Travel E-mails
An archive of e-mails from my Centeral/South America trip.5/10/2006
Rain, Burns, Rasta Country, and the journey forward.
Heya folks!
Wel-Wel-Welcome back to Zac's sparratic digest.
This issue includes:
Bocas del raining.
The little sunburn that could
Tangent on misfortune
Land of the Rasta man...?
So, my last writing caught me in Panama City, this one is catching me in San Jose, Costa Rica. I've been through Bocas del Toro, Puerto Viejo, and then down here...
Upon arriving in Bocas del Toro, I found for a second time that rain was abundant and that sun was a rare luxury. They tell me that it isn't supposed to rain much in Bocas, but last time I was there it rained the whole 3 days and washed out roads.. this time I arrived in the morning and was told it hadn't rained in about a week -- lucky me! The second day I was in Bocas I caught the fortune of some sunshine while out on a cheap tour doing snorkeling, lounging on beaches and dolphin watching... this is where things turned wrong. [As much as you have all read these wonderful fairytales where everything works out in the and and I am still alive (enough) to write you, but I've cut out a lot of the nasty details...] So, the ONE FREAKING DAY OF SUN that I get, I am out snorkeling. I figure that considering ALL the time I've been on the road, I've only suffered a minor burn once, I was cool not to worry too much about sun screen.... Snorkeling for hours, boating from place to place... I started to feel like I was getting burned so I slapped on some protection (sun block that is) and continued on.
The Next Day: I wake up to pain. Burning, singing pain. I knew the nigth before I was burned, but not this bad... I was slathering 4+ coats of Aloe Very gel onto my poor lobster-colored skin... putting on a T-shirt became a great challenge, and I had to resort to a dirty button up as a non-button up was too hard to put on and take off. I had planned on leaving the next day... This sunburn brutalized me... it hurt to do ANYTHING, to move! I got damned good at sitting still and watching TV, I couldn't make it to the bars... I was stuck at the hostel with savage burns to tend to. THREE DAYS passed under this condition... Three sleepless nights of heat and pain... then finally it broke - I was able to wear a shirt, and more importantly, my backpack (the thought had sent chills down my spine before).
[Let us go on a tangent... on the note of less favorable events, I've been foamed bad from spray can foam, in my eyes and mouth and what not... I've had more freaking sand flea bites than I will EVER count -- and they ich for DAYS AND DAYS... mosquitos aren't too bad, but they bite too, then you have sunburns, I had a beer thrown at me out of a taxi in Lima, I've been stung by something that made my whole finger go numb, I've had bed bugs, stayed in cockroach and ant infested hostels, suffered dehydration numerous times, been on STINKY STINKY busses, gotten really drunk and fallen down and hurt my bum, had a bunch of small cuts and what not, swallowed mouthful after mouthful of sea water and had tons in my eyes, had the runs for days at a time, sometimes hitting the can every other hour... well, that's enough for this tangent]
now, where were we?... leaving Bocas, right.
So, then I headed across the border to Costa Rica -- they asked for a ticked proving that I was LEAVING Costa Rica, I lied, saying I had an e-ticked and no print off, but he didn't buy it... I was forced to buy a bus ticket that allowed me to go to Limon (in Costa Rica) or Back to Bocas, even though I had said I was going to Nicaragua... somehow a ticket that can work on either side of the border, and is NOT in the right direction for me, is proof that I am leaving.... good show!. Then to Puerto viejo -- cool carribean coast town, full of Rasta Man vibration. Lots of Marley and roots reggae, dreadlocks and Jamaican-inspired english... the Jamaican flag draped all over, it's colors in most of the jewelery and hats. Lots of pot and hash all over "to get closer to Jah" [one of my favorite quotes here -- "The cops can't do nothing about the cookie man, because the cookie man is with Jah" -- said by the cookie man as cops drove past]. The hostel I was in was super chill... the owner accually PROMOTED smoking pot on the grounds! Every night was full of jamming on the beach and bonfires [and beer.. and Guarro]..
After a few days still sitting on the sunburn, taking it easy, I left Puerto Viejo and came here, to San Jose. (it is notable that I am shedding a layer of skin after that burn like some man-lobster-snake might). From here I head to Nicaragua, then Honduras.
Just a small side note, I've taken to eating in -- rice and beans with most meals, veggie stir fries, and oatmeal for breakie... sooo cheap to live this way (luckily). I can almost manage a budget of $10 per day (without busses)
Anyhow, that's it. it's over. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. No more e-mail. Frankly, it ended back there, I don't know WHY you're still reading this.. well, if you're so intrigued, just hopeing that I'll give you a little tidbit more of what's going, then you're about to suffer dissapointment...right...about...
Zac
p.s.NOW!
Wel-Wel-Welcome back to Zac's sparratic digest.
This issue includes:
Bocas del raining.
The little sunburn that could
Tangent on misfortune
Land of the Rasta man...?
So, my last writing caught me in Panama City, this one is catching me in San Jose, Costa Rica. I've been through Bocas del Toro, Puerto Viejo, and then down here...
Upon arriving in Bocas del Toro, I found for a second time that rain was abundant and that sun was a rare luxury. They tell me that it isn't supposed to rain much in Bocas, but last time I was there it rained the whole 3 days and washed out roads.. this time I arrived in the morning and was told it hadn't rained in about a week -- lucky me! The second day I was in Bocas I caught the fortune of some sunshine while out on a cheap tour doing snorkeling, lounging on beaches and dolphin watching... this is where things turned wrong. [As much as you have all read these wonderful fairytales where everything works out in the and and I am still alive (enough) to write you, but I've cut out a lot of the nasty details...] So, the ONE FREAKING DAY OF SUN that I get, I am out snorkeling. I figure that considering ALL the time I've been on the road, I've only suffered a minor burn once, I was cool not to worry too much about sun screen.... Snorkeling for hours, boating from place to place... I started to feel like I was getting burned so I slapped on some protection (sun block that is) and continued on.
The Next Day: I wake up to pain. Burning, singing pain. I knew the nigth before I was burned, but not this bad... I was slathering 4+ coats of Aloe Very gel onto my poor lobster-colored skin... putting on a T-shirt became a great challenge, and I had to resort to a dirty button up as a non-button up was too hard to put on and take off. I had planned on leaving the next day... This sunburn brutalized me... it hurt to do ANYTHING, to move! I got damned good at sitting still and watching TV, I couldn't make it to the bars... I was stuck at the hostel with savage burns to tend to. THREE DAYS passed under this condition... Three sleepless nights of heat and pain... then finally it broke - I was able to wear a shirt, and more importantly, my backpack (the thought had sent chills down my spine before).
[Let us go on a tangent... on the note of less favorable events, I've been foamed bad from spray can foam, in my eyes and mouth and what not... I've had more freaking sand flea bites than I will EVER count -- and they ich for DAYS AND DAYS... mosquitos aren't too bad, but they bite too, then you have sunburns, I had a beer thrown at me out of a taxi in Lima, I've been stung by something that made my whole finger go numb, I've had bed bugs, stayed in cockroach and ant infested hostels, suffered dehydration numerous times, been on STINKY STINKY busses, gotten really drunk and fallen down and hurt my bum, had a bunch of small cuts and what not, swallowed mouthful after mouthful of sea water and had tons in my eyes, had the runs for days at a time, sometimes hitting the can every other hour... well, that's enough for this tangent]
now, where were we?... leaving Bocas, right.
So, then I headed across the border to Costa Rica -- they asked for a ticked proving that I was LEAVING Costa Rica, I lied, saying I had an e-ticked and no print off, but he didn't buy it... I was forced to buy a bus ticket that allowed me to go to Limon (in Costa Rica) or Back to Bocas, even though I had said I was going to Nicaragua... somehow a ticket that can work on either side of the border, and is NOT in the right direction for me, is proof that I am leaving.... good show!. Then to Puerto viejo -- cool carribean coast town, full of Rasta Man vibration. Lots of Marley and roots reggae, dreadlocks and Jamaican-inspired english... the Jamaican flag draped all over, it's colors in most of the jewelery and hats. Lots of pot and hash all over "to get closer to Jah" [one of my favorite quotes here -- "The cops can't do nothing about the cookie man, because the cookie man is with Jah" -- said by the cookie man as cops drove past]. The hostel I was in was super chill... the owner accually PROMOTED smoking pot on the grounds! Every night was full of jamming on the beach and bonfires [and beer.. and Guarro]..
After a few days still sitting on the sunburn, taking it easy, I left Puerto Viejo and came here, to San Jose. (it is notable that I am shedding a layer of skin after that burn like some man-lobster-snake might). From here I head to Nicaragua, then Honduras.
Just a small side note, I've taken to eating in -- rice and beans with most meals, veggie stir fries, and oatmeal for breakie... sooo cheap to live this way (luckily). I can almost manage a budget of $10 per day (without busses)
Anyhow, that's it. it's over. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. No more e-mail. Frankly, it ended back there, I don't know WHY you're still reading this.. well, if you're so intrigued, just hopeing that I'll give you a little tidbit more of what's going, then you're about to suffer dissapointment...right...about...
Zac
p.s.NOW!
# 12:58 PM 
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