Bruised and sweaty in Santa Theresa

Met up with Dave in San Jose after an all-night flight with a layover in San Salvador and then we caught the twin turboprop NatureAir flight out to Tambor.



We were met by a wall of heat and a very friendly taxi driver who took us into Santa Theresa in his 4x4 truck, pointing out a howler monkey hanging above the road and the various different plantations along the way.

Surfing is brutal but fun. Being completely out of shape doesnt help of course - I have bruises all over my knees, my hips and chest and I have a torn muscle between my ribs that is so painful I am taking a day off today. But yesterday, on my third day, after nearly expiring from exhaustion paddling out through the surf, I caught my first green water wave and rode it all the way into the beach. So that's enough motivation to go back out tomorrow for some more punishment.



Santa Theresa is very sleepy and relaxed - it's too hot to be anything else. The rains seems to have come early here, so it is very humid. We're slowly adjusting to the pace, with frequent cold showers, dips in the pool and being in the ocean each day. I'm not looking forward to long bus rides in this weather.

2 Days to go!

My stuff is all in storage, I've sold my PC, the car is about to go, and everything I have left is on the dining room table waiting to be squeezed into my 50 litre backpack.

I'm still desperately trying to take care of a few last major loose ends.

Hopefully, once I'm on the road I'll have a bit more down time to dedicate to updating this blog and keeping in touch with everybody. The blog is a new experiment, so it's going to take me a little while to get comfortable with it and develop a routine.

With any luck, 72 hours from now I'll be on the beach in Costa Rica.

22 days to go

In 22 days I need to have given up my foothold in San Francisco and be on a plane to Costa Rica to start a 12 month trip through Central America, South America, Alaska, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

I have been doing a fair bit of reading and thinking but I really haven't started doing anything to prepare yet. Once I finish up at work next Wednesday, I feel like I'll be able to get a lot more accomplished, but already I have a growing sense of anxiety about preparations that remain unattended to.

Part of the task is thinking about what needs to be done for the trip, the other task is taking care of business here at home before I leave. Figuring out what I am going to sell and how, what goes into storage, what needs to be kept for the trip, or kept with someone while I'm travelling in case I need it sent to me later on, etc. I have a to-do list 266 items long.

At the same time, I know that as I get closer to my depature date, the options will become fewer and at some point there will be nothing more I can do except to get on the plane and let the journey take me on its way. Like catching a big wave.