Fortunately for you all, I only write my blogposts when I´m in a good mood and have a good story to tell... This past Tuesday I slept all day. Friday I found out I have parasites.
If I always followed the rules, a) I would be a totally different persone and b) life would not be anywhere close to as interesting. Before I life my travel doctor basically told me to never eat anything from street vendors, dont eat fruits and vegtables unless you wash them yourself or know the water was ok, and to not eat ice. I followed these ¨rule¨ for about the first week. A girl can only go without fresh veggies for so long! And those totillas and coconut candies from the street vendors... you cant get those in boston! SO. I had been eating exactly how I shouldnt had been and I am reeping the consequences. By the time I figured out what I had, my body had already started fighting it and I was feeling better, and Im almost back to 100% now.
Other than that, my visit with my parents this past week was, eventful, frustraiting, and exciting, AND of course filled with a lot of love. Its crazy the affect a culture shock can have on a person. When my parents arrived 8 days ago, I had fully adjusted, and had really been enjoying living in rural towns of Nicaragua ...not seeing any other white people, eating the good local food, chatting with locals all day. I definitley should have done a little more metal preperations because as soon as Mom and Dad landed in the country, I was overtaken my the pieces of American Culture they brought with them, as they were overtaken by men on donkeys next to our taxi on the highway, and the buring piles of trash throughout the landscape, and all the other developing vs. developed world differences.
Overall, it was a crazy and wonderful week that my parents and I got to spend together. Once we both got over our own culture shocks I felt like I was able to rediscover the country with them with was really special. I will tressure forever the conversations about poverty, and politics we had, which wouldnt have taken place, at the level and intellect they did, if we werent sitting at a table in the middle of a central park in Nicaragua together.
So, once again, I have met up with some new travelers... This time Nicaraguan! They are 4 friends who are all street jewlery artists. They were in Granada when I was there with my parents and yesterday we traveled to San Juan del Sur together because there are so many gringos here. More gringos = more business. No saying how long I hang out with these cool cats. And my spanish gets better everyday when they insist that I attempt to not speak English!
Well the ocean is calling! The sun is out, and I committed to making salsa this morning to go with the gallo pinto and tortillas for breakfast!
Much Peace and Love to Everyone!
Sunday, February 26
Saturday, February 18
Oh My Rasta!
What a past 2 weeks of traveling it has been! My estimation that I would spend 20 hours on a boat is a womping under-estimation. I don´t even want to try to count up the hours, but I will estimate it was somewhere between 40 and 50 hours of boat time.
I almost enjoyed all of my time on boats...
By far the most exciting trip was from San Juan del Nicaragua, to Bluefeilds; two towns on the carribean coast of Nicaragua only seperated by some rough but beautiful carribean waters. Not many people - Nicas or Gringos make this trip - so we didnt exactly take a typical tourist boat.
At the beginning of my carribean adventure I was lucky enough to meet up with 2 other girls my age from Germany. A couple days later we tagged up with 2 guys from spain. Together we were a 5-some of crazy traveling friends, seaking out adventure on the wild seas of Nicaragua, in search of Rasta men, good reggae music, and a general awesome time. This boat ride up to Bluefeilds that we braved together was a 15 hour, hitchhike on a towboat. I was the only one not vomiting for a majority of the trip, so I spent half my time soaking up the sun and watching the dolphins swim along the boat, and the other half making sure my European traveling buddies were in good health.
The town of Bluefeilds wasn´t exactly what I had pictured. A little too city like for my taste, and although there were very few Grigos, there didnt seem to be the Carribean charm that all the guide books had promised. None the less we had a good saturday night out on the town in mighty old Bluefeilds. (The town was named after a Pirate. ARG MAITY!)
By far the highlight of my carribean adventure was my one night in Laguna de Perlas. Its a small town of the kindest 2,000 people in all of Nicaragua! Not to metion the contagious rasta vibe that had already gotten to my head... literally.
Oops! Did that slip...? Yes! I have dreadlocks now... Actually I´m not sure I can really call them dreads. My hair is very short and dreadlocks don´t happen over night. Hopefully I'll be able to post a picture of the new-doo via my Dad´s iphone... there are many curious friends and family out there, I´m sure :)
I know this is breif but its almost time for me to catch a taxi to the airport to pick up my lovely parents, so we can spend a week together catching up! Each time I write on my blog I feel like I have learned more and more about myself and the world and EVERYTHING. I feel so full of life right now. Its very exciting for me, and I can feel my energy being shared with the people I come in contact with, which is a really cool and beautiful thing.
Today I´ll end by challenging you to do something for yourself! By loving yourself first, you are better able to love others. I believe, (this little lesson has come to me in the last month or so), that by loving, and thinking of yourself first, it is the best thing you can do. Take time to notice your breath, notice the weather, notice the sky, make yourself some tasty and nourishing food, give yourself a hug (and then hug someone else). Lots of love from me to all of you! (Can you feel it?) Love yourself, love life. Your life is a gift, that you are able to choose how you live everyday! Make the good and the bad moments beautiful and life becomes fuller and grander than you ever thought possible!!!
I almost enjoyed all of my time on boats...
By far the most exciting trip was from San Juan del Nicaragua, to Bluefeilds; two towns on the carribean coast of Nicaragua only seperated by some rough but beautiful carribean waters. Not many people - Nicas or Gringos make this trip - so we didnt exactly take a typical tourist boat.
At the beginning of my carribean adventure I was lucky enough to meet up with 2 other girls my age from Germany. A couple days later we tagged up with 2 guys from spain. Together we were a 5-some of crazy traveling friends, seaking out adventure on the wild seas of Nicaragua, in search of Rasta men, good reggae music, and a general awesome time. This boat ride up to Bluefeilds that we braved together was a 15 hour, hitchhike on a towboat. I was the only one not vomiting for a majority of the trip, so I spent half my time soaking up the sun and watching the dolphins swim along the boat, and the other half making sure my European traveling buddies were in good health.
The town of Bluefeilds wasn´t exactly what I had pictured. A little too city like for my taste, and although there were very few Grigos, there didnt seem to be the Carribean charm that all the guide books had promised. None the less we had a good saturday night out on the town in mighty old Bluefeilds. (The town was named after a Pirate. ARG MAITY!)
By far the highlight of my carribean adventure was my one night in Laguna de Perlas. Its a small town of the kindest 2,000 people in all of Nicaragua! Not to metion the contagious rasta vibe that had already gotten to my head... literally.
Oops! Did that slip...? Yes! I have dreadlocks now... Actually I´m not sure I can really call them dreads. My hair is very short and dreadlocks don´t happen over night. Hopefully I'll be able to post a picture of the new-doo via my Dad´s iphone... there are many curious friends and family out there, I´m sure :)
I know this is breif but its almost time for me to catch a taxi to the airport to pick up my lovely parents, so we can spend a week together catching up! Each time I write on my blog I feel like I have learned more and more about myself and the world and EVERYTHING. I feel so full of life right now. Its very exciting for me, and I can feel my energy being shared with the people I come in contact with, which is a really cool and beautiful thing.
Today I´ll end by challenging you to do something for yourself! By loving yourself first, you are better able to love others. I believe, (this little lesson has come to me in the last month or so), that by loving, and thinking of yourself first, it is the best thing you can do. Take time to notice your breath, notice the weather, notice the sky, make yourself some tasty and nourishing food, give yourself a hug (and then hug someone else). Lots of love from me to all of you! (Can you feel it?) Love yourself, love life. Your life is a gift, that you are able to choose how you live everyday! Make the good and the bad moments beautiful and life becomes fuller and grander than you ever thought possible!!!
Wednesday, February 1
Bona Fide - it was fun, i learned a lot, good-bye for now
It has been too long! Since I have last posted I have had many adventures around the Island of Ometepe. I explored a beautiful waterful, visited Moyogalpa for a night, watched a circus perform and eaten lots of rice and beans!
I have spent the last 2 weeks at Bona Fide, a Permaculture farm with a very powerful mission filled with some very powerful people. I was drawn away from Inan Itah and towards Bona Fide because of the people there, and then once I got there I realized there was this whole world of Permaculture that I wanted to learn so much about that really drew me in. To give a brief definition, Permaculture is a term used to describe how humans can best sustainably interact with the land. This of course means from an agricultural standpoint, but it speaks to the type of stuctures we build on the land, how we use the land for exercise and pleasure and so on. To me Permaculture is a big idea (and very exciting and growing idea) about how to live sustainably in every aspect of your life.
So why would I ever leave Bona Fide, you are probably wondering! Well they are starting a fancy Permaculture Design Course this week that is way out of my budget and things were getting very hectic so I am going to find relaxation again - I´m headed to the Carribean coast!
I am currently in a port town on Ometepe waiting for the boat to come tomorrow night to take me across Lake Nicaragua to the mouth of the Rio San Juan where I´ll take another boat traveling east along the river to the beautiful Carribean Sea! There are many stops along the Rio San Juan that I am planning to take; it is a very biodiverse area that I have heard is breath taking, so there will be no need to rush the trip.
The Caribean coast of Nicaragua has a differnet culture of its own. There is even a slower paced, relaxed vibe, and the locals speak creole rather than spanish. Many people at Bona Fide have made this crazy boat adventure to the Carribean and only say good things about it. When I get to the Carribean it will mean I have spent about 20 hours on a boat, so that will be an adventure in itself!
Most excitingly Mama and Papa are coming to visit me in the middle of Februray! I will make my way back to Managua around that time to great them off the plane and help them make an easy transition into this different and beautiful culture of Nicaragua! I know it will precious time, as my parents from a first world country and my experience these past weeks in this third world county come together to form a world of our own on a great vacation!
In the spirit and idea of permaculture, I´ll end with a challenge to do something more environmentally sustainable today that you usually do... Use both sides of paper, remember to bring your reusable water bottle, reduce, reuse and recycle your waste in to better and greener things! And as always stay positive and find beauty in all things! Good vibes from me to you. Much Love and Peace
I have spent the last 2 weeks at Bona Fide, a Permaculture farm with a very powerful mission filled with some very powerful people. I was drawn away from Inan Itah and towards Bona Fide because of the people there, and then once I got there I realized there was this whole world of Permaculture that I wanted to learn so much about that really drew me in. To give a brief definition, Permaculture is a term used to describe how humans can best sustainably interact with the land. This of course means from an agricultural standpoint, but it speaks to the type of stuctures we build on the land, how we use the land for exercise and pleasure and so on. To me Permaculture is a big idea (and very exciting and growing idea) about how to live sustainably in every aspect of your life.
So why would I ever leave Bona Fide, you are probably wondering! Well they are starting a fancy Permaculture Design Course this week that is way out of my budget and things were getting very hectic so I am going to find relaxation again - I´m headed to the Carribean coast!
I am currently in a port town on Ometepe waiting for the boat to come tomorrow night to take me across Lake Nicaragua to the mouth of the Rio San Juan where I´ll take another boat traveling east along the river to the beautiful Carribean Sea! There are many stops along the Rio San Juan that I am planning to take; it is a very biodiverse area that I have heard is breath taking, so there will be no need to rush the trip.
The Caribean coast of Nicaragua has a differnet culture of its own. There is even a slower paced, relaxed vibe, and the locals speak creole rather than spanish. Many people at Bona Fide have made this crazy boat adventure to the Carribean and only say good things about it. When I get to the Carribean it will mean I have spent about 20 hours on a boat, so that will be an adventure in itself!
Most excitingly Mama and Papa are coming to visit me in the middle of Februray! I will make my way back to Managua around that time to great them off the plane and help them make an easy transition into this different and beautiful culture of Nicaragua! I know it will precious time, as my parents from a first world country and my experience these past weeks in this third world county come together to form a world of our own on a great vacation!
In the spirit and idea of permaculture, I´ll end with a challenge to do something more environmentally sustainable today that you usually do... Use both sides of paper, remember to bring your reusable water bottle, reduce, reuse and recycle your waste in to better and greener things! And as always stay positive and find beauty in all things! Good vibes from me to you. Much Love and Peace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)