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.