Goodbye 2007!

Hi all

 

A cold and slightly dizzy New Year`s best wish for all of you.

 

FRUITY IDEA

I am currently doing altitude adjustment in the Peruvian highland town of Huaraz before setting out on a 4 day trek tomorrow which should see me view some of the highest mountains in the Andes... I have had the idea of spending this New Year on a mountaintop in Peru, so here´s to making it happen... it is low season, however, and I think I picked a pretty dodgy hike company but they were the only ones going, let´s see if this does happen. If you don´t hear from me, send the marines.

 

REALLY REALLY RIDICULOUSLY GOOD LOOKING

I do look like a GQ cutout in my new fake designer climbing jacket, which brings me back up to par with my boy Fico... speaking of which, the living legend treated me to a very hospitable week at his place in Lima, including catching up to old Global Village friends Mary Frances, Ayelet, Sujin, Barbs and making some new ones. I caught a vicious attack of hayfever plus some Christmas blues missing the folks and my girl Susie, but we actually got into a gym routine, which, if you know both of us, is pretty amazing... so I am feeling tons better, even did a mountainbike today. My boy Fico seems to have a birthday every other weekend, however, after some due dilligence it appears his actual birthday is Jan 5... if I survive the Andes, will I survive that...? 

 

THROWING SEVEN DIFFERENT KINDS OF SMOKE IN 2007

New Year`s resolutions aren`t my bag, I am constantly making and missing goals anyway, but just so we can go on record, here are some of the to-do items...

 

1. Have a finished manuscript which I can duly peddle to disinterested publishers by the end of the year (Either and adventure tale of a how-to book... am working on both!)

2. Take some of the lessons learnt this year and really put them to work in my life... including stopping relying on crutches.

3. I will consider my year travels successful if I manage to hit up Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Columbia and Venezuela before the end of May. Brazil is a given, I gotta meet my Boy Blue in Rio for Carnival!

4. Go do one more stint in the States with the amazing folks at Lehigh... I hope to get a return invitation to be a guide for one more year, watch this space!

5. Go catch up with some good friends met on my travels in the States and Canada...

6. Go home, start training for the Argus and attempt to become an honest citizen again.

7. Oh, and I will consider my Spanish learning to have been successful (ie a good start) if I can understand what these Peruvians are saying... damn they speak fast! Failing that, I am still plugging away at the Tarot in Spanish... one card at a time!!!

 

THE LAST SUPPER

Not counting tomorrow night`s camp cookout, I will now return to my amazing hotel, the upper store is a kitchen lounge with a view of the snowcapped Andes and a FIREPLACE! Hopefully the fire is already going... I am armed with some noodles, tuna and sauce, plus a cheapie bottle of Chilean red, so my favourite backpacking activity... cooking up a storm... will be my final encore for this year.

 

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES... AND EACH OTHER

Jerry Springer had it right. Have a good one folks, be good, may all your dreams come true, or better yet, may the Big Guy (or is that Girl) give you what you need... instead of what you want.

 

Stay fruity in 2007!

--
Pieter

www.coveyfan.blogspot.com

The length of the journey doesn't matter... it is only the first step that is difficult!

AN ODE TO THE BEST OF TIMES

In the year 2006
At first I felt my head was made of bricks
My work no longer fulfilled me
This was plain for all to see

I had an itch, and when I scratched
An offer came that my dreams it matched
So quit my job, I did at last
And flew to Global Village, my worries past

The best gig ever, I´ll tell you so
Friendship learning teaching all in one go
A perfect platform to go do my thing...
Bon Jovi, Spanish learning and travelling...

With the team, Chuck Norris did his act
Fico and Nancy did the thing,,, the thing with the finger, that was our pact!
We saw some concerts, had some drinks
It was an awesome summer, one of my best methinks!

With old friend Quentin I cruised a while
Scuba and golf in Bermuda... we got some style!
With old friend Ricky we had a blast
In Mexico City life is fast!

With Sujin I conquered Mexico
Saw ancient ruins, volcanic peaks and mercados all over the show
I did a scuba and that was COOL...
Then got on a bus to go find a meditation school!

In Guatemala I met my boy Chris
Down at the Lake we cooked and jabbed with a great crew... it was pure bliss
Between Yoga and Meditation Dark Fern´s voice
Bewitched us all, and stripped me of choice

After silence, and losing two stone
I chased down Spanish School in Xela, to bad grammar I was prone
We learned we laughed, we danced some more
I even taught some devil kids... something I had never done before!

Now ready for more, I hit the road
To cave exploring and in ruin mode
Tikal, Rio Dulce, beatiful sights
Guatemala is my favourite, and by rights!

Honduras I entered on the back of a truck
The rain was no bother, with Tequila it´s just luck
I made the ferry to Utila, and all my mate were there...
Dark Fern, Lakewalker, the irrepressible pair

My sis also came, and we scubad up a storm
Or laid in some hammocks, true to backpacker form
Then Sis and me, along with my boy
Hit the road to Nicaragua, those buses were no joy!

In Leon Chris got lucky, with a gorgeous local no less
We allocated some time to ensure his success
We sped down volcanoes, and drank too much rum
I blame Frank the German, now that guy is fun!

On to the Isla, where we chilled out some more
Unless you count my injuries, this I implore
The roads were bad, and the sun got the boot
I fell of my bicycle, and the lift home was a hoot!

In time we reached Costa Rica, that country is big!
Where we did the tourist gig
We swung through jungles and rafted - you dig?
Then we splurged on a nice hotel, and had us som wine...
With room service it`s a whole new way to dine!

As sis departed, I got on a bus
To Granada in Nicaragua and Susie... there was much to discuss
Entonces this last week was pure happy I´ll say
We have parted ways, and it saddens me all day

She has gone north, and I have gone south
Now am in Lima, South America has me foaming at the mouth
A new adventure, and I am starting in style
With the legend Fico, who - in party terms - can run the Pisco mile!

To all my family and friends, wherever you are
Thanks for all you have meant to me this year, and guiding my star
My journey continues, where it leads I can´t know
But over Christmas, I shall be happy... although I don`t think it will snow!

So take care of yourselves, and for the holidays, keep living big
I look forward to our next opportunity to take a big swig
From the fountain of life, an addictive brew
Friends and family... you guys are my crew!

ROLL ON GOOD TIMES!

Ok, the update is short and sweet cause I got a lovely lady to look after...

COSTA RICA!

Me and sis had a blast for about five days in the most ridiculously expensive country in this part of the world swinging like Tarzan through jungles, river rafting and visiting pristine rain forests. We decided to splurge on her last night in town by booking into a 4 star hotel, ordering room service and watching cable TV. Nothin beats good Sunrise Cab, a pizza while checkin the kid on Love Actually get the shit kicked out of him by Love... Karla got on the plane on Thursday night after we hit her last Quesedilla, leaving me alone and destitute... but not for long!

BACK TO NICARAGUA!

Jumped back on the bus to Nicaragua on Friday and after the odd 9 hour journey including two hours at the border, finally made it back to Granada and my rendezvous with the lovely Suzie Gaskins aka Dark Fern- a little lady I have been kinda stalking across the countries since we first met in Guatemala... we proceeded to go dancing by the Christmas tree on the town square to the local Mariachis and talk up a storm all day all night long.

The next day we headed out to the beautiful volcano crater lake close to the town and book into the Monkey Hut, this place has an absolutely awesome view of the lake and we once again spent almost the whole night under the stars out on the dock. The next day we almost got up to some activity, when it was revealed to us my BOY Chris Warner and the lovely Ingrid (his Nicaraguan girlfriend which me and sis helped me get with) were comin to the hut to join up with us!

Entonces, Christobal and I went back to form and as we had done in San Marcos, Xela, Utila and now at the Monkey Hut, the famous Vegetarian Stirfry was prepared for the girls, Suzie provided the tunes on her guitar and much rum was imbibed. A moonlight swim, much friendship, laughter and good times... and another smashing rendition of the Long Way Home, I am now a believer in Norah Jones.

Man I am having a good time! Me and Suzie have left the lake, the plan is for me and Christobal to once more throw Seven Different Kinds of Smoke down for Carnival in Rio in a couple of months after going our different ways, meanwhile am back in Granada for the night and are gonna go chase down some good local food in a sec. Tomorrow we plan to hit the beach, but we both have good books and there are plenty of hammocks about, this place - the Oasis Hostal- rocks!

I am going to be sad to leave the awesome South America behind... but in mas o menos four days I board the plane to Lima and my homeboy Fico for Christmas! It's a beautiful life...

WARWOUNDS AND TARZAN

Ok, here is the not so short but ever so sweet update on what we`ve been up to for the last few days... grouped by key activities, level of danger and adrenaline experiences and overall satisfaction levels...

LEON

The beautiful colonial town of Leon was characterized by three distinguishing characteristics:

1. VOLCANO BOARDING ROCKS! Chris, Karla and I, along with some highly spirited Swiss Misses summited an active volcano before storming down it on wooden boards at speeds of about 45km-h, it was awesome! Another traveler got some representative video of the experience, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk1kVJeETVo. Not only did we look smoking hot in our yellow jumpsuits, but we acted the part too!
2. THROWING SEVEN DIFFERENT KINDS OF SMOKE
Like our man Dupree in You Me and Dupree, my sister assisted Chris on our first night in Leon to get the number of the hottest Nicaraguan local in town. We then proceeded to hang around Leon for the next three days to ensure our boy can make good during a beach rendezvous on the Tuesday. That he did, we have now been officially been christened WingMan and WingWoman extraordinaire, in fact we have lost the pleasure of his company as he has headed back to Leon to take things further with the lovely Ingrid. We feel like proud parents... Leon was a great party, I clearly had way too much Rum catching up with good mate Frank, but hey, a man`s gotta do what a man`s gotta do...
3. Finally escaping the rampant kids running around with their drums making conversation impossible and having some awesome steak on the last night, me and Sis left Chris to his romantic pursuits and headed down to Volcanic Isla de Omepete on Lake Nicaragua. Fighting off aggressive locals all the way (getting from bus A to bus B entails rugby scrumming about 20 guys who want to bundle you into their more expensive taxi) and doing the overcrowded local bus thing, we finally ended up on the island in a beautiful spot with great service, a lovely beach and a towering volcano over us.

ISLA DE OMEPETE

The beautiful Isla is composed of two islands with Volcanos in their centre. In ages yonker they were fused by a small stretch of land, we spent one night on Island 1 and then took a 2 hour bus to travel to another spot on Island 2 (a 20km ride, but the roads are godawful). Great rustic spot with nice hammocks and good sunsets, we settled in and waited for Chris to arrive with more war stories. Duly, the next day he pitched up and we got some bikes to go check out a beautiful nearby volcano. After a gruelling hike, they decided to leg back the 2kms to the hotel while I thought it is a really really good idea to try and circumnavigate the island with about an hour of daylight left.

Reaffirming my MENSA membership, after about an hour of cycling, I realized I had both overestimated my own abilities and the remaining sunlight, and underestimated the length of road to get round the island. To make a long story short, I also had no water, and proceeded to get a Coke at the local village. The shop in question had no change, I wasted about another half hour hunting down change for the lady, and fell myself to smithereens in the process. My last half hour of sunlight was spent bleeding off my shoulder and cramping in the legs, the sun sets around 17h30 around here... but I felt I was getting there, at least I was no on the exact other side of the island past halfway.

Pitch black darkness ensued, and after about an hour slowly cycling down the awful road with only the fireflies for companionship, I got to a small local town. An English speaking local helped me call Chris and Sis at the hotel to let them know I am still ok, then we proceeded to devise a plan to get me the last 15km to my hotel. Now understand, there are virtually no vehicles on the island, the nearest taxi was about 2 hours away and I was full of skin wounds dammit, this requires some TLC! My new best friend calmed me down with a beer or two, I was about to bravely hit the road in the darkness again when we elected to go with plan b.

This entailed me getting onto the back of the motorcycle of his mate (who had been having the beers with me) with me hoisting my bicycle on my back. So we must have seemed pretty comical... for the next three kms we were speeding down the road (way too fast), a local with a gringo behind him with a bicycle on his naked back in turn... definitely my most interesting voyage. Luck is a lady with a pickup truck, and I managed to find another lift for my last 10kms home... when I got back sis had kept dinner for me, a clean up swim and a size beer later and I was good as gold, overinflating my ordeal to the amusement of the rest of the crowd. As it was our last night with Chris`s companionship, lots of rum was necessary, and this also meant we did not make our intended 4 o´clock departure the next day...

BORDER CROSSING!

We eventually made it to the Costa Rican border by bus, ferry, taxi and foot, got our bus down to Las Juntas (the closest town as far as we could tell to Monte Verde, our next stop). Three hours later, this bus drops us off in the middle of f/&%king nowhere, we decided to splurge on a taxi and push on to the mountainous town of Santa Elena, close to the cloud forest of Monte Verde and the next pulsating activity, namely canopy ziplining through the cloud forest. After a bit of trouble finding overexpensive accommodations rounding off our 12 hours of travel, we collapsed in bed.

The canopy ziplining this morning was all we expected and more... vertical drops into the jungle of more than 100 feet as you speed across about 300m to the other side of the raving. There was also a massive swing where duly we did the Tarzan holler and almost wet our pants, especially my sister who is a screamer...

We did a strong morning, and now as I write this mail we are back on the road and ahead of schedule, we hit San Jose tonight and hope to still catch some turtles, sunset cruises and river rafting fun before she heads out on Thursday and I continue my travels...

Take care sports fans!

Hi guys and girls, quick update from the rocking country of Nicaragua comin your way right now...!

GUATEMALA WRAP-UP

I spent an amazing last ten days hustling all over Guatemala after Spanish School, along the way doing awesome spelunking, visiting the magical ruins of Tikal in the jungle, doing a horse ride in a rubber plantation, kayaking on the lake in the morning and spotting some howler monkeys, cruising down to Livingstone on a lancha and then eventually hustling over to Honduras to meet up with the gang in the Bay Islands... The beers were cold, the places beautiful, the people amazing and new friendships were formed... Guatemala rocks, I will be back!

HONDURAS SCUBA LIVE!

I have mixed feelings on Honduras... I entered the country with a truck driver, eventually made the ferry to the Bay Islands by hitchiking on the back of a pick-up truck in the rain (my halfjack Tequila limited the discomfort of that situation) and did a few dives on the island. Utila is one of the cheaper scuba spots around, and I guess it shows. Although I had some great dives (30m to a wreck was quite memorable) I found the customer service average, the people on the island only marginally friendly and the whole vibe just kinda... off. The weather was also a bit crappy half the time... This, however, was balanced out by the amazing group of people we were with, the crowd from the States including Magical Suzie the songbird, my buddy Chris, Joel and Mark the intrepid Aussies, my sis who arrived halfway through and some other cool Dutch and Scandinavian folks we met along the way. There was two magical days just hanging out on the dock in hammocks, and our last dives we did with a Will Ferrell lookalike, we had a blast! However, when it is time to go it is time to go, and we hustled our way out down to the Nicaraugan border over two days of sweaty buses.

I have been in a pretty lousy funk for a few days now due to some inexcusable behaviour on the island, I do think The Big Guy has punished me enough yesterday and the day before, two separate children on two separate buses puked on me and peed on my foot, confirming that my karma is slightly off. Think I am rounding the corner now and my mood might be picking up, and so we enter a new country with a fresh start...

NICARAGUA

Only been in this country a day, but loving it already. We bumped into my buddy Frank from Germany again, we once again killed off some rum, hit the Leon nightlife hard and are full of giggles and war stories this morning. People are friendly, girls are good looking (Chris will confirm this) and the vibe is pretty good. And we are just about on our way to go sandboard down a volcano, so gotta cut this short!"!!!

Take care of yourselves, be good, and if you can`t be good, be good at it!

--
Pieter

www.coveyfan.blogspot.com

The length of the journey doesn't matter... it is only the first step that is difficult!