ahhhh.... life is really relaxing. It has been hard to update the blog when every day has basically been the same. No i am not bored at all. i am really embracing the slow paced monotony. I know i will have plenty of time in my future to be running around.
Literally, i wake up, read for an hour or so. brush my teath, hop in the pool, make breakfast (it is probably like 9 am at this point) maybe read a little more or do some drawing, decide when we are gonna surf, hang out for a few hours by the pool, make lunch, go surf, come back, maybe drink a few beers, go to bed, then do it again.
that being said, there have been some interesting occurances.
We have been following the local baseball team and going to the games out here. Nicaraguan baseball games are legit. Everyone is smoking, drinking, and loudly talking shit about the pitcher's ex girfriend who is now sleeping with a member of the other team. There are the local drunks who attend every game and there is actually a job description for the guy who has to ussher these drunks back into the stands when they inevitably stumble onto the feild.
The ticket price is 50 cents, there are $1 beers, and a full plate of food is $2.50. Plus most weekends there is a double header so you make a day of it.
We also went to Omatepe island which is (apparently) the largest volcanic lake island in the world. We rode Scott's dirtbike on the ferry and i rented my own bike while i was there. We were like the show Chips as we motored all aorund the island. Really cool place to visit. Natual mineral springs to relax by, very friendly people, amazing views of the volcanos as you are surrounded by a huge lake.
An interesting anecdote of this trip was when we got a little lost on the moto's and tried to get back to the main road. We ended up crashing our way through a jagged rocky dry river bed until we hit an almost impossible section to get through. This riverbed happens to be a highway for locals who walk to and from work so they were laughing at us the whole way as we stumbled through. I tried to make it up this section and wrecked the bike a little. Nothing major, but slightly noticable to the trained eye. But after dusting my self off, The locals helped me push the bike up the rocky slope and we were on our way.
The next day i return the bike (including the cracked plastic light cover which i peiced on there attempting to hide the damage) and the lady said it was all good. We got on the ferry and i incurred no extra charges. phewww!
Until i got to the other side of the lake.
As we near the dock on the other side, i notice a ton of cops and a few military personel. Huh? they can't be waiting for me. it was just a dirt bike. I get off the ferry and they immidiatly start talking to a few people asking them their name. Then asking them if they know a michael. Oh Shit! They finally get to me and i admit my name . I little nervouse, i manage to figure out what the hell is going on. I guess i put $100 of damage on the bike and they wante me to get into a taxi with them to the atm to pay them. All thsi for $100. I suppose Nicaraguan police are pretty bored. So i comply and go to the atm with them, making sure Scott follows me on the dirtbike so they don'e haul me off to no-mans-land. Small price to pay to avoid Nica jail. exciting times.
Oh yeah, I also got pretty creative with facial hair again. this time i sculped the pencil thin mustach with a mole beard. Which means that i shaved everything exept for a pencil thin mustache and a small clump of hair that exentuates a small mole on my face. It was so hidious that Scott got uncomfortable looking at me. which says a lot for him.
Now i am getting ready to leave nicaragua. I depart on the 6th on my own and am meandering back through costa rica to meet friends in panama who are in search of good waves. It will be nice to see more friends from home. Scott is meeting up for this trip too. After that i plan to do a solo trek farther down south into colombia and ecuador. Looking forward to the experiences ahead and to see what it feels like traveling by myself.
here are some pics. two slide shows this time since i did not have time to combine the albums.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
3 weeks and counting in San Juan Del Sur
The people here are great. Both the locals and gringos give off this great embracive vibe. It is a small town and you get to know people fast. That being said, everyone knows about everyone elses business. For instance,
One night we wanted to go out and needed a ride to town so one of our friends haled a bicycle taxi to peddle up a 4k hill to pick us up. Sweaty and exhausted, the taxi peddler was thankful to be going back downhill into town. But when we started to pick up some more speed , and as a truck was beeming down on us from behind, he lost control and slammed us into the side of the hill on the road. Faces were smashed into the brush, belongings were strewn along the road, injuries and laughter ensued, and everyone seemed to find out about it the next day. No one´s life is a secret and information travels very fast.
I asked our friend (who is putting me up) if she had seen some ceramic plates that were missplaced in our kitchen area. Within 2 min of that conversation, one of the night watchmen was accused of steeling them and on the verge of getting fired. You really have to watch what you say even if it is completely inocent.
All in all life is very relaxing out here and i have just been enjoyig the down time. I keep busy by doing some reading, writing, drawing, and when their is opportunity, surfing.
Gov bought a moto bike out here. We got a surf rack on it and now have our own wheels to the beach. The bike is a fun toy and we promise to be careful and not to crash. Surprisingly, the ocean water is like 60 degrees out right now. Cold enough to make my feet numb after 30 min. Not prime conditions.
Other than that, i have slipped into a routine which i enjoy sustaining for the time being. My computer, konked out on me so unfortunitly i have to come into town to keep the updated. So apologies for the future update delays.
One night we wanted to go out and needed a ride to town so one of our friends haled a bicycle taxi to peddle up a 4k hill to pick us up. Sweaty and exhausted, the taxi peddler was thankful to be going back downhill into town. But when we started to pick up some more speed , and as a truck was beeming down on us from behind, he lost control and slammed us into the side of the hill on the road. Faces were smashed into the brush, belongings were strewn along the road, injuries and laughter ensued, and everyone seemed to find out about it the next day. No one´s life is a secret and information travels very fast.
I asked our friend (who is putting me up) if she had seen some ceramic plates that were missplaced in our kitchen area. Within 2 min of that conversation, one of the night watchmen was accused of steeling them and on the verge of getting fired. You really have to watch what you say even if it is completely inocent.
All in all life is very relaxing out here and i have just been enjoyig the down time. I keep busy by doing some reading, writing, drawing, and when their is opportunity, surfing.
Gov bought a moto bike out here. We got a surf rack on it and now have our own wheels to the beach. The bike is a fun toy and we promise to be careful and not to crash. Surprisingly, the ocean water is like 60 degrees out right now. Cold enough to make my feet numb after 30 min. Not prime conditions.
Other than that, i have slipped into a routine which i enjoy sustaining for the time being. My computer, konked out on me so unfortunitly i have to come into town to keep the updated. So apologies for the future update delays.
Monday, February 23, 2009
costa rica, panama and beyond
ok, ok, so i know i have not been updating this as often as i would like, but it is because we just finished up a serious sprint.
Gov met up with my dad and i at our hotel for the last night in san jose. Leo left at 4 am the next morning so i said my goodbyes the night before. (No way i was getting up) gov and i woke up leisurely and manhandled the last all you could eat buffet before transitioning to a more economic lifestyle.
Then it was off to the races. We covered a lot of ground so I'll try to some it up with the highlights. we went to jaco for a night where we were inundated by whores and tourists and subway. I have never been to a all you can whore, whore bar before but it was an interesting experience. One i don't need to have again but a good place to take a girl on a first date.
next we went down the coast to Playa hermosa, a really chill stretch of beach inhabited by mostly tourist surfers. (in fact, there are just a ton of tourists in costa rica from all over) We stayed for a couple of nights since the vibe was nice and the surf was good.
next was manuel antonio just south of hermosa on the pacific coast. A Picturesque beach with a very tourist friendly town to boot. Gov was sick at night so i went out by myself and ended up meeting a ton of people and having a blast. Cool spot to visit.
We then decided it was time to get out of costa rica and we hightailed it to panama. Interestingly enough we were only in panama for 4 days checked out the canal, a surf town, and a mountain town that looked like it could have been in germany. then back up to costa rica where we crossed a pretty sketchy border on the Caribbean side. A couple of cab facilitators almost fist fought over who was going to help us across the footbridge they called a border.
but we made it to puerto viejo where we stayed at the most ridiculous hostel ever called rocking j's. a mega hostel with tents, hammocks, life music and a full bar. the party was always going on here. good times, but had we stayed more than 2 days we would have gone insane. tough lifestyle to keep up.
me meandered back over to the pacific side to santa theresa which is a town i wish we spent more days in. Good surf, nice accommodations for cheap and apparently you have to belong to the beautiful people's club to hang out here. it is like they pay people to stand around and look good. it was a trip.
now we are in san juan del sur, nicaragua staying with some of gov's friends who own a yoga community. this is day 3 and so far i have surfed and done yoga every day. I sleep in their garage (for free) and eat beens and rice. life is good. I think we may even get to join the local san juan soccer club with some locals. we have practice today at 5. wish me luck.
some final thoughts after this round of traveling: We have seen so many places in such a short amount of time. I am thankful for all the visual experiences we have gotten, however i can't say i really know one place or another. we didn't hang around long enough to let each place soak in.
Some people have asked me to comment on the culture of folks out here. Well, unfortunately it is tough for me to do. how does the saying go... a roling stone collects no moss..? well a sprinting traveler does not get a chance to really hang out with the locals. Everyone who i have conversed with has been friendly, helpul and interested in my story, but alas each of these relationships does ot last for more than 30 min at a time. I think for the time being i am going to walk a little slower.
Traveling so fast is really fun, but is exhausting. Keeping both those things in mind, i am happy to be stationary for a while and get a chance to really absorb my surroundings.
Sorry no pics this time. it takes to long for me to upload them with the connection i have.
Gov met up with my dad and i at our hotel for the last night in san jose. Leo left at 4 am the next morning so i said my goodbyes the night before. (No way i was getting up) gov and i woke up leisurely and manhandled the last all you could eat buffet before transitioning to a more economic lifestyle.
Then it was off to the races. We covered a lot of ground so I'll try to some it up with the highlights. we went to jaco for a night where we were inundated by whores and tourists and subway. I have never been to a all you can whore, whore bar before but it was an interesting experience. One i don't need to have again but a good place to take a girl on a first date.
next we went down the coast to Playa hermosa, a really chill stretch of beach inhabited by mostly tourist surfers. (in fact, there are just a ton of tourists in costa rica from all over) We stayed for a couple of nights since the vibe was nice and the surf was good.
next was manuel antonio just south of hermosa on the pacific coast. A Picturesque beach with a very tourist friendly town to boot. Gov was sick at night so i went out by myself and ended up meeting a ton of people and having a blast. Cool spot to visit.
We then decided it was time to get out of costa rica and we hightailed it to panama. Interestingly enough we were only in panama for 4 days checked out the canal, a surf town, and a mountain town that looked like it could have been in germany. then back up to costa rica where we crossed a pretty sketchy border on the Caribbean side. A couple of cab facilitators almost fist fought over who was going to help us across the footbridge they called a border.
but we made it to puerto viejo where we stayed at the most ridiculous hostel ever called rocking j's. a mega hostel with tents, hammocks, life music and a full bar. the party was always going on here. good times, but had we stayed more than 2 days we would have gone insane. tough lifestyle to keep up.
me meandered back over to the pacific side to santa theresa which is a town i wish we spent more days in. Good surf, nice accommodations for cheap and apparently you have to belong to the beautiful people's club to hang out here. it is like they pay people to stand around and look good. it was a trip.
now we are in san juan del sur, nicaragua staying with some of gov's friends who own a yoga community. this is day 3 and so far i have surfed and done yoga every day. I sleep in their garage (for free) and eat beens and rice. life is good. I think we may even get to join the local san juan soccer club with some locals. we have practice today at 5. wish me luck.
some final thoughts after this round of traveling: We have seen so many places in such a short amount of time. I am thankful for all the visual experiences we have gotten, however i can't say i really know one place or another. we didn't hang around long enough to let each place soak in.
Some people have asked me to comment on the culture of folks out here. Well, unfortunately it is tough for me to do. how does the saying go... a roling stone collects no moss..? well a sprinting traveler does not get a chance to really hang out with the locals. Everyone who i have conversed with has been friendly, helpul and interested in my story, but alas each of these relationships does ot last for more than 30 min at a time. I think for the time being i am going to walk a little slower.
Traveling so fast is really fun, but is exhausting. Keeping both those things in mind, i am happy to be stationary for a while and get a chance to really absorb my surroundings.
Sorry no pics this time. it takes to long for me to upload them with the connection i have.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
trip to costa rica with my dad
What a great trip.
Not just the natural beauty of the country but a great pleasure to spend so much time with just me and my dad. From drinking JW Red every night before pigging out at all you can eat buffets to getting completely drenched by rain on a riverboat as you are hunting wild beasts to photograph to sitting on the bus on route to a fantastic destination as the tour guide instructs us on the famous sex tourism and prostitution within the country. (no, we did not take part)
a truly fantastic vacation/adventure that i will cherish for the rest of my life. Thanks dad for the memories! (i wanted to make a public thank you)
We cruized all around the country in a bus full of others on the tip. a lot of doctors on the tour so we were covered. Saw a ton of wild life, more than i can say i was able to document. But a howler monkey did take a shit on the porch of one of the cabins were were staying in. At least he did not throw it at us. Otherwise i would have been forced to retaliate in exactly the same way. And i had been eat all you can eat buffets the entire time. i think I'd win that battle
here are some photos from our great trip. now Gov and i are cruizin the pacific coast in hopes of epic surf, relaxing times, and new adventures.
Not just the natural beauty of the country but a great pleasure to spend so much time with just me and my dad. From drinking JW Red every night before pigging out at all you can eat buffets to getting completely drenched by rain on a riverboat as you are hunting wild beasts to photograph to sitting on the bus on route to a fantastic destination as the tour guide instructs us on the famous sex tourism and prostitution within the country. (no, we did not take part)
a truly fantastic vacation/adventure that i will cherish for the rest of my life. Thanks dad for the memories! (i wanted to make a public thank you)
We cruized all around the country in a bus full of others on the tip. a lot of doctors on the tour so we were covered. Saw a ton of wild life, more than i can say i was able to document. But a howler monkey did take a shit on the porch of one of the cabins were were staying in. At least he did not throw it at us. Otherwise i would have been forced to retaliate in exactly the same way. And i had been eat all you can eat buffets the entire time. i think I'd win that battle
here are some photos from our great trip. now Gov and i are cruizin the pacific coast in hopes of epic surf, relaxing times, and new adventures.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Eww! Don't look at me when you do that
Got to San Jose, Costa Rica and life is good. As soon as we arrived, we made a friend at the hotel we were staying at and he liked us so much, he gave us a free performance. His name is Don Kiko and in any other country this would have cost at least $5.
Sorry the video is sideways. I will course correct next time. Also, let me know if there are issues with loading times. I am trying to get vids uploaded correctly.
Turn up sound for commentary
Sorry the video is sideways. I will course correct next time. Also, let me know if there are issues with loading times. I am trying to get vids uploaded correctly.
Turn up sound for commentary
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Road Trip To Texas
My dad and I had to take care of some administrative stuff in the states so we made a road trip out of it. We traveled north to texas which is the closest US border.
Northern Mexico is mostly high desert; full of Joshua trees and rocky mountain ranges that thrust violently toward a sun bleached sky. I was surprised by its rugged beauty and even romanticized what it must have been like to be an outlaw cowboy running from the texas rangers into ole mexico.
I did not foresee this happening, but it felt really nice to be back in the states. Even after only 2 months i missed the country I call my home and felt more of a kinship towards it than i have in a long time. Despite all the ultra right wing texas radio talk shows bad mouthing Obama I really enjoyed texas.
We stopped in San Antonio for a night where my dad and i cruised down to the Riverwalk and dined on ribs, brisket and Budweisers. Damn that felt good.
After which we went to Austin where i had some business to take care of. I had my last day consulting for LegalMatch and spent the day in the offices there. So that is the last of my work obligations for now and although i no longer have a steady income, i am also no longer obliged to be tied to a computer. But Austin is a fun town full of open minded people (generally speaking compared to the rest of texas) and i had fun partying there that friday night.
After Austin we drove to Katy, which is a town just outside Houston where Trudy and her kids, Chris & Jenny, and their families live (old time family friends. People who knew me since before i was born) Even though i am Jewish, it felt like Christmas while i was over there. There were toys all around, i got to play guitar hero and mariokart on wii and drink beer and eat good food without having to worry about being anywhere. A very nice feeling full of love. Not to mention i ate taco bell which i had been craving. #7 with a baja chalupa please!
I also bought myself a mini laptop for my travels. My new favorite toy. this thing weighs less than 3 pounds; dimensions measuring 10x6inches (give or take) So now i can mooch off of free wifi while i am traveling and keep everyone posted while abroad.
It took a couple of days to drive back to Ajijic, but now we are here and getting ready for our departure for Costa Rica on the 23rd.
Northern Mexico is mostly high desert; full of Joshua trees and rocky mountain ranges that thrust violently toward a sun bleached sky. I was surprised by its rugged beauty and even romanticized what it must have been like to be an outlaw cowboy running from the texas rangers into ole mexico.
I did not foresee this happening, but it felt really nice to be back in the states. Even after only 2 months i missed the country I call my home and felt more of a kinship towards it than i have in a long time. Despite all the ultra right wing texas radio talk shows bad mouthing Obama I really enjoyed texas.
We stopped in San Antonio for a night where my dad and i cruised down to the Riverwalk and dined on ribs, brisket and Budweisers. Damn that felt good.
After which we went to Austin where i had some business to take care of. I had my last day consulting for LegalMatch and spent the day in the offices there. So that is the last of my work obligations for now and although i no longer have a steady income, i am also no longer obliged to be tied to a computer. But Austin is a fun town full of open minded people (generally speaking compared to the rest of texas) and i had fun partying there that friday night.
After Austin we drove to Katy, which is a town just outside Houston where Trudy and her kids, Chris & Jenny, and their families live (old time family friends. People who knew me since before i was born) Even though i am Jewish, it felt like Christmas while i was over there. There were toys all around, i got to play guitar hero and mariokart on wii and drink beer and eat good food without having to worry about being anywhere. A very nice feeling full of love. Not to mention i ate taco bell which i had been craving. #7 with a baja chalupa please!
I also bought myself a mini laptop for my travels. My new favorite toy. this thing weighs less than 3 pounds; dimensions measuring 10x6inches (give or take) So now i can mooch off of free wifi while i am traveling and keep everyone posted while abroad.
It took a couple of days to drive back to Ajijic, but now we are here and getting ready for our departure for Costa Rica on the 23rd.
Adios Mustacheo
It is my obligation to inform you that after 2 and a half months of full growth and companionship i shaved my handlebar mustache. The decision was a tough one. We laughed together, we drank together, and we creeped girls out everywhere we went together (except for the older ladies who really seemed to like it.... interesting social experiment i must say) you see... with a substantial lip hair waterfall encroaching on your teeth, one's smile becomes compromised by a fucked up gap toothed effect. (notice the last picture in the slide show)
Despite all the good times we shared, I was not prepared for the responsibility involved in the ongoing maintenance of such a face pet. I had to clean it, feed it, brush it, love it, and pick up the shit it seemed to leave behind.
That being said, i did take some pictures in its loving memory and was even able to establish a new benchmark in mustache tricks i have yet to see or hear of anywhere else.
I implore you to observe, appreciate and attempt to innovate.
Click to enlarge the slide show
Despite all the good times we shared, I was not prepared for the responsibility involved in the ongoing maintenance of such a face pet. I had to clean it, feed it, brush it, love it, and pick up the shit it seemed to leave behind.
That being said, i did take some pictures in its loving memory and was even able to establish a new benchmark in mustache tricks i have yet to see or hear of anywhere else.
I implore you to observe, appreciate and attempt to innovate.
Click to enlarge the slide show
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