well i am home after over 3 months of travel. panama was amazing. i spent 5 days in boca del toro and then 3 days in panama city. it was cool to visit the canal, with all of its history....i was just in time to see a boat pass through. pics to come.... i am not staying home for too long. just long enough to go to nat's birthday party. then in 2 weeks i am getting back into travel mode. i met a sweet guy, jim, on the bus to puerto viejo. we visited puerto together and then i convinced [View Full Entry]

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just wanted to say a quick hello and update you on my whereabouts. i am now in boca del toro, panama. i arrived here yesterday after spending a few days in puerto viejo, costa rica. puerto viejo was amazing and very difficult to leave. my friend jim and i rented some bikes and rode to all of the beaches south of puerto viejo...if we went a little bit further, we could have rode our bikes into panama. it was tempting but the heat and sun were a bit of a deterrent. we arrived in boca del toro yesterday. the costa rica-panama [View Full Entry]

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here are some pictures from various places. the zip lining pics are mostly of johan but he has pics of me on his camera...before we part ways i will get the pics and post some. i just want to give you all an idea of what it looks like. hugs [View Full Entry]

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it has only been a few days since i last checked in, but it feels like a week has gone by! in a good way! happy birthday to NAN and CALA. not everyone can be a virgo....poor souls! and cala & vic...congrats on your marriage. i wish i could have been there to share in the celebration. you are a sweet and inspiring couple and i wish you muchos años of love and happiness. yesterday i arrived in beautiful montezuma. the beaches here are absolutely FANTASTIC!!!!! they vary so much....the texture of the beach changes from blackish sand, to shells, to [View Full Entry]

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it has been an amazing birthday. today i went zip lining in the cloud forests of monteverde costa rica. we did 15 zip cables and a tarzan swing. i almost didn´t do the tarzan swing because i was too scared but at the last minute i decided to do it and am so glad that i did. it was an amazing sensation to drop so far. even on the road, my bday feels celebrated. i have been travelling with this guy from new zealand (johan) for the past week and he went through a lot of effort to make it feel [View Full Entry]

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today i am relaxing. i just spent two hours on the beach...reading, swimming, listening to my IPOD, watching the birds, listening to the howler monkeys and just chilling. my knees are a little sore today from yesterdays climb up volcan maderas. it took us 7 hours, round trip, to climb the volcano. johan and i started at 11:30 and the weather at the bottom of the volcano was hot and humid. but as we ascended it started to rain and become cool. it was the most difficult volcano ascension experience that i have had so far, mostly because the water was [View Full Entry]

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i created this travel blog as a way to share my travel experiences with my friends and family...those people who know me well and know my personal nuances and ways of expressing myself. since this travel blog is public, others are able to view it...others who do not know me and some have taken offense to some of the things i have written. so i would like to make a few disclaimers for those strangers who are reading my travel blogs: -my spelling is not perfect...i am writing these travel blogs on a very tight schedule....i might only have a few [View Full Entry]

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it has been an amazing two days. yesterday was the final day of fiestas augustinas in granada. granada feels like an authentic central american town....untainted by tourists. and it was quite the treat to be here for this unique celebration. ilsa, johan and i joined the celebrations for most of the day...from 10am until around 9pm. the city was full of energy and people and beer and rum and horses. there was a parade of horses that went on for hours....it seemed to be some sort of skill competition. the horses would do a prancy dance and scoot sideways. (sorry for [View Full Entry]

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hola. i arrived in nicaragua last night after two days of travel, including a day in el salvador. i stayed in zona rosa in el salvador. it was hard to imagine that this country had just ended a civil war less than 15 years ago. san salvador was so modern and the roads were the best i have seen in central america. they actually had elevated roadways which was the first time i had seen these during my travels. the clubs were modern....reminding me a bit of the clubs in miami. full of beautiful, rich, young people. eastern el salvador was [View Full Entry]

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i finally made it out of antigua but am now stuck in guata city. my bus from guata city to el salvador was delayed at the mexican border and is now running 4 hours late. ugh. but at least i have some time to upload pictures. my last night at the hostal was a fun one. i was trying to decide what to do for dinner when these italian guys that are staying at the hostel invited me to eat with them. they were making dinner....spaghetti...what else!!! they covered all the details...cheeses, wines from all over italy, bread, homemade sauce. yum. [View Full Entry]

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