CULTURE SHOCK

Toronto - home sweet home


April 30, 2006
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Culture Shock, what an interesting concept? Interesting because it's really not a shock to come home, per se. I mean I've lived in Toronto my whole life. This is home, that will never change. I haven't forgotten how things work here or what the big city life is like. It's natural in the deepest parts of my soul and easy to feel like I'm at home, but it just doesn't feel normal to be here. After 4 months on the road and 3 of those months in a world much smaller, much warmer, much more different than mine. So, was it a shock for me to return and be back in my home town? No, but it sure has been an adjustment.

Of course it's been really great to see all my friends and family again, but it would be a stretch to say that I am totally happy to be home. When I first got off the plane it was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in T.O. and my best boy Blair was standing tall with his 6'5" authority over the crowds at Pearson International. Perfect!

That changed very quickly as the first weekend hit. The temperature dropped and the cold rain began to fall. I don't think I need to explain just how much I longed for the beaches of Costa Rica at that point. The longing, however, started the minute the shuttle pulled up the hills and around the corners on the roads out of Montezuma. I wished that I could stay for much longer and continue to learn Spanish, be with my new found friends, who I'd come to care so much about, and of course the beautiful weather. These are the big things, easily noticeable differences. These are the things you miss but you are not shocked to be without, you know where your plane is landing. I know that when I return home there will no longer be ocean views and palm trees at every turn. Instead there is a lake and much much concrete. Instead I bump into those I know in almost any area of the city and explain where I've been for the last 4 months. All things I anticipated having to do before I even returned.

So, shocked by the culture I grew up in? No, but feeling it necessary to adjust to that culture once again? Yes! It's really about the little things that I need to get used to once again. For almost a week after I returned it was still my instinct not to flush the toilet paper. To this day I still find the change I receive feels strangely small and light compared to what I'd become so used to throughout my time in Central America.

Aside from the obvious physical differences, I don't think it's totally possible to quantify the meaning of culture shock. It's really all about a personal re-adjustment that one must make back to their "normal", "routine" lifestyle. I think the "shock" or re-adjustment phase will last longer or shorter depending on how long you were away and just how different the culture you visited is, to the culture you are from. For me, on this trip, the culture was very different and I was in it for the longest continuous amount of time that I've ever been away from home. So, needless to say the re-adjustment phase has been a bit longer than I projected and a bit tougher as well.

I just started back at work a couple days ago which gave me about 10 days to catch up with friends and family. Those 10 days were certainly much needed and very much appreciated. It meant that I was able to spend a lot of time with Blair before he moved out to Banff indefinitely, which just so happened to have been this morning. In fact, I got up an hour earlier than necessary to drive him to the airport this morning and it was worth the sleepy day to see him off. I am going to miss him terribly but our friendship is as strong as gold and I know no distance, no matter how far, will ever change that. He's setting off for great things, this I know, and for that I am very proud that he is so important in my life.



Blair Blair












Me and Sammy




The ten free days before work also gave me the chance to catch up with Sammy, my girls from school and my family, most importantly my baby niece, who has now said her first Spanish words and understands that I am her tia. I think I can safely say that she is the person I missed the most. It was so hard to think about her and know how drastically she was changing, without my being there to witness the transformation. Sure enough when I got back she was bigger, even sturdier on her feet and talking up a storm. Her comprehension of languages is very good, so good that it is easy to communicate with her. I've decided to speak to her primarily in Spanish so that I can practice and she can get an ear for the language, hopefully making it easier for her to learn more later and maybe even become bilingual.



Giselle and I at her playgroup



Anyway, almost two weeks since I returned and Canadian coins still feel strange in my hands, but I'm starting to sink back into my life. I have found my apartment and am very much looking forward to moving into it in just a couple weeks. I've started working again, thankfully with a most fantastic crew of guys, and am beginning to feel my work routines coming back to me and I'm thoroughly enjoying spending time with my friends and catching up on their lives in the last four months.

Shocked I'm certainly not, but adjusting I will be, for at least a few weeks more.

Falto Mis Amigos En Montezuma

Esta entradad es para todos me amigos en Montezuma. Montezuma fue un muy bueno vez para mi y este es por que todos las personas quien yo se alli. La ultima semana de me vacacion fuew muy muy bueno y deseo regresar a Montezuma otra vez, alguna vez pronto. Possible en octubre, no se.

Entonces, muchas muchas gracias a todos mi amigos alli. Aqui estan muchas photos de y para todos mi amigos de Montezuma.

Besos,
Guacamole


el capitan y un otro gemini, ROBERTO












mi chico favorito, VINICIO y yo












almuerza a la Isla de tortuga, KRISTIN y naranja













mi amiga de muchas anos y una chica quien cambia todos de mi viaje, SHELEENA










muy divertido, SOMALIA y yo










un poco loco pero me gusta, POLLO y yo











verdad, un buena amiga, ANA










el mejor bartender y un amigo de mi, JOSE y yo









mirando futbol, CALDO










el capitan de eco-tours, ALLONSO








Muchas Muchas Gracias Mis Amigos!!
Hasta Luego!

Something to Remember Always

Journal Entry
April 18, 2006 (or April 19, depending how you look at it...it's about 2am)
San Jose, Costa Rica

In the cab on my way back to the hotel tonight, I saw a beautiful mural alongside the street. It was huge and full of colour and it had about five profiles of men and women, all of different nationalities and colours themselves. I saw it and immediately was drawn to its beauty. Stopped at a red light staring at it'sbeauty, I noticed the quote that accompanied and it became all the more beautiful. I quickly scribbled it down in the bumpy cab cause I didn't want to forget it. It's something we should all try to remember in every day that we are blessed with this life and a fitting tribute to a beautiful trip about to end.

"Todos los hombres nacen marvillaosomente diferentes"

"We are all born marvelously different"

Que Lindo

A Very Sad Farewell

Journal Entry
April 18, 2006
On the Ferry near Puntarenas, Costa Rica


enjoying my last fresh oysters on my last day

Sheleena hooked me up with a direct shuttle this afternoon from Montezuma to San Jose, and all for free. She really has been so good to me this past week and her impact on my trip overall is immeasurable. I can not believe that just a couple weeks ago I was pining for home. Today, as I rode in the shuttle out of Montezuma I actually had to fight off tears. My weeks was so fantastic. I got reacquainted with an old friend and made so many new ones. I now feel that I have to return to Montezuma sometime soon and it may end up being a much longer stay. If I want it, Sheleena would get me a job with Eco-Tours and I could go for the high season, which just so happens to be the low season in the film world back home. So that could work out very nicely indeed. If nothing more though, I think I'd like to go back sometime soon at least for a week or two to see my friends, mi amor and the place that is so beautiful and was so great to me. I was truly sad to say good bye today and I think that sadness will stay with me for a while yet.


mi ultimo noche, que bueno, con vinicio y machacho

I was talking to my dad online briefly today and he said "I bet you've changed a lot with all you've experienced". While I don't feel particularly different now, I know that this journey has had a huge impact on me. I know that I have, in fact, changed, but how or how much is something I don't think I'll fully realize until I'm back and have had some time to reflect. The reflection period has had a rolling start in the last few days, but today with my departure from Montezuma, it's been thrown into high gear.

------------------------------LATER---------------------------------

San Jose, Costa Rica


Slight problems figuring out my hotel reservation when I got in tonight but it is now sorted and I'm all ready for my muy temprano departure tomorrow morning. I can't believe this day has come. I have very mixed feelings about leaving. I didn't want to leave Montezuma today at all. It really is too bad that I'm not able to spend my last night in Costa Rica there but alas it's just not possible. When I think about what I left behind today I'm sad, almost to the point of tears, but I am also very excited to see Blair at the airport tomorrow and Sammy later. I can't wait to see Gisellita, have coffee with Mark, dinner with my mom and drinks with my school peeps. I can't wait to catch up with family over a Saturday night dinner and I'm totally looking forward to working again, especially with the crew of guys lined up on this job. I'm also very interested to see what effect this trip is going to have on my life. I know it will be profound. I've had such an amazing time and for the first time ever, after the last 8 days in Montezuma, I think I might be able to live in a foreign country. I am seriously thinking about going to live there, at least for a bit. It would be hard to leave my life so far away but it wouldn't be permanent and my friends and family could always come and visit. I think this is the kind of thing that will become much clearer in the coming months. So, now I must focus on the fact that tomorrow I will be back at home and needing to get reacquainted with my life. There's no sense in longing for Montezuma, or the people I had to leave there today (though it's hard), but I will always think of them with a smile on my face and ponder when I can return.


the sun setting on my last day in Montezuma

I'm totally addicted to Spanish after this trip and I don't want to lose it. Living there for a few months would certainly solidify my Spanish, something I'd very much like to do. So, I guess the outcome of these feelings will be discovered in due time. For now, I need to get a good night's sleep, which will only really consist of a few hours at this point and with everything on my mind I don't expect it happen at all but whatever, it's all good.

Todos bien. Buenos Noches. Manana regreso a mi casa, mis amigos, mi familia y mi vida.

Staying Put

Journal Entry
April 16, 2006
Montezuma, Costa Rica


I'm still in Montezuma and have just decided to ride out the rest of my trip here. I'm a little disappointed to not be seeing Manuel Antonio, but I just couldn't handle the thought of organizing another travel day for myself and trekking around alone, trying to find a place to stay etc, etc. Even more so though is the fact that here I'm staying with friends and everywhere I go in town there are people I know. I have totally become a part of the local scene and it's a really great feeling. Getting to know locals, as far as I'm concerned, is the best reason to travel anywhere. Unfortunately it's not always the easiest thing to accomplish, especially if you're staying for no more than a few days or a week. All too often you find yourself meeting tons of great people, but they are all fellow travelers searching for that same small piece of the local reality that you seek, and only being able to observe a piece of it from afar. I've got a really great situation here and I'm not about to give up even two extra days of it.


ana and i early in the saturday night festivities

Today, I made a return visit to Isla de Tortuga. This time I went with Marcos and Roberto on the Cocozuma Tours boat. I wasn't just tagging along this time either. Today I was like another employee, helping Roberto with the cooking (and doing the odd translation for the English speakers on the boat). Fue un dia muy tranquila. All of us were out last night (and pretty hard) as the whole town, and then some, seemed to be out in the street for a massive Saturday night party. It was the biggest night in a week of many big nights. I have only seemed to party really hard in a few places along the way these past few months and this is definitely one of those places. I started things on this trip with a week of partying in Whistler and I'm finishing them up with a week of partying in Montezuma. It has certainly been a lot of fun.


ana, roberto and i later...clearly things have escalated

Anyway, today I somehow managed to get up for the 9am boat departure and, after a morning of preparing lunch, I lay under the shade of the trees on the island soaking up the PURA VIDA all around me. In the background a mariachi band was playing music, some tunes familiar and others not, the pelicans were fishing on the crystal clear blue water, people were laughing and swimming and the breeze was calming and soothing in the trees and against my skin. It's moments like these when true understanding of Pura Vida hits home.

It translates to "pure life" and it's hard to spend any time in this beautiful country without getting it. Pura Vida is all around me here and not a day goes by that I don't just stop somewhere and take a "pura vida moment". Usually though, it's many times in the day.

When we made the return trip from the island we saw two different families of dolphins swimming happily along and jumping out of the water right along side the boat. PURA VIDA
Almost everyday this week I've met tour boats when they return from Tortuga in the afternoon and shortly thereafter I'm eating oysters plucked from the ocean floor by my friends mere hours earlier. I've never liked oysters more. PURA VIDA
Right now I'm lying in a hammock on the porch, listening to the waves crashing into the rocks down the hill and staring at a bright, haloed moon that has been on both sides of full all week long. PURA VIDA.
The list goes on and on!


una cerveza and oyster fresh from the ocean

It's a life I'm sure I would find it easy to sink into for longer. I've thought often this week about how nice, and frankly easy, it would be for me to come live and work here for at least a little while sometime in the future. Thinking it would be cool to maybe move here for a Canadian winter (high season here) sometime and just work on the tour boat and vive la pura vida. NEVER SAY NEVER! There are certainly worse decision I could make.

Right now, however, I am a mere 3 more nights on foreign soil. It's a little hard to believe that in just a few days I will be at home again, looking for my apartment and getting back to work. The stage of reflection has begun and I know it will continue, and only grow more intense, in the coming months after I'm home and back into my life's very unroutine, routine.

JUST CALL ME GUACA

April 11, 2006
Journal Entry
Montezuma, Costa Rica


eating fruit after lunch on tortuga island

I can't believe that I can walk around this town and know half the people I see. Okay, maybe not quite half, but I know a lot of people here and they're locals, not travellers. It's a feeling I've experienced in only a few places in this world and two of them are ski towns in Canada, so, obviously, this situation stands apart just a little.

I'm so glad that, in a town so full of travellers and tourists you sometimes need to remind yourself you're in Costa Rica, I'm hanging out mostly with Ticos and communicating mostly in Spanish. I speak to the girls I'm staying with mostly in English but there are almost always a group of Ticos with us and so most conversations are in Spanish. I almost always know generally what's going on, but more and more I'm easily understanding slang filled conversation and I love every minute of it. It makes me feel like taking a vacation every year to a Spanish speaking country to keep in practice.

Last night we made a fajita dinner and partied a la casa de Sheleena, where I'm now staying. It was so great to cook again and definitely one of the things I'm most looking forward to about being back home, the kitchen! Anyway, we made some guacamole and as I stood there putting the finishing touches on it, Roberto and Soma suddenly had a brain wave and the pronunciation my name became so much more clearer to them. For the rest of the night I was guacamole. They just got such a laugh out of it, and of course so did I. I figured it wouldn't continue so heavily today as it did last night and at first I was fine. Roberto and Soma had pretty much dropped it, but it went on to find new life.


the eco tours boat and crew setting out for tortuga in the morning

Sheleena let me hop on one of the Eco-Tours all day boat tours to Isla de Tortuga. With each trip there are 3 staff. The guide, the captain and the cook. Over lunch I sat with the workers of a couple of the tour companies. I'm not sure who thought of it first, it was either Pollo (eco-tours cocinara) or Allonso (el capitan de eco-tours) who, independantly from the guys last night, came to the same conclusions about my name. So, alas, the name has caught on and I'm sure I'll continue to hear it throughout the rest of the week, which is okay I guess. They certainly seem to like their nicknames here. Half the poeple I know, I know only by nickname. So I take to be rather endearing and am actually enjoying it some.


beautiful starfish, this side is orange the other is purple

I'm having a great time here, Spanish practice aside, we've been having some really good times. Tortuga Island today was really great. The island itself is really very pretty and tranquila, a little slice of heaven here on earth, although many people are there visiting. This morning as we rode to the first stop for snorkelling we saw a huge manta ray. It was really cool! Stuck a corner up out of the water looking something like a shark fin. Saw that freak at least one other person out for a minute or two. Then we went snorkelling, yes I went snorkelling and am now a big fan! Didn't mind swimming with the fish at all. They were all so beautiful. So many different shapes and amazingly vibrant colours, I was truly mesmerized. I couldn't even tell you how many different kinds I saw but there were at least 20 and they included starfish (that I held), a moray eel (that I steered clear from, they are dangerous) and even a blowfish (so cute) that Roberto caught and brought to the surface for us to look at and snap some photos of. Lunch and a little more swimming before we made our way back to Montezuma and a great day had by all.


roberto and the blowfish

Tonight we're going to have a beach fire at a more remote beach in the area. Semana Santa (Easter) celebrations are in full swing this weekend so locals are flocking to this beach town and setting up camp. No one who lives here likes it very much. Think Wasage Beach on May 24...NUFF SAID! So, we're taking tonight's beach party to a smaller spot. Now though, I must shower away today's salt so that i'm ready to head backto town.

PURA VIDA!

It´s a Small Small World Indeed

Journal Entry
April 8, 2006
Montezuma, Costa Rica

This morning, at the crack of dawn, I said a fond farewell to Mike as he left for the airport and the long flight back to Toronto. The homesickness sems to be ever presently looming under the surface and last night, and this this morning, as I was once again loking at travel and change, there it came again rearing it´s ugly head. I knew I would be leaving Mal Pais today, as it would likely be hard to stay without my crew of the past week, who I´d grown so close to. So, I knew it was time to move on but as I woke up this morning I still hadn´t decided exactly where to. After Mike´s early morning departure, and a much needed phone call home to mi mami, I decided on Montezuma. After all, that was always the original plan and since I didn´t want to face all the details of a massive travel day (Montezuma is close and there´s a cheap direct shuttle), it made the decision easy and clear.


me and sheleena on my last night in montezuma

From the second I stepped out of the car I knew that I´d made the right decision. Sitting in the Eco Tour office, right in front of me, was a very familiar face, one that I hadn´t seen in many many years. Sheleena Guiterrez, from my grade one class (and many of the same schools through to high school), and I looked at each other with that "are you kidding me? I totally know you" face, and I felt a world of difference. She's been living here for 6 years, helped me find my place for the night and is hooking me up with lots of good info for daily activities and even a deal for a tour of Tortuga Island this week. What´s better is that I can now happily and easily go out tonight and meet lots of other people.

So, once again, for the next few days anyway, it seems that I will be able to relax and enjoy myself. I know homesickness lurks below the surface, ready to pounce at any moment, but I feel a renewed sense of my ability to conquer it and have a great time in my last week of travelling. I saw a hotel name in Mal Pais that will stay with me forever and has felt very relevent in the last few days. It was called "Luz de Vida" or "Light of Life" and I think it´s a great saying for all of us to keep in mind, especially when we feel run down and our hearts are hurting or times are frustrating.

Life never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes the coincidences just seem so impossible but they are very real and very possible, anywhere. Travelling always reminds me of that fact. I feel good vibes from having bumped into Sheleena today. Somewhere, someone is on my side and I can once again focus on remembering what´s really important in life, like the fact that this trip, like life, is a journey and not just a destination. I once again feel like I can enjoy that journey and my final 10 days on this incredible adventure. I can think about today and not just my final destination on the 19th. Here´s to keeping my head up, my heart open and my times good.

Luz de Vida
I´ll see you all in about a week!

Me Gusta Mal Pais

Journal Entry
April 6, 2006
Mal Pais, Costa Rica

Homesickness is finished, at least for the next few days and hopefully for the rest of my trip.

We took the long, bumpy, windy, remote roads down top the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula and Mal Pais, and it took about 20 minutes for me to love it here. The waves are huge, although apparently we arrived at the peak of a big swell. We got here just in time for a beautiful sunset. Big, round and bright orange dropping fast into a clear horizon as set after set of huge waves crashed into shore.


the beauty of a sunset over the surf in mal pais

Checked into Frank's Place and immediately hit it off with our neighbours Mike (Canadian, Toronto) and Hans (Swiss). The four of us have been a team ever since. Mike and I have had a lot to talk about as he's a photographer and our industries, though different, share a lot of similarities. He also just happens to have a sweet camera with a huge (100-400mm) lens that I've been lucky enough to have my hands on every morning as I am now the resident surfing photographer. I haven't slept later than 5am any morning since I've been here and it's made for some long, full and oh so wonderful days. Although it reminds me of the camera I lost in Frisco, I'm absolutely loving this chance to play with such a nice piece of equipment. In fact, at the moment, I'm lying on the beach. The sun rose about an hour ago and I'm just gearing up for another round of shots of the boys, who are already on the water. As much as I want to keep writing the pull of the camera is stronger and I can't deny it!

---------------LATER---------------------

I've been out every morning since I got here taking photos of Mike and Hans surfing, okay mostly Mike cause Hans doesn't seem to be catching many waves, and I have to say I've taken some pretty nice shots. It takes as much patience for me to get a shot as it does for the guys to catch a nice wave, because they have to be riding for me to be shooting. This morning, neither was happening. There were some really nice waves coming into shore but I guess they were too hard to read because none of the surfers on the water seemed to be doing much more than chillin and paddling. So, this morning was an excellent practice in patience. So, didn't really get any surfing shots today but I sure did get some sun. For 8am it was incredibly hot and it looks like it will continue that way for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, Mike rented a quad (ATV) and we tok off for the afternoon on a photo and fruit picking expedition. It was amazing! We went to a little, rural area Rio Negro, about 20 kms out of town. Mike wanted to get some pics of local kids. Of course there's always a challenge in that idea. His thing is portraits but any photographer who wants portraits of strangers has to get comfortable with the idea if approaching people and asking for it, a task only made harder with a language barrier.


mike and the quad on a road in the middle of nowhere

It was a task, however, that we very much relished and completed very successfully. It was the kind of day that I dream about when travelling. We took the quad down some extemely remote roads and found local families hanging out on a beautiful day. The kids will always come out at the sight of a couple gringos pulling up out of nowhere and we were pleasantly surprised at how incredibly friendly they all were. Friendly and equally interested in us as we were in them. We met, and took pictures, with 3 different families of children and with all of them we had a blast. I got to use my Spanish plenty, in my opinion kids make the best people to practice with, and Mike got a lot of really great portraits.

In between portrait sessions we stopped to pick fruits and nuts from the trees alongside the road and drove down into the, mostly dry, riverbed of Rio Negro to cool our feet in the small remaining pools of the season. It was a last minute plan that proved to be a perfect way to spend an afternoon.


pulled up into the fairly dry rio negro riverbed

Today, Hans and Rob have rented quads as well and we are all taking off to explore the waterfalls of Montezuma and, at least for Mike and I, a mission for more photos with that certain "je ne sais quoi" that truly captures the nature of teh country and its people.

Curing Homesickness, The Final Frontier

Journal Entry
April 2, 2006
Playa Samara, Costa Rica

We took off this morning for the nearby beach of Puerto Carillo, not on the 8am bus as originally planned mind you, but we made it none the less. See, we went out for some drinks last night and for the first time in a while I had a pretty healthy buzz going...needless to say I was feeling it this morning. So, we grabbed the 10am bus insead. Playa Carillo is just about 15-20 minutes away by bus, very close and clearly a popular weekend destination for locals, much like here in Samara. It's still ess crowed and mas traquillo though and it's always nice to switch things up a bit. The sand is darker and the waves break differently. They seem to be nonexistant and then, as if out of nowhere, once very close to shore, the water suddenly swells and, almost as quickly, the top turns over and breaks down fast and furious. From the beach it seems like a much calmer break but get caught in it at just the right time and you'll swallowing a lot of water, trying not to lose your suit and having to just give into the power of the wave until you can get your feet under you. Sounds fierce, but really, for the most part, the waves are actually quite gentle. There is a slight rip tide but only with the bigger waves. In fact, at first dip I was surprised that the tide was not a lot stronger.


playa carillo

It's a beautiful beach and after my romp in the waves I was more than happy to bask in the sunshine and read my "Indian Luck Book" that I picked up at the anrchist book store in Frisco. the book is really very interesting, covering every aspect of your life and how you can use things like gemology, astrology and palmistry (reading your palm) to help improve your luck in each of those aspects or avoide conflict all the same. After months of carrying around this book, I finally pulled it out yesterday and started giving it a thorough read. I'm glad I did, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly because the day before I did, the small book exchange, at one of the internet places here, left me no choice but to read a romance novel. Luckily, a Harlequin with Fabio on the cover it was not, but a romance novel none the less. I finished it the same day I started it...oh the things we do in order to cope with homesickness. Which brings me to the second reason I'm glad I opened that book. Maybe it was going out for drinks last night, even though we didn' meet anyone, but I think it was partly due to the luck book...I'm feeling better today. I'm still very much looking forward to getting home, but the sense of longing fo April 19th to arrive isn't really present anymore and I'm glad for that.


i can't get enough of the beautiful patterns the crabs leave on the beach as they run around

As we left Playa Carillo today, the beach crabs were out in full swing. I just love the sand patterns they leave behind as they crawl around on the sand from one hole to the next. It really is a thing of beauty. I had a great time watching as they scurried into holes upon our approach. I think they must be able to feel vibrations in the land as people approach. Even from 10-15 feet away they can clearly sense you coming and quickly run to the safety of the nearest hole. It makes it damn hard to get a picture but I still managed to get a couple thanks to my digital zoom, and some lucky timing when one crab strayed too far from any available holes and had to play the freeze game instead. Now, whether a hole is available is actually very pertinent. Upon cintinued observation, we discovered that crabs DO NOT like to share when it comes to their holes. As one crab, we'll call him Julio, grew scared of our approach and scurried frantically into the unavailable hole of another crab, we'll call him Miguel. We stood and watched as Miguel went on the attack and quickly made it clear that Julio was not welcome. Miguesl fiercely defended his dwelling, snapping his tiny little claws and lunging at Julio until he was made very much aware of just how unwelcome he was. Julio was still more concerned with our rather large, ominous presence, whereas Miguel I guess figured some things were more important, like defending his hole. In fact, Miguel stood outside his hole for a while, watching us watch him, before retreating back inside for safety. Not one to miss out on opportunity when he sees it Julio took off quickly as we watched Miguel.


miguel defending his home

We waited in the hot sun for about 25 minutes before our bus arrived and we were headed back to Samara. A little lunch, some internet and I took advantage of the free laundry services here before we went and bought our tickets to Mal Pais. We went with the more expensive (and far easier) option of the private shuttle, as this stretch seems to be the most difficult to navigate, and complete, by public bus.

So, as I write now, we are cleaning out what's left of our collective food in the fridge to make dinner and taking it easy tonight before our leisurly departure time of 1:30pm tomorrow. A little last minute gif shopping, one more dip in Playa Samara's oceanfront and another destination will be checked off the list and left, possibly for another time somewhere in the future.