Leon and El Salvador

Have now made it to Guatemala. After partying it up in Granada for a few days, I decided to start heading towards Guatemala. Ended up going to Leon, and stayed at a hostel called Big Foot. Was a cool town.......it is considered to be more liberal than the colonial Granada (the university is there). As I had said before though, I was pretty exhausted from Granada, so I actually packed it in early both nights that I was there. Made it to the beach one day, but didn't get to do any surfing. Still trying to find a decent guitar to buy, but haven't had any luck. The ones here are all garbage, and they're still looking for over 100 bucks. Tried to buy one off a guy at the beach, but he wouldn't sell it to me. Next day, we caught the Tico bus to Honduras for $25. It is a little more $$$ because it is basically a luxury coach (like a Greyhound), instead of the standard school buses that I've gotten used to. The border crossing is still a little nerve wracking. They have a line up of heavily armed military dudes waiting for you. They clear everyone off, unload all the bags, and then line us up in front of the bags. After that, they go through each pack and question you. As soon as they see the Cdn flag though, they crack a little joke, and then send you through. We just ended up passing through Honduras, and then into El Salvador. Stayed at a hotel in San Salvador. It is very Americanized......they actually still used the US$ as their currency. It was pretty pricey there too. Had to pay $13 bucks each for the room. It had A/C and a TV though.....AND, most importantly, it had warm showers! I forgot how amazing they feel. I took one of my patented 25 minute showers (I don't care what any of you say.......us North Americans take these awesome warm showers for granted! Ha). The funniest part about San Salvador was the amount of armed guards everywhere. Even the Sushi shop next to our hotel had a guy standing outside with a shotgun. Literally every single store on our road had an armed guard. We actually also saw some crazy looking dude with a machine gun walk out into the middle of the road, because he was protecting the people that were pulling out of their driveway in a Benz. Made it to Guatemala the next day. Guatemala city was even more Americanized than most American cities......if that makes any sense. Just watched the soccer game there, and then jumped on a heavily overcrowded school bus to Antigua. They literally fit 3 to a seat, with people standing. It is quite the experience. Some of the buses actually still have the school rules listed (no standing up when the bus is moving). Made my next major translation/pronounciation error the other day. After coming out of the bar, I was starving and was looking for something to eat. I wanted to tell the cabbie that I was hungry (tengo hambre), but instead I pronounced it as 'tango hombre', which basically is like saying I wanted to tango with a man. These spanish folk are so damn picky with their pronounciations. The little French that I know is more of a hinderence than a help. I think the cabbie got the point though when I started making the gesture of eating my hand. Have been watching lots of world cup. Starting to really get into the games. Actually got nervous today watching the England/Portugal game, when it went to penalty kicks. Back is doing OK. Good days and bad. The beds here are pretty good, but once again, they are about 2 inches too short for me. On average, I crank my head here about 2 to 3 times a day. I think that I'm starting to get numb to it. Anyway, in Antigua now. Probably the coolest little town that I've been to since I got to Central America. Guatemala in general is good and cheap as well.....probably on par with Nicaragua. Will probably be hanging out here for a little while. Staying at the Black Cat hostel. Cool spot. I'll check in soon. Bye for now. Ryan

Granada

Wow, what a party town. I´ll have to say, that the Bearded Monkey hostel was everything that we hoped it was going to be. I have tons of pics, but unfortunately, the majority of them were taken in bars.

Granada is actually supposed to be the nicest town in Nicaragua.....very colonial. It used to be the capital of the country, but it has quite the history. It was actually burned down by an American (William Walker anyone) over a 100 years ago, but lots of it survived. (Nicaragua has been plagued by US intervention for most of its recent history.....the states wanted it for moving goods between the 2 Oceans. There are still anti Reagan signs around). Pretty cool markets here, but I still havent found a decent cheap guitar. The vendors are looking for 130 bucks.....basically 3 months salary for them. My spanish still isn´t good enough to negotiate yet (Eso es muey caro amigo!!!!)

I showed up here with 6 of us from Isla de Ometepe (Nick, Ross, Amanda, Cecilia, Sandra). We then hooked up with 4 or 5 others that we had met in Costa Rica, along with the Cdn contingent (the girls from Alberta). Translation- I partied 4 nights straight. We have been buying the local rum (Flor de Cana) by the bottle. The 2nd night a full force ice war broke out in the bar (jamming ice down each other shirts-pants). Not high on the maturity scale, but damn, I forgot how fun it could be. AND, just as the owner was giving us the warning about being kicked out, the waiter brought the next bucket of ice. The pics are classic. Nick actually delivered an atomic wedgee on one of the girls (Greg, I think you can explain what that is).

I´m getting too old for 4 nights straight though. I have now been to bed at 10.00 two nights straight. Drinking lots of water. AND, taking 1 hour siestas.

Nick wanted us to buy him a gift at the market, so Cecilia and I found a deck of naked women playing cards. Well, they turned out to be a lot more hardcore than I expected. We have been playing poker with them......aka. porn poker. No real gambling though......just units of country pride. PS - the Irish have no pride.

I bought a CD at the market that reminded me of listening to the radio when I was younger.....country´s greatest hits. Lots of Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, and a little ´Playing with the Queen of hearts¨. Was a big hit at the hostel.

Greg, I rolled out your quarter quarter dollar joke. It was a big hit. The power was out and we were all sitting around the bar with candles....was the perfect time.

We all watched Old School and Team America yesterday. A bunch of the crew hadn´t seen Team America before, so you could imagine the laughs. Unfortunately it was the rated version, so they didn´t get the best part.

We went to another crazy place called the Monkey Hut (same owner). It was amazing. It is a cottage like place on a giant crater lake (natural spring lake in the crater of an old volcanoe......20 million years kind of old). The water is so crystal clear, that you can open your eyes underwater. The scenery was stellar. We spent the afternoon lounging in hammocks, jumping off docks, and paddling around in tubes and kayaks. Tough life I tell you. Amanda took a stellar pic of us jumping off the dock and mooning the camera. The girl working there said she wanted a copy for the website.

Anyway, I´m now in Leon staying at a hostel called Big Foot. Plan was to head for the Pacific to go surfing for the afternoon, but the old back has been a little cranky, so I may be just left watching from the shore.

Talk to you later.

Ryan

Nicaragua

Back in civilization.

As I said before, Nicaragua is awesome. It is exactly what I was picturing when I planned this trip. People are super nice (locals are called Nicos), culture is authentic, food is great, scenery is stellar, and there is a solid backpacking curcuit. So far, the weather has been fantastic. It would be pretty tough travelling during the dry season with the crazy heat. Temperature now is perfect and everything is super lush and green. Nicaragua used to be pretty unstable about 10 years ago, but now it is being built up everywhere. The auzzie was telling us the land values have gone up 10 fold over the past 5 years. Century 21 is all over this place, and they have actually starting buying up a lot of it.

The first night I stayed in a town called San Juan. Hostel was a little rough.....well, on me anyway. It was my first real dose of poor living conditions. Basically a dumpy garage, literally on the side of the road. My head was practically hanging out on to the street, separated by a couple of steel bars (a parade actually went by, about 7 feet from my head....good view I guess). During the night, the guy in the bunk below me rolled over and I jumped up thinking that somebody was reaching through the bars and shaking my bed. Definitely an adjustment. Also, you have to become one with the bugs, or else sleep becomes even more of a rarity.

Next day we heard about a beach about a half hour away, called Majagual. It was stellar. Basically a hostel with its own private exotic beach. Living conditions were a step down from the previous hostel though. Set a record though for the largest dorm that I´ve ever been in......32 beds. And, I wouldn´t call it a dorm........more like a prison camp. I actually spent one night with water dripping on my forehead. The place was damn cool though. Cool swinging chairs, awesome sunsets, and some pretty good surf. I cant get over how giant the waves are here. We actually couldn´t go surfing for a couple of days, because they were too crazy. Got to watch some awesome surfers though. We actually had a cool night there where a few Spánish dudes put on a show with some latin music. Hostel was owned by a cool Auzzie guy named Paul. Got to play cards and hang out with the local Nico dudes working there.

Nico Time
This Nico time thing is pretty funny.....you definitely have to adjust. It is pretty much pointless to be on any kind of schedule. For the ride back to town, we were told that 2Can the truck was leaving at 5 (it was me, the Irishman, and an Aussie looking to get the lift). Five turned to 6, then 7.30, then another 20 minutes. We finally left at 9, after sitting around for 4 hours (cars can´t handle these roads). Then, about half way through the ride back, the truck stops and turns around! I asked my buddy what the hell was going on and he said that they had decided to go for a beer! Ha (after waiting 4 hours.....I guess why not). We ended up hitting this hole in the wall bar on the side of the road, and pounded beers with the owner of the hostel, and all the Nico workers that we had met when we were there. It ended up turning into a pub crawl. One of the spots we hit actually had a jukebox.......no windows, doors, or flooring, but a giant jukebox! I threw on some Paradise City from Guns n Roses and the Nicos loved it.

The funniest part is, is that by the time that actually got us into the nearest town, it was about midnight and all the hostels were closed for the night! We actually had to go all the way back to Majagual with them!!! Ha (impossible to leave). That of course, after hitting a few more bars. Was probably the highlight of the trip so far. Me the Irishman and the Aussie have been travelling together ever since.

Isla de Ometepe
Super awesome spot. Its an island with 2 twin volcanoes on it....one of them still being active. My love of mountains has now expanded to volcanoes. They are the coolest things. I got a stellar pic of the sun setting behind one of them. The locals put a cross at the top of one of the volcanoes in Nicaragua as they had thought that it was the gateway to hell.........a look at this picture and you can see why.

The first night, I stayed at a resort at Chaco Verde. Felt amazing to get a shower and a nice meal after my 2 day pub crawl. The lake is giant (10th largest fresh water lake in the world) and the beaches are wicked. Everything just runs free here......chickens, pigs, horses, dogs, monkeys. I then moved on to a plantation that accepts backpackers. Super cool spot called Zopilote......run by hippies. Everything was organic. By this time there was a group of 7 of us who had met on the ferry. They were happy to see us, because it meant that they could fire of the stone oven and do a pizza night. We didn´t have power in the evenings.....so it was all by candlelight. Kind of felt like summer camp or something. Beds were shit though, so I didn´t get much for sleep. And yes, I got to experience my first outhouse of the trip. Strangely enough, it was actually much nicer than most of the washrooms that I´ve had the pleasure of using.

We did a guessing game about each others ages (there was about 10 of us in total staying at the plantation). They decided that I was 23!! Ha! It ended up that I was the oldest at 28. The Aussie asked me what the midlife crisis was like.

If I ever end up owning a farm, the first thing I´ll do is lay a beating on all the rosters, and train them to shut the hell up in the morning. The howler monkeys are little bastards as well. They sound like giant apes. Pretty eerie actually.

Have learned to play the international backpackers card game.......its called shithead. Its pretty cool, because it transcends language........and pretty much everyone knows how to play it. Given my lack of Spanish, its nice to be able to interact, although, I must admit that I´m becoming somewhat of a master at sharades.

Got to do laundry yesterday.....thank God. Showers were becoming pointless, given that my towel smelled so bad.

Anyway, my pictures have now uploaded, so I´m out of here. Happy hour just started.

Updates are a little tougher when I´m going through the more rural areas, but keep checking in as I can update when I hit the ¨cities¨. Loving all the comments. I´ve been showing some of my travelling friends the blog and they can´t get over it......especially that there was even another MLA who posted a comment!

Here are the pics. Note that I have posted the rest of the Tamarindo pics on the previous post.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.1ujkvsnd&x=1&y=-sjkuu8

Talk to you soon.

Ryan

Quick update and the Rest of Tamarindo Pics

Just a quick update to say hello. Difficult to find internet connections.

Nicaragua is amazing. Having an absolute blast. This county is so much more authentic than CR. Scenery is awesome. These places can be a little remote, and the roads don´t always allow for easy access back into the nearest town. The bus system is pretty damn good though for the main areas...........all old school buses shipped down from the US. Reminds me of junior high.....running across the park and watching them drive away as I just missed them.

Living conditions have been somewhat similar to prison camps, but they are always about 100 feet away from a private exotic beach. Food is stellar. Stomach is feeling much better. Have typical travelling cramps, but pain is gone. Currently staying on a plantatation that is located on Isla de Ometepe, called Zopilote close to Magdalena.....the couple are making us pizza tonight with veggies from their giant garden. Much nicer than my 32 bed ´dorm´ from last week. Locals are super friendly. Have some funny stories, but will post them later.

Thanks for the well wishes. Should be back on line within the next week. Thinking of heading to Granada, although, I´m liking this little farm more and more. Have been taking tons of pics. Will try to get them posted soon as well.

R

HERE ARE THE REST OF THE TAMARINDO PICS

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.5r4wlocp&x=1&y=7044jp

Arrived in Nicaragua

Surrived my first border crossing. Was a little nerve wracking to tell you the truth. Travelling with a group of 5 though, with a couple of them being fluent in Spanish. After making it through, we rented a cab who let us throw on some Foo Fighters for the trip in. One of the highlights of the trip so far. Got to see Isla something Empe island............2 twin volcanoes on an island. Pretty amazing site.

San Juan is a cool chilled out little town on the water. Nice little spot, and no hustle and bustle.......or Burger Kings. The hostel I stayed in last night was probably the most run down place I´ve ever slept in. Basically creaky old bunkbeds stored in a shitty garage on the side of the road. Ha. First night that I actually had trouble adjusting from the old lifestyle. Dad, it is safe to say that I´m no longer living the highlife as far as hostels go. Not to worry though, town is super friendly and super safe. The locals definitely have an open door policy, being that most of them don´t actually have doors.

Anyway, we´re leaving here and heading for Managua........I think its called that. Supposed to be a chilled out beach about a hour away from here. The hostel there is supposed to be a little nicer.

Stomach is still in constant pain. Have managed to keep the food down though, which is good. No fever or anything either.......just stomach pain. Hoping that it goes away soon.

Katey and Kye.......got your messages, but I won´t be able to respond until I find a better computer. Tara, I saw that you sent pics, but I can´t view them here.

Can´t believe that the Oilers won last night. They are making me lose my pool (those damn Carolina players keep getting more points).

Anyway, will update this post once I find a better connection.

R

Heading to Nicaragua

Have been sick for the past day. These aren't the most pleasant washrooms to throw up in either, as you've heard from my previous posts. And no, it wasn't from the booze. I think that it was some kind of bug or food poisoning. Starting to feel a little better today though, and have managed to keep lunch down. Was trying to find somebody to play with my hair today on the couch but didn't have any luck. I just went down and caught the sunset though, and had a quick swim in the ocean, so this is the best I've felt all day.

B/f getting sick though, I managed to pull off watching the hockey game at the hostel. I started spreading the word a couple of days ago, and had gathered 14 Cdns by the end of it.....a few were from Edmonton. Too bad they lost, but was a blast regardless. The folks from the other countries got a little shock when they got to see what its like to watch hockey with a bunch of Cdns. I have been catching lots of the World Cup soccer, which is cool b/c there are usually people from those countries watching. Starting to understand it a little more, but still a little shady on a) the referees miss most calls, b. the players get kicked in the shin and look like they're dying from flesh eating disease, and c. the losing team doesn't seem all that interested in tying the contest up near the end of the games......maybe its b/c nobody actually knows when the games actually are going to end. Aside from that, I think that I'm ready to start gambling on the sport. I still think that it is miraculus that the favoured teams actually win, given that the best team in the world still only beats the shittiest team 1 - 0. Sookhoo, congrats on the Trinny tie.....I didn't know that that was your first World Cup.

I learned a new word in Spanish yesterday.......mañana.....it means 'tomorrow'. It was about 3 days too late though. I had been saying bañano......which basically means that when I was leaving the surf shop each day, I was saying 'banana', as opposed to 'Tomorrow!'. No wonder the guy was giving me funny looks.

Maybe he thought I was hungry from surfing all day, and that I was going to get a banana.

Anyway, me and an Irishman named Nick are heading for Nicaragua in the morning. Planning on going to San Juan del Sur. There is a hostel there called something de Oso....which we're hoping isn't full.

Will report in when I get established.

Bye for now.

R

Blog Tips

Hey all, be sure to check in on old posts that you have made comments on, as I will eventually reply to them there. This blog thing definitely has a learning curve to it, but it has been working like a charm for me. Good to see that you are all figuring out how to use it.

Pics from La Fortuna and Tamarindo

Thanks everybody for all the messages!!! Couldn't believe it when I logged in. Feeling very loved! Ha! I will try to keep the posts as interesting as possible! Also, I'll respond when I find better internet.

Spent my first day surfing in the Pacific. Didn't catch many waves, but still was a success. Got some tips from some other surfers. Sun is really strong and it is difficult to not get burned (spf 45 doesn't do the trick when surfing). Had to take the day off from the sun, but will be back in the water in the morning. The beach is beautiful, waves are awesome for learning, and water is warm.

Tamarindo is an awesome little surf town with a good night life. Already bumping into people that I've met in other cities. The hostel here is a true top of the line hostel......nice kitchen, TV for watching movies, cozy living room, guitars, etc. Called Playa Tamarindo hostel. Diet has largely been comprised of peanut butter sandwiches. As you know, I don't really care that much about food when travelling......just something in the stomach.

Watched the World Cup here today with the locals (called Ticos). CR lost 4 - 2 but it was awesome to see them score a couple of times. The place went wild....that had TV's set up outside. The locals still celebrated even though they lost.

My Spanish is getting better. He been kind of fun picking it up. Somewhat similar to French, which is good for recognition, but not good for pronouciation. The locals in general appreciate any efforts. The greatest part is, is that I ask them to speak slower (Podria hablar mas despazio), but then I don't understand what the hell they're saying anyway! What can do, eh.

My accent is getting made fun of alot. I told some people that we were 'out and about' the other day. They all got quite the kick out of it (oot and aboot).

Eh.

Anyway, I have to go hit the showers. Dinner plans for 8......and its not peanut butter sandwhiches tonight. Ha. Here's some pics.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.al55fe9l&x=1&y=qbwugn

Ryan

Tamarindo

In Tamarindo now. Getting used to the budget thing too. I had the option of getting here by jeep for $35, but instead used the public buses (10 hours) for $10. Ha!

This is a super cool beach town, considered to be the 'surf mecca' of Costa Rica. Crazy touristy, but I just got done watching the sunset on a stellar surf beach, while kicking back on a lawn chair having a beer (most expensive beer that I've bought since getting here.....$1.75). Needless to say, I may be sticking around here for a little bit. Found a nice hostel.....it's a little pricey at $12/night, but hey, I'm still in vacation mode.

Travelling with a buddy from Spain (nickname Fes b/c of the way he talks). I have been teaching him English ("Don't be shy, show me your boobs"). We are heading out surfing in the morning, so its going to be an early night tonight.

Had an awesome time in La Fortuna. Spend another afternoon at the tarzan rope swimming hole, and got some good pics. Will get them posted at some point. Last night, we hung out in the natural hot springs in the rain forest.

NOTE: Mom and Dad, don't panick here. The Arenal volcano thing was actually way more amazing than what I thought is was going to be. The Humanitarian Early Warning Systerm now has the mountain coded as Orange Alert, which is one step down from the worst (code Red). It has now erupted twice in the past few days....and we actually witnessed the 2nd one!! It was one of the craziest things that I have ever seen. We saw the lava spray into the air, and then there was a giant boom that made us all jump back. After that, the volcano got covered in lava.......top to bottom. I've never seen anything like it. The rumbling on the rocks pouring down the side of the volcano was eerie. The road is now lined with cars watching it. Here's the website.

http://www.hewsweb.org/Volcanoes/default.asp

I have been working on my Spanish skills. They are coming along, slowly but surely (Como si dice hungry en espanol). Met some people from Quebec on the bus. I tried to bring French into the mix, but it quickly turned into a disaster. I cruised through a few towns today that didn't have any English, so it was some good practise for me.

Think that I may head to Nicaragua next week to go do a home stay with a family and to go to Spanish School for a week. The families only speak Spanish, so you don't have much choice. Ha.

The only internet that I've been able to find is a little $$$, so I may not have that much access here. Will try to find something better.

Anyway, I'm going home to watch some TV at the hostel and hit the sack. Thanks for the all the comments, love reading them.

Ryan

Hockey Updates

Looking for hockey updates. Not just scores, but looking for the low down. Who´s hot, who´s dominating, what are the story lines, etc. etc.

La Fortuna

I´m staying in a little town called La Fortuna. It is at the foot of the 2nd most active volcano in the world, Volcan Arenal. It actually had a small eruption yesterday, so there was tons of lava flowing down the mountain last night (don´t worry mom, its been doing this for 12 years, very safe). It was phenomenal. I couldn´t believe how much was coming out and how quickly it bombed down the mountain, destroying everything in its path. We knew that it was awesome, because all the locals were coming out to see it. Tried taking pics but the camera doesn´t pic it up.

I¨m staying at http://www.arenalbackpackersresort.com/main.htm

Once again, not exactly roughing it.

Mom, you are not going to beleive this. I met a girl today from PEI who said that Father Bob did her confirmation. How hilarious is that!!! Meeting a lot more people here then I expected.

This afternoon, we hiked into the mountains to a giant waterfall and had a beer at the base of it. This place feels so exotic. The mountains are huge, but they´re also very green and lush. We also found a swimming hole with a wicked tarzan rope. Twas an awesome afternoon.

Now the afternoon showers are hitting, so its time for my ciesta.

Bye for now.

R

Pics from San Jose

Hey Folks,

Here are some pics from San Jose. Have met some awesome people. The crowd last night had some good diversity.......1 Holland, 2 Swiss, 2 Americano, 1 German, and 3 Canucks. English is the language of choice, however, I´m going to need to pick up some Spanish if I want to get to know the locals. Have taught myself about 30 phrases. Went to check out guitars ($20) but they were garbarge. It is amazing how dark it is in the hostel room. The first night I almost pissed my pants because it was so dark I didn´t think that I would successfully be able to make it off the top bunk and make it to the washroom. I waited about a half and hour until a chick in my room woke up with a light.

¨Are you going to the washroom¨ ¨Do you mind if I follow you¨

She was probably a little creeped out. I now sleep with a little flashlight tied to my pinky finger. Need to find myself a headlamp.

I met a few people yesterday by the pool and it turned out that one of them was from Fredericton. AND......it turns out that he used to speed skate with my cousins Heidi and Simon. Then another girl said, ¨Do you mean Simon Campbell, the RCMP officer¨ How funny is that. Day 2 and have already met someone from NB. I figured that wouldn´t happen until NZ.

San Jose is now exactly the town that I was expecting. Little more run down. Hard to find things (no english book stores around). Some cool markets though.

Thinking of heading to Volcanoe Arenal tomorrow (active volcano that you can see lava at night sometimes). Supposed to be some great waterfalls and hotsprings to lounge in. Still in vacation mode.

Anyway, that´s all for now.

R

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=8ab2nqp.b12o3c75&x=1&y=o6micg

The First Post

Hey all,
Have landed in Costa Rica. Flights were a breeze and have scored myself a nice little hostel (with free internet access). Met some backpackers at the airport, and have spent the day touring around town. Was raining a bit ealier, but overall, the weather is solid. Staying in a coed dorm with 8 beds. Bathrooms are shit, but hey, what can you do. Its funny how it always takes a bit to get back into the travelling mode. Feels awesome already.

Anyway, I´ll keep in touch, and will try to get some pics on when I can.

Here´s the website of the first hostel. Not exactly roughing it!

http://www.hostelpangea.com/index1.htm

Talk to you soon.

R