I love travel

I love travel. True travel is not fair weather. It seeks beauty in everything regardless of expectation, weather, or even company at times. I often feel as if pictures, the internet, and television ruin beauty at times for they all generate perceptions, expectations, and preconceived beauty. I hate that I have never traveled somewhere yet I feel like I know it inside out when the reality is I know nothing of it. I feel like it can take away the awe. I love traveling to places I know nothing about. I love exploring because there is something incredible about the surprise of seeing unknown beauty for the first time. Rain or shine beauty and experience await.

Two weekends ago I did some local travel. Saturday I went to Poas and the Waterfall gardens. Hahaha so it's pouring rain and cold, and I get to the summit of Poas hoping to look down and see this awesome crater, but I gaze down and can only vaguely see the lagoon below. Initially I'm like man I hate being wet in jeans lol, but then I remember how incredible it is that I am where I am. I remember how powerful this structure is and I stand in awe. Shorty after, I hiked some random trail, enjoying all that lied around me, especially the little flowers and the way the water seemed to drip so perfectly off them. I get to the bus, eager for the waterfalls and food. Ok I have this thing for waterfalls. I'm not sure what it is about them that I am so drawn to. I think it must have something to do with their immense power and purity. I just love standing in awe before them and I love food, so you can only imagine how much I was in my zone. The rain cleared, my stomach filled, and my soul absorbed all that laid before me. There was however one situation that didn't sit right with me, they had animals in cages like the zoo! :( you can see so many animals in the wild, it's so silly to lock them up. Nonetheless, this opened up the door for me to have some fun. I saw this monkey reaching for a leaf from a plant, so I rip it off and hand it to him. In the process we touch hands and the monkey has a hard time grasping the leaf and I just laugh thinking how awesome it is having opposable thumbs. That pretty much wraps up Saturday. Sunday I checked out Irazu which is another volcano. It was raining again, so the view was a little blocked, but I could still see and appreciate the crater. After this I checked out some of the old churches nearby. Both of these churches are older than The United States as a nation. The first, Basilica de los Angeles, was large and beautifully decorated. People from all over Costa Rica travel to this church for service and for the holy water to heal their wounds of all types. The second church I saw was Orosi Church. This church was smaller, but still incredible. The museum was pretty cool too. I loved seeing all of the old artifacts and just soaking in the significance of such a great tradition.

This weekend, I headed back to Jaco. This was such a better experience than my last visit to Jaco. I went to this surf competition which was really cool, and learned how to surf. I'm really eager to practice more and get better at it, but hey, at least I can get up. :) Anyway, not a bad weekend in my book. Eager to see what the rest will hold, but even more eager to enjoy this moment right here. Love you guys!

Puerto Viejo...Buenísimo

From the 7th to the 8th, I ventured to the Carribbean to Puerto Viejo. I have never seen clearer waters or ate more delicious kababs. It's fascinating how great a country can differ in just a short distance. Saturday I went snorkeling for the first time. My partner and I split from the group a little, in hopes of seeing creatures that may be scared away by the big group. The first time, I spotted gigantic stingray, the second time, I spotted something quite larger. Immediately, I'm thinking, let's follow this. I turn to my partner, and point to the creature and her eyes light up. We pop up above surface, when we hear a shout from the boat that it's a nursing shark. I drop back under water to admire the creature. I would call this a successful first snorkeling experience. I don't want to go into too many other details but the rest of the trip consisted of fresh juice, free mojitos, street food, reggae, and salt water.

Guys, just live and love life. Breathe it in and soak it up. There is beauty in everything. Don't fail to see the beauty before your eyes even in this moment. Take the hard route, and live in this moment. Wash your spirit in the beauty of God's creation.

Volcanoes, Waterfalls, Hot Springs, and the Sensation of flight...What more could I ask for?

Man every time I try to find the words to describe my experiences, I find the word beauty. Life is far more beautiful than we give it credit. I can't tell you how long I sat unsatified with what I was doing with my life, just feeling like I was waiting to start really living. I always pondered what it would be like to really chase my dreams and even at times, I allowed myself to give into impulses and extravagant adventures, but I never really felt satisfied by living the American Dream. I wanted more. I want more. Forget the picket fence. Forget the perfect paying, but miserable job. Forget politically correct. Forget the Matrix! Chase your dream. I think people underestimate the need to be happy. We have one side of the world saying that happiness isn't what is truly important and the other saying that happiness is all there is. The first is about sacrifice and conformity. The second is often about selfishness and temporary satisfaction. What I am proposing, is that we do the most difficult thing there is and find a balance. Someone I really respect once told me, "love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, then do what you want." I guess the idea is that if you're heart is right then what you want to do shouldn't really be a problem. So I ask you, what do you dream about? What's holding you back? Is it something that is more important to you or is it just normality and a lack of understanding that you don't have to live the life that our culture portrays as normal? Take a risk and I guarantee you'll walk out feeling more complete. Now that that's off my chest, I'd like to just quickly update you on my past weekend so I'm all caught up in my blogging.

Last weekend, I had a packed weekend. Saturday morning I headed to Arenal, which is an active volcano. (I want to just state that this was part of an excursion that I paid for in my program fee for the semester). The first thing I did was a canopy tour where I went zip lining in the jungle. The coolest part was this part where I was just attached by my A rope to my harness. Then I was pushed out over the jungle just to fly. It was absolutely incredible. I swung over the trees quiet, just amazed at the beauty that I was flying above. I can't help now but be jealous of the birds. They have the best view in the world. The last zip line was pretty cool too. It was a 600 meter line that I did superman style. Again, just felt like I was flying, and I loved it!

After zip lining, I headed to the waterfall at La Fortuna. I loved standing in front of this beast of nature, just feeling the mist on my body and it's strength in my feet and ears. I wanted deeply to swim behind it but a security guard politely informed me that that couldn't be on my agenda. So I swam in the river and dipped myself in the water in front of the falls.

As if is day hadn't been cool enough, I got to the hotel that I had already paid for as part of my program, and I was just stunned. I went from beautiful nature to magnificent human creation. This hotel was probably the nicest place I will ever stay at in my entire life. It had nearly 30 hot tubs/pools, some with bar islands, that were all filled by natural hot springs. Then my room had a balcony with a clear view of just jungle and volcano. Around 2 or 3 in the morning, as I sat admiring the view and fresh air, I got to see the rocks of the volcano light up bright red/orange because of the heat of the lava. Needless to say, this was just beyond cool. I just thought about how vast the beauty of the world is and how incredibly powerful nature can be. Shortly after, I laid myself to sleep, and slept like a rock till nearly 10:00. All I can say my friends, is that life is beautiful, and if you disagree, I challenge you to step away from where you are in your heart, and take another look because there is something beautiful right before your eyes; I guarantee it.

Is this where my motorcycle diaries begin? Ometepe, Nicaragua

With a grave need to get away from this group of North American students and high tourist prices, I vowed to take myself across borders to the great Nicaragua solo dolo. Upon being asked numerous times to join groups to Granada, Nicaragua, I continually responded with my desire and itch to head alone. Not once did I receive a look or a comment less than a blank stare or a "yea I wouldn't do that". Now if you know me, this naturally fueled my passion to live this out.

So, Friday morning, September 23, I dragged just my backpack and myself to my final, then headed straight for the public bus station(which in itself was unheard of by these student tourists..."so you mean your not taking a direct bus?" "uh nope. Savin $25 by takin public transport"...). Hahaha so I get what I deserve. The bus was naturally running an hour and a half late so I got to spend a bit of time catching up on my Bible reading, and practicing my Spanish with the ticos. So just around noon I caught a bus that should have taken me to Peñas Blancas, which is right on the Costa Rican side of the CR-Nicaragua border, but due to an accident on the Pan American Highway, my plans to cross the border at night changed. I met a dude from Cali on the bus who's been studying here for 13 months. Given the conditions, he was going to stay at an old tico bros house for the night and invited me to join. My gut felt good about it so I tagged along thinking about the money on a hostel I was saving.

Gabriel ended up being a pretty cool guy, and we ended up traveling together Saturday to Ometepe. Let me just state that upon leaving for Nicaragua, I had no plans whatsoever. I just figured I'd head to Granada, which is pretty close to Managua, then play things out, but I was totally open to whatever, as long as it included meeting totally new people and spending next to no money. So, naturally, when I heard about Ometepe, I was all in. (FYI, Ometepe is an island in Lake Nicaragua that is made up of two volcanos. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world). This place turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. Even if I just had traveled to see it's formation from the ferry I would have thought it was worth it. Gabriel told me that he had read it was listed as an 8th wonder of the world--I would believe it. I can't even really describe how beautiful this place was. I don't often talk about wanting to go someplace twice, but I definitely think that I will return to Ometepe later in my travels.

From the moment when I saw the island from the Ferry to when I was hitchhiking in the bed of a truck in the pouring rain though basically holes and rivers, my heart was content with a gigantic smile. I had finally found something on this trip of mine throughout the last month that was right up my ally. It was absolutely perfect. Perfect risk matched with perfect beauty. I don't think I could have been happier. I like to think that you know your in a good place when your walking in the pouring rain in unknown territory, trying to find a hostel on some co-op. By evening, I had found Finca Magdalena. I snagged a hammock outside for $3.50 for the night and laid myself to sleep amongst God's creation in a most natural state.

Sunday morning, I woke up before the sun rose, and from my hammock all I could see was a massive lake with a volcano in the distance all surrounded by magnificent flowers and trees. Not to mention the sound of howler monkeys. Again, I couldn't be more pleased. Let me just point out that until this moment, I had only spent about $20 including food, transportation, room, and entry/exit visa fees; this made me all the more happy. Anyway, I continued my fabulous morning by hiking up one of the volcanos. At the top of the volcano, there is a lagoon which I dipped my legs in, but because it was raining, it had gotten pretty chillay. After the hike, I decided I'd catch the ferry back to mainland so I could check out the beach at Juan del Sur which I had been hearing good things about. But as I was waiting for the ferry to arrive my eyes caught a glimpse of a sign for motorcycle rentals. Naturally, I inquired, and discovered that rentals were a mere $5! But, it was raining, and so stuck with my plan to take the ferry. However, as I'm sitting on the ferry waiting for it to load up, the sky clears, and my heart calls and demands more adventure. So, I rush off the ferry. Head to the little shop. And take my first motorcycle ride in Latin America. The guy and the rental shop was shocked that I knew how to ride, and informed me that the gears were a little different here. It's like: N 12345 instead of the 5432N1 that I was used to. This proved to be challenging for the first few shifts as I naturally kept up-shifting when I was trying to down-shift. Anyway, taking the bike was awesome. I had really been missing mine a lot. I loved being on the bike with the wind in my hair, fresh air in my lungs, and volcanos and Rock roads in my view. Again, absolutely gorgeous. Upon finishing my ride, I caught the "Che Guevara" back to mainland and found this sketch hostel for the night. I left there at 5 am and checked out the lake shore and volcanic view one last time before I started back walking towards the next city where I could catch a bus. Ok I love it when hitchhiking is so easy that you don't even have to hold out your thumb. Only about 10 minutes into my walk, a motorcyclist pulls over and I hop on back. He takes me to the next town to the bus stop. And the rest of the trip is mere travels to San Jose.

By the time I returned to San Jose, my body was exhausted, but my soul was so renewed. I can't wait for the semester to be over so that I can do more of this. I want to point out the incredible budget I kept,with only spending $55 all weekend on EVERYTHING,including a hammock. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my weekend.

Manuel Antonio

Alright, it's been awhile. I just got an app that allows me to upload the photos on my iPad so I dont need to borrow someone's computer to do it. Just wanted to catch up here a little bit. Three weekends ago, I went to Manuel Antonio. It was absolutely gorgeous. Far more beautiful than Jaco. Just being surrounded by so much nature makes me remember how beautiful the world really is. I walk out of my hostel to gigantic iguanas, head to the beach to see monkeys in the trees, then grab a fresh piña colada and body surf massive waves. It's all of these very natural experiences that just put a gigantic smile on my face. However, it was during this trip that I really decided that I cannot travel any longer in groups of North American students. The reality is that I really prefer to travel alone or with maybe one other person.