About Me

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NOMADIC LIFESTYLE, EARTH, United States
After getting my first passport in 2006 and traveling to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania my life changed. I began the process of getting rid of all my possessions and traveling the world. Traveling to over 125 countries and all 7 continents, hostels have been my home. This "new life" has taught me what is important and it was NOT accumulating money or possessions. Traveling is the best education. I hope my blog will encourage others to travel. My World Tattoo was a way for me to express my PASSION FOR TRAVEL.

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COSTA RICA, Playa Tamarindo


Friday May 30th thru May 31st

I arrived at Playa Tamarindo yesterday and it was exactly as I was told, very Americanized. Luxury condos, pizza huts and souvenir shops. I survived the tropical storm that hit Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Luckily I had just left San Juan del Sur before the storm hit. I was in Liberia when the storm hit and there was 24 hrs of some of the hardest rain that I have ever seen.
Tomorrow I go on a catamaran sailing and snorkeling. It is my first expenditure splurge but I always did love sailing even though I have not had many opportunites.

NICARAGUA, San Juan del Sur (Maderas Beach)














































Tuesday May 27th

I took the early truck shuttle with 15 surfers to one of the best beaches to surf in Nicaragua. Another 25 joined a couple of hrs later. I watched for several hours and was amazed at the skill of many of these surfers. There was a crew videotaping what I assume were 2 Nicaraguan celebrity surfers. They were amazing. This seems to be the town to learn to surf. Private lessons are cheap and so are the accommodations.

NICARAGUA, Climbing Volcan Conception









































































































































Sunday May 25th

Today I along with my guide and 4 people from Belgium and 2 Aussies climbed Volcan Conception up to the 1400 meter mark. The volcano is almost a perfect cone and is 1610 meters high with an almost vertical climb through the jungle up to the 100 meter mark. Then it is slippery volcanic rock which is mostly like loose gravel. The last 300 meters involved hanging onto rocks to keep from sliding back down. The volcano was active only 5 months ago so that added to the level of excitement and danger. We saw lots of howler monkeys on the way up through the jungle. At 1400 meters we wanted to continue but the clouds completely covered the top of the volcano and the guide said there were many crevices to fall in and since we could not see , we would have to go back down.

That is when it got really scary. The descent was very slippery and everyone kept falling and then sliding for several feet before being able to catch onto a rock. The guide even caught one girl who started sliding and slid for almost 10 feet before he stopped here. Needless to say we went down very slowly. The climb was 9 hrs up and down and everyone was tired and bruised afterwards.

I will post pictures hopefully tomorrow.

NICARAGUA, Granada to Isle of Ometepe







Thursday May 23rd

I took the ferry from San Jorge to the Isle of Ometepe which rises out of Lake Nicaragua from 2 volcanoes, Volcan Maderas and Volcan Conception. After arriving I took a taxi to Santo Domingo for what is the best beach on the island according to most. I stayed there one night and then went to Myogalpa to climb Volcan Conception.

NICARAGUA, Laguna de Apoyo















Happy 11th Birthday Kade

This morning I went to the Granada open air market and then took a day trip to the Laguna de Apoyo which is a crater lake in a dormant volcano. The lake was very beautiful but the weather did not actually cooperate and it was cloudy most of the day. I went kayaking, swimming and spent the remainder of the day in a hammock. Somebody has got to do it. Today actually seemed a little more like vacation than traveling and I prefer traveling.

NICARAGUA, San Juan del Sur






















I arrived a San Juan del Sur from the Isle of Ometepe today after a one hr ferry ride and 1 hr local bus from Rivas. Lots of surfers here, I think that is the main reason many come here.

NICARAGUA, Granada

































May 20, 2008

Happy birthday Rusty.

Granada is the oldest city in the Americas. It was founded in 1524 by the conquistador Hernandez de Cordoba. Nicaragua´s currency is also the cordoba.

Today I walked around Granada taking pictures. I went to the Iglesia de La Merced which was completed in 1539. I climbed the bell tower for an incredible view of the city. Later I went to Parque Central where there was some kind of religous procession to the cathedral.

I hope to go to one of the volcanoes or Laguna de Apoyo tomorrow depending on the rain. It is the rainy season or green season as the tourism officials call it.