Hey -

I have spent the past few days doing nothing much except sit at the beach and play in the water. The first town I went to here, called Puerto Viejo, was a very touristy place. Their niche evidently was marijuana tourism, since I couldn't go more than a few blocks without hearing a song about pot or having someone offer to sell it to me. The Carribean coast has a very Carribean - and not very Costa Rican - feel to it. Most people speak English with Jamaican accents, and few people speak Spanish. The beach, though, is really pretty, and right outside my hostel was a reef with a few inlets that I sat in for a few hours.

Today I went to another town a few miles up the road, which my book said was much more laid back. This is true, but it's too boring for me. I went biking in the national park next door and saw lots of jungle wildlife (crabs and lizards galore) and did some more swimming. I had some pretty tasty Carribean food tonight.

Over the past few days I have sweat off about half of my body weight, so I changed my plans a bit and am heading to the mountain highlands a day earlier than expected. Tomorrow I'm going to a suburb of San José called Heredia, which is the tech capital of Central America and also Costa Rica's university hub. On Thursday I go a few towns over and am going to meet up with someone who's going to business school with me in the fall. She's down here doing a month-long Spanish program. Marc arrives midday on Friday.

That's it for now. Hope you guys are doing well and that your husbands each had happy Fathers' Days.

Matt

Hey -

My homestay is actually pretty comfortable. It is about a five minute walk from downtown, which isn't so bad, and the room is much, much better than the hovel I was staying in with Luke down the street. I get three homecooked meals a day and the room is my own with its own toilet and shower - though still no hot water; that's an extreme rarity in Central America and I haven't had it other than my stay at the resort a few days ago. Fortunately it's so hot here that the lukewarm water feels pretty good.

My classes have been going well. I told my teacher that I don't need to learn anything from a book anymore, but I just need practice speaking, especially about topics that require critical thinking (what do you think of our efforts to protect the environment? what would you do if you had lots of money to fix this place up? etc.). That's been a challenge in other Spanish lessons, since I'd need to feel comfortable with someone to be willing to tell them my thoughts on all that stuff.

Last night we took salsa and merengue dance lessons, and today in a few minutes we have cooking lessons. I hope the cooking goes better than the dancing, but we'll see. Apparently Matthew McConaughey is in town (and was robbed, perhaps not surprisingly, since I hear he was really drunk), so perhaps I'll see him if I go out tonight.

I've got another few days of classes and then head to Costa Rica on Saturday. I'll let you know how the rest of my days here go.

Matt

To my family:

Hi -

Luke left about an hour ago for what promises to be a less-than-relaxing ride to Managua to catch his flight this afternoon. I find the buses here to be fascinating - they're very chaotic, but you always end up getting what you want - but they can be intimidating, too.

I haven't written much the past few days, so I'll do a brief recap. Last Thursday, we headed to León, which is a colonial city and is Nicaragua's strongest Sandanista stronghold. I have to admit the city was pretty much a bust. There was some interesting colonial architecture and you could tell that the city was vibrant, but there was practically no tourist infrastructure and, other than walking through a few museums, not much else to do. Fortunately they were having a national conference in the central square, which had some entertaining music and dance.

We stayed in León until Saturday, when we embarked on an epic 4-bus journey from León to Managua, then back to Granada, then a transfer in Rivas, to the beach here in San Juan del Sur. I don't think neither Luke nor I expected the ride to last 6 hours, and we were pretty exhausted when we got there. Fortunately, though, we were staying a night in what my guidebook dubs "the nicest resort in Central America". (This is its website.) It is built into a mountainside right outside of town and has three infinity pools, all overlooking the ocean. We got a cabana for only $140 a night.

On Sunday we went to a beach outside of town, which was very pretty but otherwise unremarkable. We got our share of surfers, though, since this town has emerged as a real surfer's haven. They can be pretty annoying at times, too. Our hostel in town was a huge step down from the resort. It wasn't gross but the wood box we had would have been pretty uncomfortable even if we hadn't spent the night before in air conditioning on firm mattresses.

We came back to the resort yesterday to hang out at the pool all day - the non-guest charge for that is only $10! We stayed for the sunset (spectacular!) and dinner, though all the creamy American-style food hasn't been sitting well in my stomach.

I start my Spanish school in a few hours, and that will last until Friday. I am doing a homestay, too. I doubt any room I get could be as bad as some of the crappy hostels I've stayed in so far, but it's a little strange not having a guide book to lean on for cleanliness, comfort, etc.

On Saturday (or Sunday, depending on whether I take surfing lessons [!] here), I'll bring the Nicaragua part of my trip to a close and cross the border into Costa Rica. My plan is to spend a night in San José and then transfer to a bus heading to the Carribean Coast. Costa Rica's Carribean is much more accessible and safe than Nicaragua's, and I'm heading to a pretty touristy town, so I think things'll be fine, if a little rainy. There I'll burn off a few days before Marc arrives next Friday.

It's hard to believe I've reached the halfway point on my trip already! Hope you guys are enduring the heat up there. I'm surprised New York hasn't had a blackout yet!

Matt

I schlepped to Playa Santo Domingo on Wednesday (map) to check out the beach there. I had originally intended to go to Mérida, a few miles down the road, but there were bus issues and I didn't make it. Playa Santo Domingo was fabulous, with a very end-of-the-world feel. Unfortunately, we got clocked by a hurricane that afternoon and, when I made it back to the port town the next morning I found out that none of the ferries were running. So I hung out at the hotel by the dock and met some interesting people, got really drunk with them, and called it a night.

Now I am in Laguna de Apoyo (map), which is also beautiful. I am staying at a biological reserve for two nights.

Before I forget, I want to catalog all the people I've met or about whom I've learned something (mostly through eavesdropping). Here is an abridged list:

• Guy on plane to Costa Rica. Quite a talker. Probably 50-ish. Going to CR for dental surgery. Level of conversation: about 30 minutes of small talk.
  
• South African/Canadian mother and daugther team. Daughter was extremely precocious and world-wise for being 12. Mom was an artist and really cool. Liked them a lot. She bikes around New York on a tandem bike with her boyfriend. Level of conversation: a few hours about lots of good stuff.
  
• Minnesota guy. Met at bar in Granada, then ran into on street later. I suggested we do dinner the next day. Had dinner at Pasta Pasta. Level of conversation: a few hours, mostly superficial.
  
• London woman staying in hostel, studying Spanish, on year sojurn with lots of male admirers. I don't know what it was with this woman. She was very nice and charming, but the men were ga-ga over her, especially the German guy who was working in Panama. Out of control mating signals. Don't know if she obliged. Level of conversation: Mostly overheard, but talked to her for a few minutes and she seemed cool.
  
• Volunteer organizers. Three girls, one from Texas, one from California, and one from somewhere else. Were coordinating a group of 40 high school and college kids on a trip down to volunteer here. Got me thinking about the value of volunteer work - what do they do here? Girls were really passive-aggressive with each other and I predict a few really big fights between them this summer as tensions boil over. Level of conversation: very little, but they talked to each other loudly.
  
• Vancouver homeowner living in San Juan del Sur. First of many North American expats living in Nicaragua. He seemed to be wanting to project a tough-boy image by saying "fuck" a lot. Was interested in London girl studying Spanish (see above). Level of conversation: none, but he talked a lot so lots to overhear.
  
• Canadian troup of 4 dudes and one totally gay guy. The gay guy, who looks a lot like Seth Green, kept trying to play it straight. Was unclear whether they knew he was gay. Level of conversation: none, except to say they should use Manhattan GMAT for test prep - that's when I found out they were from Canada.
  
• Expats in general. Including restaurant owner from BC, drunk guy at Moyogalpa pier, old man at Kathy's Pancake House with Nicaraguan woman (wife?) a quarter his age, etc. Some of these people are nice, but some seem like they are only in Nicaragua because they wouldn't be welcome back home. Level of conversation: varied, but mostly just watching the freak show.
  
• Taiwanese girl. We spoke mostly in Spanish. She was really nice. Doing a 3 month trip in Central America, after schlepping around South America on another trip for several months. V. impressed. I wonder what Taipei is like. Level of conversation: a few hours waiting for and on the bus.
  
• Gay neighbors. Talked to them while stranded in Moyogalpa. Turns out they live two blocks away from me in New York. They were hikers who actually made it all the way up Concepción. Didn't get to talk to them later because of sudden debauchery later in the evening (see below)
  
• Gary and Claire from London. Also stranded in Moyogalpa. Real quality people and kindred spirits. On year-long trip, including Indonesia, New Zealand, South and Central America. I could do something like that with Marc if both of us had our midlife crises at the same time. Had great stories about "corruption" in Colombia. They were smart, insightful, and all around good company. Very glad I ran into them. Gary and I got really drunk but were separated before I went home, so I couldn't say proper goodbye. Oops. Level of conversation: hours and hours.
  
• Prince Edward Island stoners. Neighbors in hotel in Playa Santo Domingo. Were really nice. Ran into them in Moyogalpa again (they were also stranded). Level of conversation: a bit of small talk.
  
• Vancouver Island girl. Taught me that Victoria is on Vancouver Island, and that Victoria Island is ice covered and almost in Nunavut. She hooked up, I think in more ways than one, with the PEI stoners. Level of conversation: not too much, and definitely none sober.
  
• Mitch the vet. Rode ferry with him and later ran into him with Gary. From California and total wanderlust. Grew up in Omaha. Who knew there were Jews in Omaha? Actually asked questions, rather than reciting litany of what he's done on his trip - a rare find among backpackers. Level of conversation: a few hours.
  
• Tour guide who was shot. Ran into our volcano hike guide at a bar last night. Noticed a bullet made into a necklace. He showed me the wound on his calf. It happened in Costa Rica and he knows the guy who did it. Um, woah. Level of conversation: mostly small talk.
  
• German windsurfers. Met them at the bar with Mitch and Gary. Fun in that German kind of way. Level of conversation: not so much.
  
• Karla. Skype Spanish teacher who gave me lessons in Granada. So nice. Level of conversation: 6 hours of class!
  
• Rip off taxi guy and his wife in Jinotega. Right after arriving in the country I paid $20 for a 30 minute cab ride. Today, I paid $7 for a 1.5 hour cab ride. Oops. He and his wife were nice - probably because they made a killing on me. Level of conversation: awkward small talk.
  
• Bible thumper volunteers. Descended on hotel in Playa Santo Domingo. They were from Vermont (Norwich Univ.). Now that I google them they don't seem to be bible thumpers, but the military aspect + Vermont definitely explains all the lesbians there. Level of conversation: none, other than "where are you from" and patronizing response to my hesitation after they said Montpelier, Vermont. "Um, it's the capital city - did you know that?" Ugh.
  
• Danish + Boston couple. Weird combo. Talked for a few minutes before they left the hotel today. Level of conversation: minimal
  
• London and Dutch people in cab to Granada. Very nice and also insightful. Hadn't heard of Moon guidebooks. I liked them. Level of conversation: 30 minutes or so.

I think that's it for now. This list is of course in no order at all. I hope to keep track of this in the future and make another update another 10 days through my trip.

Note to family:

Hi guys -

I made it to the island yesterday and took my hike today. It was very exhausting! My hotel sucks, so Matt and I didn't get a very good night's sleep. Plus we woke up for the hike at 4:30, and got back at around 1:30 - so it was a whole day's worth of exertion early in the morning!

The hike had a vertical elevation change of about 3,000 feet, though after 2,000 feet up I had to sit out and waited for Matt and our guide to return about 2 hours later.

Yesterday, I biked out to a spit of land about a half hour outside of town. The views of the two volcanoes, the mountains, and the lake were really breathtaking. That made up for the fact that the vegetation on today's hike was too lush to really permit any good views.

Tomorrow I'm off to another town on this island. I'll be glad to get out of this crappy hotel, though who knows what awaits me several miles away! After that I'll head back to the mainland and waste a few days before Luke gets here on Sunday.

I'll drop you a line next time I'm at a computer. Off to a hammock to do some reading and napping.

Matt

Another e-mail to my family:

Hi everyone -

My mini-class on Nicaraguan history didn't work out, so today I am planning a day trip to a nearby town that specializes in arts and crafts. The town also has an active volcano right next door, but I am waiting until Luke gets here to do a tour of that. Apparently the nighttime tour is especially cool because you can see the pit of lava glowing in the dark.

Dinner last night was fine. We went to an Italian place that served pretty good (read: buttery) food. I ate with the Minnesotan I had met two days before. He was interesting, though we didn't have an awful lot in common.

One thing I've noticed is the conspicuousness and number of American expats living here. This town really is pretty and always warm, so it's easy to understand why they'd want to move here, but it's almost as if they've created their own city within a city, with restaurants and real estate brokerages that cater to American tourists and retirees. Also, there are tons of signs in English here. It's a little bizarre and unsettling, since most of the Nicaraguans here don't speak it, unless they'd spent some time in the US.

I am reorienting the mission of my trip a little bit. I am doing much less Spanish school than I had originally expected - this is in large part to the strike, which completely messed up my itinerary and wrecked a week of homestay Spanish class. On the other hand, though, I really have sunk into the joie de vivre of being a directionless bum for several days/weeks. My "supplemental" trip goal now is to finish two books I have been reading for years: Love in the Time of Cholera, and The Old Patagonian Express. So if I don't spend every day in a classroom I think I'll be ok.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to a large volcanic island to go hiking with my friend Matt from New York, who coincidentally is in the country this week with his family to celebrate his dad's birthday. The hike will (hopefully) be all day Tuesday, and I'm going to spend another day exploring the island. I plan on returning to the mainland on Thursday. Not sure what level of Internet access I'll have in any of those places, so don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me for a while!

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Matt

I just wrote this to my family:

Just a note to let you know I'm still alive. My cold has gotten better but my stomach still feels a little bit iffy. I took some Rolaids a few hours ago and that has helped, but I think it's just a matter of getting used to the heat and food.

I had my first Spanish lesson today with the person I'd been talking to on Skype. She's very nice and it was really good practice, because it's much more conversational and she forces me to do hard stuff (like talk about things that happened in the past, etc.). I have another class with her tomorrow and then I hope a "mini-course" on Nicaraguan history and politics through someone affiliated with the school on Sunday.

On Monday I head down to a volcano to meet up with a friend from New York who I'm going hiking with on Tuesday. A week from Sunday, Luke is coming down for 10 days, and we're probably going to do most of the tourist things then (including beach time!). I am much less lonely than I was yesterday - Marc gave me a good pep talk - but these are milestones I'm certainly keeping my eyes on. And, it's humbling to hear these backpackers here who've been on two year sojourns around the world. Makes me being homesick after a few days on a month-long trip look pretty whimpy.

I am in Granada, Nicaragua. Today has been a bit of a bust: I feel like I have a cold, and my plans for Spanish classes fell through when I couldn't find the place at all. I have attempted to resolve the former by drinking tons of water (I think I may have been a little dehydrated and/or undernourished yesterday) but I still feel iffy. I resolved the latter problem by contacting the person with whom I had been having Spanish lessons over Skype before I came down here. Fortunately, she is available and I'll be working with her tomorrow. They have some afternoon activities, too, so I'll be happy to have a more-or-less fully programmed day.

The bus ride from San Jose to Nicaragua was largley uneventful. It was a Greyhound-style bus and it didn't make too many stops. I got dropped off in Jinotega and had to take a 30-minute taxi ride to Granada, which originally freaked me out because it was a long distance with me, the taxi driver and his wife. They were nice, though, and I emerged unscathed.

Granada is definitely a colonial city, with narrow, congested streets. Very few of the streets have names, either, in uniquely Nicaraguan style. Outside of Granada, I don't think any streets have names.

You can also tell that this is where the Nicaraguan money is. Some of the architecture here is really stunning. But you can also tell that "Nicaraguan money" is a relative term: there's been no running water in the city since about 9am, for example, so I haven't been able to shower.

Getting used to traveling alone is a challenge. My hostel is full of American hippie kids my age, but they're traveling in packs and it's hard to talk to any of them. Hopefully I'll find someone who's interesting to talk to.

I made it to Costa Rica safe and sound. I am spending the night in Alajuela, close to the airport, before heading to Nicaragua tomorrow. This place is cute - but there isn't too much to the town. (Not that I had expected anything, since it is supposed to be a way station for everyone.) I'm looking forward to a few classes in Grenada on Thursday and Friday.

I had my last day of work yesterday. It was bittersweet, but much less emotionally traumatic than I'd expected. For several months it'd been no secret that I was leaving my job for graduate school, so I had prepped quite a bit already.

Two weeks ago, Nicaragua became paralyzed by a general transportation strike. The strike lasted for twelve days - until last night - and had become increasingly violent, with scab taxis being carjacked and their passengers robbed of everything. Eager to avoid this, yesterday I called American and got my destination airport changed to San Jose, Costa Rica. My intention was to hang out close to the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border until the strike had passed. Now that it's over, I'll head straight into Nicaragua, but by waiting a day or two I'll be more likely to find grocery stores with stocked shelves and bus stations that are operating normally, rather than dealing with a backlog of stranded passengers.

I have set up a spreadsheet with my itinerary which I'll be updating as I move through the country.