Es muy caliente aqui!

No lie, its 42 degrees with humidty - I am sweating in places I didn´t know that people could sweat from. LoL! Today was adventurous to say the least - almost died, lol. No lie - was snorkeling at Playa Uva today and the water was very choppy and the reefs are right at a break, so killer waves. It kept pushing me into the coral, where I found three stonefish within a 5 minute period. One stab from their quills, and it would´ve been nuclear pain and likely death. Fucking idiot that I am, I stuck there trying to take pictures of them while fighting the waves and current. Little did I know that my batteries were dead and I was taking nothing! Idiot, indeed!

So yeah, I did all of this while either really hungover or still drunk - cant decide which it will be.Met a bunchy of locals yesterday who work at - own a great bar on the outskirts of town, called The Point. Promised the owner I´d throw some photos online, so that is coming below - and trust me, if you want great ambiance and amazing food, this is where you want to go. This is an ex-pat bar (expats are people who live abroad while keeping their citizenship in their native country). I actually met a guy from Montreal there today, lol. So yeah, was there last night and mixed way too many substances to be healthy, barfed it all out behind a tree and then went back for more! LoL! The local swill, guaro, is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you...

So yeah, went back today to have ceviche de la casa (made with marlin today!) and man was it great! Also chomped down a plate of chicharones and pattacones, with pico de gallo and refried beans. With a pint of beer from a local micro-brewery. Wasnt even embarrased about my barf fest last night when I sat with the same crew today. LoL!

Tomorrow I will be going trekkiung in Manzanillo National Park - hoping to see some more animals and birds, as there havent been enough of them yet. Thursday I will head to the jaguar center, where yes, there are sloths and no sadly, they cannot be handled...

Photos_ You know it! :)

Playa Uva

The break point at Uva - aka where I almost died!

Artistic shot of driftwood at Uva

Went hiking up into the jungly cliff at Uva - gnarly!

While trekking, came across this river - lagoon

Playa Chiquita - better snorkeling here for sure

Fire ants that I almost stepped on - lol, another near miss!

Rather cool jungly trees - reminded me of Tarzan...

The rad pool room at The Point, Puerto Viejo

Ceviche and damned good at that! With a nice Segua.

Chicharones :) Not just in Mexico!

Some cool bird that kept following down the road...

A flock of pelicans

What a backpacker hostel looks like - Jealous?

Well, thats it for today´s update super friends... gotta go load up on water for my day long trek into Manzanillo tomorrow... come on sloths and toucans! Oh and monkey´s too... hey! Speaking of animals, I did see a jesus lizard today (basilisk) but did not have my camera and likely would not have been fast enough to shoot a picture anyways - it was running and VERY fucking fast, and yes on its back legs...

Adios!

Bienvenido a Puerto Viejo! FML

Sorry for the lack of updates guys and gals - the bank machines here in town have not been accepting my card for the last two days, which forced me to go to the local money changer and pull money from my mastercard - not bad in the end, as it only cost me 9000 colones to do it for 200 US dollars (which is like, 18 dollars in charges, bg deal). It was either that or not have any money at all... now I am good and can give you all some updates, lol!

The ride from San Jose on Saturday was pretty cool, going through mountain country and actually under a mountain in the process. I took lots of pics of this, as I had a window seat for the whole leg of the ride, through Limon and down into Cahuita and Puerto Viejo.

Checked in fine and the room is nice! The whole hostel is nice - very eco-lodge style and access to the beach is excellent! Gone on many early morning walks and had breakfast right on the beach - with fruit I have picked myself :) Last night, due to the money issues, I had a campfire on the beach (that is SOOO legal here) and cooked some hotdogs for dinner. That was awesome!

I´ve done some minor trekking and snorkeling since I´ve been here and seen quite a few cool critters - still no sign of a sloth, but I did see a howler monkey up in the trees. Couldnt get a photo though, as the only camera I had at the time does not have a zoom worth calling a zoom. Still, now with cash in hand, I can go to the Santuary and have baby monkeys crawling all over me.

Its fucking hot - averaging 38 every day, full sun - I havent sweat this much, sunup to sundown, since I dont know when .... thank god I have a cold water shower :)

So, all is well now, my welcome to the village is now solved and money is not the issue today it was yesterday. How about some photos???

Driving in the mountains around San Jose

River running through the moutain valleys

Beach side breakfast - hand picked!!!

Like this needs a caption!

Crane

Beach vulture

Its a jungle out there!

Skink on a log

Isla Cocles - gonna swin over later this week!

Gold Silk Orb Weaver - Creepy as fuck and EVERYWHERE!

I couldnt wait for Pixar to do it, so I found Dory!

Getting deeper, and no sharks!

Very deep trench, and still no sharks :(

Well, thats it kids - of to buy some rum at 10$ for a bottle :) Adios and until next time!

All is well in San Jose

Arrived safe and sound - the flights were really good although stressful, as I only got the first 2 portions of my tickets when I checked in online - I had to wait until board for El Salvador to get the third portion of the ticket, which was slightly stressful when have way there and the plane was about to board! Ah well, in the end got here fine, but the Govt had decided to close the major highway connecting the airport to the city, so my ride was cancelled and I ended up having to take a local cab with two other people that were in a similar situation and coming to the same hostel... it took 2 hours to get here in the cab! Good thing we had a set price (10$) each, so not bad at all... aside from the diesel fumes we were forced to breathe the whole way here. Once settled in, I cam up top and ordered some food, and you know I am totally going to rub your faces in it! LoL

Rain coming in - finally in San Jose!

My first meal in two deal! Beef Casaso! 2 dollars!

Anyways, don´t have a whole lot of time this morning - need some huevos y cafe con leche before heading to the bus terminal to catch my next ride to Puerto Viejo! More later peeps!

EDIT : Here are some from my other camera of the hostel, Pangea, in San Jose.

Okay, for real now - gotta go eat! Stay warm friends! A+

And So It Begins...

All the pieces are assembled and nothing more is to be done now, except to get going, out on that long and lonely road. I've got a long night and day ahead of me - the next 24 hours are going to be a whirlwind of jet setting here and there. But there's a rush in that - the adrenaline, the worry of missing a connection, of a bag not showing up at the destination. To most, stressful to say the least... to me, cause for concern to be sure, but I thrive on this shit. Put a loaded gun to my head and watch me own these pressures like it's no-one's business.

Expect the first batch of updates tomorrow night sometime once I am settled into the hostel in San Jose and orient myself to the area; likely around 11pm EST or thereabouts. See you all in 10 days!

Santa came, Santa came!

Well, the insomnia stuck again. Tried melatonin to hit the hay at around 10:30, but nope, didn't work it's usual magic. Woke up at 3:30am and tossed and turned in and out of sleep until 5:30am, when I finally decided to get the hell up and just get a start on the day with a nice coffee and breakfast. I've got time tonight for a little sleep before leaving anyways, so no biggie if I am dragging my ass through the day. Couple that with a three hour crash on the bus to Montreal tonight and I should be alright to get me through until take off in Toronto at 11:30am. Granted, I can also have an hour power nap on the flight to Toronto, so, all should be well. Worst comes to worse, starbucks is readily available in the airport in TO, and the flight to El Salvador is long enough to get all the sleep I want - just have to get through the night and morning, which I am sure to do with the little naps here and there.

Lack of sleep definitely sucks hairy ass though. But, on the upside, payday coming on departure day is a very nice thing and you know, I have a feeling I will need it. I got hammocks to buy! Yes, more hammocks. Some people collect postcards (I do that too) and others collect many other things - I collect hammocks from all the place I've been that sell them. Why? Dunno... I think it started because I got too lazy just to bring one from home and then wanted one while away. And also, I didn't want to bring say a hammock from central america to India, nor an Indian hammock to Mexico, nor a Mexican hammock to Costa Rica... and so my cycle continues. And anyways, I don't have nearly enough room in my pack for one, not with the mozzy net, trekking and diving gear and all of my clothing. Nope - the old Black Diamond (otherwise referred to as the 50 mission sack) is completely full - no room for anything (or anyone) else. :)

Here's to hoping the day goes quickly and easily. And also that my hopes of catching some sleep are actually realized and that I am able to get through, until at least the first leg of the international flight, without killing anyone. LoL!

So, it goes without saying...

So look, some people have expressed concerns for my safety while away next week. I've really got nothing to say to that other than that I am not unprepared, inexperienced nor actively seeking threatening situations. Yes, some of my choices will be a little more than perhaps you yourself would be willing to risk, I totally get that. But, I am not you guys and gals; I will be fine. And you know what, it kind of does need to be said, so fuck, heaven forbid something does go wrong, just know I had an amazing time on this blue marble - and whatever it may be, I got there doing something I love more than anything else in life. There is no fault, there is no blame, there is no need for anything. You know why? Because I will be alright. :) Some of you know where I've been and what I've experienced out there in the world - most of you don't and that's okay - it's unimportant. Really, I didn't want to even have to say any of this shit, but some of you seem to really think me incapable of playing safe and coming back in one piece.

Relax and enjoy the photos. Indiana Joe is all good - always has been, always will be.

OST - Costa Rica 2013

Finalized the track list this evening - pure trance, pure bliss! Bring on the sun bitches! :)

Armin van Buuren featuring Miri Ben-Ari - Intense (Original Mix)
Armin van Buuren featuring Cindy Alma - Beautiful Life (Protoculture Mix)
Dash Berlin featuring Emma Hewitt - Waiting (Vocal Mix)
John O'Callaghan featuring Sarah Howells - Find Yourself (Cosmic Gate Remix)
Arnej - We Need Them (Original Mix)
Cosmic Gate - Back to Earth (Arti Remix)
Armin van Buuren featuring Jennifer Rene - Fine Without You
Fragma - Toca Me (Impetto Remix)
Pendulum - The Island Part I (Dawn)
Ratty - Sunruse (Here I Am)
Armin van Buuren featuring Laura V - Turn This Love Around (Full Version)
Dan Stone - Harvest Moon (7 Skies Remix)
Arnej - They Need Us (Original Mix)
Tenth Planet - Ghosts (Vincent De Moor Remix)

Now you can listen along too! :)