White Christmas

Spent Christmas Day with the Finnish dudes, and they made me regret it. I swear their livers should be renamed Alcohol Processing Centers, because they can put it away. After that, I traveled to Panama to a set of archipelagos called Bocas de Toro. Amazing stuff. Found a great beach with a few Swedes, and we were subsequently attacked by the killer dragos. Basically sand flies with a really piss poor disposition. We had to submerge ourselves in the water just to keep from getting eaten alive. It was almost as bad as being at work... Who am I kidding. I am forgetting what it was like to be at work, actually. Sorry you have to read that, for all you working folks. Since then i have been to a few other isles, and traveled back to Costa Rica for a layover before heading to Santa Teresa for New Years. Ive learned few universal truths in life, but when a Brazillian med student and her attorney girl friend invite you to Santa Teresa for New Years, you say yes. There is simply no other answer, guys. Besides, I didnt have anything to do that say... Buenos!!!

Finnish Line

Geesh. Yesterday was insane. Adrian, you have to promise not to tell mom what you are about to read... Property crime is pretty rampant here. In the few weeks ive been here, my friends have been robbed at knife point, a guy was pistol whipped, and a girl had her bag stolen from the beach. Luckily, the guy who stole the bag from the beach (who coincidentally robbed my friends) was caught by Rockin J, the sleezy owner of the hostel im currently at. , We watched as the robber was hand cuffed to a palm tree, kicked in the head twice, had ants put on him, tasered in the leg and balls, and punched repeatedly in the face. Then the cops came, took him away and say he will probably spend 5 years in prison. After that excitement, Jyri's brother showed up and introduced me to the Finnish Line. You crush a cheeto up and snort it. You then immediately snort a shot of beer (same nostril) and take a shot of guaro, the local sugar cane alcohol. In the morning, you know there is an explanation for the cheeto taste in your mouth and strangely orange boogers, but it takes a second for it to all come back. And so far it has been just in bits and pieces.

Finally Rested

Ive basically spent the last two days sleeping. Ive been pretty exhausted from all the travel, and was looking forward to just relaxing. Almost finished another book, and finally feel like ive got some energy again. I havent felt much like meeting people these last few days, as every minute provides a chance to meet someone new. Needed to get my bearings. We are headed for a bike ride to a beach just south of Playa Viejo for some swimming and then off to a womans house to tour her Chocolate Factory where she will walk us through the entire process of making chocolates - apparantly she does everything organically and right there at home. You will have to remind me to tell you about the inivited guest and Accidento Bizzzaro!!!! Just for pure reference sake, the weather here is 75 and im wearing flip flops, swimsuit and shades. Pura Vida!

You Cant Get There From Here

Talk about traveling... Five nights, five different hostels. Spent all day on a bus/ferry/bus/bus to get from Montezuma to Puerto Viejo. Did a little waterfall jumping a few days ago, which was a blast. Ran into the Brits that i was drinking with a few days a go just now on the street. 6 guys packed into a RAV4 with surfboards and luggage are hard to miss. Especially that they are of the hooligan crowd. The weather here is perfect, minus a few rain drops here and there. I got an email from a friend who is planning on coming to CR to meet me in a month or so. It will be strange to spend the holidays here, but the distraction will be worth it. Just finished Robinson Crusoe, and came across possibly my favorite quote ever written... "and now I saw, though too late, the folly of beginning a work before we count the cost, and before we judge rightfully of our own strength to go through with it".

Hangover Station

Got one hour of sleep last night. It´s hard to sleep when you are drinking with 6 Brits, 1 Dane, 1 Slovenian, 3 Norwegians and an Italian Born German. The drinking games are brutal, and confusing as shit when we start to use native languages. Got up this morning to head to Montezuma, as the bus left Tamarindo at 6am. I am getting a lot less weird looks from the locals now that I have a tan. From what I am told, Montezuma has waterfalls, surfing and perfect beaches. Panama City is the current destination for New Years, and then off to Columbia (maybe) via boat - you can´t arrive there via land because there are no border crossings from Panama. I am glad to leave the hostel in Tamarindo. The other day i used the bathroom and had some company - spiders, ants, mosquitos, geckos, a cockroach and butteflies. Heaven on Earth. I also ran across a family of monkeys crossing the street, successfully dodging the infamous "Monkey Cum Shot" Elizabeth warned me about. Those hours of playing Call of Duty came in handy, Dan. Mucho gracias. From the bottom of my heart I send you 25 collones and some rice and beans. Plenty of that going around here these days...

Buenos Dias!!!

Que pasa, amigos! Esta en Playa Tamarindo, working on that tan i´ve been dreaming about. It is great here. I have had an amazing time here so far. I got lucky and met a Tico (Shaggy) who surfs. We had a blast the first day, and he then took me to a hill that overlooks Coral Reef, Isla de Capitan & Playa Tamarindo. We picked up some weed, and then went back to his place for a few beers and casados. His home couldn´t have been anything more than a one car garage cobbled together with concrete blocks and two by fours. It was a blast. He took me fishing yesterday, and my Tico luck is just as good as my American luck; drowned a lot of bait, and left the fish in the ocean. Well, it´s off to surf and enjoy the sun. I will try to send some Portland way, no. Adios!

A little more than 24...

In just over 24 hours I am going to be on a jetplane, leaving Portland proper post-haste.  I keep remembering more stuff that i need to do before i bounce.  As long as i have my baby wipes, though, i think i will be a OK.  Ive had such a good time these past few weeks spending time with friends and saying goodbyes.  It hit me again today that when I arrive in San Jose, i will have left all that i know behind, and before me will lie a path yet discovered.  A huge thank you to all the people who have helped me get here, and a capitalized (but not punctuated) one finger salute to those who don't care.  The next time i log on & write I will be doing it with a sun tan, baby!  

Hey there!!!

This is the first official post of yours truly. Hopefully, if you are reading this, you care! I am making final preparations for leaving Ol' PDX. Lots of stuff to do before I leave, said the Ficus to the Fir. One more malaria shot. A little nervous, being that I don't have a place to stay yet. Or know anyone. Or conversationally speak the language. But, it will all be worth it when i havent shaved in a few weeks. Wish me luck as I pull it together to take it away! How do I find the bus station? I pray to thee, Lonely Planet, to guide me and keep me safe as i venture into the land of the Rich Coast.