driver asked me to pay for our fare. So then I really gave it to the IIG and told him what I thought about him. It was petty but it felt good anyway.

Once in Merida, Tamarah and I hiked up to our Hotel, which was a great place overlooking the water. It was $10 a night and the restaurant had amazing food for about $3 a plate. We met some great people and had an absolutely wonderful time. It is the kind of place that you could spend a few weeks in, just hanging out, taking life nice and easy, enjoying a beautiful lake, mountain scenery and hikes, and great food served by the friendliest family you have ever met. I loved it there.

The gang went on a hike to go and see the waterfall but I had to skip it as when we were swimming the day before I managed to injure myself.

The water in the lake is very high right now as it has been raining a lot. So, there are quite a few rocks and such that are now underwater which you would normally be able to see. So I in my infinite wisdom, climbed onto a tree and swung off of it into the water right onto a rock.
Now the part that shows how dumb I was is that I knew the rock was there, but I thought that with my Ninja like agility, I would be able to land on it and balance without falling.

Well, apparently I need to brush up on my Ninja skills because I didn´t balance on it at all but slipped and my foot went down the rough side of the rock like a piece of cheese on a cheese grater, taking all the skin off the inside of my foot near the toes. Needless to say, I had to skip the hike. I should be fine though, I cleaned it up and have been taking good care of it.

Today we are in the little town of Altagracia, the place I stayed last time, as there is a big festival today and night, with bull running, food, drinking, dancing, etc. We are in a group of 8 and just got settled in and are looking forward to a fun night.

Until next time!

Back in Nicaragua

2008-11-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

Day: 249

Well, good news and bad news, although the bad news is fairly minor. I lost the USB cable for my camera while walking down a country road here in Nicaragua, and despite going back over the route we took twice combing it with two sets of eyes, we were unable to find it. So, for the time being, the pictures I took will be safely stored on my camera, with no way of getting them on the computer. Until I work out a way to get a new cable, I will be using Tamarah´s but for now, no pics which is a shame because I got some really good shots.

The good news being that we are now in Nicaragua. I was Puerto Viejo´d out and am very excited to be moving again. We are going to be going at a pretty fast pace for the next week and a half, only spending a few days in various spots, then we will be flying out to the Corn Islands where Tamarah has a family friend that owns a resort and is being gracious enough to let us have a $100 dollar a night room for $25 a night. And just for comparisons sake, a $100 dollar a night room in Nicaragua is like staying at the Ritz back home, so I am pretty excited for that after months of either my tent or a bed in a communal sleeping space.

Getting here was a pain though, we left Puerto Viejo at 7 in the morning on 12th, and after 10 hours of traveling got to Liberia, which I would guess as a total distance of maybe 300 miles. It just takes ages to go anywhere in Central America. We spent the night there in a terrible hostel (Hotel Liberia) which was beat up even for a Central American hostel and run by the most obnoxious slob of a man. He really managed to kill what little charm the place had.

The next morning we got up early hoped a bus to the border, struggled through the interminable red tape, hustlers, touts and slow moving bureaucracy of the border crossings here, to get on another bus, to a cab to a boat. That took us another 5 hours to only go about 100 miles! To make the trip even more exciting, I caught a guy trying to steal stuff out of Tamarah´s back pack on the chicken bus we were taking (and true to form, there was a chicken under my seat pecking at my shoes). He had his hand in one of the pouches of her bag and was trying to take stuff out and put it in his own backpack but I had been watching him as he looked really suspicious and when he put his hand in her bag I gave him a whack and yelled at him. He tried to play it off like nothing was happening like a true scum bag, and I had to stop myself from pumeling the guy and let it go as he looked about as poor as they come.

After that, when we were on the boat coming to Ometepe Island (where I climbed the volcano las time I was in Nicaragua) the sea was pretty rough and a kid in front of us, about 3 years old, didn´t take it so well and got sick. The poor little guy tried to make it to the window to throw up but didn´t quite make it and ended up throwing up on Tamarah´s leg. I tried not to laugh because it was gross, but it was petty funny. Mostly I just felt bad for the kid as he looked pretty green under the gills.

We got to the island, which was as beautiful and full of nice people as I remembered it to be, got on another bus that was packed to clown car in a circus limits with people sitting and standing in every available space inside, and with about a dozen guys sitting on the roof, and finally got to Charco Verde, which is a beautiful little beach and lagoon with a hotel on the water. We are staying here for a few days relaxing at the really great and characterful hotel (and only $15 a night!) and after this we plan on exploring some more of the island. I am really enjoying myself here as it is such a great place and last time I was here I was only in one town and didn´t see any other parts of the island.

After this we are going to head up the coast and check out some more spots we both want to see.

I will get pictures up as soon as I can, so until next time, all my love!

Getting ready to head into Nicaragua

2008-11-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

Day: 244

I have come to my last few days here in Puerto Viejo, and while it has been a great experience, I am definitely ready to move on. I have one last project to finish up at the volunteer center and then we are heading out. We anticipate leaving on Wednesday.

I am leaving the volunteer project with mixed feelings. I came into it not knowing how I would react and now after having done it for over a month, I have mixed feelings about it. I believe that it takes a certain type of person to be able to stick to a volunteer project long term. I see myself as more of a sprinter when it comes to this type of work. I am great for short projects, but I think I would be pretty lousy in the long run. I just can't get used to busting my butt doing manual labor and not making any money! I guess its just the capitalist background in me, I can't really say, but in the back of my mind despite the fact that I like feeling good about myself for helping others which is absolutely true, its tough for me to justify the expenditure of my time doing work that is not that enjoyable for free. Add to that the fact that you have people who may not know too much about what you are doing trying to tell you how to do the job that you have been given (micro management is a BAD thing!) and I find myself getting annoyed on top of not getting paid. I am the kind of person that takes pride in what I do, and work hard to do a good job. I have confidence in my ability to perform a task well, and if I do need help, I ask for it with no ego getting in the way. I am not the kind of guy who will not ask for directions if I get lost while driving.

So, when someone is trying to tell me how to do something that I know I can do very well on my own, or gives me a job that they expect to be done in an unrealistic time frame I get annoyed. I like to do things efficiently and on my terms, especially when I am not being compensated.

At any rate, I do not intend for this to turn into a negative post, only that it takes a particularly good leader to make a non profit organization run and to keep the members of the team feeling positive about it and working well. The way I see it, if someone is willing to come out and work for free, they are highly motivated anyway and should be left to their own devices, but that is just my opinion.

So, I will leave this feeling that it was a great experience, I am thankful for the opportunity to have helped people who needed a hand and for having had a chance to get to know a very foreign culture on a fairly intimate basis. I have a friend I made, Jeanie, while traveling through this area that will be doing peace corp. work in Morocco, and I plan on visiting her when I pass through that part of the world. I am very curious to see what that entails and I will help out there for a while if I can. Also, one of my best friends back home is going to go to work in the non profit field and I would love to join up with him and do some work if it is feasible and we are close to one another at any point. Plus, it would be great to just spend some time with friends.

Tamarah and I are going to head out and meet up with some friends to explore Nicaragua for a week or two. I am really glad that I have had the chance to meet such a great person. She is a giving, intelligent, fun and a friend for life, without question. Traveling brings you into contact with so many wonderful, adventurous people. It is the best and worst thing about it, as most travelers will tell you, because these fantastic people come into your life but inevitably will leave it again in a short time frame, often to never be seen again. But, the brevity of these relationships also makes them so much more special. When you have a time limit on a friendship of any kind, it forces you to cut through the baloney and just see the other person for who he or she is and accept or reject them based solely on those characteristics.

Lastly, I just wanted to say a few thing about the elections that just took place. I will keep my personal political views to myself as that is not what this blog is for, but suffice it so say that the world is ecstatic about the result. No one here thought Obama had a chance, most of the people I talked to from other countries figured that after what happened with Bush back in 2000, that the conservatives would just take the election through underhanded means. Now, I know most Americans do not believe that will ever happen again, but that is what a lot of the world thinks looking at us form the outside. I have been traveling on my own around various parts of the world off and on since 2002, and the opinion of the world that I have had immediate contact with concerning the USA has been overwhelmingly negative ever since the Bush administration took control. It is perfectly acceptable and commonplace for people from other countries to talk trash about the states. I have seen graffiti in multiple countries with hate messages about our country and especially about President Bush. It drives me insane as I love my country and am proud of who I am and where I come from and what my country was built on and stands for, even when we stumble and make mistakes as we have seen in the past 8 years.

I had gotten so sick of defending my country from people who make constant negative remarks about it offhandedly as if it were OK to slander an entire nation of people. Most of them do not even know what they are talking about, they just have a deep seated animosity towards America. The thing that always drives me nuts, is that people say things in public that if you were to substitute American for any other group of people they would be considered to be a complete jerk and possibly a bigot. But it has been OK to say these types of things about Americans for the past 8 years. So, I feel that my crusade to defend my homeland will be that much easier in the least.

Now, from the point of view of foreign relations with the average Joe from another country, America has gained mountains of respect. I see that as a positive, and it is my greatest hope that now that we have a new President he will live up to the expectations we have for him and help to bring the United States to where I believe it is capable of going. For every citizen back home, if you wanted Obama to win or not, he is our new leader and deserves our support. I am very excited for the possibilities of what this history making event can mean for the country that I love.

2008-11-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

Day: 237

Location: Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

First of all, Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope that the holliday was a lot of fun, we had a blast here even though pretty much no one had a costume. We all got pretty creative and made costumes out of what ever we could find. There were some pretty ingenious get ups, I must say. One of my friends made a Tu Tu out of plastic bags and wore her bkini top and said she was a balarina and it came out looking awesome. Two guys we went out with made some fantastic tribal warrior costumes out of palm fronds, and that is just naming a few. We went out dancing all night and had a great time. We have been here so long now that we know a ton of the locals and the semi permenant travelers that have stayed here like me.

Work at the volunteer center has been enjoyable, well, not the day after Halloween though, that one was a bit rough, but on the whole it has been a great experience. I missed a few days last week as I got sick again with more stomach troubles. There are a lot of parasites around here and I am starting to think I may have some unwanted visitors living in my belly having a good old time at my expense. I have met a man named Gregroy whom the locals call the bush doctor that makes remedies for all kinds of ailments out of locally grown plants. He is a trained pharmacist form the United States who got fed up with life back home and gave everything up to come and live in the jungle with his wife. He is a really interesting guy and has been out here living in basically a hut out in the sticks for the past 17 years, studying the local plants and wildlife and trying to get by living on his wits. There are lots of people like that out here, that had ¨respectable¨ jobs back home making good money that gave it all up to come to the Carribbean and open a salon, or a little restaurant or a surf shop. It makes for a really cool mix of people as the expats come from all around the world.

On the same note, another cool effect of having so many different kinds of people living in the same spot is that the kids here grow up about as multi cultural as can be. You see a little blonde kid running around with a local kid that has dread locks and then they will hang out with a Bri Bri kid and all go to the beach together. It is very positive thing in my opinion.

I have switched hostels and I am so glad that I did. We are now in a hostel called Pagalu, owned by some German brothers. This is honestly the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in. It is very clean and sturdy looking. You can tell that these guys put there heart and soul into building the place and the end result is brilliant. I really like it and it is well worth the few extra bucks.

My time here is drawing to a close. Tamrah and I are thinking about heading up to Nicaragua for a week or two with some friends we have made here. There should be about four or five of us heading up to our northern neighbor to go and have a few adventures. We have all grown a little stir crazy hanging out here for so long plus Nicaragua is a lot less crowded and a lot cheaper. I keep joking that at the rate I am going I will end up back in the USA! Next month I will resume forward progress, but to be honest, it does not matter much to me. I am really enjoying myself and learning new things every day. This trip has changed substantially and that is fine by me. I am taking things as they come and seeking to enjoy this time and to grow as a person, and where ever that path takes me is where I will go.

In Nicaragua we want to go do some hiking in the interior, and to go volcano boarding, a sport in which you strap a board onto your feet like a snowboard, but you ride it down the slope of a volcano. Now, that sounds like something I could get into! Also, we want to hit the Carribbean coast and maybe head out to some of the islands there. Time will Tell.

This is Renualdo, my buddy at the center. This kid is going to take over the world, wait and see! Plus, the girl who´s name I forgot was Carmalita.

This is the finished Chicken coop, not bad for an amatuer!

Me in action, trying to look like I have a clue as to what I am doing!

The new hostel, and SO much nicer. This sure beats my tent!

The very nice kitchen, and as you can see, there are no windows in the place, it is all open to the outside, which is really cool.

The common area for hanging out and meeting new people.

One half of th eplace, it is sperated into two nearly identical buildings.

Halloween night, Tamarah is an island girl, and I was trying to look like a cast away, but I ended up looking like a pirate with a sexual identity crisis.

A nice weekend getaway.

2008-10-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

Like a Corona commercial...if Corona were a wine!

The view from the balcony of our Hotel.

Two local kids taking a break from jumping into the sea.

Doing my best soaking up the moment pose.

Hiking through the national park.

More hiking through the park (although it was more walking than hiking really)

Playa Blanca

A local family enjoying some time in the sea. Lots of vacationing Costa Rican families in Cahuita.

Day: 232

Location: Cahuita, Costa Rica

It was great to have a weekend away from Puerto Viejo, and Tamarah and I had a great time. Cahuita is an even smaller and more relaxed place than Puerto Viejo, which I honestly didn't think was possible. It is a tiny little Caribbean beach town with a population of what can not be much over a thousand and only one paved road. On one side of the town is Playa Blanca, or white beach, on the other side is Playa Negra, or black beach. Both are beautiful, long stretches of sand that roll out to aquamraine waters. Its the kind of place you day dream about when you are stuck at work staring at your computer screen for the 7th hour of the day.

The people are very laid back, and it feels like you are in Jamaica more so than Costa Rica. It is begining to be developed so you definitely feel the changes starting to take place, but for the time being it retains most of its authentic feel. You can get a double room there on the beach for 20 dollars a night, with a hammock hanging right outside your door on the porch that is literally a stone's throw from the water.

The food is good, a bit pricey, but tastey and everything moves to a Bob Marley beat. I really really enjoyed the weekend there and would highly recomend it to anyone looking for an escape from the world. It is lively enough that you can step out on a dance floor and dance to some Reggeaton, but slow enough that you do not in the slightest feel rushed to do anything. Nor do the locals for that matter, so do not expect anything to move fast, especially the food you order at the local eateries.

There is a state park there too, with an 11 km trail that makes its way through the jungle right along the sea. We saw all types of birds, insects, lizards, monkeys and even slothes, which are really cool looking animals. They move at a snails pace, but that makes it easier to watch them. They have the coolest looking faces of any animal I have ever seen, and they are pretty nice little guys, reaching out to touch you if you come close. They are so slow and gentle that is amazes me that they survivie at all. They seem like any type of predator would just gobble them up with nearly no effort.

On the whole, it was a great way to get away for a while and recharge the batteries. I have some big projects coming up at the volunteer center, so it was nice to be able to get away and just think about relaxing and enjoying life fora few days (although I am far from stressed in Puerto Viejo!)

Week three in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

2008-10-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of the local eateries, Salsa Brava, named after the famous surf spot here.

Some local kids swimming in the sea.

The beach.

My trusty tent!

Most people here sleep in hammocks.

My favorite spot to sit and read.

This is the symbol of my favorite band, Social Distortion. I couldn´t believe my eyes when I saw a mosaic of them out here in Costa Rica! It was really cool for me.

Another week has breezed by me here in paradise and I have hardly noticed. Time just seems to move so much slower here, one day sort of drifting into the next. I am not complaining at all, its nice, but I am getting a bit antsy for a change of pace, at least for a little while. So, Tamarah, my fellow volunteer and I, have decided to head up to a place called Tortuguero for a weekend. It is a village that sits on a series of canals and is home to a large population of sea turtles. It sounds like a nice little get away and we are both really looking forward to it.

I finished the new chicken coop at the volunteer site and I must say, it came out fairly nice. It has been dubbed Casa Reece, which cracked me up and is home to a family of new little chicks that just hatched. Next up I am going to repair the fence around the center and then possibly varnish the building as well. I like working with my hands but its funny, since I am the only young guy working there I get to do all of the manual labor! Oh well, I don´t mind.

So, life is good, just a bit routine right now. I still get out to body surf every day that I can, as well as running and cycling around. The surf is picking up and if I end up staying here for a while I will have to snag a surf board as November and December it gets pretty big out here.

I have included some pictures of some of the local area and the place that I have been staying, Rocking J´s which is a cool place to hang out and cheap. I can put my tent up for 4 bucks a night, and the place is beautiful, decorated by the people that have stayed there. The only draw back is that the owner is a bit of a sleaze ball, hitting on every young girl that comes through the door, and I have had a few things stolen, like some clothes and food, which really pisses me off. I am going to relocate to something a bit more secure even if it costs a few bucks more a night.

That is it for now, I hope everyone is well and happy.

My first days of work in 7 months!

2008-10-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well, I have my first few weeks of volunteering under my belt and I can honestly say that it has turned out to be very rewarding. A lot of people probably read that and slap their foreheads and say, duh!, but for me it really was a big question mark as to whether or not I would enjoy myself. Volunteer work has always seemed strange to me. To work and not get paid just seemed like doing things backwards. Intellectually, I could always understand the need for it and the beautiful gesture that it was to give of yourself to those less fortunate than yourself, but in practice a lot of the people I have met that volunteer have seemed to me to act far too morally superior for my taste. It seemed like a lot of people used it as a means to elevate themselves above other people and that always annoyed me. Plus, it always seemed to me that you could work, help people but still be compensated for your time and energy.

One of my best friends back home is really involved with volunteer work and non proffit organizations and he is one of the most down to earth, nice people I have ever met (looking at you Tony!). Being friends with him made me realize that not everyone who volunteered was annoying and that in fact the majority of people that did it were most likely great people that didn´t advertise to the world what they were doing and just went about getting good things done.

At any rate, after jumping in and getting my hands dirty I really felt good about myself and what I was doing. The kids I work with are super cool. They took a while to warm up to me but I love kids and I tend to buddy up to them pretty fast. The more I learn about their culture and lives the more I am blown away by it. The Bri Bri live out in the wild jungle. They have to walk down jumgle trails for hours just to get to what we would consider to be civilization. The kids as young as 4 and 5 years old can navigate through the jungle without even thinking tiwce about it. Tamarah, my fellow voluntter and a great person, went on a four hour hike with a few kids, accompanied by a young boy of 12 and a little girl that was 4! What family back home would let there children that age stomp around through the jungle like that with nothing more than a machette for protection? Its just normal life for them.

They have not changed their lifestyles or belifes much in the last 5,000 years, which is how long they are believed to have lived in the area. The program I work with helps to get kids into school (you will see them wearing their school uniforms in the pictures) and to give the parents small loans to start buisnesses or buy basics like food, etc. This really helps to give them a leg out of poverty and to provide oppertunities for the kids that the parents don´t have. We also provide soup to anyone in need and its fun to see the older Bri Bri women come in to help make the soup and gossip while chopping up the veggies. Also, the teenage Bri Bri girls always want to use the telephone! Hah! Just goes to show, that teenage girls the world around are pretty similar!

On the negative side unfortunately, is the abuse that we have been trying to fight against. It is tough for me to try and get my head around some of the things that go on, but it is culturally acceptable for a Bri Bri father to beat his wife and children, have sex with any of his daughters even having children by them, or to kill any of his children that are born with a handicap.

Its shocking for me as a westerner to hear this, but for them it is perfectly acceptable. When confronted about his behaivor, a Bri Bri father will listen, nod and give a yeah so? look. To them it is not even somethign to bat an eye at.

Needless to say, it is tough hearing these kinds of things and we try to help as much as possible. Not all of the men act this way either, there are plenty of good families out there that have healthy internal relationships, but the bad apples always tend to stick out.

I will report more as it comes, but for now I can say that volunteer work is a great way to help out and to allow yourself to feel like you can make a difference in the world. I plan on doing it again in other parts of the world as it also enables me to meet locals, to really get involved in their culture and it makes me feel good about myself, so in my eyes its a win win.

Me building a new chicken coop for the center. It actually is coming out really well which is a pleasant surprise! Ha, just kidding, I am pretty handy with some tools after all my time doing slave labor for my Mom and Dad (just kidding, I am glad now for all those jobs I did with you guys)! And working with my grandparents on their farm taught me a lot about building and fixing things.

I forgot how gratifying it is to build something with your hands. I was really enjoying myself.

From left to right we have, Willie, Reynaldo (who is the hardest working little kid I have ever met), Alejandro covering his face, and a girl who I am kicking myself because I can´t remember he rname even though I talk to her every day (I´ll add it to the next update, I am so bad with names) and then myself.

The guys helping me out with the job.

They were really interested in helping me out and watching my build the chicken coop which was fun. Working in the heat and humidity, not so fun!

And this is to show all my friends back home that I am still me and having fun! Work hard, play hard, words to grown on!

Pictures, finally!

2008-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, I finally got some pictures up. Still have a lot more but it takes ages to get them up on the web here.

These are all pictures from the good times I have been having with my friends so far. I have not wanted to bring a camera to the volunteer program yet as I just got started and I dont want to come in like a stupid tourist and start snapping pictures of kids as if they were animals in a zoo when I am trying to make friends with them. but I promise to get some photos up when time allows.

I have some pretty harrowing tales about the kids in the porgram but I want to get some more time under my belt with them before I post something that may be inaccurate. Suffice it to say for now that they live very hard lives.

I did want to mention one thing however, and that was how I was feeling now that I had some time under my belt being off of the bike. At first I was really sad about it and felt like I was letting myself down, and a big part of me wanted to go home.

However, now that I have been able to get over those feelings and realize how much more I will be able to do, I am actually glad that my illness occured. It was difficult at the time but now I see that I am actually happier traveling this way than I was on the bike. The bike was a great challenge, fun and a unique way to travel, but going by backpack, being around lots of people from all over the world, and having a greater freedom to move around suits my personality better. Already, the things I have seen and done since I have gotten off of the bike and especially the people I have met, would not have come into my life had I not gotten sick. It really has turned out to be a blessing in disguise and I am happy for the change.

So, for now, I am just taking this adventure one day at a time. In moments like these, I get to move slowly, relax, help people in circumstances that are not the best. I get to form relationships with locals, travelers and hold still long enough to really get to know a place. When it is time to move on, I can go climb a mountain, sail a boat, trek through the jungle, what ever I feel like doing. It is great, I have never felt this free in my life. I have no bills to pay, no place to be, no responsibilities to weigh on my mind other than my own well being. I am healthy, happy and loving my life right now. If anyone out there needs to get their mind cleared out and find themself, just leaving everything behind (so long as that is feasible of course) is a great way to get back in touch with what is important to you in your life. The things I used to take for granted as being universally important have just melted away. Life for me here is good company, an engaging book to read, a beautiful day at the beach, a filling meal. I feel like things have been boiled down to their essentials and it is really nice. I feel so much more at ease with myself than I did back in the hustel and bustle of life in Southern California. There are downsides to life here, without a doubt, nothing is perfect, but in small doses a place like this can heal a lot of what ails you.

The gang on the beach: Sam from the states, Maria from Norway, Tamarah (my felow volunteer) from Canada, Myself, Medde from Denmark, Marlain and Jasper from the Netherlands. A wonderful group of people!

Sam, Tamarah, Myself and Jeff from Canada, who is a great guy.

One of our family dinners, such good food!

Maria had an underwater camera, this is us me snorkeling at Punta Uva, a beach here in Puerto Viejo.

This is Buddy, the coolest of a bunch of fun local dogs. He comes with me on my morning runs on the beach and chases birds and crabs around.

I love me a bicycle ride! We all took bikes to explore the beaches around the area.

My new home! Just kidding. And just kidding on the pose too, it was just for laughs from my friends.

This is our favorite beach to hang out on.

This is the path we walk down to go to the beach. Its beautiful and runs through the woods right along the water.

Still no pictures! Sorry, working on that.

2008-10-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

I still have yet to find a place in this tiny little village where you can upload pictures. The internet out here is a relatively new thing and it is very expensive to use and not very fast. But, I will make it my goal for the week to get some of these great pictures I have from Puerto Viejo up on the net.

This place is pretty wonderful, the pace of life is so amazingly relaxed. They really live the Pura Vida out here. People are generally nice, the scenery is amazing and everyone feels happy for the most part. There is some pretty terrible poverty as well and a lot of petty crime, but for the most part, people here tend to be pretty happy with life and the world in general.

I have been spending my free time with some fantastic people and we have been snorkeling on the reef here, sharing stories from our home countries and putting in a lot of beach time. We have also been having potlucks at night which have been great fun. Every person or couple cooks something from their home country and then we all share. We have been calling them family dinners and it has been really nice to sit down to a big, well cooked meal with all kinds of foods we would not normally eat. We also all went cliff diving which was great fun. We swam out to a little island, climbed up it and jumped off of various cliffs into the water below. It is something I have always loved to do, but I never fail to get a kick out of the fear and then thrill of overcoming that fear people get when doing it for the first time. Some of the jumps were pretty big too, as high as 40 or more feet.

After dinner we usually head down to a bar that is not really a bar but a collection of plastic tables and chairs on the beach for some beers where locals put on fire shows for tips and regae music sets the mood, or we hang out at the hostel we are staying at called Rocking J´s which is a really interesting place. Essentially it is a collection of hammocks, tents, treehouses and bunkbeds right on the beach with a little bar and restaurant attached to it. The entire thing is covered in mosaics and paintings from the various guests that have stayed there, which really gives the place a cool, unique look.

I also started volunteering to work with the local Bri Bri kids, which has turned out to be a pretty eye opening experience for me. I wanted to volunteer in Africa, but it costs an insane amount of money, the cheapest I found was 3 grand for a month. Here it is free to volunteer and you get a bowel of soup every day as well which suits me fine! I have just started this week so I am still getting adjusted to everything, but so far it has really been a good thing for me. The Bri Bri live in what we would call extreme poverty, less than 1 US dollar a day for the household income. They walk as much as 4 hours through the jungle to get to the center (which is really just a super nice older American couple´s home) to get food and schooling for the kids as well as get small loans to help give them a leg up out of poverty.

The kids and their families are extremely nice, hard working and friendly. I think this will be a great experience for me and I hope I will be able to help some people and bring some greater amount of happiness to their lives as well. I have heard some pretty terrible stories about things that go on in some of the Bri Bri homes, but I will wait until I get some more info before I report anything that may not be true.

So, all is well out her eon the road, and I am very happy and unbelievably relaxed and stress free right now. Until next time!

2008-10-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I am in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica at the moment. Sorry I have not updated recently, but I have been infected with the unbelievably slow pace of life here. This is a tiny little town on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, and is full of the most laid back people I have ever met in my life. Its very Rasta, with lots of dreadlocks, people saying hey mon, and lots of people smoking marijuana everywhere, totally in the open too.

Its is also still Latin though, with plenty of Ticos to spice up the mix as well as a large population of Bri Bri, who are an indigenous group that lives in the jungle here.

Getting here turned out to be quite an adventure. I took a night bus from Panama City and rode it 10 hours to the border. While on the bus though, I had a fairly strange encounter.

The bus is very dark as it is an overnighter and people sleep on it (not me though, sleeping in moving vehicles is impossible for me). So, as I was trying in vain to get some rest on the bouncing bus in the very back seat, a Panamanian guy comes and sits next to me. We start making small talk and he seems like a nice guy. He asks me if I am married or if I have a girl friend and I say no. We shoot the bull some more and then he tells me that I am a very handsome man. Now my Spanish is decent by now, but I thought I miss heard him so I gave him that what did you just say look, and then he leans in and says that he likes me. I just stared at him in disbelief. Then, he leans in way too close and says he loves me! I just looked at him and said I liked girls and leaned about as far away as I could! He was cool about it though and took the rejection well. He shook my hand, said it was nice to meet me and if I changed my mind he would be up a few seats. Ha! I told him not to hold his breath! I was pretty damn uncomfortable but hey, he did see if I had a girlfriend first and he did not try to touch me or anything. I just took it as a very awkward compliment and moved on. But I did learn one thing, if any strange guys ask me if I have a girlfriend from now on, the answer will be yes!

Puerto Viejo itself is stunningly beautiful. The beaches are sandy and range in color from white to jet black, there are palm trees everywhere laden with coconuts that are great for drinking. People sit and chat with one another as they make bead necklaces and bracelets to sell, or pedal about town on their beach cruisers going about their daily business. Its the kind of place where no one has a watch and most people have to ask what day it is. I have never been somewhere so relaxed in all my life.

I have been so relaxed that I have not even taken a single picture since I have been here! Sorry about that, I am going to make it my mission to get some good pictures of the amazing scenery here uploaded in my next post as I know that is what everyone loves the most.

I have been exercising every day too, which makes me feel so much better. Myself and two Canadian guys, Andrew and Mark who are awesome people, have been working out a lot. These guys are real back woods Cannucks, lumberjacking, working on oil derricks, hunters, etc. and in good shape, so it has been good fun exercising with them. There is a small island off of the beach that we have been swimming around every morning. It is a nice long swim and really gets the blood going. I have also been running on the beach and doing some sit ups, push ups and pull ups. The only set back I had was when I was running along the water and I stepped on a Sea Urchin. Let me tell you, that does not feel very good. I got about 8 spikes in my foot and managed to get most of them out, but it stung like the dickens.

It feels so good to be able to exercise again, and to eat healthy food. I have been getting tons of veggies and fruit and taking time to cook nice meals during the day. When I am not working out or eating, I have been swinging in a hammock and reading or getting some sun on the beach. Life here is just so nice.

My plans keep slip sliding around. I am thinking that at this point, I am going to stay here for a month or so and either get a job to make a few bucks working at a bar or restaurant, or volunteering at a local community center that helps out with the local Bri Bri children. I am leaning towards volunteering as that is something I was planning on doing on this trip anyway. Its something I have always shied away from but I think it would be really good for me to do, just to give of myself expecting nothing there of. Plus, I love kids, so I think it would be pretty fun. To top it off, Tamarah, one of the great Canadians I have been hanging out with, volunteers there also and so I would have a friend to hang out with while I worked.

I have a friend who just moved to Peru too, and wants me to come down for Halloween, which sounds great, but I also have some friends coming to Central America soon who I want to see also. Plus, I still have a ton of things I want to do in South America, so there is a lot on my plate right now, but in all honesty, its choosing between nothing but fun things to do so I really should not complain!

So, I promise, pictures next time and they will be nice ones too. I bet some of my friends will think about moving here as you can get a beach front apartment for $250 bucks a month! Until next time, all my love.

Volcan Baru, Panam City, and Changing Plans...again!

2008-09-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sunrise from the top of Volcan Baru, an absolutely amazing sight.

The climb up Volcan Baru was an interesting experience to say the least. On the one hand, it was a bit of a let down as the climb itself was not very challenging. Essentially, you walk up a long, steep dirt road. The thing is wide enough to drive a souped up four wheel drive truck on. I prefer hiking up trails that are a bit wild and difficult to climb, it makes me feel more as if I am out in nature as opposed to simply walking up a poorly maintained access road.

Also, the climb up I could not see much as it was so foggy and it began raining about a quarter of the way up the mountain. That combined with the effort of walking the 10 miles to the summit carrying my heavy pack resulted in me being drenched with rain and sweat within the first few kilometers. On a clear day you can see all kinds of wild life including the Mayan bird of paradise, called a Quetzal. I think I saw one fly by me, but it was so misty I am not certain. At any rate, a large bird buzzed by me as I climbed the volcano.

While the technical aspect of walking up the mountain may not have been challenging, the physical challenge of ascending the Volcano was very tough. Once I hit the 10,000 foot mark, I really began to feel the elevation. I would have to stop every few hundred meters to catch my breath. My pack held up well though, allowing me to carry the heavy load in relative comfort (although I was far from comfortable!). I brought far more water than I needed, as it was so cold and wet for the majority of the climb my body did not need nearly as much fluids as I had thought it would. While carrying the extra weight of the water was annoying, I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Once I began to approach the summit, the temperature began to drop rapidly. I had on pants, a jacket, and a beanie, but my hands and face still began to go numb. The summit itself was enjoyable as it requires you to actually climb up a cliff face (although as far as rock climbing goes it was not a very long or challenging climb, but it was still fun). At the very top of the volcano I had an unrestricted view in 360 degrees of....clouds! That evening when I made it to the top, it was so cloudy I couldn't see more than a few feet, which was rather disappointing. So, I pitched my tent and settled in for a freezing cold evening.

The next morning after a cold and sleepless night, I woke up feeling that I may have made a bad decision in climbing the volcano. I began to eat breakfast and pack up camp when the sun began to creep up over the horizon and with it came the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. I was lucky in that it was a clear morning and I could see all the way to the horizon in every direction. I was at the highest point in Panama and in one field of view I could see Panama, Costa Rica, the Caribbean and the Pacific. It was amazing. It did not last long though, as within an hour, the clouds came rolling back in and covered everything. I was looking down at the clouds, which was a surreal feeling.

After enjoying the views and feeling good in the end about my climb, I headed back down the mountain, another 10 miles and 8,000 feet of elevation loss. I swear, hiking downhill is more uncomfortable than hiking uphill. Your knees hurt so much more on the descent than the ascent.

At the bottom, the cab that was meant to be waiting for me was not there, so I had to walk another two and a half miles towards town before a cab passed me and picked me up. That was annoying to say the least.

At the bottom, ready to tackle the Volcano.

A view in the beggining before the rain set in.

The hike would have been beautiful if you could have seen much of it. This was one of the more visible areas.

Soaking wet!

This is the caldera of the volcano, sine it is not active, there is not much to see.

The hike to the summit was much more enjoyable.

This is the very top of the summit, someone dragged a huge cross up here, that took some serious dedication.
Me on the summit. Freezing, and wet!

The Carribbean.

The Pacific.

Looking back to Costa Rica.

Sleepy eyed in the early morning.

The sunrise was fantastic.

This is where the offical trail ends, but to reach the summit, you have to climb a lot further and gain a great deal more elevation.

This is all I could see after the clouds came in in the morning.

On the way back down!

After I got back down from the volcano, I rested for a day and then took off for Panama City. There, I ran into a bunch of friends from Bocas. We also hooked up with some new buddies and a group of us went on a hike around the city and then went to check out the panama Canal. The Canal is a pretty incredible sight to see. The way they move these enormous boats through the series of locks, raising and lowering them, is quite a marvel. The process is slow, but it saves the boats vast amounts of money and resources. The country is currently expanding the Canal to double its capacity, but we were told it would still not be enough to meet the worlds shipping needs.

Jake from Alaska, Tamarah, Heather and Jeff from Canada, and two friends from England and America that I can not remember your names, sorry guys, I am terrible about that.

Making our way down the trail.
Panama City, it looks so western from a distance.

Jeff and I sporting some Panama hats. They actually are really cool hats.

One of the locks at the Panama Canal.

This boat paid 314,000 dollars to pass through the Canal, but it saved over 2 million by not going around South America.

Some of the guys on the boat, they obviosuly were not too excited to go through the canal.
Before the lower the boat down to pass through the lock.

After they lower the boat down to pass through to the next lock. It was pretty amazing to see them move these massive boats.

Panama city itself is a strange place. It looks so American full of sky scrapers and malls filled with goods from all over the world, but it is totally Latin. The streets are filled with such an incredible variety of people. Everything from dark skinned Caribbeans, Mestizos, Europeans and Westerners, to Maya and Kuna Indians in traditional dress. Everywhere you hear Latin music and street vendors sell everything from panama hats to fried chicken (which is delicious here). You have to alwasy be on th elookout for hustlers here too, as they are very good and very common. The contrasts are pretty incredible and it makes for an exciting place. Plus, it is a very cheap city to stay in. You can get a huge meal for $1.50 and stay in a hostel like mine for 7 bucks a night.

Speaking of excitement, there has been quite a bit of it since we have been here. Panama city is definitely not the safest place in the world. The first night I arrived, a girl staying at our hostel working for the peace corp. was mugged and robbed just outside of the hostel by a group of thugs. She was OK, shaken up and scared, but not seriously hurt. The next day Jake and I went to get my hair cut at an outdoor barber shop, when we heard a gunshot and then saw a man running from a soldier. The man looked like he was going to get away when a guy standing close to where I was getting my hair cut dropped his shoulder and just leveled the guy that was running with a tackle that would have made an NFL linebacker proud, then pulled a gun out of his pants and held it to the running man's head. When the soldier caught up to the running man he smacked the hell out of him and then put him in cuffs and dragged him off. The barber cutting my hair barely even paused in his work! All the guys hanging out at the barber shop (it seemed to be a good place to hang out with the locals) didn't even think twice about it!

I thought it was pretty exciting to be honest, but in retrospect it was pretty crazy, not something you would see too often back home.

As for the change in my plans, I was meant to be on a boat heading to Cartegena, Colombia today, but I was invited to come and hang out in a town called Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, with the Candains I met here in Panama City and after some deliberation, I decided to go. I have more time than money, and no place I need to be so I figured why not. They were fun people so I will go up and enjoy a week or so of hanging out and seeing the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, which I had not seen when I was there. And also, Jake and his traveling companion Jeanie, who is working Bocas del Toro, will be coming through that area as well as will Alon from Israel. They are super fun too and we all get along well, so it will be nice to hang out with the friends I have made here a bit longer before pulling up roots and heading south.

Quick Update

2008-09-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is to let everyone know I am still alive. I apologize for the delay in updating the blog, but I have been on the move a lot lately. I am currently in Panama City, which is a very interesting place. It looks like a city in America from a distance with towering sky scrapers, but when you zoom down to the street level, it is completely Latin. I am enjoying it a lot and quite a few of the people I met in Bocas del Toro (the family as we have been calling each other) have shown up here, including Alon from Israel who is a super fun guy.

One of the guys I was hanging out with, Jake from Alaska, got a job at the Hostel I am staying at (Luna's Castle, great place www.lunascastle.com) and we have been hanging out with some really nice Canadians. We went out on the town last night and Jake busted out some of the most funny dance moves I have ever seen in my life before while all of the local Panamanians cheered him on, it was a riot. We were all nearly crying we were laughing so hard. We also checked out the Panama Canal and watched a huge boat come through the locks, pretty amazing to see how it works. Also, the girls from Latin America's next top model were all there at the same time which was sort of cool. Its funny, a lot of models in real life just look like tall, skinny girls that could use a hamburger.

I also climbed Volcan Baru (like a stupid tourist I got the name of the place wrong in my last post, sorry about that) and it was tough, especially lugging my big pack. I ended up walking a little over 22 miles round trip, gained 8,000 feet of elevation up to 12,000 feet total. I nearly froze my rear end off as I got rained on the entire way up and then the temperature dropped to below freezing at night, but the view in the morning was absolutely spectacular. Anyway, I will save the entire story for my next post, as I need to find a computer that will let me upload pictures, as I have a lot of good ones.

I hope everyone is well back home, much love to everyone.

A few last photos from Bocas

2008-09-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

A group of us went to a cave called La Gruta, that runs through a mountain. We loaded up on supplies and made our way through the entire thing. It was a really fun experience and a little scary as it is pitch black in the cave and is home to thousands of bats, bugs and snakes.
This is the exit on the other side of the cave, we were all pretty glad to have made it through.
Some of us got a little more scared than others!

Making our way into the cave.

I was pretty excited to be there!
The entrance to the cave, not everyone went all the way through.

There is a statue of the Vrigin Mary outside the cave entrance. We were hoping she would keep any rabies bearing bats away from us!
These are just a few of the thousands of bats that were inside the cave.

Some of the great and very cheap food at the fair that has been going the entire time I have been in Bocas.
A shot of the fair.
I couldnt stay off of a bike for long, a few of us rented some beach cruisers and road around the island.
I thought this house had a pretty decent view.
Me showing off as usual, but the ride was just so beautiful. It made me miss Artax.

A taste of things to come.

2008-09-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

My time here in Bocas del Torro is winding down as the last of my friends are leaving this weekend. It has been a truly wonderful two weeks and a nice little vacation from my vacation. I like to have time like this every now and then to cut loose and let my hair down a bit. It helps to keep my batteries charged. If all I did was move around and explore without ever putting some kind of roots down, I would get burnt out and stop appreciating what I was seeing and doing. After a few weeks of relaxing and having a truck load of fun with my new friends, I am really fired up to get back out on the road and explore some more.

So, my plan of attack is to make my way to the mountain town of Volcan, Panama. From there, I will climb the highest peak in Panama, a volcano of the same name as the town. It is a climb to just shy of 12,000 feet, and the trail is roughly 20 miles round trip. It should take me two days to complete. I will camp out at the top so that I can hopefully get the best views in the early morning where supposedly you can see all the way from the Pacific Ocean, to the Caribbean. This will be some good practice as I plan on making a very challenging 7 day climb in the Andes once I get to Peru in a month or so.

After climbing Volcan, I will then take a rafting trip through the mountains. The river I plan on going through has class 5 rapids, which are very challenging. The highest level of difficulty is class 6, but those are waterfalls. That should be a ton of fun and I have been dying to do some good rafting but with the bike it just was not very practical.

After that, I plan on making my way to Panama City, where I will take a sail boat to Cartegena, Colombia. It is a 5 day trip stopping at some of the Caribbean islands along the way. I have never sailed before, so I am really looking forward to this.

I will make my way down the coast of Colombia through to Ecuador and on into Peru, where as I said, I will make a tough climb up to the ruins of Machu Pichu in the Andes mountains. I will not be climbing the Inca Trail, but will be taking a longer and more challenging climb, solo up the back side of the mountains. I will go from Jungles up into the high mountains going through Indigenous villages up to the ruins which are meant to be some of the most impressive in the world.

After that, and this is the adventure I am really excited about, I want to make my way to the head of the Amazon river which is in Peru. From there, I am going to try and buy a little boat and sail it down the river all the way to the Atlantic coast, to a city called Belem in Brazil. It is a journey of 3,200 miles, the same as going coast to coast in the USA. Now, I want to say up front that this may not be possible to do, but after extensive research I am really confident that I can pull this off. There will be a lot of obstacles in the way however, and I still need to do a lot more research. However, if I am unable to buy a boat I will hire boats and hop from city to city with local guides. I would rather do it myself though and will try to make that happen. The nice thing about buying the boat in Peru and then selling it in Brazil is that with the currency discrepancies I should be able to turn a profit on it.

So, we will see. I think sailing down the Amazon would prove to be about as wild of an adventure as one could hope for and am really excited at the prospect and hope everything falls into place. Just the idea of the Amazon brings to my mind images of Anacondas, Native Peoples untouched by the outside world, thousands of acres of untouched wilderness and untold opportunities for exploration and adventure. I am really looking forward to trying to pull this one off.

So, that is the game plan for now. I am getting ready to leave Bocas in the next few days. I hope everyone back home is well and happy.

Photos from Bocas.

2008-09-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I am still here and loving it! We all slowed our pace down and have been now taking it nice and easy and just soaking up the slow pace of life, the good food and perfect weather here. This island truly is a slice of paradise and I want to absorb as much of it as I can before the highrise condos and resorts come in and change the flavor of it. A lot of our gang has left which is a bummer, bot those of us who remain are still loving life out here.

I will let the pictures tell the tale of the last week and change. I hope all is well back home, all my love!

This is a Hostel and Br called Aqua Lounge where we hang out during the day sometimes. It sits right on the water, has a diving board into the ocean, good food and music. It is a really fun place to hang out.

Another view of Aqua Lounge. Riding on the swings makes you feel like a kid again! Its great.

Here is a shot of our private little island, such a great place.

We were acting like we were in highschool again!

This is Ollie and Ryan showing off, both cool guys.

Moments like these, enjoying a fire on a beach out in the carribean all to yourselves, are things you remember for the rest of your life.

A panorama shot of the island.

Enjoying a sing a long and the bonfire.

For those who didnt have a tent, it was just sleepy time on the sand! But we all shared out towells to try and make it more comfortable for everyone.

Another shot of the islanders homes.

These are the little guys that give Red Frog Beach its name.

Red Frog Beach.

Yours truly showing his stuff in a rematch game in which team Americas (Centeral, South and North) took everyone else to school!

My buddy Sam, from Australia.

Jen, myself, Bri and Bryan enjoying a relaxing evening.

Bri, making me crack up.

Ollie, from Argentina and myself. Ollie is a rad guy and a mean guitar player as well as a good surfer.

Myself and Sarah, who is the coolest girl on the island.

Ollie, Andrew from Oz, Sarah, Myself, and Lacey enjoying a few 50 cent beers before gonig out to dinner. You can get a nice Thai food meal here for 8 bucks!

A few days in Paradise

2008-09-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Bocas del Torro, this place is absolutely wonderful. The locals are incredibly friendly and everyone here just seems to be happy. My days have been spent at the beach enjoying some sunshine, sport and good conversation with interesting people from around the world, and my nights have been spent eating good cheap food, and laughing and dancing with all of my new friends.

The highlight of my stay here was a camping trip 15 of us made out to a deserted island. We hired a boat to take us out to an island called Zapatia, and it was something straight out of a day dream. Imagine a white sand, tropical beach with crystal clear water, full of palm trees with coconuts, colorful tropical birds, and perfect sunny weather. We spent the days snorkeling, playing soccer, drinking coconut milk (with some rum thrown in for good measure!) and exploring the island. You could walk around the entire thing in 45 minutes, and we had it all to ourselves. At night, we built a bon fire, played music, sang, went swimming and cooked some crabs we caught, eating them hot off of the fire. There was a thunder storm in the distance that turned the sky all shades of purple and orange, it was like nature was putting on a show for us. Sea turtles came up at night to lay eggs, and dolphins swam in the water around us. Only three of us had tents, so the others built lean-tos out of fallen palm fronds.

It was an absolutely magical experience. One of the coolest things I have ever done in my entire life, without question.

That group of us have been hanging out this entire time. We all came for a few days, and we are all still here over a week later! Everyone is in their twenties, outgoing, educated and a ton of fun. The bond of friendship between us is really strong and I feel like these are people I have been friends with for years, and not just days.

Last night a festival started and we all went, eating cheap food, dancing to all the different types of music, hanging out with the islanders. This place just flat out makes me happy. This week spent here will be one that I remember for the rest of my life with fondness. This is the type of time that makes traveling so wonderful.

I needed this too, after being couped up in a hotel room and having to send my bike home. I am getting ready to move on though as I can only take so many Rum fueled nights before I run out of go power. I am looking forward to heading up into the mountains after this and having some time to myself and to get back into the outdoors. I am really looking forward to getting some climbing and rafting under my belt as well.

My camera is on the fritz right now, I think I got some sand in it. As soon as I have it fixed, ill put up the great pictures from the last few days. All my love to everyone back home!

2008-09-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Day: 180

Bocas del Torro, Panama.

A serious jam session broke out with tons of people joining in using everything you can imagaine for insturments.

Hanging out at the Hostel for 50 cent beers.

This is what we get to watch every evening.

Us in the Canoe heading out to the sand bar.

Swimming while keeping your beer above water. Its a talent.

This little girl was funny, she loved attention and hung out with us for a few hours.

You see lots of really nice boats around here.

Another international crowd to hang out with. Switzerland, Argentina, France, Mexico and myself from the states. It was nice to spend the day just relaxing on the water and chatting.

Some local kids fishing by hand with no rod or reel. I saw them catch a couple fish too.

Isla Colon, my home base in Bocas.

I found a new bike! Its a pretty sweet tandom, so who wants to come with me?

One section of my hostel.

My new rig, the backpack!

This is what happens when you are stuck in a room for weeks by yourself with nothing to do!

I am so glad that I chose to come to Bocas del Torro instead of going straight to Panama City. Bocas is a wonderful combination of Latin and Carribean culture mixed with expatriots from all around the world. Its a very laid back place and just unbelievably beautiful. The water is clear and warm, the islands are incredibley lush, the people are very nice and take life slow. This is the kind of place you come for a weekend and then never go home.

I have been having a wonderful time and this was just what i needed after being stuck in a hotel room by myself for weeks on end. I am staying at a really fun Hostel called Mondo Taitu and its quite a lively place. The clencher for me though are the fifty cent beers and free panckaes for breakfast. I have not gone to bed earlier than 4 in the morning since I have been here! I love Hostels for that reason, you get a chance to hang out with people from all around the world and you make instant friendships. Yesterday myself, an Argentinian girl and two Swiss guys found an old wooden Canoe and paddled it out to a sandbar in the middle of the bay where the water is only about a meter deep, and drank some beers and watched the sunset. It was such a weird feeling to be standing only knee deep in water in the middle of a bay with boats going by us on every side. We joked that we should bring out some tables and chairs and eat dinner out there!
That night some guys at our hostel broke out some guitars and started playing and before we knew it, people were playing spoons, bottles, clapping, singing, it was a really good time. We followed it up with dancing at a bar that sits on the water and below it is a sunken ship that you can see through the bottom of the place, it was really cool and we had a blast jamming out to some regae.

Today about 35 of us hired some boats to take us to an island where we went to hang out at a place called red frog beach. We were body surfing, drinking some cold beers, and playing volleyball all day. I am ashamed to admit, team America stunk it up and lost to Team Switzerland, Team Panama and Team Germany on the volleyball court. It was a rough day for the old American boys.

As I said, this place is simply wonderful. Its cheap, beautiful and a ton of fun. Everyone here is in a good mood, and while its very touristy, it still feels authentic. So far, there are no big hotels, no highrise condos, etc. Its mostly all still brightly colored wooden houses the way it has been for ages. In my opinion, Panama is the coolest place in Central America. I liked a lot of the other places I have seen a lot, but Panama has proven to be great, far better than Costa Rica without question, plus its cheaper! I think I will stay here for a week, then head into the mountains for some white water rafting.

Untill next time!

Escape from San Jose

2008-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

Day 179

Well, after I minor delay I got all of the gear I needed from home. It arrived a day late at the DHL which was annoying, but alls well that ends well. I now have a very nice backpack that I am going to use to carry my gear. I got an Arc'tryx Bora 80 backpack, designed for back woods multi-day treks. I have pictures of my new gear but I cant upload any pictures onto this computer. I will try to do so tomorrow.

I got an early morning bus out of San Jose today and decided to go to David, Panama instead of Panama City. I want to see some of the islands on the Atlantic side of the coast and then head down to the Pacific side to chill out on some of the deserted beaches reported to be down there and do some jungle trekking. I also want to do some hiking and white water rafting in the mountains. I figured there is no rush to get into Colombia as I can now cover ground so much faster as I am taking conventional modes of trasportation as oppossed to the bike. I can now cover a lot more gound and see more than I was capable of seeing before.

Panama is great. What I have seen so far is very modern compared to a lot of Central America and MUCH cheaper than Costa Rica. The people I have met have all been very nice and happy to assist me in getting around. I am loving it so far and honestly am just glad to be out of that little cell, er, I mean hotel room in San Jose. That city isnt bad really, its just not cool. Its smoggy and kind of dirty. It felt good to see wild countryside again as I rode along in the bus after two and half weeks in the city.

So, tomorrow I am heading north and will spend about a week hanging out on the islands in Boca Del Torro. Supposedly you can hop in a kayak and paddle out to deserted islands. I am excited to check it out and see what I can dig up.

I will post pictures as soon as I am able.

Green light means go!

2008-09-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Day: 177

Finally! I had my last visit to the doctor´s office yesterday, she said I was good to go, gave me some medicine I need to apply myself for the next week and instructions to take it easy for a while. I am sure she wont be upset to not have to closely examine my posterior every few days, and I know I sure wont be.

Mom and Pop came through in the clutch and I should have my gear tomorrow, thanks again, you guys are fantastic. So, baring any unforeseen occurrences, I should be on the road again no later than Friday, and I am glad for that. I was starting to lose my mind in that little hotel room. I have read about 10 novels in the past few weeks and although one of the greatest joys in my life has been reading, you can only do so much of it in a short period of time!

The game plan is to go to Panama City, hang tight for a few days while I get a boat lined up to take me to Colombia, and by the time I get there, I should be 100% again.

Killing Time.

2008-08-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

The city of San Jose, image borrowed from Geo Central America.

Day 172

I just got back from my third and hopefully second to last trip to the doctors office. The good news is that the doctor told me that I am looking fine and that now I just have to wait for my body to heal up the wounds on its own. She also told me that I most likely will not have to hang around for another week after my last appointment as she will give me some medicine that I can apply myself and so long as I do not engage in any overly strenuous activity for a while, I should be fine on my own.

So now I just have to hang tight and keep myself from crawling up the walls while I wait to get the last appointment under my belt and hopefully a bill of good health so I can hit the road again.
Artax, my trusty bicycle, is now en route back to the States. I took him apart, and the great guys at the local DHL helped me to get him into boxes safe and sound. It was weird, I felt like I was saying goodbye to a buddy or something. He was a great bike and I was totally satisfied with his performance. Even under really terrible conditions he kept on trucking like a champ. I look forward to putting him back together in the future and taking him for a spin.

San Jose is a lot nicer than most of the cities I have been to in Central America, but I am staying in a neighborhood that is not exactly the best in town. Its right next to the biggest bus station and their are a lot of shady characters hanging around. Although the hotel is safe, clean and cheap, plus its close to the hospital.

I hate being in places like this for too long as it begins to harden and jade you. Whenever I see somebody spot me and come over to talk to me, I instantly assume they are going to try and hustle me somehow. Nine out of ten times that is the case, as they are either trying to sell you some junk, drugs, advice, etc. or to just flat out beg. You reflexively develop a defense against it, and start to come across as really rude. The down side of that is when you meet someone who is just trying to be nice and then you start off on the wrong foot. I like the country towns because there when people approach you, they are genuinely trying to be friendly and get to know you. You only get about one out of ten that are trying to hustle you.

One guy in particular here has really been getting on my nerves. He spotted me coming back to my hotel a few days ago and started talking to me in American accented English and looked clean so I figured he was another traveler. He asked where I had been and where I was headed, typical traveler questions, and I chatted with him for a bit. He told me about a couple of cool places to visit in Panama and started asking me about American football and such and I figured, this is just a cool guy from the states who saw someone he figured he might be able to talk to, maybe he is going it alone like me.

Then, he asks me if I want to buy any drugs. Great, he is just a clever scumbag from the states using it as leverage on people. I tell him no, then he offer to take me to a casino. No again. How about some prostitutes. No buddy, beat it. How about a cheaper hotel, come on, its just over here, as he tugs on my shirt. No, I am fine here. How about a couple of bucks for helping you out, I showed you some great places to visit in Panama. So, I give him about 50 colones (a couple of cents American) just to get him to get out of my face. He takes it and goes, that's it? I lost it then and told him he should be happy I gave him anything. He then tells me he is coming down off some drugs and needs more money, I tell him to get out of my face.

Two days later he spots me again and comes up to me begging for money, saying he is going through some tough times and I just looked at him and say, too bad, and left.

Guys like that make me sick. He is just a lowlife junky trying to pull on peoples heart strings to get something without working for it. I truly feel bad for people on the streets that don't have anywhere else to go, like the mentally ill who are abandoned by their families. They are there through bad luck alone and it is terrible to see them suffer through no fault of their own. But this guy, reasonably intelligent and able bodied, has no excuse to beg from people. It just blows me away, where is your sense of pride? Or at least shame? I just want to yell at people like that and shake the hell out of them, tell them to clean themselves up and do something with their lives besides waste it and live like a human parasite. He made me so angry at him, I wanted him to not say he was an American to anyone else as it makes the rest of us look bad.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, it was just something that has been bugging me. There are lots of those types around here so you have to stay on your toes a bit, but it is nothing more than an annoyance, I have never felt unsafe at all.

I am going a bit stir crazy though as I am not used to being in one place this long any more, and I can't do much. For the most part I am confined to my room while I heal up. I have found a great second hand book store that has a huge selection of English language books cheap, which has been a godsend. You can also trade in your old books for credit towards new ones, so I have been burning through a book every day or two. And, the nerd in my rejoiced at this, the book store even has English language comic books. Sweet! So I have been hanging out there quite a bit. I love bookstores like that because you never know what you are going to find. I have dug up some real gems as well as some really, really bad books that I have enjoyed reading and laughing at. I like the big bookstore chains too as they have such a great variety and its all so well organized. But, they do lack the charm of the little Mom and Pop bookstores, even when Mom and Pops idea of organization means just having books on the shelf...or in boxes on the floor, or laying in giant stacks with no rhyme or reason. The one annoyance though is when you find a great book to read, but it is the second in a series and they have all but book number one. I hate that! I can not read any books or watch any movies out of order, it drives me nuts.

But, other than that I have been well, I have scoped out all the best and cheapest food joints around me. They LOVE their fried chicken in central America, its everywhere, and its cheap as well. That and beans and rice, the staple foods of the Central American diet it seems to me. I miss Mexican food a lot, they have such a huge variety of really excellent types of food there for reasonable prices. It truly spoils a traveler.

At any rate, this is turning into a random stream of consciousness blog update that does not have a lot of pertinent information so I will cut it short. I plan on hitting the road as soon as the Doc gives me the thumbs up and I get my new gear sent to me from my parents. And Mom, Dad, you guys are awesome for running around getting everything I need. I know its a pain in the butt, but it is a huge help to me and I truly appreciate it! Love you guys!

Changing Gears

2008-08-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have thought my situation through and have come to a decision as to what I am going to do from here. It was not easy as I had so many conflicting emotions and desires involved in the process, but after a sleepless night I have made up my mind.

My initial reaction to the news the doctor told me was pretty close to panic. Going though this infection and the treatment has been an extremely unenjoyable experience and not something that I want to do again. Sitting around somewhere for weeks being unable to do anything but wait to have a stranger poke around your naked body is not my idea of a fun trip.

I look back at some of the crazy things I have already encountered on this adventure that I just breezed right by, even laughing about them deposit how scary they were at the time. Everything from being chased by dogs in the night, close encounters with crocodiles, Mayan Indians waking me up at 2 in the morning in the middle of the jungle, freezing cold, pouring rain, scalding heat, enormous mosquitoes, and none of it phased me. But this is something I can't see and can't fight off on my own.

Up until now, I have really been enjoying this experience. There have been plenty of negatives involved like homesickness, physical pain and discomfort, feeling like an outsider everywhere I go, but I anticipated those coming into this and while some of them bothered me more than others, the good outweighed the bad.

With this new factor in the equation things have changed. It is not the infection itself that changes my perception of what I am doing, it is the anxiety that I know I will feel constantly while riding and the way it would effect my day to day experience of the journey. I will always be wondering if the pain in my rear end, which is constant, is something worse. Every time I see a river or lake to swim in or sit down on muddy ground after the rain, I will wonder if it will lead to another breakout of this infection because I have been riding too much and have open sores that could become infected. It will always be in the back of my mind, wondering if it will happen when I am somewhere I can't get to a hospital, and if I can, what if that hospital doesn't have the techniques, supplies or knowledge to treat this? I could find myself in a really terrible situation and that knowledge hanging over me all the time would be exhausting.

In order to minimize the threat, I would have to totally change my approach to the trip. I would have to spend a lot more money to cover less ground which would dramatically shorten my journey but increase the cost. I would also have to avoid or move at a snails pace through some of the areas I most wanted to visit. I have already been facing the reality that I was going to have to cut things out of my trip due to time constraints while moving at the pace that I was, and to further be slowed while spending even more money means that I would most likely have to cut out everything but simply circling the globe just so that I could finish.

But the thing that bugged me more than any of these others was having to ride slowly all the time. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I just do not operate that way. I pretty much have two gears: stop, and full speed. Anything I do in life I either go full blast, or I don't do at all. I just don't have it in me to sit around and smell the roses, constantly rubbing cream on my butt and resting all the time. Don't get me wrong, I like to take easy on occasion but when its time to get something done, I want to give it my all and get it done. I love the feeling of pushing myself as hard as I can, watching the miles fly by and getting that workout high at the end of the day. Just rolling along at a slow pace day after day would be torturous for me, and all because I was worried about having another nasty breakout of this skin infection.

The doctor actually encouraged me to keep going, she thought what I was doing was really incredible. She made a good point too, saying that it could be far worse. I could be diabetic, and she made the point that this common disease would be far harder to overcome on my trip. She felt that as long as I was willing to make the sacrifices involved in changing my plans and habits, I could continue, albeit in a completely different fashion than I had originally envisioned. She was correct too; if I was willing to make the sacrifices I could continue. If you want something bad enough you can always find a way.

But the inevitable fact that I kept coming to when I was exploring my honest feelings was this: I am not willing to make these sacrifices. The bottom line is that if I am not enjoying myself, this is not worth it. And doing the things I would have to do in order to avoid another one of these outbreaks, the trip would not be enjoyable for me. I could just ignore what the doctor says and go for it anyway, trusting to luck. I mean, I made it through nearly 4,000 miles of tropical terrain before I had this happen, maybe I could go another 4,000, right? But that is an impossible question to answer. I could go the rest of the trip and get lucky, I could go 100 miles and have it happen again. I can not tell the future. All I can do is make a decision based on the best information I have, and the advice of a doctor on issues of health is the only source of information that has any foundation in statistical and empirical evidence. Anything anyone else says is purely anecdotal and therefore not a reliable source of information when making this type of decision as there are too many variables from individual to individual. It would be different if I were the first man to ride a bike around the world, or if I were nearly done, then it would be worth while to push through it. But I am not even close to the first man (that was done way back in the 1800´s) and I am not even a fifth of the way through my trip, I still have years to go to do all that I wanted to do.

The only reason I would have to continue at this point would be for the sake of my pride. Pride can be a useful tool at times, helping you to push through adversity when you would have otherwise given up. It can also be a hindrance, inhibiting your ability to make intelligent decisions. In this case, two and a half years of my life and tens of thousands of dollars of hard earned money would be a foolishly big sacrifice to place on the alter of my pride. All that to do something that was no longer enjoyable for me, just to be able to say I did it.

When I reached this conclusion, a really weird feeling came over me. I had a simultaneous feeling of depression and elation. I was depressed because it meant for me the adventure was over and I was going to leave a goal unattained. I felt equally as much elated however, because it meant I could see my family and friends and comfort myself in the familiarity of home.

I could just picture coming back to smiling faces and hugs, how happy all my loved ones would be to see me again, how great it would feel to be back in the city I love. I can't lie, I have been pretty homesick. To this point, it was something I was willing to deal with as my enjoyment of the trip outweighed those feelings, but now with a legitimate reason to return I was pretty happy. One of the reasons I have been feeling homesick, which is not normal for me at all, was due to all of this time I have had to myself to think and plan. I am a forward thinking person and have had big plans for my life, but in the hours of solitude on the bike I was able to work out every little detail of how I was going to go about making my life goals a reality and I could envision it all with such clarity that I was excited to get started on it. Plus, I truly love and miss my family, friends and my city and really look forward to the day I can see them again.

But then I thought a little further down the path of going home, past the joyful reunions, past the pleasure of being in a familiar setting. I thought about how things would be once I was settled back into a routine life. I know that at that point when the dust had settled, the only thing I would feel looking back on my trip was regret and a sense of having failed in achieving a dream that I had worked so hard to make a reality. I know myself and I know that that feeling would linger with me for years, if not the rest of my life. I am not getting any younger and in all likelihood, this is the last opportunity I will have to do something like this again before I retire. I plan on starting a family in the not too far future and once that stage of life begins, an adventure around the world with total freedom will be nothing more than a painful memory of a wasted opportunity. Living with the knowledge that at the first encounter with major adversity on my big adventure that my reaction was to fold like a tent and go home with my tail between my legs, was not something I was willing to live with.

At this point, when my two conflicting desires clashed with equal strength in my mind, I became pretty depressed. I dragged myself over the coals most of the night, trying to decide which of the two was going to be the better choice, or in all honesty, the least painful choice.

Then, in one of those flashes of insight we all have from time to time I found a middle ground. While riding my bike, I have had lots of time to day dream, and some of these have been about all different types of adventures I could have in the places I was going. Most of them I had to dismiss because they were just not very practical with the bike. But then I thought to myself, why not leave the bike behind, but continue the trip having lots of different kinds of adventures in all of the places I wanted to see in the first place that I would now not be able to see?

I have been planning and saving for an around the world trip since 2004. It has been a dream of mine since then journey to every continent but Antarctica in a single trip and try to do as many wild and challenging things as I could squeeze in. In 2007 I first read about cycle touring and that is when the idea to go around the world on a bike first came to me and I decided to go for it. Basically, this workaround allowed me to continue on feeling like I was still achieving my original goal, while also avoiding putting myself through the no longer enjoyable experience of traveling by bicycle. It satisfied both of my conflicting desires.

This realization instantly turned my anguish into excitement. All of a sudden ideas were shooting through my mind like sparks from a roman candle. I got up early and despite not having slept more than maybe an hour, I have been researching non stop, trying to determine if all of the things I want to do are feasible. I have been furiously creating time tables, budgets, sketching out ideas for things to do, finding out how much they will cost, how long they will take, etc.
The more I think about this, the more I am starting to feel like this may have been a blessing in disguise. I am now more excited for this trip than I have felt for the past month. Instead of one enormous challenge that in all honesty may have dragged in places and in others I may have been flat out not enjoying myself, I will have lots of smaller but varied adventures, while still going around the world and seeing all that it has to offer.

I have been having some pretty wild ideas too. I am picturing everything from plains, trains, buses, cars, boats, motorcycles, mountain climbing, trekking, sailing, scuba diving, kayaking, horses, Camels, you name it. I have to admit, this has gotten me pretty fired up with all of the possibilities.

So, the new theme of the trip I suppose, is not cycling around the world, but seeking adventure around the world. The goal I have set for myself now, is to find at least one big challenge for myself on every continent that I visit.

In the end will I be able to say that I rode a bicycle around the world? No. That really does suck. But, I will be able to say that I was true to myself, had an amazing time and one hell of an adventure and that I feel, is what matters most. Traveling by bicycle thus far has been a great experience, truly rewarding and personally enriching. I am by no means done with it for life, but for this trip it has become just one of many adventures as I circle the globe. And who knows, maybe I will jump back on a bike at some point in this trip if I find a place I just can't resist riding a few miles through!

So thanks a million to everyone who sent me emails while I was going through this with encouraging words. It meant more to me than I can really express. If anyone no longer wishes to follow along with the journey as it is no longer cycling around the world, I totally understand and want to thank anyone who has been along with my thus far. However, I am going to continue on and if anyone wants to come with me, I would love the company!

I Just got back from the Hospital.

2008-08-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from my second trip to the hospital here and have a better idea of what I am dealing with. The doctor´s assumptions were correct and I developed ulcers on my rear, right where the thigh meets my bum. They are the result of riding the bike and they got infected with apparently a few types of bacteria, one of which was breaking down my skin and causing the ulcers to grow and become very painful. This was also the reason for my fatigue and dehydration.

Standing with your pants around your ankles in a room while a stranger (and an attractive young female doctor at that, although I guess that is better than a young male doctor) pokes around your nether regions is not the most comfortable of experiences. The actual treating of the legions is no fun either and neither of these experiences was any better on the second go around, and I am sure wont be any more pleasant on the third and fourth. However, I have to say, the doctor is great, she really helped to make me feel comfortable in a really unpleasant situation.

I talked with the doctor at length about my trip, how I was going about it and what I had to do to prevent things like this from occurring in the future. She was really empathetic, and felt so bad for me that she didn´t even charge me for the second visit which really blew me away. That is not something you would ever expect to happen in the states.

Basically, she told me that to continue, I would have to make some fairly drastic changes. I would have to ride less miles per day, ride at an easier pace, take more frequent and longer breaks and avoid riding in tropical regions as well as applying baby cream to my rear end on hot or humid days to reduce friction. She said I would also have to sleep indoors more often and bathe more frequently, and less often in rivers, lakes, or streams (which obviously I would like to do but camping you don't have a choice). The ulcers are brought on by heat, moisture and friction, and then are infected by bacteria which live in water, especially muddy water, and can be anywhere.

I asked her what the likelihood of experiencing another outbreak of this would be if I continued on the way I had been and she said there was a chance it would not occur again but that was very slim, and that I should assume that it would happen at least once more, possibly several times.

She also stated that I was lucky that it hit me hard in Costa Rica as the medical care here is excellent. She said that here, or in Panama I would have been OK (although she said treatment would have been much more expensive in Panama) but if it were to have hit me in Nicaragua or Honduras, I would have been in deep trouble as they are unable to treat this type of thing.
Considering that the vast majority of my trip goes through tropical areas, I would have to dramatically change things. Basically, I would have to go slower and spend more money per day by quite a bit in order to ensure I don't go through something like this again, possibly in a place where there is no way of treating it. I would also have to try and avoid tropical areas as much as possible, which unfortunately covers most of my trip.

Obviously this is not the best news, so I am going to take a night to sleep on it and weigh all of the factors and make my decision as to what I am going to do tomorrow.

Ground Zero

2008-08-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

I just this minute got back from the hospital. I went to the nicest private clinic in San Jose as I felt like this was something that I could not screw around with, and I am glad that I did. It was not cheap but it was an extremely nice hospital and I received top notch treatment, however the news was pretty much abysmal.

I have developed some ulcers on my skin that have become infected with some pretty nasty stuff. They aren't sure exactly what all is in there yet but they did some tests and have got me on some heavy doses of antibiotics. They are fairly sure these are tropical skin ulcers which are pretty terrible from what I have learned. I have had a painful rear end for pretty much the entire trip, and so I figured it was just something that I would have to live with. The pain has gotten a lot worse in Central America sometimes causing me to even cry out while riding at the end of the day, but I accounted that to the heat and humidity, and just thought I would have to push through it until I got to the Andes where I would gain elevation into a cooler, drier climate. I guess you should not ignore pain like that.

I told them what kind of trip I was on and asked them a million questions about how it would affect me and apparently these ulcers are caused by a combination of factors, most importantly are open wounds on the skin that come into contact with contaminated water sources. The infection then breaks down soft tissue, eventually causing the tendons and bones to become exposed and damaged resulting in permanent scaring, further infections, fibrosis, and all kind of other terrible maladies including skin grafts if the ulcers grow too large. Worst of all, if left unchecked it often leads to cancer and possibly death. Apparently it is very rare, but people that are constantly exposed to dirty water, have a lowered immune system due to fatigue or malnutrition, and inadequate hygiene or medical care are most susceptible. I fall into pretty much all of those categories while cycle touring.

I am out of immediate danger, but I have to stay here for two weeks minimum while they continue to monitor me and clean the wounds. They think that since the bacteria causing most of the damage should be killed by the antibiotics, that I should begin healing normally, however they warned me not to even think about a bicycle for the next three weeks minimum as if I try to ride before these ulcers are fully healed I run the risk of a new breakout.

They are pulling my medical files from America apparently and I have to go back on Monday to see what the final results of the tests and what not are.

This is obviously pretty sobering news and I am really just reeling from it right now. I do not know what to think or do, but I am going to hang tight until Monday and see what they have to say then.

I am sorry to everyone reading this, there will be a little bit of a pause here in the action as I try and decide what the best thing for me to do is. I knew coming into this that some sort of disease or infection was a possibility, but the idea and the reality of it are two totally different things.

Bad News

2008-08-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

I have not been feeling well and these saddle sores that I have been battling have not been getting any better. I have gotten used to riding with the pain of them, but the way I have been feeling so low on energy and fatigued lately has got me a bit worried. So, I decided to finally go to a doctor.

He took one look at the sores on my thighs and rear end and told me I needed to go see a specialist ASAP. He said that they may have been caused by riding or that they could be something else that could be really dangerous. He told me the only place I could get anything done was in San Jose, the capital, as they lacked the facilities to do anything for me here.

I am just trying my best to remain calm until I can get to the capital and see a Dermatologist. As of now I don't know what it is and I am just going to keep my head screwed on straight and get there as fast as I can.

Jaco, Costa Rica

2008-08-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

Day 161

Miles 150

Ttoal Mileage 7514

Waiting out the rain. You do this a lot in rain forest. Big surprise!

A gorgeous beach with no one on it. I love places like this.

I dicided to jump in one of the many rivers around here to cool off.

I am currently in Jaco, Costa Rica. This is an interesting place, it has a real party atmosphere, and its a little bit on the sleazy side with a lot of drug dealers trying to sell you marijuana or cocaine on the streets, and a lot of prostitutes prowling around but its all right so long as you steer clear of that sort of stuff. There is a lot to do that doesn't involve criminal activity as well though, and I have been enjoying myself. I am staying at a great place, Las Camas Hostel, and have been watching the Olympics non stop (Way to go Phelps!) and hanging out with some really nice travelers. I also got to meet up with Fred again, which was cool, and I also bumped into another traveler from California that I had met in Playa del Coco. It feels good to see familiar faces while you are on the road.

Getting here was a trial though. I don't know what was going on with my body, but riding here from Playa del Coco felt like I had just started my tour. The first day I only was able to ride about 73 miles. Half way through the day my legs started cramping badly and I was having really strong muscle spasms. I was really low on energy as well and it was tough to keep going. I had to call it quits early in the day and camped out. That night was really uncomfortable as it was very hot and humid and my legs were spasming badly. It looked like I had snakes crawling around under my skin, and it didn't stop until after midnight, which made it very difficult to sleep.

The next day was worse, and despite the fact that I only had to go another 72 or so miles, it took me all day to do it. I just didn't have any energy and was constantly having to pull over and rest. It was strange, my fitness level felt very low. I was drinking loads of water but no matter how much fluid I took in, I couldn't stay hydrated. My urine was bright yellowy orange all day.
Just before I got to Jaco, I had to climb a fairly steep hill and I swear, I thought I was going to die going up that thing. I was having tunnel vision and seeing spots badly, and would have to pull over every few hundred meters to take a ten minute break just to get my heart rate down. I have no idea why I hit the wall so badly but I was in a bad way. Half way up this hill, which honestly was not even that big, I just crashed. I had to sit down so that I wouldn't fall over and just hung my head between my legs. It was pouring rain too, but I didn't care. Its funny the things you think when your mind isn't working correctly. I honestly contemplated dragging my bike into a ditch and pulling my rain tarp over it and myself and taking a little nap!

I was so disoriented that I couldn't even make anything to eat, so I just took some honey and drank about a third of a bottle of it. It tasted disgusting but after about ten minutes it got me feeling a little normal and I was able to force myself up and over the hill and get into Jaco. That night I was absolutely ravenous, I ate two massive plates of rice, beans, chicken and friend plantains, with two salads, and then a big giant sandwich and a bowel of soup all in about an hour and a half. My body was dying for some calories.

I honestly don't know what went wrong, I am hoping it was just a fluke. It was very hot and humid in hilly terrain which makes for tough riding, but its nothing I have not done before.
I will be heading south tomorrow and I am fairly certain I will just ride hard all the way to Panama City, as from there I need to find a boat to take me to Colombia and from what I have heard, it is a 5 day sail to get there. For those of you who don't know, there are no roads from Panama to Colombia, just a stretch of totally untamed jungle called the Darrien Gap. So I figure I need to give myself a few days to get to Panama City, and a few days to find a boat willing to take me, and then another 5 to get to Colombia, and as I want to be there by September, I need to get after it sooner than later.

Finally got myself to leave Coco Beach.

2008-08-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Day: 157

Miles: 0

Mileage: 7,364

Busting the pose on the beach. It had to be done!

Busting the pose on the beach. It had to be done!

The locals fish with just a line standing out in the water.

This place is beautiful.

I finally got myself to leave Coco, this place has truly grown on me. Despite the high cost, it is just a really great place. It is very touristy here, but there are still a lot of locals that call this area home and that are very proud of their country and love to share it with people who are willing to learn.

I have been hanging out with some locals that have made this part of my trip really special. I want to thank Ibi, Christine and Angelica, you girls are great and have taught my a lot about Tica culture, pura vida and Guanacaste. Thanks so much for making my time here memorable! They brought me to the best local restaurants, to dinner with their families, and to watch some amazing sunsets from the best beaches in the area.

I have also been hanging out a lot with Fred, the Danish backpacker, who is a great guy. We are going to try and meet up again in a week in southern Costa Rica, and I hope it works out.
This hostel, the Oasis backpackers hostel, is one of the best I have ever stayed at. It feels like being home. Paul, the owner is a great guy and a world traveler himself. He is Peruvian, but after his world wonderings settled in Costa Rica. This hostel is such a beautiful place and it offers everything a traveler weary of the road needs. A kitchen, 150 movies to watch (in English!) bicycles for rent, free internet and tons of hammocks and couches to chill out on and shoot the breeze with fellow travelers. Its such a homey, comfortable place, that I ended up staying for nearly a week when I only planned on 2 days!

I love the slow pace here, the friendly locals, even the boisterous tourists. Its a fun place that really makes traveling easy. After some of the headaches of getting here, it is nice to be in a place that feels close to home.

Tomorrow I am heading south and will stop along the beach somewhere, I have not decided where exactly, and then head further south into Panama.

Hope all is well back home!

Deep thoughts, by Jack Handy.

2008-08-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I wanted to go to a touristy part of Costa Rica to get a small taste of America and I certainly picked the right spot. Last night I went out on the town with a fellow traveler, Fred, a Dane who is backpacking around the world, and we had a great time. The highlight of the night for me though was when the bar around the corner from our hostel had American Football on a big screen! Yes! And, even better it was my team, The Chargers, playing Dallas and they stomped them (well, it is only preseason, but hey, I will take what I can get)! After that we even got to see the fight and George St. Pierre defended his title. My two favorite sports in the same night, my favorite Team, and one of my favorite fighters, it was great. It made me miss my friends a lot though as we would always gather to watch the games or the fights.

I also met a lot of really great people last night, Playa del Coco is chock full of expats and I heard far more English than Spanish. I hate to admit it, but it was nice to feel at least a little bit like I was home. I will not have the chance to experience anything even close to home again for a very long time, so I soaked it up.

However, as I had mentioned I met some great people. A group of Costa Ricans have offered to take me to the local beaches so I can get more of a taste of the lifestyle here. Its funny, I came to indulge a bit in tourist land and the culture comes to me! Funny how these things work out. I will definitely take them up on their offer as they were incredibly friendly and have offered to drive me to a few other places around the area. I talked with one girl in particular about life here and how Costa Ricans feel about the expatriate invasion. It is tough for a lot of them because of the increased cost of living in areas like Playa del Coco which drives the locals out. Obviously there are some hard feelings about this, but the Ticas I talked to also had a very mature point of view about it, saying that they knew the tourists bring in a lot of money but at a cost to them and their lifestyles. They felt that it was a good and bad, as most things in life are.

Gentrification is a strange occurrence, outsiders come to a place because they like the atmosphere but by coming they drive out what they had been attracted to in the first place and in turn end up creating an environment similar to what they had left behind. The same thing is happening in other places I visited in Central America, like Granada and Leon in Nicaragua.
I also wanted to address a question a lot of people have asked me over the course of this trip. People always want to know what I think about while riding. It is a good question as that is the biggest part of my average day: riding for 6 to 10 hours by myself with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company. For most Westerners, this kind of down time is intimidating, we are used to either being constantly busy or entertained. Most people never take time to just exercise their minds, and instead are always occupied with work, or family, or are in front of a TV or the computer.

I have always enjoyed being by myself and taking time to think, but the solitude of the road combined with the rhythmic action of riding the bike provides a truly wonderful environment for contemplation. When I am cycling on a road that does not require a great deal of concentration, my mind is able to go on incredible inward journeys. If there is ever a point in your life when you feel lost or out of touch with yourself, I highly recommend jumping on a bike and hitting the road, because after 5 months of this I feel like I know myself better than at any other point in my life. I have had the chance to explore myself, my goals and dreams in life and what it is that really matters to me, free of any outside influence. I have looked at myself honestly and have addressed those qualities about myself I do not like and have either made plans to change them, or just accepted those things that I can not change and forgiven myself for them.

I feel so much better about myself and so much more at ease with who I am, that I really can't quantify it easily with words. This alone has made this trip worth all of the sacrifice involved with getting here. I feel that even if something catastrophic were to happen and I had to go home now, that this trip has already changed my life.

I honestly feel that I now see my future and my goals with crystal clarity. I know what I want form life, and I have given myself permission to fully pursue my dreams without any thoughts as to if I may fail or succeed, or what others may think or say about it. Before this trip I was an extremely goal oriented person, but now I feel even more resolved to live my life on my terms, and to try to push to be the best man I can be. This trip, and the time and tests it has provided for me have truly galvanized me.

Cycling down a good road out in the open air on a beautiful day with the sun shining down on you, is just a wonderful place to be. You feel free of the shackles of modern life and are able to really see yourself, cutting through the pretense and the lies that most people live with.
I hope that answers the question adequately and without being too esoteric, but it is what occupies my mind most of the time while out on the road. Well, there are always the banal fantasies too, like me leading the Chargers to a superbowl victory with a last second perfect spiral to LT with the crowd going wild and the Charger girls carrying me off the field to the cheers and adulation of my friends and family! But those aren't really so life changing =)
Well, I am off to the beach for some snorkeling, much love to everyone back home.

Playa del Coco, Costa Rica

2008-08-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

Day: 153

Mileage: 84

Total Mileage: 7,364

I went from this in Nicaragua....

To this in Costa Rica in just a few miles, the change was dramatic.

I ended up not leaving Isla Ometepe on Wednesday, as apparently, the muscles used in Volcano climbing have nothing to do with the muscles used in cycling. I was so soar the next morning that I could barely walk. I felt like the tin man before Dorothy came and gave him some oil.

So, I decided to stay another day to try and let my legs recover. I spent a nice lazy day in a hammock, napping and reading and eating. Not bad really, but unfortunately it did nothing for my soreness. I should have ridden the bike a little or gone for a short jog to break up the lactic acid in my legs, but the hammock felt so nice and it was such a warm day that I didn't bother.
I took off on Thursday though and wow, that was painful. I was gritting my teeth the entire ride and any time I stopped pedaling to take a drink or what have you, my legs would buckle and it was all I could do to keep from falling down.

The border crossing was slow, but painless. I changed my money out to Costa Rican colones, and the conversion is a pain in the rear, one American dollar is worth about 550 of theirs, so you are constantly dividing huge numbers in your head to figure out what things cost. Its always a bit of a shock when you get a meal and the tab says $4,000! Speaking of which, Costa Rica is incredibly expensive, more so than the states. I was really shocked. Food here costs far more than in America, and homes in nice areas are the same as in California, its crazy. A home near the water goes for $500,000 US, and not a big home either. Condos go for $150,000 to $300,000. The prices are due to all of the expatriates moving to the Costa Rican beaches to retire, although I fail to see the logic in it. If you are moving to a place where the cost of living is higher, why not stay in your home country where you can at least be close to your family, but then, that may be the reason some people leave. I wonder how the locals feel about it, as this has all occured in the last generation. They can not afford the homes anymore, it must be aggrivating. Those I have asked seem OK with it, but Costa Ricans are notroiously nonconfrontational, so I may not be getting the truth of it.

Costa Rica is also very Americanized, which is good and bad in my opinion. It is a bit surreal to see all of the American stores, but it is also a bit nice as it reminds me of home, and I wont be around anything like this again for a very long time. It just makes me chuckle to see surf shops everywhere, just like where I used to live.

Thursday I wanted to make it all the way to Playa del Coco, but I got caught in a huge storm and had to take shelter at a church. They were kind enough to let me stay the night in the back yard. I got to sleep under an awning which was nice, so I wasn't soaking wet all night like usual.
I arrived in Playa del Coco yesterday, and have been relaxing and trying to let my poor legs recoup a bit. I am still stiff as a board and no amount of stretching seems to remedy it. I will stay here till Monday, then head further south.

2008-08-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

Day. 149

Miles. 60

Total Miles. 7,280

The cemetary in Granada, I don´t know if the red on the statue´s heart was intended or not, but it made for a striking figure.

Some kids were jumping off of the dock as I waited for the boat to the island. I was just about to join them, as I am and always will be enamered by jumping off of tall objects into water, when the boat pulled up which was a bummer. But, I did get this great action shot which I was really pleased with of one of the guys.

Here is the beast I meant to climb, Volcan Concepcion, as seen from the mainland.

This is Goswin and Johnny, two kids that lived on the island. They rode their bikes to work at the docks every day, 26 kilometers away! They had one bike between them and so I let Johnny ride on my trailer for a while.

I am in a tiny little town called Altagracia on the island Olmetepe. The island is formed by two large volcanoes rising out of Nicaragua´s freshwater lake. What a wonderful place this little island is, I have to say. It is just amazingly beautiful for one thing, and lush beyond description which is really saying something for Central America. Everywhere you look it is covered with flowers, fruit bearing trees, sugar cane and of course, green green everywhere.

It is the people though, that make this place so nice. Where I found a lot of the people in Nicaragua to be a little aloof (a lot of people would not wave back or smile at me when I would do so to them on the mainland) the islanders have been uniformly nice and friendly in my experience. It is a really slow paced place, as islands often are, and it feels like a Norman Rockwell painting, if he would have been born a Latino that is.

I arrived on Sunday and everyone was taking it easy, sitting and chatting to one another on their doorsteps. Outside of the towns, the fields were full of the towns´ baseball teams playing games (Nicaraguans LOVE baseball, it is the national sport) while all of their families cheered them on. Its the kind of place where kids walk to school together (well, the little girls skipped more than walked) without parent supervision, everyone waves at each other and stops to visit. It feels like a really safe place, and a happy place too. There are nearly no cars either, which is good considering the roads on parts of the island are unbelievably bad.

I can see how people come here and do not want to leave, it is just such a beautiful, peaceful place.

I just came back from climbing the larger of the two volcanoes on the island, Volcan Concepcion. I originally wanted to climb the smaller volcano as it has ancient stone pytroglyphs on it and the crater at the top has become a large lake. However, upon arriving and laying eyes on the two volcanoes, the larger of the two just really appealed to me more. It is also an active volcano and just a few days ago burped up a huge smoke ring into the air.

So, being the bigger and more challenging climb, plus being an active volcano, it won me over and I decided to climb it instead.I asked around and the locals told me it was a tough, 10 to 12 hour climb, and that if you were really fast you could get it done in 8 hours. So, thinking that this would be quite the challenge, I brought three liters of water, and a bunch of food to keep my strength up. The only problem is that I do not have a back pack, so I just tossed everything into a cloth sack, threw it over my shoulder and charged it. I must have looked pretty funny carrying a big sack on my back like Santa Claus, but that was all I had to work with so I just went with it. Let me tell you, the inventor of the back pack must have had to carry around his things in a big sack all the time, because it really sucks. Trying to carry it up the side of a volcano on loose, slippery rocks is even worse. I had to carry the stupid thing in my teeth several times and towards the top, where it got so steep I had to go on all fours, I just tossed it under a rock and went on without it (but I got it on the way back down, of course).

It turns out I could have gone without it as I completed the entire climb in 6 hours, which included a lunch break. I didn´t even push it that hard, just kept a steady pace up and down. I was a little disappointed that the climb wasn´t more challenging as I had been really looking forward to it, but all the same it was pretty cool.

It was super windy and cloudy at the top which stunk as I couldn´t see much from the peak, and more annoying, I couldn´t see down into the volcano´s mouth. I was really curious to see what I could see. In a sense though I was lucky it was cloudy and misty as it kept me cool (and dripping wet) and it kept the toxic fumes coming out of the volcano away form me. The wind did stop for one brief second and in that moment I got a huge whiff of sulfur, which dang near knocked me on my rear, it was so overpowering.

I made it back down in good time as I had set off at sunrise and since have been eating loads and relaxing. I found ¨The Hobbit¨ in the book exchange here which was like striking gold as the best English language book I could find at the previous Hostel was a Romance Novel. ¨The Hobbit¨ is one of my all time favorite stories and reading it again before climbing a volcano seemed somehow very fitting.

Tomorrow I head back for the mainland and will make my way into Costa Rica for some quality beach time. I plan on lingering there for a week to just soak up some sun, get in the water and body surf a little before making my way to Panama. It is strange, but I am actually looking forward to the touristy parts of Costa Rica as it will feel a little like home.

Well, one more goal accomplished, on to the next!

The sort of busy streets of the small town of Altagracia.

The path leading to the volcano, nice and flat and broad!

I even had some friendly monkeys to keep my company!

Starting to get a bit wilder...

Now starting to get really wild.

The view from half way up before the wind and clouds came in.

Half way up, not looking to shabby, although I was sweating like a beast.

Looking back down the path, it is getting very very steep, and I am starting to climb above the jungle.

Well up above the jungle now, climbing up loose rocks among these low, tough shrubs, on all fours at times.

View from the top, the last few hundred meters were straight up over very loose rocks with the wind howling past me.

Looking down into the mouth of the volcano, I wish I could have seen more but it was scary looking down into that abyss!

It was so windy at the top, I seriously felt like I would get blown off the top of the Volcano if I was not careful. I think I look particurlarly handsome in this picture!

Granada, Nicaragua

2008-08-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Day: 146

Miles: 149

Total Mileage: 7,220

The beautiful countryside, I really like the views here.

You see a lot of volcanoes around here, and they never cease to impress. They just soar out of the countryside straight up into the sky, and when they smoke like this, it really gives you a sense of how small you are.

Church in Leon.

A typical street vendor, these provide all kinds of cheap goodies, from fruit to tacos to hot dogs. A nice way to get good food at a good price.

This is a common sight in Latin America, in El Salvador, he would have had a flak jacket and a buddy with a Machine Gun.

Not all of the churches here are so well maintained.

The fine highways of Nicaragua. They actually got much worse than this, and this is a major highway in the country.

I am currently in a really relaxing city called Granada, in Nicaragua. This has been a mixed bag of a country and after the chaos of getting in, it nice to have been able to just kick back and catch my breathe for a few days.

Crossing the border was a nightmare. It began as I approached, riding closer to Nicaragua, the people just changed. International borders are nearly always shady, uncomfortable kinds of places but this one was the worst I have encountered.

As I got closer people started yelling things at me, the usual being Gringo, hey Gringo! Now, you get that a lot in Latin American countries, especially in Mexico, but when someone says it to you there, it is nearly always in a joking manner where you both get a laugh, not meant to be an insult.

Here, they use it to be a slur, and it really started to eat at me. Normally I laugh that kind of thing off, and just forget it, but when every other slack jawed moron in an entire village comes running out of his hovel to yell Gringo Gringo and point at you as you ride by, time after time, it starts to eat at you. And its not the word itself, its the way they say it, spitefully, and the laugher. Not a, hey that was a good joke, but the kind of laughter you hear in that dream when you are in the halls of your high school in you underwear. Even that, I could have dealt with, but it got worse.

So, as I approach the border, I am already pretty aggravated by the racial slurs, and a group of idiots that see me riding up all jump out of there seats and point at me jumping up and down, Gringo gringo!, laughing their rear ends off. I was just about to walk into a restaurant to spend my last few Honduran dollars when all of the people inside looked out at me. I could tell they were just about to start laughing too when I just lost it and I wanted to walk over the smash the morons in the face, but I knew that wouldn't help anything so instead I shouted in Spanish, "Girngo girngo gringo, that's all I hear around here!"

That shut the hecklers up and shamed the locals at the restaurant enough that they then bent over backwards to serve me and try and make small talk with me. I normally do not get so upset by this sort of thing, and I kept telling myself, its a different culture, these people are different with different values. But then I thought to myself, wait, I wouldn't tolerate this kind of behavior from myself, from my family or from any of my friends, why should I excuse these people? If a Nicaraguan or a Honduran came riding his bike down the street in a neighborhood back in California and everyone came running out of their house pointing and shouting racial slurs, I would think they were scum and despicably ignorant fools. So if I hold myself and those around me to this moral standard, why should I hold anyone else to anything less? It just really pissed me off, and it makes me that much more aware of treating everyone around me equally and with respect, unless they prove to not deserve it.

After I ate, I went to the border crossing proper and what an absolute disaster of organization it was. As soon as I pulled up on my bike I was swarmed, literally, by about 20 guys waving money in my face trying to change mine for Cordobas (Nicaraguan money), or guide me to the immigration office or sell me some stupid little trinkets, etc. They were all inches from my face pressing in on me, yelling and touching me, calling me friend and amigo (what happened to Gringo, gringo!). I had to push them away from me, I HATE being in a crowd of people, I seriously hate it. The feeling of being crushed in, it makes me flip out. Some guy tried to guide me to the immigration office despite my insisting I didn't need his help. When I got there, he wanted money for his "help" which I refused, and so he got angry, but tough cookies buddy.

I got my passport stamped and then they told me I needed to pay 7 bucks US to get into Nicaragua. I had just stupidly spent my last couple of bucks on a meal so I didn't have the cash. I asked if I could pay with a credit card or check, no and no. Then I asked if there was an ATM at the border crossing. No, there was a bank there, but it didn't change money, give money, or take money....ok. What the hell were they doing there exactly?

The nearest ATM or bank was 40 miles away....you have got to be kidding me. It was a total joke, it would take two seconds to install an ATM there, and anyone who did would make a mint off of everyone needing to pay the border crossing fee.

But no, that is one of the joys of the third world: terrible infrastructure. So, not wanting to waste the entire day riding 80 miles round trip to get to an ATM, paying the fee to my bank to take out money and then having to change money to Cordobas (losing more money in the exchange) I tried to think laterally. My first instinct was just to sneak over the border as the guards are not exactly the model of vigilance. While I honestly think I could have pulled it off, the risk was not worth it. If I were to be caught, I am sure they would have extorted a ton of money out of me, fined me or thrown my butt in the slammer for a few days, all of which were worse than going back to town. A few years ago though, I would not have even thought twice about it and just charged it. I guess I am getting older and maybe a little wiser (although not wise enough to keep a few bucks in my pocket for the border crossing).

My second plan was to talk to fellow travelers crossing the border and explain my situation, see if I could trade something I had for a few bucks, or maybe just follow them over the border and pay them back on the Nicaraguan side at the first ATM. No one had the money unfortunately and a few of them were in the same boat I was. They all tried to help but the various efforts were unsuccessful.

So, I had to borrow money from one of the money changers with the promise to change money with him before I crossed the border. Then I had to take a bus back to the town, then take a cab from the bus station to the bank, back into a cab, back into a bus, back to the border.

The buses here are insane death traps too, by the way. They call them chicken buses and they are operated by clinically insane crews that must have suicidal impulses. They are called chicken buses because they are usually filled with people (obviously), but also with chickens, goats, pigs, and other types of livestock, which are often tied to the roof. But then, people often sit on the roof too when the bus is full. And full they get, to bursting. People will squeeze into these death traps until they are literally hanging out of the doors as the thing rattles and slams down horrible dirt roads through the mountains at break neck speeds.

These buses are old American school buses (painted in all kinds of fantastic paint schemes) that have about a million miles on them and are sold to central American companies to recoup a little of the cost before buying new buses for American school kids.

They are buses that are not safe enough for westerners anymore, but are given a new life in Central American countries. Oh joy.

Not only are they unsafe, but the crews running them are mad men. There are usually three guys, a driver and two helpers to get people, animals and things on and off of the buses. The driver will blare on his horn to let people know he is coming, then he slows down just enough to let people get off (he doesn't actually stop mind you) and then speed off again. If there are people waiting to get on, he stops and then the helpers jump off, one of them throws the new arrivals things up to the top while the other one climbs up and ties them down and tosses the departing passengers things off, and then, as soon as everyone is on the bus, the driver hits the gas and is gone. The helper on the ground has to run to jump into the bus, the helper on the roof has to not fall off then crawl in through the window or the rear emergency door (which is pretty much always open.

It is so totally, blatantly unsafe that I was just flabbergasted. Apparently these things crash quite often and send entire bus loads of people to their deaths, which surprises me not in the least.

So, two and a half hours later back at the border, I am the last guy in the bus and as it pulls in, up swarm the locusts trying to change money with me. They zero in on the gringos like a fat kid on a cupcake. These sharks get on the bus and push their way back to me waving their money in my face. This time, already pissed off because of the delay, the near death experience of riding the bus, the insults, the heat, and everything else, I just start yelling at them and pushing them. I didn't give a rat's behind at that point if I was being rude or not, I just wanted off of the damn bus and these guys out of my face.

After fighting my way back to the immigration office, I found the money changer who lent me the money for the bus, who then proceeded to try and screw me on the exchange. I argued him back to a slightly gentler reaming (he did help me out after all) and then went to get my bike form the police station.

There, a gaggle of the most pitiful looking little kids came running up to me begging for money. The cops just stared at me with completely blank stares, not caring one way or another if I yelled at them, gave them money or what not. Its like they weren't there.

One kid said he had watched my bike and when I checked to make sure everything was there, I gave him my last coin out of my pocket, which turned out to be a bad idea. I felt like I had just taken a handful of raw meat and put it into a pond full of piranhas. All the kids started tugging on my shirt asking for money, yelling, pleading begging, it was terrible. With kids, its different, they are victims and so its not anger I feel but pity. I wanted to help out but I didn't have anything. So, I took out a half used stick of chap stick and went to offer it to one of the little girls and before I could even say, "do you want this" she snatched it form my hand and was spreading a huge smear of it onto her lips.
The other girls looked so disappointed that I felt worse than before. So, I told the girl with the chap stick to share and then took off. I just didn't know what else to do, the poverty here is shocking in some places.

After that debacle, I rode hard for a city as night was coming, at least I tried to ride hard. The roads in Nicaragua are atrocious, just terrible. Road isn't even a word I feel should apply, there needs to a new word made up to describe these things.

After busting my butt I managed to pull into Chinandega, a smallish town near Leon. I managed to find my way through the city in the dark (nearly no streetlights) and got a cheap room for the night.

The next day I hit it early and rode the 20 miles to Leon, one of the Nicaragua's two oldest cities, the other being Granada, both founded in the first years of the 16th century. All I can say is wow, what a change from the country. Usually the cities are not enjoyable compared to the villages, but here it was the opposite. It was a bit dirty and there were as many horse drawn carts as cars, but the city had an air of class that the dirt couldn't disguise. The people were friendly and helpful. It was so nice after the headache of getting there. I stayed at an awesome Hostel, called Lazybones and just sort out a long sigh of relief.

I only stayed for a day however, and the next morning took off for Granada. I had two flats that really slowed me down which was bad as it was a fairly long distance to cover and I wanted to do it in just one day. About 30ish miles out of Granada passing through the outskirts of the capitol, Managua, a cyclist on a nice road bike (the first I have seen in Nicaragua) pulled up next to me and we started chatting. His name was Cesar and he was a super guy.

He was commuting home from work and we rode together the rest of the way. He was a good cyclist and told me he normally rides at about 25 to 30 mph which is really moving. He competes in the bike races here and we had a good time talking bikes. He set a tough pace too, 20 mph which is hard to keep up normally, but on a loaded touring bike at the end of a long ride in hills, its really tough. It felt good though riding hard, I enjoy tough physical challenges very much, and thanks to Cesar I made good time and got into Granada just before full dark.

Granada is a great town, it and Leon are both colonial cities, Leon being traditionally liberal, Granada conservative. The city is full of old stone buildings and churches and sits right on a giant freshwater lake which holds the only fresh water sharks in the world.

I have not been doing much here but eating and sleeping though, just because I needed to rest. I had a bit of a shock yesterday when I weighed myself. I clocked in at a hefty 178!! Ouch, I was 205 before I left! That is nearly 30 lbs gone, even with me eating huge amounts. I should start a weight loss system when I get back. You can eat anything you want and you still lose weight, all you have to do is ride a bike 6 to 10 hours a day!

At any rate, I am going to leave tomorrow and head out to an island in the lake here that is formed by two massive volcanoes. I plan on climbing one of them and camping out at the top, where there is a lake in the caldera, which will be really cool. After that, I will head towards Costa Rica.

All my love, until next time!

Honduras

2008-07-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Day: 141

Mileage: 84

Total Mileage: 7,072

Money Spent: $15

Thanks tree, for giving me a nice spot to sleep. My home for the night in Honduras.

I never get tired of these. The end of another day of riding.

The countryside in Honduras.

These are my biker gang buddies in Honduras, don´t mess with us! Victor, Eric and Santos.

The guys made sure I took this pic, they thought the statue was really cool. It is of a soldier from the civil war. It looked like one of the little green army men I played with as a kid.

It has been quite a whirlwind of a time the past few days.
I crossed the border into Honduras from El Salvador around mid day. It was an easy border crossing, just a little slow. I had to pay 3 bucks to get into Honduras, which was no big deal. While I was waiting for the paperwork to be completed, I sat and shot the breeze with the border guards and some of the vendors. They gave me some good tips on getting through to Nicaragua. It made me laugh though when one of the Salvadoran vendors pulled me aside and warned me about the crazy Hondurians. He said they had lots of guns and that they might try and rob me for my bike! I swear, every country I go to, they warn me about the crazy people in the next one, even in the USA that happened going from one state to another. But for a Salvadoran to warn me about guns in another country is like the pot calling the kettle black!

I crossed over into Honduras and set off down the Pan American highway, from one border to the other would only be about 80 some odd miles. I was not in Honduras long enough to get a real feel for the place, but my brief experience there was very positive apart from the Nicaraguan border crossing (I will get to that later). The people were generally very nice and wanted to ask me where I was going and wish me good luck on the trip. I was glad to be able to communicate as my Spanish has gotten so much better. I still have trouble expressing complex ideas, but I understand a lot. By the time I get through Argentina I think I will be close to a conversational level. The one thing that throws me though, are the differing accents, that takes some getting used to.

After a few miles of riding in Honduras, a couple of local kids that had seen me ride by rode up to me and made a big deal of passing me on their bikes. Not being the type of guy to let a challenge from kids a third my age go unanswered, I hit the gas and we raced for a good two or three miles. Although I have to admit it is pretty tough to race when you are laughing so hard. It was a ton of fun and we were alternating riding with no hands, no feet, swerving all over the road, etc. I swear, I felt like I was 12 years old again.

The guys wanted to show me the town statue so we pulled over and they insisted I take a picture of the statue as having one is pretty cool I guess, even if it was a tad underwhelming. I gave them a bottle of my water as it was so dang hot and they asked to see my map and for me to show them where I had ridden. They were very cool kids, especially the littlest guy, Santos. He was a real fire cracker. He always had to ride at the front of the pack (which was funny because he was too short to sit on his seat and pedal, he had to ride standing up the entire time). He would constantly show off too, by standing on the seat while riding, jumping off of dirt mounds, stuff like that. He always made sure everyone was watching first though! Every time a car would pass us and honk (we were all over the road) he would shake his fist at them and yell things at them a kid his age really shouldn´t be yelling. He was a show off for sure, and a little too wild for his own good...he reminded me of me when I was his age! Well, to be honest, that was me up until a few years ago!

We rode together for a few more miles until we got to the turn off for their house and we parted ways. I rode further into the country and I have to say, Central America is just such a beautiful place. I have moved on from the jungles of the north into the mountainous plains (sounds like an oxymoron I know, but that is the best way to describe it that I can think of) of the middle. Here, everything is just as green, but it lacks the overabundance of plant life that the north has. The mountains are still covered in trees but the flat areas are all fields of lush grass dotted with Oak and other types of big trees, some of them are gigantic too, like Banyan trees, with long arms that stretch out tens of meters away from the trunk. It makes for a gorgeous ride and reminds me in some ways of the Bay Area of Northern California after the rains have come. That night I rode out into a field and slept under a big tree. I got a great night´s sleep and it finally didn´t rain, which was nice. Rainy season is coming to an end which is good news for me.
Crossing the border the next day was a nightmare, but as that has more to do with Nicaragua than Honduras, I will save that for the next post. My overall impression of Honduras though was very positive, and I could easily see myself returning in the future.

There are two things I had forgotten to mention about my time in El Salvador too. One was the food, which is delicious and very cheap. The local dish to try though are the Pupusas. They are a thick corn tortilla stuffed with beans and cheese and are only about 30 cents. I would get 6 of those, two friend plantains (I have come to really love those plantains) and two Coca-Colas for $2.50. Not bad!

The other story is very telling of the state of El Salvador´s infrastructure. I was riding down the road when I noticed an ambulance pulled over and the EMT´s out on the road trying to flag people down. They waived at me and I stopped to see what was wrong. They were on their way to answer an emergency call and they had run out of gas, and they had no money to get more gas! Holy shnikeys, that is unbelievable. Someone could have been dying and they couldn´t even get to the emergency because they lacked money for gas to drive the ambulance! Wow, that just blew me away.

At any rate, I will post more in the coming Nicaragua post.

2008-07-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

Day: 140

Mileage: 190

Total Mileage: 6,988

Money SPent: 7-25: $27, 7-26: $11

Jesus and his nephew, extremely nice people.

The fantastic four: Manny, Fransisco, Oscar and Johnny! These were some cool kids.

Using the shoulder to dry crops. Not much fun for a cyclist!

I am about 30 kilometers from the border with Honduras and looking forward to making the transition. El Salvador is a place of strong contrasts to say the least. The individual people are very friendly and nice, but the overall feel of the place is offputting. I can't really put my finger on it but it is the sensation that there are sharks in the water, that you are not totally safe. It very well could be my imagination, or it could be the ridiculous multitude of heavily armed people I see. On top of that, all of the locals I talk to encourage me to leave as it is not safe here and that crime is a huge problem.

I have met a lot of incredible people here though, that have been very welcoming, but from those same people I have also learned some terrible history lessons about this country.

For one, the people here are much more European looking than in the other Latin American countries I have been too, and the reason is that the government has murdered, repressed and driven out the indigenous peoples for hundreds of years. It is terrible, but a fact of life there. Also, during the recent civil war, government soldiers formed death squads that roamed the villages thought to hold guerilla fighters and murdered entire towns, torturing men, and taking children to be sold into slavery or kept by the soldiers. These stories just curl your toes, and they happened in the last 20 or so years.

However, all of the people I have met have been very friendly. I had one man who owned a gas station I stopped at ask to have his photo taken with me and offered to let me come and stay at his beach ranch. I need to make it to Costa Rica in the next week and a half though, so I politely refused.

Another man I met at a restaurant I stopped to eat at, bought me some sweat bread and coffee when I told him what I was doing. He was very nice and asked me to come back to El Salvador one day to visit him again and he gave me his number in case I needed anything. One thing that he said that blew my mind however, was that Santa Ana, the last town I had been in with all of the gunshots, was a very tranquil and calm place! Wow, if he says that about Santa Ana, what is his town like? Are there shoot outs in the street on the way to work?

One group of people that I met provided for a pretty eye opening and saddening experience. While riding through the countryside, a group of 4 boys ranging from 14 to 8 came running out of the bushes after me. I pulled over to see what they wanted and as they came close to me I noticed they were pretty dirty looking. Only two of them had shoes, and the shoes they had were old dress shoes that were much too large for them. Neither of the boys had socks either. Only three of them had shirts, all too big for them. One of the kids didn't even have any pants, just a big shirt that went down to his knees. They all, were very much in need of a bath as well.
Essentially, they looked very much like street kids living out in the country, which I am 99% sure was the case.

They were really nice though and had a million questions for me about my bike and the trailer (kids love the trailer). When I told that my trailer held my stuff, they thought it was really cool, but when I mentioned it had food in it, they perked up like I had mentioned Christmas. The two little guys asked me if they could have some food, and so I gave them each an apple, the two older kids tried to act like they didn't want one, but they were staring at the little guys' apples with hungry eyes, so I tossed them each one as well. They all tore into those apples like it was there job, it was sad. So we all sat and talked for a while and then they found some berries that had fallen off of a tree into the gutter. They gobbled these up too and gave me some which was really nice of them. I honestly didn't want to eat them but I didn't want to hurt their feeling so I did. Eventually I had to go, so I said goodbye and started to ride off and the kids all ran behind me taking turns pushing the trailer. It was nice because I was going up a really steep hill! I felt like I was about 12 years old because we were all yelling ariba! and vamanos! and laughing our butts off the entire way up the hill. Those kids were strong!

It is just a really sad situation that these little kids have no one but each other to try and survive and that there is not much of an infrastructure to take care of them. I wish there was more I could have done, at least given them some more food but I was out. I wish them the best and hope things turn out well for them.

At any rate, I need to head for the border, I hope all is well back home.

Rest day in Santa Ana, El Salvador

2008-07-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, when I aid that El Salvador was a nice quiet place with friendly people, I was being a bit preemptive. Metapan, apparently, is not indicative of the rest of the country. I feel like I have stepped back into the old west! It feels like everyone here has a flipping gun! Guys literally walk around with a pistol on their hip, its crazy. In Mexico and a lot of Central American Countries I have seen armed guards outside of banks, etc. But in El Salvador, it seems like nearly every shop has an armed guard. The gas station had two! One guy had a machine gun, the other an automatic shotgun. Wow. I wouldn´t be surprised if a hot dog stand here had a machine gun nest next to it manned by grandpa with grandma on the look out for bandits.

Just seeing people walk around armed is a trip. I am in the second largest city in the country and it is pretty rough here. First of all, it is very run down, and the pollution is terrible. You can literally see the clouds of black smog hanging in the streets. Nearly every store has huge iron bars up as well. It feels like a prison in a lot of ways. However, the most unnerving thing is the constant gunshots you hear. Every few hours I here 4 or 5 gunshots around the city. A little surreal to say the least. I want some of the hard line pro gun activists in America to come here and see what a heavily armed populace results in. It feels like everyone here is under siege.

But, in all fairness, I must also add that this country seems to be very poor. The people live in very run down buildings and don´t seem to have much. I actually saw one thing that really angered me. As I was riding into Santa Ana, I passed an unplanned land fill. Litter is EVERYWHERE in most Latin American countries I have been to so far, with the road sides covered in trash, but here it is really bad. There were mountains of trash and what really got my blood boiling was the fact that there were families LIVING in the land fills. Literally, they had a shack built into the side of a trash mountain. Mom , Dad, kids, Grandparents, living in and among piles of stinking, rotting garbage.

I was angry at a government that would allow this, an economy so terrible that this would be necessary and mostly, at the people that would DO this. That may sound unfair, but I do not care how destitute you may be, there is no excuse for raising a family in filth. I saw babies crawling around in the pools of garbage water while Dad sat in his hammock, seeming to care not at all.

I know I should not judge, but I can not help it. No matter what, if I had a family, I would do whatever it took to get them out of such a situation. Period. It is one thing for an individual to make that choice for themselves, but to drag your family into it with you is unacceptable.

At any rate, I know things are tough for people here and that it is easy for me to make sweeping statements when I don´t have all of the facts, but it just really angered me to see that.

Lastly, on a very strangely positive note, I have to say the people are nice, despite being armed to the teeth. Even the drug dealers. This is a weird one. So I pulled into Santa Ana, and as I said, it is a pretty rough city, and I got lost as the streets are very confusing. They are numbered but there are two or three of each street. For example, three 1st streets, two 2nd streets and another two 1st avenues. It makes for a confusing ride. So I pull over to get my bearings and the locals see me looking at my map, and a few come over to help. The one guy that speaks English is telling me where to go when a junky walks up to him and he sells him a big bag of cocaine (I think that is what it was) without even stopping giving me directions. That was weird. If it were not for the fact that I was dog tired with huge saddle soars on my rear end, I would have left today. Tomorrow though, I am riding hard for the border. It should take me two days to get to Honduras.

So all my love to everyone, until next time!

Through the Guatemala Mountains to El Salvador.

2008-07-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Day: 136

Miles: 131

Total Miles: 6,798

Money Spent: 7-21: $15, 7-22: $22

It may not be the Rits, but hey, it only cost $3.50!

Guatemala is a stunningly beautiful country.

I just crossed the border into El Salvador, and again, had no trouble. I just rode right across (didn't pay the exit tax again) and on the El Salvador side I had a quick chat with the border guards, they looked in my bike bag to make sure I didn't`t have drugs and that was that.
Guatemala gets two big thumbs up from me in terms of fun and accessibility. I loved the people, the country is awe inspiring in its natural beauty, and the roads were generally good, far better than Belize. The only bad incident I had was at a restaurant where the lady tried to over charge me, saying I had to pay the other price. That really pissed me off, it was a small sum of money, but the feeling of being ripped off just galls me. So I told her I was paying the price on the menu, period. Other than that though, I had a great time.

Guatemala is such a great value too, I met some travelers that went on a three day river rafting trip for $30 total! That included food. That would be a blast, I would have done it but it was too far out of my way.

There are so many nice people around here, everyone is curious as to where you are form and where you are going and they all give you great advice on things to avoid, or where to eat.
El Salvador has proven to be a really nice place so far, the bigger towns are European style, while the villages are the same that I have seen all over Latin America, consisting of a hodge podge of wooden and cement block housing.

I met a really super nice German couple yesterday that were on year 5 of a 6 and a half year trip! Holy smokes, I thought I was on a big one! But they gave me some great advice and I wish them all the best in the rest of their travels. They also told me they had been drinking tap water the entire trip, through India, all of Latin America, etc. They had had no problems, so I am going to go for it as that would save me over $1000 a year. If I start puking and going number two like I was in Cancun, I will hate myself, but it is worth a try as the savings are really big in the long run. Plus, that means more food I can eat!

The riding has been just fantastic. Sunny days, green mountains, little villages all over, plus tons of rivers and streams. The area I rode through in Guatemala was just idealic, I can`t imagine a place much more beautiful. The mountains seriously kicked my butt the first few days though. I have been riding flat land for two months now, and the first day of tough climbing had me reduced to a quivering bowl of jelly fast. That night I was cramping pretty badly and every time I coughed or sneezed, I felt like my quads would burst! I am OK now though, and feel like my mountain legs are back. I love mountain riding, its tough, but the scenery is second to none and those winding downhills where you are just flying at 45 MPH with the wind in your ears, are so much fun. Also, sleeping up at elevation is SO SO SO much better. Last night, for the first time in two months, I actually had to wear my warm up pants, a sweater and covers! It was gloriously cool at night, no more laying on your bed with just shorts sweating buckets. Ah, it is just infinitely more comfortable, and only about 1 mosquito a night as opposed to 30. I am glad to be in the mountains.

Well, I need to hit it, I am trying to make it to Santa Ana today, and I have a good way to go. All my love to everyone back home!

Rest days in Rio Dulce, Gutemala

2008-07-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Day: 132

Miles: 300

I am now in a town Called Rio Dulce in Guatemala. After spending two days in Livingston, I took a boat up river to the next town with highway access, as Livingston is only accessible by ship. It was another rough boat ride as we made the journey through pouring rain in a small, non enclosed water taxi. The boat's captain gave us some plastic sheet to wrap around ourselves, but it didn't do much. Everyone was soaked after the hour and a half journey.

Its a shame I couldn't get any pictures of the ride though, as it was absolutely stunning. The river runs through a large canyon that is filled with all kinds of beautiful plant life, animals and ruins. There are little fishing villages along the river too, where locals paddle out in canoes to catch fish and bring back to their little palapas. It was truly a sight to see, even in the pouring rain.

I met some really cool people to hang out with and the first night in Livingston things got a little out of hand. The hostel we were staying at (Casa de la Iguana, fantastic place) was full of travelers from all over the world. We all hung out that night and started playing drinking games and it turned into a pretty wild night. I somehow ended up doing a strip tease on the rafters of the bar wearing an English girl's bra (Dad, I know reading that made you proud of your son!), and I blame it all on peer pressure and the cheap, strong drinks! That was just a small sample of the kind of antics that were going on all evening. It made for a very memorable night, to say the least.

A group of us all went up to Rio Dulce together and have been here since as it has been absolutely pouring rain. At $2.50 a night for a bed in a hostel that is literally on the water, I don't mind hanging out for a while. I hope it clears up tomorrow though, so that I can hit the road.

We had a fairly international group too, with Belguim, Norway, Israel, England, Finland, Japan, Canada, Ireland, America and France all represented in our group. That is truly one of the best things about hostels; meeting so many cool people from all over the world.

Rio Dulce itself is a small town that is the safest place to leave boats in the Caribbean, so it is chock full of yachts and ex pats. It is very interesting little town, and I have been enjoying my time here. Guatemala has turned out to be a really awesome place and you could easily spend a few months here. It is cheap, there is tons to see and do and the people are nice. All of the travelers I have met that have been touring Central America have said Guatemala has been their favorite, and I can see why.

One very interesting bit of information, a French guy who has been hanging out with us just bought a house in Guatemala on a mountain overlooking a lake. It is a three bedroom home with a fenced in yard. He paid, get this, $3,000 for it!! I couldn't believe it, and he is now the owner of a nice home with a magnificent view in the Gutemalan highlands. Talk about a deal. If you ever needed to get away from the craziness of western life, you could come out here with 10 grand, buy a house and live WELL for a year or two. That is pretty crazy.

A local family coming home from the market.
Rush hour traffic in Livingston.
This raccoon liked me, unlike the last one!
Anna, Sarah and Michelle, some really great girls I met and have been hanging out with.
One of the hundreds of docks in Rio Dulce.
My Hostel (Hostel Backpackers)

Me, enjoying a cold beer with my new friends.

A wonderful time in Belize, and now in Guatemala.

2008-07-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

(I forgot my notebook, so I do not have milage or budget figures in front of me, but I will update those as soon as I am able.)

I have been having an amazing time in Belize. This is just a flat out cool place. There are certainly some downsides such as poverty and some crime, but the upsides far outweigh the downs from my point of view.My last day in Orange Walk, my appetite came back in a big way. Previously I had been having trouble getting down more than two meals a day. But that day I felt my hunger come back and so I indulged a bit and in the course of one day went through: one plate of eggs, ham and beans with toast, a box of frosted flakes with milk, a plate of chicken with rice, beans and tortillas and 36 chicken tacos (they were so cheap!). So yeah, I am packing away the calories again.

After Orange Walk, I made my way towards the capitol, Belmopan. Everyone I have talked to has told me to skip Belize City and so I decided to go with that and see the rest of the country. On the way to Belmopan I rode with a local guy for about 10 miles. He was going to "chill out with his mom for a bit." He lived in Belize City (the Shitty as the locals call it) and his mom lived near Belmopan. He was a really cool guy named Earl (not the name I expected!) and he was pretty tough, riding 2 and a half hours each way bare foot on an ancient bike. He blew a flat on his rear tire half way but just kept going! That is not easy to do, and I know from experience.

One of the things I had noticed was that in Belize, there are cyclists everywhere. And not just the usual towns people going around doing their daily chores on bikes, but road bikers with name brand high quality racing bikes. It turns out the cycling is a huge sport in Belize, right behind soccer! Who knew? But I see them all over riding in team jerseys with support cars and everything. One team even had guys in rasta colored jerseys, and they all had dread locks flowing out from under their helmets. That was awesome!

I camped out that night in a pretty marshy area outside of Belmopan and my goodness, that was a shock. I hate the swamp as anyone who has read this knows, but Belize swamps are on another level. The bugs out here are prehistoric! I was being chased around by mosquitoes that were a half inch long! My worst nightmare! Despite wearing 100% DEET and covering up, one of them bit me through the shirt and it felt like I was getting a shot at the doctor's office. I saw the daemon bug and instead of swatting it like you do with a normal mosquito, I punched it! I was a little afraid it would block my punch and then beat me up, but it splattered in a big crunchy squish on my shirt. Yuck. These mosquitoes are horrendous and I had a nightmare that night that they got into my tent and my flashlight broke and I was swatting at them in the dark ineffectually and they infected me with some terrible tropical disease. Speaking of which, Belize is home to some pretty awful maladies, as well as being the country with the highest occurrence of Malaria in Central America. I started taking some Cholroquinine which is an anti malarial available here cheap, and I hope it is effective as Malaria would be a trip ender and possibly a life ender.

After Belmopan, I made my way towards Dangriga, a coastal town. I got a good tip from some locals to avoid the Manatee Highway which is mostly dirt and worse, home to bandits. Just two weeks ago some people were ambushed on the road and killed. So obviously, that was some really well appreciated advice, and I took the longer, but paved and safer Hummingbird Highway. It was a nice ride and I had the opportunity to stop on cool off in some beautiful jungle pools with waterfalls and the works. Just beautiful looking places. The only thing that stinks about the mountains here is that there are some bugs called Bat Las that live there and they are atrocious little beats. They are tiny, but they actually bight a chunk of you off and you will bleed afterwards, like a trickle of blood flows down your skin. DEET doesn't stop them and they destroyed my legs, I have little bites all over them and they itch for days.

These waterfalls are all over the place and make for a great and refrshing break in the jungle. Just have to look out for the Crocs they have out here!

Belize is great, but the roads pretty much suck, especially when riding in the mountains.

These are what the locals live in up in the mountains.

Lush countryside everywhere.

This was a cenote, a sink hole filled with water. They are all over the place in this part of the world and are just beautiful. They are aquamarine with waterfalls and so deep, you cant swim and touch the bottom, it kind of freaks you out a bit! But the water is cool and so nice to wash the sweat off of your body.

Not everyone in Belize is poor, there are some big ballers out here.

These kids were so cool, when I took the photo they just kind of looked at me funny, then I showed them their picture and they were just tickled pink. They started laughing and jumping up and down, it was really fun.

This is (from left to right) Fox Jr., Fox Sr., and Lion. Not pictured are Little Fox (the youngest kid) and Big Fox (and he was huge!). Really cool people.

I was making my way through the Maya Mountains towards Dangriga when I was waved down by a local guy who's bike had blown a flat. I pulled over to help him fix it and we got to talking and he invited me to his place for some food and water. We went and he served me some awesome stew that was made out of fish, plantains (they look like giant bananas), and some root that I can't remember the name of, all cooked in coconut milk served over rice with hot sauce. It was super good, and they had grown or caught all of the ingredients on their farm apart from the rice.

His name was Lion and he was a farmer and water delivery man. He was a super cool cat and I hung out with him and his neighbors, the Fox family. He and Fox Sr. were some hardcore fishermen and they told me some crazy stories about how they had caught massive fish. Two of the best stories were how Lion and his buddy hauled in a 450 lb Bull Shark by hand! They don't have fishing rods out here, they just use a reel with some high strength line. They pulled the Shark onto the beach with the help of two other guys and then dragged it up on shore by its tail! That was a pretty great story. Mr. Fox had to one up him though when he told me how he had caught a 200 lb grouper with a Hawaiian Sling (a piece of PVC pipe with a metal rod in it that is propelled through the water with a piece of rubber, like a sling shot. It is used like a spear gun while diving). He nailed the grouper in the head then speared it and dragged it up holding a rope he tied through its mouth (while it was still alive!) in his teeth!

Fox Jr. had a big cut on his chin and his leg and when I asked him about it they all laughed. Aparently Fox Jr. is the town wild man. He had attempted to jump a 10 foot drainage ditch on a a beach cruiser! That is insane! He made it the first time and when he tried to do it again, he ate it bad. It cracked me up because it reminded me of me when I was his age!

These guys were great story tellers and that is because that is what they do to entertain themselves. They live in wooden houses that don't even really stop the breeze, with no lights or running water, let alone TV. To pass their free time they tell stories and smoke a LOT of marijuana. They offered me a handful for what came out to $2.50, but I didn't think that would really help my bike riding skills so I politely refused. Here it is as normal for a lot of people as having a beer is for a lot of Americans back home. Parents smoke with their kids and don't think twice about it.

It is a really different life out here, they are very connected to the land. All of their stories were about nature and animals, weather events like hurricanes and floods, or growing crops, etc. Some of the stories they told me about the Jaguars were pretty amazing. They call them Tigers here, and the Jaguars will kill and drag 700 lb cattle up into the mountains. They are incredible animals and really big, just barely smaller than a lion. I hope I get to see one before I leave, but they tend to avoid humans.

They also told me about the muscle men of the jungle, or Ant Eaters. Apparently they are the strongest of the jungle animals and they can pull off flesh muscle and tendon from your limbs just by gripping you. One of the other little critters they described to me was an animal that was half raccoon and half mongoose. They travel in big packs of a 100 or more and apparently are very deadly. One of them can fight off 4 dogs at the same time. I can't remember the name though as these guys had thick accents and a lot of what they said was tough to understand, especially after they smoked a few joints.I spent the night at Lion's house and took off early for a place called Hopkins. It is a tiny fishing village on the coast that consists of one dirt road and a handful of houses. It is such a chilled out, mellow place. Everyone knows each other by name and they live really slow paced lives.

Lots of this in Belize, not too fun for long stretches. The dirt isnt so bad, but it is rainey season so its as much mud as dirt and there are big stones everywhere that make for a bone jaring ride.

I met two American Backpackers there from Kentucky, and we spent the day hanging out in hammocks on the beach drinking coconut milk from the palm trees all over the place. They had just gotten done backpacking Central America and gave me some really useful tips. They were flying home the next day, so it was great meeting you Ryan and Kyle, have a great trip.

Myself, Ryan and Kyle, all looking pretty scruffy!

This is how we spent the day, in hammocks on the beach just chilling out.

And drinking lots of cocnuts!

Some local Belizeans hanging out.

The bridge had been washed away in a recent flood, so you had to cross the river on this rickety plank bridge, even big rigs!

This is a Mayan village, I didn´t take any pictures of the Maya themselves so I feel like I didn´t violate their religous beliefs against having their picture taken.

There are a lot of Meninites in Belize from Germany. They are very similar to Amish people in America. Here is one of them rolling along in his buggy. Belize is just a funky place with so many different kinds of people, I love it!

These are two Canadian cycle tourists I met on the road. They were riding to Mexico from Panama, it was great to meet some fellow cyclists! They were really nice and we stopped and chatted for a good half hour.

I made my way to Punta Gorda from Hopkins and slept out in the Maya Mountains. I met a Maya man named Mr. Ack while getting some food and he was a really great guy. We chatted over lunch and he was very curious about my trip. He thought it was a pretty cool thing and offered to drive me up into the higher mountains where the Maya live in traditional villages and then to take me over the border into Guatemala. That would have been awesome, but I would have had to wait 4 days to do so, which was too long for me so I had to pass on the offer.

The Maya people here are so friendly. When you go through their villages, all the people smile and wave or come up to you and ask where you are going and where you are from. The little kids all run up and wave and some say hi, some say bye, and some just shout gringo, gringo! It always cracks me up. Their lives are so simple, and they seem so happy. However, I saw the downside to their life style too when I went into one of their homes to buy some water and I saw a little girl who had a horrible infection on her face. It was so bad that I couldn´t look at her. I knew that she was not going to see a hospital either and it was just sad. This poor kid would most likely be scarred for life because of a lack of medical care.

Speaking of which, I met a family in Punta Gorda waiting to go to Guatemala on the boat that had a child sick with Cancer. This poor kid couldn´t even walk he was so sick, and he would just randomly puke. He couldn´t even hold his head up when he did so. I felt so bad for him. The mom told me what it was like trying to get treatment for her child and it sounded like a living hell. Belize has no facilities to treat this type of cancer, and when they had given the little boy (3years old) a bone marrow test, they had taken the sample with no pain killers! The kid had some rough scars from it and they had messed it up and now he couldn´t walk. It was just a horrible story. They were taking him to Guatemala city for a blood transfusion hoping it would help. Things like that just break my heart and make me so thankful to live in a country where if your child were to get ill like that, you have at least have the potential of a cure. I am no doctor, but from what it looked like, that poor guy was doomed.

This is Livingston, Guatemala, a really cool little town.

I am in Guatemala now, and so far, I love it. I am staying in a hotel that is one block from the water in a really neat town called livingston, for 3 bucks a night! I have my own room too, not a dorm bed. The food is cheap as well, and the people I have met so far have all been super friendly and nice.

Getting here was a bit of an adventure though. I got to Punta Gorda at 9 am to catch the boat to Livingston, but the guy who was going to take me just deicded he didn´t want to go after all, so I hade to wait for the 2 pm boat. That guy showed up and then said he didn´t want to take me because of my bike. So then I had to wait for the 4 pm guy who was actually a straight shooter and got me and Artax to Guatemala, just not to Livingston! The ride was incredibly rough too and watching Artax bounce around in the front of the little boat was like watching your best buddy get held down and punched in the face repeatedly. Every time we went over a swell the boat would hit the water and the floor would flex under your feet, it was pretty scary actually.

So, I had to take another boat to Livingston, and watch Artax get beat up again, this time the rear rack snapped and is now held together with wire and duct tape. I didn´t arrive until 8 pm and as soon as I got off the boar a bunch of annoying stoned totes tried to ¨help¨me with my stuff (I HATE it when people touch my bike and trailer) and ¨guide¨me to a hotel, all for a few bucks of course. I kept telling them to beat it but they were persistant. I finally got them to take off after I told them flat out they wouldn´t get a dime from me. You get those types of guys all over the world and they are so annoying. I know they are trying to make a buck, but I am not obligated to pay them for services I don´t want.

Well, tomorrow I will head up the river on another boat (hopefully a nice calm ride!) and then head south towards El Salvador. All my love to everyone back home!

First Impression: Belize is awesome!

2008-07-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

A road in Belize...no signs, no lane markings, and pretty rough. But, beautiful country side!

This is a traditional Belizean home, although they are becoming more rare in favor of the concrete block homes I saw everywhere in Mexico.

Sooooo happy to be clean! Laguna Bacalar in Mexico.

Getting down to the lake was a bit of an adventure.

This lake was a welcome sight, I needed a bath after sweating through three tough days of riding.

A typical little Poblado in Mexico.

I found a great place to camp on an abandoned farm, out in the jungle in Mexico.

Day: 124

Miles: 40

Total Mileage: 6,366

Money Spent: 6-10: $34

I have only been here in Belize for a day, but what a nice day it was. Crossing the border was a cinch, I went across at the small town of Sta. Elena instead of the much larger Chetumal. I stopped to buy a nice meal as I had about $10 in pesos left over and so had a huge plate of chicken fajitas and loaded up on water.

You are meant to pay a $15 to $30 exit tax when leaving Mexico, but I didn't have that much and didn't want to go to an ATM so, as I usually do when crossing military checkpoints, I just put my head down and road through it and as usual, no one said anything just staring at me as I passed. I rode over the Rio Mahacal, got my 1 month Visa and that was about all there was to getting into Belize, it was a breeze.

Belize is a wonderful mash up of about a dozen different cultures. It began as a part of the Mayan empire, sometimes being conquered by rival kingdoms, but essentially Mayan, then it was conquered by the Spanish and became a colony. It served as a hideout and base for pirates and then the British came in with Caribbean and African slaves and workers to use the land for logging and agriculture.

In time, the land became a British colony in all but name. As a result of being a de facto part of the commonwealth, Belize has seen immigration from India, ex pats from Australia, England, and Canada, as well as quite a few Americans. There are also a number of Chinese, and Japanese living in Belize. The Caribean and Africans brought over to work still remain as well as Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants and the Garifuna, who are a mix of Carribean, African and indigenous peoples who speak a dialect of English that is so strong, it is basically its own language. (think: Hey mon, take it easy)

So essentially you have a crazy mix of people from all over the world who have come to this tiny, beautiful, tropical country that runs to a Bob Marley soundtrack. They all live side by side and on a single street, you can see families from every ethnic group you can imagine, all living and working in the same communities.

The official language here is English, but it helps if you can speak some Spanish as well. I have to admit, it is nice to be able to speak English again and to have everything written in English.
Within minutes of being here, I met nothing but nice people. I thought Mexico was full of incredibly friendly people, but I honestly think Belize may take that title if the rest of the country is as welcoming as the north. Everywhere I went, people were smiling, everyone waves at you and each other, little kids come out of their house to say hello and run along side the bike. Families hang out in the fron yard, talking to the neighbors, wathing kids play and just passing the time nice and easy. People who drove by me would honk and wave or give me a thumbs up. One guy pulled over to ask me where I was going and where I had come from and his son had a million questions for me. He thought cycle touring was about the coolest thing he has ever heard of and decided he would ride his bike across Belize when he was old enough. The funny part was, it was a Latino dad and son who spoke English with a Rasta accent! Stuff like that is common here and makes me laugh because it is so cool.

Here are a few quick examples of the kind of people I have met here.

While riding down the road trying to figure out how to get to where I was going (there are petty much no roadsigns of any type here) two teenage guys rode up next to me and asked me where I was going. They showed me how to get there and we rode together for about 7 miles shooting the breeze. They rode everyday on single speed beach cruisers to their sisters town about 10 miles away. In the heat here and wearing flip flops, that is no joke! They were also nice enough to show me where a water pump was where you could pump some water out of a well and take a little mini shower to cool off.

I didn't find an ATM while riding and I was trying to make it to the first city (well, a city by Belizean standards) called Orange Walk that had a bank. I ran low on water on the way as it was very hot and I pulled over to a shop in a tiny little town to get some water. Belize uses their own currency and American dollars, and I had a few quarters sitting in the bottom of my bag so I dug them out but unfortunately, the stores don't take American coins. So, I thought I was out of luck, but one of the 5 or so guys that was hanging out at the store told me to come back, and he bought me a Strawberry Fanta since I looked thirsty. How nice was that? Who could honestly say that they would buy a total stranger a drink just because he looked thirsty? I stayed and shot the breeze with the guys for a while and they all thought I was crazy but wished me luck on my trip.

Down the road, I saw a Shell Station and figured they would have an ATM or take credit cards for sure, so I stopped in. Unfortunately, they did not have either, but the lady running the store just gave me a bottle of water! I couldn't believe it, the people are just so friendly.

I made it to Orange Walk and its a pretty small city really, no buildings over three stories and only a few streets. But it was full of the same mix of people that were so nice. As I sat there checking out my map looking for a Hotel I had read about, a little kid skid slides on his bike up to me and says: "Hey dude, whats happenin?"

It almost brought a tear to my eye to hear someone call me dude!

I told him I was looking for the Akihoto Hotel ($15 for a two person room with TV) and he said, "Yeah bro, its right over there."

I could have hugged the little guy, being called dude and bro in the same conversation brought me back to California, if only for a second!

So I checked in and decided to stay here for a rest day. I am developing saddle soars on my rear end and so I decided to let them heal up for a day. That, plus I found a taco shop here that sells three chicken tacos for fifty cents!! I am in heaven!

I will rest all day today and then head towards Belize City tomorrow, I may blow by it though, and stay along the coast somewhere. I have decided to stay in Belize as long as possible and will ride all the way through the country to the far south, and then take a ferry to Guatemala. I will miss a lot of Guatemala, but I am enjoying Belize so much that I feel it is a fair trade off. Also, from what I have read and heard, the southern part of Belize sees nearly no tourism, which means that it will probably be more enjoyable for me. I am finding myself enjoying the little villages and towns in the country just as much or more than the cities.

Until next time!

Playa del Carmen to the Belizean border.

2008-07-10T09:40:00.000-07:00

Day: 123

Miles: 200

Total Miles: 6326

Money Spent: 6-08: $8.50, 6-09: $10.50

I am about to make my second international border crossing and decided to stop and update the blog as I had a few pesos left and saw an internet cafe.

The ride from Playa del Carmen to the border was a lot tougher than I had thought it would be. Despite that fact that it is very flat out here, I was having a really hard time puting any distance behind me. I still felt very weak from being sick, it has been very humid and I had a mild headwind. All of these things combined to just wear me out fast both days.

I quit early yesterday and the day before because I just couldnt ride any further. Tuesday I had a pretty good spill too when my back tire hit some gravel and I did a superman over my handlbars onto the pavement. Somehow I escaped injury despite the fact that I was traveling pretty fast. I found a great place to sleep that night on an abandoned farm that the jungel had began to retake.

Wednesday night I struggled again and when I found an access road that ran off into he jungle I turned down it and set up camp early. I think it will take a few days to get my legs and my endurance back.

I stopped in another Mayan village yesterday, and it was such a cool experience again. Every time I go into an indegenious village, I realize why traveling by bicycle is such a great way to go. You get to interact with people and see things that you just never would traveling by another means. These villages are off in the jungle, and can only be reached by dirt road. There are no signs, just a little path off of the main road that runs into the jungle. When you get there, it is nothing more than a collection of mud huts with roofs mae out of palm fronds. Every one in the village comes out to check you out too, which can be a bit strange. They just stand there and stare at you!

However, they are always very nice and they usually will have water or juice to sell. There is usually at least a couple of people that speak spanish too, so I can communicate in a basic fashion. I cant get any pictures though, as they have strong religous beliefs against having their picture taken.

Today I have been fighting the wind and am not just outsie of the border. I am going to cross into Belize today, and should be in Belize city tomorrow, and will stay there for a rest day.

This connection is incredibly slow, I will update pics tomorrow.

Hitting the road.

2008-07-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

My stomach bug kept flaring up and I have been laying low in Playa del Carmen. I decided to skip Isla Cozumel as my Visa is going to expire soon, and just head to the Belize border. It should take me about two days of riding to reach the border, and then I will cross on the morning of the third day.

From there I have some tough riding. Belize is relatively flat, but once i hit Guatemala, I hit some serious climbing all through Central America.

I am excited to change cultures a bit, I have been in Mexico for two months now and have had a great time, but feel ready for a taste of something new.

Two quick tips on great places to stay, in Cancun I stayed at Hostel Quetzal, which was 14 bucks a night with free WiFi and a great free breakfast. The hostess is a wonderful lady too and the place was full of interesting people.

In Playa del Carmen, I stayed at the Happy Gecko, which was also 14 a night and had a TV, bathroom and kitchen in each room, great location and a really helpful staff. I highly recomend this Hostel as well.

On a final note, I finally got rid of the hammock. The thing just didn't work for me. It is high quality, but I just couldn't sleep in it very well and i nearly never used it. It was just taking up space in my pack. I was going to ship it to my parents house but that would have been a waste of my money and their space. So I gave it to the owner of Hostel Qutzel as she was often getting hopeful guests even when she was booked and could put people who had no where else to go in the hammock, or even use it herself. I figured it was better to let someone else get some use out of it than to let it gather dust at my parents house.

So I am off, I will b making my second international border crossing this week and be making my way into Central America. Until next time!

Cancun to Playa del Carmen.

2008-07-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Day: 118

Miles: 38

Total Mileage: 6,126

Downtown Playa del Carmen, a very beautiful place.

This little guy looked like he was having a blast in the water.

I love the new camera!

This is Lola, the killer guard dog at out hostel.

I am currently in Playa del Carmen, it is a very beautiful place and a lot of f un so I decided to stay and postpone my trip to Isla Cozumel. On top of that, I was definitely not over my illness. It was only 66 kilometers to Playa del Carmen from Cancun, but it was a very uncomfortable ride for me as it was stiflingly hot and humid and i was feeling ill the entire way.

As soon as I arrived, I knew i wanted to sleep in a bed and get some AC. The first two days I just slept and tried to get over this stomach bug. I felt better yesterday and hit the beach and it is just beautiful here. The water is aquamarine, and warm. You can swim for hours and not get cold in the slightest. It is very European here too as opposed to Cancun which is more Americanized. For my money, Playa del Carmen is much more enjoyable and less expensive than Cancun.

I have been hanging out with a couple of Australian guys and some girls from Israel and we have been taking it easy, eating lots of tacos and getting plenty of beach time. I like Playa del Carmen quite a bit and have decided to stay through the weekend. I will then go to Cozumel on Monday.

I am really enjoying the new camera, it has so many features that I am playing with and I think it will allow me to take a lot of pictures that I would not have been able to in the past. The main limitation with my old camera was that it only had a 3x optical zoom, which was really limiting. My new camera has a 10x optical zoom and a stabilizer to allow me to take better shots of things in motion and at a greater distance. It also has a host of other features such as increased exposure times, and greater manual control to allow me to play with images more, which I really like. My old camera was a Cannon A470 that is rated very highly for an entry camera, and my new camera is a Kodak EasyShare ZD710.

Leaving Cancun after being pretty ill

2008-07-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

Day: 115

Miles: 298

Total Mileage: 6,088
(mileage is from getting to Cancun from Campeche)

I am leaving Cancun today, after several days of being very sick. I ate or drank something that did not agree with me and I have had some stomach pains and a fever. Also, anything I put in my body, including water, would come out of one end or the other of me within a few minutes. It really was not very pleasant. Yesterday I was finally able to keep everything down and went out and got all of my chores done. I had to get a new camera, which stunk, but I decided to upgrade to a better model. Nothing crazy, but I had only the basic entry level digital camera and I was starting to feel its limitations. It took nice pictures but I have started getting into photography and have been wanting a toy with more features, so I decided to step up a little bit.

So, I will have to be a lot more careful with this camera. It stinks dropping the money as it takes two weeks off of my trip, but I have to admit, I am pretty excited to play with my new toy.

My bike needed a ton of work done too, I spent three hours getting it looking shiny and new again. I replaced the rear and bob tire, put in new tire liners, and new tubes. I had to scour the rust off of all of the parts that were showing any and then paint over the exposed metal with clear nail polish (which works great by the way, thanks to the guys at the path for showing me that trick). After riding through a tropical storm for three days, I was getting lots of rust spots that needed cleaning. I changed the oil in the rohloff (thanks again Michelle!), and that went easily enough, and finally, I had to change the rear disk brake pad as it was not giving me enough stopping power any more. That is not bad though, it lasted 4 months of hard riding.

Today I am going to go to Playa del Carmen. I have heard mixed reviews about it from all of the other travelers I have met here, so I will make a judgment call once I get there. If it seems fun I will stay through the 4th of July, if not, I will go straight out to Isla Cozumel. The back side of the island is uninhabited and I plan on going out there and camping on the beach for a week or so. There is a reef there and good surf. So I will try and get my hands on a skim board or a body or surf board. I bought a snorkel and some gogles cheap, so I will go snorkeling too, and if I can do it cheap, I will get a fishing pole, or maybe just a line and lure, and see if I cant catch my dinner. Basically, I plan on chilling out big time.

From there, I will hit Tulum, and then head south into Belize and make my way through Central America, which I am very excited for.

The next update will have pictures, I promise!

Cancun is a lot of fun.

2008-06-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

This will be a quick update, I am battling a massive hang over at the moment that will only be cured by a big plate of tacos and some quality beach time.

Cancun is everything I thought it would be. White sand beaches, aquamarine water, thousands of tourists and a ton of cheesey fun.

Is it a tourist trap? Yes. Is it expensive? Yes. Are there steaming piles of kitsch everywhere you look? Yes. Is it totally lacking in authentic Mexican culture? Yes. Cancun is all of these things and more, but it is also an incredibly fun place despite all of that. Its like Vegas on the beach. I have met a ton of people from all over the world and half of them came to tour Mexico and ended up staying in Cancun for weeks! Its that kind of place, you get sucked in because there is so much fun to be had and everyone here is in a great mood and enjoying themselves.

Getting here was a nightmare though. I was riding through a tropical storm and being wet all day and night for four days straight is horrible. The wind was blowing so strongly that the rain was going sideways. It was coming down so hard, that I couldn't see 100 meters down the road. I was sopping wet all the time and sleeping out in the jungle every night constantly soaking wet is no fun. My toe nails have turned brown from the dye in my shoes. They were so wet all the time that the dye stained my toe nails. That looks great with flip flops, let me tell you. I was really happy to finally arrive in Cancun, have a cold beer some fish tacos and relax.

I am going to get a camera tomorrow so that I can start uploading pics again. That damned thief, I hope Karma catches up with him.

I will write more later, but I wanted to give a huge thanks to Mom and Pop for sending me a care package with a ton of useful stuff, that was so nice of you, I really appreciate it. And thanks to Michele for helping get the Rohloff oil change kit, that was clutch!

Rest days in Campeche.

2008-06-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

Day: 105

Money Spent:6-20: $31, 6-21: #34, 6-22: $16

The shot didn't come out like i'd hoped, the streets are too narrow to back up for enough to get everything in frame. But this is a church, unlike any i had seen before. It looked more like a fort with palisades on top and everything.

Me, on a warf but you can´t see it. Looks like im floating.

I liked the compostion of this shot. Some locals´ fishing boats.

This is how every city should be, a walking path, a jogging path and a bike path with marked lanes for traffic going in either direction!

Some locals going for a morning Kayak.

This is Campeche, a beautiful, clean, relaxing city.

an obligatory church photo.

Campeche again.

You cant seem them too well, but there are dozens of butterflies in this picture. They are everywhere right now, you cant go anywhere without seeing them flying all over, its fantastic.

Roasting in the heat as I climbed the hills to Campeche.

camp this night was nice and dry.

Some local school kids playing football.

This guy kept me company in the abandoned famr house during the rain storm. He and a bunch of scorpions.

Campeche is a great place. Its small enough to have a strong feeling of community, clean, beautiful and with lots to see and do. I had every intention of coming here and rocking the Kasbah for the weekend, but I found myself staying in, sleeping and eating a lot and chatting with my fellow travelers at the Hostel here. I feel very rested though and plan on riding straight through to Cancun for a good 4 or 5 days of fun, sun and fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them.

The only crappy part of these few days in Campeche was my camera getting stolen. I have never been robbed while traveling and I have always had a sort of honor among travelers mentality, and it has turned out to be a rather naive mindset, I am afraid.

I left in under my bed as I had been looking through my photos and ran out to get my laundry and grab some breakfast. I am usually the first person awake, and I was bake by about 8:30 am, and one of the two other guys in my room was gone and so was my camera.

The other guy in my room was a 47 year old painter from Iceland who is a super cool guy and I have been hanging out with him every day shooting the breeze and watching the Euro cup with the hostel owner, so I highly doubt it was him. He does not seem to lack for funds either.

Its just that feeling of being violated, I am seething with the injustice of it, but what can you do? Nothing. Better to trust in karma and just roll with the punches. Being angry about it does not change anything.

So, to hell with it, I will get a new camera and hopefully I won't miss any great shots until I can get a new one (all the cameras here are VERY expensive).