Universal Truth Part Duh

So, it appears I have to amend my previous statement RE: Universal Truths. As it turns out, there is only one response to the question "Would you like to spend the day on the beach with us" when posed by two Argentenian ladies, which is also, Universally, YES. Wow. What wonderful sweethearts. Heaven is apparantly somewhere twenty minutes north of Beunos Aires. As they say, one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. After some volunteer work on Ometepe Island, I headed back south to Costa Rica and picked up my friend JB for a little fun in the sun in Tamarindo. That is where I ran into Vicky and Dolores, and to my amazement had wonderful conversations that seemed to last for hours, be over way too soon, and never dull. It is strange sometimes how you can know someone for years and never trust them, then meet someone and immediately know they are worthy of knowing the best things about you, and your most guarded treasures. Now that my new friends have gone home, I have a Dolores hangover, and think i will work it off in Nicaragua. I almost felt bad the last time i was there because of how cheap things are. I felt like a dirty dog walking away from a couple of places knowing how much i just paid for what i got. Ten dollars will never be the same to me again.

Jungle Boogy

My friend Peter and I decided to hit Nicaragua for El Castillo, to celebrate his birthday. After a rather uneventful 4 hour water taxi ride to El Castillo, we ren into a couple of Canadians who had met a local willing to take them into the jungle if they found a couple of partners. Enter Alonzo and Peter. I wasn't nervous until our guide Miguel brought out the gallon sized Ziploc bag full of emergency shots and medications. 24 hours later we found ourselves kayaking down the Rio San Juan. After navigating the rapids from the outset, the next two days saw us: kayak 55 k down river, illegal border crossings, tucans, macaws, ospreys, crocodiles, caymans, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, 3 toed sloth, iguanas, wild chickens, bats, fresh tapir, jaguar and boar tracks, spent one night in the jungle, river shrimp the size of my forearm, fresh fish (that i caught out of the river), played in a waterfall, swam in crocodile infested rivers and Mayan ruins, mud up to my knees, Nicaraguan machette guides, an abandoned shipwreck, and last but not least, Miguels best friend who is a squatter running from druglords because he stole a couple of boats. Learned a few interesting things about Manatees and sailors, too. Miguel offered me a job if I want to help him run operations. That sounds a little better than sitting behind a computer screen for 9 hours a day, no? I might head back there with JB when he gets here, or I might have him meet me in the Cone Islands here in Nicaragua. So many choices. Any suggestions?

Finnish Him

All parties concerned about my liver (or physical well being in general) will be glad to know that the FInnish guys have left for home. Now might be a good time to tell you just a bit about them, now that they are safely out of reach. Jyri is a 27 year old manic depressive bipolar masochistic carpenter. Juska, Jyri's younger brother, was the typical younger brother who was always trying to keep Jyri out of trouble. Good luck with that. Joona is the 24 year old Finnish wrestling champion who sounded like he was announcing something to anyone who was listening when he spoke. And finally there was Eppie, a 26 year old raging alcoholic that looked straight Megadeths fan club, who couldnt stop talking about heavy metal and Steven Segal. It has taken a few days to get my bearings, now that they are left. The most touching moment the Finnish guys shared with me was the night that the police robbed me. They stood there, all four staggering from the nights worth of drinking, and emptied their pockets of all the change they had so that i could pay for my hostel the next day. I was still 10 dollars short, but it was pretty funny nonetheless. Well, its off to Nicaragua! Until next time...

Feliz Anos!!!

Its been a few days since my last post, and i am at a loss of where to begin. Lets start with a series of short sentences, for my peeps with limited attention span. Hmmm. Finished The Sun Also Rises. Love Hemingway. Spent three nights on the back of a truck in a garage in Santa Teresa because EVERYTHING was booked up. But, i was with the Brazillians, so it was OK. Acid. Ran into the Finnish guys at 4am at the NYE party. Best described as BurningMan on the beach. Ditched the Brazillians after one of them (maybe both) wet the bed. It wasnt even our bed. Needless to say, they have bad choices in friends. Woke up on the beach (with all my money, and my anus) in tact. Tracers. Surfing with the Finnish guys for the past couple of days. Hearing their stories, it is now a given that I have to go to Cambodia and Laos. In the process now of deciding whether I head to Bogata to meet a friend for a couple of weeks, or heading to Nicaragua to snorkle for a couple of weeks. Melanoma. OK, thats all my brain can handle for now. I have had a blast telling my friends here stories about my friends there. The more people i meet, the larger my world gets, and the smaller the world seems. I am SOOOO glad not to be at work right now. Or tomorrow, for that fact. Buenos!!!