Travel Lessons Learned Too Late

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Lesson #1
Don´t Drink The Water! (p.s. The ocean is water.)
MaryAnne and I had a blast surfing in San Juan del Sur with Larry, our friend from the Scuba Shack. The waves at Remanso Beach were awesome and the water was perfect but I wiped out one too many times in the surf and... well, let´s just say I won´t need a Neti pot for months, but I could really use some Immodium AD. SWALLOWING THE OCEAN IS NOT RECOMMENDED.


Lesson #2
Don´t Be A Stinky Gringo!
While this doesn´t necessarily apply to me... okay sometimes it does, but it´s just so easy to pull on a stinky shirt. Especially if you´re an ultra light backpacker, as I am, and you only brought 2, one of which you´re saving to wear on the flight home so you don´t get thrown off the plane for being a stinky gringo. Wash your body and your stinky shirts daily! SHOWERING DAILY IN HOT, DUSTY COUNTRIES IS ENCOURAGED. (The use of deodorant is appreciated.)


Lesson #3
Don´t Talk To MaryAnne For Two Hours From The Moment She Wakes Up!
Don´t hit her over the head with your towel and pretend it was an accident and then when she wakes up and looks at you with a scowl on her face, don´t say "Oh, I´m sorry, did I wake you?" It´s best not even to acknowledge her existence until after she has had at least two cups of coffee and begins to speak on her own. WAKING A TRAVELING COMPANION WHO IS NOT A MORNING PERSON IS NOT RECOMMENDED.


Lesson #4
Don´t Drink Excessive Liquids Right Before Taking A Four Hour Bus Ride Over Bumpy Roads! Hopefully, this is self-explanatory. (Nicaraguan buses don´t have bathrooms.)


Lesson #5
Pack The Battery Charger For Your Camera!
I can't even begin to tell you how important this lesson is...however, let me also add that if you have an awesome Panasonic DMC TZ3 with a zoom of 10x and you find yourself surrounded by howler monkeys, some of whom are the most adorable little creatures you´ve ever seen and you can´t take a picture of them because your camera battery is dead because you forgot to pack the charger, you´re going to be really irritated with yourself. It´s helpful in situations like this to have a traveling companion who also has a camera.


We´re having a great time and I will add more photos when I can get them from MaryAnne's camera...mine, sadly, went dead the day we went surfing.

Los Chicas Bravas (Debbie and MaryAnne)

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Photos

Hot Surfer Chick
At Remanso Beach.

Larry and Stoli
Our friends from the Scuba Shack.

Stoli
Stoli is a purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback, the National dog of South Africa, originally bred for lion hunting. She spends her days hunting for rocks in the ocean.

San Juan del Sur
This shot was taken from out by the driftwood.

MaryAnne
Check out MaryAnne's hat... she traded with some local on the bus to San Juan and gave him her new blue baseball cap for this beat up Che Guevera hat. It was a good trade.

Sleeping on the bus
Indianapolis to Atlanta to Managua to San Juan del Sur... 9.5 traveling hours! She was one tired girl!

Pacific Ocean
This shot was taken out at one of the points from the bay at San Juan del Sur. The wind was so strong it was capable of knocking us over. We took refuge behind rock walls during especially strong gusts.

Fishing Boat
The restaurants serve the 'catch of the day' so you never really know what you're going to get!

The Catholic Church
Around the corner from our hostel in San Juan.

Sunset 1
The sunsets are my favorite photos. It's hard to know which one to add so I'll most likely add several. All taken from San Juan del Sur.