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My days in brief

June 10 - Bogota - Orlando - Atlanta
Arrived early at airport to see Maggie off. Shared amazement with a Colombian at the high cost of airport coffee ($2). Got stopped at customs and told (with a shake of the head and a firm "no,") that I am not permitted to take aguardiente, a bottle opener, or a sunscreen through security.

June 9 - Bogota
Shocked by the the exorbitant cost of Andres Carne de Res, Bogota's most famous steak-house/club...we moved on to a more reasonable restaurant, where delicious $12 lamb medallions still seemed expensive.

June 8 - Bogota
A bit of a splurge on a real hotel and a night out to a nice plaza in Bogota.
Much walking through Bogota revealed a city with quirky university neighborhoods, rich neighborhoods, and beautiful neighborhoods that have fallen from riches. The dynamics of big cities always amaze me.

June 7 - Bogota
Eight hours on the bus, and not a single police check point. Upon arrival in Bogota (the biggest city in my travels), holiday keeps us from eating, although the friendly, high Ecuadorian employee at the hostel provides us with much-appreciated bread and coca-cola.

June 6 - Guatape/Medellin
One of the best days of the trip: not only did I get to see amazing views of an Antioquenan valley from the Rock of Penol, but also had the opportunity to give Samara her first trip out of Medellin. On the whole, a perfect finale for my time with Jhonatan in Medellin, and got to see a Davidson friend as well.

June 5 - Medellin
An early-morning boat and long bus ride carry us back to Medellin by 9, too late to meet my friend Caroline from Davidson, but early enough to make plans for an outing to Guatape tomorrow.

June 4 - Sapzurro
Morning boat to Sapzurro. Walks along the water reveal remote beaches and regular beach military patrols. Upon asking how it was working here, one soldier just smiled and said "relaxed." Also walked across the Panama-Colombia border (a simple sign-in sheet) and went to La Miel, a quaint little beach with nothing but locals, fishermen, and military.

June 3 - Capurgana
A tough, one hour hike brought us to Sapzurro, a little sea-side town with white-sand beaches ringing a conch-shell-shaped bay and an overabundance of military. Original plan was to return to Medellin tomorrow...

June 2 - Capurgana
The lack of cars makes Capurgana reminiscent to San Juan de Nicaragua, but it's far more developed than that. For $20 a person, Maggie and I got an air-conditioned room and 2 meals, one of which was a full fresh fish. We traded for a place that was a couple of dollars cheaper, lacked air-conditioning, but featured sunrises like this over the balcony.

June 1 - Turbo
The day ended in Capurgana, but the most memorable moment of the day came in the morning as we arrived in Turbo. Mauricio, another of Jhonatan's uncles met us at the bus stop, and told us that because of a miscommunication he had been waiting since 4am. But it wasn't a problem, he assured us, because he crashed his motorcycle the week before and had 120 stitches in his head, so he wasn't working.

May 31 - Medellin
Maggie and I made a trip to the Museo d'Antioquia to admire the art of Botero. We were both taken with Colombian painter Cano's Horizontes. We left for the northern beaches at 7, as Jhonatan's uncle was returning from ankle surgery.

May 30 - Medellin
Election-day in Colombia. Walked with Jhonatan to the voting station, where I was (for an unknown reason) surprised to see a significant military presence and people being frisked as they entered. I have to imagine the police gives the security-focused conservatives a nice election-day bump at the polls.

May 29 - Medellin
Lunch with Prof. Meri was scheduled for 2pm, but Maggie and I weren't picked up until 3. (Again, I shouldn't have been surprised.) Lunch was an animated, 6-hr affair with Meri, her sister-in-law, daughter and niece. Among the highlights: light-hearted conversation about the infidelity of Colombian men.

May 28 - Medellin
Maggie moved in with the family today, and we accompanied Jhonatan taking Samara back to Edith's to say goodbye.

May 27 - Medellin
Sandra and Edith assured me they needed to be up at 6am, but when I opened my eyes (contacts still in), I was told it was 7:45, and I was the only one making moves to leave. Despite going on 3 hours of sleep, I survived my final day of classes better than expected and was still half-awake to welcome Maggie to Medellin.

May 26 - Medellin
A short nap after a long day at school was enough to rejuvenate me for a party with Jhonatan, Edith and Sandra. Although club music and a couple liters of aguardiente didn't help me communicate in Spanish, I got a kick out of attending a party advertising the Colombian presidential candidate Edith and Sandra work for.

May 25
- Medellin
Lazy sick day broken up by a check-up at the dermatologist. Surprised to find that the price was included in the original $50. I love the healthcare system here.

May 24 - Medellin
Ah, the joys of working (or not working) with kids: went to the doctor this morning and was more or less diagnosed with strep throat. No work til Wednesday. Also repeated the experience of (this time the doctor) asking me something, me saying ¨what?¨ her repeating it, me saying ¨What?¨ and finally me understanding her saying ¨Where did you learn such good Spanish?¨

May 23 - Medellin
The hospitality of the Paisas continues to amaze me. I woke up this morning at Edith´s, Jhonatan´s girlfriend´s, place. The building has no light switches (you have to manually connect the wires), bare brick walls, and an outdoor kitchen. They struggle to put food on the table. And yet, upon waking up, I was handed more food than I could possibly eat for breakfast. Not saying it was delicious, but it was remarkable.

May 22 - Medellin
It´s been fun talking with young people in Colombia about politics, because many seem to think the upcoming elections could actually matter. This compares to Nicaragua, where people said things are so corrupt it will never change, or the US, where (at least when Obama isn´t running) people think things are so stable (or stagnant) that no single election will make a difference. And frankly, I think there´s some sense to Colombian´s view - the country really seems to be on a precipice between booming or going back to the violence of years past.

May 21 - Medellin
When Jhonatan asked me how my day was, I was able to tell him ¨Great, except I broke a 2nd graders front teeth out while playing with him.¨ To answer the obvious questions: yes, they were his permanent teeth; yes, his family has insurance; yes, I think I´ve learned something from this.

May 20 - Medellin
A 2nd grade boy and girl decided to befriend me this afternoon. They too, used English as an excuse to talk to me. It was much more comfortable with them, though, than with the 7th grade girls.

May 19 - Medellin
The 15- and 16-year old seventh grade girls are proving to be the easiest to teach, since practicing English has become their excuse to flirt with me. I don´t know how many comments I´ve gotten about my eyes, but a 2nd grade boy (who himself has strikingly green eyes) asked me if people stop me on the street because of my eyes.

Generally thoughts about Medellin
It´s the only place I´ve ever been where a 45-year old femaile janitor asks how I like the city, and when I respond with ¨I love it: it´s beautiful, the people are nice, the food is good,¨ she reminds me:¨And the beautifult girls, right?¨

4 sugar cubes in my small cup of ¨tinto¨ (black coffee served in dixie cups): at first I thought maybe that was too much, but then I realized that was not possible. Tomorrow I´ll try five...

May 18 - Medellin
First ever attempt at teaching: exhausting, but also an adrenaline rush. Could be the most addicting thing I´ve ever tried - after they introduced me to all the classes, I found myself teaching the entire day (7am til 5pm) instead of the planned 9am-2pm.

May 17 - Medellin
A few breathroughs: my family here allowed me to wash the dishes. Not quite there: they didn´t allow me to wash my own pants by hand (they did all my laundry a day early, instead) and they did not suffer my attempts at ironing my own shirt for class tomorrow.

May 16 - Medellin
A nice hungover day enjoying arepas for breakfast, and conversation with some new Colombian friends. A little strange to enjoy a day like this with 20-22 year olds and 2 two-year old kids, but not as strange as I would expect.

May 15 - Medellin
Went to a party in the neighborhod of Jhonatan´s girlfriend, Edith. Their 2 year old was the happiest-acting kid I´d ever seen at the arrival of her dad. Party was great - just 6 of us listening to music and talking and dancing. I was rarely reminded of where we were, except several mentions of ´best not to go out at night...´ Also, mesmerized by the views from the poor barrios in the hills - amazing how some of the best views in the city are enjoyed by those with the least money.

May 14.5 - Medellin
On arrival at Jhonatan´s I was met with a lively family gathering that included the licorice-flavored aguardiente of Medellin. Then I realized I´ll be one of ten in a house about the size of our downstairs - so it wasn´t a gathering, just the household.

May 14 - Medellin
Met for coffee with the vice-principal at the school where I´ll start teaching English on Tuesday. It´s an autonomous (charter, but no screening of enrollees) public school in one of the worst neighborhoods of Medellin. Conversation ranged from her school, her experience in D.C., and my perception of less class tension in Medellin than many Latin (and North) American cities.

May 13 - Medellin
Waited on calls most of the day, but mood turned at dinnertime when I waited in line for a burger on the street (amazing burgers - almost impossible to eat because they are heaped with cheese, avocado, coleslaw, grilled onions...). Turns out she´s a student of ¨modern languages,¨ spoke very good English, and we agreed to meet up for a ¨language exchange.¨ Then she said she´d talk to her parents about showing me around Medellin. (Still hadn´t exchanged names yet). ¨We really want people who visit Medellin to say ´Wow, Paisas are so nice,´¨ she told me. Wow - Paisas are really nice.

May 12 - Medellin
Playing the waiting game on the volunteering gig. Also starting to realize I don´t do well with little to do.

May 11 - Medellin
As I went to the doctor today to check out some moles and a rash, a few things to add to the list below: 1) Enough rich people to have a good private medical system, 2) Few enough rich people so that when you call a dermatologist for an appointment, they ask, ¨Today?¨ (Actually they ask ¨¿Hoy?,¨ but...)

May 10 - Medellin
A few things to like about Medellin: 1) They sing a bit when they speak, 2) Country is reach enough that they don´t export all their best fruit, 3) ¨con gusto¨ is used more often than ¨de nada¨ or ¨a la orden,¨ 4) They actually use trashcans outside.

May 9 - Cartagena
I think the highs travelling are higher, but the lows can be lower. When I don´t settle immediately into a groove in a city, I get frustrated and a bit down. Drinks with Laura Cepda´s (friend from Davidson´s) brother helped, and I´m excited to be taking the night bus to Medellin.

May 8 - Cartagena
A local guy, purportedly a guide, invited me for lunch and walked me around Cartagena, which is a city that has a flair that Americans associate more with Spain than Colombia, but with a bit of caribbean energy. ¨I was in the US,¨ he told me. ¨1978.¨ When I asked him what he was doing there, he said simply: ¨I was illegal. Selling drugs.¨

May 7.5 - Cartagena, Colombia
In early enough for a few drinks, Colombia re-captivated me in an instant. People drumming on tables to salsa music in bars and dancing in the streets. And all in a setting far more developed and romantically, historically mystical than most of my trip so far.

May 7 - Panama City
A walk through the banking center showed me yet another side of the city: omnipresent construction and money all around, beach-front luxury apartments for $130,000 (I couldn´t resist stopping in a sales room). Could be a fun place to spend a couple of years, but the extremes of wealth and poverty are disconcerting. My cab driver to the airport talked with pride about the business-friendly climate in his country, and pointed out my wallet on the seat as I got out for my flight to Colombia.

May 6 - Panama City, Panama
Panama City - almost feels like the US in parts. Other parts feel very different. It´s the only place I´ve ever been where people have told me not to go somewhere in broad daylight. Of course, visiting the yacht clubs with friends from the bus presents a very different, more pleasant picture.

May 5 - en route, San Jose to Panama City
18 hours on the bus. Costa Rica is greener, richer than Nicaragua. And although I hate to admit it after my friendships with Nicaraguans, I like the accent a bit better, too - it sings more.

May 4 - San Jose, Costa Rica
I should check bus schedules before spending 5 hrs online. And arriving to a big city (San Jose) at 10PM is expensive, and makes me think a Lonely Planet guidebook would be nice...

May 3 - Fortuna, Costa Rica
I used to figure heaven would be a white-sand beach with a beer in one hand and a tropical cocktail in the other, or Thanksgiving dinner with family, or being in love with a beautiful woman, or running as fast as I could for a mile with a bunch of friends to party with afterwards. Now I know it is actually a luke-warm shower in an $8 a night Costa Rican hotel room after traveling down the Rio San Juan.

May 2 - San Carlos
Up at 4am, 13 hours by boat to San Carlos for dinner with Maggie´s Spanish friend and a night in a cheap hotel in the regions capital. San Carlos is small and isolated, but being the center of trade for an even-more isolated region. Sort of makes me understand the bustling-nature of frontier trade towns.

May 1 - San Juan de Nicaragua
A day playing in old British/American/Catholic/Freemason graveyards, black-sand beaches, and bathwater-temperature lagunas more than outweigh the 23-hrs a day sans running water and sporadic electricity.

April 30 - San Juan de Nicaragua
San Juan is part of Nicaragua, but it´s telephone lines and TV are Costa Rican. Two conversations illustrate the city´s strangeness better than I could explain:

1) me: Is this the migration center?
seated man: Yeah.
me: Here, here? Or through a door...?
man: Yeah, here....oh, I´ll call the guy.
(30 minutes later)
Immigration guy: Hi
me: Hi. Can you go to Costa Rica from here.
Guy: No.

2) Maggie: Is this the information center?
seated lady: No.
Maggie: Where is it?
lady: It´s closed.
me: When will it be open?
lady: [closes eyes, smiles, and shakes her head]

April 29 - San Juan de Nicaragua
We picked up a fourth for the trip down to San Juan de Nicaragua, and are now Emil, Helena, Maggie, and me. After 10 hours (including a brief stop in Costa Rica= we arrive in San Juan de Nicaragua, where looking for hotels is a scavenger hunt from local to local: ¨Look for Dona Marta,¨ we´re told by one. Dona Marta tells us to go ¨3 blocks that way, and two blocks down, and ask for Clemente,¨ who tells us to...

April 28 - El Castillo
Hiked through the forest, seeing poison-dart frogs, thumb-sized ants, howler monkeys, and amazing spiders. The fort 23 year-old Brit Horatio Nelson captured and relinquished
months later due to dysentery is fascinating, with sweeping views of the jungle around us.

April 27 - El Castillo
Woke up as the ferry pulled into San Carlos at the mouth of the Rio San Juan and decided to start the trip down the river with El Castillo. Upon arrival, feels like an island, with no cars and tightly-packed houses. First time in trip it feels like a different world.

April 26 - en route, Granada to San Carlos
16 hours on a ferry - lots of talking, hammocks, and beautiful views.

April 25 - Granada
A night at the Mombacho Beach club helped teach me how REAL foreign volunteers live in Granada. A roof-traveling theif stole a cell phone, camera and cash from the house where my friend and I were sleeping - actually creepier than being robbed at gun point.

April 24 - Granada
Jessica astutely commented after The Butterfly Effect: ¨It really makes you think about how little decisions can totally change your life.¨ Her 23-year old pregnant friend thanked her for the deep thought.

April 23 - Granada
Granada´s bright-colored, well-refurbished colonial buildings, American shops, and prices make it feel a bit like a large-scale Nicaraguan Disneyland.

April 22 - Granada
Wake up at the idyllic Laguna de Apoyo (pronounced more like ¨la una¨ by locals), along with a few Colorado girls from a ski town, a german, and a swede. Bus to Granada in time to be 2 hrs late (1 hr late by Nica time) to Jessica´s birthday celebration. Great to see a face from Davis and catch up.

April 21 - Laguna de Apoyo
As I got off the bus in managua, the bus´s money-collector finds me a taxi and asks a price. 50 pesos is the response, which the bus guy complains is too high, and says something about keeping prices low to attract turists (game theory on a large-scale). I finally get a price of 30 pesos confirmed, and my taxi driver is extremely nice, proudly speaking English. He pulls into a gas station and asks for 40, and tells me ¨maybe you don´t listen good¨ when I protest. I begin loudly protesting in Spanish until he relents, complaining that ¨it´s just 50 cents, man.¨ I tell him it´s the principle, not the money, and we uncomfortably proceed to the next bus station.

April 20 - Leon
Essays and a hot, long bus trip back to Leon. Great to spend another peaceful night with my host family, including my host brother Anibal, who is back home after having his toes chewed on by a dog at work.

April 19 - Matagalpa
Said goodbye (appropriately casual to Colin, with plans to reconnect to travel Rio San Juan with Maggie, from Northern California) at the hostel and bus to Matagalpa. Just getting some work done tonight, then heading south tomorrow after a bit of local coffee.

April 18 - Esteli
Plan to leave today quickly fell apart after sleeping in til noon, walking to a long-over baseball game, and chilling in the stands of a beautiful stadium for a couple of hours. Small hostel I´m staying at with 3 others is extremely chill, and I´m beginning to live by the mantra that ¨plans can´t go wrong if you don´t have them.¨ (Corollary to ¨you can´t miss a bus if your only plan is to take the next one...¨)

April 17 - Esteli
A long day of hiking, floating down Somoto Canyon, and dancing - felt more like three days than one. Especially with the extra diversion of a masked Nica jumping out from behind a rock with a .38 and threatening to kill us. He got all of $15, a pair of sandals, gummy bears, chips, peanut brittle, and 2 liters of water. I walked off with my sunglasses, and my buddy Colin walked off with his backpack (with my wallet in it) and $30, and the inept (and more scared than us) robber became the butt of our jokes for the rest of the weekend. At least he fired a warning shot 15 ft to our left to let us know it was a live gun.

April 16 - Esteli
Up and out early to get to the preserve farmland of Miraflor. A day of climbing strangler fig trees (up about 20 meters, I´d guess, jumping of rocks into moutain streams, and horseback riding with a Canadian couple made it well worth it, despite a slight ¨misunderstanding¨ regarding the price with our guide.

April 15 - Esteli
With more ice cream shops, bakeries, beauty salons, hain restaurants, and nice trucks, Esteli definitely feels a bit richer than Leon. Maybe it´s because it´s cool enough to actually work here. Or maybe it´s the tobaco and coffe farms. Or maybe the proximity to the border and drug traficking...

April 14 - Esteli
Left just in time, considering i only covered my bill with $3 to spare. Arrived in Esteli after a half-day of travel, went out with 3 northern californians among 6 Americanadians. Cooler here.

April 13 - Jiquilillo
940/890. Clearly passed time to leave. Talked with a far-northern californian (aka oregonian) about Rio San Juan. Excited about that, and I think I need to buy a hammock, and maybe a mosquito net.

April 12 - Jiquilillo
Jiquilillo standard time is 720/890. As in 720 pages finished of 890 Ate fish at sunset as men pulled in their fishing boats, which made me want to write short sentences about manly things.

April 11 - Jiquilillo
Planning to leave today, but with good books in the hostel´s library and life costing $15 a day (including daily banana milkshakes, accommodations on the beach, and fresh fish dinners), why leave? Now expressing time in ¨pages¨ before leaving, rather than days or hours.

April 10 - Jiquilillo
Finally got sunburned, thanks to a surf lesson. Also, I find myself watching kids play baseball on the beach instead of the sunset, more beautiful, I think.

April 9 - Jiquilillo
Azael (a Nicaraguan I met on the bus yesterday, and offended by my desire to stay close to my stuff) showed me around th town (the ¨more urban¨ area on the beach - a town of about 2,000) and the calm waters of the estary. I was slightly disconcerted when he grabbed a machete from the wall before showing me the mangroves - ¨snakes,¨ he explained.

April 8 - Jiquilillo
Busses blaring reggaeton, a 3rd grader helping me with Spanish words in my Paulo Coelho book, a passenger carrying a rooster as his only luggage - despite the artwork on the side of some of the converted-school busses, it ain´t Greyhound.

April 7 - Corinto
Only in a port town would I end up with a 14-year old filipino-nicaraguan guide, happy to lead me to my accomodations, beer, and girls. As for Corinto, it feels a bit like a beach boys´ song, but instead of t-birds, the high schoolers ride around the central square on bikes.

April 6 - Leon
One last night talking the night away with my Nica dad. The night, as always, was ¨fresca,¨as they like to say here. Leave tomorrow for the northern beaches.

April 5 - Leon
I´m happy to have forgotten my camera on today´s hike. I don´t have the photographic skill to capture the immensity of the landscape, and sometimes taking pictures reduces the observed value of the landscape to what you can capture, instead of what is there.

April 4 - Leon
A few examples of how Nicaragua is different from home: Our guide´s taxi broke down on her way to the hike, so she ¨found some guy with a horse.¨ Volcanic hills with black sand, orange dirt, electric green grass in the twilight...

April 3 - Leon
Butler-Duke final? Got talked into a two day hike over a couple of volcanoes. 4:30am departure tomorrow.

April 2 - Leon
Directions to reggae party: take taxi to end of beach, find boat in the dark, go across the lagoon, hike through some woods, take a right at the deserted beach and walk for 20 minutes. And all to find a bunch of brits and scandinavians listening to reggae.

April 1 - Leon
They love their Holy Week here at the beach.. Leon may be empty, but the beach is full of open-air clubs built for thousands. Don´t know where this fits with the scripture...

March 31 - Leon
Looking for lava in a volcanic crater, watching the sun rise over a range of volcanoes and volcanic lakes, and climbing mango trees: I´m not in the US anymore.

March 30 - Leon
Going on a full-moon hike to an active volcano...

March 29 - Leon
Holy week processions in Leon: a little more somber, and obviously Catholic, than Mardi Gras processions.

March 28 - Leon
KU may have lost, but I´m still watching tournament games. Butler v Michigan St? I don´t ever want to be out of the country during March again: I´ve only got so many left in my life.

March 27 - Leon
The 40-year old American tech entrepreneur (who spoke no Spanish) attributed his relationship with the gorgeous 21-year old Nicaraguan (who spoke no English) to humans being ¨just animals.¨ I´d describe it as informal prostitution, but she was one of the more ambitious and idealistic Nicaraguans I´ve met, and the conversation was good and the company likeable (of course, most would be while drinking $1 beers at an upscale hotel on the beach).

March 26 - Leon
First call home of the trip, and then watched basktball with some Americans. As strange as it is to hear my voice speaking English, it´s nice to have my personality back for a spell.

March 25 - Leon
Dealing with being a little sick while traveling is different. I don´t have easy access to my normal remedies, but, not needing to get anything done, I can sleep 12 hours a night and feel better faster.

March 24 - Leon
This morning was the first time in my life I´ve ever spoken to someone who, mid-conversation, looked around and lowered his voice before speaking ill of the government.

March 23 - Leon
We sat for hours in the (finally) cool night, just sharing music and enjoying salsa, pop, rock , and nicaraguan political propoganda.

March 22 - Leon
The thing I miss most from life at home is AC. But the absence of it forces everyone into one of my favorite local rituals: sitting together outside at night and talking for hours.

March 21 - Leon
Watching the healthcare vote with my nica host father makes me think about the role the US plays in the world: for some reason people care, even in worlds-distant Nicaragua.

March 20 - Leon
Sometimes there is nothing better to do than sit in a bar, drink some beer, and talk with a few Swedish social workers and a nica host brother for 6 hours.

March 19 - Leon
Salsa lesson was great fun, eventually I expect it´ll come in handy. Maybe I´ll actually start getting out of the house and doing things.

March 18 - Leon
The Municipal Theater´s value as a tourist attraction doesn´t quite live up to the local billing, but there is air conditioning.

March 17 - Leon
La abuela told me about the parties in the good ol´days. And she told me I need to go out to party, and that to do this I should find a Nicaraguan ¨amiga.¨

March 16 - Leon
The euphemism ¨developing world¨ doesn´t bring any false hope to Nicaragua. They accept the term ¨undeveloped,¨and their fanatical faith in government corruption, they don´t think a change in terminology will ever be needed.

March 15 - Leon
Apart from showering, the day´s best moment is arriving home and undressing to stand in front of the fan in my room. I think I like Leon.

March 14 - Leon
I´ll be getting used to cold showers and not for a lack of hot water. Leon, I´ve been told, is the hottest city in Central America, and it´s hottest in March and April.

March 13 - Mexico City
I wish, in a way, I wasn´t starting my trip with a night in front of the check-in desks of the Mexico City Airport, wondering what wisdom is contained in the guide books I didn´t buy. But really, I wouldn´t have it any other way.

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