Scorpions and Hospitals

Well, you know how we usually write and say that well not much has really happened bla bla bla, well after the last blog we were walking through a park and i was stung by a Scorpion. Some how it was on my jacket right near my chest/heart area and i didn't see it when i went to unzip it a little. Damn it hurt. A real intense throbbing, deep ache and then swelling so as i couldn't move my finger. Thankfully it was just my finger. It was a big bugger too and I had no idea what to do. We took off for the nearby pharmacy which gave us directions to a nearby clinic. There, we were in and out in under an hour and a half. In that time I was registered, seen by a doctor, given two jabs, one in the butt and one in the arm, and handed a bunch of drugs. They treated me with spanglish speaking doctors and pharmacists.

The worst thing about it all was that when i was told i was going to have to have the injections we went to the pharmacy and Thought that one of the two hot young pharmaists was going to have to jab my butt, but luckily there was a nice little older nurse, and my ego is still intact (I write as if it was ever in danger).

At the end of it all I asked the lovely lady doctor where do i pay and it was all for free! The Australian and most definitely the American medical systems could learn a huge thing or two about efficiency, service quality and cost. I'm thankful this happened in Costa Rica.

And i'm okay, the drugs made me all weird (or just weirder i guess) and then i went to sleep.

So yeah, not much has been happening, just cruising around, safe and well. Hope the rest of you are just as well. Take care everyone, love to all

Hensley, when the hair starts falling from my head and accumulating on my back and shoulders in the density of your own body, or when Cleo lists you as one of Australia´s hottest young professionals, then i´ll listen to your advice about vanity and hair styles.

Wescombe, I think the fact that you are still talking about goon bags and trying to do your phD means that maybe i shouldn't listen to you at all, ever. And as for manning up? Unfortunately I've hand to punch or shove a bunch of weird guys in Nicaragua either grabing at meagan or our pockets. Meagan tries to kick them but her legs are too short. So that's where the angry rugby player is. Like the brilliant first 3 minute foul against fisher in 2000, i can still go from focused to overly angry in under 2 seconds.

love you both

The story of chocolate

We have been helping out on a chocolate farm lately, i personally would volunteer for a beer farm first but apparently they don't grow on trees around here. As such it is the elusive yellow or orange cacao pod that we have been hunting and wielding machetes at. Yes, they let us hve machetes. I think they actually give them out as first birthday presents around here. Although the farm we are at is very young and the first time they harvested the cacao pods this year they only gave the machetes to the boys and the girls had to follow behind picking up the pods and then carrying them in little sacks. ha ha ha brilliant!

The family we are staying with is great, very... rural and sweet. One of the brother, cousin dudes maybe/should be in Gero's blast program but you can always learn more about cows and good wood. We eat some brilliant meals of beans and rice, rice and beans and Gallo Pinto (a Costa Rican Meal of beans and rice) but it's kind of like Jane Franklin or camp, enough chile sauce (thai sweet chilli or Tapito) will fix anything. And, here in the land of meat lovers and fried food (I think KFC is a health food) they have this awesome veggie sauce everywhere. it is really good with rice and beans or rice and bean soup, or even gallo pinto.

No real plans for when we may leave yet or anything else but we'll be sure to let you know when and if we make our minds up. The farm is very relaxing and I need to practice my spanish and learn the making of chocolate if i am going to continue to eat so much of it.

well sorry it is short and sweet but best be off, take care

So we´re in Costa Rica!!!
Lot´s of stuff going on right now, especially as we head to the ends of our travels with just a month to go. We have two weeks planned volunteering on another farm, some diving, lots of hiking, some camping and probably some more bad chinese food. Last night they served the chop suey with wonder bread.

So the highlight since meagan last wrote was our week long stay at a little permaculture farm on Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua. It was awesome. We ate really well. They had so many goodies it´s tough to talk about them, but fresh wholewheat bread, woodfired pizzas, honey, homemade salsas, nutella, tahini and a bunch of sweet treats. The chocolate cake was awesome. Needless to say, my slim toned diving physique (if you believe this your drunk) from Utila has wasted away and whenever we finish wherever we finish i´ll be needing a new pair of running shoes and a bit of time with them.

The farm is very very very tranqilo and the locals in the area son muy amable. The place was great, except for the fact that all this humidity is making most of our stuff get a a nice layer of mold on it... mmmmmm yummy! that definitely blows but what are you going to do about it hey?

We´re really looking forward to getting to our next farm and seeing what we can learn and offer and also looking forward to doing some good hiking in a few of the beautiful parks.

well, i best be off, take care all and stay in touch!

Many Thanks!

Thank you all for the kind birthday wishes! It was a fabulous one to say the least. We spent 5 days on Little Corn Island on the Carribean side of Nicaragua. We went diving, lazed on the beach, and enjoyed some peace and quiet. The ocean sent a gift which will most likely make an appearance in the slideshow. A gold lined sea goddess which is a tiny nudibranch we have been looking for the entire time we have been diving in the carribean. I was also treated to a lovely Thai meal and a glass of wine. It just doesn´t get much better than that for a birthday. Since the last blog we have been to the cities of Granada and Leon and stayed in the tranquil Reserva Miraflor. We stayed with a family that is a member of a organic farming cooperative supporting tourism. We arrived in the mountains and were astonished by the splendid quiet. All you could hear were birds, insects, and cows. After baking in the big cities the cool fresh air was a relief. We drank fresh roasted organic coffee and milk straight from the udder. Our mom prepared vegetarian dishes with eggs from the chickens, homemade cheese, and vegetables and herbs from their amazing gardens. The extended family that worked the small farm had ducks, chickens, cows, a deer, horses, organic coffee, fruits (white peaches, bananas), and vegetables (broccoli, carrots, herbs, the works). After asking what they fed each of the animals we discovered that everyone ate tortillas. I could have stayed forever but hopefully we will find more of those luxuries along the way. For now we are on Isla de Ometepe heading for a farm to lend a hand check out the area.

Hope all is well with everyone and thanks again for all the happy birthday´s it really made my day!