Articles and Adventures, Destinations, Travel Tips, Food Stories for Budget World Travel Over 40 (Leslie's Travel Snacks)

Travel Jealousy in in Full Bloom
Apr 24, 2022

Seeing all the people out there being active, traveling, enjoying life; I feel like such a shut-in! Where has my life gone?!

Travel Jealousy in in Full Bloom Seeing all the people out there being active, traveling, enjoying life; I feel like such a shut-in! Where has my life gone?! Part of accepting my current situation with this Long Covid bullshit, is accepting that I simply cannot travel. Not at the moment anyway, and probably not for the rest of the year. After getting much worse since my last post, fortunately, I have now started to see some improvement in my health the last couple of weeks (!), but I'm still not able to drive, exercise, work, etc. so it's not like I'm ready to get back out into life just yet. I can barely even muster the energy and concentration (over multiple days) to write this post. It's not just fatigue; it's a whole host of symptoms including the complete lack of any muscle, brain fog (I can't multi-task, problem solve, recall words, or even speak articulately most of the time), constant ringing in my head, weight gain, random sharp pains, jitters throughout my entire body, feeling like I'm on drugs, etc. All of which can range from debilitating at its worst to annoying at its best. The consensus on treatment (still nobody really knows what exactly causes it! endothelial inflammation, auto-immune reaction, capillary/red blood cell malfunction, nerve damage, lack of oxygen to all organs - fun stuff) is rest rest rest (among a whole host of supplements and tricks I'm employing including vagus nerve stimulation, brain puzzles, and cold therapy). Pushing through makes it worse. SEHNSUCHT A wistful longing and yearing in the heart for travels past and future So here I am spending most of my days in bed as even standing upright raises my heartrate to 120, and simple household tasks like making the bed or showering make it go up to 150+ making me exhausted and out of breath and ready to hop back into bed. As well as I've done with this whole acceptance thing, it is still so devastating to have had to set my life aside pretty much entirely. My travel gear sits gathering dust and instead of buying bathing suits for the new thinner body I had finally achieved pre-covid (that has also gone to shit), I buy pajamas and loungewear (online of course because I can't even go shopping at the store). Instead of hopping on a bus in Bangkok, visiting my friends on the beach in Costa Rica, or getting ready for my long-awaited house sit in Bali, I'm in bed with a coloring book deciding if I want to color the flowers around the word F%#K or the roosters surrounding the word C@%#SUCKER. The adult coloring book is part of my attempt to find things I can keep busy with with less time staring at my phone or the TV. Oh, now I can get to the point of this post - can you see that I'm easily distracted? That's also why I no longer cook if nobody is home. I have too many times forgotten that I have something on the stove. :( FERNWEH A yearning, a longing, an ache for far-off places you've never even been to Ok focus, the POINT of this post. I am of course a member of many travel groups on Facebook. All full of people living their now-almost-normal post-covid lives and out there traveling again. They are exploring, adventuring, relaxing on tropical beaches, discovering new destinations. Me? I found a new teal colored pen perfect for the octopus's tentacles! Oh how I long to be able to hop on a plane whenever the mood strikes me (which is often)! If I had enough focus, I could at least start writing posts for Leslies' Travel Snacks from previous travels. But that takes thought and planning - both of which are unfortunately challenging for me right now. WANDERLUST A strong impluse or longing to travel and explort the world Once the wanderulst is in your blodd, it's there for life. Can you imaging how my computer programming is going?! My budget travel app that I've put at least 500 hours into, is now a pile of crap because I was working on it for couple of months after I got sick with covid and I didn't realize that my reasoning wasn't quite intact. It wasn't until A) it got much worse in month 3 and B) I tried using the app, that I realized that the work I had done was complete garbage and I pretty much ruined my app. Ugh!! I'm strong and I will get through this. That's the mantra my therapist has given me, and it works most of the time. I only falter sometimes when I let the realization sink in that there could be permanent brain damage from all of this. But no, no no no no NO. I will get myself back and I will be an efficient, smart, adventurous traveler again!! This has been an incredible opportunity to practice patience and positivity. For now, envy will remain. .

My Travel Life Takes Another Hit
Mar 7, 2022

Long Haul COVID strikes again. I just canceled pet-sitting in Bali.

My First Trip Since Having COVID
Feb 17, 2022 Costa Rica

A realization of how COVID is changing my travel life, my future. Even writing this post has been quite an effort.

My First Trip Since Having COVID A realization of how COVID is changing my travel life, my future. Even writing this post has been quite an effort. About a month after I returned to the US last, I got COVID (Delta) which wiped me out pretty badly. A couple of months later, I was going to make a quick trip to Costa Rica to hang out with my friends for New Year's Eve, but then I got Omicron so I had to cancel that. Ugh! It's now been about 5 months since that last pre-COVID trip. {{IMG2|2462|R}} A friend of mine asked if I could help her with something in Costa Rica next time I went, and since I still had a credit from my New Year's cancelled plane ticket, I thought why not?! Due to my aging kitty being sick with kidney failure I could only squeeze in a week, so I booked a way-too-fast trip to my new home town of Playa Zancudo. As I planned this little getaway, I was wondering why I was even bothering because it was so short, but hey, it's better than nothing, right? Before I got COVID, I was in the best shape I'd been in, in 10 years. I was working out, I lost 25 pounds, and I had really strengthened my back with physical therapy and chiropractic care. I was finally able to fly with my backpack without having back issues. My travel style is normally one of walking, moving around, adjusting on the fly, and figuring out things as I go. Given the deficits I've been experiencing since having long COVID for almost 4 months now, I was pretty nervous about taking my first trip since being sick. My brain is not too sharp (I do very absent minded things and even simple thoughts seem to be difficult puzzles to put together if I can even get the thought process going at all) and I have very little energy and physical strength. What is normally really easy for me, the logistics of travel, I was suddenly worried that I would screw up something major! Even though I was a little apprehensive, I still figured I would be in my element so how bad could it be? As it turned out, the trip was pretty disappointing and did turn out to be more challenging than I expected. Or maybe as expected, but I hoped it would not be. Right now the thought of planning any future trips seems like a bad idea. Put ... life ... on ... hold. Before I got COVID,I was in the best shape I'd been in, in 10 years With my newly diminished physical strength, I knew managing my luggage would be an issue. My bag felt around 30 lb. but upon weighing it, it was only 21 lb.! Wow, okay. Even with this light rolly bag (yes, I even used a rolly), my back was already in quite a state by the time I arrived in Costa Rica. The next day, after 2 hours of packing up a couple of suitcases of my friend's belongings to bring back to the states for her, I felt that I had moved an entire house of furniture. I was exhausted and my back hurt so badly, I could barely move. Lots of ibuprofen and I was stuck in bed and was praying I didn't have to get up to pee. The disappointment was starting to set in. That was a common theme throughout my brief trip. I was sleepy all the time, and even a short bicycle ride (my mode of transportation) exhausted me. One night I was so tired and spacey that I stood up a dear friend of mine and I left the bar without paying my bill - oops! Geeze, this is NOT how I travel. :( {{IMG1|2461}} More stupid absent-minded stuff included not putting on bug spray or taking my flashlight out with me (normally common practice every time I leave the house), leaving some of my groceries out on the counter (I know better - it all goes in the fridge), and not even thinking of doing something simple like buying my hosts breakfast when we were all out. I am now absolutely covered in itchy bug-bite scabs, had to throw away my food once the ants found it, and was a bad house guest. :( I just wasn't myself. One of the more depressing times when I was trying to plan my trip home (changing plans to make it easier on my back - thank you again COVID for making everything more difficult). As I researched my options, it was like it was just a bunch of individual pieces floating around in my head. I couldn't make sense of anything and certainly couldn't come up with a plan! I simply couldn't think! Fortunately, when I woke up the next morning, the clouds parted and the new plan seemed obvious. I cancelled, re-booked, made new reservations and I was all set. Whew! Even as I write, this, the number of typos is outstanding, the ringing in my head is distracting, and the idea that this post is probably poorly formed is just something I have to come to terms with. Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun while I was there and enjoyed visiting my friends! I'm so fortunate that I'm alive, but so far my life is looking like it's going to be very different. Full-time travel is the one thing I've been saving for since 2001 and what I've rearranged my life to do going forward. At the moment, I can't see how that can easily happen. Travel will at least have to be a dumbed-down, low-energy, slower version of what I'm used to. Sigh. I guess I'm a bit of a sad sack at the moment.

My First At-Home COVID Test
Aug 27, 2021 United States

COVID tests are not so easy (or cheap!) to get in this part of the country. Trying out a $35 self-administered test to use to fly home to the U.S.

My First At-Home COVID Test COVID tests are not so easy (or cheap!) to get in this part of the country. Trying out a $35 self-administered test to use to fly home to the U.S. Time to try something new - my first at-home COVID test in a box to get back into the US to renew my Costa Rica visa! The current regulation to enter the US is that you must have a negative COVID test within 3 days of returning to the US. A woman traveling to Zancudo was kind enough to let me have 2 tests mailed to her in the US, and she brought them down for me. Thank you! I found that (for no real reason) I was so nervous to take the at-home test that I kept putting it off until the day before I flew. Ugh! I wasn't nervous about the actual swab (I've had it before), but rather of screwing up the test, or losing Wi-Fi during the process, or the dog eating the package. Who knows. {{IMG2|2432|R}} So, being almost out of time, I trepidatiously logged on and started the process. I had one shot, gotta get it right. For the test I bought (Abbott BinaxNOW), the box instructed me to download the NAVICA app, which I did. I created an account, scanned the QR code on the box and got to a stopping point where it told me I had to log on to eMed to start the testing session. I'm still a little confused by the different entities involved in a single test. One thing I didn't expect was that, for the majority of the test, my camera needed to be pointing at the test lying on a flat surface. So with a bit of laptop acrobatics, I managed the necessary angle. {{IMG1|2436}} I logged in and clicked my way through to start the test after confirming that I had clean hands and my had ID handy. I felt more and more confident that I wasn't going to screw this up. Their process was great - nothing like trying to sign up for Obama Care! The site ran tests to check your device's audio, video, and network connection before moving forward. I got a You're up next! screen and sure enough, within about 30 seconds, someone came on the line. The certified guide was friendly and clear about each step. {{IMG1|2437}} {{IMG3|2438|R}} I was trying to be a very good patient and follow the instructions without issue and of course I failed almost immediately when I couldn't get the box open! LOL. Turns out you open it from the side - sigh. But step by step, I opened the card, held the teenie tiny QR code up to my camera, dropped 6 drops from the bottle into the top hole, swabbed my nose, stuffed the swab in the hole, and closed up the card. The process only took about 4 minutes, and I was ready to await my results. This little swab/card popsicle now held my flying future in its chemical hands. My personal telehealth agent told me to keep the camera pointed at the test during the 15 minute wait period, but he also said that if we got disconnected, that I could call the number on the screen to have someone read my test results. So maybe I didn't have to, but I kept the laptop tilted over the test for the duration. You are allowed to get up and leave the computer during this time but make sure you're back before the 15-minute timer runs out! The results come in the form of 1 line or 2 (yes, similar to a pregnancy test!). {{IMG1|2434}} After the 15 minute on-screen timer got to zero, I got the cheery You're up next! message. Almost right away a new gal came on to once again read the teenie tiny QR code and see the results. Whew - guess what - negative! Woo hoo - I didn't screw it up! Within 15 minutes I had an email from eMed with a password-protected PDF containing my results, and I was also able to access the results on the NAVICA app. I never could find where NAVICA saved the QR pass image on my phone, but under the app Results, I could share/print so I saved a PDF. Next step, I uploaded the PDF to United Airlines for pre-approval in the Travel-Ready section of their site. It only took about 10 minutes to get the approval message from United after uploading my test results. When I checked in at the airport, they didn't even ask to see my test results since they were already uploaded and approved - so easy! Which tests to buy and where to buy them? View At-Home COVID Test for International Travel - Returning to the US.

What a Year to Start Traveling Full Time
Jul 30, 2020

I have been fine being stuck in Costa Rica. More than fine, actually. If we can't travel around due to COVID-19, then th ....

What a Year to Start Traveling Full Time I have been fine being stuck in Costa Rica. More than fine, actually. If we can't travel around due to COVID-19, then this is pretty much traveling anyway. I'm in a foreign country, living a wonderful life in nature, meeting new people, and getting to experience a different culture. But what's going to happen moving forward? My visa (now extended from Apr 30 to Nov 18) will run out eventually once the country opens back up and people from the US can technically get out of the country without buying an expensive seat on one of the (many) repatriation flights. If I go home, not many countries are even accepting US passports. Costa Rica will, as long as you fly in from having at least 14 COVID-free days in one of the currently allowed countries (Canada, EU, UK) but one of the requirements is purchasing rather travel insurance!! Deal-breaker right there. But not only that, US citizens are not allowed into any of the countries that are allowed to fly to Costa Rica. How convenient. At the moment, I'm grandfathered in, so to speak, so I need to stay put. I have even been thinking about buying a place here on the beach (or maybe even Monteverde) to have as a home base, but I would not be able to afford to come back to Costa Rica with the current requirements. Who knows how long those will be in place. I could apply for my residency, but how much does that cost?! My ex said I could probably go stay in his rental down in Panama in Pedasi (of course a kiteboarding location - cringe) for free for the rest of 2020. I sure would love to start getting on the move and checking out other places but not only is travel risky at the moment, but I would basically not be able to get back into Costa Rica after that. Which, shoot, maybe that's fine. But CR is such a GOOD place to be right now. They keep extending the visas, they offer free medical care to anyone who needs it for the coronavirus, and it's a safe place to be. Not to mention all my new incredible friends! But all of this has me looking even further ahead. Once I can get to SE Asia, then what? Am I going to have the same problems jumping around from country to country? It's not like I just want to go on vacation, this is my future life we're talking about here.

Unplugging (Sort of) for a Week
Jul 13, 2020

Now that we're under Orange Alert, with all non-essential businesses closed and all non-essential traveling outside the house off limits, ....

Unplugging (Sort of) for a Week Now that we're under Orange Alert, with all non-essential businesses closed and all non-essential traveling outside the house off limits, I thought this would be the perfect time to try to unplug for a week. My phone really. Obviously I'm still on my computer since I'm writing this! And I definitely plan on continuing to binge watch Jane the Virgin, my new obsession. I'm happy beyond words with the friends I've made here so it's not that I need time away from them. It's just that I find I am keeping my phone near me all the time, looking at it every time it makes a noise. You'd think I'd know by now the difference between an email, FB Message, WhatsApp, GoogleVoice, FB Post, PoshMark, etc. notifications by now! It's just amazing what a portal into life my phone has become and that's what I want a break from. I need to enjoy nature more. I need to work on healing from last year more. I need to write for my website more. Maybe I'll even throw a few responsible things in there, too, like getting my taxes re-filed. Ugh. So anyway, the morning started off incredible with an orange sunrise and the realization that I think I actually slept through the night! OMG that's the first time in, um, months at least. The howler monkeys are howling, one of those funny ducks was just atop a dead palm tree trunk in the neighbor's yard, I went out to see the beach, wiped all the water droplets off the main screens (let's see how long I keep that up, but I would love to have clean screens for a while!), am drinking my now-daily lemon water, and I even got laundry started already. Not bad for 6:30am. So here I go, another different sort of a week coming up. And why not utilize this pandemic time to do different things? I have no problem staying at home and not having visitors. I think. Not being in touch with anyone, well that will be a challenge. Even in India when I did that 10-day silent retreat, I was around other people all the time. Well no use speculating on what might occur, here we go!

Feeling Cranky and Displaced
Jul 10, 2020 Costa Rica

Am I really bitching and moaning about someone coming to deep clean my house for free?!

Feeling Cranky and Displaced Am I really bitching and moaning about someone coming to deep clean my house for free?! I am waffling between thinking it's funny and being annoyed right now. If I weren't so darn tired I would waffle more toward funny. But at the moment it's 8:30 in the morning and I have been relegated to a lawn chair at the edge of the property for the next 3 hours. I'm on the beach under the palapa that has not been tended to for some time and it just rained. I guess I'm lucky that it's not raining now (knock on wood), but the palm fronds in the tattered roof are all dripping on me and I can't find a spot that's dry. I'm counting it as a win that I found a spot where it's not dripping on my forehead . . . oops, scratch that. {{IMG1|2045}} I didn't go to sleep until around 11:30, then in my now-normal menopausal fashion, I was awake from 2:45 until 5:00 AM. So the 7: 20 call (on the house's land line because I slept through the text) telling me that the cleaning lady was coming at 8:00 was a bit of an unwelcome surprise. Yes, barely realizing what I was saying, that's fine. I forced myself awake, threw on some clothes, pinned my bed-head hair up (who am I kidding, this is also my new-normal), and managed to drink my lemon water before she arrived. To top it all off, I am still in quarantine until my friends get their COVID-19 test results, and I just found out that my high cholesterol makes me high-risk to get the virus, have worse symptoms, and die from it - yay. So I'm not too thrilled about having visitors at all, and now I have two cleaning gals in the house, David raking the yard, and a realtor showing the house to somebody tomorrow. So rather than, say, hang out on the deck while they cleaned, I needed to leave the house, for their safety and my own. This is really quite inconvenient. No breakfast, no morning poop, this kind of sucks. Plus maybe I'm a little sad that someone is interesting in buying my house. It's come to be my safe little haven and I love it. Time for some practice in non-attachment! But hey, someone is cleaning my screens - hooray! I took two of them down and sprayed them with the hose downstairs in the rain the other day. What an insecty mess and a pain in the ass. Is there some sort of trick to doing this? Here, the screens are all Velcro'd on so that you can rip the edge up to open and close the wooden shutters. My shutters stay open 24/7 other than when the wind blows them shut. It's actually really nice having the fresh air all day along with the sound of the waves, birds, monkeys, and crickets. The moisture from the ocean (and daily rain) gets in the screen leaving it full of water droplets. On top of that, the insects, from gnats to cicadas, build up both on the screen and piled up at the bottom as they fall, making it an extra treat when you rip the screen up to access the shutters and dead bugs fall all over the counter. And man, what a difference it is once they're cleaned! It's like when you finally clean a dirty windshield. {{IMG2|2048}} {{IMG2|2049}} So I packed up a book, towel, and bug spray, got one of the lounge chairs out of the bodega and went the 75 yards or so out to the beach. I really should spend more time out here anyway. Oh, and did I mention all the mosquitoes that are out? I am currently doused in poison and hoping for the best. I am also hoping that these fresh and rather large holes underneath me are from crabs and not something more frightening. But I do have to say that so far the array of insects that have come to check me out are quite interesting. One of those green super metallic flies just came by. I sure would like to have a photo of that one. Oh, and I just saw a Frigatebird fly by with a fish in its mouth, drop it, and catch it again in mid air. There, glass half-full. {{IMG1|2047}} 3 hours is quite a while to sit under this dripping roof with no sleep. Oh, and no Wi-Fi out here which maybe will turn out to be a good thing for me. Hopefully I can fall asleep and not get eaten alive too badly. I'd go for a walk on the beach if I weren't such a zombie right now, and the beach closes at 9:30 so I won't be able to walk later either. But really, I am sitting in a lounger chair under a palapa on the beach in Costa Rica looking out over the water at the Osa Peninsula. Life really is good and I'm trying to see the humor in this particular situation. Later: The property manager came walking up the beach to check on things. Always nice to see her. Turns out the country is having an emergency meeting to try to decided what to do about this latest Coronavirus spike. They might shut down the country entirely for a couple of weeks, like really strict. That's fine by me. I have no problem locking down again for a while. I am in a happy place in this little house. :) I got some good, but barely-comprehending-in-my-half-asleep-state reading in. Then 2 hours and 45 minutes in, I had to pee so badly so I went up to the house. Plus I figured it might push them along if I showed up and reminded them that I was displaced until they were done. Almost 3 hours in, the screens are all laid out in the yard, doesn't look like they're going to be finished soon. In fact, they are still sweeping inside the house. :( So this is really weird. One of the women was locked inside the bathroom. Door shut maybe to mop behind the door or if she was peeing herself, but locked? It took a short time for her to come out and she definitely had not used the toilet. Seat was up and the water wasn't running as it if had recently been flushed. I'm just too tired to be concerned about this. I'll check my belongings later. Later Still: About 4 hours later I got my house back. :) All nice and deep-cleaned. 2 women, 4 hours on this tiny place, what?! It takes 2 women 2 hours to clean San Diego Dreamin' which is way bigger, but whatever. Not my dime, just my inconvenience, my cranky tired mood, and a now completely wasted day due to lack of sleep. But ya' know what - it doesn't really matter, does it? I have nothin' but time right now and at least it was something different that the usual! LOL

Poker Night in a Small Town
Jun 5, 2020 Costa Rica

So I've gone from just starting to scratch the surface of the social scene here, to lockdown isolation, and back out to socializing again. Even th ....

Almonds Keep Falling on My Head
Jun 4, 2020 Costa Rica

I slept in until 6:15 today, unlike my usual 5:15 when I wake up with the sun and the not-always-pleasant squawking birds. It's actually f ....

Almonds Keep Falling on My Head I slept in until 6:15 today, unlike my usual 5:15 when I wake up with the sun and the not-always-pleasant squawking birds. It's actually funny how obnoxious the parrots and parakeets can be sometimes; tropical-world problems. I've been extra tired now that I've started working out. Thank god today, day 7, is a rest day. Yesterday pushed me pretty hard. I biked to my workout buddy's place, did an hour of workout videos (almost killed me which I suppose is good), then another friend came over and we swam in the gulf. In between sets, we float and soak in the moment. Ahhh, wow, I'm in Costa Rica swimming, surrounded by beautiful green hills shrouded in clouds and possible turtles, dolphins, sharks, and crocs swimming around me! ha ha. Actually, although the later do technically exist, it's not something that's really a concern. Mostly just the ahhh moment. :) We swam only 200 meters since we were all either tired or hung over, but I did make it 700 meters on Monday! Barely able to move, I rode my bike home, got ready (scarfed some food and clipped my curly scraggly hair back), and rode my bike back out to another woman's house who gave me a lift to our outing for the day. More on that in the next post! :) Now I'm sitting here on my deck in my favorite spot; in the hammock where I can reach my coffee cup in the purposefully placed, hmmm, um, coffee table (LOL). A hammock is not the most conducive place to use your laptop but I'm making do. ;) Wow what a beautiful morning. There's the usual constant din of crashing waves and chirping birds, a squirrel just ran by, everything is damp, and the sun is shining. Even the tiny bird that comes to visit me on the deck was just here singing it's pretty song. I had to laugh. It's like something out of a Disney movie (queue the happy singing bird!). A rare blue-sky day during green season (Costa Rica even has a tropical way of saying rainy season ha ha) I was being taunted by the sound of the scarlet macaws dropping almonds on the neighbor's metal roof. They're around early. I don't have any good photos yet this year of them on a sunny blue day so I wandered over to see if they were going to pose in the open for me. Looks like my little tree frog from yesterday is gone. Quite frankly I think he probably died. He was in one of the (many) palm fronds that fell from the trees so he might have taken the fall along with the giant leaf and didn't fare very well. He was white and weak. He even let me pick him up and move him over to the base of a tree before the leaf was drug off to the burn pile for this month's yard cleaning. Hey, my other neighbors are still here, busy packing up the rest of their things for the season.! :) Yay. I thought they left yesterday for San Jose. Such a shame I only just started to get to know her because she's awesome and is also friends with the neighbors on the other side of my friend Sue who I've become friends with and I also really like them. What a fun group!! It's been so nice to be included in some of their parties, etc. and quite honestly it has really made me think about how I want to travel in the future. How am I ever going to leave this community at this point when I feel so welcomed and so much a part of it with people I truly enjoy!? So anyway, they gave me a few very welcomed straggler groceries they had left and I left them to their task. What does the day have in store for me today? A friend just wrote asking about a possible walk today - sounds great. What would we do without WhatsApp (and FB Messenger)?? The beach is only technically open from 5am to 8am, but here in our little town, the Coast Guard doesn't bother people too much. Well, they do patrol though. One local woman almost got a ticket for swimming in the ocean mid-day the other week. Decided. After our walk, I'm going to spend the day writing. A me day.

Visiting the Chiropractor on Lobster Island
Jun 3, 2020 Costa Rica

Add this to the list of odd experiences you can't plan.

Visiting the Chiropractor on Lobster Island Add this to the list of odd experiences you can't plan. Chiropractor During the farewell party for my neighbor the other day, one of the women was talking about a visit she was going to make to the chiropractor. Ooh, you know I'm always up tor that! She said they were all full, oh well. But then at the last minute, they had and open spot so she called me to see if I wanted to go. Great! So nice of her to remember me. So it turns out we are going there by boat (they have a boat - like about a 25-30 foot fishing boat). Where is this place we're going!? Lobster Island? Wait, I've been there before. We stopped there for lunch the day we took the boat out snorkeling (pre-covid). Why on earth would be going to this tiny little makeshift sort of island / restaurant to go to a chiropractor?! LOL Adventure! See Playa Puntarenitas, Have Lunch Off the Beaten Path in Costa Rica to see where we went. It seems this chiropractor lives on a sailboat just across the channel from Lobster Island, on Playa Cacao. Of course he does. Why didn't I think of that. He is a bit older and used to live in the states. He practices some special sort of chiropractic study that only a few people know how to do. I think he learned it in Hawaii? It's called Network Chiropractic. So anyway, we all sit down at a big wooden table in the sand-floored restaurant, order a round of beers and some food and get called by the doc one by one. The queen went first (as she should), then I was somewhere soon thereafter. He talked to me a bit and I described my chronic back issues. Okay, he seemed to think he could help. I lay there, trying not to be skeptical of this new form of wispy barely-touching practice. I really do believe in stuff like this, but I'm also a big fan of rough chiropractic. Crack the heck out of me! Dig into those muscles and make it hurt! So I lay there actively not being skeptical, and um, I actually felt things start to move - from him simply making suggestions to my body of where it needed to realign. Trippy. {{IMG1|2468}} Isabel After eating a great lunch at the sand-floor waterfront restaurant, I plopped down on the sofa (the hammocks were sadly all taken), and met a wonderful woman who lives over on the opposite beach. She's a little older and has ties on Playa Zancudo. She used to be a Spanish/English teacher so we could speak in either language and she was thankfully very forgiving with my less-than-perfect Spanish. She also called me out on a being a little lazy with my Spanish. LOL She said without lessons, you get used to utilizing the few words you know, because you can get by with them, without ever improving much. What an interesting person she is! The stories she had about when she decided to learn how to make boats - yes boats. Despite it being a man's job, she did it! And eventually even taught a local boy how to do it, and he now does it professionally! Very cool. I could listen to her for hours. She thinks it's so nice that the gringos have each other. She said you are not alone then, you have a group. You can talk about common things like food from our country. What a nice view she has of it. And it's true. I'm not alone. I am here alone. I'm doing it. But I don't feel alone at all. In face, I feel so NOT alone, that it's actually giving me more confidence and a more hopeful outlook on what my future might look like Maybe that sounds a bit too deep but I'm going through a lot of changes right now. There's so much unknown venturing out on my own starting and entirely new life. U.S. Embassy Emails Sometimes (or always) redundant, I'm happy for the daily US Embassy emails about the pandemic, border closings, etc.

Farewell Party Bubble for My Neighbors
Jun 1, 2020 Costa Rica

My neighbors two doors down are busy packing up the rest of their things for the season. They normally would have kept to a ....

Farewell Party Bubble for My Neighbors My neighbors two doors down are busy packing up the rest of their things for the season. They normally would have kept to a more typical Zancudo schedule and left to go home to Colorado months ago, but the virus of course has kept them here. They are flying out on one of the United Airlines repatriation (rescue) flights. They've had enough and are tired of it all. Maxed out on living in the jungle for the moment. So now I won't have neighbors on either side for a few houses in both directions. To the left, the first occupied house is about 5 lots down, and to the right, only the 3rd, 4th, and 5th houses are occupied. There's one house across the road on the river/jungle side and I'm sure I've met the woman at least once somewhere, but I don't know them to socialize with them. Not that we should be socializing anyway, but the Zancudo bubble has so far proven to be a nice safe little haven from the virus. The numbers in Costa Rica are picking up all of a sudden though now that they are relaxing the restrictions so we'll see what happens. Most of the gringos that own houses here only come for the dry season (I wonder what the Costa Rica term is for dry season - probably sunshine season or something lovely like that) like December - April. Let me tell you, it's hot AF. Like too hot. But I guess it corresponds with a lot of people wanting to get out of the snow where they live in the states or Canada. Some of those people got stuck here since the government closed the borders March 19 to control the virus. There have now been many repatriation flights, I think all or most of which have sold out, but they are somewhat pricey like $800 one way just to Houston, then you're on your own. So a lot of people (like myself) have stayed, waiting for the border restrictions to lift, and others have made the decision to simply stay through the green season because they also fear that if they leave, they night to be able to get back into Costa Rica in the fall, and that's a deal-breaker for them. So they are making arrangements to have their houses taken care of at home (their other home) and are able to relax now that the decision has been made. So even though we definitely did go through a quarantine / isolation phase (I spent over a month with very little contact with anyone), there is also a different set of circumstances effecting people here. At this point, I'm not even sure I want the borders to open. I am quite settled and happy in my little home here which I'll lose as soon as the gal who has it reserved for the summer can get out of the US. There are definitely some groups here that keep their own tight bubble, so when another neighbor had a small going away party for the couple that's packing up to leave, I not only felt comfortable (virus-wise), but I was so happy they invited me! How nice it feels to be included, especially when I have not had much social contact lately. We all hung out on the patio, drank a bit, I got to know some new people, and got a sloth band-aid party favor. LOL Where else but in Costa Rica? The party wrapped up early so the evening ended with my own solo wine / dance party at home on my balcony. Shit, I got outed by my neighbors the next day asking if I had a party because they saw the dancing!! ha ha ha. I love it here. :)

Deep Woods OFF is No Match for the Costa Rican Jungle
May 25, 2020 Costa Rica

I hear them. I hear the toucans again! I'm bound to see them. I have grown quite accustomed to ....

Deep Woods OFF is No Match for the Costa Rican Jungle I hear them. I hear the toucans again! I'm bound to see them. I have grown quite accustomed to their sound, but not their sight. Today I could tell they were right across the road from me. Probably in that giant tree where the howler monkeys were the other day. I threw on some shorts and a tank top, grabbed my camera, and doused myself with OFF! I'm not making that mistake again. I ventured out onto the dirt road and listened. Yep, not far. Okay, now I have to wander into the wet grass toward the trees. The neighbor had a boa constrictor try to get into their house the other night and two horses in town have died recently due to viper bites. Oh boy, here I go. Almost immediately there were Capuchin monkeys in the trees in front of me. Oh look at the mamma and her baby! :) Shit, my camera is on the fritz. Now? Really? The toucans are directly overhead now but I cannot for the life of me see them through all this greenery. I swore out loud at my camera (that also acts as my binoculars) and that did it. The toucans didn't make a peep after that and I'm pretty sure I saw one fly off. Sigh. {{IMG2|2124|R}} OMG the mosquitoes!! Get off my face! Get off my ankles! There was even one on my knuckle while I was trying to take a photo of the monkeys. Brazen! I decided to just continue on to the small dirt road on the jungle/river side rather than walk home through the buggy field. It's so pretty back there anyway. For the most part, the mozzies haven't been to bad at my house. Only one really stormy night they were bad and I had to go inside. Otherwise my deck is my favorite living space. :) I spend time in the hammock listening to the parrots, parakeets, woodpeckers, hawks, and some cute little sing-songy bird that comes and hops around my deck every day. But alas, no toucan nor sloth this trip! And of course my neighbors right across the road posted wonderful photos of both of them over the last few days. At Sue's there were a lot of crabs and toads and one tiny snake, oh and some Kinkajous, but not too much wildlife lately for me. Oh, but I had 2 bats on my deck in the last few days, one dead, one with a seemingly broken arm. Turns out it was my fault and I feel absolutely terrible. I left the ceiling fans on the last few nights and apparently bats can't sense them very well and can fly right into them. :( OMG I feel so awful. And just now I found out my friend (4 doors up) had a little scorpion in bed with her last night and got stung on her finger!! Shit. Life in the jungle. It sure is different here.

"I'm Sailing! I'm Sailing!!" ~ What About Bob
May 25, 2020 Costa Rica

On a brighter note, I went swimming today! Like actual swimming, not just splashing around ....

"I'm Sailing! I'm Sailing!!" ~ What About Bob On a brighter note, I went swimming today! Like actual swimming, not just splashing around in the water. A friend of mine told me she was going with her swimming group this morning - they actually swim, like proper stroke, they count how many meters they go, etc. - and I decided I'd go along. If nothing else, I could just be out there doing my little breast stroke / doggie paddle and get some exercise while they swam ahead. I got picked up on a quad-runner at 6:50 and we parked at Yv's house, the leader of the swim group and also an over-80 world class swimmer who is not here this time of year. The other 3 people had just arrived. Hmm, looks a bit wavy. There will be a bit of water phobia for me to conquer today. Wow, there are some actual waves out here today! And this part of the beach is usually calmer. Deep breath, out I go. Okay, past the break it's a bit deep but fine. Just some very big swells. In fact, the group said is's the roughest the water has been all season! Great! ha ha. As it turns out, there is currently a Green Alert in place for the Pacific Coast for some sort of tropical wave / storm warning. It ran through my head that there are sharks and even hammerheads out here in the Gulfo Dulce, maybe some sea turtles and dolphins too. Drug runners, too, ha ha. The US Coast Guard has had a ship out here the last couple of days but it's gone now. Apparently they were helping to fight drug trafficking. There were some heavy hitters in Zancudo last week (in the drug trade) but of course we don't know exactly why. What's funny is that when my friend and I were walking on the beach the other morning, we knew we were out past the 8am beach closing time, but decided to go for a swim before we turned around and walked home. As soon as we got out there, we saw this Coast Guard boat and figured they were coming right for us! LOL. We cruised right on out of the water and started home, just to realize they weren't coming for us after all. But it wasn't unfounded. They do cruise the beach and make people go home. My friend even got stopped by them while she was in the water recently. {{IMG1|1920}} So anyway, it turned out great. They swim 100 meters first, then take a break. I figured I'd just frog-swim my way in that direction and meet them on their way back while they did their Olympic-style real swimming. Well low and behold, I could keep up with them! No points for style, but I made it 100 meters, then 200, then opted to swim to shore before I got too tired. All along though you can believe it I kept looking to shore wondering how the heck I was going to get back in with the crashing waves! I panicked a little on the way in, but it really wasn't too bad. I went in in between sets and could touch the bottom pretty quickly. Yay - I feel so accomplished!! And exercise, ahhhh. I've lost some weight but need to get toned up! 50 has definitely brought some changes to my skin. :(

Starting to Feel the Effects of Isolation
Apr 18, 2020 Costa Rica

Wow, what just happened? I was so happy this morning and now I'm sad.

Starting to Feel the Effects of Isolation Wow, what just happened? I was so happy this morning and now I'm sad. I feel, first of all, that I've been missing a huge opportunity by not blogging during this whole coronavirus pandemic. I should have started a month ago. But it is what it is and I can only try to write as much as I can now. Second, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster. I've been doing great so far with the lockdown. Really, it's not too too much different than my normal life! ha ha. Well of course it is, but since I do work at home and I'm a computer nerd hermit, I sometimes don't leave the house for a week at a time. I've been pretty good with the sheltering in place thing. I mean I am in Costa Rica, in my own little cottage on the beach. The couple that was in the cabin next door which, even though we were all social distancing, at least I had human bodies near by. They were very nice and we did talk from time to time. They even brought me half a fresh coconut one day. Yesterday their car was gone then it was gone all night. Weird. So just a little while ago I texted her and asked if everything was okay. Turns out they decided to get on the second repatriation (rescue) flight out of Costa Rica back to the states. So they are up in San Jose in a deserted hotel awaiting their flight in 2 days on April 20. The fact that their current flight out of here on Alaska was just delayed until sometime in June was just too much for them. I don't blame them. Despite the fact that all the emails from the US Embassy keep stating Those who choose to remain overseas should be prepared to remain in Costa Rica for the foreseeable future., this has quickly become much more than any of us had thought it would be. {{IMG1|2128}} So anyway, as soon as I read her text, I had this wave of emotion come over me. I felt so ALONE! I cried! Where did that come from? I could tell a couple of days ago that, even though I think this is no problem, that I'm starting to have a bit of a hard time with the isolation. I'm feeling more lonely, I'm starting to miss home which until now I've been able to separate it from here. But now that line is starting to blur. There are friends I want to see, a cat I want to cuddle with, and life I need to get on with. On Easter, when Sue invited me for supper at Coquito and I said yes. I needed some social interaction. I miss her and Carlos - my new family. I felt, and feel, guilty about it, but it was so nice. Even though we are hundreds of miles from the nearest recorded case of COVID-19, I know that it could still be here. I believe one of the reasons it's not here (at the moment) is because people are being so careful. Well, some people. LOL {{IMG2|2138}} {{IMG2|2139}} I also risked my life for some soap the other day. Since I had brought with me the amount of certain toiletries that I would need for my 2-month day in Costa Rica, now at 2 1/2 months, I'm running out. I keep thinking that okay, if I ration my shampoo, I can make it until May 3, when Delta is supposed to start flying again. In short, I'm not using enough shampoo and that it not helping my mood. I also have no more body wash so I'm using little hotel bar soaps that leave my skin feeling sticky and itchy. I'm almost out of q-tips so I'm rationing those more than I should be. Why don't I just buy more? Well one thing is that the stores here in this small town are so expensive. Like I'd probably pay $10 for a small shampoo that would be maybe $2 or $3 in the states. I spent $50 on one bag of groceries a few weeks ago. Also, I keep thinking that I'm not going to be here much longer and that keeps getting pushed out more and more. So the thought of spending a lot of money on months worth of supplies, just for a few more weeks, just didn't make sense. BUT when a friend of a friend came by to ask for help on the computer and he said he and his wife were out of food so were going to drive to one of the big towns, I was suddenly enrapt. I was also just about out of food (down to some cereal, peanut butter, and eggs, out of coffee, milk, snacks, wine,everything else). He said if I gave him a list, he'd get it for me, or I could come along. OMG you mean LEAVE my safe little haven of both my cabina and little tucked-away Zancudo? I'm in. The thought of doing proper shopping at a proper store was just too much for me. Yeah, I had some guilt about this little jaunt, too! But we drove to the store about an hour away and wore masks the whole time as soon as we got out of the car. I was so surprised though! Other than having sanitizer spray and paper towels at the entrance to to the store, nobody was wearing masks! When in Zancudo, people are sewing them and distributing them to just about everyone it seems. {{IMG2|2140|R}} So I did my shopping, ahhhh, and I'm all stocked up. Other than probably wine (yeah, whatever), I'll bet I have enough food for a month. So I can (if I'm strong enough) property shelter in place. And OMG I have so much shampoo, body wash, and toothpaste!! I can't even tell you the relief and happiness that is bringing me. Of course i forgot to buy scissors to cut my hair with, bug spray, and q-tips. Sue was kind enough to hook me up with some swabs so now I'm good there, too. Shoot, I'll just leave all that stuff here with Sue for when I inevitably return to Zancudo. For some reason, even though this is definitely not my typical ideal place, I keep getting drawn back here. I felt there was a reason I was supposed to come back here in February and I'm still not sure exactly what it was. Probably to have a safe place to hunker down during the pandemic. But I can't tell you how nice it has been to become a small part of the community here. I was staring to make some friends and was having so much fun with the locals here when the coronavirus hit! At least I know I have a wonderful place to return.

Now the Coast Guard is Involved
Mar 30, 2020 Costa Rica

Way too much to even cover right now so I'll just start with today. I barely even know what day of the week it is. But someone reminded me ....

Now the Coast Guard is Involved Way too much to even cover right now so I'll just start with today. I barely even know what day of the week it is. But someone reminded me that tomorrow will be a week that I'm here at my new cabina at Los Cocos. Wow, already? So that's about 2 weeks that I've been somewhat serious about this whole quarantine thing. Shelter in place. Today: the last flight left Costa Rica for the states on Delta. I'm not on it. Today: K and I launched a Zancudo community Facebook Group and it's been so busy! Really wonderful. Today: We found out that yesterday the Coast Guard started patrolling the beaches and making people go home. I mean really there might be only one person out there at any given time. A woman in the group walked to the police station to ask them the exact rules. They told her that we are allowed to walk alone for 1/2 an hour (maybe even up to an hour tops) but no swimming. Apparently the virus can't live on the heat of the beach but can live in the water? Much to my surprise, I'm SO busy right now. Since we started the FB Group, I am (at least temporarily) Admin/Moderator along with K, I'm also frantically working on a new virus-related website, and I'm attempting to get at least something written for my own site here! This is not what I envisioned for full-time traveling. There are been jokes going around (OMG you should see my collection of COVID-19 Facebook memes! ha ha ha - I actually like Facebook again) about putting a glass of wine in every room and calling it a wine tour, or giving airport codes to all the areas where you hang out (BDR bedroom, FPO front porch, NFX Netflix). Today I found myself actually thinking okay, I've worked in the hammock long enough, what work area should I go to now? The blue chair? The day bed? As if it were an entirely different location. I wonder if I'll FEEL normal but will actually be slightly losing it as the days go by. Will i know when I've gone completely nuts? {{IMG1|2146}} And I wonder how long this will last?! It's so so crazy. All borders closed, all businesses closed, schools, churches. everything. People are mandated to stay at home and in San Diego it's in your house. The beach boardwalks are all off limits too. Although I could sure stand that time being stuck in that house to get everything packed up and in order ready to leave, I'm glad I'm not there right now.

Day ? of Quarantine in CR
Mar 29, 2020

I started to panic a bit a few days ago when I realized that this was it, time to get home or stay put. And not just for a few weeks like I had origin ....

Day ? of Quarantine in CR I started to panic a bit a few days ago when I realized that this was it, time to get home or stay put. And not just for a few weeks like I had originally thought. We're talking a month at the very least and possibly 2 or 3. OMG. It all just sort of evolved. My work with Sue went over by a couple of weeks because of the dreadful internet speed at her house. After that, Dave and Summer and David were supposed to come visit, so I was to be here until April 3. Then of course they all had to cancel their trips due to COVID-19 so I just figured I'd toodle around a little and maybe go to the Osa Peninsula for a week after I finished my work with Sue. Well by the time I was wrapping up the website, things started getting pretty bad in the states and was on its way here. It changed day by day. One day we were still going out to dinner (and being turned away by one place due to the 50% occupancy rule), and a few days later all the restaurants were closed down (by choice, not yet mandated) and I was freaking out when people were coming over to the house to work or visit. Stay away! Especially people that were coming form the border and neighboring towns! So I'm now comfortably doing my own thing and will only leave the property to get groceries every few weeks. There are locals milling about the town though. It's strange. I think those of us who are trying to hole up, have no idea how many people are actually breaking the stay the fuck home rule. Yesterday there was someone in my yard and turns out is was my local friend Fredy. He was out collecting coconuts to make a living. He recognized me and ran up to give me a hug. I had to stop him in his tracks to stay 6 feet away! He said something like we don't have the virus and I tried to say (in Spanish) but nobody knows everyone that everyone else has been in contact with. Then a little while later his brother (who works here) came over and sat on my steps for a while and asked or a glass of water. Really? Then a guy came into the property and up to my deck wanting to know if I wanted to buy a bottle of coconut oil! They just don't understand. And it's not just local Ticos. That said, a lot of locals and gringos alike are indeed trying to stay home, go to the store only every couple of weeks, sanitize everything that comes home from the store etc. I'm slightly worried about running out of cash, but I'll be okay as long as I can use my credit card. I just have to be careful to only use cash when it's the only option. There are certainly no ATMs nearby. OMG I said something about the concern over cash to K the other night when she asked if I wanted to order a pizza. She was SO NICE and not only bought me a pizza, but paid the entire tip (less money changing hands for sanitary reasons) and send a beer over with the driver when he brought my pizza to me. :) Wow. Not only was it so incredibly nice of her, but I didn't realize how good having hot cooked food was!! {{IMG1|2143}} I keep it pretty simple when I'm alone. Like cereal, pasta salad, peanuts, hard-boiled eggs, PB&J, etc. I actually cooked myself and egg over beans with some cheese this morning and it felt so, um, I don't know. Normal? Things are far from normal, but it's hard to tell from this quiet and removed corner of the world just how bad it is in other places like the US or even here in the big city. I hear news and get updates from friends at home so I hear it, but I'm barely living it. I am bummed that I was really enjoying this community, making friends, having fun, and now I'm alone. Not like being home alone is anything new for me. Shoot, I've been training for this for years! LOL

Here Alone, Soaking in Nature
Mar 27, 2020

Time to find my own place to shelter-in-place and isolate for a while.

Here Alone, Soaking in Nature Time to find my own place to shelter-in-place and isolate for a while. I moved out of Sue's (sadly) and I miss her company very much. After staying 5 of my 6 weeks in Zancudo at Sue's, it was time for a change anyway and our differing ideas of how strict to be with the quarantine forced the issue. That and the fact that my cabina there had no WiFi and was so so hot that I had to keep everything shut w/ the aircon on, making a pitch dark cave, just didn't quite suit the bill for quarantine comfort. So I made the decision to move. That night, I started putting feelers out and got 2 really good offers of places to stay. The next morning I actually left the property for the first time in a week and walked down to look at the 2 places. It felt weird being out and I like was doing something wrong! But we all stayed 6 ft away from each other (some people more concerned than others - including me accepting a ride to my new place). I had thought of just giving my luggage a ride and I'd walk, but before I knew it, I was jumping in the back seat of the car. {{IMG1|2147|R}} Anyway, so I'm in my little cabin at Los Cocos with a large patio complete with hammock and daybed. It's comfortable, on a nice big property, she gave me a great off-season rate, and other than the owners, there is just one other couple in the cabina next to me (that is not even that close). We have waved a couple of times but i have not talked to them or met them. The woman who runs it comes by to check on my about once a week or so. She sits on the steps of my porch and we chat for a bit. I had the option (and probably still do) of staying at Casa Willis where I stayed last fall. I love that little house. I'd have the whole house, privacy, and I'd be closer to Sue if I decided to visit (which I shouldn't! LOL). But I decided this would be better for me because I'm closer to the mini-mart and there are people around. I figured that even though I'm not socializing, just the fact of having people in the vicinity would help keep me sane. {{IMG1|2148}} So here I sit marveling at what an incredibly beautiful morning it is. I almost don't want to be writing, but just sitting, watching, enjoying. But every time I think I'll be able to write and capture a moment later, it doesn't happen. It's not so hot yet today and it's so quiet other than the waves and the birds and, ooops, there goes a motorbike down the road behind me. What a nice opportunity to just soak it all in. There is a constant din of unidentifiable noises in the trees. OMG last night there was something pretty loud that was dropping stuff on the roof of my cabin. But it's just sort of become the norm and I didn't even go outside to check it out. Actually, that's sort of a lie. Earlier in the night I heard something of substantial size rustling in the trees in front of my cabin so I went out with a flashlight to try to find whatever it was. Kinkajou? Sloth? Nope, no luck. {{IMG2|2149|R}} Throughout the day, there's the random thud of coconuts dropping from the trees. It really is treacherous walking under the coconut trees this time of year! You also have to watch for the dead palm fronds falling. There ARE statistics for death by coconut. See Tips for Surviving the Tropics. Other normalities (is that a word? feels right) have become huge toads in the path at night (and even in the pool foot bath) and colorful blue and red crabs scuttling around at night. I was not, however, familiar with the chirping/squeaking sound in my room the other night. It kept waking me up. It was not a gecko sound, I'm familiar with that, and it kept going! Finally turned my flashlight on. Really? Two tiny geckos humping on my wall, just squeaking away! Ha ha ha. I kindly asked them to move it along and maybe keep it quiet. They complied, back to sleep. Wow, this morning the birds are particularly active and they are making leaves rain down from the trees. Apparently it's snowing in Denver right now. This is my tropical version of snow. :)

Last Day Out and About
Mar 17, 2020 Costa Rica

Well the virus is getting worse and is now being called a pandemic. We're all supposed to stay home and self-isolate to keep it from spreading. I'll need to ....

My Awkwardness Trying to Make Friends
Feb 24, 2020 Costa Rica

Yesterday Sue told me that I should go to Sol y Mar for the weekly horseshoe tournament at 3pm. Okay, sounds great. Oh wait, I ....

My Awkwardness Trying to Make Friends Yesterday Sue told me that I should go to Sol y Mar for the weekly horseshoe tournament at 3pm. Okay, sounds great. Oh wait, I don't go to bars by myself. I just don't. I don't even go to restaurants alone. Oh well, I'll just do it. I tried, unsuccessfully, to tame my curly hair and headed out to the main drag (aka almost deserted dirt road). Oh wow, I didn't realize I was right net to Sol y Mar! ha ha I rented this place without seeing it and I just LOVE it. Great vibe, bright, nice ocean view, about 150 feet from the water, awesome. And apparently right by the bar. LOL Hmmm, I don't know anybody here and I haven't heard back from Elena asking if she wanted to meet me there. I'll order a beer and sit at the bar. Eventually a gal came in that I met last time! What's your name? Yeah, we met a few months ago!. Ahhh relief. We chatted a bit, then she walked off to hang out with her friends. :( I chatted a bit with yet another woman, but then she also went off to be with one of her friends and on her way made sure to let me know that if I wanted to do drugs, that the table out by the horseshoes was the place. She's like in her 70s and it was such a funny thing to come from this woman. I'm alone .... I am utterly alone (name that movie). {{IMG2|2123|R}} I'll just keep drinking beers and pretend to watch the horseshoe games because it gives me something to do. Carl came in, he waved. Another fail. I hate this. Eventually I went and complimented a gal on her dress, because I want one just like it! Free People, need to find that particular dress online for sure. I'm really trying here, I'm so lame at being somewhere alone! Then somehow I ended up chatting to another woman. We hit it off and she told me to grab a chair - YES! I was finally having a great time. Her mom was there, too, whom I also really liked. Okay, I'll order another beer! The 3 of us then had dinner together and it turns out they live just a few doors down. Actually it turns out that my new friend was the only other person I saw on the beach that morning when I was walking. She said, Yeah, your hair was the dead giveaway. ha ha Sigh, im in full travel curly mode right now. I don't think my little travel iron would have a chance right now. So that went well, I got pretty buzzed though and spent more than I have in a while. But I needed to get out AND have some hot food since there are no cooking facilities in my new room. Just cold potato salad and cereal. Came home and the power went out. Oooh, pitch black!!! Just a little glow from Puerto Jimenez and from Goflito. I listened to music for a while on my computer, then went out and stood on the beach for like an hour just looking at the stars and soaking in the non-existence of artificial light. Okay, enough of the beach. Hey, I remember last year when the power was out almost all day, Dave, David and I walked down to Sol y Mar and they where open by candlelight. It's right next door, I'll go have a look. Well that of course led to one more beer and a yummy refreshing rum drink. I seem to be feeling more social now - could it be the booze?? ha ha ha. I didn't stay too long and left after the power came back on. Don't be the last one at the bar, don't be the last one at the bar, don't be desperate and overstay. Okay, time to go home. :) (God, please don't let these people read this blog and know the stuff that goes through my head!) Then low and behold, one of the women I ran into last night texted me this morning to see if I wanted to come over for coffee this afternoon! :) Awesome. I don't care if coffee in the afternoon seems weird. I'm in. I like her. She even said she'd pick me up because she's too far to walk from here. Or a long walk anyway and in this heat - she picked me up. So she pulls up on and ATV. I'm in a dress. Whatever. We sat so close that she was my crotch blocker. I don't care. She has a nice place down south and has an adorable little gal staying with her as an AirBnb rental. A couple of hours chatting, one cup of coffee, then a beer and she drove me back. It was one of those cool, look at where I am right now kind of moments. On the back of an ATV, crazy hair flying in the wind, on a dirt road in southern Costa Rica. Life is wonderful and interesting and unexpected. I got back and texted Sue that I was home. Not 2 minutes later she and her new brood (her brother and group) stopped in their car on the road outside my rental and yelled. I ran out to say hi. They're picking me up in half an hour to go back to Sue's place and we'll have a bonfire on the beach tonight. Wow, this is fun! Friends!! Days like these make up for the lonely days. Oh, and I went for a walk on the beach this morning with the gal that lives a few doors down. I don't think I'd be making friends like this if I were with someone else because we'd be in our own world. Well, maybe if I were with Lynn I'd be meeting people because Lynn would be meeting everyone! haha

Trying to Work Abroad
Feb 12, 2020 Costa Rica

My first jaunt of trading work for lodging while I travel is sure off to an interesting start! I arrived in Costa Rica to build a real estate website for my ....

Loving My Sue Time!
Feb 11, 2020 Costa Rica

You truly never know who you will meet out there in the world. It was so fateful that I met my new friend by tracking a sloth we knew was in the area and ended up ....

Loving My Sue Time! You truly never know who you will meet out there in the world. It was so fateful that I met my new friend by tracking a sloth we knew was in the area and ended up finding it just up the beach in her yard. She came out of her house to see why these strangers were on her property (technically public land near the beach, but still) and a friendship was formed. It was actually when Dave was here visiting and he's the one who suggested she and I meet up to share some wine at some point. I was still in a pretty big funk at that point due to the crap that happened in 2019. So one thing led to another and here I am back in Costa Rica and staying at Sue's place in one of her rental cabins for a month while I build her a website for her real estate business. Check out the finished site here! Latitude 8 Realty, Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica When I first arrived at her place, her 2 rental cabinas were full so she said I could just stay in her house with her. We were immediately so comfortable with each other and it was so fun. I was sharing a full sized bed w/ a 73 year old woman that I didn't really even know and it felt like we were teenagers having a slumber party! We stayed up late, had wine, talked about guys. What a wonderful woman, so friendly, and enjoying life here in Costa Rica. The first week I was here, she entertained clients and we had such a fun time all having dinner together in her outdoor kitchen, listening to music, more drinking, and dancing. One night, Sue's partner came over with his sister, brother-in-law, and worker to join the fun and what a good time we all had! That same night (?) there was a snake in Sue's livingroom and we ran out like screaming little girls and got the drunk Canadian man to get it out for us (by grabbing it by the tail and flinging it out the door!). What prompted me to write this entry today, was at 6:30pm after being gone all day, my 73 year old hostess came home on the back of motorbike. Love her! She's one tough broad. She's been through a lot, led an interesting life, and doesn't let anything stop her. {{IMG1|2016}}

Heading South - Monteverde to Zancudo
Feb 7, 2020 Costa Rica

As of last night, I didn't have a plan. I was nursing a hangover all day so was not motivated to buy a bus ticket or do much o ....

Heading South - Monteverde to Zancudo As of last night, I didn't have a plan. I was nursing a hangover all day so was not motivated to buy a bus ticket or do much of anything else. Robert came home in the afternoon from his few days away and it's a good thing I hadn't bought anything yet. He pointed out that my original plan of taking the bus all the way into San Jose, then getting one heading south, didn't make a whole lot of sense. Multiple web searches and various Costa Rica transportation sites later, I had a plan to take the morning bus to Puntarenas, then head down the coast. See My Trip From Monteverde to Panama. Robert even called Mario, his taxi guy, and he was waiting at the end of the driveway for me just after 5am (he arrived 1/2 an hour early so I was able to get the 5:30am instead of the 6am bus out of Monteverde). Good man. I slept most of the ride down here but first watched a beautiful sunrise over the lush mountains of Monteverde. I felt good. Despite some slight drama and typical drunken female emotions, I felt I was leaving there with good memories of my last time there. I didn't get to see quite a few of my MV friends in such a short visit, but I did see some and even met some new people (my friend's landlord/neighbors) who just arrived from Germany for their yearly 3-month stay at their beautiful home in Costa Rica and their relatives who own the general store in St. Elena. Of course all very nice people. They invited me to come visit them whenever I'm in town. It was funny, once the man there referred to Robert as the most famous foreigner in Costa Rica. That's quite a title! Feb 8 Sue was worried about me staying in Canoas (dangerous after dark) so she reached out to a friend of hers that has a hotel there. ₡18,000 ($32)/night. about average cost PLUS he had someone pick me up at the bus at no charge. That was nice. Nice clean aircon room. It was POURING rain when I arrived. I didn't even feel like going out for dinner. I just hung out, downloaded photos, showered, went to bed, and slept in until like 7:45!! In the morning I texted w/ Sue via WhatsApp, packed up, caught a taxi out front and met them at the usual (way overpriced) breakfast place. Seriously, ₡4,000 ($7) for a small coffee and some scrambled eggs. WTF. I left my luggage there while we shopped in Panama for the day. Typical unfocused shopping - ha ha but we did get it all done! I got some groceries for my stay in Zancudo and waited at the McDonalds in the City Mall while they finished. Then Carlos treated us to an ice cream cone while we waited for our ride. Their taxi driver Mauricio is great. For the standard price of $50 back to Zancudo, he makes many a stop along the way for them to pick things up for their restaurant. Wow, the duty free booze store is great there! $45 for a magnum of Absolut. I got quite a few good wines for $4/bottle, and Sue and I split a case of Corona for $24. Much cheaper than in Zancudo! Wasn't it a 6 pack of Corona that Dave wanted to buy here last year but it was like $18?! Oh and so funny. The booze shop had a DJ out front - yep, a DJ - and when we pulled up he started announcing over his PA Zancudo in the house LOL! Welcome Zancudo peeps, Coquito bar and cabinas, etc. ha ha I'm not sure which was funnier; that they had a DJ at the liquor store, or that they all knew Carlos and Sue! I got a case of beer and 8 bottles of wine for $55. Nap time for everyone on the way home after grabbing a few cans of Cuba Libre Pina Colada at one of our many stops. I'm so happy to be coming back to Zancudo.

Pet Sitting in Monteverde
Feb 6, 2020 Costa Rica

I slept most of the bus ride up to Monteverde. Yeah, those 4am nights are doing me in! But I loved the familiar drive up the hill, and even saw "the r ....

Pet Sitting in Monteverde I slept most of the bus ride up to Monteverde. Yeah, those 4am nights are doing me in! But I loved the familiar drive up the hill, and even saw the rock where we watched the sunset with drinks one night with some friends. I'm in familiar territory now. I got a taxi and somehow successfully told him where Robert's house was even though he absolutely did not believe me that I had any idea where I was going. He would tell me that there's an AirBnb off to the right. No, it's not an AirBnb I told him again. It's my friend's house. Casa Balbi? No! I stayed there before. Not Casa Balbi. LOL. Made it to his house and was greeted with the wonderful smells of pasta dinner cooking. What a nice surprise! Even the canned mushroom sauce turned out to be a winner. I feel so badly for people who are so gracious to cook for me and are really stumped by the whole vegetarian thing. Vanessa, Sue, Robert, all say something about not knowing how to cook vegetarian food. It's funny because for me it seems like it's easy. Vegan on the other hand.... So anyway, he got me all set up with a borrowed mattress on the floor of his office and he gave me the rundown on how to care for the house, kitty Layla, and pup Dusty. Layla is a beautiful Bengal cat but is very sensitive and only feels comfortable with her kitty daddy so the best thing I needed to do for her was give her a wide berth. It was pretty easy because she spent most of the day under the covers of his bed. Yes, under the covers in a cute little kitty blob. {{IMG1|2033}} Dusty I was already friends with from when Robert would bring her down to Casa Balbi to use their WiFi. She's a super sweet little dog with floppy ears and really about as good as a dog can be. His house, wow what a great spot he has! The next day after he left stealthily at 5am, I had the best day just enjoying the beauty and serenity and did absolutely nothing. He's up in the hills above Santa Elena, with a gorgeous view out over the jungle, hummingbirds in the feeders, other birds in the trees, gigantic trees, just OMG. Take a deep breath and soak it in. {{IMG1|2036}} {{IMG2|2035}} {{IMG2|2037}} He lives in a smaller house on the property of his landlords who have a bigger house that they stay in a few months out of the year. I actually met them when they came into town the night Robert got back and they invited us for drinks on their patio. More super nice people! So anyway, I enjoyed the view out the California room, I wandered around the property, I even like the laundry room that looks out over the trees. Love, love, love. So do I rent a house and make myself a little nest? Or do I just backpack it for a few years? The idea of a nest is nice. I just have to be able to 1) have it maintained and secure and 2) be able to easily get back to whatever part of the world it's in. {{IMG2|2039}} {{IMG2|2032}} Dusty and I went for a walk the next day. Up the hill, down the hill, back up the hill. Huff, puff. Geezus I'm out of shape and it's hot hot hot out. But soooo gorgeous. I have missed the cloud forest. I figured I couldn't just stay at the house for my entire visit so I texted my young bartender friend. Sure enough he's working. Good, I have a safe place to go. I hate going out alone. I felt pretty self-sufficient since now that I have a local SIM card I was able to call a taxi AND successfully explain to them in Spanish where the hell this house was. LOL I mean this is just a pitted dirt road that might see only a few cars that time of night. The description was something like You know Casa Balbi? Well past that on the road toward the big tour company. Turn before the pavement and you'll see me waiting on the road after that. I also felt pretty good knowing how much it was supposed to cost and just giving the driver the correct money like I knew what I was doing. ha ha. {{IMG2|2038}} So my usual discomfort being alone at a bar. I sat at the bar in hopes of talking to the one person I knew, but he was too busy to chat. I struck up conversation with a kid (30 years old) sitting next to me for a while. Taught him what chiliguaro was LOL. Eventually the bar died down and I had a chance to talk to my friend. I haven't mentioned yet what an incredibly kind and warm person this guy is. An old soul. We drank, talked, laughed, and even cried. The bar closed, the metal door was pulled down but we still hung out on the back patio enjoying a few more beers (and an unwelcome shot of rum that did not go down well). So, well, not even sure how this happened but all of a sudden it was after 5am and he missed his 4:20am bus to get home!!! WTF. He helped me get a cab home and I don't even know where he went since there was no way he could get home at that hour. OMG I was still recovering when Robert came home the next evening. Together we figured out the best way to get me headed south the next day, we enjoyed the company of his neighbors, and I hit the little single mattress on the floor of his office for a few hours sleep before the taxi picked me up at 5am. It was a short and rather uneventful visit to Monteverde, but I'm glad I came back to say goodbye.

Family Stay in Heredia
Feb 3, 2020 Costa Rica

When I didn't seem to find the time to head down from Monteverde last December to come see her at her house, I kept telling Vanessa I'd come visit her soon. ....

Family Stay in Heredia When I didn't seem to find the time to head down from Monteverde last December to come see her at her house, I kept telling Vanessa I'd come visit her soon. Well low and behold I ended up making plans to head back to Costa Rica about 5 weeks after I came home from my 2 months there last winter. I was excited, but also a little nervous to go visit her and stay at her house. Mainly, solely really, because of the language barrier. She doesn't speak any English and my Spanish is, um, fair at best. When we hung out in Monteverde (where we met - she was the live-in cleaning gal where I stayed until we all partied too much and she got fired - whoops!), we sometimes had other people with us that would help translate (albeit it poorly when it suited them), or our times together were short. Like going to the store or to dinner or when we did girly time and she ironed my hair while we drank beer to cure our hangovers. This would be full time hanging out, spending all day together, talking about important things, talking about silly things. How was I going to pull this off? Google Translate can only take you so far. It's not like I don't speak any Spanish but I swear it seems to get worse the harder I try! So me and my regular carry-on luggage, plus a giant duffel bag full of things for Vanessa, plus the dead dog (a set of tennis racquets and balls to donate to the children's park that was wrapped in black garbage bags wound with packing tape, making a lovely bundle complete with tape handle), made it out of the San Jose airport where I promptly lost WiFi signal. Shit, WhatsApp was my connection to Vanessa who was picking me up. {{IMG1|2031}} Outside the airport was the typical barrage of taxi drivers asking if I needed a ride but I happily told them (in Spanish) that my friend was coming to pick me up. .... but that I lost WiFi and wasn't sure where she was. What's her number? one of the guys says. He pulls out his phone, dials it, and hands me his phone. It was a genuinely nice gesture. The people are like that here. That might have been the first time I've spoken to Vanessa in some time. I always stick to text that I can easily translate. Long story longer, I finally realized that I should be waiting for her up on the road by the bus stop (outside the airport) instead of outside the baggage area. Thank god that duffel bag had wheels! About 15 minutes later she pulls up, runs out of the car and we have a big reunion hug. :) I was so beat after the red-eye flight. I nested a little bit on the large shelf she cleared for me in her bedroom (so nice of her) and took a nap. I love her house. Simple, in a nice area with nothing but trees behind their lot, 2 other small houses right next door with other family members in them, and even some aunts and uncles in houses out by the road. In her house it's her mom (who is so amazingly lovely), me and Vanessa in her room, and 2 boarders from Venezuela in the 3rd room. {{IMG1|2030}} That night they were having a surprise bachelorette party for her sister (who lives next door). They decorated and barbecued and I drank the boxed wine I bought at the pulperia down the block. I felt honored to be included. But it was also near impossible to do anything but sit there quietly and pretend with smiles and gestures that I was involved in the conversations. More wine. Perhaps some of these chips and beans will keep me busy. I was grateful when Vanessa said she and I were leaving to go to Karaoke. Yes, you heard me, I was grateful to be going to karaoke. LOL. We took a cab to a nearby bar where her friend works and I kid you not, not 5 minutes in, someone started singing Hotel California. More beer please. A shot of Cacique? Sure, why not. Oh, and did I mention that my friend hasn't really worked since she got fired so who do you think was sporting the bill for the entire night? Whatever, I knew that would be the case so it was an investment I was willing to make. That and probably at least $1,000 worth of clothing, nail polish, make-up, shoes, jewelry, and other things I brought her from the states that I wanted to get rid of. It was pretty cool actually, her whole family got stuff, even her nieces. And I saw Vanessa was wearing my things every day. Even afterward in FB photos. :) Good to see the stuff well received. {{IMG3|2020}} {{IMG3|2022}} {{IMG3|2023}} So anyway, that bar closed early so we went to a bar that took forever for me to understand what the name of it was. Tkche. What? Oh, it's T.K. Che whatever that means but at least it's pronounceable. More karaoke - Vanessa sings very well BTW - more beers, more chiliguaro (I have become quite fond of those). That bar closed at 1 or 2 and somehow I ended up in tow while a young cute guy she met at the bar took us to an after-hours place Vanessa knew of. I wanted them to just take me home, but instead we danced a while in the overcrowded bar, she shut him down, he tried putting his hands on me (not), and we left. But not before someone backed into his car. Got home at 4am. Slept most of the next day. {{IMG1|2026}} {{IMG1|2025}} Hung out at the house. Had some very nice talks with Vane and her mom. Her mom even made me cry. She told me I always had family there with them. Totally sincere. We all walked to the supermarket, then OMG I forgot about the Super Bowl! We tuned it in on their blurry TV and watched the half time show and some of the game. I told Vanessa that I really didn't want to, but if she wanted to go out, I would rally since we only had one more night together. She thought about it, then maybe just for a little while. Here we go again LOL. TKChe, another after hours bar (Otis?) near the other one, and again out until 4am! {{IMG2|2027}} {{IMG3|2024}} I had less money so after the bucket of beers, a lame dance with a guy who was still chewing his dinner - gross, and her disappointment that I would not buy her Cacique shots, we were going to leave. I was SO tired, I was counting the seconds until we went home. Almost made it. Then a mystery man bought us a round of beers, then her cousin showed up, started buying us drinks, and that was that. Slept until it was time to shower and get to the bus to go to Monteverde. She made me a wonderful breakfast and woke up her boarder and had him drive me to the 7-10 station (for a small fee of course). {{IMG2|2028}} {{IMG2|2029}} So that was my time visiting my local Tica friend. Such a close family and it was heartwarming to be a part of it for such a short time. She wanted me to stay longer but honestly with the language issue, it was so exhausting. Two nights was enough. She wants me to come back again after Zancudo. I do want to visit her again so we'll see when we can work it out. :)

Trying Out Whatever Comes My Way
Dec 30, 2019 Costa Rica

When I was in Costa Rica, a few unexpected opportunities presented themselves in the form of trade-work-for-lodging. Specifically to bui ....

Trying Out Whatever Comes My Way When I was in Costa Rica, a few unexpected opportunities presented themselves in the form of trade-work-for-lodging. Specifically to build a website in trade for a month of lodging, then one of them changed into possibly doing property management for a short time while the owners left the country for the off season. Everyone has always told me you can build websites for people as you travel in exchange for room & board, but I never really thought I wanted to. Particularly because of what I typically get paid vs. what the cost of a lodging exchange would give me. It's not even close to an even trade! I figure it's about a 5 to 1 ratio a best; if it's a nicer accommodation and I were working at my big job discounted rate. But now that the option is in front of me, it seems silly not to give it a shot. I mean you never know where life is trying to lead you. And you know I love geeking out and I can't stand it when people don't have a proper site. Hee hee. As long as I'm working with someone I like and it's something I'm passionate about, why not settle in, do some work, and get to know an area better than just passing through. I'm thinking that I shouldn't focus on what I THOUGHT I was going to do. What's the point in that? I always say that it's best to leave an open itinerary so that you can morph your plans as recommendations come your way, or if you just feel like staying longer or leaving early. This is just on a bit bigger scale. I didn't even think I'd really like Costa Rica and here I am going back already ... and am very excited about it! Who knows what path lies ahead, what chance meetings lead to opportunities or even what new friends I'll make. My original plan for traveling this year was to travel, moving around a lot, and not work. Basically do what I normally do when I travel for a month, but extend it much longer. But it already seems to be morphing into something different. First of all, staying longer term in one spot is something I think I like and might continue to do! But I'll also want to move around and see more of a country so we'll see how that balances out. The first talk of doing some work in Costa Rica was about building a website for one of my new friends in Zancudo, who doesn't even have one at the moment but really needs one. The other was possibly to build a new website for the place where I was staying in Monteverde (man, they really need an update - you know how much that bugs me! LOL), then it became the possibility of doing their property management for a short time while they owners went to Peru for the off season, then that one feel through altogether. But the website in Zancudo is on. I am heading back to Costa Rica in February! Woo hoo! I'll go visit some of the friends I made while I was there, then will buckle down and get a real estate website built. Then I'll spend a few weeks more checking out other parts of the country. I'm super excited about this new way of traveling. It's surprisingly unexpected.

More New Friends
Dec 19, 2019 Costa Rica

There's nothing like chasing away the solo-traveler blues with a couple of new friends. After I moved to apartment #2 up in the front of the compound, two women checked ....

It's A New Season
Dec 17, 2019 Costa Rica

Wow, there's something about it here now that's making me feel so good. It's like the tide has turned. I know I'm a bit manic and I'm still having some pretty lonely ....

It's A New Season Wow, there's something about it here now that's making me feel so good. It's like the tide has turned. I know I'm a bit manic and I'm still having some pretty lonely moments, but in general I've felt great the last few days. The season has literally changed. The rain and gusty winds have, for the most part, subsided and there's sunshine and blue sky. There was even a full double rainbow the other day when a fleeting sprinkle came through the property. {{IMG1|1704}} I have seen a couple more Motmots, a Montezuma Oropendola, and a Guan Jungle Turkey. More butterflies have emerged and a blue morpho even flitted right around my head the other day when I was walking on the jungle paths. I'm feeling thinner, I even started working out today. By working out I mean that I filled a water bottle to be equal weight as my Alexa Tap and did a bunch of arm exercises. Time to get this old gal in shape! It's not much but at least it's a start. I'm almost out of food which is good, but now I am a bit limited with what I have to eat. I ate cereal with water instead of milk today. You know, it's not all that different! {{IMG1|1706}} ------------------------ I had to pause what I was writing because things changed yet again. It really is a new and fresh season! Just like any time traveling, you make do. Most of the time, the things people might find important at home, are really not all that important. I continue to use the shower across the courtyard in one of the extra sort-of staff rooms since my hot water doesn't really work. But now today the owner's son arrived and he's staying in there. Where am I to shower??? They loaded all his stuff into that room, then I was allowed to go shower before he unpacked and settled in. I just figured I'd take it day by day and shower wherever there was a place for me. OMG, and because of the shower issues, my hosts so graciously offered me to stay 2 nights in their nicest studio before I leave; the new one they had designed by someone in town and built from scratch. They blocked it off for me and I changed my flight. I was originally supposed to fly, um, today. Yesterday I had a sudden onslaught of what we determined to be wasp larvae falling from the ceiling of my casita and covering the floor! Yikes, We cleaned them all up and I continued to find a few more here and there that I just swept up with the hand broom. Then this morning, it became apparent that there must be a wasp infestation in the ceiling. I showed the owner the new batch of larvae and he immediately said you need to move, you can't stay here. He went up to the house and blocked off the next 2 days in one of their other (of 4 total) apartment/studios. Wow, so nice. I mean yeah I really couldn't stay there but still. I'm also in a much more budget room than either of these. So now I'm all moved into my new place, the one where my friend Michelle stayed last week. It's really nice and bright and more updated than mine down below. I'm also up closer to the parking lot and house, and apparently all the action. A couple of women just moved in upstairs above me and I already spotted a loose cow, so they had to deal with that. I tell ya' the fun never ends around here! {{IMG1|1707}}

Everything Always Works Out
Dec 13, 2019 Costa Rica

It's been an interesting few days. I have (surprise surprise) been feeling an array of emotions now that I'm starting to plan what day I'll leave ....

Everything Always Works Out It's been an interesting few days. I have (surprise surprise) been feeling an array of emotions now that I'm starting to plan what day I'll leave here. But as usual, things always work out. The universe has a way of making everything wonderful as long as you're open to it. There was a day earlier this week where I was feeling lonely. I don't like that feeling and was trying to figure out how to get myself out of it. I slumped around, then walked down the hill to the store to use the very last of my colones to buy some wine. Yay me. Walking by Eco Paz (the cool kids eco park next door to where I'm staying), there were a bunch of people playing tennis (actually mountain tennis or is it jungle tennis?). I stopped by on my way back from the store, just in time for a gorgeous sunset view from the tennis court. One of the other guests where I'm staying showed up over there w/ a rum drink in hand. My kinda gal! LOL We ended up having a personal tour of Eco Paz, it's gardens, future development, history, etc. (in the complete dark LOL) by Sergio who runs the place. Then over the next 2 days (somehow managing through our hangovers) this girl and I hung out doing tourist stuff which was great because I probably wasn't going to do any of that stuff otherwise. I had a really good time having someone to pal around with. See Being a Tourist for a Couple of Days in Monteverde for all the cool stuff we did! I was feeling a bit nostalgic the day I started to make plans to leave next week. But then I went out and hung out with some local friends and they made it all okay. I have a problem sometimes getting too attached - to anything - to a friend, to a habit, to an idea, to a place, even to things. But now I know I'll just look back at this time and know it was a great part of my healing process and I did make some genuine friends that I'll keep in touch with. I even got a napkin sketch to hang on to! :) Sometime next week I'll head to the city and visit at least one, if not two of the new people I've met here on this trip. Then back home to more amazing people and adventures ahead! I know I post a lot about my ups and downs. It's mainly because I don't want it to seem like travel is always perfect fluff. Some of us have a hard time with being alone, and sometimes travel helps you deal with other issues in your life. It's not just one big vacation, but it sure is great.

The Shower That Refuses to Get Hot
Dec 7, 2019 Costa Rica

Okay this is just getting funny now. My poor poor host here in Monteverde. He put in an entirely new beautiful modern bathroom right ....

The Shower That Refuses to Get Hot Okay this is just getting funny now. My poor poor host here in Monteverde. He put in an entirely new beautiful modern bathroom right before I arrived. It even has (had) a hot water heater instead of the typical widow-maker or suicide shower type of instant-on in the showerhead itself. He was pretty proud of it. Rightly so until I had to take a shower. No hot water. On recommendation of his plumber, I turned on the sink hot water to get hot water into the shower pipes, then turn on the shower hot water. Nope, as soon as the sink hot water ran out, it was only cold. I could get just enough hot water to soap up and quick rinse. Then I'd jump out of the shower, run the sink again, and get a few more seconds of hot water so I didn't freeze. This went on for days. My host would tell me don't worry, we have a Plan B. The electrical / plumber guy would come, look for something, replace the hot water heater entirely (!), redo some plumbing, then finally Plan D was to put in a widow-maker. I felt so bad the problems he was having and that he had to un-do his nice hot water tank. Such is the rental business i suppose, but I am all too familiar with the headaches and stress this sort of thing causes. So brand new widow-maker. Well, um, that didn't hold either. I would get like 30 seconds of hot water, then it would freeze! Sometimes I could get my hair washed before it got cold, sometimes not. I followed the instructions and ran it strong for a minute, then backed off to very little water pressure because that's the point where the water gets hot. As this was going on, Vanessa the live-in maid offered for me to use her shower. My host actually offered for me to use the one in their home too which was super gracious but I just felt more comfortable using hers. So I had to coordinate with her when I needed to shower, texting in Spanish. She'd let me into her small room and I was finally able to get clean. OMG it felt so good. :) Over the last 2 weeks it's been on again, off again. I'll get enough warm/hot water to eke out a shower or sometimes just take a cold shower, but it's never been quite right. Chino comes back to spread more mud and check the electricity, etc. I have a feeling they think I'm just an idiot and don't know how to use it. I got to thinking that too! Last night the new cleaning gal came over because she has the exact same one at home. She tired it out. Nope, she declared it broken. OMG poor host. Back over across the courtyard in the rain this morning to Vanessa's place. But she's back in the city now and the key is left in the door so I can use it whenever I want. It's working out fine.

Shopping, Agouti, and Boas - Eeks
Dec 7, 2019 Costa Rica

There hasn't been much new the last few days which is good. The town had it's annual Parade of Lights and there were activities throug ....

Shopping, Agouti, and Boas - Eeks There hasn't been much new the last few days which is good. The town had it's annual Parade of Lights and there were activities throughout the town all day for kids and families. It's one of those days, quite frankly, when you want to avoid town. Anyone who has ever lived in a tourist destination can understand. Steer clear of the shit show. LOL Feeling a little too backpackery (my new friend Vanessa always has on makeup and real clothes when we go out, her hair looks nice and she even smells good!), I caught a lift into town and tried to do a little shopping. Again grateful for the tour and suggestions from my host, I was able to find a $40 dress on sale for $5 - woohoo! Of course it's way too cold to wear it without the wrap that I usually have. I might not even be able to wear it unless I can do so when I go visit Vanessa in the city. I tried to find a few other things (hair dye?) but was largely unsuccessful. I either couldn't find it or it was so so expensive. See Conflict with My Backpacker Style (or Lack Thereof). I did manage to walk around to a few places and found one of the main things I was looking for; a nice warm top at a second-hand clothing store. The woman there was so nice, we joked around a bit, and she gave me a discount on the top. :) Now thank god I have something to wear around the casita to keep a little warmer. I'm fucking freezing here! I did not pack properly. A nice woman at the coffee hut let me use their WiFi to find my ride home. I'm sure the walk would have done me good but it's quite a ways from the SuperMega to home and up some super steep hills. I have lost a decent amount of weight (I think) since I've been here. I just love the whole automatic travel weight loss thang. On the drive home we saw a cute agouti and I was told that the other day there were some cars stopped in the road for a giant boa. Like giant! Like eat a baby giant. OMG. I actually would not mind seeing one. Just not too close. Even though it feels sort of strange not checking out all the amazing things to do around here, I'm thoroughly enjoying being chill. I am occasionally hanging out with some of the folks who live here but am otherwise just laying low. It's what I need.

Proof That I Need All This Crap
Nov 28, 2019 Costa Rica

Every trip I end up with my packing cube full of stuff that sits there barely touched. I'ts like the stuff drawer in the kitchen at home b ....

Nose to the Grindstone
Nov 25, 2019 Costa Rica

I'm finally spending a ton of hours trying to get caught up on at least some parts of this sadly unfinished website of mine! Since my nice welcome tour of t ....

Making the Move to Monteverde
Nov 22, 2019 Costa Rica

I left my home in Playa Zancudo this morning a bit nervous about doing this big travel day alone. It's so much easier to have somebody else to ....

Making the Move to Monteverde I left my home in Playa Zancudo this morning a bit nervous about doing this big travel day alone. It's so much easier to have somebody else to travel with and say do you think this is the right bus?, or laughing, how much do you think we overpaid for that bus?. I got out to the main (only) road by 5:45 to wait for the bus. What a quiet morning on this long straight dirt road. Once in a while someone would come down the road either walking or on their bike, just to briefly come into my life for a buenos días then to disappear down the road in the other direction. I successfully got the first bus (an old school bus type out of Zancudo). Honestly my biggest trepidation was getting up my heavy bag up into the bus. I also worried that the bus will be too full for me to find a spot to put it at my feet and I pictured myself bumping in to people with all my bags going down the aisle. But as luck would have it, there were only two other people on the bus so I grabbed the front seat and a woman helped me with one of my bags. Once in a while a tiny dot will appear down the road. The tiny dot gets closer and closer until it walks by down the long stretch of road to become a tiny dot yet again. The ride was beautiful. It was a super misty morning like you almost couldn’t see where the road went. We passed fields full of spiderwebs covered in morning dew and strung horizontally between the grasses. It was like a spiderweb farm. Then I started seeing them on the barbed wire fences. So you have these rustic fences made out of trees and barbed wire, decorated with dew-laden webs. It would have been a photographer's dream. Of course there was no way for me to get a photo from my seat on the bumpy bus through the dirty window. Can I ask the bus driver to stop? Surely the busload of people wouldn't mind. LOL Along the dirt road, they recently installed big aqueduct pipes under the road, but they didn't bury them enough. They're so tall that the bus almost high-centered on them! That and they were so steep and muddy slippery that we almost didn't make it over one of them. They have since re-installed them. {{IMG1|2220}} An hour and a full bus of passengers later, when the bus stopped in the small town of Comte, I was able to hop right off the bus into a colectivo taxi. Then the woman that was on the bus at first came over to share the taxi so I didn’t even have to wait until we got enough people to go. We only picked up one other guy on the way. Arrived in Paso Canoas about 7:30am. Of course the 8:30am bus is full but the lady at the ticket window promises me that the 9am bus will get to Quepos on time for me to get my shuttle. I think I totally overpaid though. I know it’s more expensive because it’s direct but I feel like I paid to go all the way to San Jose instead of just to Quepos (10,400). It turns out that yes, you pay the fare for the full ride regardless of where you’re getting off! Maybe I paid 1500 for luggage??? Now I’m waiting by the immigration windows for my Tracopa bus. A green one, not a pink one. I think the daily group of immigrants are probably going to come this way soon crossing the border on their way to the US. Yep, at around 8:20 they came through like clockwork. {{IMG1|2223}} {{IMG2|2224}} {{IMG2|2225}} Quepos Wow, it feels so different here in Quepos. So many people speak English and there are proper little American cafés, ice cream shops, and a best Western Casino (where I’m supposed to wait for the shuttle). I got here to the meeting spot at about 12:45. Not bad timing at all. Of course it turns out that the 9:30 direct bus I was on doesn't actually stop in Quepos. So they just dropped me on the freeway and I had to get a taxi for 2000 colones. It’s more money, more money, more money. I said something like that to the taxi driver and he just said Welcome to Costa Rica! There are not only a lot of gringos here, but there are gringo birds too - pigeons! {{IMG2|2227}} {{IMG2|2228}} After I walked the malacón a little bit, I ate my packed lunch on a bench where I could watch the front of the hotel / casino where I was to meet my shuttle. A cricket just landed on the front of my tank top and got caught in the bra of my top. I got it out of the bottom of my shirt without too much trouble but I had to laugh. I didn't have to wait long until a guy came across the road asking if I was Leslie. Cool, he was early! And despite this being a somewhat crowded area, he found me no problem. Off I go! What a great ride on the shuttle. Interesting Stops Along the Coast Highway in Costa Rica. See Getting to Monteverde from Southern Costa Rica for options and details on this route.

Adversity - a Test or a Warning?
Nov 22, 2019 Costa Rica

I seem to be facing a lot of adversity on this trip. Is it a test to see if I can handle it? Is it a sign that I shouldn’t be doing th ....

Adversity - a Test or a Warning? I seem to be facing a lot of adversity on this trip. Is it a test to see if I can handle it? Is it a sign that I shouldn’t be doing this? Or am I just so out of sorts that I’m attracting all of this? I was feeling pretty good about how things went yesterday. It took so much effort to come up with a travel plan that would work to get me here to Monteverde without spending like $100. I did end up spending $63 but that was reasonable given the circumstances. AND I got here all in one day which was seeming impossible until Larry (my new host) reached out to the local shuttle. At the last minute they got a booking to make a drop-off down in Quepos where I was then able to get a ride back with them for WAY less than any other shuttles wanted (like half the price at $30). I had an awesome journey with my driver who was so nice. He stopped for me to take photos at the Jaco view point, let me out to view the crocodiles in Tarcoles, then we picked up a couple of locals and stopped for me to take photos of the sunset on the way up the hill. {{IMG1|1404}} The unfortunate part was when my daypack slid off the seat on one particularly sharp turn, breaking my camera. It didn’t even last one trip. And I’ve been SO excited with that camera! The photos I've been able to take are amazing! So I will have no good photos of the rain forest here, but I'm pretty lucky because my laptop was in that bag too. How did I even let that happen? I also seem to have had yet more money go “missing”. I don’t even want to get into it because it doesn’t do any good to get upset over. But I was upset and my budget is now blown. This doesn't bode well for living off of my retirement budget. {{IMG2|1403}} {{IMG2|1405}} LATER: Day one is barely coming to a close. Actually, I guess I’m almost exactly 24 hours in to Monteverde. Yesterday on my shuttle drive I was thinking how much I didn’t care of Costa Rica. Don’t get me wrong, there are things I LOVE about it, but driving through all those tourist places - ugh. Not only the Western restaurants in the small surf towns but the full on fancy housing developments! It just seemed like Costa Rica has turned into the US’s (and other countries?) own personal back yard. I entered the world of US dollars instead of the local currency. That’s never a good sign. There are more Western restaurants than Costa Rican sodas. And the souvenir shops – oh my gosh they’re everywhere! But now standing on my patio with a glass of wine, listening to the stream and the crickets (or are they frogs?) coming from the jungle (or is it a rain forest?), I found myself wondering if I could move here for maybe a year on my future budget. What?! In a strange way this place reminds me of Park City back in the day. And honestly if I had just come here as a tourist, I’d probably not love it so much. But Larry’s mini-tour around town has already shown me that there are ways to enjoy it here away from the tourist frenzy.

Building a New Nest in Monteverde
Nov 22, 2019 Costa Rica

Wow, I love my new place! And the owner really puts his heart into it. He and his 85 year old father run the place and the two of them ....

Building a New Nest in Monteverde Wow, I love my new place! And the owner really puts his heart into it. He and his 85 year old father run the place and the two of them are so helpful and friendly. The view from my private patio is the real star the show. He did mention big boas in the forest behind the house but not even in a bad way! LOL WTF. He was saying how beautiful they are and that they wouldn’t jump on you and squeeze you. And that even the deadly poisonous snakes back there are timid and would rather run than bit you and that their mouths are so complicated that it would be hard for them to bite you anyway. Oh that and if I find anything in my room like a scorpion, I could feel free to call him to get it out. I feel much safer now. Not. Not only did he give me some eggs and an avocado so I’d have something to eat last night, but today he drove me all around town showing me so many things; places to eat, hikes to go on, where to shop, etc. etc. Then he dropped me at the grocery store so I could stock up. It would be hard to carry all that wine home from the store if I had to walk! LOL Along with the few things I lugged up here from Zancudo, I got all stocked up on $30 for groceries and $27 for wine. {{IMG2|1401}} {{IMG2|1402}} The studio was lacking a few things but I simply asked him about them and he had them here quickly (a frying pan, sharp knife, extra blanket, etc.). I asked him if he minded if I rearranged (since I can’t help myself and I’d have to do it anyway). Thankfully he’s so easy going and told me I could even rearrange the wall hangings if I wanted! Fortunately, there are not wall hangings that are misplaced so I don’t have to have that temptation. {{IMG1|1399}} Santa Elena sure has grown since I was here 19 years ago. But in some ways it feels the same. Small mountainy town vibe, artistic and nature-focused. We even drove by my old hostel (Pension Santa Elena) today and I saw my old room and even the hammock where I would lay and read the Chronicles of Narnia - it was still there! It’s amazing how much there is to do here. A ton of it requires some hefty entry fees, but there are a lot of free things to do here, too. He gave me so much information that I finally had to start writing it down and I’ll still forget a ton of it. So for now I’m just nesting and getting settled in. The internet seems to have gone out in the entire country due to some tree falling on a line (?) so hopefully it will get fixed soon. I normally wouldn’t mind but Dave might worry and I do have a lot of work to do on my site.

Travel Plan Challenge & Raffle Tix
Nov 20, 2019 Costa Rica

OMG What a pain in the ass it is to get out of this place! I'll get into more of the details later but I have spent so much ....

New Friends Feel Like Old Friends
Nov 19, 2019 Costa Rica

Just getting settled into Zancudo and it's almost time to leave. I made some new friends, mainly my neighbor Sue who we met while Dave ....

Happy Birthday Cynthia!
Nov 18, 2019 Costa Rica

I'd normally be traveling with Cynthia for her birthday. November just works out to be a great time to travel both for the weather where we want to go and ....

Happy Birthday Cynthia! I'd normally be traveling with Cynthia for her birthday. November just works out to be a great time to travel both for the weather where we want to go and for getting time away from the responsibilities at home. In fact we had been planning on her being here. That's one of the things we talked about in her final hours; the cool little places I found to rent for the two of us in Costa Rica. Soooo, I spent today with my imaginary friends; Mom and Cynthia. They hung out with me on the porch all morning, then we had a nice time at the beach, and now we're back home again. Girls' day. :) I may sound like a lunatic but I don't care. The three of us have been spending a great day together for her birthday. {{IMG1|1369}} So today I started. I started doing the healing things that I've been meaning to do on this trip. 3 1/2 weeks in, but hey, I knew it would take me a while to wind down and get into it. I certainly have the random crying part down pat, but the productive soul-cleansing has been lacking. I attempted a 10 minute beginner's yoga on YouTube this morning which was pretty hilarious, but I did it. Then I found a great guided centering meditation also on YouTube. My mind wandered quite a bit but I kept bringing myself back to the focus and I was able to release some tension. My throat has been so tight and I even have to take some deep breaths sometimes and have some tightness in my chest. I do believe it's all just stress. I have a long way to go, but I finally started which feels really really good. It's the best birthday present I can give to Cynthia at this point (and to everyone else who is close to me), especially since I'm not attending her Celebration of Life in Park City this evening. Impermanence is in the very nature of things and relationships It's so hard to know how to deal with grief (which I feel I'm relatively okay with), the trauma and shock of losing them both (this is the main thing that I think is effecting me), and the need to re-define myself (no idea how that's going to go). I still have some amazing people in my life who I consider family. I'm lucky to have them and cherish how much they mean to me. But at the same time, these two did consist of a sizable portion of my people and my daily interactions and thoughts that involved them are now gone. I not only have to figure out how to travel alone (hopefully I will have new travel buddies - I even have one already in the works!), but also deal with NOT excitedly planning my trips with Cynthia and NOT being able to call my mom and tell her all the cool stuff I'm doing. Major changes. Walking on the beach today I let the wind blow right through my soul. I took it all in that I'm here in Costa Rica. I'm traveling alone. It might feel like I'm floundering but I'm not really. I'm doing it.

Alone Again
Nov 16, 2019 Costa Rica

It's been a wonderful week with Dave, David, and my new Facebook travel group friend here. I was so happy to have my guy here and even a bit more family drama entered the picture ....

Alone Again It's been a wonderful week with Dave, David, and my new Facebook travel group friend here. I was so happy to have my guy here and even a bit more family drama entered the picture right when they were arriving. I tell ya' 2019 has been an emotionally shit year! So anyway, it was extra good to have some support this week in particular. I won't get into it all, but basically I was asked to cut my trip short to come home and help out a family member. Normally i'd be all over that if I weren't in such bad shape myself. I'm just barely getting wound down here and will begin to work on healing myself in the coming month I have here. To go home now would be disastrous for me. Fortunately we got it all worked out and although I feel a bit guilty, I can't tell you what a relief it is. We did a bit of this and that during the week. Hung out on the amazing deck here and watched the free entertainment of the wildlife, watched the tropical downpours, drove over to Golifito for a meal and cheaper grocery shopping, walked around Arena Alta (Noah's place), found a sloth on the neighbor's property, drove over to Pavones surf town (where basically everything was closed for the season), and ate at Sol y Mar a couple of times, even during the day-long power outage. It's so rare that I get to share my travels with my guy (other than the nice vacations we go on together)! But the guys left yesterday and Drew left this morning. I will admit that as soon as Dave drove away yesterday, quite a bit of anxiety and depression set in. I felt so so alone and was wondering what the hell I'm doing here when the few people I have left that care about me are at home. But I know home is no good for me right now and I won't be able to start to mend with the memories and material things piled around me there. I got a nice email from a travel friend the other day saying how when you lose the people that were such a big part of your life, that you're left having to redefine yourself. That's a good way to put it and a good thing for me to focus on. So now I have the beach house back to myself and I have some new food that both Dave bought me and that I inherited from Drew when she left this morning. I almost inherited some vodka, but we decided to polish that off at 9:30 this morning while she was packing. LOL P.S. It sure is hard to work on my website with people around to play with!

Fresh Clean Morning
Nov 10, 2019 Costa Rica

Holy cow did it come down last night! The hardest it has since I’ve been here, and for a long time. I wonder where poor Mr. sloth went for the rain. Some critte ....

Fresh Clean Morning Holy cow did it come down last night! The hardest it has since I’ve been here, and for a long time. I wonder where poor Mr. sloth went for the rain. Some critter took refuge on my deck last night because there are little sandy foot prints all over my sofa. The mornings are indescribable. It’s like it never rained at all except for everything is cleaned off and fresh. The birds are chirping the sun is even peeking its head out this morning. I was just having a chat with my mom and Cynthia and a gorgeous iridescent blue Morpho butterfly flew by down near the beach. It’s so big and vibrant that I could easily see it flutter on by from my deck. Seriously magical. As usual, I got up at around 5:30 with the morning light and the birds, not all of which are pleasant sounding. I already have all the sheets and laundry going ( gotta get it dried on the line before the rain comes!) to get ready for Dave and David to arrive in two days! Yay! I’m just a little worried if they’re going to like it or not. I mean who wouldn’t? But I know David likes to be on the go a lot and there’s not a whole lot to do around here. It also could rain the whole time they’re here. But I’ll be very happy to see them :-) Down by the laundry room I saw this bright armored Spiny Orb Weaver spider (right where I had taken my bike between the bushes last night) weaving her meticulous web. Then when I went down later after the morning drizzle, her web was all gone and she was left with only a few of the base threads. Poor girl. {{IMG1|1362}} So last night I rode my bike down to the restaurant to meet a girl from one of my Facebook travel groups. It’s very strange how this worked out and pretty cool. I had made a post to the group just about Costa Rica and some of the pretty pictures from here so far. I was happy to see it get quite a few comments. In short, one of the girls in the group had already been thinking about Costa Rica and seeing that was just the night she needed to book her ticket. She looked at San Kudo I decided it look like the place with her so she booked a ticket and arrived yesterday! I have to say that the travel groups of really changed Facebook for me. Just something like this happening at all is a pretty cool thing. So anyway we had a couple of beers and dinner and had a nice chat. I like her. She’s pretty chill and it was nice to have someone to visit with. UPDATE: What a jinxer I was with this post! It's now all blustery and rainy. Terrible day to have done laundry. I have some hanging under the house (which has probably blown into the dirt by now) and the rest of it over the railings getting pelted with a steady mist. {{IMG1|1363}}

Guilt and Glee
Nov 9, 2019 Costa Rica

Well I'm in full on hermit mode at the moment. I swear it's a good thing I have food or I might starve to death lest I have to leave the property. What the hell kind of tra ....

My $10 Cinnamon Rolls
Nov 6, 2019 Costa Rica

For being so secluded, it's actually hard to have an entire day to yourself here. First of all, it's no surprise they start work early here. I have a feel ....

My $10 Cinnamon Rolls For being so secluded, it's actually hard to have an entire day to yourself here. First of all, it's no surprise they start work early here. I have a feeling it has more to do with getting done before the afternoon heat or showers than it has to do with the songbirds and parrots waking you up at 5:30. It seems that more days than not, David just shows up around 7:30 am to do some sort of maintenance. I'm not complaining. This place is kept in top notch condition and they work hard to do it. But sometimes a little warning might be nice. Like give me time to put on a bra! Yesterday around 7:40 am, one of the other brothers, Fredy, the one who collects coconuts on the beach to sell to a processing plant in San Jose, came by. Un-showered and bra-less, I grabbed a scarf to hide my boobs. In short, I ended up spending an hour on video chat doing my best to translate for him and Lynn (who had befriended him when she was here). He came here all clean-shaven (much better sin mustache!) and saying that he'd like to take her up on her offer to come visit and that he wanted to work in the US. Hmmm. Apparently the company told him they wouldn't pay him for the last batch of coconuts he sent because they were too young and small. He said work is crap here. We asked how much is the minimum amount of money he needs to pay all his bills here and he said $1,500 USD! What? It's expensive here! Well perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he has 4 kids from 3 different women. ;) Anyway, it was an exhausting morning and honestly I think my Spanish got worse and worse as the time went on. But I did get a treat in the afternoon. Ellie stopped by bringing me a fresh warm loaf of bread and half a dozen cinnamon rolls with a sack of icing! Oh yes! I can't lie that I was a little surprised that she wanted $10 since I'm used to bakeries in other countries being a great dirt-cheap place to get food, but I guess here the prices are more like US prices, she is an expat (again I was surprised - was expecting a Costa Rican woman, silly me), and she did deliver it. {{IMG1|1356}} Using both colones and dollars here make it a bit more confusing and trying to figure out who is giving you what exchange rate puts and extra spin on it. You'll get anywhere from 550 to 600 colones per dollar exchange. I found myself (probably still mid-shock over the unexpected-but-totally-worth-it price - what's wrong with me?!) getting frustrated by not being able to properly figure out how to pay her with what meager colones I had left and her not having change, and I ended up acting like a total freak trying to figure out the right payment! ha ha I'm sure she just wanted to get out of there and was wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Thankfully Dave and David are coming next week and I can have them bring me some colones. No ATM here and I, being in the state of mind I'm in (one of the reasons I'm here - to clear my head), didn't get proper money out of the ATM in Golfito before we came over on the boat. P.S. I ate a cinnamon roll right away - perfect. :) And I had a slice of the bread last night to make avocado toast - divine! Best $10 spent on food. :)

Got Some Expat Connections
Nov 5, 2019 Costa Rica

Well I moved the table away from the window and there was no raccoon last night! Fingers crossed that does it. I cleaned up all the oil (somehow the ....

Got Some Expat Connections Well I moved the table away from the window and there was no raccoon last night! Fingers crossed that does it. I cleaned up all the oil (somehow the raccoon got oily wet stuff all over) and sand and gecko poop and it feels good. Aside from the critter dirt, there's a certain beach slime that accumulates. I have the same thing at home. I just found out there are sloths and toucans around here! I just need to go walk around the jungle on the other side of the road. Not like I would know how to spot a slot if there was one within 10 feet of me. Susan stopped by yesterday for about half an hour. It was nice to have someone to hang out with for a few. She's so helpful and nice. I feel like I barrage her with questions whenever I see her. She not only called Noah (a guy who has nice property to walk around - for a fee LOL), but she called Ellie the local baker and somehow I seem to have ordered half a dozen cinnamon rolls. She called and ordered just as if ordering from a friend. Well, she probably is a friend. But that's how it is around here. I had first titled this blog entry Got Some Local Connections but that didn't feel right since it's all white people, not Ticos. I suppose they are locals because they live here but still. Quite honestly, I was surprised when Susan turned out to be a white woman. She's had property here since 1977 and is about as local as local can be at this point but I just picture encountering so many expats instead true locals! Noah, too, turned out to be a guy from California. Noah has the Arena Alta Wildlife Village. It's the first property coming into Zancudo from the South so it's right before the road bends. About 10 min by bike from my place. It's hard to miss with a large arched gate and purple grass along the front. He has tours for $20 each but he said he'd just walk me around himself for $10. He has paths in the jungle proper and more developed paths around where he's trying to sell lots. Trying to sell lots in a swampy lowland? Make your own opinion there. ;) But I hear it's beautiful and even though the animals just live there wild, he knows where the sloths and such live so he can point them out. During wet season, it's recommended to buy rubber boots from the market for $10, then just donate them to someone afterward. You can wear whatever you want but they'll get soaked. He also has people that supply more expensive tours like kayaking, boating, and horseback riding. All around the $50+ range. 506-8896-1661

I Have Someone to Clean My Yard
Nov 5, 2019 Costa Rica

This is my 5th day alone in Costa Rica. Time sure flies when you're doing nothing! I am really loving the feeling of not HAVING to do anyt ....

I Have Someone to Clean My Yard This is my 5th day alone in Costa Rica. Time sure flies when you're doing nothing! I am really loving the feeling of not HAVING to do anything. Fortunately, my tendency to be a hermit goes along with my intent for this trip; to spend time working on my website and to work on healing myself. As remote as this place is, there always seems to be someone here doing maintenance of some sort. That can be nice so I don't feel so secluded, but it also interrupts my privacy. I have had to put a bra on way more than I'd like! LOL Yesterday, the property manager's worker, David, came over to spray the giant wasps again and to change out a few light bulbs. Today David brought over a guy that speaks English and says today I am going to clean your yard. Okay, sure. I must say it's really nice! It's a bit odd living like an expat and I'm not entirely comfortable with the separation between us and the locals, but it's interesting and feels a bit posh. Ha ha so it turns out that this guy cleaning up the yard is yet another one of David's 6 brothers. Lynn and I met his brother Freddy last week while he was collecting coconuts on the beach. They are all very friendly and it's nice to chat with them and practice my Spanish but I'm trying to make sure the line is quite clear that even though i'm a woman alone, that a) I have a husband at home (boyfriend, whatever, same same) and b) that I'm not interested in any extra curricular activities! One of the first things this guy asked me was if I had a husband. He offered to take me to the surfer beach and I would really like to ask him if I could tag along to go to Paso Canoas (the town on the Panamanian border where everyone buys less expensive groceries) with him on Saturday, but it all seems like it would be inappropriate. But I could really use some more wine! LOL {{IMG1|1349}} {{IMG2|1345}} {{IMG2|1344}} Last night was pitch dark again (David turned off the neighboring house's outside light when he was in there doing maintenance) and the raccoon tried to get in the kitchen screen again! This time it didn't freak me out nearly as much since I knew what it was, although it's still not fun being woken up in the middle of the night by something trying to get in your house! I yelled at it and it didn't come back the rest of the night. There was also a break in the clouds so there were stars last night! I went down in the yard to look at them for a bit but I have to admit that I'm still a bit wary of what might be crawling around out there after dark. I have had some interesting dreams about both Mom and Cynthia that also wake me up in the middle of hte night so I am not getting much sleep. But the beauty of being alone her and the free feeling of not HAVING to do anything is wonderful. I can nap any time of day, be lazy, work, not work, read, stroll to the beach even if only for a moment. No guilt, no stress, no expectations. I am trying really hard to not put any expectations on myself either. I know I'm not very good at getting out there by myself so if I stay around the house, so be it. I mean hanging out here enjoying the tropical birds and iguanas doesn't exactly suck.

I Now Have a Zillion Photos of Birds and Flowers
Nov 1, 2019 Costa Rica

It's like I've become obsessed. First of all, the sheer number of beautiful and colorful birds, plants, ....

I Now Have a Zillion Photos of Birds and Flowers It's like I've become obsessed. First of all, the sheer number of beautiful and colorful birds, plants, and flowers here is incredible. Oh yeah, I can't leave out the other animals like the iguanas! Second, I am SO happy I decided to bring my mom's digital camera instead of just using my phone for photos. It's a camera I had bought her. Not very expensive but it has a 20x optical zoom! I was pretty excited to try it out and it was definitely an experiment worth doing. The photos are turning out kinda cool if I do say so myself! We've been doing a lot of relaxing; it's what you do here. But we decided to get out so Lynn and I went on a walk on the other side of the road. David told me where I could find the start of the little road and I think we could have taken it much further than we did but we took so long taking photos of everything an talking to a very nice local man back there, that we didn't get very far. LOL So I took a ton of photos of flowers and insects and finally scored what I had been trying to get - a worthy photos of the macaws! They were a big tease all week. You could hear them squawking on their way to fly near the house. I'd jump up every time with my camera hoping to catch them or at last see where they landed. There are so darn many trees that even if you think you hear them nearby, it's hard to tell where they are. I really really want to catch a good photo of them in flight. I got a bare little piece of a photo of one and it's so pretty! Well this time their rather ugly noise was coming from right in the top of the neighbor's tree. The one with no leaves at the top; great to capture the colorful what-you-normally-only-see-in-cages animal. I'm so glad the neighbor's house it closed up for the season but honestly I probably would have gone over into their yard regardless. And in addition to them being close by, the sky is actually blue for once! Total score. They have come around pretty close a few more times since then. Enough to have way more photos than I could ever need. But I'm sure I'll have a few hundred more by the time I leave. ;) In fact, oops, I just took a break from writing this to go take pictures of some that landed across the road. I think I'll make a separate post just for all the leaves and critters I have photos of.

Determined to Go to the Halloween Party
Nov 1, 2019 Costa Rica

Well that was fun. We kept hearing about the Halloween party at Sol y Mar, the only restaurant open this time of year and ....

Determined to Go to the Halloween Party Well that was fun. We kept hearing about the Halloween party at Sol y Mar, the only restaurant open this time of year and sort of the meeting place for the expats, and on special occasions such as this, even the locals join in. Which again speaks to that odd separation between the locals and the expats. The theme was Gods and Goddesses. We went to Sol y Mar one other time. I thought we were just going for a beer, but Lynn wanted to eat. After my money loss on the way here, I felt like a cheapskate but I just couldn't pay those high prices for a meal. Lynn's tuna dish was $15 USD - wow! She said it was super good though which I believe. They do have a lot of Mexican type food like quesadilla and nachos so at least there's stuff for me to eat there. So anyway, while we were there we met Rick & Lori, the owners, who are super nice and gave us all sorts of info on how Lynn (or me for that matter) can leave her by way of Paso Canoas on the Panamanian border. Got the info on the early bus out of here, then a taxi, then another bus. I talked briefly to another woman at the bar and joked about how too bad I can't dress up and she seemed set back. You have a sarong, don't you? Well, yes, okay I suppose I'll have to rig something up. Then the other morning it dawned on me ... Domestic Goddess! Ha - how unlike me to be creative! I ended up putting on an apron, attached a few kitchen items (wine opener of course), wound a clothesline around me w/ clothes pins, wrapped my head in a dish cloth, and made a sash out of the only thing I could find, toilet paper. Lynn is so fun and without even knowing we had a party to go to, had brought us some light up pumpkin necklaces. :) So we got all dressed up last night and man was it raining! It did NOT let up like it normally does. Shit. We tired texting some people Lynn had met on the beach to see if they could give us a ride. I even texted Susan to see if anyone down there would come pick us up. I felt a bit of an asshole for even asking but I don't think she even read her text so that's fine. We had no choice. We either walk in the downpour or we don't go at all. Oh and remember I don't have any shoes!! LOL Lynn let me wear her flipflops that flip mud up the back of your legs and butt, and she wore her leather sandals. We deemed neither appropriate to wear on the muddy walk there so we went barefoot. All decked out in poncho and umbrella, we were on our way in the torrential rain! It really got to be so incredibly funny. It was dark (other than our flashlights), muddy, rocky, and the rain got harder and harder! A cop truck passed us (as it seems to make the rounds every night with lights flashing) and I stuck my thumb out. Got a little honk and that's about it. The now familiar dog packs came barking from the bushes along side the road, we were singing (Singing In The Rain of course), and laughing our asses off in between hopping when we stepped on a rock. Then a blue clawed crab jumped out in front of us out of one of the puddles. He was frightened and just stood there threatening us with both claws raised and at the ready to attack. We talked him down and went on our way but not before Lynn laughed great, now we have to watch out for crabs, too! THIS is traveling, baby! But we made the half mile, and got to the party. My TP sash did not survive the trip so nobody had any clue of my creativity and I just looked like a messy maid. :( Sigh. We had fun, drank a few beers, and danced. Social butterfly Lynn befriended many people and danced the night away. I enjoyed meeting a few (really great) folks and danced a bit but I can really feel the effect this year has had on me. In general my motivation and gumption is in the toilet. By 10pm I was SO ready to go home. {{IMG1|1355}}

Lost Money and Stolen Shoes
Oct 30, 2019 Costa Rica

Feeling a bit of a downer today. I was finally getting caught up on my budget yesterday (yeah, I love keeping track of what I spend traveling), ....

Lost Money and Stolen Shoes Feeling a bit of a downer today. I was finally getting caught up on my budget yesterday (yeah, I love keeping track of what I spend traveling), and I seemed to be short quite a bit of cash. I can't even say how, but somehow I lost $260 on my way here. :( What's wrong with me?! Did I leave it on the bar in the airport lounge? Did I drop it somewhere? Did someone steal it while I slept on the flight or on the bus? I honestly don't think it's the later but I've been so out of sorts lately that I can't even remember where I had stashed that money. Totally frustrated with myself and now that KILLS my budget. I am determined to stick to my budget of $1,000/month though so that just means I have to spend less while I'm here. What's (almost) funny is that after money already spent on lodging (thankfully it's all paid for for the next 2 months, groceries, airfare, etc.), I have less than $350 left for the entire trip. This ought to be fun. So I have done my best to get over that because I don't want to be a sad sack. I'm here to heal and to become happy, dammit. Then I went downstairs for something and was like where are my shoes?. Gone. That fucking sketchy guy who came by trying to sell us a half a bottle of coconut oil (that did smell wonderful by the way), must have taken them. :( Feeling a bit beat up at the moment. Susan said it was probably this guy Fulvio who was pretty messed up yesterday and he would steal them. This is one of the few trips I brought more than one pair of shoes but quite frankly I only brought my other shoes if absolutely necessary for hiking in the jungle. I can't stand to wear closed shoes! Rather than buy a pair of $3 rubber flip flops at the market, Lynn was nice enough to leave me her little rubber ones that are at least cute. Not the best for hiking around and certainly not strong like my $50 Reef Fannings, but c'est la vie. I need to get over this too. I fucking hate thieves. On a positive note, Lynn has been collecting all sorts of natural decorations from the beach every day. We have quite a collection including our new scrappy-haired coconut buddy! Don't worry, they'll all be brought back out there before I leave. ;) {{IMG2|1342}} {{IMG2|1341}}

Met a Man with Coconuts
Oct 29, 2019 Costa Rica

Lynn came backup up from her daily treasure hunt on the beach and said there was a man lingering around down there and was wondering what he was doing the ....

Met a Man with Coconuts Lynn came backup up from her daily treasure hunt on the beach and said there was a man lingering around down there and was wondering what he was doing there. His truck seems to be parked in the neighbor's yard but their house is all boarded up for the season. We were told that if we saw anyone hanging out that didn't look like they belonged there, to tell the properly manager right away. {{IMG1|1350}} Well maybe we were being over cautious, but we figured we should go check him out. We were about to walk to the store and then maybe have a beer at Sol y Mar (the only restaurant open during the off season) and didn't want to leave the house alone. We wandered down to the beach and pretended to be interested in something, I don't know what. We just looked around at all the driftwood and made our way over near him. He was just hanging out, not really doing anything but he had a wheel barrow. I asked him what he was looking for (as if i was genuinely interested - and it turned out I was!). He said coconuts. Ah ha. We ended up talking to him for a good while. Turns out he's David's brother and he spends his days collecting coconuts that have fallen and washed ashore. He sends about 6,000 coconuts per month to a processing plant in San Jose! Lynn took quite a fancy to him and flirted with him like crazy! And I had to be the one to translate everything because neither of them spoke more than 5 words in a common language!! It was pretty funny actually. He opened a coconut for us (with the universal tool; a machete) to eat and offered to open a pipa (young green coconut) for us to drink but we didn't want him to have to do any more work. He ended up driving us to the store. {{IMG2|1353}} {{IMG2|1347}} The store here is just a mini-mart but it has surprisingly so much stuff! Many western food items (a sign of lots o' expats!) and US prices (or higher). Susan was like well, it's a Costa Rican beach community but I'm still not used to that in other Central American countries. But I got some good stuff like a liter of liquid yogurt, some local cheese and eggs. Along with Emilio and the stuff I got in Golfito, I think I'm pretty well set for a while!

So Amazed By the Nature Here!
Oct 28, 2019 Costa Rica

We successfully bought groceries (they deliver to the pier for free - yay) and confirmed that there was indeed a 12pm shared public boat going ....

So Amazed By the Nature Here! We successfully bought groceries (they deliver to the pier for free - yay) and confirmed that there was indeed a 12pm shared public boat going over to Zancudo. Whew. C3,000 ($5) each instead of $60 for a private boat! I think we had probably already missed the one public bus that goes over there each day. What an awesome boat ride. Because the tide was high enough, we were able to go via the manglar (mangrove swamp) and it was so pretty. We saw herons and egrets. Lynn was really freaked out with how fast he was going but it seemed normal to me. I mean it's transportation, not a sightseeing tour. She did apparently see a bit of a dolphin dive under but that's it. {{IMG1|1318}} {{IMG2|1317}} {{IMG2|1319}} We were picked up at the pier by Susan's worker David who drove us to the rental house. The house is just awesome. We settled in, had a glass (or maybe a bottle) of wine, and learned the ways of the area like putting our sign out front (that says Emilio Sí on Saturday and Wednesday mornings if we want the produce guy (Emilio) to stop. He stops at the road if your sign is out and honks his horn. OMG we bought such wonderful things out of his truck. Delish avocado, papaya, bananas (for the monkeys and iguanas too), zucchini, etc. Kind of fun too! We hadn't been here an hour when a scarlet macaw flew over. WOW!! I'm so obsessed with getting a photo of them. It seems an impossible task but I'll keep trying. Our second morning here the iguanas and monkeys made a showing too. I saw the iguana (Fred, apparently) so went inside to throw some chunks of banana to him (on recommendation of the owner). On my way to the beach to tell Lynn, I saw a monkey. Okay, the rest of the bananas on my plate go on the monkey platform then. Holy crap they ran right up on me! haha! Then I went to the house to get more bananas and they came up on the deck. Yikes. I'm not so sure about that. {{IMG2|1329}} {{IMG2|1334}} {{IMG2|1330}} {{IMG2|1328}} We also put out slices of papaya on the bird platform and have seen so many pretty birds come dine on it. I'm not even that into birds but I'm loving taking so many photos of them! There are also tons of birds of prey and pelicans out at the beach. {{IMG2|1331}} {{IMG2|1333}} The beach is totally deserted! None of the development is too close to the water either so if we go for a walk, it's hard to tell where in the trees to turn into our house. The water is amazingly warm but it's typical Pacific water. Not tropical turquoise or anything. And apparently we're here during the largest swell and highest tide. So much driftwood being washed up on shore. There's garbage mixed in, but nothing too extreme. Not like Bali! I'm really looking forward to my time here. :) {{IMG2|1321}} {{IMG2|1325}}

All I Want is a Shower and Some Sleep
Oct 24, 2019 Costa Rica

A little over 30 hours from when I left home to when I got to the stopover town of Golfito. It's been a fun journey so far (flight, flight, bus, walk, bus, bus) but I'm so tired and stinky right now.

All I Want is a Shower and Some Sleep A little over 30 hours from when I left home to when I got to the stopover town of Golfito. It's been a fun journey so far (flight, flight, bus, walk, bus, bus) but I'm so tired and stinky right now. I started this blog section way too late. There has been so much to write already. I finally got away to start my 2 months in Costa Rica! Man, don't I need this. Among other things, it's going to be interesting to see how I do on my own. But for now, I have my friend Lynn with me! I'm so amazed and excited that she's just as impulsive as I am. I booked my lodging on a Saturday, told Lynn about it on Sunday, and by Monday she we had her booked on a ticket to come with me for the first week - woohoo! As much as I want/need time alone, I'm pretty excited to have her along for this first jaunt. Playa Zancudo is not the easiest place in the world to get to. With the help of Susan, the property manager (who for some reason I just assumed was a Tico, but she's an expat from the US) really helped by giving me details on how to get down here. We adjusted a bit on the fly, it worked out great and we got to the wonderful rental house (a whole house!) in about 48 hours after leaving home. We met up in LAX, she treated us to the lounge - mmm fee munchies and wine ... and champagne, and Bailey's. :) We slept pretty much the entire red-eye and landed around 7am in San Jose. Forget the $20 (started at $30) taxi from the airport to the bus terminal, or the $200 (started at $300) taxi all the way to Zancudo. We took the public bus for $1 (45 min) to the city, then walked a mile to the Tracopa bus terminal (trying new things at a fruit stand along the way and enjoying a La Merced Church and Parque Central). We took our time because it was only 8am and our bus wasn't until 3:30pm - ugh. We were so tired at this point and I really only want to lie down in a park and sleep. Lynn had so much energy - where does she get it?! I really like to check in at the transportation place as soon as possible because you never know if something I cancelled, leaving at a different time, etc. It definitely paid off this time. Rather than waiting another 5 1/2 hours for the Golfito bus (our temporary destination in the South), a bus was leaving in 15 minutes for the nearby town of Rio Claro! Yes! Then we only needed to take a 1/2 hour local bus from there to Goflito. {{IMG3|1307}} {{IMG3|1309}} {{IMG3|1310}} Other than one somewhat funny slip-up where when we wanted to get off in Rio Claro, the driver told us to get off on the other side. I figured he meant the other side of town but then all of a sudden we were nowhere near ANY town! I asked him again so he stopped the bus and left us off at a roadside shelter in the pouring rain. He did explain that a bus the color of my purse would be coming along and going to Golfito. Okay whatever. haha Sure enough, it came and we were on our way right back through the town we had just been in, and on to Golfito. {{IMG3|1311}} {{IMG3|1312}} {{IMG3|1313}} Successfully got the bus driver to drop us at Hotel Golfito (right by the pier we needed in the morning and recommended by Susan). Checked in (a bit pricier than I expected but still only $30 for the two of us) and went straight away to shower. Ick - I smelled so bad! [insert big sad face here] No water. None at all. The woman said it's because of a problem with construction up the road. WTF. Thanks a lot for telling us. Cutting to the chase, we ended up moving to the Hotel El Tucan up the road. Only C15,000 ($25) and we were treated like family. We finally got some food (vegetarian being even more challenging at the limited options - becoming even more limited when Buenos Dias closed early for the night so we were left with Chicken Bros). We sat at the family's kitchen bar in the lobby, shared our food with them, and became fast friends. This is all in Spanish by the way. I translate for Lynn the best I can while barely being able to keep my eyes open. Good practice! OMG 8pm now I can finally shower and sleep!!! {{IMG2|1314}} {{IMG2|1315}} {{IMG2|1316}}

The Process of Deciding to Go Last Minute
Jan 13, 2019

An out of the blue text, and a week later I'm on a flight to Bali for 2 months! A lot of emotion went on in between that.

The Process of Deciding to Go Last Minute An out of the blue text, and a week later I'm on a flight to Bali for 2 months! A lot of emotion went on in between that. I just happen to see a text from a non-friend in Facebook right before we went out for my boyfriend's birthday. Are you interested in house sitting in Bali from now until February? BF says Yeah, go! Wow, this is a really unique opportunity. Well of course I need to talk to her first. What does now mean exactly? I have a feeling the timing just won't work since I'm supposed to start a new work project on Friday. I have a client meeting. I could not leave until after that meeting at the latest. After speaking to her, she's really nice and seems easy going. So it turns out the timing would be fine! Boy, now what do I do? I'm freaking out. Can't think of a reason NOT go to. There's no compelling reason not to go. Oh, and now it turns out it's a bit more than 2-3 weeks. She wants someone for the next month and a half! Flight booked less than 48 hours later. The stars started aligning. $485 round trip LAX -> DPS! I booked the return far enough out to have at least a week to go somewhere else before I come home. I'll head over to Komodo or Siberut! :) So much to do for a different type of trip. Medical insurance because I'll hopefully be driving a motorbike. International drivers permit. Work ... pray that the WiFi works when I get there. Very unlike me, I hired a driver to take me from the airport to the north where her house is since it's the middle of the night ($46). Packing. I packed a few more clothes but fewer toiletries and things to self-sustain but my luggage is SO heavy. Computer is heavy too of course. What does one pack to live like an expat? More normal clothes? That would be hard though because it will be hot and humid. I need my performance clothing. Am I doing the right thing? I'll be gone for 2 months! It just doesn't seem right. Dave and I talked it to death and still can't think of a reason not to go. If I had someone (Dave) to go with me, there would be no decision to make. 2 days scrambling to get it all done, get packed, get things printed, etc. I'm so stressed but trying to remain calm. I pulled an angel card (sort of like a Tarot card) regarding this adventure. Focus on love and it will all be great. OMG what am I doing? So much talk of the government shutdown and how it will effect TSA. On Monday they say the workers who are not being paid are allowed to now show up to work. I wonder what will happen to the security lines at LAX. It's past the point of no return now after booking the flight. I just felt a pang of excitement. Wow, this will be pretty cool! Just keep going through the motions. I have almost everything done now. I just need to find medical insurance. I can actually enjoy this weekend with my folks before heading to LA Monday night.

Not-So-Failed Day at Uluwatu
Jul 30, 2017 Indonesia

Even though the surfing was a failure, it's a really cool area! Nice vibe, bunch of little restaurants and shops built into the cliff overlookin ....

Dave and I Are Finally in SE Asia Together!
Jul 29, 2017 Indonesia

Not only are Dave and I finally here together, we brought the kids (by kids, I mean Dave's daughter and her boyfri ....

A Bit of Sightseeing
Sep 7, 2009 United States

Took our little rental car around Maui to see some of the sights. << old website quick post >>

Stuck in Saigon
Nov 29, 2008 Vietnam

Unable to fly back to Bangkok, we spent some time in the big city of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and went on some nearby tours.

Stuck in Saigon Unable to fly back to Bangkok, we spent some time in the big city of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and went on some nearby tours. Old post from my very first travel website! Saigon is a big big city (over 6 million people) which you can definitely tell from the thousands of motobikes, crowds, congestion, smog, and power lines weighing down every lamp post. It does have its charms, and we're working hard to find and enjoy them. Of course there is the food. The Pho Bo has been excellent; the side plate of basil, other leaves, lime, and chilis is usually large and makes the dish incredibly aromatic and tasty. I have even been able to find a few places specializing in vegetarian food (com chay) since once a month almost the entire country eats vegetarian(?). At least that's what someone told us but we never learned the true history or culture behind that. Some of the things they can make glutinous rice look like are astounding. Iced coffee can be found on almost every street for around $0.36 a glass. It's very strong and flavorful (almost chocolaty) and they mix it with sweetened condensed milk. {{IMG2|982}} {{IMG2|986}} We tour the Viet Cong tunnels tomorrow, and maybe the Mekong Delta the day after. The war museum is supposedly great if you can stomach it. Many pictures of deformed kids from deforestation agents etc. My ex's favorite story is the My Lai massacre, many Viet civilian casualties, but the only US casualty was the soldier who shot himself in the foot to be removed from the carnage. Most of the people in south Vietnam seem to like Americans though. One guy told Steve he looks like John McCain, which made him feel young. Christmas shopping has been fun. We got a bunch of stuff from the markets here that looks really interesting, but I can't tell you what it is. Crossing the streets here was (at first) scaring the living daylights out of us. Now it's actually kinda fun. Think Frogger. There's nothing quite like 200 motobikes, maybe a bus or two, a few cars, and several bicycles coming straight towards you. There's no good time to cross, you just have to step right out into the mass of it, follow your line, and make no sudden moves. Most of the motos will swerve around you. We've figured a trick is to act like fish and avoid the larger vehicles. They just honk and keep going. {{IMG1|997}} {{IMG2|996}} {{IMG2|999}} {{IMG2|983}} Due to the international date line, our Thursday is gonna be wild. We depart Saigon at 1:00am Dec 4 towards Seoul, South Korea. Because we have an 8 hour layover there, the airline provides a free tour of the city! Then we arrive LAX at 10am (still Dec. 4). Our Amtrak train departs LA's Union Station at 5pm, still Dec 4. Can't wait to see you all soon! {{IMG1|985}} Dec 5, Home Again, Home Again Wow, about 74 hours elapsed from when we checked out of our last hotel until we got home here to Colorado. Finished our Mekong Delta tour, had about 7 hours in the airport, 5 hour flight to Seoul, 8 hour layover (with free city tour), 11 hour flight to LA, 8 hour layover, 17 hour train, 2 hours shopping in Albuquerque, then a 4 hour drive home. Whew!! Fortunately, the week-long closing of the Bangkok airport only affected us a little bit. We were not able to get back there to finish Steve's dental work and to catch our flight home. But the airlines were all great. We got credit on our flight to BKK, and Asiana changed us free of charge to fly home out of Saigon instead. And we ended up having a really good time our last days in Vietnam that we did not plan on. Since we had extra time, we went on a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. Although packaged tours are not usually our gig, we had a good time. A bit rushed through with the crowd, but great to get out of the city. Very strange to see war remnants and to hear it all from the point of view of North Vietnam. {{IMG1|987}} Then we went on a two day tour of the Mekong Delta. We opted for the river bungalow home stay and it was well worth it. Lots of boat rides, seeing how they make coconut candy, rice noodles, ride on a row boat, seeing the floating market, horse cart ride, cooking instruction, etc. {{IMG2|992}} {{IMG2|993}} {{IMG1|988}} {{IMG2|989}} {{IMG2|990}} At first the trip seemed like we didn't have enough time to do what we wanted. We slimmed down our list of places we hoped to see and ended up having a very very full holiday (other than Thanksgiving which we completely forgot about and even skipped lunch that day)! Can't wait to get back to traveling. {{IMG2|995}} {{IMG2|1000}}

Pakse and a Ride Down the Mekong
Nov 8, 2008 Laos

Crossing through Laos into Vietnam, we were able to eke out a great few days!

8 Nights, 8 States, 8 Beds - A Quick Roadtrip to Indiana
May 13, 2008 United States

<< old website quick post >>

8 Nights, 8 States, 8 Beds - A Quick Roadtrip to Indiana << old website quick post >> Old posts from my very first travel website! A quick trip but it sure was fun. We were going to fly to Indiana to go to Steve's cousin's wedding but we ended up driving our little truck out there. Steve Sr. was in the market for an old truck to use at their new house in Kentucky and we figured we needed to sell the Nissan sometime soon (still in hopes of early retirement), so it was a perfect match. IF the Nissan would make it all the way out there. It did. It ran like a champ (although it got a bit hot a couple of days) and the tunes were thumpin'. The road trip was fantastic although I must say that Texas really freaks us out. Instead of American flags being flown in various places around town, there are only Texan flags. They have the largest cross in the Western Hemisphere just off the highway, and there was actually a flat wooden cow painted like an American flag (the one American flag we saw) that said We support our troops. The cows support the troops or they think a flag cow is a sign of support??? Weird. We stayed over in Amarillo (tried to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at a Mexican restaurant but not much going on), Oklahoma City (gave up on nightlife so went to a local dive bar and found a great Guatemalan restaurant that even sold the hot sauce we liked from Guatemala), and Memphis (went to what was advertised as an industrial club but was pathetic – should have gone to Beale St to listen to blues). We had really terrible rain one morning and just missed some tornadoes by one day. But the road trip was so much fun that as we started getting close to Nashville, we were a bit bummed it was almost over. {{IMG1|1228}} Also out of desperation (and hang over) one morning we ate breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. Not only was it about the worst food we've ever had, but it was a preview of Midwest food to come. Lots of processed cheese food in every restaurant (even if you ask ahead of time if they have real cheese). We love visiting the Midwest to see family, but food is definitely not a highlight. We kept a good sense of humor about it. It was great to arrive in Tennessee and see Steve's sister Barb, Brian, and their kids. We spent the night there, then headed up to Kentucky to Steve's parents house. They have a nice place in the cute town of Franklin. Right out of Normal Rockwell it even has a town square. Just enough time there to see the house quickly and pile into the RV to head north. Got to Danny & Sam's house (Steve's cousin) to get ready for the wedding (and play a little Wii). They were nice enough to let us spend the night in their groovy downstairs. The wedding/reception was held at a German chalet not too far from Evansville. It was great to see everyone! The wedding was perfect and the bride and groom seemed very very happy. Then we went out afterward with Sam & Danny and met up w/ Roger & Nancy (Steve's uncle and aunt) at a bar with a great live band! The next day a bunch of the fam all met up at Hacienda for lunch and a surprise early celebration for Steve's 40th bday. He was thoroughly embarrassed by the birthday cake, singing staff, sombrero, and 40 cups of cheer (20 bras strung together!). It was wonderful. {{IMG2|1230}} {{IMG2|1231}} Then back down to Kentucky (after having to get new batteries for the RV). Exhausted, we all went to bed early and got up the next morning at 6am in order to have time for a Mother's Day breakfast before heading to the airport in Nashville. It was so nice to be around so much family that we think it would be fun to stay around Eville for 6 months or so at some point. Of course we want to stay there, New York, Memphis, So Cal, etc. etc. We flew into Denver, rented a car to get home, and spent the night in Colorado Springs at Walt & Tracy's house. We just missed Walt by about an hour as he was on his way to Germany. But we had a fun visit and were happy to find that their daughter Sophie was visiting from Florida. We were also excited to finally get some of the black vodka that so far has only been found in C Springs (thanks Betty for finding it!). We loaded up and made the 5 hour drive home that night only to have to get up the next morning and drive to Durango the next morning to return the rental car. Whew – what a whirlwind trip!

Cancun y Tulum
Dec 22, 2007 Mexico

A bit of luxury in Cancun, then on to real traveling in Tulum.

Panama Canal & San Blas
Apr 29, 2007 Panama

The big city full of drugs, the canal, and the San Blas Islands. << old website quick post >>

Our Stay in Salinas
Oct 12, 2006 Dominican Republic

Headed to Dominican Republic so Steve could go kiteboarding. Salinas turned out to be a cool little town.

Our Stay in Salinas Headed to Dominican Republic so Steve could go kiteboarding. Salinas turned out to be a cool little town. Old post from my very first travel website! This little town of Salinas is really great. After about 6 hours on local buses coming from our fancy resort, we made it to Bani and it was too late in the evening for the gua-guas (local buses) to be running to Salinas. Fortunately we met some guys who work on the supply ship near Salinas and we shared a taxi. After being dropped off at the expensive westerner’s hotel (Está barato? Sí ha!) we walked about 5 minutes into town to find a cheaper place to stay. After about a block we came upon the heart of the town that is all of about a block long with loud music blasting, people sitting along the street in plastic chairs either just hanging out or drinking and playing dominoes, kids running and playing. What a lively place! The whole population of the town must have been out! {{IMG2|826}} {{IMG2|827}} We found a room for $20/night above the telephone center. Honestly I think it was the ONLY place to stay. We had no idea what to expect from this town. Turns out there is no bank or ATM so we have to make due with what money we have left. Good thing they take US dollars so we are able to use our ‘emergency money’ to pay for the 4 nights of hotel. We get dinner and a beer at a local food stall (we’ve never had yucca before, it’s actually pretty good). The next morning we learn to get breakfast at the counter of one of the little stores that is the equivalent of a mini-market/deli/bar. We see a bag of bread rolls sitting out so we do as the locals do and belly up to the counter for a ham or cheese sandwich and an orange juice. Not bad, only about $2.50 for breakfast for the two of us. Later we end up getting cheese sandwiches with Gouda chesse – REAL cheese! We end up befriending Galvin who works at the store on the corner and that becomes our hang out. We also meet a guy from Florida and some of the other locals that hang out there. It’s hilarious. In the evening you buy your beer or bottle of rum & bottle of soda at the tienda and sit either inside, or out on the curb in plastic chairs drinking and socializing and maybe even dancing. The store supplies you with plastic cups and as much ice as you need. The music is always blaring after dark. Our main goal for this location is kiteboarding. The first day we walk around the beach and around the salt mine in the sweltering heat trying to find the best spot. The beach is full of hundreds of conch shells and uvas de la playa (beach grapes), which we see some locals eating and try some ourselves (only eat the purple ones). We decide to go out to the point to the ‘tourist beach’ and the first day of kiting is great. The wind is perfect, steady, and it even outlasts Steve! The next day there is nothing, and the third day, well, read Steve’s journal entry for that one. ;) (see A Day in the Life of a Kite Widow and The Making of a Kite Widow (AKA Steve's Castaway Moment)) I hang out atop my perch on the lifeguard stand (one of the few shady places and away from the biting noseeums!). The water is clear and warm but since the sand is rather black, it doesn’t have the turquoise color. {{IMG1|828}} Walking to and from the point (about a mile each way in over 90 degree heat – we certainly don’t mind only having cold water in our shower) we meet some guys building some new fish traps (for the Florida guy’s company). We make friends with Alexander who gives us a ride on his moto (motorbike) to and from the point if he happens to be passing. The three of us along with all of Steve’s kite gear can cram onto one moto. That would never happen in the states. He even gave us the keys one day so we could borrow it! How nice people are here. Turns out he is a sergeant in their local Marines and works on the traps for extra money. We later give him one of Steve’s t-shirts as a gift. We exchanged phone numbers with a few of the guys in Salinas. Who knows if we’ll keep in touch, but we would like to go back there some day.

Baños de Agua Santa
Jul 16, 2002 Ecuador

Went to visit a local friend in Ecuador and enjoyed this small town.

Osa Penninsula
Oct 14, 2001 Costa Rica

My first solo journey. Went to meet Steve in Costa Rica right after 9/11.

Osa Penninsula My first solo journey. Went to meet Steve in Costa Rica right after 9/11. Old posts from my very first travel website! Steve headed down a week early to spend some time at an eco resort run by this guy Jonathan. Sort of a silver spoon guy. I'm a bit nervous flying so soon after 9-11, and through Atlanta, but we are not ones to stay put so off we go! First Day: I love it here! I'm so happy to be back traveling, to Costa Rica, all of the above. Everything has gone fine so far. A bit strange traveling by myself, but I'm proud of how I've done. From the airport, made it to the bus station downtown. I got a bus to Palmar Norte (practiced Spanish along the way) and found a cheap little room (sweltering hot, 6'x6' for $3). I walked around a bit even though I'm not one to do things by myself. I can't wait to see Steve! {{IMG2|794}} {{IMG2|795}} Second Day: I made it Sierpe and to the hotel where Steve said he'd meet me. He called within a hour after I arrived. :) Somehow he just knew I was there even though he didn't really even know what day I'd arrive much less what time. He'll be here tomorrow morning. I'll have to try to look cute somehow. It rained so so so hard here. I could not believe how much water came down and how loud it was on the metal roof. I made myself a tiny paper deck of cards to play with. I also went for a walk, talked with a nice older man named Mario. Third Day: Everything that moves I think is Steve. Finally he made it. I was SO happy and SO excited to see him. He even brought me flowers he picked in the jungle. Rest of Trip: We had a fun time going to Jonathan's resort (still being built) and hanging out with Margoth, the cook. Then we took a bus to a town and hiked about 8 hours into a Ranger Station where we spent a couple of nights. It was really amazing. We crossed so many rivers along the hike (even one that was waist deep -had to carry our packs on our head- and had sharks swimming at the mouth!), saw a dead whale, etc. Hung out with some Israeli's who taught us a new drinking game (pyramid). {{IMG2|793}} {{IMG2|792}} We took a quick trip to Boquete, Panama to check it out for Mom & Steve. A nice little mountain town. Back to San Jose, then home. A fun trip! On our return home, our camera was stolen at the airport so photos are pretty limited. Bummer. {{IMG2|787}} {{IMG2|788}}

Guatemala, Our Final Stop
Apr 4, 2001 Guatemala

There is so much to see and do in Guatemala! Exploring, local festivals, ancient ruins, natural sites. We are ending this trip on a good note!

Guatemala, Our Final Stop There is so much to see and do in Guatemala! Exploring, local festivals, ancient ruins, natural sites. We are ending this trip on a good note! Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! Apr 4 It’s almost over. For now. We’ve decided to return by the end of this month. We also decided to skip Belize since it is a bit expensive, and there is so much cool stuff to see in Guatemala. Livingston was a nice laid back little town on the coast. I was a bit sick so it was a good place to stay in bed and relax for a while. Spent a little time at the beach and saw some movies at the bar. I love their public laundry facilities! It’s like a big pool or gigantic sink where everyone comes and washes things by hand. Then we took a nice boat ride down the Rio Dulce to the town of the same name where we went to the most awesome spot. It is a hot thermal waterfall that spills into a wonderful cool swimming hole with fish and clear water. There are even little caves there, too. {{IMG2|874}} {{IMG2|875}} Then we went to what felt just like summer camp at Finca Ixobal. They had all sorts of activities including horseback riding, and underground river caving. Boy were we sore! And we had our fist encounter with tics along the hikes there. Sigh. We’re still finding them in some really interesting spots! {{IMG2|868}} {{IMG2|867}} Then on to the Mayan ruins of Tikal in a jungle filled with green parrots, howler monkeys, and many unidentifiable sounds. We loved it. One of the temples there was in one of the Star Wars movies, but I can’t remember the scene. {{IMG1|882}} {{IMG2|884}} {{IMG2|886}} {{IMG3|879}} {{IMG3|880}} {{IMG3|885}} {{IMG2|883}} {{IMG2|881}} Apr 9, Happy Birthday Moms We’ve spent way to long in smoggy Guatemala City, but we’re here at the right time of year to see some great celebrations! Huelga de los Dolores is a big wild parade put on by the college students protesting just about anything and everything. They all wear what look like colored KKK hoods but it is a very fun day! We were dragged into the festivities many times (our gringo skin made it impossible to hide) to dance with transvestites, jump rope, get painted with lipstick, etc. Then the processions for Semana Santa are really interesting too. They make colorful designs on the street with colored sawdust, then the procession marches right over it. The men carry a Jesus float the size of a semi truck on their shoulders and they strain with every step while the band plays a sort of death march. Now we’re on to Antigua and some other cool places. {{IMG2|870}} {{IMG2|872}} Apr 23, Time to Go Home (For Now) The last couple of weeks have been great. A nice way to end this trip. We were lucky to get a hotel up through Thursday night in Antigua for Semana Santa where the processions and alfombras (the ¨carpets¨ they make on the street with colored sawdust and flowers) are incredible! A bit touristy, but worth seeing for sure. {{IMG2|864}} {{IMG2|863}} {{IMG3|865}} {{IMG3|876}} {{IMG3|877}} I got a bit of some horrible intestinal thing, like Montezumas Revenge! Thank goodness you don´t need a prescription to get antibiotics from the pharmacy, so things are fine now. Then on to Lake Atitlan for a little locals spring break in Panajachel, then a lot of relaxing in a little village on the lake. Took a boat, 4 buses, and a pick up truck to get to some wonderful hot springs set at the base of lush green cliffs in the mountains. Well worth the trip! {{IMG2|873}} {{IMG2|871}} {{IMG1|869}} Took a very fast bus around hairpin turns to get to Chichicastenango where we visited a local place of worship and sacrifices. The shaman was preforming a ceremony for a couple for their harvest and they offered food, candles, and whiskey. Then the shaman did a nice ceremony for Steve and I. We even got showered with flower petals! There was a bit of a language barrier so we´re not sure if we´re married, will have good luck, or are going to have a prosperous corn harvest! Sunday was market day, so we shopped a bit then crowded on the same fast bus this time going down the hill very fast around the hairpin turns and we were stuck sitting for 3 hours with one cheek on the seat and one off, trying not to slide into the aisle at every turn. Made it to Guate City and are staying with our new friend Thomas and his family until we fly home tomorrow. It´s still impossible to imagine working or having immediate responsibilities again. But we´ve had a taste of it today since Steve is helping Thomas install a certificate on his computer.

Staying on an Island the Size of a Football Field
Mar 21, 2001 Honduras

Cayos Cochinos, was an adventure. Ocean like bathwater and very limited facilities.

Hablamos Español
Mar 10, 2001 Nicaragua

3 weeks in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua taking private Spanish lessons and living with a local family.

Judy & Steve Visit Costa Rica
Feb 8, 2001 Costa Rica

Mom & Steve came with us for a fun adventure in Costa Rica. Then we were off on our own again.

Ancient Sites of Greece & New Year's Eve
Dec 21, 2000 Greece

Modern and COLD Greece in December. Made the best of it and moved on to warmer climates.

Ancient Sites of Greece & New Year's Eve Modern and COLD Greece in December. Made the best of it and moved on to warmer climates. Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! Dec 21, 2000 Brrrr is it cold here! We are all of a sudden dropped into a civilized modern culture where bus prices are fixed, and people wear stylish clothes. I think Steve is happy to see all the girls in tight pants instead of big sheets and scarves. We’re in a nice quarter in Athens with cobbled streets and the Acropolis near by. We saw so many ancient things in Egypt that we’re taking a small break before setting out to see some of the sites here. {{IMG1|852}} Jan 3, 2001 We finally saw some of the ancients sites. Nice, but still cold. We have had some great Greek food (vegetarian french fry souvlaki for me) and some great sweets! Spent a lot of time at the internet cafe in Athens and the guy who works there is now Steve’s buddy. Sometimes a little trying when we want to get something done quickly without having to socialize. {{IMG1|856}} {{IMG2|851}} {{IMG2|857}} {{IMG1|862}} We decided to motivate and see a little more of Greece, so we took a ferry to the island of Lesvos (sometimes spelled Lesbos). We boarded the cruise ship-sized boat and because of bad weather we spent two nights on the boat without ever leaving port! After spending the first night on the floor, we were able to snag a sofa which became our home for a while. Then the island was nice and quaint, but not much to do during the off season. Nice hotel, little bands going up the cobbled streets playing local music, and temporary pets for the day (strays). {{IMG2|853}} {{IMG2|854}} {{IMG1|861}} We were there for New Year’s which was totally rained out, so no fireworks or anything. But still fun. Heck, rain or no rain, we’re on a Greek island! :) Back to Athens to our freezing hotel that we like with nice staff, and now trying to decide the best way to get somewhere warmer. {{IMG1|855}}

After a Slow Start, We Loved Egypt
Dec 10, 2000 Egypt

Buried tombs everywhere, an incredible cruise down the Nile, bright and lively food, Egypt is everything you'd think it would be.

Vic Falls, Lake Kariba, Hippos
Dec 3, 2000 Zimbabwe

Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! Nov 23, Thanksgiving We didn’t eve ....

Vic Falls, Lake Kariba, Hippos Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! Nov 23, Thanksgiving We didn’t even know it was Thanksgiving today until just now. Whoops! We’ve been enjoying Zimbabwe much more than Tanzania. Greener and more laid back aiside from the farms being taken over and other political problems. We’ve been saving money here by not doing too many touristy things. {{IMG2|974}} {{IMG2|975}} We went to a lion park where we stayed in a big tent and got to play with big lions and feed the little cubs. Wow! {{IMG2|979}} {{IMG2|980}} Then we stayed with a rural family for 4 days and got to experience true African culture. We cooked over a fire they built in the middle of the kitchen floor and visited the local school. {{IMG1|967}} {{IMG2|966}} {{IMG2|968}} Now we’re taking the night train to Victoria Falls to take in the sights like a true tourist. Dec 3 Victoria Falls was a horribly touristy overpriced town with lots of people trying to take money from you, but the falls themselves were breathtaking. Tons of water, tropical birds, rainforest, rainbows, etc. Then we walked along a path where we saw elephants, mongooses, and an hippo. {{IMG2|976}} {{IMG2|965}} Took the local cargo ferry up Lake Kariba for 3 days where we had to sleep on the hard benches on deck and eat cold spaghetti out of a can. Stopped at local fishing villages, saw wild elephants and hippos, and had to watch out for lions and crocodiles while on shore. {{IMG2|970}} {{IMG2|971}} {{IMG1|972}} We were walking to a restaurant at night in the dark and heard rustling in the bushes. A truck came by and gave us a lift and their headlights revealed 2 HUGE hippos with a baby right on the side of the road! Lucky for us that the truck came because hippos kill more humans than any other animal in Africa. We arrived back in Harare at our fav backpacker’s lodge just in time for the owner’s engagement party, so today we recover and relax. Lot’s of interesting info on the farm situation. The owner’s dad had squatters on his farm but says they are reasonably friendly and they chat it up occasionally. Not quite as violent as the news makes it out to be, but surely a lot of political problems here. {{IMG2|977}} {{IMG2|978}} {{IMG1|964}}

We're in the National Geographic Channel
Nov 8, 2000 Tanzania

A quick trip to Tanzania for a real African safari!

Nepal (Never Ending Peace And Love)
Oct 28, 2000 Nepal

Enjoyed Nepal very much and our friend Shadan even came to visit us there!

Nepal (Never Ending Peace And Love) Enjoyed Nepal very much and our friend Shadan even came to visit us there! Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! We arrived Oct 2 and Nepal so far has a great feel to it and the weather is really nice. Can’t wait to get out and about and see more of the country. Everyone here is super nice and they speak a lot of English which makes it easy. Nepal (Never Ending Peace And Love) is the first country we’ve been to that does not have a McDonalds! The culture is the nicest and most interesting so far. We have had a blast and Shadan came to visit us which was wonderful! We made the mistake of going on a couple of package tours which we knew better than do a package, but were lazy. The trekking package was good, but other than that we just ended up spending more money than we should have, and did not get to do exactly what we wanted. {{IMG2|933}} {{IMG2|934}} Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve been up to. First we went to Royal Bardia Natl’ Park in West Nepal where we went on awesome jungle treks. With our guides we tracked wild tigers, rhinos, and elephants. Didn’t see any, but saw tons of footprints and other signs that they had been there recently. Really exhilarating! {{IMG1|953}} Also visited the local Tharu village during the country’s biggest festival. They let us have some of their food and moonshine and we watched their traditional dance, etc. {{IMG3|956}} {{IMG3|954}} {{IMG3|955}} Then went to Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha. {{IMG2|957}} {{IMG2|958}} Then up into the mountains to Tansen, a beautiful little town with cobbled streets. Checked email from there (barely) and found out that our friend Shadan was landing in Kathmandu that morning! We immediately hopped on a bus to a major town of Pokhara where he could meet us and since it was festival time, the bus was so crowded that we had to ride on top in the luggage rack with about 40 other people and two goats (who were on death row due to the festival :-(. A little squished and very dusty, but the view was fantastic and it was probably a bit more comfortable than being crammed inside. Drove along the river, through valleys, and had views of green mountains while on a small bumpy dirt road on the side of a cliff. {{IMG1|959}} Met up with Shadan in Pokhara and went on a bitchin’ 6 day trek with our guide Tek and porter Em. The path is well established in parts and is also used by locals to carry very heavy loads (of I don’t know what) on their backs with straps on their foreheads. We also had to make way for herds of big horned sheep and trains of donkeys with big bells on them. Hiking for 6 hours every day was tiring, and we weren’t even carrying a large pack. Again, totally beautiful. Great views, small villages, etc. {{IMG2|960}} {{IMG2|961}} {{IMG2|962}} {{IMG2|936}} {{IMG2|937}} {{IMG2|938}} {{IMG2|939}} {{IMG2|940}} {{IMG2|941}} {{IMG2|942}} Then the guys went rafting which was fun, but not as good as expected, and I went to Royal Chitwan Park, also not as good as expected but I saw a wild Rhino. Then back to Kathmandu for a morning mountain plane ride (courtesy of Shadan - thanks again!) by Mt. Everest. The mountain range is so enormous, it’s just breathtaking. We have seen the highest point on the earth! {{IMG3|943}} {{IMG3|944}} {{IMG3|946}} {{IMG1|947}} {{IMG1|948}} Sad to see Shadan leave, so we tried to cheer ourselves up by renting a motorcycle for 5 days and driving to the Tibetan border. Stayed in some small towns along the way, and even showered with the locals in Tatopani where the hot spring is the only shower in town. Really cool cycling through god’s country, braking for cows, goats, chickens, or whatever else happens to be in the road. {{IMG1|949}} {{IMG2|950}} {{IMG2|951}} Now we’re back in Kathmandu again and it’s time for another festival. There are candles lit all over the streets at night, and people dancing, singing, and keeping us awake by lighting firecrackers. We partook in the dancing on the street last night and look forward to more festival tonight. {{IMG1|952}}

Taylor Came to Thailand for Her Birthday
Sep 30, 2000 Thailand

Not too many kids get to fly to Thailand for their 7th birthday! It was our treat to have Steve's daughter visit after many months on the road.

Hill Tribe Trek out of Chang Mai
Sep 15, 2000 Thailand

Seldom liking tours at all, this one in Chang Mai turned out to be exceptional since we happened to be there for their yearly celebration.

Hill Tribe Trek out of Chang Mai Seldom liking tours at all, this one in Chang Mai turned out to be exceptional since we happened to be there for their yearly celebration. Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! We decided against Laos at the last minute after reading the travel adviosories stating that a group is rumored to be targeting tourists right in the area we were going to visit in the south, and that visiting Laos in general might put your life at risk. So we are happily in Northern Thailand and are going on a 3 day hill tribe trek instead. The hill tribe trek was incredible! We had a really fun group, the hike was beautiful, and visiting the tribes was like being in a museum display. The Akha tribe women wear headdresses with large silver beads and a silver board on the back of their head. They never take them off even to was their hair, and as part of their wedding ceremony the women have animal dung put on their head to symbolize how miserable their life will be from then on. We also got a great massage from the women for only $1.25. {{IMG1|1036}} The next day we hiked and rode elephants for an hour or two to the Dara Ang village where we spent that night - we even got to sit on the elephant’s head and drive. {{IMG2|1040}} {{IMG2|1037}} We happened to be there on the night of a once yearly celebration where they stay up all night dancing, singing about when they came over from Burma 18 years ago, and playing music. They welcomed us to be a part of it and we had a wonderful time. {{IMG1|1039}} Then the next day after more hiking, we took a bamboo raft down the river and then back to Chang Mai. We all went out to dinner that night after thoroughly enjoying a hot shower. {{IMG1|1041}} The next day we pampered ourselves with a massage from the blind masseurs and a manicure and pedicure for me. We also went to one of the local Wats (temples) and chatted with a monk for a couple of hours. Today Steve is taking a Thai cooking course. Yum!

Cambodia - Could Have Been Better
Sep 2, 2000 Cambodia

The country is just not quite right after what they suffered at the hand of the Khmer Rouge.

The Thais Are Such Happy People
Aug 22, 2000 Thailand

Our first introduction to Thailand couldn't be better. Perfect secluded beaches, interesting history, caves, and fun in the city!

Kanchanaburi, the River Kwai, and the Bridge Over It
Aug 16, 2000 Thailand

Aug 16, 2000, Starting Off at the War Cemetery I woke to an incredible sunrise with the orang ....

Kanchanaburi, the River Kwai, and the Bridge Over It Aug 16, 2000, Starting Off at the War Cemetery I woke to an incredible sunrise with the orange sky reflecting off the rice paddies and white egrets flying low along the water. Out the other side of the train above the palm trees I could see the full moon still shining brightly against the morning sky. Morning also meant we were almost at our stop after and awful night’s sleep in a chair. So good to get our and stretch our legs. During our 2 hr. wait for the next train we saw the largest Buddhist monument in the world. {{IMG2|2238|R}} Then one more train on to Kanchanaburi. It's a bit touristy but since it’s the off season its pretty good. We’re at the CC Resort just out of town. We checked one other place tonight that the Lonely Planet said was popular and it was all white people and totally westernized. I’m so glad we’re not there! We did not take one of the floating rooms on the river but are just across the lawn in a cute room with bath. We went for a walk, got drunk on beer, and saw the WWII cemetery. It made me cry – everyone from other countries and some so young. I like this place though. Okay, Steve’s bugging me again so I can’t write…. {{IMG1|2236}} Aug 17, 2000, Riding Bikes Around Kanchanaburi This is great! I’m sitting in a funky wooden lounge chair on a bamboo raft veranda on the River Kwai. There’s so much to see in and around this town like museums, caves, waterfalls, etc. And of course – the bridge over the river, and the death railway where 16,000 POWs died making it as well as 100,000 – 150,000 local people! We’re going to book a day tour for tomorrow where we’ll see some interesting stuff, ride an elephant for an hour, and ride a bamboo raft down the river. Yikes! The loud speed boats just made a bunch of waves and my relaxing little patio is going nuts! I really like it here. Maybe I can talk Steve into staying an extra night. {{IMG1|2249}} PM – Had yummy Pad Thai for lunch. I’m past worrying about whether or not it has fish sauce in it. We rented bikes for the day for 50¢ each and rode around town. Really neat area with floating restaurants and what looks like the floating discos. JEATH War Museum – pretty hardcore about all the POWs the Japanese held and were made work on the railway. The museum is owned and operated by Buddhist monks to remind people how bad war is. Then we rode across the river to a Wat (Temple) and cave. Awesome cave full of Buddhas and used for worship. We donated 20B (50¢ each) and they gave us each a bright little rope bracelet and a little Buddha in a box that we can’t figure out if it’s consumable, soap, incense, or what. {{IMG2|2247}} {{IMG2|2237}} {{IMG2|2235}} We love our little room but decided to switch to one on the river. We’re just waiting for the key and we’ll be floatin’ the night away for $1.75/night! Tomorrow is our day trip which should be tons of fun. Oh – there was just a huge striped monitor lizard 3 ft. long at the floating room we’re switching to! It walked by, then swam away. {{IMG1|2248}} {{IMG2|2250}} {{IMG2|2251}} Late PM – This place is so cool! The floating restaurants will just take off and go down the river! They are pulled by a small boat and have Karaoke and disco lights! Hilarious. Aug 18, 2000, Awesome Day Tour I’m lying in our little floating bamboo room listening to the rain and watching five geckos scamper across the ceiling eating up bugs. Hopefully they’ll make up for the holes in our mozzie net! Our tour today was great. Cruised around by songthew (pickup truck with 2 benches and covered cage in back) in a somewhat unorganized manner. We went to a nice waterfall (Sai Yok Noi) and rode an elephant for an hour with the ‘driver’ sitting right on its head. We fed it bananas and it decided to steal an extra bunch from the table. A bit touristy, but still very different than anything you’d find at the fair. Then we went to the Wong Badem Cave which I think is the best cave we’ve been to. Just us and a guy from the park with a lantern crawling through a dark cave with no path (hardly) – and a few wooden ladders. Close up and personal with stalagmites and stalactites. They are clear crystal inside even though they look like rocks! Saw some pretty flowers and vines. {{IMG2|2240}} {{IMG2|2242}} {{IMG2|2243}} {{IMG2|2241}} Then to the Hell Fire Pass Museum. Only open for 2 years so far and it’s opened by the Australian Prim Minister! Very cool. The Aussie manager was very nice and informative. Until you see first hand the 17.5 meters of rock the POWs had to cut through, it’s hard to believe. Got picked up late so the guy hauled ass in the rain to catch the train on the Death Railway. Good ride but tons of tourists. We drank 5 beers! No, maybe 7. Ugh. Anyway, then we boarded (with a few Dutch folks) 2 tiny bamboo rafts and headed down river to our hotel. Had Pad Thai at our same restaurant, relaxed on our river patio and even jumped in the water in the dark just to cool down. Ha ha! A restaurant is floating by full of disco lights and Chinese tourists singing karaoke! I love it! {{IMG1|2244}} {{IMG1|2245}} Aug 20, 2000, Love Our Floating Hotel Room Relaxed on the river yesterday with our resident monitor lizard and tons of longtail speedboats jetting by. Had a one-hour Thai massage for $4! It was great. You can learn Thai massage in only 14 days at Wat Po in Bangkok. Hmm- maybe next time. The guy also told me about an elephant at Sai Yok Noi that will give you a back massage with its foot! Last night we watched the Bridge Over the River Kwai movie at the very touristy No Name Bar. From what we’ve seen and learned here, I’d say the movie is a crock of shit. It made it seem like a holiday for the POWs and didn’t show the starvation, disease, beatings, torture, strenuous labor, horrible living conditions, maggots, or how they forced the sick people to work.

Borneo Better than Mainland
Jul 11, 2000 Malaysia

Jungles and headhunters! That's the theme in Borneo.

Indonesia Wrap-Up
Jul 2, 2000 Indonesia

Our first visit to Indonesia and we loved it. There's so much more to see but we did see a lot.

Indonesia Wrap-Up Our first visit to Indonesia and we loved it. There's so much more to see but we did see a lot. Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! We both loved Indonesia. We did a lot in our 24 days, so this might be pretty long. Rice paddies, active volcanoes, and a perfect island paradise. Did tons of shopping in Ubud, Bali where they had lots of great wood carvings and other art, and also took a meditation class. There are temples everywhere and offerings are made twice a day and are hard not to step on. The women all work very hard and carry heavy things on their heads while the men play cards. We saw some traditional dances, and fed the monkeys in the monkey forest. {{IMG1|1160}} The food is good and easy to get vegetarian. We are now addicted to banana pancakes and Fanta orange. Steve has taken on true Indonesia style and now wears a sarong. The Muslim wailing songs out of loudspeakers 5 times per day (incl 4am!) were something to get used to but now we love the sound. The Indonesian language has a lot of phonetic English words such as bisnis, eeksekutif, fotokopi, and taksi. After Bali we went to Java to Borobudur (world’s largest Buddhist temple). The cities are crowded and full of pollution! We had certainly left the world of the flush toilet. They are either squat or sit, and flush with a ladle of water poured in. No toilet paper, and you can only guess what the locals use instead! We bring in our own. The smaller buses are full sized vans and we have been on one with 25 people on it! They are literally hanging out the doors and even one guy no the roof! Also went to a zoo on Java and as the only white people there, we were also one of the attractions. Then back to Lovina, Bali - a lovely quiet beach town. Hung out w/ a local guy named Boby the whole time - went dancing, made a bonfire on the beach, and did the best snorkeling ever! Then on to Gili Meno off of Lombok which is truly a spec of paradise. Met some great friends (Katerine and Jake) who we hung out with the whole time and stayed in a 3 dollar bungalow near the beach. Not many tourists and the locals are so friendly! We ate w/ one family and the guys from the hotel had a little birthday party for me with a cake and everything! I don’t know how anyone was able to make a cake since they seem to live in little shacks, but it was great. The electricity generators shut off at night and you have to use a lantern. We LOVED it!! {{IMG2|1161}} {{IMG2|1163}} {{IMG2|1164}} {{IMG2|1165}} {{IMG2|1166}} The bathrooms here are certainly different. Most places don’t have hot water. Our Gili Meno place had salt water mixed with fresh water, so showering didn’t get us very clean and tasted funny. It’s not a good idea to drink any of the tap water which creates a problem - plastic drinking water bottles are everywhere. Most toilets don’t flush, but you’re provided with a basin of water and ladle (3 or 4 ladles will do the trick, more if you’ve just went number 2). Most bathrooms don’t have TP either so you need to bring some, or do like the locals and wipe with your non-shaking hand or use the little hose to spray yourself off like a bidet. Many places don’t have a shower head, so again the ladle comes in handy for bathing. {{IMG1|1159}} Now we’re in Malaysia and it is way more citified and a little more expensive than Indonesia. We managed about 35 dollars a day for the two of us in Indonesia!

Java and the Big 4
Jun 16, 2000 Indonesia

A trip to Yogyakarta, then we hit some great highlights on Java. Borobudur, the Water Castle, Merapi, and Gunung Bromo.

Java and the Big 4 A trip to Yogyakarta, then we hit some great highlights on Java. Borobudur, the Water Castle, Merapi, and Gunung Bromo. Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! Jun 16 Taking a bus, ferry, then minivan to Yogyakarta was quite an adventure - 19 hours! They drive crazy and fast here and loads of mopeds and bikes have been converted to carry large loads. Passing (almost bought the farm once) is almost always done when it’s not quite safe. Unfortunately, we saw the remnants of an accident. Our driver told us the guy was dead. Though there’s lush natural beauty here, pollution seems bad. There's trash, litter, and plastic water bottles in the river. Air pollution also: petrol is way cheap (filed up our moped for 40 cents). All the gas is leaded and there are many diesel vehicles. You can always see/smell a few fires around (I think many people burn their trash). Jun 17 - Borobudur We went to Borobudur (the worlds largest Buddhist temple!) with Lynn and Dave from Canada. They live on an island off Vancouver Victoria - sounds nice, roadtrip? Borobudur has turned into a tourist trap. Most attractions are 3000 rp but this one is 37,500. Oh but you get a certificate; gee thanks. Quite a few locals asked to take their photo with me. It was a strange feeling but it was fun. It was built around 800 AD for Mahayana Buddhism, but then abandoned for 1000 years and then was rediscovered in 1814. $20mil was spent to restore it. It has 432 Buddha statues, 1300 storytelling relief pictures (karma cause/effect illustrations, Buddha bio, Sudhana/Gandavyuha/Badracari), and 1200 decorative reliefs. Buddha hand positions symbolizing mother earth, charity, meditation, reassurance from fear, reasoning, and the turning of the wheel of law. {{IMG1|1155}} Jun 18 - Water Castle Then a visit to the water castle which is the palace of first Javanese sultan in 1755. For concrete. they used eggs and coconut milk. Batik was invented here under the 2nd sultan. The 3rd sultan had 69 wives, so he had to move to a bigger palace. Javanese is a mixture of Hindu, Islam, and Buddhism. We saw where all the sultan wives would swim. The sultan would view from above, then pick one to come to his quarters for final enjoy bed which was made of bamboo with flowers and small fires underneath to make it like a sauna. We were lucky enough to meet a gamelan orchestra member (gongs and xylophones), Andre, on the street, who ended up guiding us through the castle. He also took us to his home, where we had tea and bought a batik painting done by his sister, Murinda, for $3. We checked out of our lodging at Utar Pension Losmen (very primitive - to flush the toilet, you pour ladles of water down the toilet) where our room was less than $2 and that included checking in at 5am! 2 rickshaw rides today, one with all our bags. I was worried that the first guy was too old and skinny, but he did fine :) Then a local bus to Kaliurang for less than $1 for both. We're now staying at Christian’s Hostel, with a view of Gunung Merapi Volcano. We have to get up at 3am to climb to see the lava flows, and a sunrise view of the beast. Jun 19 - Merapi Volcano The Merapi sunrise walk was beautiful! The guides were nice and informative, and gave us breakfast in a hut along the way (coffee, tea, deep fried banana, deep fried veggie snack). Well worth the early wake-up. Also on the walk was Jacob, from Kentucky (born less than 200 miles from Steve). Merapi is one of Java’s most dangerous volcanoes. Currently active, in 1994 an eruption killed 69 and injured many more. In 1998 thousands had to evacuate. They now have 6 lookout stations, lava triggers, satellite communicating seismographs, a 4 level warning system, and a forbidden zone (you’re not allowed to climb to the top or to one town that was wiped out). Around 1006 AD is thought to be its biggest recent eruption, which ruined the Mataram Dynasty (ruling Java at the time), covered Borobudur (48K away) with ash, and made most of the surrounding area uninhabitable for generations (maybe that’s why Borobudur wasn’t found for another 1000 years?). The hike requires a minimum of 4 people, not because of cost savings, but because panthers with their young are in the forest and less than 4 sets of footsteps isn’t enough to keep them at bay. Leopards (one had babies in the volcanologists station), monkeys, wild boar, and tigers also live in these forests. {{IMG1|1156}} Jun 21 - Transit Room We stayed in a transit room last nite :-). The entire city was sold out due to some sort of national sporting competition so we ended up in a very discreet hotel that charges by the hour! Mirrors everywhere. LOL But they were very nice and even watched our bags while we went to the Surabaya Zoo the next day where we saw pangolin (a mammal with scales), a Komodo dragon, big bats, and a mouse deer. On the bus, a boy puts a snack on your lap the comes back 10 minutes later to see if you ate it meaning you bought it. Otherwise he just takes it back. Jun 22 - Gunung Bromo The Mt. Bromo area is stunningly beautiful. Magnificent greenery against a backdrop of huge jutted mountains. and a patchwork of crops fills many steep inclines. Our hotel is on the edge of the huge Tengger Crater which is 10km across and its steep walls plunge down to a vast, flat sea of lava sand. We saw a barefoot woman carrying a large satchel of sticks on her back up the path on the wall. She was friendly, smiled, said hello and shook our hands. A group of men on the path was playing cards. It seems that the women do a lot of the hard work here. At the bottom, mainly scrub grasses grow. If you throw a rock up in the air and let it hit, the ground sounds strangely hollow! The ancient Tengger Volcano now hosts three volcanoes, which are each large in their own right. I took a picture of Steve from one side of the Bromo lip to the other, and he's just a speck. We got up at 3:30am to watch the sunrise at the viewing area. Steve got a wool G. Bromo hat for 58 cents. {{IMG1|1158}}

Bali - Our First Experience with SE Asian Culture
Jun 9, 2000 Indonesia

Rice paddies, monkeys, caves. This is an entirely new culture for us and we love it!

Bali - Our First Experience with SE Asian Culture Rice paddies, monkeys, caves. This is an entirely new culture for us and we love it! Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! June 8 - Livin' In Luxury In Kuta We are now living in luxury. Bali is so cool! We are in Kuta, the main tourist area in a decent hotel for $15 US that includes breakfast in the open-air restaurant and there’s an awesome pool. W arrived late at night so we just asked our taxi driver to take us to a decent but cheap hotel. This place is fantastic. Totally touristy, but I just got my hair braded for $2! Now I have the Bo Derrik thing goin’ on, or a messy version of it anyway. Our lunch with drinks and ice cream (a splurge for us) was less than $4 total. Tomorrow one of the guys who works here and his little brother are going to drive us up to Ubud and we can stop at a bunch of cool places along the way. We’re paying them 100,000 rupiah at about 8,600R per dollar. It’s weird dealing in so many thousands you automatically try to bargain even though it’s cheap in US dollars. The weather here is hot and humid but not unbearable. The villages have narrow rutty streets and have a lot of hustle bustle (best way I could think to explain it). Nothing like Fiji villages. Ubud has lots of shops like Kuta and it’s all Tijuana style. Let’s make a deal. There are some intricately carved coconuts that I want but are $300,000R each. I’ll have to haggle. All the prices have about tripled from what it says in our guidebook. But I really do think it’s inflation and things like that rather than us getting ripped off. There are little offerings with flowers, food, and incense, (sometimes even money or candy) all over the place. In Bali, Hindu people give 2 offerings per day at home or where they work. It's hard not to step on them! {{IMG1|1151}} Jun 9 - Getting Lost in the Rice Paddies After 2 days in Kuta, we got a ride to Ubud with Wayan and his brother, Madeh. We saw a Balinese dance, Barong Kris dance incorporating Hindu themes of good & evil, child sacrifice, immortality, and animal morphing. We also visited a batik (hot wax art on cloth) shop, wood cutting shop, stone carving shop, and an authentic traditional village (chickens running around, many stone buildings, thatched roofs, and temples. {{IMG1|1147}} We're staying at the beautiful Juwita Inn in Ubud. 8 nights cost less than US$100, including morning and afternoon tea and free breakfast served to your room! It is so great here in Bali, and cheap! We are so spoiled with dinner in restaurants, our hotel (that has a private bath), and a fully body massage for four dollars! We hardly feel like backpackers. They say you can get by on $5 per day in Indonesia, and totally spoil yourself for a few bucks more. {{IMG1|1150}} I am about to go on a shopping frenzy with all the cool statues and things to buy. We took a walk along the streets. After a few turns we found ourselves in a small village with pigs, roosters, cows, and some artisan areas. Beautiful rice fields, but we got a bit lost and it was getting dark. A very cheerful man, Nyoman, met us (he had just caught 4 snakes to eat). He kept chatting even though he knew no English and we knew no Balinese. He helped us find our way out of the rice paddies though, following him on the 2 ft. sections between the rice paddies, which is a good thing seeing how dark it was getting. Jun 10 - Monkey Forest and More We went to the sacred monkey forest today. The locals really respect this place and there are huge temples and many stone monuments inside. This is different: they will bury a loved one in the sacred grounds, just as a temporary resting spot util they can save up enough money for a proper cremation. We saw a grave that was only three days old. The monkeys are all over the place, playing in the trees or in the temples. They will take a banana right from your hand. Sometimes they get greedy and want the whole bunch - I had to tell one a stern No! but he hissed at me and showed his 2 inch teeth. Scared and shocked, I dropped the rest of the bananas. One cute baby monkey couldn’t get up the temple wall, so mom put him on her belly and climbed him up. {{IMG2|1148}} {{IMG2|1149}} We saw the Balinese fire/trance dance; rhythymic chanting and dancing that depicts a traditional story. At the end, they pour some flammable liquid over a bunch of coconut husks to make a bonfire. After it burns for a while, a guy walks through the fire and continues to kick and walk on the coals for quite a while. Common Balinese names for children 1 thru 4: Wayan, Madeh, Nyoman, Ketut. We’ve met all but a Ketut so far. Jun 11 We had a long walk through rice paddies and among little villages. A young man named Ketut asked if he could join us in our walk to practice his English. Sure. He said all banyan trees are sacred - there is a temple next to every banyan tree on Bali. He told us a nice river/cave walk to go on. We saw the Ubud final soccer game that ended in penalty kicks but we couldn’t see them because the entire crowd gathered around the 18yd box. The people in trees had a good view, and some people tried to jump at the exact moment of the kick to see. {{IMG1|1153}} Jun 13 We rented moped and saw the Goa Gajah Cave that has 900 year old carvings! An earthquake in the early 1900s broke most of it though. We saw a fruit blessing ceremony and got a flat tire. {{IMG1|1154}} Jun 14 We took the moped back out to the cave walk area. A local cop stopped us. He was nice but told us to turn around because of some project. We went by a beautiful river (people rafting) and took a rice paddie walk to the cave temple. We never would have found it but a nice local showed us where it was. After he left, another nice local showed us the bridge walk, some great views, and a cremation ceremony area. He took us to his house, climbed a tree, and got down a coconut for us to drink. He’s an engineer at the local hotel. We got soaked in the rain and rushed home for hot showers and tea. We are also taking a meditation class in Ubud. Shopping in Ubud has been great. We got a barong woodcarving (mythical beast representing cleansing forces in the universe), a cloth painting, and an carved ebony box all for insanely cheap prices direct from the artisans. We then bought 2 more oil candles (3 men and bird), 6 barongs, and droopy old lady statue for our friend Jesse. We mailed all the stuff home. I hope it makes it.

Welcome to Australia
May 21, 2000 Australia

Wow, Australia is huge. A month isn't nearly long enough.

Welcome to Australia Wow, Australia is huge. A month isn't nearly long enough. Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! Okay, this place is huge. Australia is as large as the US (48 states) and has only 50 percent more people than Los Angeles, so there are vast amounts of beautiful land with no people. Quite diverse too - from rainforests to desert outback; big cities to earth loving communes; and some of the most unique animal species in the world. It’s been another whole new experience here in Australia. After spending some time in Melbourne where we met up with Alicia (whom we met in Amsterdam last December) and went to our first Aussie rules football game, we decided that we would hitchhike. Not just to save money, but to meet interesting people. And we have. 5 rides so far, one of which was 3 days! (see Hitchhiking at My Age?) {{IMG3|770}} {{IMG3|757}} {{IMG3|761}} Traveling with Marlon we saw a lot of really cool stuff and had a great time. Spent one night in a town with population of 36 where we played darts and partied in the pub with most of the town. The local blokes were kind enough to buy drinks for the poor yank backpackers. Then we saw kangaroos and emus in the wild! Marlon took us to some beautiful spots with deserted beaches and rainforests, and even had us stay at the camp he was going to for a couple of nights. We were spoiled with 3 cooked meals a day and Tim Tam Slams (local cookie tradition). {{IMG1|762}} {{IMG2|764}} {{IMG2|758}} We painted a jetty rock in Nambucca where colorful lorikeets were everywhere, then went to Byron Bay where there are beaches with clear warm water, hippies, dolphins, and more rainforests. {{IMG1|768}} {{IMG2|767}} {{IMG2|771}} Now in Nimbin which is straight out of the 60’s. Rainbows, hippies, cannabis, and alternative living (communes living off the land). We worked a few days at the permaculture center (WOOF = Working On Organic Farm) by planting onion, beet root, and celery seedlings in exchange for some food. Robyn’s permaculture farm was amazing. Her motto is pragmatic in an ecologically sensitive way. So many eco designed systems that integrate water, irrigation, natural filtration treatment, soil, edible landscapes, dams, living fences, composting, chickens, geese, ducks, fish, prawns, bees, butterflies, birds, herbs, fruits, veggies, cooling etc. Thousands of species live together harmoniously on this little farm and they take no water from the city. We had hoped to live on the farm for at least a few days but apparently the couple we'd be sharing accommodation with were having some sort of marital issues. {{IMG2|766}} {{IMG2|765}} May 28, Reconciliation Day Today is Reconciliation Day in Australia - for the aboriginals who’ve never signed a treaty and had a generation stolen (whites were allowed to take a baby from its parents if either parent was black, and put it in a foster home). Reconciliation Day recognizes all the injustices done to the Aborigines (like Americans did to the Indians). They expected 100,000 to march in Sydney, but ended up with 250,000! We marched in the streets of Nimbin with about 50 people, had our faces painted with the symbol of Mother Earth by an Aboriginal guy, crossed a symbolic bridge and then sang a traditional nundjalung song. Then a few aboriginal elders said some words. We were proud to be part of such a special day! {{IMG1|769}} May 30 We decided hitching was taking too long, so tomorrow we are renting a car for 3 days. Thanks Mom for faxing our drivers licenses - saved our butts! Some Leslie travel notes - I love the lingo here, hate how ugly my feet have gotten, and would like some cuter clothes. Also, for anyone who was wondering how long it would take for us to want to kill each other, I would put the date at May 22. Things are back to normal now. Jun 7, Leavin' Australia Darwin. Now leaving Australia for Indonesia. Oz was truly great, the land of extremes. One month was definitely not enough to do it justice. Things I'd like to see on the next trip: Fraser Island, Whitsundays, 12 apostles, Uluru, aboriginal culture, Darwin, Daintree (and other) rainforests, croc feeding, Tasmania, Perth, and a platypus. The people are very laid back, down to earth, rugged, and caring. Their sense of humor is acute and they can take the piss out of just about any culture. the lingo is great: good on ya mate, no worries, spot on, full on, fair dinkum, cuppa, go on, bisquit, whatya reckon, how ya going mate, mozzies, servo, shout me a beer, eh?, bloke, bludger, digger, cobber, esky (cooler), icy pole, lolly, dodgy, pom (brit), piss (beer), reggo, road train, root (screw), saltie (croc), sheila (babe). They seem to not mind if things move slowly or are uncultured. We met several Americans who were on holiday, but now want to move here. As Jacob said, I've adopted Australia, now if only Australia will adopt me. Local joke: Whats the difference between an Aussie bloke and a cup of yogurt? The yogurt has more culture. {{IMG2|756}} {{IMG2|763}} {{IMG2|759}}

The Adrenaline Capital of the World
May 6, 2000 New Zealand

What a blast we've had in New Zealand! New friends, glowing worms, and living in a van.

The Adrenaline Capital of the World What a blast we've had in New Zealand! New friends, glowing worms, and living in a van. Old posts from my very first travel website and my first backpacking trip (a year in 2000-2001)! New Zealand has been so much fun! We traveled around in the van we bought and had a cozy time of it. We thought Steve’s apartment was small for us to live in! Somehow we have managed to survive without killing each other. {{IMG2|1110}} {{IMG2|1109}} Apr 16 was culture shock going from primitive Fiji to the city of Aukland. Everywhere seems to be very backpacker friendly, including free tea and coffee and phone calls at the airport. Also definitely the adrenaline capital of the world. Tons of extreme sports - if you can call being bounced down a hill in a giant hamster ball a sport! {{IMG2|1111}} {{IMG2|1112}} {{IMG2|1113}} {{IMG2|1114}} It is now a few days away from our flight so we are in Christchurch trying to sell the van. It is fall here, so it’s getting cold. We got some rain, and have had very chilly nights. We met some nice people along the way that we traveled with in the north island. The south island is beautiful. Everywhere we’ve driven in NZ there has been beautiful scenery, nice people, and sheep. {{IMG1|1118}} {{IMG2|1119}} {{IMG2|1120}} {{IMG2|1121}} {{IMG2|1122}} We did some caving in Waitomo to see the glow worms. They decked us out in full wet suits for our hike/inner tube/swim through the underground caves with little blue start all over the ceiling (glow worms). We did a ropes course in Taupo where we had to climb a 45 foot telephone pole, stand on the top of it, and leap for a trapeze (we had a harness on, but it hardly made it less scary). {{IMG2|1115}} {{IMG2|1116}} I went skydiving in Taupo and had an absolute blast! Falling out of the sky is highly recommended. Steve has done it before so he went swimming with the dolphins instead. Tons of dolphins and he got to pay with them. We even saw wild penguins and naturally spherical boulders. Then we both did Nevis - the highest bungy in NZ! Holy shit. It is 134 meters high. We had to take a cable car out to the pod and jumped off the platform into the canyon. Wow! Then Steve went for a second jump off a bridge, did a fabulous back dive, and got dunked in the river below. We love it here, but now it’s almost time to go. {{IMG1|1123}} {{IMG3|1124}} {{IMG3|1125}} {{IMG3|1126}}

Fiji Was Wonderful
Apr 15, 2000 Fiji

Fiji has been absolutely wonderful. We’ve never seen any place so green with tropical jungles. The whole island is unspoiled lush land spotted with small villages ....

Fiji Was Wonderful Fiji has been absolutely wonderful. We’ve never seen any place so green with tropical jungles. The whole island is unspoiled lush land spotted with small villages. It has been so hot and humid that we are actually used to being sweaty sticky all the time. The locals are all very friendly, and it’s pretty easy to get around (once you get the hang of it and are not lame tourists like we started out). So far we’ve stayed on the Coral Coast at the Beachhouse, in Levuka on the island of Ovalau, and now we’re back on the Coral Coast just outside of Sigatoka. We have seen incredible tidepools, canoed, swam in waterfall pools, hiked through the jungle, eaten coconut and papaya right off the tree, had a Fijian lunch in the home of a village family in Lovoni, and had a traditional kava ceremony (tastes yuk but is relaxing). Epi's Tour to the Village of Lovoni Kava Ceremony At one point we decided to go for a swim in the natural pools at the Colo-i-Suva (Tholo Ee SooVa) Forest. We took the local transport into Suva and could not for the life of us get our point across of where we were trying to go. It got very funny! We finally made swimming motions and they dropped us off at the public swimming pool. After asking many people, we finally found someone who knew about the pools and pointed us to the correct place to wait for another van to take us there. It turned out to be awesome! There was noone else there and we had a nice refreshing swim. {{IMG2|747}} {{IMG2|748}} It’s pretty cheap here,too. So far we seem to be sticking to our budget, still hoping the money lasts all year. Hotel is from 10 to 20 dollars for both of us, and food is from 25 cents to 4 dollars a meal. Using the internet seems to be a bit expensive at 1.5 dollars for 10 minutes which can add up when on a backpacker’s budget. The backpacker hotels have all been different and each has its own character. We’re meeting a lot of other travelers (surprisingly few Americans), cooking our own food, and doing laundry by hand. The Fiji history is fascinating. The entire place was once a huge volcano that has since sunk and is now traced out by the tiny islands and large underwater coral reefs. Once known as the cannibal isles, the people are actually very friendly and would only eat those they defeated in war or shipwrecked men whom they thought were cursed by the gods. A very cool feature of the main island, Viti Levu is that even though the island has many hills, mountains, and valleys, there is a flat straight and level path all the way through, starting at Vuda Nadi. So far we’re healthy and incredibly happy with no major mishaps other than Leslie leaving her towel at our first hotel. Oh, and we missed our flight to Aukland by a whole day. We’re truly on Fiji Time. {{IMG2|745}} {{IMG2|746}}

Arrived Like Green Tourists
Apr 8, 2000 Fiji

Fiji was my very first stop on my very first budget trip! :)

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