Homeward Bound

My time is winding down. Tomorrow morning, after my dawn patrol surf, I will board a bus to Rivas, then transfer to Masaya. In Masaya I will explore Nicaragua's largest artisan market, and maybe fill the remaining space in my backpack with a few items. Wednsday morning I will take a taxi from Masaya to the airport in Managua. I fly into LA and arrive at the same time as my parents flying in from Seattle. We will meet up with Isla, Jared, Luke, and Candice and the whole family will be together for Thanksgiving. I can't imagine a better return to the states. In the days following Thanksgiving I will make my way to SF, how I'm not quite sure, and find a place to live. So I've got a lot to look forward to.
I have had a wonderful trip. Words cannot describe the fun I have had. I have met so many wonderful people along the way, some of whom I am sure I will be visiting at their various homes around the globe sometime in the future, and they all have a place to stay in San Francisco. This trip has been one adventure after another. Simply too much fun for one person. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to travel the past 3 1/2 months. I have truly enjoyed every moment...even the times when I am six hours into a bus ride in sweltering heat, standing with people pressed against every side of me and toddlers tugging at my leg hair. It is all an experience to remember. There should be no wrong turns in life. Each step we take leads us to the next. Detours should be welcomed with open arms and an open mind. I certainly made no wrong turns on this trip.

Self Portrait


I make sure to be on the beach for every sunset. Amazing sunsets. Every night.


Buena Onda is currently building a large palapa for a full-scale bar and restaurant


Sunday night we piled in the back of a large flatbed truck with the palapa workers and headed out to the local hotsprings. One of them, Michael Sanchez, noticed the bracelet on my wrist and asked if it is from Si a la Vida, the Ometepe project where Alexis Bonoff works, which it is. Michael was himself a kid that grew up on the streets of Managua, sniffing glue and leading a life of turmoil, and was reahabilitated through the Si a la Vida project. His eyes lit up when talking about the project. He talked about how it rehabilitated his life. However, he also discussed a brief relapse of drinking and partying upon graduating from the project. But he found in religion structure and guidance similar to that which he received from Si a la Vida, and Si a la Vida had given him the skills to lead a responsible life. It is wonderful to see him working hard every day, as happy as anyone I've ever met. Great to see such success from the project after spending time with kids currently in the program on Ometepe. I am very happy for and proud of Alexis for contributing to such a wonderful program. Everyone should visit her blog at www.gallopintobonoff.blogspot.com.

The group hanging at the hotsprings

Thank you to everyone who has kept up with my blog. Muchas Gracias.

Full Circle

Leaving Guatemala, it was a two day bus trip to Managua. Fortunately, on the bus was a friend I'd made in Flores, as well as a group of good people, so there was lots of good company for the long trip. I got in to Managua Monday evening and stayed the night with my new buddies in Grenada. The next morning I made the trek to Ometepe, where I stayed for two nights with Alexis Bonoff. The trip to Ometepe was FANTASTIC (thanks Lex!). Alexis, Marina Heppenstall, Alexis' friend Ian and I all had a great time together. I caught the final two days of a week-long festival in Alta Gracias (the town where Lex is living) celebrating San Diego, who apparently is famous for ridding the Island of tree cutter ants.
One of the things Alexis is doing on Omepte is volunteering at Si a la Vida, a rehabilitation project for kids 13-18 who are from the streets of Managua. It is an amazing program. We spent a day with the kids down at the lake. Watching them play in the water was great; they are so full of energy, so full of life. Alexis is providing these kids with lots of love, something it seems they lacked in their early lives.
When I left Guatemala I was operating as though my trip was essentially over, and I was just going to finish my last week the way I started the trip, with sun and surf. In Alta Gracias, Alexis, Marina and I went to the festival's rodeo to watch some Central American style bull riding (meaning a make-shift ring, amateur riders, no medical services available, and two serious injuries in the first 20 minutes). Sitting there, soaking in the sights and sounds of the rodeo, I was filled with the excitement you get from new and exciting experiences in places far from home. I realized there is still so much to see, and still adventures to be had. It was a very nice feeling. That night we partied at a make-shift outdoor club, dancing under the stars to reggae-tone, which has kind of grown on me the last 3 1/2 months. Tons of fun. If I had to sum up my trip in one word, 'fun' would be it.
Now I am back at the Buena Onda resort, where Steve, Kris, Skyler and I spent much of our time in August. The water is a little colder, the waves small, and the whole place rather empty, but it has been great to get back in the water after over two months not surfing.

Waiting for a final bus after a long, sweaty day of travel


Empty Carnival ride




Carnival vendors...Nica style


Prepping dinner at Alexis' office/home.
The San Diego festival parade. They walk down the streets bobbing limbs of trees up and down to symbolize the Island being rid of tree-cutter ants.


This guy was a real cowboy, corralling the bulls with ease. Here he is enjoying one of many beers between bull rides.

Below is a video of the second bull ride I saw. About four or five seconds into it you see the guy nearly get his eye knocked out by the horn of the bull. Lots of blood. The next guy to ride broke his leg (which I also have on video). Crazy.

Lago Atitlan

I got to Lago Atitlan on Saturday night and made my way to the shore-side village of San Pedro. On Sunday I traveled several hours by bus to Chichi, which on Sundays and Thursdays has the biggest market in Central America. I leave in two weeks, so I went prepared to do a little shopping. I figured it was the best time to stock up on some cool house warming presents for my future pad in SF. I also got really into taking pictures at the market.
After three nights in San Pedro, I crossed the lake to San Marcos, where I am currently staying.

Morning coffee in San Pedro

The market in Chichi:










Santiago:




Everything I own is in my friend Lauri´s basement in San Francisco. Lauri lived in Santiago for over ten years, and gave me a letter to deliver to Manuel Reanda, a very well known painter. This is Manuel.


Right now the shores of the lake are lined with an unattractive green algae. It is becoming a large problem and locals are worried it will detract from the tourism industry.


Hanging out at Zoola´s in San Pedro. Space Cakes!!

San Marcos:
Right now I am staying at the house of an older Mexican guy that I met in Flores. He is building, all by hand, what will soon be a hippy haven. You have to hike 40 minutes up the mountain side to get to the place, but it is well worth it. This was my view of the sunrise upon waking up this morning.

The view from Fernando´s

Semuc Champay

After a day of rest in Flores following El Mirador, I headed south to Lanquin and Semuc Champay. I spent my birthday doing the Semuc Champay tour, which was a blast. You start out by wading and swimming through a cave carved out by the river that runs through it. You climb up waterfalls and jump off ledges all inside the cave. Next you exit the cave and jump off a giant rope swing into a river. Then you walk upstream, climb a cliff next to a big waterfall and jump off. You get in an innertube and go down the river, then climb to a lookout out over the pools of Semuc Champay, before finally going down and basking in the beauty of the turquoise, crystaline pools. Just as we got to the pools the sun came out and it was absolutely beautiful. The view from the shower at my hostel in Lanquin

The pools of Semuc Champay

Swimming in the pools

The pools are tiered, and you lounge about on the edges of the mini falls, and swim from pool to pool.

Looking upstream from the pools

On November 5, I left Lanquin and went south to Antigua.

Guy on the side of the street in Antigua

Yesterday I climbed the Pacaya volcano. It was a boring climb, but the river at the top makes the climb well worth it

The river of lava. At the base of the volcano, little kids sell you marshmellows to roast over the lava at the top. I brought a chocolate bar and, with the marshmellows, had a nice treat at the top

Today I am heading to San Pedro at Lake Atitlan. I have been very anxious to get to Lake Atitlan, and will probably spend at least four nights there. Unfortunately, the last couple days have been grey and rainy, and it looks like rain for the next several days as well. Ah well, there is still a lot of things to do and beautiful sights to see. Also, it is kind of nice having cool weather and wearing pants and a fleece for a change. Hope all is well with everyone.

El Mirador

The trek to El Mirador was one of the best things I have ever done. It was an incredible experience in so many different respects - beautiful hiking through the jungle, the physical challenge of the distance, exploring ruins of cities that were, in their time, some of the most populated cities on earth, enjoying the breathtaking views from atop temples, enjoying all these experiences with a great, very positive group of people that were, just days prior, total strangers, and just being humbled by the opportunity to see this massive empire of ruins.

The trip was five days, 80 miles. Most of the hiking was done on the first, second, fourth, and fifth days. The third day was spent exploring El Mirador. El Mirador was the epicenter of Mayan civilization during the pre-classic periord, roughly 150 BCE - 150 CE. Maybe 5-10% of the ruins have been fully or partially excavated. The region is very flat. Most of the ruins you see are mounds of earth that shoot up unnaturally from the ground...and they are everywhere. We were all blown away by the enormity of this Empire. From the top of Templo Tigre, the largest temple ever built by Mayans, you see the other temples of Mirador shooting up from the canopy, and you also see the temples from other cities, roughly a days walk from Mirador, in every direction. You realize that this place was the urban center for Mayans over 2000 years ago, and are awed by the fact that what was once a greatly populated, cultural center is now in the middle of nowhere.

The gang upon departure. L-R: Leila, Kellen, me, Kyle, Stuart


The river near our campsite on the first night


There was A LOT of walking. I would want to slow down and really enjoy all the sights and sounds of the jungle, but when you have 20 miles to cover in a day, you have to keep moving at a pretty good pace.


Templo Leon. One of the few fully excavated sites.


On day four, we walked from El Mirador to the ruins of Tintal. The entire walk was on a Mayan causeway - a highway the Mayans had built between the two cities. It was incredible - roughly 40 meters wide and raised about 10 meters from the jungle floor. Now it is just a raised mound of earth in the jungle, and it was amazing to constantly remind myself that what I was walking on was man-made.


This is what a lot of the temples, unexcavated, looked like. You would reach the top and have incredible views of the region, jungle in every direction as far as the eye could see.


This is on top of Templo Danta, in El Mirador, day 3. Our guide, Alex, pointed in the direction that this photo faces, and showed us a small bump literally on the horizon. It was Templo Henequin of Tintal, and our destination for the next day. Impossible to think that we would walk that distance...but we did.
Lots and lots of jungle. In every direction.

Kyle and I slept on top of Templo Tigre the second and third night. Incredible. At night we emerged from the dark jungle to the top of the temple, where the moonlight was bright as day. The jungle sprawled out below in the moon´s silvery light. Not a lot of sleep that first night, which was great. As the moon dropped from the sky, the stars came out in full force. Shooting stars. It was great to wake up periodically and note the movement of the stars. At four, we woke up and sat in silence for two hours as the day broke over the jungle. This was something I will never forget.

This is from Tigre, looking out over Templo Danta on the other side of El Mirador. The sun rose, covered by clouds, directly above Templo Danta. Right above the temple, the clouds parted like an eye opening to reveal the sun.



The third evening of the trip. We paid a local archeologist 200 Quetzales to unlock a door underneath Templo Jaguar. Inside, we got to crawl through tunnels and explore a recent important discovery: a remarkably intact facade from the original temple. The portion above reveals the tongue and teeth of a giant serpent head. The black, white and red paint was still in good condition. Amazing to crawl around and explore an on-going excavation.

We did it!!
Right now I am in Lanquin, Guatemala. Yesterday was my original departure date to return home. Now I have a return ticket to LA on November 25. Yesterday, my birthday, I did the full day Semuc Champay tour. Wading and swimming through a cave formed by the river that flows through it, jumping off waterfalls and giant swings, tubing down a river, and swimming in the crystaline pools that make Semuc Champay famous. Pictures coming soon.