travel update from medellin Colombia
Hola Amigos,
Well I am in Medellin Colombia. After I wrote my last update, I left El Salvadore and went to Nicaragua. I took an overnight Tica bus from San Salvador (an ugly crowded dangerous city) to Managua (an ugly crowded dangerous city), and then immediately got to the micro bus station at Uca and went directly to Leone. I like Leone. I had been there before in 2006, and stayed at the same hostel a place called Big Foot. good clean cheap well located. I hung around for 4 days and then went off to a littl and rather un known place called Playa Zorros (beach of the foxes). This is just the southern part of Jiquilillos, which is not in the Lonely Planet or FootPrint central America guide books, and so, it is not very visited by gringo turists which is just fine with me.
I saw a little poster in Big Foot hostel about a place called Rancho Tranquilo owned by a gringa named Tina, a cajun girl who lived for 20 years in San Francisco and now was running this surfer hostel right on the beach, and serving only vegetarian food, so I figured ah well, I may as well go there and check out this place.
I wound up staying there for 2 weeks. Very tranquilo. the first night I was there there were 3 canadian women surfers and the Scotsman who went with me from Leon. The next 4 nights I was there only me and the Scot were there. It is a good little place and Tina the owner is friendly and easy going but alas, drink all the time. She starts drinking beer every day at between 10am and 12pm and continues into the wee hours. And so it is and it is so. The place is just the way one would expect a place run by an old hippy who is drunk all the time to be run. I am not saying I didnt like it (I mean, I stayed for 13 nights) but I dont think I would go back either...
The beach is just lovely. Each day I took a 1 hour walk to an estuary about 4 or 5 km from the hostel. I seldon saw more than one or 2 people as I walkde along the ocean by my self. There were fabulous sea shells to find and the water was warm and easy to swim in if you dont go too far out. If you do, you can get caught in a rather strong undertow and wind up in Japan.
There are a few ex-pat americans who are now living there. Almost all of them gardeners or in the gardening business ( a guy who built green houses) from humboldt county california. There are a few canadiens as well. they all have "interesting" past lives. I will say no more on this subject. Other than that there are just local Nicaraguans who are mostly fisher folk not accustomed to being visited by foreigners and so they are very friendly and kind.
so I did my usual routine of walking meditations and sitting meditations, whatching the sunsets, reading and chatting with other travellers and a few locals. I read Tom Robbins classic novel "Another Roadside Attraction". I have now read all his books. I highly recommend any and all of his books to any and all of you who are looking for something amusing yet heavy. Easy to read with lots of good funny lines and a certain twinge of sadness as he reflects on the human condition. Great stuff.
So now I am here in Colombia. I love this country. Last night I went to a football match, and saw Nacional defeat Perria 3-2. Went with a Canadien, a Spañard (Basque actually) and a German. We were the International section!! Good fun. In a couple of days i will go to Popayan and then on to Ecuador and should be in Vilcabamba within 10 days.
I hope this letter finds all of you happy and healthy. I will close as usual with some quotes from some interesting people and will write again soon.
Peace and love to all
Robert
"In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves." buddha
"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." George Orwell
"The history of liberty is a history of limitation of government power, not the increase of it." Woodrow Wilson
Well I am in Medellin Colombia. After I wrote my last update, I left El Salvadore and went to Nicaragua. I took an overnight Tica bus from San Salvador (an ugly crowded dangerous city) to Managua (an ugly crowded dangerous city), and then immediately got to the micro bus station at Uca and went directly to Leone. I like Leone. I had been there before in 2006, and stayed at the same hostel a place called Big Foot. good clean cheap well located. I hung around for 4 days and then went off to a littl and rather un known place called Playa Zorros (beach of the foxes). This is just the southern part of Jiquilillos, which is not in the Lonely Planet or FootPrint central America guide books, and so, it is not very visited by gringo turists which is just fine with me.
I saw a little poster in Big Foot hostel about a place called Rancho Tranquilo owned by a gringa named Tina, a cajun girl who lived for 20 years in San Francisco and now was running this surfer hostel right on the beach, and serving only vegetarian food, so I figured ah well, I may as well go there and check out this place.
I wound up staying there for 2 weeks. Very tranquilo. the first night I was there there were 3 canadian women surfers and the Scotsman who went with me from Leon. The next 4 nights I was there only me and the Scot were there. It is a good little place and Tina the owner is friendly and easy going but alas, drink all the time. She starts drinking beer every day at between 10am and 12pm and continues into the wee hours. And so it is and it is so. The place is just the way one would expect a place run by an old hippy who is drunk all the time to be run. I am not saying I didnt like it (I mean, I stayed for 13 nights) but I dont think I would go back either...
The beach is just lovely. Each day I took a 1 hour walk to an estuary about 4 or 5 km from the hostel. I seldon saw more than one or 2 people as I walkde along the ocean by my self. There were fabulous sea shells to find and the water was warm and easy to swim in if you dont go too far out. If you do, you can get caught in a rather strong undertow and wind up in Japan.
There are a few ex-pat americans who are now living there. Almost all of them gardeners or in the gardening business ( a guy who built green houses) from humboldt county california. There are a few canadiens as well. they all have "interesting" past lives. I will say no more on this subject. Other than that there are just local Nicaraguans who are mostly fisher folk not accustomed to being visited by foreigners and so they are very friendly and kind.
so I did my usual routine of walking meditations and sitting meditations, whatching the sunsets, reading and chatting with other travellers and a few locals. I read Tom Robbins classic novel "Another Roadside Attraction". I have now read all his books. I highly recommend any and all of his books to any and all of you who are looking for something amusing yet heavy. Easy to read with lots of good funny lines and a certain twinge of sadness as he reflects on the human condition. Great stuff.
So now I am here in Colombia. I love this country. Last night I went to a football match, and saw Nacional defeat Perria 3-2. Went with a Canadien, a Spañard (Basque actually) and a German. We were the International section!! Good fun. In a couple of days i will go to Popayan and then on to Ecuador and should be in Vilcabamba within 10 days.
I hope this letter finds all of you happy and healthy. I will close as usual with some quotes from some interesting people and will write again soon.
Peace and love to all
Robert
"In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves." buddha
"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." George Orwell
"The history of liberty is a history of limitation of government power, not the increase of it." Woodrow Wilson
posted by Rambling Robert | 10:34 AM
1 Comments:
hello Bobert this is german we stayed at the house in trinidad feb 09 for carnaval!
i hope you are doing well, take care.
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