Chris Foote Travels

Tico Town

2007-10-23T14:25:00.000-06:00

I'm up in Costa Rica now. My friends have an apartment here in San Jose. One big bonus is that I don't spend much money here. One thing that I found refreshing was flying on an aircraft that didn't cross the post 911 freaked out paranoia zone. It was a lot easier getting on the plane than it was to go to a soccer game in Bogota. The police who searched me didn't have the long serious faces that you see in north america. They were enjoying their work, smiling, even dancing a bit when they had time.

I'm not really sure where I am going to go from here. There is a lot of serious flooding in Costa Rica and Nicaragua and it's hard to find out where I can go. I have also experienced 3 earthquakes in the 4 days I have been here. The first was as soon as I got of the plane.

Heading back north

2007-10-13T14:36:00.000-06:00

The bus ride from San Augistin to Popayan was slow and bumpy. It sure was beautiful though. It was total wildernes through the most diverse forest I have seen. There were many different odd looking trees in mountainous terrain. It was rebel territory. There were no houses driveways or even paths visible. The night before a bus was robbed on this route. The bandits were found dead in a nearby town square the next morning. I didn´t know any of this until I was on the bus.

Popayan is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited. There are many majestic buildings that are all white. The people dress well and there seems to be a lot of money here. Colombia by far has the most beautiful cities and towns of any country I have visited. Having beautiful cities seems far more important here than feeding the poor.

We only spent a couple of days in Cali, sugar city. Cali is a little dangerous I am told. It has a bit of a bad ass look. I wish I could have snapped a picture of a security guard siting on a chair in an empty street in the middle of the night with a shotgun on his lap. He was hunched like he was sleeping but it was hard to tell because he had sunglasses on.

Police, army, and security guards get a lot of respect in Colombia. I haven´t seen anything like it anywhere else. If I have to ask directions, I go to someone with a gun. One thing I like about them is that if they don´t know something, the will say that they don´t know. Most Colombians will give you an answer no matter if they know or not. I think the police get respect because they are so helpful. I´ve seen them help people with car trouble, clearing fallen trees from the road and just being good guys. They don´t carry the judge and jury attitude that I see from the police in Canada. Sometimes when I ask directions, they are happy to walk me a block or two in the right direction and talk a little. Even when I get searched for weapons (usually at check points on the highway) it is usually followed by a thank you and a common Colombian phrase,¨moi a marvle¨

Sugar is huge in Cali. The fields seem to go on for ever. I saw many semi trucks pulling four full sized trailers full of sugar cane. Quite the contrast to the horses used in San Augustin for the same purpose.

Now, we are in Medillin. Medillin looks more like a north american city with it´s modern tall builings, it´s metro that is 20m high in places and complex intersections and elevated roads. What makes it better than north american cities is the vast market area. There are lots of streets only open to pedestrians and they are full. It is absolutely mind boggling the number of stores. Most are in 3 or 4 story buildings and are very small you don´t actually go in the stores, you stand in the halls and tell them what you want. There is also a mall in the area that looks like a majestic church, probably 10 stories high.
The design of the upscale malls in Colombia is really something. Each one is unique. One I was in yesterday had a tree that was probably 30 meters high yet it was still under a roof. The tree had to be there before the mall because trees like that need hundreds of years to grow.

Next we are of to Cartagena. It is like a Spanish Quebec city only much older. From there I will fly to Panama.

Bingo Dancing Cockfights

2007-10-02T17:20:00.000-06:00

The part of Colombia I am in now has the most ancient history. There are tombs and stautues that date back 2000 years. The past few days have been spendt near San Andres. It´s a beautiful region in the mountains where the people are almost entirly indiginous. The most remarkable thing here is that there are no police or military. The only real economy is agriculture.

The first day we wandered aroundthe hills, going into tombs that are dated back to about 7AD. Some of them were in excellent shape. That night, we went to the cock fights. It was the place to be on a Saturday night, about 3km from town. It was really a family house that turned the living room into a dance hall and sold drinks from the bedroom. The backyard hd the cockfighting ring. In the rafters the roosters were pearched, one leg tied up. Sometimes the a rooster would slide the rope close to another and a fight would break out above. There were a lot of kids there, some taking bets. I bought a roster for $10 but it ended up in the kitchen. It really was some party. I met a lot of outgoing people.

The next night was the Indiginous festival. I´d guess there were about 1500 people there, most were treated to a free trip to San Andres via chivas. Chivas are kind of like school buses only they have huge tires and are a little wider. People They are usually colurful but still look mean - like monster buses. Often there are more people on the roof and hanging off the sides than inside. The most remarkable thing is that the drivers tend to be careful. On the way into town, we got the seat to the left of the driver (5 people to the right.)

I really liked the festival because there were about 20 different vendors of beef on a stick. The bingo was something. One of the prizes was 3 cows. 2 people won. I´d hate to be te cow in the middle. Indiginous people here are really short. I was the only gringo and towered over everyone.

Heading South

2007-09-27T18:40:00.000-06:00

Before heading south, we went to a small city called Zipaquira, just north of Bogota. We visited a church here that is in a salt mine. The church was huge and dim. It was unique in that the floors, roof and walls are all salt. It also had the largest cross in the world that is located within a church.

Now we are south of Bogota, in a town called Plata. Yesterday we went to a hot springs that was very remote and natural. Our cab driver had to take a few runs at some of the hills to climb the loose gravel. The drive and the walk were ideal. It reminded me of going to Lussier hot springs but much less people. It really felt special to be in a place so seldom visited. It´s possible that I was the first foreigner.

Next we will be going to San Augastin and Popayan.

Colombian Observations

2007-09-16T14:54:00.000-06:00

Bogota sure has been fun this time around. I went to a rock concert yesterday with about 6 different bands and maybe about 30000 people. We went with someone we met near Tyrona Park who lives here and Jenny´s Aunt who is just a year older than her. It´s a good thing I didn´t wear a belt because the police made people take them off and throw them in a pile. The bonus was when you leave, you can jump into a pile of people looking for a belt that fits. It looked like a big pack of wolves feasting on a carcas.

This country is a lot different than most people think. One thing that I have noticed is that there is a great deal of national pride. There are lots of flag waving citizens and a lot of shirts and hats with national colours. I´ve had a couple of Colombians tell me that Colombia is paradise.

The word Gringo is used more liberaly here. Not that peopel call me gringo, but in Nicaragua only Americans are called gringos. Jenny told me that to her mom, a gringo is someone who doesn´t speak spanish. To her, a gringo could come from China, Africa or Pakistan.

One thing that has surprised me as well is how often I see a Canadian movie or TV program here. "The Terry Fox Story" gets played over and over. There are also a lot of YTV programs and a couple of kids cartoons. There are way more programs for children here as there are a lot more children.

One cultural difference that one must be aware of here is that if you ask somene something, they will give you an answer even if they don´t know. This is true in central america too.

A lot of people from Canada would think that the service here is bad. I used to think that but now that I know how to use it I have found it to be better in some ways. If you want something, give the waiter a shout - he isn´t going to check on you. If you want somehting that isn´t in on the menu or a pack of smokes they will go to a store or other resturant and get it for you most of the time. If you want service out of the resturant such as on the beach, that can always be done.
The sevice in stores can be a little pushy. I went shoe shopping a couple of days ago. First, there were people on the street getting in my face, telling me which store to go in. One guy had a mic and amp and was right in my face, talking into the mic and his voice was coming form somewhere else. When I would pick out a show I like and tell them my size, most of the time they would come back with 3 pairs of shoes in my size but none were like the one I wanted. Some of them would almost cry when I left the store without buting anything.

Having made these generalizations, you must realise that this is a huge and diverse country. Because in the past, it was dangerous to travel, the diversity is greater than that of other countries. The diversity of Colombia is one key thing that makes it such a great country to travel. It´s not just the people - Colombia has more different kinds of plants and animals for it´s size than any other country in the world.

Villa de Leyva to Bogota

2007-09-14T19:35:00.000-06:00

After Villa de Leyva, we went to a hotel about 1 hour away recomended to us. It was in a really remote area. We took a collectivo for about 45 min and then had to walk a while. There weren´t even any cars on the roads to hitch a ride. It sure was a peacful place with lots of waterfalls and beautiful veiws of the valley.

After that, we went to Tunja. Tunja is a universtity town and they are usually pretty fun but we couldn´t think of a good reason to stay so we continued on to Bogota.

I needed to return to Bogota to get an extension on my visa. It was pretty easy to get an extra 60 days. I got fingerprinted by a computer that I had never seen before. You put your hands on glasss and it takes detailed pictures of your prints.

After taking care of the visa, we went to a soccer game between Colombia and Paraguay. The security was like nothing I had ever seen. There were two extra perimiter fences around the stadium. We had to show our tickets and get searched at both and a 3rd time to enter. Each time we got a lecture about how we aren´t to take pictures with my camera. There must have been more than 250 police in and out of the stadium. The international games are much safer than the league games because everybody favours the same team. I don´t know if they step up security for league games. In the news on TV, after showing the hightlights of a League game, they always say,"And it´s always the same stary after", and then show people thowing bottles at each other and fighting.

The fans were lounder an hour before the game started with the stadium about 1/5 full than Ihave heard at any sporting event in Canada. Colombia won with a little luck.

I´ve been enjoying Bogota. The first time I had some bad luck picking resturants and explored the same area. I´ve found some fantastic resturants and can get a stellar meal for under $10. One place that I like to go for lunch really has top notch food for $3.50 including salad, fruit, soup, drink, and 4-5 things for the main course. There is also a area in the north called Zona Rosa. It´s very much like Old Strathcona in Edmonton but it´s at least 20 times the size. It has endless trendy bars, nice resturants and a couple of malls that are more than a little too pricey for me.

Next we are headed south. I´m not sure where. No time to spell check!

Trouble with photos

2007-09-07T15:49:00.000-06:00

If anyone wants to see more photos, they are on facebook. I´m having trouble uploading photos on blogger. www.facebook.com

Search for me by name.

Towns North of Bogota

2007-09-07T15:25:00.000-06:00

The mountains north of Bogota couldn´t be much better for me. The bus rides can be a little scary but if you tune that out, the views are amazing. The mountains are all lush and green with vegetation, but they are much bigger than the rockies in Canada.

San Gill was a real highlight. Rafting was really fun for me although I lost my hat that I have had for over ten years. I was also deep in river water than I have ever been. Jeniffer had a wilder ride. I didn´t think much of it at first when she told me she was under for a while but then I remembered that she was about 150 feet up river when I finally surfaced. She made 3 or 4 revolutions in a hole that knocked everyone out of the raft. It was a really nice trip because the waves were huge but always were followed by calm water.

We also went rappelling. My guide was about 6 or 7 years old. The decent wasn´t as much of a highlight as the simple beauty of the area. After that, we went spelunking. Not far into the cave, we had to go under water for about 3 meters to get to the next chamber. It was really scary because the guide went first and there was no way to know if he was trapped or not. We also had to crawl on our bellies for about 10 meters which was difficult.

Once really cool thing about these day trips is that they all cost about $12. I can´t take my own canoe down a river for that in Canada.

The towns we have visited since San Gill have been really amazing. They haven´t changed much for hundreds of years. They remind me of the Sergio Leone westerns. There is no such thing as building here, only restoring.

I have about 10 days to get to Bogota to buy an extension on my visa. I should have asked for more time when I entered but after my ordeal returning to Canada last time, I just wanted to put my head down and get in the country. In reality entering Colombia is easier than getting into a bar in Canada.

I´m really surprised at how safe I feel here. This part of Colombia feels every bit as safe as Canada. In this town, Villa de Leyva many of the locals will will say,¨Good afternoon, welcome to Villa de Leyva¨ I would say that it is safer than Banff.

Infermo

2007-08-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

We spent a few days at a friend of Jenny´s in a town called La Paz near Santa Marta. The town was known for processing cocaine and apparently there was a gang hiding from the police somewhere in the area. Despite that, it has a very relaxed, peaceful feeling about it.

I had enough of the coastal heat, so we headed for Bucaramango, a city of about 500000. The plan was to check it out for a day and head to some smaller towns and parks. I got sick - really sick. ´Today, I can say that I am 90% better but it has been a hard week. I don´t know how I could have got through this without Jenny. I might have needed to stay in the hospital. Basically I had a fever and a lot of pain in my whole body.

Today, I´m so happy to be better and moving on. This city is ok, but does not have the magic I have come to expect from Colombian cities.

Tayrona

2007-08-17T17:37:00.000-06:00

Campground, Tayrona National Park

2007-08-17T17:27:00.000-06:00

Tayrona National Park

2007-08-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

One of the best things about America Latina - The Juice Stand

2007-08-17T17:14:00.000-06:00

YAAARRRR, coming into port at Taganga

2007-08-17T17:02:00.000-06:00

Me Relaxing with Taganga in the Background

2007-08-17T16:32:00.000-06:00

Jenny Hiking

2007-08-17T16:25:00.000-06:00

Bogota

2007-08-17T16:19:00.000-06:00

Santa Marta and More

2007-08-17T15:49:00.000-06:00

So now I´ve met 4 people who live in Banff. At the same time I have only met 3 Canadians including the Banffites. I met a few folks from town when in Tyrona National park. One of them just missed her boss as Josh had moved on two days earlier. Tyrona Park really is something special. It was a real slog to get into though. By law, everything must be brought in but foot, horse or donkey. It makes Banff National Park look like West Edmonton Mall.

You can rent a room in some places for $70-150 but most people go with a $5 Hammock. There isn´t a lot to do in the park other than hike and swim. Jenny spent most of her time cooking. She found a lot of food and a pot. Any other tools she needed were crafted out plastic water containers.

It´s amazing how much more busy it is in the park than when I was here two years ago. The tourist from Israel probably outnumber all the other international tourists put together.

I can´t remember the name of the beach we went to a couple of nights ago but it was a really nice spot. We didn´t arrive until about 10pm but it was a good time. The beach was quite large with small groups of 5 - 10 people, most with a band. Often there were more people in the band than were listening and dancing. It was a really cool scene. The music was usually fantastic. One of the more popular songs is about spending all of your money on hookers, drugs and rum and not having any money for food or God in the morning.

I went to see a couple of dentists for the first time in years. I was expecting to need $1000 in work at the most. I was quoted $2500 by one and $7500 by another. I guess I won´t have money for food or God either. I will probably get the work done in Medellin. We will just travel around until we find a nice place to hang for a month because the work has to be done in different stages. I know that it would be more like $15000 in Canada.

I´m not sure where we will go next. Jenny has some family business to take care of for a couple of days. We will probably head into the mountains as I have had enough of the heat.

Off to another beach

2007-07-31T18:13:00.000-06:00

Spinning action in the family house

2007-07-31T18:03:00.000-06:00

Taganga

2007-07-31T17:53:00.000-06:00

Back to Caribean Paridise

2007-07-31T17:41:00.000-06:00

Bogota was a little boring so I decided to see my frined, Jen after she emailed me that she was traveling to see her parents. I stayed with her perents and then her brother in a anther town on the beach. Now, we are near Santa Marta, a town that just celibreated it´s 400th birthday.

We´have been staying in a smaller town close to Santa Marta called Taganga. We found a really nice hotel. The plan was to stay there one night but it´s been 4 now. Taganga is the best beach town I have yet to find. It is very relaxed, dry and beautiful. It´s set in a deep bay and the waves are very small making it very safe. The people are so relaxed that the government doesn´t send any police. To not see police in a Colombian town is unheard of until now.

It´s really good trveling with jenny. She gets way better prices than I would alone and cooks a lot so I don´t end up paying more than I would if I was alone.

I knew that my firend Josh was somewhere in Latin America because he had to leave banff to renew his visa. What a surprise when I left the room of my hotel in Taganga to see him hanging out in the room next to me. It seems like an impossible coincidence.

I´m going to some beches without electricity now so you won´t hear from me in some time. This must be the safest most peaceful place in latin america. Don´t ever listen to the governments travel warnings they don´t know shit.

Free at last in Bogota

2007-07-21T18:23:00.000-06:00

So far things have been uneventful. All that I have done is a little shopping. One thing I found interesting was to see the news about RCMP pepper spraying and tasering Chilean soccer players. The Colombia news made it look quite similar to the conflicts in this country.

I was worried about the prices here in Bogota but my hotel is about $15 a night and it´s in a much safer part of town than what I am used to. In fact central Bogota seems to be one of the most peaceful places I have been so far.

I just ate at a fish restaurant and when the owner saw me picking bones out of my soup, he brought me two friend fish, vegetables, rice and friend banana. People here are so nice.

I don´t know what I will do next. The weather is so nice after that hot spell in Banff. I enjoy being chilly at night. The Caribbean coast is seing lows of no less than 25.

Me going surfing

2007-04-23T02:23:00.000-06:00

View from a swimming pool near Matagalpa

2007-04-23T02:22:00.000-06:00

Rena and Shaun by the pool

2007-04-23T02:21:00.000-06:00

El Skid

2007-04-23T02:20:00.000-06:00

Special Day

2007-04-23T02:19:00.000-06:00

Sandinista Flag

2007-04-23T02:18:00.000-06:00

Nice fish Nat ... Yummy too

2007-04-23T02:17:00.000-06:00

Nicaragua Pacific

2007-04-23T02:16:00.000-06:00

Nat exploring a mine

2007-04-23T02:15:00.000-06:00

Nat and Liz

2007-04-23T02:14:00.000-06:00

Me in the Nicaraguan Jungle

2007-04-23T02:13:00.000-06:00

Me and Shaun hitchhiking in a truck

2007-04-23T02:11:00.000-06:00

Loriana Partying

2007-04-23T02:09:00.000-06:00

Hiking Nicaragua

2007-04-23T02:08:00.000-06:00

Fishing near San Juan Del Sur

2007-04-23T02:07:00.002-06:00

Domingo, Shaun, Nat

2007-04-23T02:07:00.001-06:00

Chad and me waiting for fried fish

2007-04-23T02:04:00.000-06:00

153 Kilo Cocaine Bust in Nicaragua

2007-04-23T01:59:00.000-06:00

A banana truck got in an accident, spilling bananas and 153 kilos of cocaine that was hidden under the bananas.

Your never too young to shake you booty in Colombia

2006-12-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Kids Swimming, Cartagena

2006-12-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Fresh Fish, Cartagena

2006-12-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

This city is actually quite safe - Matagapla, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Sandinista Campaign in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T15:07:00.000-07:00

Shaun and Lauriana on their land near Montezuma

2006-12-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Panama city from my hotel

2006-12-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

Small town, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

Rockstar - note the cops in the background, Colombia

2006-12-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Rivas, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Cowboy, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

Paul clearing a path, Costa Rica

2006-12-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

Paul's new friend

2006-12-21T14:56:00.002-07:00

Panama City Bus

2006-12-21T14:56:00.001-07:00

2006-12-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Panama Canal

2006-12-21T14:54:00.001-07:00

Panama Canal

2006-12-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Kids near Cartagena

2006-12-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Panama City street

2006-12-21T14:49:00.000-07:00

Old Cartagena

2006-12-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Nat in the Jungle, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Exploring a mine nera Matagalpa

2006-12-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Me on a ferry near Cartagena

2006-12-21T14:41:00.000-07:00

Nat at a bus station in Matagalpa, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Christmas party in Panama City with Marlyn

2006-12-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

Liz and Nat rocking the Nicaraguan countryside

2006-12-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Katrina and Liz - breaking the law

2006-12-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Lauriana, Shaun and Chad in Montezuma, Costa Rica

2006-12-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

Kids near Cartagena

2006-12-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Kid with chicken - some little island, Columbia

2006-12-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

Special earthquake resistant mud construction

2006-12-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Mud house near Matagalpa, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

Islands near Punteranas, Costa Rica

2006-12-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Me in a tree, Playa Blanca, Colombia

2006-12-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Countryside near Matagalpa, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

Curch near San Jose, Costa Rica

2006-12-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Cartagena City Bus

2006-12-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Panama City Bus

2006-12-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Boy Chasing Girls near Cartagena, Colombia

2006-12-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

Colombia Beach Goddess, Playa Blanca

2006-12-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Baseball game near Matagalpa, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

More chickens than people in this country cantina, Nicaragua

2006-12-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Cartagena

2006-12-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

The flight from Panama City to Cartagena was much different than I´m used to. The people who checked me in when I arrived at the airport were also out directing the plane as it taxied. It was a 2 prop plane that carried about 35 people.

Now Columbia has by far more problems with terrorism than any other country in the Americas. You would think that the door to to the cockpit would be locked as we are used to. It actually remained open and people were invited up for a look. Security is in perspective in Columbia. Everyone went through security - no guns or knives. If someone wanted to take the cockpit or even a few people, the would have about 30 more to deal with.

A really cute girl, Jenny sat beside me and we talked. The conversation lead to the fact that I only had $50 for 2 days until the banks open and she offered to let me stay in her house. I took that offer.

The first night I was really tired but she wasn´t. She went out partying, leaving me alone which I felt pretty strange about. There was music blasting from next door and a couple of other houses all night. I didn´t know if she was going to come back with some friends to rob me or what was going on. At 7am, she came home drunk and asked me to come out and meet her neighbours. I don´t know how many shots of rum I did that morning, but Jenny passed out and I stayed and talked with her friends until about noon.

It was pretty strange to be in a middle class neighbourhood and loud music being blasted until noon. We weren´t the only party either. As it turned out, there was always music being blasted and always at least 2 parties per block, no matter what time of day. It was a really safe neighbourhood too. I didn´t see one person to worry about the whole time I was there.

Jenny woke me up with some fantastic food. She is such an amazing cook. Every morning started with a large fruit salad of a quality impossible to find in Canada. The money I saved on hotels and food went to us going to a different beach every day. There is an archipelago just offshore of Cartagena and it has lots of beaches - some larger than others.

Playa Blanca was one of the nicest beaches I have seen. It had Caribbean white sand and lots of little restaurants and the odd tent for rent. There was no electricity there which was fine as it was a full moon. The restaurants all used wood to cook which gave the fish and rice a really nice flavour.

All of the beaches had a unique character. The last one we went to was really small and nice. It had one restaurant and we were the only tourists there. Everyone else was there for substance farming or fishing. Some guys were fishing with dynamite. The water was super clean.

I got to love Columbia even more this time. The best thing about Columbia is the service. Sometimes it is a little pushy but if you want something, you can always get it fast and it will come to you. Even in the residential areas, there are constantly people walking around, selling fruit, coffee, smokes, beer, CDs, you name it. This is true in other Latin countries too, but in Columbia, there is way more of it.

The people in Columbia are fantastic. There are so many friendly people it is hard to believe. It´s amazing how good looking they all are too. From young to old, they all look good. Sometimes I would look around, trying to find someone who didn´t look good. Women never go out in public without having spent a lot of time on themselves. When I had to go but a bus ticket to Caracas, Jenny spent about an hour, maybe more trying on different clothes and putting on makeup just to go to the bus station.

One other thing that was great about Columbia this time was that I didn´t spend much time in the tourist area. The entire time I was there, I only spoke English for about 5 minutes. My Spanish has improved, but it still has a long ways to go. Colombians are usually eager to meet a foreigner as there are so few, so they would often take the time to try to talk to me.

The buses are really cool. In Panama, they decorated the exterior of the buses, in Columbia it was the interior. Lots of curtains with lace. Often there would be kids toys hanging from the roof and pictures of a sports hero and usually a picture of Jesus. There would always be a driver and two helpers. The helpers would help with luggage, take money and hold ladies hands as the exit. Don´t worry about missing a bus here. If you are walking down the street, it will slow down and someone will yell the route out the window. The only drawback is that they are slow in the chaotic traffic. If you want to get there fast, you can weave in and out of the traffic on one of the many motorbike taxis.

Traffic in Cartagena is chaotic. There aren´t many rules and very few traffic lights. If you want to make a left turn in traffic, you inch out one car at a time. Don´t go too far at a time or you will get hit. Eventually you will make it far enough to block the left lane and then you can start looking the other way. People drive extremely aggressive yet they don´t go too fast and are always ready to slam on the breaks. Nasty words are often exchanged. It is about as masculine as driving can get. The only courtesy I really say was to the horses and donkeys with carts. I think that it is out of sympathy for the animal as everyone know that if it has to stop, it is hard for it to start again.

I had such a good time in Cartagena, I really didn´t want to leave. I ended up taking a 24 hour bus ride to Caracas at the last possible minute to catch my plane. If there was a way, I would have stayed longer but I am in debt and need to work. I should use that ski pass that I forked out over a grand for as well.

Panama City

2006-12-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Panama City is an exciting mix of old and new. I'm staying in the Hotel Montreal which is a few blocks from the waterfront right in between the old part of town and the new banking district which is the second largest banking district in the world.

The people here in Panama have found a racial harmony which I haven't seen anywhere else. This is most evident in the large numbers of mixxed couples. An American immigrant who manages the bar at my hotel told me this too. He said that he is getting back at his ex wife by enjoying life way more than her.

Yesterday, I went to the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. A couple of things that I found remarkable were that there are no water pumps - all of the work is done by gravity. The other is that the doors used to let the ships through and hold the water are the original ones built about 100 years ago. Traffic moved through faster than I would have expected and they charge ships more than I would have though around $120000. A guy swam the canal and was charged 36 cents for his water displacement.

Today I met a girl Marlyn. She showed me some nice air conditioned malls and told me about the city. Later, we went with her sister and cousin to a Christmas festival which featured half a dozen santas, some beautiful Christmas trees and what would Christmas be without reagaton stars rapping and contests where little kids dance as sexy as they can. If I video taped some of those kids on stage and took it back to Canada, I could be arrested. It was a nice family time here though. I had a nice time with Marlyn. I wish I had more time to spend with her.

Tomorrow, I fly to Cartagena. It really is one of the most beautiful cities on could imagine. As much as I like exploring, it will be nice to go to a place I have been and already know. Colombian people really are the most friendly I have met and the rich history and culture in Cartagena is magical. The thing I am looking most forward to is going back to Tyrona National Park. There is still much of the park that I have yet to explore and I like to call it my other paradise. The first is home which I am also looking forward to. I hear that there is going to be a lot of snow there to greet me.

Panama

2006-11-28T20:23:00.000-07:00

It was hard to leave Shaun and Lariana but I headed south to Panama. I took a bus to a Manzillo from San Jose. It was the furthest south a bus went at the time I was leaving. It turned out to be a very small town. The grocery store was about the size of my hotel room. Fortunately I arrived at the right time. There was a stage set up on the beach and a band playing. It was a good small town time.

The next day, I felt a little sick but headed for the boarder. I must have just missed Chad, Paul, Liz and Katrina in the town I switched buses in. It would have been nice see them again and say goodbye. I was planning on hanging out with them for a couple of days but I have to move towards Caracas as I have little more than two weeks left.

The boarder crossing was a little strange. There was no security to mention and I could have easily smuggled a nuclear bomb. You have to watch these types of boarders because it's easy to miss getting the passport stamped. In this case the entry to Panama was one of the smallest buildings around. I had to ask the police where to go because they sure weren't going to tell me otherwise. They had flies to swat.

I was still feeling ill so I got a hotel and decided to go to Panama City the next morning. I knew that I would be back to Costa Rica so I can see the rest of Panama some other time. I bought a ticket for $22 on a first class buss and missed it the next morning. I don't know if you've ever looked at Central America on a map but one wouldn't think that there is more than one time zone. Panama is an hour ahead.

Anyway, I chicken bussed it for about 5 hours then took a nice bus for another 7. I checked into the hotel Shaun told me. It's expensive at $25 a nigh, far more than I have paid before, but Panama City would seem to be the place to live a little. There is a swimming pool on the roof with a fantastic view of the city. Tomorrow, I will look into how to get to Columbia - either boat or air. I have to see the canal too.

Back to San Jose

2006-11-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

After a couple of weeks in San Juan del Sur, it was time to go back to Costa Rica. My last day of surfing went really well. After changing my stance from regular to goofy, I really progressed. I was regularly catching waves and standing up on the board. I realize that if I put my mind to it, I could be a good surfer. I'm still a long way from doing anything impressive though.

We left paradise to pick up another Banff character, Paul Snow in Liberia and headed down to San Jose. Man does Paul stand out down here. He's taller than me and has shaggy blond hair. If he doesn't get it cut soon, he will look like cousin It. He managed to break a stage that was set up in a parking lot by jumping on it his first night.

We went down to San Jose to see Shaun and Lauriana. It was a nice surprise that Warren was there as well making it a total of 6 cab drivers from Banff. We sure have a good time together. There are a lot of sharp tongues slinging insults and counter insults. Two of the guys are taller than me so we really stand out despite all the cracked out freaks in this town. The only other white people here are rich old Americans shopping for love. There are many beautiful prostitutes here and some pretty classy joints for them to hang out in. I bet a lot of them have the same story. They went for the guy with the gold chains and slick attitude, got treated like shit and just gave up. It's not like other countries around here where there is more desperation. Costa Rica is the land of opportunity and these girls could use their looks to get a decent job. I only sound like I know what I'm talking about but we did spend some time watching a bizarre scene rich old men and hot young women. It is one of those things that is so different from home.

Paridisio

2006-11-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

San Juan Del Sur really is el gusto. It is beautiful, safe, peaceful and the people are really nice. I love every day here. It was nice to get out on a boat to fish and see the coastline. We went in a simple fishing boat for $30 an hour split 6 ways. We caught a couple of fish and saw a gigantic turtle. Katrina cooked the fish and it was the best damn meal I´ve had down here. After that, we swam in the full moon and I learned to body surf. One time I rode the wave right up onto the beach and it hurt but it was a great ride.

Yesterday we went surfing again. It sure is hard especially when you try to learn in the biggest waves. I think that things will go pretty easy when we try a beach that is a little more mellow. Just getting out in the huge rolling waves is a real challenge. I´m note in very good shape from all the hours of cab driving this summer but each day I feel myself get stronger. It really is inspiring to see the local Nicos rip up the waves. I´ve seen some real talent.

Leon to San Juan Del Sur

2006-11-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

I did find that $100 that I thought I had lost. The bad news is that I was pickpocket in an ALN campaign rally. Nat and I were on our way to a bar and rather than go an extra block, we decided to walk through a campaign rally. It was a surreal scene. The street was so smokey that you couldn´t see all the way aacrossit. There was a guy dancing with a box on his head that was all wired up with fireworks. They would shoot off in random directions right into the crowd. I was doing my best to avoid being hit and not ffocusingenough on my pockets. I´m out $250 and a bank card.

The depresion wore off the next day and we headed for San Juan Del Sur. We had to pass through Managua which really is hell. Our bus driver dropped us off and followed us out to a taxi to make sure we didn´t get robbed. When we got out of the taxi at the terminal, three guys hurried us along to our bus telling us it was dangerous along the way.

Shortly after leaving town, the traffic slowed down for an accident with scores of police. We later found out that a truck had crashed launching bananas all over the hiwhighwayd revealing the 135kg of cocaine that was hidden uder them.

San Juan Del Sur is a tranquil beach town. Things are more expensive here and I´m not racist, but there are maybe too many white people. Fortunately ran into Katrina and Liz and Chad will meet us here in a few days.

Yesterday was my first day of surfing and I did better than I would have expected. I caught a few waves but I am in terrible shape and tired quickly. The beach we surfed really was a sight. There was a area to catch small waves and there were some that were at least 25 ft high where the pros really ripped it up. A couple of day´s rest and I will be back at it.

Tomorrow, we will go fishing. I´m pretty excited about that. Things are easy going here. I haven´t ran into one scetchy person and even if there was someone bad here, there is a lot of security with shotguns around. The nicest thing about this town is that only two guys have male touched me to death. Ever since Shaun told me about being triple male touched, I´m a little touchey about being touched.

Matagalpa to Leon

2006-11-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Nat and I inadvertantly joined the Sandinista campaign during our last night in Mataglpa. We were playing pool with some guys who offered us a ride back to our hotel. It turns out it was a truck with the black and red Sandinista flag all over it and we were the only ones in the back.

I awoke early the next mornig to the sounds of speaches being blasted from trucks, the Sadinista campaing song, "Give Peace a chance" and people yelling from the back of pickup trucks parading downtown. As we left Matagalpathe next mornig, the bus inched slowely through a large crowd of Sandinistas who were gathered to great their leader, Daniel Ortega who is likely to be the next president. He must be ok because CNN doesn't like him and already called him a dictator, not even waiting for the election to be over. Although campaigners are of all ages, the vast majoritty seem to be in their late teens or early 20's.

After we got through the crowd, we started to pass about 100 trucks full of campaigners on their way to the rally. I'd guess about 2000 people were travelling to the rally, but there were so many trucks that it was hard to guess. Many of the trucks were simalar to old grain trucks you see in Alberta at harvest time. Each was completely full of people with more hanging off the sides. It seemed pretty dangerous. The hiway was lined with supporters who came from their mud huts to show support. There was one brave soul who was on the side of the road with a Liberal flag holdiong up his index finger. We saw a truck slow down for him and there was yelling both ways. There did seem to be a little respect for the brave soul though.

Leon is a city of about 1 million and a university town. It is very hot here, and I do see the odd whitey. We saw the first airplane in the sky that we have seen in Nicaragua. It was a crop duster flying low towards us while we were at a swimming pool. Nat said,"It looks like it's going to bomb us."
Right after that, it did. It was dropping political leaflets about every 30 seconds over the city. This morning I heard it make about 5 passes overhead. Just when I think the campaigns are by far the biggest I have witnessed, they get crazier. I don't feel that there will be any violence though. The pols definately show the Sandinistas in the lead by enough to rule by law. If for some reason they don't then there could be a cival war.

Tomorrow, we are going to San Juan Del Sur. We have been told that it is a good place to learn how to surf.

The Campaign

2006-10-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

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.

To Nicarugaua

2006-10-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

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.....

Montezuema

2006-10-24T21:39:00.000-06:00

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.

Meeting my buddy, Shawn and his girlfriend

2006-10-20T12:18:00.000-06:00

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.

Finnally on Vacation

2006-10-16T11:00:00.000-06:00

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.....

Canoeing the Milk River

2006-06-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

My cousin Kevin, his girlfriend Astrid and my buddy Eric did a two day canoe trip down the Milk River. The section we did is just on the Alberta side of the Alberta - Montana border. We started in the town of Milk River which is the warmest, driest place in Alberta and went to Writing on Stone Provincial Park – the nicest provincial park I have visited in Alberta. You wouldn’t know that it was the warmest and driest when we were there though. I was very green from the unusual amounts of spring rain this year.

The first day was a little bit technical. There were a lot of rocks to avoid and due to the murky colour of the water it was hard to tell where it was shallow. We were expecting more action though as our map pointed out a couple of class 3 rapids. There was nothing close to a class 3. We paddled through 50 km of prairie and the river banks got bigger and we started to see more hoodoos as we got closer to our camp site.

The Camp site (Poverty Rock) was really nice. It had a cook shack that seemed to be more for drying wet gear for people who go in the drink. It had a really nice fire pit and beautiful views. We were tired and expected to sleep well. I fell right asleep but was soon woken by the wind. The wind was hitting the side of the tent which compromises it’s ability to stay up. We got out and rotated the tent into the wind, but it was still noisy. Then the storm came. I’m sure that there were several lighting strikes within 500 meters from our tents. The rain was definitely heavy enough to be in the “cats and dogs” category. After the rain, the wind came back and had shifted again, blowing at the side of the tent. We decided to take it down and sleep in the cook shack with the mice but when we took the fly off, the wind let up a little and passed through the tent easier. We slept until the daytime heat was no longer bearable.

The second day was much less technical but more scenic. We saw Owls, falcons, hawks, more swallows, and many birds I had never seen before. We were in awe the whole day. The scenery just got more spectacular as the trip went on. We only covered 20km the second day, but we could have spent several days exploring the hoodoos and coulees.

2006-06-16T13:11:00.001-06:00

2006-06-16T13:11:00.000-06:00

The Landscape was beautiful.

2006-06-16T13:09:00.000-06:00

This is only part of a large battle scene. One of 250 sites where natives have writen in the rock.