This is it.
I packed up my stuff this morning, and moved out of the room. My bag was noticably lighter, after selling a bunch of my stuff to a nice german couple living next door. The girl even bought a pair of trousers that I had bought in India for a 500% profit!
I got to the airport with plenty of time, and it was only once I was in the boarding area, waiting for the other passengers to show up that I realized that I didn´t have a boarding pass. Whoops. Everyone else seemed to have one.
I asked one of the airline employees if this would be an issue. ¨No problem mon¨ he replied.
An hour later, we arrived in Managua. The pay per use Internet at the airport wasn´t working, and so I was looking at a particularly unpleasant 7 hour layover as I waited for my 2AM flight to Florida.
Luckily, there is a fancy best western hotel across the road. I walked over, flirted with the girl at the front desk, who rewarded me with a towel, use of the hotel swimming pool, and unlimited free use of the Internet in the hotel´s business center.
Flirting is so damn useful sometimes.
My wait is nearly over now - 30 mins to go.
The plan is to go to duty free at the airport, buy as much rum as I can carry (6 liters hopefully), cigars for friends, and then spend a few lovely hours sleeping on the plane before my next flight at 8AM tomorrow morning.
Id be lying if i said I was looking forward to being back in the US.. but it will be nice to eat something other than rice and beans.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Food Poisoning
Cause it wouldn't be a real trip to the developing world without losing control of your bowels....
I've been getting a bit tired of rice and beans, and so yesterday, I decided to take the day off. No rice and beans.
Instead, the plan was to, for 24 hours, live on beer, rum, coconut bread, coconut water, and coconut flesh.
This was helped by the fact that the weather has been absolutely crap for the last 2 days - non stop rain, wind, etc. No swimming, no snorkeling. My new diet fit in perfectly with my lack of interest in hauling my ass over to the restaurant to get some more rice and beans.
By about 11PM, my stomach wasn't happy with me..
Today, it's no better. Although, my diet today has consisted of mainly rice, beans and beer.
I've spent the last two hours in this Internet cafe, bottom cheeks clenched, and doing my best to suppress any physical desire to fart.
The 24 hour journey home on Sunday (4 flights) should be loads of fun.
I've been getting a bit tired of rice and beans, and so yesterday, I decided to take the day off. No rice and beans.
Instead, the plan was to, for 24 hours, live on beer, rum, coconut bread, coconut water, and coconut flesh.
This was helped by the fact that the weather has been absolutely crap for the last 2 days - non stop rain, wind, etc. No swimming, no snorkeling. My new diet fit in perfectly with my lack of interest in hauling my ass over to the restaurant to get some more rice and beans.
By about 11PM, my stomach wasn't happy with me..
Today, it's no better. Although, my diet today has consisted of mainly rice, beans and beer.
I've spent the last two hours in this Internet cafe, bottom cheeks clenched, and doing my best to suppress any physical desire to fart.
The 24 hour journey home on Sunday (4 flights) should be loads of fun.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Ladies
I've been to a few countries in the developing world at this point. Many of them have had beaches, rivers, etc in which to chill out.
However, up until Corn Island (as I understand it, mainland Nicaragua is not like this) - the local women have always dressed conservatively. In Laos, the women would bathe in the rivers wearing dresses that went from their ankles to their necks. No excess flesh was shown to us foreigners. The same in India, where holidaying big city women would run into the ocean wearing a full sari, even while their husbands got to wear underpants and t-shirts.
Corn island is not the same. The ladies here, be they latina or carribean, all tend to wear tiny tiny shorts and equally tiny tops. This was quite shocking for me at first, as it's usually the tourists who are the ones dressing like harlets.
However, up until Corn Island (as I understand it, mainland Nicaragua is not like this) - the local women have always dressed conservatively. In Laos, the women would bathe in the rivers wearing dresses that went from their ankles to their necks. No excess flesh was shown to us foreigners. The same in India, where holidaying big city women would run into the ocean wearing a full sari, even while their husbands got to wear underpants and t-shirts.
Corn island is not the same. The ladies here, be they latina or carribean, all tend to wear tiny tiny shorts and equally tiny tops. This was quite shocking for me at first, as it's usually the tourists who are the ones dressing like harlets.
Post Xmas
The weather has been rather crappy here. Christmas eve and Xmas day were both essentially write-offs, with non-stop wind, rain, etc. I spent both days in my room reading books - not so exciting really.
However, most of the other days have been fine, and so I've settled into a nice rhythm.
I try and wake as soon as possible (which for me, is later than 9), and shift from lying in bed to lying in my hammock outside. From the hammock, I have a great view of the ocean in front of me, and my neighbor's spider money, which is tied by a rope to a treehouse less than 2 meters from the hammock.
After a while, I'll put on my snorkel, fins, etc and go for a swim. Less than 10 meters from the beach in front of my home is a huge rock/coral structure with a bunch of fish.
If the perpetually drunken maintence guy has visited, I might be able to open a coconut or two. Otherwise, i'll relax, have a drink, and wait for the sunset.
I'm down to 2 unread books, with just 9 days to go.
Oh - and once I get back to the US - I'm not going to eat beans, rice or plaintain for months. No buts, no doubts. Lentils, perhaps, but no red beans.
However, most of the other days have been fine, and so I've settled into a nice rhythm.
I try and wake as soon as possible (which for me, is later than 9), and shift from lying in bed to lying in my hammock outside. From the hammock, I have a great view of the ocean in front of me, and my neighbor's spider money, which is tied by a rope to a treehouse less than 2 meters from the hammock.
After a while, I'll put on my snorkel, fins, etc and go for a swim. Less than 10 meters from the beach in front of my home is a huge rock/coral structure with a bunch of fish.
If the perpetually drunken maintence guy has visited, I might be able to open a coconut or two. Otherwise, i'll relax, have a drink, and wait for the sunset.
I'm down to 2 unread books, with just 9 days to go.
Oh - and once I get back to the US - I'm not going to eat beans, rice or plaintain for months. No buts, no doubts. Lentils, perhaps, but no red beans.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Food
In hindsight, I should have brought a portable/camping kerosene stove, and a bunch of different spices. That would have saved me from the boredom of beans and rice every day. However, I didn't. I didn't even think to..
Even getting beans and rice in a reliable manner is proving to be somewhat difficult.
My landlady has the best beans and rice I've had yet, and at $1 for a plate including fried plantains, it's a steal. However, at random times, she'll decide that she won't make it. The price of beans has gone up, beans have run out, or some other bastard tourist has shown up before I get up (i.e. before 11AM), and eaten my food.
In an effort to avoid this, I prepaid. 100 cordobas ($5), for 5 meals worth. Given the ease of location, and quality when it's available, I asked her to do it twice a day.
It turns out that even when I prepay, it's still not reliable. Sunday night, no food, because everyone was drunk. Given that most of the people on the Island seem to drink every evening, I'm still not sure why sunday was any different.
However, I manage. My next door neighbor sharpened my machettee for me, to the point that I can now throw a coconut in the air, and chop it in half before it hits the ground. Ninja Skills!
I've got 3 weeks left here, and by the end of it, I don't know if I'm ever going to want to look at beans and rice for quite some time.
Even getting beans and rice in a reliable manner is proving to be somewhat difficult.
My landlady has the best beans and rice I've had yet, and at $1 for a plate including fried plantains, it's a steal. However, at random times, she'll decide that she won't make it. The price of beans has gone up, beans have run out, or some other bastard tourist has shown up before I get up (i.e. before 11AM), and eaten my food.
In an effort to avoid this, I prepaid. 100 cordobas ($5), for 5 meals worth. Given the ease of location, and quality when it's available, I asked her to do it twice a day.
It turns out that even when I prepay, it's still not reliable. Sunday night, no food, because everyone was drunk. Given that most of the people on the Island seem to drink every evening, I'm still not sure why sunday was any different.
However, I manage. My next door neighbor sharpened my machettee for me, to the point that I can now throw a coconut in the air, and chop it in half before it hits the ground. Ninja Skills!
I've got 3 weeks left here, and by the end of it, I don't know if I'm ever going to want to look at beans and rice for quite some time.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The Good, The Good Enough, and the Youth Hostel/Betamax Connection
Fans (geeks) of tech history will remember that at one point, a war was waged bertween Betamax and VHS - two competing video tape standards. Betamax, a superior standard, lost out.. simply because VHS was cheaper, and had a better selection of movie titles (well, that, and the fact that all the ahem, adult content was on VHS).
The VHS/Betamax war is a good way, I suppose, to introduce the idea of the network effect, and to a lesser extent, the first mover advantage.
Essentially, a fax machine is useless when you are the only person that owns it. Facebook sucked when it had 10 people. However, when 20,000 businesses have a fax, it suddently becomes a useful device.
Hostels aimed at the youth/backpacker market are somewhat similar.
Ideally, you want a nice hostel, clean rooms, cheap.. but more importantly, you want to be where the other backpackers are. This gives you access to travel info from people who've recently been there, people to chat, flirt, drink, etc with. Books to exchange, chess partners, and people with whom you can split the cost of large expenditures (i.e. taxis).
Often times, the place that gets the backpacker crowd is not the nicest or cheapest hostel on the island. It's the one that the lonely planet or rough guide (travel books) recommend. And once a place has the backpacker crowd, it's very very tough for another hostel to steal them - even if that other hostel is cheaper, cleaner, or has a swimming pool.
Which is sorta where I find myself now. The lonely planet recommends that backpackers head to "little corn", a smaller island 70km away, where for $10 per day, I can have an unlocked bamboo hut on the beach, where each meal cost at least $7-10, and where I have to shower and shit into a bucket (not the same one, of course).
I've found myself a kickass spot on the beach, $10 per day, two huge beds, a fan, electricity, a cheap supply of beer and a reasonably reliable supply of beans and rice, coconuts, and even some bannanas on occasion. However, I have no other backpackers nearby.
My neighbors are, on one side, a fairly nice American 35 year old man here for 10 days, and on the other side, a 30 something totally crazy/borderline psychopathic English scuba-instructor and his israeli girlfriend, whom he seems to jealously suspect that every other male on the island is after. Thats it. No other foreigners.
As my supply of 8 books (3 read in one week) shrinks, I'm sorta wishing I had a few people my own age, who are sane, and preferably, play chess nearby.
I really don't want to have to lose my place, and move to a bucket toilet just to find someone to chat with.
The VHS/Betamax war is a good way, I suppose, to introduce the idea of the network effect, and to a lesser extent, the first mover advantage.
Essentially, a fax machine is useless when you are the only person that owns it. Facebook sucked when it had 10 people. However, when 20,000 businesses have a fax, it suddently becomes a useful device.
Hostels aimed at the youth/backpacker market are somewhat similar.
Ideally, you want a nice hostel, clean rooms, cheap.. but more importantly, you want to be where the other backpackers are. This gives you access to travel info from people who've recently been there, people to chat, flirt, drink, etc with. Books to exchange, chess partners, and people with whom you can split the cost of large expenditures (i.e. taxis).
Often times, the place that gets the backpacker crowd is not the nicest or cheapest hostel on the island. It's the one that the lonely planet or rough guide (travel books) recommend. And once a place has the backpacker crowd, it's very very tough for another hostel to steal them - even if that other hostel is cheaper, cleaner, or has a swimming pool.
Which is sorta where I find myself now. The lonely planet recommends that backpackers head to "little corn", a smaller island 70km away, where for $10 per day, I can have an unlocked bamboo hut on the beach, where each meal cost at least $7-10, and where I have to shower and shit into a bucket (not the same one, of course).
I've found myself a kickass spot on the beach, $10 per day, two huge beds, a fan, electricity, a cheap supply of beer and a reasonably reliable supply of beans and rice, coconuts, and even some bannanas on occasion. However, I have no other backpackers nearby.
My neighbors are, on one side, a fairly nice American 35 year old man here for 10 days, and on the other side, a 30 something totally crazy/borderline psychopathic English scuba-instructor and his israeli girlfriend, whom he seems to jealously suspect that every other male on the island is after. Thats it. No other foreigners.
As my supply of 8 books (3 read in one week) shrinks, I'm sorta wishing I had a few people my own age, who are sane, and preferably, play chess nearby.
I really don't want to have to lose my place, and move to a bucket toilet just to find someone to chat with.
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Death of A Thousand Cuts (or bites, actually)
I'd been doing really well. DEET-thick cream applied to my feet, arms and other exposed bits well before nightfall, and again before bed. Vitamin B tablets (which are supposed to make you stink to the mosquitoes). However, the allure of my vegetarian, organic, and free range flesh proved to be too much - and so bit by bit, I've been getting attacked.
It's been slow so far, but day by day, I seem to be acquiring a new bite every morning. The little bastards are targetting the blood vessels on my ankles/feet, which prove to be insanely itchy. It's taking all the willpower I have not to scratch them, and the anti-itch stuff I brought with me is useless against their evil bites.
The foot situation has gotten better, much better.
My next door neighbors, a spanish-speaking couple with two adorable young daughters, sell home-made tamales - with just corn, no meat, or anything else. I can't do their flavor justice in attempting to describe it here.. but it is fantastic. My landlady does a killer fried rice and beans for breakfast, as well as sweet plantain chips. Another woman nearby bakes coconut bread and pumpkin cake every few days - it's hardly variety, with few veggies, but I won't starve at least.
The rum is very nice too.
It's been slow so far, but day by day, I seem to be acquiring a new bite every morning. The little bastards are targetting the blood vessels on my ankles/feet, which prove to be insanely itchy. It's taking all the willpower I have not to scratch them, and the anti-itch stuff I brought with me is useless against their evil bites.
The foot situation has gotten better, much better.
My next door neighbors, a spanish-speaking couple with two adorable young daughters, sell home-made tamales - with just corn, no meat, or anything else. I can't do their flavor justice in attempting to describe it here.. but it is fantastic. My landlady does a killer fried rice and beans for breakfast, as well as sweet plantain chips. Another woman nearby bakes coconut bread and pumpkin cake every few days - it's hardly variety, with few veggies, but I won't starve at least.
The rum is very nice too.
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