Through My American Eyes

“At least I have the modesty to admit that lack of modesty is one of my failings.” -Hector Berlioz



     Well, Carnival has come and gone, and so have a few thousand people.  This quiet little beach town turned into a loud, crowded, and dirty tourist hotspot for about 4 days.  The beaches, once practically empty, became impossible to find a small piece of sand to lay your belongings.  All hostels and hotels were at maximum capacity, which made my job very easy (“No hay habitaciones, amigo”).  We had a pretty good group of travelers staying here for the weekend, which made the experience a little more fun.  Four Chilean’s, an American, a girl from Holland, and myself spent our afternoons enjoying adult beverages at the hostel then going to concerts on the beach in the evening.

     The weekend ended way to soon, as weekends tend to do, and almost immediately the town once again the slow-paced city by the bay that I was missing.  The beach was mine once again, the hostel cleared out, and prices were returned to normal.  Life is overly simple once more.  I spend my days reading, going to the beach, growing my beard, and talking to travelers.  That’s the best part of living long term in a hostel.  While it isn’t the greatest saying goodbye to people all the time, you do have a constant flow of new and interesting people coming into your life.  Everyone has a story, and most of them are worth listening to.

     I am about halfway through this adventure and found myself reflecting on all of the other day.  My views on the world have certainly been reshaped.  Before I came down here, and even a month or so into the trip, I looked at life in the states as “the way it should be” and compared everything that was different to life back home.  Almost as if I thought they got this or that wrong.  Typical American arrogance I guess.  Now I view the way of life both here AND in the states as a way it could be but not the way it should be.  There is no right or wrong culture, no better or worse.  It also gets depressing to see some people cringe when you tell them you are American.

     American’s have a terrible reputation with travelers.  We tend to complain a lot, don’t embrace other cultures, and have a very elitist attitude over people from other countries.  Something I have learned about us that never seems to be said, we are soft.  Not all of us, but enough.  I used to pride myself on my 60 hour work weeks.  I worked for what I had.  I complained when I worked too much, but really what did my work entail?  Most of it was involved around watching sports, or walking around a restaurant cleaning tables.  And it supplied me with more than enough income.  I went to bars, spent money on food that sometimes would go bad before I got around to eat it, wasted gas, water, and electricity out of laziness, bought things I didn’t NEED (a lot of things), paid rent and bills, and still have enough to save about $500 a month that eventually led to this trip.  Sure I “earned” the money, but people elsewhere work a whole hell of a lot harder for less, but complain a whole lot less as well.  They don’t have cars, don’t go out to eat a lot, and get the most out of all they have.  And they are happier.  I remember when our dryer went out at home and we had to hang our clothes. I thought it was such an inconvenience.  No one uses dryers down here.  And they are happier.

     This is not an attack on my homeland.  I love America and wouldn’t want to be from anywhere else.  The 4th of July is my favorite holiday.  I guess this is more of a call to action.  We aren’t better than anyone else, and even if you believe we are don’t look down on every other country and culture.  Nothing is ever wrong with humbleness, and maybe over time, the rest of the world won’t hate us.  Maybe.

     On a very different note, I just want to offer my congratulations to the Sonoma State Men's basketball team, who will be hosting their first ever home playoff game on Tuesday.  And a very contradicting spin, congratulations to Jake Lovisolo on his CCAA regular season championship with Chico State.

     I will be staying here for another week or so then back on the road. Unless something exciting happens I probably won't post again until I leave, but exciting things rarely happen here. And that's just fine.

John's Story

“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.” -John Adams


     What can I say, I love my life right now.  I spend most time in the ocean, sipping on beer, and meeting the most interesting people.
     One such man is John, and John deserves to have his story shared.  For safety reason’s his name has been changed and where he is from will be with held in the telling of this story, and I hope at the end you understand why.  The only reason I am sharing any of this with you is because I was given the go ahead from John.  Since his knowledge is far superior to my own, this will be a simplified version.
     John is a doctor of sorts but he uses all natural healing.  He has multiple doctorates (the first was achieved when he was 18) and when I jokingly said “I guess one isn’t enough.”  he laughed and replied “everyone needs a hobby, right?”  
     Knowledge just spills from his mouth at high speed.  He wrings his hands a lot when he talks and has a pretty severe stutter, as though he is trying to get the words out all at once.  Most of this he attributes to a brain injury he suffered a while back. More on that in a bit.
     This story, well my part of the story, begins a few nights back.  Myself, John, and Trevor (a Canadian man in his 40s) were sitting out in front of the hostel shooting the breeze.  John had just diagnosed another tenant with a fungal infection simply by looking at his skin.  Trevor and I were in a bit of disbelief and it must have shown on our faces because John just laughed at us.  He then turned his attention to Trevor.  From a small bump on his forehead he was able to name symptoms Trevor had been experiencing for the passed few months, including depression.  Trevor, slightly stunned, confirmed John’s diagnosis and said he had recently stopped taking his antidepressants just before coming down here.  John questioned Trevor as to how long he had been on them, and when he got the response he stated, “Oh, so you probably haven’t been able to tolerate the smell of gasoline.”
     Trevor, with a stunned look on his face said that for the passed few weeks he couldn’t stand being around the stuff.  I was hooked.  From that moment on I knew that John was the real deal.  He wasn’t just blowing smoke like some other people I have met.  Then John preceded to tell us the most amazing life story I have ever heard.
     Like I said, John uses all natural medicines.  Things that are found in the Earth.  Not so much plants but he lists dozens of elements and combinations that will cure different ailments and diseases.  He knows how to beat cancer, autism, and AIDS.  AIDS was the first one he found a cure to and just before publishing his works his life would be changed forever.
     John’s solution to AIDS was simple, and very affordable.  It would have cost the drug companies just about everything had word gotten out.  The night he completed his “recipe” he and his then pregnant wife went out to dinner to celebrate.  There was an attempt on John’s life, most likely linked to the drug companies, that left him in a coma.  Worst than that, his wife and unborn child were killed.  I realize this sounds like some sort of novel and nearly impossible to believe but I watched this man breakdown and cry as he talked about it.  Trevor and I didn’t dare ask what happened exactly.
     Needless to say, John never published his works.  He travels the world, spent most of his time in Africa, as a sort of renegade doctor.  He charges very little, and sometimes nothing.  His only goal is to help people but fear has crippled his practice and now he travels, only curing small amounts of people at a time.
     He went on to tell how greed and a hunger for power are mankind’s biggest flaws and have been for sometime but he looked at us and said, very clearly, “Love will set us free.”  Here was a man who had basically solved our biggest problem’s and because of this lost his wife and any hope happiness, and still believed in the power of love.
     I realize, after reading this, that this story doesn’t carry a fraction of the weight it had when I first heard it.  It could be that my concentration was elsewhere, or maybe the whiskey coke next to me that is now almost finished (don’t judge, it helped Hemingway), but I assure this was THE most powerful story I have ever heard.

     In a not so smooth transition, a Canadian couple has arrived to rent the business from Susie for 6 months so we have been showing them the ropes.  Carnival starts this weekend and already safety has been an issue.  Two Argentinean girls who checked into the hostel today (both very good looking) were robbed just as I finished writing this blog.  We are currently waiting for the police to show up so they can file a report.  Don’t worry mom, I will be safe.  I will post again after carnival and let you know how it all went.  I hope things in your part of the world are wonderful!

Carrying A Smile

“When a baby comes into the world, its hands are clenched. Why? Because a baby, not knowing any better, wants to grab everything, to say, ‘The whole world is mine.’  But when an old person dies, how does he do so? With his hands open. Why? Because he has learned the lesson. We can take nothing with us.”  -Albert Lewis

     Let’s see, where to begin?  If you stay anywhere too long, whether you think you like it or hate it, no matter if you meant to end up there or if you thought you were just passing through, that place begins to feel normal.  It begins to feel like home. You’re world has shape again.  I already have my favorite hangouts, eateries, beaches, and most importantly… I’ve met plenty of people around town.  It’s nice walking around town and receiving a friendly “buenos dias” from someone you met the previous day.
     Work at the hostel isn’t really work at all.  I keep the lobby tidy, show people to their rooms, but generally I hangout with tenants and talk about where we have been, where we want to go, and our lives back home.  Travelers share whatever helpful info they have about previous destinations and most people are generally on the edge of their seat when I explain what my month in the jungle was like as well as my Ayahuasca experience.
     The hostel is ran by an Australian woman named Susie.  She came out here 6 years ago after the passing of her husband and bought a large house to transform it into a hostel.  Very recently she built a house not far from town.  It sits on a cliff with the most amazing views of the ocean.  I can’t give you a square footage or anything but I will tell you that is a very nice house.  It cost a grand total of $25,000 to build and she has to pay a whopping $4 a year in taxes.
     I know I have mentioned how cheap everything is down here but I will give you a rundown of what I spend on what.  The other day I bought a liter of coca cola and a bottle of pretty decent rum.  My total was $8.48.  On the corner about 40 yards from the hostel they sell burgers.  Pretty decent burgers at that, not just for South American standards.  The price of one of these gems is $1.  For lunch there are a few places I go.  They have a set menu so you don’t exactly choose what you get but they tell you before hand.  Typically it is some sort of meat, a side salad, a banana, a huge scoop of rice, a delicious bowl of soup, and a cup of juice for $2.  A gallon of water is $1 and a 32 oz beer is $1.25.
     Life is simple here.  I have been living with 5 t-shirts for about 2 months.  Each day I see the line between ‘want’ and ‘need’ a little more clearly.  I see people here with barely anything except a smile on their face and I think back to all the people with cars, jobs, family, and more food than they need and those are the people who think happiness comes in a prescription pill.  I do think that every person needs something slightly different to find happiness but I also know that whatever it is that we need, its not much.  I get my fix each morning as I walk to the beach and pass a gymnasium where they are holding a PE class.  The sound of the basketball hitting the floor over and over is my theme song.  I walk down to the shore, wearing the same shirt I had on the day before, knowing that I have to return to the hostel in just one hour for work, and I smile.  No money in my pocket, no car to drive around in, nothing.  Yet each morning I find my tranquility in that 3 block stroll.


PS A very happy birthday to Katie Parucha!!!

The City By The Bay

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” -Mark Twain

     Good news world, I have found a hostel that will let me volunteer.  For the next two weeks I will be working at Hostel Coco Bongo in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador.  It took about 5 hours of traveling to get here from Puerto Lopez.  I wish I had some awesomely exciting stories to tell you of my recent adventures, but its been fairly routine.
     I spent five days in Puerto Lopez, mostly lounging on the beach and swimming in the ocean, which is warmer than any pool I have ever been in.  I spent one day going to a nearby island that is home of Blue-footed boobies, a bird that is mostly found on Galapagos.  They call the island the poor man’s Galapagos because it only costs $15 to go there instead of close to a thousand to get to the real Galapagos.  I did a bit of snorkeling and kayaking there, then headed back to the mainland sporting a very impressive sunburn.
    I chose to stay in Puerto Lopez for the next few days after that since I didn’t have a volunteer job lined up yet and was only paying $8 a night.  However, come Thursday, I was packed and boarding a northbound bus with my end destination set for Bahia de Caraquez.  Bahia is a self-proclaimed ‘eco-city’ and is the hub for many environmental volunteer projects in Ecuador.  Located on a peninsula with a bay to the east and the Pacific to the west, it still fit my desire of a coastal town, and with the volunteer gig all set it seemed foolish not to go here.  I can volunteer for two weeks, which still leaves about two additional weeks completely unplanned.
     My duties at the hostel are simple, sit at reception.  I spend about six hours a day sitting in the lobby in case anyone comes in.  I watch movies on my computer, study Spanish, surf the web, and talk with guests.  I’ve decided there are two types of people that travel.  The kind that haven’t established a career yet, usually mid to late 20s, and then those who have retired and are finally seeing things they have only dreamed of.  This hostel seems to be popular with the latter.  I am the only person under 50 here but we all still get along just fine.  All my days are pretty much the same.  I wake up around 8 and go running on the beach, swing by the market and get some fruit for breakfast, come back to eat and change, then back to the beach for an hour or so before I need to be at reception.  The rest of the day is spent sitting and waiting for someone to need a place to stay.  I basically live on $2-3 a day so life is cheap right now.  I’ll post again when I have something exciting to share.  Hope all is well in whatever part of the globe you are reading this from.  Ciao!