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Date: 15th September 2010
Sometimes I just think what you feel about doing trip in almost a thousand days without going home at all. Dont you miss your room? OMG, I cant imagine. But your story always waowwww. Thaks alot for sharing it with me. Regards from indonesia
From Blog: In search of the Pura Vida (Pacific and Central Costa Rica)
Sometimes I just think what you feel about doing trip in almost a thousand days without going home at all. Dont you miss your room? OMG, I cant imagine. But your story always waowwww. Thaks alot for sharing it with me. Regards from indonesia
From Blog: In search of the Pura Vida (Pacific and Central Costa Rica)
Date: 14th September 2010
What surprises me is your talent to catch a beautiful moment on a pic, do you hold the cam nonstop in your hands (or around your neck? Prob not...), how do you do that! I love your pictures! Keep enjoying central America!
From Blog: In search of the Pura Vida (Pacific and Central Costa Rica)
What surprises me is your talent to catch a beautiful moment on a pic, do you hold the cam nonstop in your hands (or around your neck? Prob not...), how do you do that! I love your pictures! Keep enjoying central America!
From Blog: In search of the Pura Vida (Pacific and Central Costa Rica)
Date: 12th September 2010
Hi-luxing
I think the verb 'to hi-lux' contains a hyphen.
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Hi-luxing
I think the verb 'to hi-lux' contains a hyphen.
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 8th September 2010
Really, it 's a strange felling for your reader's blog ;-) as for me I'll be miss about you treveller notes weekly i recieve news about you trevel ;-) I wish you successful to make a break for you tourney and meet with your parents and friends!!!!
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Really, it 's a strange felling for your reader's blog ;-) as for me I'll be miss about you treveller notes weekly i recieve news about you trevel ;-) I wish you successful to make a break for you tourney and meet with your parents and friends!!!!
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 8th September 2010
travelling costa rica
hi ben, ich wollt euch wissen lassen, dass ich grad in montezuma bin, die plaene hatten sich kurzfristig geaendert. hatte leider auch keine e-mail um dir / euch zu schreiben. wo seid ihr? in costa rica? lasst was von euch hoeren :) viele gruesse, julia
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
travelling costa rica
hi ben, ich wollt euch wissen lassen, dass ich grad in montezuma bin, die plaene hatten sich kurzfristig geaendert. hatte leider auch keine e-mail um dir / euch zu schreiben. wo seid ihr? in costa rica? lasst was von euch hoeren :) viele gruesse, julia
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 6th September 2010
Hey Ben
I was just updating some back blogs and uploading some pics, I'm in Costa rica now my 3rd month..and was looking at recent blogs about Nicaragua and came accross yours, I just HAD to write you and say THANK YOU for your spiel on religion and volunteering!!!!!!! I am the same exact way! it's truly terrible what these missionaries and "volunteers" do to vulnerable people, anyways Just thought that was great what you wrote!! P.S. be ready for american prices here in costa rica ( except for lodging, cabs and cigs lol) I CANNOT wait to leave lol!! happy trips man, add me if you would like as costa rica was my rest period from the states before I start my travels... Greg
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Hey Ben
I was just updating some back blogs and uploading some pics, I'm in Costa rica now my 3rd month..and was looking at recent blogs about Nicaragua and came accross yours, I just HAD to write you and say THANK YOU for your spiel on religion and volunteering!!!!!!! I am the same exact way! it's truly terrible what these missionaries and "volunteers" do to vulnerable people, anyways Just thought that was great what you wrote!! P.S. be ready for american prices here in costa rica ( except for lodging, cabs and cigs lol) I CANNOT wait to leave lol!! happy trips man, add me if you would like as costa rica was my rest period from the states before I start my travels... Greg
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 5th September 2010
Nationality
those are DEFINATELY fat chics from the states ( southern most likely)
From Blog: In travelling, a companion. In life, compassion. (Bay Island, Honduras)
Nationality
those are DEFINATELY fat chics from the states ( southern most likely)
From Blog: In travelling, a companion. In life, compassion. (Bay Island, Honduras)
Date: 4th September 2010
A near and dear blog to my heart and mind...
Hi Ben...as stated, a blog from you that is near and dear to my heart and mind as I also walked the very same streets as you (at least for the most part) in Nicaragua. I have an almost identical picture of the cathedral, was actually on the roof of Iglesia la Merced, walked the streets of SJDS - didn't make it to Ometepe, however. And, yes, it is such a difference in sights when you leave the square to the less pretty streets. I too walked those streets beyond the square in Granada Your perspective on "pay-for-volunteering" is an interesting one and, to be honest, a perspective I hadn't thought about. I realized there are volunteers who pay for the privilege, but the angle of whether it actually takes jobs from locals is what I hadn't thought of. The question I'd throw out there generally (and don't know the answer) is this: is the volunteer actually taking a job from a local, or did that job really not exist anyway without the volunteer going there with his/her cash? If the job would have otherwise existed and now the volunteer is now "taking it" then it poses a big dilemma regardless of whatever good intention may have been behind it. If the job didn't really exist because there was no money or ability to make it happen without the volunteer, then it would seem to do more good than bad. Does the cash they pay (hopefully) bring some investment into the local economy to cause the job's existence to occur, and hopefully bring other economic development? That would seem to be the bigger questions I can think of offhand. As far as the religious missionaries, I might take some exception that generally people should not be "pushing" a belief. I would agree that the execution of a mission is too often not well-thought, but the probably easy answer to whether it is appropriate (in my humble opinion) would be this: if I see Ben (or anyone else) engaging in drugs or alcohol that will eventually cause great harm to themselves, would I not have some obligation to point it out in the name of being a generally caring individual - even if one thinks it should be only their own concern and nobody elses? Admittedly, if someone insists on engaging in a destructive behavior I cannot truly stop them from harming themselves but I feel I need to propose an alternative. I once heard that either the Pope or a Catholic priest suggested Christianity (and I suppose most religion) should always be there to PROPOSE, though never to IMPOSE. Admittedly, that ideal is not always practiced but my hope for these missionaries to Nicaragua and elsewhere. Keep in mind I say these thoughts in a libertarian viewpoint - I would say on some level, yes, we should live and let live. I just always hope that people will care enough to try to stop someone's destructive behavior and this is my hope that this is the vein of thought ultimately behind the missions. There is the big question, however, why do some of the churches feel the need to travel thousands of miles to evangelize? In most or all American (in my case) cities, there's plenty of unchurched and troubled individuals down the street to care for... Okay, enough philosophizing. Your blogs are always great to see. I still someday want to live my own dream and do the RTW trip. Time and money...those two intertwining obstacles...
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
A near and dear blog to my heart and mind...
Hi Ben...as stated, a blog from you that is near and dear to my heart and mind as I also walked the very same streets as you (at least for the most part) in Nicaragua. I have an almost identical picture of the cathedral, was actually on the roof of Iglesia la Merced, walked the streets of SJDS - didn't make it to Ometepe, however. And, yes, it is such a difference in sights when you leave the square to the less pretty streets. I too walked those streets beyond the square in Granada Your perspective on "pay-for-volunteering" is an interesting one and, to be honest, a perspective I hadn't thought about. I realized there are volunteers who pay for the privilege, but the angle of whether it actually takes jobs from locals is what I hadn't thought of. The question I'd throw out there generally (and don't know the answer) is this: is the volunteer actually taking a job from a local, or did that job really not exist anyway without the volunteer going there with his/her cash? If the job would have otherwise existed and now the volunteer is now "taking it" then it poses a big dilemma regardless of whatever good intention may have been behind it. If the job didn't really exist because there was no money or ability to make it happen without the volunteer, then it would seem to do more good than bad. Does the cash they pay (hopefully) bring some investment into the local economy to cause the job's existence to occur, and hopefully bring other economic development? That would seem to be the bigger questions I can think of offhand. As far as the religious missionaries, I might take some exception that generally people should not be "pushing" a belief. I would agree that the execution of a mission is too often not well-thought, but the probably easy answer to whether it is appropriate (in my humble opinion) would be this: if I see Ben (or anyone else) engaging in drugs or alcohol that will eventually cause great harm to themselves, would I not have some obligation to point it out in the name of being a generally caring individual - even if one thinks it should be only their own concern and nobody elses? Admittedly, if someone insists on engaging in a destructive behavior I cannot truly stop them from harming themselves but I feel I need to propose an alternative. I once heard that either the Pope or a Catholic priest suggested Christianity (and I suppose most religion) should always be there to PROPOSE, though never to IMPOSE. Admittedly, that ideal is not always practiced but my hope for these missionaries to Nicaragua and elsewhere. Keep in mind I say these thoughts in a libertarian viewpoint - I would say on some level, yes, we should live and let live. I just always hope that people will care enough to try to stop someone's destructive behavior and this is my hope that this is the vein of thought ultimately behind the missions. There is the big question, however, why do some of the churches feel the need to travel thousands of miles to evangelize? In most or all American (in my case) cities, there's plenty of unchurched and troubled individuals down the street to care for... Okay, enough philosophizing. Your blogs are always great to see. I still someday want to live my own dream and do the RTW trip. Time and money...those two intertwining obstacles...
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 2nd September 2010
To come back on your last point, hiluxing doesn't come with rip off practises? I would assume that one would say, hop on and as soon as you hop off that they'd say, that's than 50USD my friend. I feared these practises in Asia all too often! About the Volunteering, I totally share your opinion on that front. A friend of mine paid 5000 euros to give English lessons for 4 months in China. This excluded living expenses (room was included but he needed to share). Imagine you would arrange this by yourself. let's say 1500 euros for the ticket. 100 euros to get to some rural area, which leaves 3400 euro to spend on anything. You'd prob get a good deal as you're teaching English to local children. And then you apply for jobs in holland and everyone is impressed by your volunteering work. They even have more chances to be invited for an job interview than I have.... I got turned down once because I hadn't done such a thing!
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
To come back on your last point, hiluxing doesn't come with rip off practises? I would assume that one would say, hop on and as soon as you hop off that they'd say, that's than 50USD my friend. I feared these practises in Asia all too often! About the Volunteering, I totally share your opinion on that front. A friend of mine paid 5000 euros to give English lessons for 4 months in China. This excluded living expenses (room was included but he needed to share). Imagine you would arrange this by yourself. let's say 1500 euros for the ticket. 100 euros to get to some rural area, which leaves 3400 euro to spend on anything. You'd prob get a good deal as you're teaching English to local children. And then you apply for jobs in holland and everyone is impressed by your volunteering work. They even have more chances to be invited for an job interview than I have.... I got turned down once because I hadn't done such a thing!
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 1st September 2010
Voluntourism
In most cases "jobs" are invented for volunteers willing to pay for the experience, rather than them actually taking "jobs" from locals. This is massive industry along with NGO´s and development in general. After all The "Third World" "needs" "developing". With "all" "civilizations" "expertise" and "resources" it is "our responsibility" to "help" "them"! Latin America has slipped from New World to Third World... Shoddy workmanship...
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Voluntourism
In most cases "jobs" are invented for volunteers willing to pay for the experience, rather than them actually taking "jobs" from locals. This is massive industry along with NGO´s and development in general. After all The "Third World" "needs" "developing". With "all" "civilizations" "expertise" and "resources" it is "our responsibility" to "help" "them"! Latin America has slipped from New World to Third World... Shoddy workmanship...
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 1st September 2010
Been there, done that
Hello, been there, done that, very cool! Don't miss a tour on the rio san juan until San Juan del Sur on the other side. And then to Costa Rica by boat ...
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Been there, done that
Hello, been there, done that, very cool! Don't miss a tour on the rio san juan until San Juan del Sur on the other side. And then to Costa Rica by boat ...
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Date: 1st September 2010
Another interesting and eye opening blog entry. Thank you. Since I will be following in your footsteps in 1 months time, I find this useful. Though, I myself am considering doing some volunteer work while there, I will not be paying any money to do it, and I most certainly won't be spreading any religious bullshit about. The most I am hoping for is to work on a farm in exchange for board and lodging. While Nicaragua is far down the line on my route, your previous entries have been good reading too. I hope you don't have any rip-off incidents in Costa Rica and enjoy your travels! You know what, I bet we bump into each other! See you then. Jonny
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
Another interesting and eye opening blog entry. Thank you. Since I will be following in your footsteps in 1 months time, I find this useful. Though, I myself am considering doing some volunteer work while there, I will not be paying any money to do it, and I most certainly won't be spreading any religious bullshit about. The most I am hoping for is to work on a farm in exchange for board and lodging. While Nicaragua is far down the line on my route, your previous entries have been good reading too. I hope you don't have any rip-off incidents in Costa Rica and enjoy your travels! You know what, I bet we bump into each other! See you then. Jonny
From Blog: And all thou touch and all thou see, is all thy life will ever be (Granada, Ometepe & San Juan, Nicaragua)
frankly I would have been okay if it was only 98% Kiwi owned but its nice of them to go the extra mile :D. There is patriotism and then there is xenophobia
From Blog: Patriotic and green New Zealand? (Wellington, North Island, New Zealand)
:)
I love the color!
From Blog: Just how different can two cities be? (Leon & Managua, Nicaragua)
Date: 23rd August 2010
The Dubliners
Hey man, I enjoy reading your blog. How do you do the panoramic photo at the top of each entry? Lots people seem to have it but I am clueless. Thanks.
From Blog: Pleasantly surprised (Western El Salvador)
The Dubliners
Hey man, I enjoy reading your blog. How do you do the panoramic photo at the top of each entry? Lots people seem to have it but I am clueless. Thanks.
From Blog: Pleasantly surprised (Western El Salvador)
Date: 23rd August 2010
none
you have very interesting observations about latin american countries. good luck on the rest of your trip.
From Blog: Hitch-hiking all the way (Western Honduras)
none
you have very interesting observations about latin american countries. good luck on the rest of your trip.
From Blog: Hitch-hiking all the way (Western Honduras)
Date: 22nd August 2010
Going Home
I'll miss you blogs when you go home but you've got some amazing memories from Living The Dream! This Dream may continue....Best wishes, Dawn
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Going Home
I'll miss you blogs when you go home but you've got some amazing memories from Living The Dream! This Dream may continue....Best wishes, Dawn
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 21st August 2010
beautiful lands beautiful people
WOULDNT IT BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO FREELY ROME FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY AND FROM LAND TO LAND WITH NO THREAT OF VIOLENCE OR HURT... MAYBE ON DAY THAT WILL EXIST... POEPLE WILL NOT LIVE IN FEAR ON THERE WILL BE KNOW CRIME OR VIOLENCE:) :) ;)
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
beautiful lands beautiful people
WOULDNT IT BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO FREELY ROME FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY AND FROM LAND TO LAND WITH NO THREAT OF VIOLENCE OR HURT... MAYBE ON DAY THAT WILL EXIST... POEPLE WILL NOT LIVE IN FEAR ON THERE WILL BE KNOW CRIME OR VIOLENCE:) :) ;)
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 20th August 2010
every journey must come to an end I suppose, but what a journey it was!!!. Will make sure to savour your final blogs.
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
every journey must come to an end I suppose, but what a journey it was!!!. Will make sure to savour your final blogs.
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 20th August 2010
Respect!
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Respect!
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 20th August 2010
Living the dream
You are really living the dream. Amazing!
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Living the dream
You are really living the dream. Amazing!
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 20th August 2010
Coming Home
Dear Ben, I am sorry to read this! Of course a wedding is always a good reason to come back home but I have to admit that I will miss your blog. Yes I will ! I hoped that we could meet us next Febr. in Peru. What a pitty ! I hope that we stay in contact when you are back in Germany. Walter
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Coming Home
Dear Ben, I am sorry to read this! Of course a wedding is always a good reason to come back home but I have to admit that I will miss your blog. Yes I will ! I hoped that we could meet us next Febr. in Peru. What a pitty ! I hope that we stay in contact when you are back in Germany. Walter
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Date: 20th August 2010
Totally understand. It was also a BIG deal for us to book our ticket after 14 months on the road. Enjoy the last months. When you're back in Europe, you're always welcome in NL.
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Totally understand. It was also a BIG deal for us to book our ticket after 14 months on the road. Enjoy the last months. When you're back in Europe, you're always welcome in NL.
From Blog: Past and present in a troubled country (Eastern El Salvador)
Visited on this trip 
Visited on other trips 
Conny Griebel
non-member comment
Yeah! Pura vida! I Love Costa Rica!!! Hug a slough for me, please! -Uh, already been to "Corals and Almonds Lodge" in... hmmm...where was that...??carribbean coast-side.. Great canopy, great wildlife, great hangout-place at the natural beach... I'm deeply jealous and wish I could be there, too! ;o)
From Blog: In search of the Pura Vida (Pacific and Central Costa Rica)