The final update... Yes I said final

Well it took a lot for me to fire out that I needed to get back home. So that is what I did. My body was telling me it was time to go back home and get back to the grind of school and all that. By the end it just started getting a little to stressful and I decided that it was in my best interest to return before my trip turned into hell trip. I want to remember the beauty that it was. So all, I am back in the states. I am in Dallas TX right now and will be in San Fran at around 745 tonight. Thank you all for the great vibes, they helped so much, and for the first time in a while I feel I did he right thing, listen to my body.

That my friends is my pray!

I have made my goal!


Micah

Location:USA

Pray

It is official, I need a change.

The day was rough, cloudy and long and with this I have come to the conclusion that I need to change the way I am doing my travels. Time to pray, well in a way... I am switching gears, time to try to volunteer.

I think that the best thing for me to do is give back, and since I am trying to pursue environmental politics why not doing something for the environment?!

I am going to look into spending time helping with reforestation or helping leatherback turtles, maybe stainable agriculture or something like that... I have a few that I am looking at and when the wifi staters working again I will hit it up.

This was easily decided when I was going freaking crazy in the bus and decided that I need to stop traveling for a while and just stick to a home base. So in around two days time I will head back to Costa Rica to try to find a place to work for the remainder of my time away, this will hopefully help with the costs as well.

There are many things that I have concluded thus far with this trip.

1) God I am small. There is so much outside of my zone of understanding, so many things that I will never understand and this is ok. I guess I strive to always be right and have this chip on my shoulder, like I must prove myself to others, I am my worst enemy when it comes to myself.

2) the world is beautiful, harsh and beautiful. I am sitting in one of the most beautiful places and looking at some of the greatest sights and this beauty comes hand in hand with death and destruction, for in this river are sharks and crocodiles, yet there are still swimmers and I still want to jump off the pier and swim in the Rio Dulce.

3) I hate being alone. And as of this very second I am perfectly fine with that. If I don't like to be alone then why the hell am I making myself be alone? I can still be self sufficient and still make my own with another person, so why do I freak out about it?! As someone I know said maybe you're and introvert and an extrovert... Is there any reason why I couldn't be? There a times when I love to be alone and there are times when I like to have people around... It has been nice having people with me to travel.

4) I am so FREAKIN impatient! I have come to the conclusion that it is hard for me to just breathe. I have been working on this for sometime and this has been the destruction force in some way for a very important relationship. How do you learn to be patient? Does it just come as you get older? I'm always in a rush and I'm always trying to get here and there, do this and that. Hurry hurry hurry! DAMN! I can sit here and tell myself to change, but how? I have been trying to slow my pace on things and take my time but that doesn't always work.

5) I have great friends. So many people have been so helpful on this trip back there at home. It amazes me, it makes me feel loved! I love the fact that my friends are so awesome and true! Finally. So I would like to say

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS THAT HAVE AIDED ME ON THIS TRIP... You know who you are! If I start naming I will leave someone out and they will feel bad and I don't want to do that right now. So thank you

I am going to stop now,

Micah

On the way to Flores Guatemala

Today we all work up around 6am to catch a bus around 7 from Antigua to Guatemala City. It was a beautiful morning in Antigua.





These are a few of the volcanos that are in the area. They are beautiful.

We caught the chicken bus to Guatemala City and prayed that our lives would be in safe hand because that driver was FREAKIN insane! These buses are the ones that we all used in high school. The big yellow ones. And they are all decked out in chrome and painted in crazy colors. Well the driver decided that he was going to race another driver and they hauled ASS! I thought that the bus was going to flip I kid you not! Cheapest roller coaster I have ever taken... $1.25 for the ride lol. We made it safe and sound to the next bus station. We went and ate at McDonalds... Yes we ate at McDonalds. But it was damn good lol a really egg and ham mcmufin! So good compared to chicken rice and beans for breakfast... Before we ate though we got a coffee... This was the funnest thing ever just look...



Yes ladies and gentlemen this is coffee in a bag... LMAO!

It was great coffee don't get me wrong but in a bag! HA! So funny

We got on the bus at 10am the cush "direct" ride with TV music and a food stop... Once again LMAO...The bus broke down an hour into the 10 hour ride... Here is the bus.



All in all it was a great day of sitting on the bus and sleeping and looking at Guatemala. Tomorrow is going to be so much better.

Here is some of the Mayan area...




Finally got to the room about 2 hours ago and am chillin. There is a sign in the room that also made me LMAO

Here is the sign...



NO ESMOKING!!!! LMAO this was the funnest thing all day! Just remember kids, ESMOKING is bad for you. NO ESMOKING... So cliché!

time for bed!

Good night,

Micah

Tikal, Guatemala

What a magical day. We all "slept in" (8:30), it was nice but our room stinks like mildew and it is way to hot... Whatever it costs less than 7 bucks a night.

Flores is a nice little island right outside of santa Elena. After we all got moving we walked around a little through town in search of la paramecia (one of the guys got a little sick from something last night). So while one of us was looking for medication to help his stomach the other two of us were looking at the sights. This is a very colorful town, really laid back very chill.





After walking around for a little bit we go a move on to Tikal.




This was one of he most Awesome places I have ever been too. I was praying that he sun would come out for a little while to brighten the day... And it did for a little while! Long enough to get a sweat on. The pictures turned out great. We spent about 5 hours there and killed two batteries (cameras) I took about 140 pictures. Some of them turned out really good. It was so amazing to see how these temples looked back then. It was interesting to see how mug work has been put into he for restoration because of course he Guatemalan jungles are pretty harsh. He sun finally died away and the rain started pouring but we didn't care. By his time I was barefoot and it was awesome. Trekking through the Mayan ruins with no shoes, really made it feel like I was doing what the Maya did back then... Well kind of. All in all the majesty that is Tikla was worth every penny, and it is one area that I have always wanted to see just never fully knew where it was, now I know lol. Here are some of the wonderful pictures from the day. This is a day that I will never forget. This to me was the climax of my adventure on the ground. Now it is time to hit up a few more places to relax a little then off to a beach to dig into my head and fix some things that need some working on. My eat portion of the trip is over now it's time for the pray portion. Don't think there will be a love portion... Not really something I'm looking for. But you never know when you're not looking for it is when it finds you... Right?... Enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them and basking in the magic of Tikal.



















































The two guys I'm traveling with, they are a lot of fun. Gaston and Trevor.




















That is good enough you can see it was great!

Good night!

Micah

Update

Hello all,

I am in Flores Guatemala. I will be going to Tikal tomorrow and it is going to rock. I dont have wifi right now so I am going off of the internet cafe and it is the best i got so no pictures right now. I am thinking about going to do a trek in the jungle for 3-5 days but i have yet to look into it. it would be going to el mirador it is a mayan site that is in the middle of no where.... We shall see. I just wanted to let you all know what I am up to. I will write again.

Micah

The past few days.

Hello everyone,

Wow what adventures! From Ometepe to Granada the on the back of a motorcycle to the surfing town of Papoyo.

Papoyo was great the vibes were a little abrasive but the area itself was beautiful!


The first day there we went well jumping


There is a yoga retreat owned by James (a guy there) and he has a brackish well there that was huge!

We uncovered the well and found two birds in the water one was dead :( but we saved one! Just happens that it is the national bird of Nicaragua.


So of course that was awesome! One life saved.

It was a lot of fun. We jumped and jumped and jumped, for a reason. The reason being the owner James wanted to film the jumps and I helped him because my camera was an underwater camera so I helped him take some video and take some pictures. It was fun.

We got over it pretty fast though.

I was hanging out with Jared. He was they guy that I hoped a ride with to Papoyo. We went and got lunch and had some cool fruit drink which made things a lot better. After that I went and took a nap and then we hung out later. It was great getting to know him.

I stayed in Papoyo for three days and then I got a bus from there to Managua the capital of Nicaragua. It was a crazy town. I had to mind myself and watch my surroundings.
I left the next day for Guatemala, with a stop in San Salvador, El Salvador. the first place we were going to stay was shady so we decided to go to a different place. We= myself and the three other people I met (the Australian,Gaston (the Argentinian), and Trevor the Cali guy)

We woke up in San Salvador to a great sunrise



It is always nice traveling with other people. It makes the time go by faster. We left the Ausi in Guatemala city. The only time that was spent in the city was getting through it in the psycho bus for $10. EXPENSIVE! We all thought that we were going to die (don't worry) then we got to Antigua. The tourist capital of Guatemala! It is beautiful though.




THe main church. I went inside and it was beautiful, I felt wrong taking pictures in the church. So no pics sorry.



This was another of the many churches. That was yesterday this is from today! Oh yeah and it rained all day.




Do you notice a difference? Lol I do!




The streets in Antigua are cobblestone and the volcano in. The back is hidden. It is very beautiful.



There are going to just be pictures from here on out.




A performing family. They were pretty good!




This kid was having so much fun and the water made it look really cool so I took a picture.




Lunch! It was sooooooooo good and it only cost $2




On of the many churches.




Part of the market. This is only a very very very small fraction of the market. It goes on forever inside. Trevor and I got lost for a minute. But it is cool as hell.

And that was pretty much the day. Now I am sitting here writing this blog and chilling. I need to go get my laundry and go get some more cash.

Hope all is well.


Micah

in San Salvador, El Salvador. on way to Guatemala.

Hello everyone I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I am doing well and I am safe and sound. I am on my way to Guatemala and I will be there tomorrow. I in the capital of El Salvador right now (San Salvador) and I will be leaving at 5 am tomorrow. I have decided that I will be camping (finally!!) at the ruins of Tikal and at Antigua. They are both spots in Guatemala and they are going to kick ass. I am running around with three other guys one from Argintina, one from Australia and one from Portland, so im nice and safe right now. We are also staying at a safe place. I just wanted to check in with everyone and let you all know that i am well. i will put pictures up when i can i am using a different comupter and that is why i am unable to do that.

love yopu all!

Micah

Ometepe to Granada via chicken bus, then off to papoyo to relax on the beach set afire with fireflies!

Emily, Andre y Ori. New friends on a fun adventure. From Ometepe to Granada. I met them on a ferry across the Nicaraguan lake.


They are great people. Thanks to Ori we go our first bus into Rivas, then we were able to catch the second bus to Granada. This was a funny point because the bus that we were supposed to catch was at 1355 (1:55 civilian). The guy on the bus was grabbing our bags and throwing us on the bus lol. It was chaos but so funny. We stood the whole 1 and a half hour ride and got dropped of in the middle of no where! The guy was like GRANADA AQUI! Granada here! And we got off. Then a taxi driver tried to get us in his taxi for some rip off price we said no and went to wait in a line were Ori again found out it was going to Granada, and the the chicken bus came around the corner a little further up the road. There were hands and bodies hangin out the window screaming at all of us to get on but it wasn't a rude scream it was like a Hey man get on let's go to Granada! Lol


They started playing some marley and we were off! We got into Granada and it is a beautiful town. The hostel we stayed at was the bearded monkey



That picture was the courtyard of the hostel.

Although there is extreme poverty in Granada it is a beautiful city. Full of color and their churches are so beautiful.
They call the below picture iglesia (it is just church)



Beautiful no?



That is just one of the other churches I dont know it's name.
Here is the front.


That is Emily in the picture.

Here are the three of the new amigos



They are cool people. It was great getting to know them. H a some more pictures of the town. No commentary.







Then we all ate dinner and went out and partied. This was the first night that I really went ut to just party. I felt secure because our group had gotten even bigger. We were on total 6 people Emily, Andre, Ori, Jared, Keith and Tim. It ended up being a lot of fun. Stayed out late, almost to late but I was still up at 645ish. To tour the town, because I had decided that I would leave that day with Jared, here are the pics from that day, yesterday.




Another beautiful church.



Some more bright colors and


The freedom obelisk.
It was cool then we ate breakfast, and Jared and I set off to Papoyo on his motorcycle. It was so much fun!

It took us about three hours or a little more and we went to some friends of Jareds friends house for a birthday party that we didn't know was happening. It was so much fun! We played football (soccer) and then we had cake the fireflies came out and it was one of the most magical times I have ever had anywhere! We and to drive the rest of the way to the hostel that I was staying in with out headlights but he had flashlights and the help of other bikers on the mud roads they helped out a lot! The fields were filed with fireflies and it was and awesome adventure! We got to the hostel safe and sound and had a beer to relax and then went to bed after chatting for a while. Jared is a cool guy from Canada. That was yesterday and the day before just thought I would update. I will write more later.

Peace all.

Micah

Moyogalpa to Moyogalpa one long bike ride

What a fun day. I decided that I would bike around a part of the island. HOLY FREAKIN COW! It was beautiful but at the same time it was LOOOOONNNNGGGGG! It took me 5 hours but it was worth the $5 to rent the bike. It was great. It rained and poured one me and I loved it! The rain here is awesome it isn't as COLD as CA. But I got to see this awesome isla up close and personal. The bike ride was also a personal achievement! It took every ounce of my soul to make it up those hills. I really had to push myself and make it. I am learning so much about myself on this trip. How to push myself, how to make myself happy. HOW TO BE PATIENT. But most of all who much life has to offer and what joy the little things can give. This is what I wanted, to learn things about myself and to make hangs in my life that I needed. Anyway, here are some pictures from today :)



There are som many pigs it is so funny!


Part of the ride can you see how went it was?


The volcano conception.


Another part of the road I was on. It was beautiful!


Well somewhere around 12km later I made it back! It was a great ride. I am off to Granada Nicaragua tomorrow. With a stay there and then the capital of Managua, after that León... And after that El Salvador! Yeah I said it! Another country! Wahoo! There is still a lot of surprises left for you guys on this trip! Just you wait and see.

Pura Vida & Peace

Micah

Fireflies on a volcano island with fresh water sharks!

Well I decided that I would change things up and travel to Nicaragua. I left San Jose Costa Rica this morning at 6am and was on a bus almost all day. It was ok I was in an aisle seat so I couldn't see much, but I'll be back in Costa Rica in a month so I'll see more then. The boarder crossing was a little shady but it went by nice and smooth and it was easy to cross. I decided that I would try this Couch Surfing thing and have landed a sweet spot on the island of Ometepe in Nicaragua. It has been a great day and I am going to crash here soon. Here are some great pictures.

Isle de Ometepe








I got to the island and found my way to Zkini's place it is great! Met some cool people from Memphis, Australia, and Germany. Saw some FIREFLIES! and had a great dinner tonight. Life is great and so far Nicaragua is beautiful! Two countries one trip, only three more to go! You'll have to see what other countries I will go to. Stay tuned. Peace!

Micah