Cabo Pictures!!!!!

Surfin it up with the boys
Beach # 2 with Pat, Jeff and Tim
The groom being carried in to his bride
Me with buddies Scott and Tim
Lunch of smoked marlin burrito in Todos Santos
Will you marry me?
Our villa
Rockstar on top of the world
Perfected jump the first time
Scott performing the service as Bryan and Diana mix their sand glasses together

Mexico for a Wedding

So I just got back last night from 6 days in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for an amazing wedding. Two of my good friends from college, Bryan and Diana had the best destination wedding out there and along with 12 other friends, we rented a huge $1,000/night villa across from the wedding villa to celebrate. 6 days of weather in the 90s, in a huge villa overlooking the ocean with an amazing pool spoiled us. Cooking up breakfast burritos for 13-16 people each morning, grilling pounds of chicken at a time and living like royalty. We had rental cars delivered to our villa and made road trips to go surfing, explore artisan markets or simply be a tourist downtown. It was amazing, as life can be when you live like the 1%.

Cabo is pretty tourist and dry, not exactly my cup of tea. But when you're out there with some of the best people in the world, it can be a blast. We stayed up in the villa for most of the time as it was amazing, and we were all together. Couldn't have asked for a better group of people. The rehearsal dinner was a boat cruise at sunset around the cape, by the natural arches on an island and out to the coast right in front of the wedding villa. Very snazzy.

More pics to come soon

OUR VILLA

Nicaraguan Farm Pictures

Here are some pictures from my week working on the farm in northern Nicaragua in early August of this year:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.602696933644.2085889.29301533&l=aad3246978&type=1



By the way, I'm moving into a new house in Portland today. Great location, nearby the restaurant I cook at, near lots of friends and with lots of cafes/bars nearby. Got a huge porch, 3 cool housemates, a legit booth in the kitchen to eat breakfast at and a corner room with 2 windows, so things are looking golden!

Los Angeles after 3 weeks

So I've been bouncing around the Los Angeles area for over 3 weeks now. The time just flies by as always, and it's been a blast catching up with old friends and reconnecting with old high school mates. I've been all over the region, from Malibu out to Norwalk to Huntington Beach. Been fun testing out the efficient public transportation system, which just takes a long time.

Being back in LA, I had to go to a Dodgers game. Went with my dad to watch them score 8 runs in the 2nd inning, including a home run as they whooped up on the Padres. Not sure if it's me being in town, but the Dodgers have now won almost all of their games since I've been here and have jumped up the rankings. That's how it's done, and I"m looking forward to the next season where they can carry on with the winning.

I'm flying back to Portland this afternoon, to rock the Northwest again. Time to get back to making some money instead of spending spending spending. But after over 2 months of travel, from Central America to Los Angeles, I've still got money and am still living the good life. Thanks to everyone who has hosted me over this trip, and allowed me to keep on traveling and having fun everywhere!

Farming pictures

Hope you enjoy some pictures from my stint on a Nicaraguan farm. I spent a good two days picking the bean plants, sweating in the fields. The lower back was killing me after being bending over to pull the plants out. After a couple days of drying in the sun, we laid the bean plants out on a huge plastic tarp, and gave them a good beating with sticks, which shook the beans out of their dried out pods. Gravity sent them to the bottom of the tarp, so we were able to collect them fairly easily. We ended up with over 50 pounds of beans, ready to be cooked for dinner.

I worked with Ranae, an awesome farmer down there. Although she has no cows, she asked if I could milk a neighbors and low and behold, there I was, struggling to get milk out.

Pretty much every day we would go out and pick baby corn. Stalks sometimes grow two ears of corn. Normally one is the runt and one is the big ear. By picking through and taking out the small ears, the stalk can focus on growing just the one big ear of corn. So we help the stalk grow better ears of corn, and get some tasty baby corn to eat, raw or cooked.

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

Farm to island

Finished up working on the Nicaraguan farm on Tuesday morning and spent the next 26 hours traveling via 3 buses and 2 boats out to the amazing island paradise of the Corn Islands. Pretty rough travel at times, but made it through with a few new friends and am set to live the good life on a beautiful pair of islands.

Colourful Leon doorway
Leon church complete with VW transportation
Leon Cathedral
Granada city scene
Granada cathedral just down the street from the hostel

Here{s a video of the double volcano island of Ometepe, Nicaragua. Loved the time relaxing out on the island, hiking and kicking it.

Im in Leon now, the 2nd of 2 colonial cities before I head to the coffee farm. Leon is better than Granada in my opinion, easier to walk and dosent feel so cramped. Again, churches, colourful buildings and not much more. I{m looking forward to getting away from the cities and into the wild again.

Today is day one of travel to the coffee farm where Ill work for a week. The place Im going is pretty remote and the bus schedules dont match up for one day of travel sadly unless I left this morning at 5:20am. So Ill be stopping off in the mural crazy town of Esteli for a night and to relax. Check out the murals: http://www.linesofflight.net/isittravel/2005/01/estel-nicaragua-street-murals-and.html

Then farming time! Dont know much about what Ill be doing, but thats half the fun of it. Just going to show up and rock the farm for the next week or so.

Isla de Ometepe

So I just finished up a 3 day trip on the island of Ometepe, in the middle of the Lake of Nicaragua (which does have sharks), complete with 2 volcanoes on the island. Pretty much jungle and beaches and volcanoes all on one spot. Looks small til you get there. Might actually still be a small island, if it wasn´t for the buses going super slow over the bumpy roads to each village. We spent 3 nights at 3 different spots. The first with the supposed most people and best beach, had neither, but was near a crystal clear water hole called Ojo de Agua. Pretty sweet stuff there, being able to look 10 feet to the bottom no problem.

Santa Cruz was where all the backpackers went and where the best beach was. Pretty chill stuff, relaxing, floating in the water and looking at 2 volcanoes and a huge lake with sharks. I hiked some of the way up the Maderas Volcano before sunset one evening for an amazing view. Nothing like looking down at the island you´re on and seeing water surrounding another volcano, with the sun going down.
We spent the last night at the Monkey Island Hotel, mainly for the use of their free kayaks. Cruised around the local beaches as well as to a couple islands with monkeys on them. Worked up a nice couple of blisters and kept the shoulders in shape after the 4 days surfing down in San Juan del Sur.


Here are photos of the island:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.593910920884.2083143.29301533&l=ae71802421&type=1"

Loading the ferry.

Here are some pìctures from San Juan Del Sur, my first town in Nicaragua. SPent 6 days there, hanging outwith great people,getting to know thecity, andsurfing 4 of thedays. Got to hike to a huge statue ofJesus another day. A great town, and I miss it alittle bit. Leftthis morning for Ometepe, an island with 2 volcanoes onit, in themiddle of Lake Nicaragua. Took a rusty, bouncy, waterfilled ferry here and then a local chicken bus. Slow traveling, but got here andhad a nice swim. Traveling withmy Israeli mate Barak right now. Meeting some other friends tomorrow to hike on one of the waterfalls and explore.




http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.593619430034.2083014.29301533&l=a861cf2c42&type=1

Here´s a pic of what I´m traveling with on the 6 week Central American trip. Nice and light.


Here´s some pics of the grand day out hitching a ride on a horse, waterfalls and jumping off rope swings:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.593260294744.2082851.29301533&l=43e908b9c5&type=1

Horse ride part 2 and water hole action

Costa Rica Cowboy Action

Pictures from the amazing day

Riding on Millionaire, the horse who never stoppedHorses without saddles mean free rides
Me with the Costa Rican John Wayne who let us get on the horses on their return trip with the Arenal volcano behind us
Nothin like a cool waterfall after a 3 mile hike in the blazin sun
Solo me

Best day to date

Can´t believe how amazing this day has been. The start which could´ve been cool ( a bus to a boat across a lake to another jeep) was just the beginning. Entered into La Fortuna, a town in northern Costa Rica nearby the volcano Arenal. Volcano was pretty cloudy at the time so I set off to find some waterfalls.

On my way up the 5k hike to the waterfalls, I ran into 2 girls from Portland and found the traveling partners needed for the adventurous day. Sweated our tails off getting up the hills on teh side of the volcano to get to the waterfalls and played around there for a couple hours in bliss. Perfect spot, good pictures and all that.

On the hike back down, we heard cowboys yelling at us and then 2 cowboys went by, followed by about 30 horses, all saddled up with no one on them. A tour going back to the pasture. Of course we yelled that we wanted a horse and lo and behold, we were able to snag 3 horses for ourselves and hop on with the cowboys on the roundup back to the stable. Pretty unbelievable, being on a horse, not knowing how to ride, going down a steep trail with 4 Costa Rica cowboys, 2 Portland girls and 20 odd horses. The clouds went away and we had a great view of the volcano the whole ride, with the cowboys playing ¨paparazzi¨for us and loving it. Good times, sore ass. Nothing finer than hitching a ride with horses going by you. Don´t need to do a horse tour any time soon, as rode down a mountain, crossed 3 rivers and felt like John Wayne.

After that amazing adventure, we walked to a bridge out of town where you can go below the bridge to a trail to a water hole where there´s a rope swing. Swinging out past the rocks, and dropping about 20 feet down. The day keeps getting better. Met some California girls as well and jumped off 10 times.

Followed all that up with some sangria and a chicken casado (chicken, rice, beans, salad, fried plantains) to cap off an amazing day.

Off to Nicaragua at 6:30 tomorrow morning to keep the life amazing.

That´s how it´s done.

Keepin it interesting

So had a bit o' a bother last night trying to travel by bus. We took a bus to a ferry and by the time the ferry got in over on the other side in a dirty port city (Puntarenas), we found out all the buses were done for the day at 6pm. We were trying to get up to Monteverde, the town in the clouds with tree walks and such, but the direct buses were done. A taxi driver said it was possible to still get there via another couple buses. As it was just 6:30pm, we figured we could make it. Instead of taking us to the local bus station, the taxi driver took us 15 km away to the Pan-American highway where we could supposedly take a bus. So instead of a cheap ride, it was a very expensive ride.

Got pretty much left on the side of a busy small road, and found out that the buses we wanted would not work for us. So we were stuck out there, and after a while finally managed to get a bus back into town. 2 hours and too much money later, ended back up in Puntarenas at 9pm looking for a room. The town is full of overpriced rooms and we paid twice what we normally paid just for the night before catching the early morning bus up to Monteverde.

Bit of a mission to get up here, especially as the bus broke down on the way. Martijn headed off to San Jose to meet another Dutch friend on Monday, so I'm on my own, up in the clouds, surrounded by mist and rainforests. Pretty nice up here, quiet and relaxing.

Taking a jeep to a boat across a lake, to another jeep to La Fortuna, the town by the volcano Arenal. Keeping the adventure alive and having fun down in Costa Rica.

Lizard Lunch
Sweaty Tarzan in Manuel Antonio National Park
Our path through the muddy jungle. Tis the rainy season so its all a bit muddy.
I took a pill and turned into a monkey for an hour. Sexy huh?

Costa Rican monkeys gone wild

Here's a video from the Manuel Antonio park on the pacific coast in Costa Rica. Saw monkeys all over the place, along with raccoons, sloths, butterflies and loads of tourists. Pretty sweet overlooks and beaches along the way in the country's most visited park.

Costa Rica photos!

The life is amazing right now. Back on top of the world.

Im down in remote Costa Rica, in the very southwestern corner, at a crazy beautiful national park called Corcovado. Sleeping with monkeys, insects, trees all making noise all around. Packed full of wildlife. Supposedly there is 12% of the world´´s biodiversity here, and Im definitely getting my fair share. Super quiet, away from the tourists and a perfect spot.

Martin, my Dutch buddy and me, have been exploring the area after a day in the capital San Jose. Long bus ride down here has been worth it so far. rented bikes and road to check out crocodiles (sadly they were not showing themselves or biting us) and then off to a beach called la playa precioso, and it was indeed amazing. perfect waves and no one else there apart from some little kids who beat us 5-4 in a game of soccer. cruising around on a bike never felt so good.

today we got up at 5am to catch the Taxi Collectivo with all the locals and head out to the heart of the park, a bumpy 2 hour ride in, with lots of stops for the locals. after a 3 mile trek along the beach, we entered the jungle to meet anything from 3 species of monkeys, northern racoons (much better than our trash eaters), parrots, lizards, crabs, butterflies and so much more. completely amazing. We had to ford a few rivers, walk along beaches surrounded by blue water and palm trees. Perfect day, capped off by a seafood feast back in town.

We are staying at an awesome Italians farm nearby the town of Puerto Jimínez. Super cool guy, who speaks a little English and has been here for 7 years with a Costa Rican wife and boy. Pretty good life. Kinda envious right now as he has a fun little farm which produces a lot of his food, rents out rooms to people like me and just hangs out. Pretty tempting right now, the easiness and enjoyment is high. Ill give the farming a test run soon working on my friend of friends coffee farm.


this keyboard isnt the best, but the life is, and that is all that matters. here are a few pictures on face book for you to check out. We are living it up down here.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.591861572794.2082188.29301533&l=10ae1a60f9

Last day in the USA

As I booked my flight to central america, I had the option to take the cheapest way possible which included a 12 hour layover in Denver. Perfect! Time to make it to Coors Field and check out the Rockies vs. the Royals. Solid baseball in a home run park. Royals whooped the Rockies 16-8 with 4 home runs, in a high scoring game. Got to chow down on a Rockie dog and feel American, plus the stadium went all out Independence Day themed with the players getting the wig treatment.

Scalped a wicked ticket and sat 6 rows behind home plate. Got to see the pros up close and live it up in style in my last day in the US.


After I cruised around Denver, checking out their main mall full of every American shop out there, and checking out the capital area. Thousands of people out to watch the fireworks and celebration, which for some reason comes on July 3rd. Why not beat everyone to it, and celebrate a day early so you´re special, eh?

Good times, then off to Costa Rica to arrive at 5am for the adventures to begin.

My backpack

To prep for the Central American trip, I bought a new backpack that should be perfect for my 6 weeks on the road. It's recommended as a 3-5 day hiking trip pack, but I aim to get a lot more out of it. Several key features include a built in raincover which will come in quite handy as I'll be going in the rainy season. Still hot and humid out, just have to shower in rain for a couple hours a day.

The pack has a suspension backing which is like trampoline material, and keeps the pack an inch away from my back, keeping the back sweat to a minimum. Since I last bought a pack, this is the new and top of the line method for back support/sweat management. Going to be a fun trip. It's got a volume of 42 litres and right now, what I plan to take, makes the pack about half full, so plenty of room leftover for whatever comes up.

So I've got 3 weeks to go. Leaving July 3rd to arrive early July 4th in San Jose, Costa Rica. Keeping my streak of July 4ths in different places alive. Dating back to 2001, I've bounced all over for the Fourth. Highlights include Boston, Albania, the oldest celebration in Bristol, RI and the ol' classic on the beach, Malibu July 4th.

I head back up stateside, to Los Angeles August 18th, and will be around the area for a week or so. If you're around there, let's meet up. Don't know where I'm going after, but it'll work itself out quite nicely I'm sure.

Trip plannin

So after being grounded in the US for over 6 months now, the next trip is being booked. I bought a ticket last night to Costa Rica in early July to go travel around with one of my Dutch friends. Going to be around a month or so down in a couple countries in Central America. No end date yet, just a one way flight. Not sure how many countries, but Costa Rica and Nicaragua are in for sure.

I'd had an offer to work as a tour guide driver up in Alaska, taking cruise ship passengers from the ship to the Alaskan Brewing Co up in Juneau. Would've been working the summer season up there (65 F high in July) and lived it up surrounded by killer whales, glaciers and traveling by dogsled. But the idea of spending summer on white beaches, zip-lining and drinking coffee in the high hills was just too good to pass up.

So I've got a couple months left in Portland before off with the backpack again. The sun is paying us more visits, the Blazers keep teasing us with a potential first round upset, and there are still too many restaurants to choose from.

On a side note, my mom is in Bhutan, and I'm extremely jealous. Look it up, one of the best, most hidden countries out there that has yet to feel the wrath of over-tourism.

On another side note, did anyone see Kobe's 2 dunks last night in game 5 of the series? Lakeshow in full effect, going all the way for Phil's last threepeat.

Groovin

Been back in Portland for 4 months now. The time is flying by, the days get longer, and the rain keeps on coming. The American dream is indeed alive and well, full of fried chicken, NBA, Mexican food, hip hop shows, movies and good times.

After working 3 months total in 2010, and visiting 11 countries and living life as it should be lived, I'm acting like a grown up and working in an office. Part time. Still time to be free and have fun.

Working for an international student exchange program by day, and making people smile by night.

So sorry for the lack of posts, as I'm rocking the steady workin, American life these days. Definitely new adventures a'happening and more on the agenda, with Justus taking on the world once again. We'll see where the next post comes from.