After a long bus ride - Managua > Tegucigalpa > La Ceiba - we were truly exhausted. Why you might ask-after all the bus seats recline, but I'd be tired whether I slept or not. If I tried I might be able to sleep...but then imagine what I'd miss as we made our way through the country, even when it is dark there are thngs to see! We had stopped for the night in Managua and made our way through the immediate area around the bus station (read 'sketchy') to a family run guest house we had heard about and after cleaning up we headed out to find a place to get a beer and a bite. Isn't it curious how one always finds the energy to 1) find a local drinking establishment, and 2) have ... read more

Christmas in Panama! The shoppers are no less driven to find the best deal than anybody at home bac in the States. Stores are open for long hours; there is free christmas wrapping; there are all kinds of shiny things: new bikes, toys, tools, electronics. And the grocery stores have long lines and carts are full of rice, beans, meat, beer, wine. Many prices are pretty comparable to merchandise at home, and so it would make sense that many people are calling Panama City a first world city, after all. We did not entirely escape the pre-Chrismas craziness however, this just had a different smell and flavor to it, as it were -the smell around the meat counter was nauseating. Naturally, I would have enjoyed spending Christmas with my family, but it's cold in Seattle, and ... read more

The weather for the last couple days in the Seattle area has been outstanding. Sunny, warm, clear, and clean. Pollen levels are low because the rains have kept it down, the streets have the 'just scrubbed' appearance, trees have leafed out, people are soaking up the vitamin D, and all is well. My girlfriend and I spent the entire weekend working outdoors: she dug up the garden, and I cut and installed mouldings. Work that needed to be done, but we were, admittedly, waiting for 'good weather.' The rain is most appreciated when in the sunlight all the plants and trees light up in an unnatural charteuse-almost electric green. They say that owing to global warming our area will see more rain...and less sun? That seems to be the case. Last year we did not have ... read more

One of the things I appreciate about Laos - and much of SE Asia - is the amount of freedom, and responsibility you are granted. You personally appraise the situation, and based on that, and perhaps advice from other travellers, you 'do', or 'do not.' There isn't always this looming figure in the background making sure that you don't overextend youself-we have been given the wherewithal and innate inability to make sound rational choices. At least that is what seems natural; personally, I am still working on the 'rational' choices thing. But there's time and probably more journeys to work on it. Yesterday I had spent one plus hours preparing an entry; I had proofread, analyzed choices for clarity and appropriateness, looked at better word choices-I thought it was pretty good. Apparently the computer did not-it ... read more

We left the Gibbon reserve no worse for the wear and out on the paved road we parted company: them back to Huay Xai, and I on my way in a bus to a one night stopover - Luang Namtha (pronounced Nam-tah). I find that there is something about the actual process of 'traveling' - air travel excluded - which invigorates and revitalizes me. Passing the small villages, and being privileged to observe people as they live their lives - eating together as a group, harvesting rice and tending to their gardens, school children dressed in uniforms laughing as they walk home-and all this as a fly on the ceiling not impacting them. The next evening in Luang Prabang I found a cheap room in a guesthouse away from the clamor and din of restaurants, bars, ... read more