Politics in Canada is nothing like here in Nicaragua. The elections are in a week and people are parading outside this internet cafe. about every 30 seconds, a truck goes by full of people singing, chanting waving flags. Other trucks have loundspeakers with political speaches. They are so lound, you can´t hear yourself think. As the trucks go by, people hold up one or two fingers depending on what party they support. The Liberal (right wing) party is 1 and the Sandanista (left wing) party is number 2. The Sandanista parties theme song blasts all over ¨Give Peace an chance¨en español. I have never witnessed anything like this. Abouth half of the houses here have political flags and if you count all of the signs and flags on public property, there are about 5 for every house. It is tense here and could get violent. Everyone I meet want´s to talk politics. In the 70's, there was a war here in Matagalpa between the two parties in which 30000 people died which is half of the aproximate current population.
Today, we went into an old mine with some local guys that are friends of Warren´s. We had to wade through water up to our bellies as bats flew around our heads. We saw some big monkeys in a tree whcih was a highlight for me. It was also nice to walk through the countryside and see the mud huts. Chickens were everywhere.
Shaun went back to San Jose. Nat and I are going to make our way out to the pacific cost and take our time to get back to see Sean and Laurieanna.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Sunday, October 29, 2006
To Nicarugaua
Man does Laurieanna have a fire in her. One night, we got out of a taxi in front of our hotel and one guy started to walk towards us. When Laurieanna saw 4 guys coming from the other way, she threw me and Shaun in the hotel door and rather than running in after us, she stood in the doorway with her fists in the air ready to fight. She mus barely be 5 feet tall.
Shaun just realised that his 90 day visa in Costa Rica was about to run out so we decided to head up to Nicaragua to see our buddy Warren and his wife Rena in Matagalpa. It was a long hard bus ride. When we got off the bus in Matgalpa, there was the only English sign I have seen here. The sign read something like ¨Please aboard taxi inside the bus termainal.¨ There was a picture of a guy with a gun shooting a police officer. Shaun said,¨Let´s walk.¨ The power was out and all the streets were dark. We would periodically trip over bumbs on the road. A guy carrying a machettee walked by. It was really spooky walking in a dark city.
We checked into a hotel and went to find Warren. Warren wasn´t home on the first attempt so we went to Shaun´s favourite bar, The Scorpio. The Scorpio is a rough bar that is 96% 100% heterosexual men. There are about 6 tables, 3 slot machines and the centre of attention is a modern juke box which had countless songs. We sat in the corner. Men were dancing with each other, and getting really drunk. The guy beside me threw a piece of paper whcih may have hit me accidentally. I turned and scouled. He shook my hand and we started talking. Before long about have the guys in the bar we coming up to us, talking and male toching us way too much. White people are extreemly rare in Matagalpa and extremely rare in rough bar like the Scorpio.
We went to find Warren and this time his wife, Rena was there. She called him and he came huffing up the hill after a few minutes, drunk as hell. We all went out. and called it an early night, breaking Warren´s religion.
The next day was my best yet. I awoke to a traquil, green city nestled in the mountians. There are lots of hot women here and they all stare at the gingos. Actually everyone stares at us. We went to Warren´s and he had the day planned for us. First we took a cab to to a very beautiful resturant in the country. It should be noted that things are super cheap here. $5 for a hotel 35cents for a can of pop. After the resturant, we went to the only other building in the area, a small cantina. It had a dirt floor and many chickens would come and go through the bar. The odd person would walk in, shooked to see gringos way out in the sticks at the edge of the earth.
We hitched a ride back into town in the back of a pickup full of oranges, passing through an infinately beautifull valley. In town we bar hopped the cheapest, dirtiest places in town. Then we went to a cock fight. It was in a poor suburb and cost about 60 cents to get in. They tie razor sharp blades to the rooster´s feet and a match lasts 15 minutes or until death. Every one in a while, the ref pauses the fight. One of the cock owners would put the head of the cock in his mouth and suck out the blood from its eyes. It was a rough and roudy crowd. There was a tree groing through the washroom which smelled like north Edmonton.
After that we met up with Rena and a bunch of her girl friends to go to a Salsa club. What a great time. It was the best club I have been to. Outside, 3 girls for evey guy and dancing like you have never seen Rena was probably the best dancer there and she showed me a few moves. There were some kids in the bar as well that daced really well and gave me some hi-fives.
Enogh for now.....
Shaun just realised that his 90 day visa in Costa Rica was about to run out so we decided to head up to Nicaragua to see our buddy Warren and his wife Rena in Matagalpa. It was a long hard bus ride. When we got off the bus in Matgalpa, there was the only English sign I have seen here. The sign read something like ¨Please aboard taxi inside the bus termainal.¨ There was a picture of a guy with a gun shooting a police officer. Shaun said,¨Let´s walk.¨ The power was out and all the streets were dark. We would periodically trip over bumbs on the road. A guy carrying a machettee walked by. It was really spooky walking in a dark city.
We checked into a hotel and went to find Warren. Warren wasn´t home on the first attempt so we went to Shaun´s favourite bar, The Scorpio. The Scorpio is a rough bar that is 96% 100% heterosexual men. There are about 6 tables, 3 slot machines and the centre of attention is a modern juke box which had countless songs. We sat in the corner. Men were dancing with each other, and getting really drunk. The guy beside me threw a piece of paper whcih may have hit me accidentally. I turned and scouled. He shook my hand and we started talking. Before long about have the guys in the bar we coming up to us, talking and male toching us way too much. White people are extreemly rare in Matagalpa and extremely rare in rough bar like the Scorpio.
We went to find Warren and this time his wife, Rena was there. She called him and he came huffing up the hill after a few minutes, drunk as hell. We all went out. and called it an early night, breaking Warren´s religion.
The next day was my best yet. I awoke to a traquil, green city nestled in the mountians. There are lots of hot women here and they all stare at the gingos. Actually everyone stares at us. We went to Warren´s and he had the day planned for us. First we took a cab to to a very beautiful resturant in the country. It should be noted that things are super cheap here. $5 for a hotel 35cents for a can of pop. After the resturant, we went to the only other building in the area, a small cantina. It had a dirt floor and many chickens would come and go through the bar. The odd person would walk in, shooked to see gringos way out in the sticks at the edge of the earth.
We hitched a ride back into town in the back of a pickup full of oranges, passing through an infinately beautifull valley. In town we bar hopped the cheapest, dirtiest places in town. Then we went to a cock fight. It was in a poor suburb and cost about 60 cents to get in. They tie razor sharp blades to the rooster´s feet and a match lasts 15 minutes or until death. Every one in a while, the ref pauses the fight. One of the cock owners would put the head of the cock in his mouth and suck out the blood from its eyes. It was a rough and roudy crowd. There was a tree groing through the washroom which smelled like north Edmonton.
After that we met up with Rena and a bunch of her girl friends to go to a Salsa club. What a great time. It was the best club I have been to. Outside, 3 girls for evey guy and dancing like you have never seen Rena was probably the best dancer there and she showed me a few moves. There were some kids in the bar as well that daced really well and gave me some hi-fives.
Enogh for now.....
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Montezuema
Shaun, Laurieanna and I went to Montezuema. I was told to go there by a few people who said it is one of the most beautiful places in the country. Shaun and Laurieanna own some property there that they want to develope and had to go on a monthly trip to check for squatters. Their land sure has potential. It borders a river and the ocean. There is a nice island paddling distance over some shallows. The landscape surrounding the area is natural and very beautifull. I also met a couple of girls from Banff one of which is friends with Shaun. Liz and Katrina seem like a lot of fun. It is funny how I only really remer seeing them at home and now I am getting to know them so far away.
I{m back in San Jose now. Shaun and I watched a massive protest of about 10000 people against a free trade deal with the U.S. It was great to see true democracy at work. There was lots of music and funny signs. If I lived here and it was my place, I would march along with them.
Tomorrow we pick up Nat at the airport and in a couple of days we will go to Nicagugua to see Warren. I think I will spend about a week there. Shaun will spend his 72 hours which is required to renew his visa. Things are cheaper there and Shaun says that he would be there if Laurieanna didn{t live here. I{m really enjoying my time with those two. I{m also meeting a lot of locals through them.
I either lost or got pickpocketed for about $100 yesterday. That is my entire rip off budget. No more of that. At least it doesn{t affect my health. Other than that and this keyboard, things are going smooth.
I{m back in San Jose now. Shaun and I watched a massive protest of about 10000 people against a free trade deal with the U.S. It was great to see true democracy at work. There was lots of music and funny signs. If I lived here and it was my place, I would march along with them.
Tomorrow we pick up Nat at the airport and in a couple of days we will go to Nicagugua to see Warren. I think I will spend about a week there. Shaun will spend his 72 hours which is required to renew his visa. Things are cheaper there and Shaun says that he would be there if Laurieanna didn{t live here. I{m really enjoying my time with those two. I{m also meeting a lot of locals through them.
I either lost or got pickpocketed for about $100 yesterday. That is my entire rip off budget. No more of that. At least it doesn{t affect my health. Other than that and this keyboard, things are going smooth.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Meeting my buddy, Shawn and his girlfriend
I was going to go to Montezuema but I ended up buying a ticket to San Jose as the route that looked good on the map wasn´t going to work. Right after I bought the ticked, I checked my email and Shaun said that it was a good time to see him in San Jose so things really fell into place. We have to stay in a hotel as Shaun´s girlfriend, Laurieanna is having trouble evicting her tenants in her house she wants to move back too. She has commercial tenants renting a couple of bars she owns that she wants to get out as well which is difficult even thought they don´t pay their rent.
It´s fun going around the city with Laurieanna. She seems to know everyone from the bar owners to the beggers prostitutes and even a transvestite prostitute was excited to see her. She really is a charactor.
Anyway, we are staying in a hotel in the most dangerous part of town. I got in at 11pm and Shaun wasn´t expecting me yet so he was at the casino. The first thing I had to do was hit an ATM. I knew it was dangerous at night but I had to eat. The first bank didn´t work. I hated having to go to another but it all went ok. I tried to make myself look tough and like I knew what I was doing. Had I known just how dangerous these streets are at night, I would have gone hungry until morning.
When Shaun got backl, he introduced me to his girlfriend who is a really fun loca latina. She´s had quite the life with a couple of bullet wounds but lots of energy. Their room has a balcony and we just sat up there and watched people get mugged in the streets. The crackheads work togther, making whistle sounds to alert others that a drunk moron is coming so they have help to make the robbery. They take everything, jacket, hat, shoes. Then they go buy crack. Sometimes the police come by and take some away. The one thing that can be said for them is that they seem to share everything. If some one manages to beg or hustle 25 cents, they give it to one person who takes it all until there is enough to buy a rock and then they all get high together. It´s a sad scene but I sure don´t have an answer to their problems. Often they can be seen walking around with a new umbrella or pair of pants that they stole from someone. Our hotel really is at the corner of death and hell. Lucky for me, Shaun knows how to stay safe. If we come back at night, we take a taxi and run 10ft to the door of our hotel and the security guy promtly lets us in.
Today, we are going to Motezuma which is supposed to be the nicest beach in Costa Rica. Loreena owns a bar there and some property and they are going to talk to some lawyers about evicting the people running it so that her and Shawn can. Shawn says that it is the nicest bar I will ever see.
San Jose is the only dangerous place in Costa Rica. Most of the country is very safe, the tap water is treated many people own cars and property here and enviornmental conservation is a top priority here. The thing that really makes me want to love this country more than any other is that they have no armed forces. Police are even pretty rare which is a stark contrast to other countries down here. Things are a little more expensive here though still a fraction of what I would pay back home. Lots of people speak English here do to all of the tourism.
Anyway, I´m seeing things I never thought I´d see here in San Jose but I´m looking forward to going back to the beach. I don´t need to be around any more crackheads.
It´s fun going around the city with Laurieanna. She seems to know everyone from the bar owners to the beggers prostitutes and even a transvestite prostitute was excited to see her. She really is a charactor.
Anyway, we are staying in a hotel in the most dangerous part of town. I got in at 11pm and Shaun wasn´t expecting me yet so he was at the casino. The first thing I had to do was hit an ATM. I knew it was dangerous at night but I had to eat. The first bank didn´t work. I hated having to go to another but it all went ok. I tried to make myself look tough and like I knew what I was doing. Had I known just how dangerous these streets are at night, I would have gone hungry until morning.
When Shaun got backl, he introduced me to his girlfriend who is a really fun loca latina. She´s had quite the life with a couple of bullet wounds but lots of energy. Their room has a balcony and we just sat up there and watched people get mugged in the streets. The crackheads work togther, making whistle sounds to alert others that a drunk moron is coming so they have help to make the robbery. They take everything, jacket, hat, shoes. Then they go buy crack. Sometimes the police come by and take some away. The one thing that can be said for them is that they seem to share everything. If some one manages to beg or hustle 25 cents, they give it to one person who takes it all until there is enough to buy a rock and then they all get high together. It´s a sad scene but I sure don´t have an answer to their problems. Often they can be seen walking around with a new umbrella or pair of pants that they stole from someone. Our hotel really is at the corner of death and hell. Lucky for me, Shaun knows how to stay safe. If we come back at night, we take a taxi and run 10ft to the door of our hotel and the security guy promtly lets us in.
Today, we are going to Motezuma which is supposed to be the nicest beach in Costa Rica. Loreena owns a bar there and some property and they are going to talk to some lawyers about evicting the people running it so that her and Shawn can. Shawn says that it is the nicest bar I will ever see.
San Jose is the only dangerous place in Costa Rica. Most of the country is very safe, the tap water is treated many people own cars and property here and enviornmental conservation is a top priority here. The thing that really makes me want to love this country more than any other is that they have no armed forces. Police are even pretty rare which is a stark contrast to other countries down here. Things are a little more expensive here though still a fraction of what I would pay back home. Lots of people speak English here do to all of the tourism.
Anyway, I´m seeing things I never thought I´d see here in San Jose but I´m looking forward to going back to the beach. I don´t need to be around any more crackheads.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Finnally on Vacation
It was a bit of a hard day as flying often is. You wait around so you can sit on a plane, wait some more and sit some more. Lucky for me, I am good at it. I didn't really sleep though I would have liked to.
Landing in Liberia was scary. We hit some turbulance about 5 min before landing - actually 15 min before landing as the pilot decided to abort when we were about 20 feet off the ground. I've never had that happen before. Everyone was scared. The second time, we touched down in the rain and I could feel the tires skid and the plane wobbled as we slowed down. I think that the runway was short and the pilot had to use all the brakes he could.
I was surprised at how small the airport was. There was only one runway and the only other planes there were two U.S Homeland Security planes that really looked out of place. The Airport was one room smaller than a gym.
I have a really good first impression of Costa Rica. It's clean and quiet. I'm sure glad to be here. Time to go to the beach.....
Landing in Liberia was scary. We hit some turbulance about 5 min before landing - actually 15 min before landing as the pilot decided to abort when we were about 20 feet off the ground. I've never had that happen before. Everyone was scared. The second time, we touched down in the rain and I could feel the tires skid and the plane wobbled as we slowed down. I think that the runway was short and the pilot had to use all the brakes he could.
I was surprised at how small the airport was. There was only one runway and the only other planes there were two U.S Homeland Security planes that really looked out of place. The Airport was one room smaller than a gym.
I have a really good first impression of Costa Rica. It's clean and quiet. I'm sure glad to be here. Time to go to the beach.....
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