The Nica Straw

We all know that soda out of a glass bottle is amazing. BUt think of the sheer dissapointment that ensues when you order an ice cold Fanta and the lady pours it in a little plastic sandwich bag sticks a straw in it and ties it up.
Well that led me to this new business venture...A bar that serves all its drinks, beer, wine, mixed drinks, shots....all in a little plastic bag with a straw. It´ll be a little tast of Nica life in a bar, aptly named, The Nica Straw.
Booya! amazing idea.


In other news, got to hang out with some locals, under the name Alfonso de El Salvador, and go on a crazy adventure to illegally buy beer at 2am, while trying to ditch a cab driver who wasnt satisfied with the absurd amount of money he charged us to go to the make-shift beer joint in a gas station. I couldnt believe i got away from gringos for a night.


Time for an attitude adjustment. And off to the northern coast to hang at Tina la Ginga´s place.

The ballet in Leon turned out to be a series of 6 or so ballet segments including a 15 min Swan Lake (bringing me back to the horors of Marching Band when we performed it) and an interprative dance to bjork. I wish i could have captured some of these costumes in what appeared to be a middle school dance recital gone awry.

(on a related note, just because the crappy ballet was $1.50, aren´t i still allowed to say it sucked. I cant stand these guys who relate quality to price. True the value added flavor at La Playita was better before they raised priced the last time, butthe fact that i was criticised for giving an honest assesment of shitty expression of art pisses me off.)

and the opposite of shitty art...saw some amazing modern art from central america. too bad the security guards made me delete the photos.

Its also sad to see the lack of interest in art and culture in Nicaragua. Although its there, few people besides the artists choose to recognize it. Perhaps it is because they are too busy working 12 hour days making 2-3 dollars a day and barely feeding their families. But it would be great if I were not the only one in this amazing art museum. I just think that if the people begin to embrace art and other cultural activities, they will grow more as an educated nation and be able to more easily produce wealth for themselves. ( i know i am making some stereotypes, but i have a point)

and one more thing...
The two women selling food behind the cathedral were amazing. Always providing great dinners. My trip to Leon is dedicated to them.

Ceviche and Kebabs

Back in San Jose for one last stroll before heading up to Leon, Nicaragua.
Last time Aaron and i made a big mistake and grubed at this pizza joint not realizing that there was a Kebab/Gyros/Doner stand across the street. So a visit was necessary.
Analysis: Great meat, good quality veggies, but mediocre sauce, and flabby pita. Though not stale, the pita lacked a classic chewiness that compliments the roasted shawarma meat. Also i was dissapointed with the fact that like traditional Doners, this was not overflowing with ingredients. But hey, it was only two bucks.

Even better was a stop at the central market--three times in the past two days. Two of those times Aaron and I (and the second time we brought a german friend along) sat at the counter of a Ceviche stand. nestled in between much of the meat and fish sellers, these guys must be making the best fish and shrimp ceviche around. While heavy on the lime and light on the chilies, the fish was tender and juicy and there were perfect amounts onions, and cilantro to top it off. I recommend adding some hot sauce and making sure you get some fresh tortilla chips and plantains on the side. (grand total: 2.50 for fish, 3.25 for shrimp)

Banana Bread and Turtle Eggs

Tortuguerro is located on the northern Caribeban coast of Costa Rica.About an hour boat ride from the nearest road, this little village of about 1000 people is one of the biggest nesting sites for turtles inth e world. Now i will s top sounding like a Lonly Plantet guide book and tell you that seeing a 4 foot turtle plop out about a 1000 eggs in a hole on the beach is surreal. dissapointingly the guides seem to not be that well educated in the research done with sea turtles especially the Green Turtle whcih we saw. The two day trip also included Steiny and I renting a canoe, and spending 5 hours traversing the little rivers and canals seeing tons of birds, monkeys and even a baby Caiman.

but this was just all a supplement to Dorleans Bakery which had the best Banana Bread in the whole world. One doesnøt know what taste is until they carress little bits of banana bread with hidden chunks of bananas and peaches with their tounge. Oh man, one word: Glorious!

oh and the owner of the roach infested hostel was indeed a vato from oakland. well he certainly looked liked a really big Raiders fan. what a cool dude.

Another try in San Jose

My third time around int he past 6 weeks and this city is finally growing on me. I dont know if its aaron´s enthusiasm or drinking cacique on the street or seeing Malpais at Jazz Cafe...but i dig this dump. Ta Dauw!
In news in my head, ive been coming up with lesson plan ideas if i were ever to become a teacher...i really dig this idea.

The best casado turned bad

Remember when those new lays contained Olestra and everyone was scared? Well i think there might have been tons of olestra in my casado because i was going nuts for two days strait. And the saddest part is that i´ve never had better food from a bus station before in my life. I mean 3 bucks for rice, beans, chicken, plantains, tuna noodle salad, tortillas and a fresca??? undeniable...and in the end totally worth it.

Making another volcano my bitch

Climbed Volcan Madras on Isla de Omatepe in Nica. The bartender in granda said Largo Nicaragua was the 3rd largest in the world. Knowing she was wrong i later found out that its the 20th...so booya!
but anyways...we got our climbing on. sadly two of the scottish guys who came along had to turn back 1km and 2km into the anti climactic hike. sweet lake in the crater but no views...but climbing a volcano is still fun. and a big fat tona afterwards made it all worth while.

and hanging out on hammocks and reading COllapse all day is very relaxing.
at the second hostel, El Zopilote, this part farm makes fresh tahini and nutella, and the best chocolate liquor. the bread and pizza were also terribly amazing. too bad my back was killing me after the night´s sleep on the hammock.
but the views were incredible.
the only thing that killed the moment was Nacho, an angry spaniard that thinks all amaericans should get out of latin america even though it was his people that originally colonized central america. and he complained that turning up some amadou et miriam was ruining the vibe... so in conclusion nacho sucks and aaron and i peaced out of omatepe at 4:30 am to make it to san juan del sur.

notice: dont swim in largo nicaragua. we saw a guy pouring laftover insecticide in the lake.

Dead Birds, Street Kids, Granada, and huge flea market!

Natasha and Jaime said they were going to be in Granda, Nicaragua, and i was tired of costa rica, so i hopped on a bus after staying up all night in San Jose. Catch some trading places on the tele and go out to this bar that i found out later was only a block from the hostel. In an attempt to grab some 4th meal, i walked through the ghetto looking like a drunk gringo finding nothing. Also managed to go to the late night bar where i spend 1 hour trying to convince Ron, who has an amazing resemblence to the dude, and the others that we needed to leave.

But the next day when Steiny arrived we got some great food in the town square. SOme Gallo withan enchilada, slaw and plantians, and some fatty beef. the beef was practically unedible to i gave it to this racist dog (barks only at black people, weird...so we call him Jefferson Davis). the enchilada was more like a cheesy fried rice concoction thaty was specacular. the huge meal was only 30 cordobas (about 1.50)
but later that night when chillin in front of a bar, these street kids who keep on begging for 1 cordoba then bring to Mike a dead bird and ask him if he wants it. kindly rejecting the offer this one kid tosses it to some others and then decides to sleep on a nearby bench. in the classic game of ´toss the dead bird´ the other kids decidd to throw the bird on the kid who was sleeping and then proceed to put it down his shirt when he woke up. i dont know why he wasnt so mad. but we knew it was time to leave when they attempted to throw the birds at us (those brats were teasing me the next day about the whole situation which had me laughing thoughout the night).

oh and a day trip to Masaya with their gigantic markets. i only picked up a couple shirts but there was so much. and i finally was able to grub on some machaca which made my day.
plus fresca is the best drink ever!

Monkeys!!!

Sweet, i fed monkeys. and got chased by them. and then got chased by a giant lizard who wanted this amazing strawberry strudel of mine.
but after the storm came through it was time to check out the quepos discoteque. bad music, lots of lights and great chicken and chorizo. the chorizo was a little dry, but the chicken was amazing and they forgot to charge me.
and to top it off had the most amazing cab ride ever in this kid's souped up car where we raced around town watching raggaeton music videos on his pulldown screen. best two bucks ever spent!

Volcan Baru is My Bitch

On two hours of mediocre sleep (the lack of came partially from the james blunt blasting from the bar next door) wake up at 1am and head off to Volcan Baru, the tallest point in Panama. 15km hike, 1.5km verticle whatever you call it, and 6 hours later, i had the best views of Panama just after sunrise. Although it was freezing, it was still worth the exausting trek. Too bad the hike continued with another 15km down a steep rocky trail.

a long but simple question

have you ever been in a situation where you didn't listen to any music for two weeks, (or if you did listen to music it was shitty reggaeton, bob marley, or bon jovi.) and then after two weeks you put on some headphones and turn up Stars and Sons by Broken Social Scene and try your hardest not to start jumping around in front of a bunch of random travelers who happen to be mostly israeli?
...just wodnering to myself...

San Jose, CR x LA = Panama City

Turns out Panama Viejo and Casco Viejo are different places and on opposite sides of the city. causing me to see a block of worthless ruins and walking 5 miles back int the city.
Next day, turns out the colonial old town of Casco Viejo is essentially a run down ghetto, and looks like someone took a 500 year old european vity and bombed it.
Also turns out the aquarium on the causway in Panama City just has a few pish tanks, one kind of large turtle and a 5 foot shark.
Also i found out the the Panama Canal is not exciting. but it is interesting to note that a third lane is in the process of being built.

So why did i spend 4 days there...
well the 70´s school buses spraypainted with cartoon and comic characters and other random musings kept me entertained for a long time.
and when was the last time you went to a club where the cover band played nirvana, system of a down, and rage against the machine...
...and best of all, right next to the hostel was a great play for some gyros!!!...

Bon Jovi Sucks

By sunday i think i´m over this place, but then theres an awesome bbq at the hostel on the nearby island. SO i figure i´ll stay until the highly recomended 80´s video and dress up power hour (and had to stay an extra day to celebrate Tom´s birthday). But 80s video power hours = awesome because i knew all the lyrics, but it sucked because at one point there were 5 out of 7 Bon Jovi songs in a row. Not to mention that It´s My Life came out around 2000 or 2001. F-
hopefully i will find the video of me bashing bon jovi, because he is a talentless asshole.






But before that, the day before 2 of the dutch boys who have this uncany Hanson resmbalance and this irish dude get arrested. So in an idiotic state, about 10 of us thought we could get get Big Dutch (aka Isaac Hanson), Baby Dutch (aka Zak Hanson), and Irish out of jail. A couple guys steal a streat meat cart and we make our way to the jail before realizing that the guard has a gun. and the street meat cart was no contender...Game over. (somehow they got released the next day without even a fine....Fuck Yea, Panama!) Oh and i made bomb Bananas Foster for everyone in the hostel (snap)

Panama, Fuck Yea!

I never planned on going into panama. Thought i´d just make my way north from San Jose. But the first night in Costa Rica, this dude tells me that the most fun he had was in Bocas Del Toro.
Turns out a lot of people from Puerto Viejo were also going so it made sense that i should check it out.
Amd damn, i never new i could have so much fun beating kids at connect 4, sitting in hamocks people watching, meandering around a little town, and having theme parties in the nearby hostel.
All people talked about all day was how drunk they got the night before and how hungover they currently are, but those trite conversations didnt get that boring until at least 4 days into my stay there.
Laura, who ran Hostel Heike, bought all the crafts to make masks for the friday night party. There was everyhting from picasso to a can of panama to a Quebec superhero, to bra-goggles, and a tv dinner. It reminded me of the scandals party and the rivals party i went to a couple years back.
I realized the beast part about traveling is teaching foreigners english slang. I never thought explaining what a 'dork' was to Ariel could be a joke that lasted several days....

Going off the Grid

Rent a bike. Rain starts pouring. Gets stronger and stronger until i have to pull off the side of the road and dry off my clothes for an hour under an abandoned cabin.
Get to manzanillo. This guy tells me i can still make the hike but i need his socks and rubber boots to do it.
Hike through the jungle. Nobody in sight for three hours. Along the beach and back in the jungle i go, and go, and go.
Sweating, rocks in my boots, covered in mud, and no water.
Still nothing, no village as i was promised, until i finally reach the beach with the island to the left. Look around for 20 minutes and feel that im on a deserted beach until i see a little shack 200 meters down the beach. As i walk by it i see 30 13-year-olds from Inglewood crowd the Punta Mona educational center that serves as a self sustaining farm village where anywhere from 10-25 people live at a time.
Cooked, pulled weeds, got mosquito bites and made my way 45 min down the beach to this little village of gandoca where leatherback turtles breed. I only saw the babies and not the 2 meter ones.
I´d consider going back for a few weeks...its amazing how much you can learn about plants and vegitation...but then again i like traveling and eating meat...and i hate cleaning ceptic tanks.

Puerto Viejo

The afternoon of June 15, hop on a bus to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a small surfer town on the Caribbean. Geared towards tourists, but still an interesting place. great beaches, slummy town, every other local trying to make a buck or two off you buy pulling out some weed out of their hair, and the cheapest place to stay was in a hostel lined with tents and hammocks...bon fire every night topped off exhausting days of, swimming, snorkeling, hiking along streams where poisonous red frogs frolicked. The local club, Jonnies, brought the whole city together which meant street meat was in full force. a great marinade topped off kebabs and hot dogs, but 1000 colones (2 bucks) was not worth it. This dude greg and I made tentative plans to open a competitive stand but realized that homie who ran the other stand would probably knife us for marching on his territory.

The Mess That Is San Jose

'The Fox' gathers us all together to send us off to the hostel in San Jose. Nice bar, few beers, pass out by one am.
Wake up sweating to find out there is no free breakfast like i was told and off i go to see the tiny packed streets, smog, shacks, and tons of churches chicken.
But despite the terrible drivers, huge potholes, no street signs, theres a great central market where i had the best pinto gallo and amazing yellow mashed potatoes. so booya!