popoyo

heyo nicaragua mang. we are currently in popoyo, nicaragua. so far i am on team nica if i had to choose between costa and here. Costa Rica was quite touristy where we were but nicaragua is wide open and beautiful and from what i hear how Costa Rica used to be. the white man hasn't taken over too much of it.. yet. we are staying at magnific rock, which is a restaurant slash hotel slash hostel slash apartments slash huts. we are in a cabin with a bathroom and electricity and big fans. it has been cooler here than in costa too so ac isn't necessary and i even need a sheet over me during the night. it's really windy and when it rains.. ahhh. the surf here is the best known and it's been easy to navigate where to go when with the help of locals. it hasn't been crowded at all. the friends i've made are from all over and some will definitely be a part of my life post nica. i've made a lot of buddies who live in la which will be fun for the future! one of them is a hot shot eyebrow stylist-always a good friend to have :)
we traveled to Popoyo from Tamarindo on my birthday. that was a day of big travel, a Costa Rican futbol triumph over italy, which meant no one else was traveling so it made it easy for us. upon arrival we purchased an obscene amount of nicaraguan rum, made it to popoyo, and got settled into a lazy afternoon. ocean swims happened, then we went to dinner for my birthday and to the hot springs after. sadly this is the second year in a row without birthday cake for me. but i guess it is worth it to be here. maybe... i guess what i'm trying to say is if anyone can have a big ol costco cake (vanilla/yellow) waiting for me upon arrival i'd really appreciate it. jewel is bueno too.
the only snag in my trip so far was being mauled by rocks out in the ocean which landed me in a "hospital". there was a big language barrier but i still had a great time with the medical folks who treated me and got somewhat of a pedicure from one of the assistants. it was a lot of blood and a decent amount of stitches later that is keeping me from the ocean for a week. i am counting down the minutes until i can get back in the water. or walk around for that matter. yes, they did give me antibiotics too so i'm gonna do my best to rest and avoid infection. there is a french man here that we have befriended named Franck who used to be a pro surfer and has quite the first aid kit so I am in good hands. the whole situation did make me a little homesick though and wanting to be comforted. just one of those times when you realize you're an adult now though so i sported my big girl pants and kept my smile on. the real tragedy might be that it ruined my favorite tattoo. fingers crossed.
i wish i had something exciting to say i was needing to head off to, but in reality i am just going to plop down in a hammock, do some writing, and take a nap. it's a good life.

donde esta la biblioteca

hola amigos! coming at a ya live from tamarindo, Costa Rica. i've  been here for two days now and it has been perfect. the best thing about it is not having to leave in a week or two or three or four.. or even 5! i don't know how one can vacation any other way. i hope my new job allows for the breaks that teaching did!
day one was a long one of solo travels which sounded annoying at first, but i ended up really loving every quick minute of it. had a first class row to myself on the plane to San Jose. upon arrival i took a taxi to the bus station, where i ended up having to wait four hours for the next one to tamarindo. i started and finished the fault in our stars (great book and movie peeps, just keep those tissues handy), turned down various offers from men selling things, and tried with all my might to not drink too much because i had read it would be a 6 hour bus ride without bathroom breaks. thankfully not going to the bathroom is one of my talents.
once on the bus i missed the whole assigned seats deal but the hombre whose seat i took was kind enough to just trade since i was all settled in already with the dude next to me. he was a friendly faced man in his 60s and i shared a headphone with him until he fell asleep. the view from the trip was unbelievable and kept me from getting bored. i have never seen so much clean green. i was expecting it to be a lot more like haiti which is beautiful, but quite filthy in parts. there is no garbage to be seen on the streets and hills and leaves for miles. i finally arrived to the hotel at night and had to track down tim to let me in. of course he was already acquainted with the town and found a neat little hostel and bar to wait for me at. i dropped my stuff and we headed back there. the brothers that run it came over from france. there is an upstairs with a bunch of hammocks to sleep in and a large outdoor bar and dancing area downstairs. we hope to spend a couple nights there next week. it is right on the ocean and we found friends with the owners.

yesterday was a day of exploration. i went for a "run" in the morning and got WORKED by the hills here. mornings are quite in tamarindo and i had much of the town to myself. after my run we went exploring, around the town and beaches. we saw a monkey herd up in the trees and a ton of iguanas. the sand is covered with crabs of all kinds and pretty shells and sand dollars. it's crazy to see things that only existed at zoos or in gift shops to me just out in the open every few feet.
the beach was pretty empty and we had big stretches of it to ourselves. i spent some time exploring on my own, and of course the first group of men i meet watching the usa game are from wrigleyville. needless to say, i did not stick around to talk to them for long. i didn't travel all this way to find mutual friends. i had a couple beers by the pool after and then we went out on the town. i had fresh fish tacos for dinner and a watermelon mojito. we hung out at the hammock hostel again with our friends there and took our jungle shortcut home. tamarindo is a beautiful, active town. the people are very friendly and all seem to be on the same schedule.
today i'm going to find two friends from home.  they are in tamarindo for the next two nights and really know the town. it's always nice to  see a familiar face. and just in time for latin night too!! i am a terrible dancer but i'll be dammed if i don't give salsa dancing a go! here's to hoping i left my father's rhythm at home!
hope you all are enjoying your june! pictures to come...