a picture is worth a thousand words

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a whole new world begins right here

over the rainbow there is no fear

your dreams awake into themselves

you soar up high far over hell

your wings don´t melt you near the sun

tho made with wax you´re having fun

your worries you left far behind

in a land you´ll never find

come with me I´ll show you beauty

just open up your heart to me

first you open then you sing

soaring echoes hear them ring

gratidued is deep and true

we have so little yet we make do

I have more than I could ask

instead of more than could give back

if I ask more than I could give

such a sad life that I should life

the more you give the more you have

so give this world a hearty laugh

all is perfect in a sense

open your eyes it is immense

a painting of the universe

in every part you can immerse

who is the maker no one knows

god or tao it surely flows

know enough and then you stop

we have no need to reach the top

love is like a healthy tree

it bears hundreds of healthy seeds

some say that it will set you free

some say it makes your heart to bleed

both are right it has two sides

inside me yin and yang collides



so many ways that you can be

infinite possibilities

still telling the same story

of how we dream our lives to be

writing is thought music emotion

marry them enter the ocean

of bliss and ignorance and breath

forgetting all about the death

in living life we´re swept away

dumbfounded no words to say

far better things await always

ride them like a green trolly

don´t know where they are or what

they are so we just have to trust

believe yourself you need to love

this life your soul are far above

there´s nothing you should trade them for

if you are completely pure

I´ve only found the way for me

but it´s my favorite way to see

the colors smells and sounds I hear

are brilliant and crystal clear

I´m overwhelmed I overflow

give you the excess let it go

knowing when to stop is wise

not knowing will blind your eyes

true richness is only that

you have enough and stop at that

wanting more you´re never full

always empty in your soul

thank you all for hearing me

your humble servant, fearingly

for now you all are fit to judge

so please don´t hold me any grudge.



Last night I went out to this clubbing complex in San Jose. I just had to dance the night away to take my mind off what I lost. (my notebooks) I danced for a while, but then I got pretty tired and went home. It was really crazy though. There are a lot of people out clubbing. There were these crazy girls dressed up like cowgirls with really short shorts and cowboy hats. They were the professional dancers. I was amazed at how beautiful they were. Tall and skinny...I wasn´t expecting much, but a friend of mine told me girls in costa rica are very beautiful, and they really are! Costa Rica is so different from anywhere I´ve been. They have more money, and you notice a lot of difference. It´s crazy. First when I got in, on the bus, I noticed there wasn´t hardly any trash on the road. Also, there were nice pastures of cows. When I got to san jose, I realized that costa rica has the most variety I´ve seen in people--white, latino, spanish, african. It´s got everything! And the city is nicer than any I´ve seen for quite a while. The people act different too. And it´s all about pura vida. I had remembrances of when I was here in 2001, and I found that stamp on my passport.

So, to go back. In granada, I found that piano. I was playing it, and this family came in to listen. They said they liked it a lot. After I played them a few songs, the girl said she played. I asked her to play something. She sat down and played a few jazz songs that were amazing. The first one, she said she learned by ear at age ten. I asked how old she was. 12! I was blown away. For some reason, they kept saying how I was good, but I think this girl was way better, and had way more potential. She was 12 and man she could rock! They turned out to be from mexico, and I had to get a pic with her to remember.

I was recovering in Granada, and after taking some antibiotics, I started to get better. I went to isla ometepe, which was so great. It is made of two volcanoes. I went over to the one that had rainforest. This girl at my hostel said she was climbing it tomorrow. I was suppossed to rest for a week, but I figured I could do it! We set out with our guide, who you see pics of. Man, the climb was great. She was strugglin at first, with a bad stomach, but I was like, let´s just go a little further, until we made it to the top! We went thru some really cool rainforest and were climbing thru mud, hanging on to roots. You can see my shoes--I got these new great shoes with steel toes that will take me 1000 miles literally. They are perfect.
Oh yeah, when we decided to go, I told her I´d make a call and try to get them to clear the volcano up. It is cloud forest and almost always under clouds. Only a few days a year is it clear. I called them that night, but when we hiked it, it was cloudy. However, see the pics of the next day and how clear it was! It was a tall order, but they came thru, on such short notice, so I was happy. Even if it was cloudy when we did it, I´ve got some good connections I think.

Then you can also see the pics of the kid with the petroglyphs. These things were cool. They are ancient on the island from the original inhabitants. You put your finger in them and trace them, like all the locals do, and it´s really therapeutic.

Also, I hiked up to the waterfall. I just had a nice quiet time on that island. It was really special. I watched the sunset every night. The first night I sat there thinking how this is where the two continents join, right here in ometepe. I thought about how I´m leaving central america and going to south america. Soon I will be on a whole new continent.

After ometepe, I went to san juan del sur. I just had so much fun there. A lot of my friends almost got robbed our first night, and one of them did. And I almost had trouble too, but I just walked away from it, fortunately.

The next day, I went to the beach. I got on the ride there and they didn´t notice me so it was free. Then when it was time to go, I met this girl and got a ride with her and her friends. We ended up drinking beers watching the sunset.

The day before, I met a few guys and we watched the sunset. They had a friend with a great view of the bay, so we went there and chilled a while. Then some girls came by and we went to their family, cause they were studying spanish. One girl put on her sweater to go. She screamed, and stripped all her clothes off--in her room, so we didn´t see. Her boyfriend came in, then we came in. We found a ball of baby scorpians! Then we checked her sweater and found the big mamma. She got stung! Baby scorpians were all over her clothes in the corner. I didn´t see her after that, so I don´t know how she made out.

Another riot was I met this girl Rey. She was 18 and is planning on becoming famous. So one day we got together to make some music. I played her a song and then she sang for me a bit. I was really surprised how soulful her voice was. She sang ¨Ï will always love you¨, and it was great. Her dad lived there in San Juan, nicaragua, on the beach, and he owns a pizza place I had been a few times. We went up to his place and drank beers with Jerry, and I have to say he was a really fun and wild guy! He is about 47 I think and he has a wife who is 24 from Nicaragua. That´s quite common there...I have a pic of them after the one of me and rey.

So, I met some real good people there. Another night I had a jam with this guy john from utah. He makes every song rock. We met before on the island and did a jam one night, with him mostly leading. But at the hostel in san juan, we did a lot of my songs. We did ¨Do the hymlich¨and ¨kill yourself¨and I never have had those songs rock so much, thanks to him! He was also an incredible freestyler at singing and makin stuff up. And his original songs were the best!

Another night, I cut up a big pineapple for everyone and we all ate that. It was huge and there was lots for everyone! I like sharing, that´s maybe cause I stayed back kindergarden and went twice. You learn to share...they said I should work at a hostel and be the courtesy person or something because I am such a good host, but I thought it was funny they would say that. I don´t see myself like that...I guess I was just being nice for a spell. It is really great to share food with people.

So, now I¨m faced with a whole new continent. I´m not really sure how I´m going to get there...I think maybe a boat to columbia. For a minute I was thinking of going to rio for carnival, but looks like that may be too expensive. So we´ll see. I got a guide for south america and I have to say it is overwhelming how big it is...but I ain´t scared. It will probably just take me a year or something. There is no rush--time goes slower down here anyway. I know my parents miss me, but guys, just come visit! It´s cooler here than in the states is what I figure. And this is where my life is on this journey. People are like, how long you travelling, and I say, five months, and it´s already longer than most people´s whole trips. How long you got left? The answer I give gets longer and longer. About 8 months...about a year...maybe it will be two years in a while. I don´t know. I just have to say this is a great trip and it´s where my life is now. And hey, I´m retired...I can work later. I figure if you retire first, if you can, just work later and the things you learn while pursuing your dreams will lead you to a more fulfilling life and make the whole thing more meaningful.



Man I´ve been having the craziest time lately and I can barely update you or try. It´s been so great and fun. I haven´t been to the internet, and I´m now feeling very dubious about my blog and thinking of giving it up. I feel that there is no way I can communicate my experiences in writing and do them justice, not spur of the moment anyway. So, I´ve been having that thought. Also I was walking past this very internet shop to go meet and eat with a friend, and I thought to myself, man, there is a virtual world, and here I am, and what I´m doing is so much cooler. Staring in front of a computer screen like I´m doing now. Well it´s just so unromantic, and I´ve always been a bit of a one.

Anyway, It´s nearly the full moon. What´s funny is that I thought it was a week earlier than it is. I´ve been in a time warp some time now, for that´s what travel is. I´ve been really here fully, it´s been ten days since I was at the internet, and I didn´t look forward to it. It always brings bad news somehow which makes me sad. I´m now at the beach in san juan del sur, nicaragua. Before I was at isla ometepe, made of two volcanoes. These last days have been some of the best, but every day is new and great, you never know what will happen, and I never have plans. Tomorrow I may go to san juan costa rica, a sweet beach here, or just stay in town. Or I´ll go up to Leon, because some norwiegen friends of mine are having a big party this weekend for a birthday, and well...I just can´t tell you any more than that!

Anyway, it´s about dinner time so I have to go cook. I´m still in transition making my way down to south america. I feel my trip...well, the way I think of it, south america is a completely different trip.

South america is another world, so I´m seeing it like I´m just starting a new adventure. Sure every day is a new adventure, but this is phase 3 of the trip and is so different...phase 3 is the most challenging, the most fun, the most everything. The most long...my health is better now.

A thousand mile journey begins with a single step.

I am about to take that step. Soon. In latin american time, that means 2 weeks to a month or two...ha ha. I´ve been trying to get down there, but honestly I´m just so into what I´m doing that I get a bit caught everywhere I go. But that´s exactly what you want travelling.
I know this blog is different than the others because I´m only sharing with you some of my thoughts. That´s all I can afford to share right now. As a writer and musician, you share a lot. With my music, I share some of my deepest thoughts and emotions in a potent form and speek more deeply to people than others usually do. Sometimes you get tired of performing and just have to take a break and take time to yourself.


Fortunately, I have some pictures to sell some stories, and a picture is worth a thousand words...

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Photos

Ometepe
Here I am going to Isla Ometepe, and island made of two volcanoes in the middle of the biggest lake in nicaragua, where there are freshwater bullsharks.

Comments

[Chris and Nikki]

Fantastic picture!