Thursday, February 12, 2009

packing patience.

its sweltering here. I am back in granada I had to come back here to catch the tica bus into san jose costa rica so i can make my flight to rio on the 14th. I am trying to mentally prepare myself for the heat and humidity that is going to grace my presence once i get into the north of brazil.

i havent really been practicing my portuguese. actually to be quite honest i have neglected wuite a few things i should be doing like writing in my journal. i do however have an excuse or a sound justification as to why i havent updated my blog in a bit.

here´s the story. here´s whats been happening. here is how i spent my birthday. interested.... okay then keep your eyes in motion and your axons firing receptors!

i left granada i want to say on the 7th. i traveled to rivas which is technically not too far but the day of traveling on the busses down here is always an adventure that you should prepare for. i took one bus into rivas that left at about noon. the busses are old schoolbusses although they cram them so tight with people usually that you have three people sitting in one seat and a bunch of others standing in the middle. most of the windows usually work but every once in a while you get a few that wont open very far.... now i knew i was car sick but i was unaware of just how sensitive my good ol belly was... im not even talking about the food sickness i have gotten already. annnnyway let me continue on my rant. i have come to realize i get quite car sick but have found a few things to help ie....those wrist things with the pressure point thing that you wear are completely useful i reccoment them. moving on. so i get into rivas but the bus im on wont take be to the dock where i can catch the ferry to ometepe. so i hop on this shuttle which is more like a beat up old hoopty van. i have quite a squishy spot in my heart for vans that look like this cause growing up my best friend carito´s parents had one of these and always played spanish music really loud and us kids danced in the back.... yes ladies and gentlemen ive been ethnic since the beginging! okay okay i get sidetracked you all know that. so lake managua is an extremely large lake but i wouldnt comment on it´s beauty. it´s murky and very very choppy. it is severly polluted because locals were dumping chemicals in the lake to kill the sharks. and supposedly kodak was dumping massive amounts of mercury in the water. yes i said sharks in a lake. apparently there are bull sharks that have adapted to fresh water and live in the lake but i have yet to cross referance that information just yet. one local told me that most of them are known to have died off because of all the toxic waste that was dumped into the lake. this lake is very large 60 km long and 25 km wide. because of the large surface and where it sits there is a constant wind that is prevalent. taking the ferry over was more of a white water rafting sign up then it was a ferry ride over so omit any images of ferrys you have in your head.

the ferry ride...

the wind was bustling i´m talking wind slaaping, hat stealing, water aggervating, loud whisting kind of wind. this launcha that i took we can call it a ferry if you want was fighting against the wind the boat was dropping in when swells came up. mustve been drops at least 5 feet. no kidding. the water came and slapped me in the face and i thought well that was a nice awakening. im sure i just swallowed a liter of mercury. awesome so awesome. so i finally arrive after what must have been almost two hours the driver or captian of the boat was having some difficulties steering that thing and i was told later that night that a boat had flipped that day cause of the winds...

after finally embarking upon shore i hop on a bus. where i need to get to is on the other side of the island. now what one needs to remember is that most roads not in the main cities in nicaragua are not paved and the dirt roads are in the most wretched condition ever... okay okay to cut the long story short i finally get to where i have to go but i still have to walk 2km uphill. at this point it´s like 8 pm i havent eaten since breakfast and you all who know me know that food sort of kind of usually governs my life. so i walk up and i´m talking all uphill with all pack that must weigh 20 kilos. i am hot. i chose to wear flip flops. ummmm wrong choice when lugging a pack up a dirt road. and i have to pee. but i cant pop a squat cause it´s so windy and dark and my head lamp is in my pack and i dont want to dig it out and i dont want to get pee all over my foot so i keep trudging up...up....up.....up.... finally.

the next morning is my birthday. i was told that the hike up the volcano was really muddy and not really worth it cause its so cloudy up at the top. so instead i decide to trek to the petrogliffs. on my way i heard some howler monkeys in the close distance so i went off path and ventured into the wilderness. i came to a famly of howler monkeys. an extended family. a group of non caged animals living happily in the trees. there were about 11 or so including 2 very small infants. as soon as the wind would kick up the howling started. you would be so surprised to hear the sound that comes from these little creatures. it was amazing. the best birthday present ever!

i went and continued my walk and came upon this spot that was the most serene reverant place ever. the trees were so expressive, so massive and so beautiful. the energy here was unlike anything i have experienced yet. i sat on this rock and just gazed into the sky up through the branching out of this tree. the blue that came streaming down was like something out of a painting. streams of light were beckoning down to the ground and when the wind blew the branches just let the wind sway him. he stayed grounded but adaptable. i loved that tree. i kissed him goodbye and went on my way.

the next day i headed for the beach. i went to guacacate area to the beach of popoyo. its the windy season so there isn´t really anyone around. actually there are mostly only locals. i walked on the beach to the tidepools and the entire walk which took me about 3 hours there was not a single person i passed. most people come here to surf and the break is on the opposite side so i suppose most of the poeple were over there. this town had two places to eat one ding repair shop for surfers to repair their boards and a few hostles. i stayed at one right on the beach and it was magnificent. there are no paved roads in this town so getting to this town was also quite a trek. it´s an interesting thing to be surrounded only by ocean and sand with no other being around. humbling. i throughly enjoyed myself.

i headed back into granada today. i am taking the bus at 6 am into costa rica and then catching a flight to brazil on the 14th. happy velentines to me. actually i have never subscribed to valentines day. i think it is a marketing ploy and quite ridicilous. shouldnt you do nice things for those you love any time not cause it´s marked on the calandar? well whatever.

im headed to go find a pandaria and some fruit for the bus ride tomorrow.

i think i will write more later about some thought provoking reactions i havce had but i am getting the stink eye from this guy who wants to use the compuer....

i send abrazos y luz.

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