BubblesandBugs.com - Travel and Scuba

Pura Vida!

Willits, Julia, and Travis arrived on August 2nd and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. On Sunday morning we picked up our rental car and headed north to La Fortuna. We stayed at an amazing place called, Arenal Observatory Lodge. Just look at the views of Volcano Arenal from our rooms!

This place was beautiful and Cesar at the front desk took good care of us. And the free breakfast was SO good! The Volcano put on quite a show for us too - when we first arrived we heard a few rumbles and soon figured out that it was the volcano, not thunder. At night we could watch the lava flowing from the comfort of our rooms. It was amazing.

The first day in La Fortuna, we decided to just relax by the pool and hot tub and decide our plans. Monday we took the Sky Treks Canopy Tour. This was by far the best canopy tour I’ve done. The longest line was over 2400 feet and we were over 600 feet above ground. We soared through clouds and trees and our guides were fantastic. I highly recommend this.

The next day we went with Wave Expeditions and did the Class IV white water rafting trip down the River Toro. It was one of the funnest rafting trips I’ve taken. We were fed pineapple and watermelon on our morning break and then Jason, Willits, and Travis decided to take the next rapid without the boat. They went down (helmets and PFD’s) with only a few scrapes and bruises, but seemed to have a great time. Unfortunetly I don’t have any pictures of the river. But Travis bought the CD of pictures from the trip, so hopefully he’ll share a few.

That evening we went to Baldi Hot Springs. We decided on this one because it was about $40 less than Tabacon….but it was still great. We were entertained watching people being thrown around like rag dolls on the waterslide and we hopped around to the different pools that ranged from about 90-115 degrees. It was a perfect end to a few busy days.

Yesterday we made the trek down the 8 km bumpy road from our hotel for the last time and headed to Tortuguero. We drove to La Pavona, parked the car and took an hour boat ride through the canals to arrive at Casa Marbella B&B. We walked around for a bit, grabbed some caribbean dinner at Miriam’s and then headed to the beach from 8-10 pm to watch a GIANT green turtle lay her eggs on the beach. This was one of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed. These turtles lay eggs 5 times per year and they are all over the beach. We were put in groups, because apparently about 700 people were viewing this last night. So we just watched one turtle during the entire 2 hour process. Taking pictures is illegal, as it disturbs the turtles, but if you google Tortuguero green turtle eggs and look at the images, you’ll get an idea of what we saw.

This morning we woke up at 5:30 to go on a canal tour of Tortugueros National Park. It started our a little slow (and rainy!) but we ended up spotting howler monkeys, white faced monkeys, spider monkeys, parrots, toucans, a caymen, an otter and a whole lot of other birds that i don’t remember. Now we are just hanging out today (in the rain!) and tomorrow we head to Puerto Viejo for the next 4 days.

Here is a picture of the sunset we saw last night from our hotel dock:

It´s pouring rain and we all just took a 3 hour nap. Now it’s time to kick the boys butts in spades.

Cheers!

Perro Frito por fa vor!! -

yes…that´s right…fried dog would be better than the food in Nicaragua.  The best meal we had in the last week has been a 1$ hotdog in Granada.  There has been pizza, with what we think was rat tail sausauge, cheese that doesn´t seem like a dairy product, weird squash salad, spagetti that you could classify as radioactive, and i had some bacon that might make me never eat bacon again.  I have been utterly disappointed in the lack of street food in Nicaragua.  Everywhere else they have had grilled meats and typical dishes in abundance.  We had trouble finding anything local to eat.  Hopefully CR will be better.

That being said,  I wanted to give everyone an update on where things stand:

• we have just arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica
• It took about 11 hours by bus from San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
• We had zero trouble at the border and were welcomed very warmly into Costa Rica
• We spent the last week in Nicaragua…Granada, Laguna De Apoyo, and San Juan Del Sur.
• Our readers were right, Laguna De Apoyo was great.  We went totally blind based on a comment from a reader.  Thanks Sean!!
• If you are ever in Granada, make a stop at Crater´s Edge resort.  Most comfortable we have been on the entire trip.
• The beach in San Juan Del Sur proper is very pretty, but pretty much sucks.
• We finally figured out where everyone goes.  Maderas beach (just took the shuttle from Casa Oro).  Maderas was amazing.  Huge cliffs, clear water, fun waves, and lots of surfers (of all skill levels) to watch.   We went to the beach 2 days in a row.
• we slept like crap the last 2 nights in San Juan Del Sur.  we learned our lesson in staying for cheap next to a bar.  The first night was ok, but the 2nd they had a loud metal band playing and last night a poker tourney that sounded like Armageddon.  I swear there were 40 surfer guys singing Bob Marley at the top of their lungs for like an hour.
• We still can´t upload pictures.  The computer I am on now is locked in a huge Military grade cage, so I can´t plug in the USB reader.  More to come, I promise
• We are picking up Willits, Julia, and Travis at the airport tomorrow.  Can´t wait guys!!
• Then we are off to La Fortuna and Volcano Arenal for some zip lines, whitewater rafting, hot springs, and maybe a beer or 2…haha

Later

jason

Taking full advantage of free, semi-fast internet in Granada

Yes, that’s right. Our hostel, Hostel Oasis, offers free internet AND a free 10 minute phone call each day. So last night I got to speak with my parents and my niece McKayla (hi Kayla!) - it was awesome.

First off, a huge shout out to my friend Jenny @ www.jen-and-steve.com for creating a lovely, new banner for our site. If you don’t see it, just hit refresh. Jenny has offered her services to keep our banner fresh as we travel throughout the world. And if you are in need of a graphic designer, check our her site www.pumpkinjuice.com. She’s amazing!

Today Jason and I woke up at 6 AM and headed to Volcano Mombacho. We paid 190 Cordobas ($1 is about 20 Cordoba) for entry to the park and a ride to the top. At the top we hiked 1.5 kilometers around one of the craters and then stood on a platform for an amazing view of Granada, Lake Nicaragua, Laguna de Apoyo, and Volcano Masaya.

We decided to do the Canopy Tour on the way back down the mountain. It was only $28 for 16 zip lines, and Jason had never done one, so we went for it. It was awesome! However, the guides kept insisting we give them our camera and we kept insisting on taking our own. I finally agreed to let him take a picture of Jason and together on a bridge near the end of the trip - and the guy took off with our camera. He kept saying he was going to take a video of us at the end and I told him about 9 times, very forcefully, to give me back the camera. He didn’t. We did however get the camera back with some videos, but the guys lost their tip for being such jerks about taking our camera. We are a little over protective, but I think we have the right to be. The afternoon ended on a high note when we spotted about 7 howler monkeys in the trees above.

We are heading to Laguna Apoyo tomorrow, hopefully to stay a night if we can get a room. Then it’s off to the beach and some surf lessons!

Nicaragua…my first time…

…this is Cindi’s 2nd time. We barely made it however….more on this in a bit.

So at the time of last update, we were in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. A beautiful little town with cobblestone streets. We stayed at a small place call Hotel Guest House for 2 nights. It was ok…but we didnt’ have water. Bastards…I know they had water in the sistern…but they were playing games turning it on and off to our room. Not sure when they thought the ideal time for a shower was…but we obviously didn’t agree on this matter. For 16$ a night…you think water would be included.

The Ruins were spectacular. Below are a few pictures. We spent about 4 hours walking around the structures and taking pictures. It was a great first time Ruin experience. Cindi said she appreciated it more the 2nd time around…but maybe only because she had been to 6 or 7 sets of ruins the last time she came to Central America. Mom, I think you would have loved this place.

We tried to find a place to take tortilla making lessons, but failed miserably…so we just decided to get on a bus towards southern Honduras and make a pit stop at the highly recommended Pulaphanzak Waterfalls. We were also told about a cool Hostel/Brewery called D and D. American owned…this place was supposed to serve great Home Brewed beers and offer good tour service. It was ok…I got a cot for 2 nights and Cindi was sleeping on a couch….for 2$ a night. There were no other hostels or hotels anywhere clost. The owner was kinda rude at first…but they said he was relapsing on Dengue fever…guess that could piss anyone off. The food was great…and after the first day the owner offered to show me his collection of handmade honduran guitars and Mayan pottery. He took me into is Marijuana hot boxing room…i could only tell because I couldn’t see him 2 feet away…but he did play slide guitar amazingly. I had to get out of there quickly. The beer was extremely tasty..but after 7 or 8 home brews you should be singing to the birds…we weren’t. I guess it was really weak.

He set up a bird tour for us on Lake Yojoa. It blew. Don’t ever take a bird tour here. Birds are boring enough…without the shitty boat, non-english speaking tour guide, …for 4 hours? Who does that? Maybe this is why he smokes so much pot. Cindi got a good picture of the boat all 5 of us sat in…

So by this time, we are frustrated with the place and these waterfalls better be worth it. Holy Shit they were. I would say this is one of the top 10 things I have ever done in my life…a few slots behind running with the bulls in pamplona. They are about 160 feet tall…and roaring. Looking is an experience in its own. They a young guy on a bike asked us if we wanted to see the cave behind the falls. Only 5$ per person. People…this is by far the best 5$ I have ever spent in my life….It was 30 minutes of crazy, chaotic, scary, insane, and fun. He takes us to the bottom of the falls…only in swimming trunks and strap on sandals…and climbs over a few rocks…then gone. Where is he? Oh just jumped down 20 feet into the falls…and now he is smiling and waiting for us. Oh yeah…for about 30 minutes we made our way through the falls amidst the pounding water, crazy mist in your face (i lost a contact lens), and rocks you can’t see. We then powered our way under the main stream (all while making sure you don’t go over the edge to your death) to a small cave. Cave was lame…but getting there and back was awesome. If you are ever within 3, 6, 9 hours of this place…come…enjoy, you won’t reget it. Here are a few pics:

From the falls, we took 4 cabs, 5 buses, spent some time in Tegicigalpa, and a night in Managua…we are now in Granada, Nicaragua. Crossing the border by bus showed us some beautiful scenery and Hillary Duff in Cinderela story.

And yeah…we almost didn’t make it across the border. They were claiming we overstayed our Honduras Visas…I know we didn’t. The guy at the airport in San Pedro Sula wrote that we had 60 days on our passports and visas…we stayed about 50 days in Honduras. The guys at the Nicaragua border wrote over the 60 days and made it 30 days. And now they are telling us we might be stuck here…and maybe we have to pay more money. After some help from some Miami based americans…we were allowed through the border into Nicaragua. The entire bus had to wait for us for about 30-40 minutes. Hopefully we will be ok when we go to leave Nicaragua…who knows.

Ok…off to explore Granada.

later jason

Moving on….

After a long day of riding the Utila Princess, a cab, and 2 bus transfers - Jason and I have found ourselves in the lovely city of Copan Ruinas, Honduras.  We thought long and hard about going to Roatan for a few days before heading south - but decided to change our pace and discover some of the mainland.  Plus, from what we hear, Roatan is expensive!

Tomorrow we will head to the Copan Ruins - Jason has never seen any ruins, so we are looking forward to it. 

We left behind a lot of great friends; 2 Israelis, a few lovely Brits, and some Irish, Danish, German, Canadian, a Peruvian, Australian, Honduran, and of course American people…..and we hope our paths will cross again.  

We hope to head back to San Pedro Sula Tuesday to visit a National Park with a huge waterfall and by Thursday we’ll head to Granada, Nicuragua where we’ll veg on the beach at Lake Nicuragua and visit the volcanos and just enjoy all the colonial goodness Granada has to offer.  We will then head to a beach town in Nicuragua and then cross to Costa Rica where we are excited to welcome Julia, Travis, and Willits. 

Hasta Luego!

bet you have the cubicle blues

we don´t….

It was just another plain few days on Utila.

Sunday, we swam with 90 wild dolphins…

Cindi celebrated her 100th dive… she was supposed to do it naked…

and I have been working on my tan….

there are a few more pics on flickr….

later - enjoy work

jason

We are Divemasters!

After 4 long, hard (if you call 70 dives in 4 weeks hard) - Jason and I have completed our divemaster training!  That’s right, you can now refer to me as Cindi Davis, DM.  We are down to our last 2 weeks on Utila before heading to Costa Rica to meet up with Julia, Travis, and Willits. 

We have also moved apartments.  Our landlady was going to charge us a ton to rent for 2 weeks instead of monthly, so since our dear friend Kelly departed last night - we have taken over her place.  This place has 2 huge perks - 1:  it’s right across the street from our dive center rather than the 15 minute walk we’ve been doing and 2:  CABLE TV BABY!  Tonight we are taking full advantage of watching TV, getting some Seven Seas takeout and doing nothing.

We completed our snorkel tests - congrats to the new divemasters Rachel, Dan, Helen, Jason and I.  Here are some new pics of Jason pre-test and the group afterwards:

Later!

Back to Good

Last Sunday night we did the craziest, most chaotic dive I’ve ever done. We did a night dive to the Haliburton wreck. It’s a huge ship sunk about 100 feet. We went with all the Utila Dive Centre staff (mostly DMT’s, which are Dive Masters in Training like ourselves) - we left shortly after 6:30 PM and by the time we got to the wreck and underwater it was pitch black. Jason loved this dive - I was a complete wimp and decided at 29 I am still scared of the dark. Glad I did it, but on the next one, I’ll be sitting out.

The next morning Jason and I headed to the dive center. He was feeling pretty crappy and when we got there it just seemed to get worse. I got him a ginger ale and we sat in a hammock for awhile before heading home with no dives. It was only the 2nd day in 3 weeks that we hadn’t dove.

He continued to feel crappy and had a fever - so we sat out Tuesday as well. Then came Wednesday. His eye started hurting, but the fever was gone. Come to find out - 3 of the contacts he brought were ripped (brand new straight from the manufacturer!). So now he is on his last pair of contacts. I think Jason’s mom will try to send a box or so to Julia in hopes she can bring him some to Costa Rica.

Wednesday night he was feeling better - so we went to dinner with some friends. Suddenly after eating I felt completely miserable. I headed to the restroom and puked up everything my stomach had in it. On the way home we stopped for some ice cream thinking that may help - nope, puked that up too. And all the water I drank.

The next morning we had to go diving to complete our last open water course. I drank a sprite before hand and after the first dive, I puked that up too. I couldn’t figure out why I was so sick - and if you have a weak stomach, stop reading here………

Jason went to our locker at UDC and noticed the loaf of bread we had in there had a huge hole in it and there were mice/rat feces all over the locker. I am pretty sure I touched something in there and it somehow made it to my mouth. I know, I know - disgusting! The thought alone still makes me want to hurl - but today I am feeling MUCH better. I had a cup of noodles Thursday night and it stayed down.

Friday was July 4th. We finished our last course and went out our first fun dive in 5 days. That night we went to RJ’s for some BBQ and as we were walking over the bridge to Tropical Sunset - we saw a huge fireworks show from the other side of the island. It definitely made my day. I LOVE the 4th of July! All of the obnoxious Americans sang the Star Spangled Banner and all the Brits rolled their eyes. It was entertaining to say the least.

We completely our Emergency Assistance Plan and our Mapping - so now we just have to complete a lead in the next day or so and we will become official divemasters.

Last night Jason played chef and cooked up a bunch of banana pancakes for dinner - YUM!

Today we finished our Nitrox and Wreck specialities. I returned to the Haliburton in full day light - much more my style.  We got to go inside the wreck using a reel, very cool.

We posted a few pictures on flickr and Jason has completed his first and only Honduras Beer Report. That’s it for now!

Cheers and Hope everyone had a lovely 4th of July!

still busy at Utila Dive Center

i can’t type with cindi watching….so i just kicked her out of the room.

just wanted to give some more updates:

- we found some free internet at our Dive Center…at least until they catch us

- it is still too slow to upload pictures

- we dove twice this morning…saw an spotted eagle ray, 2 turtles, a sea horse, and a huge southern sting ray

- we have the divemaster underwater stress test today at 3.  we have to exchange all of our equipment (every piece) with someone else…all of this while buddy breathing…and the instructors kicking up sand and pulling on our hoses, purging our alternates…etc.  should be fun

- they moved the stress test from 1pm to 3pm so everyone could watch the european soccer championship.  germany vs. spain…they are really into that here…some people cried at the last game - ha

- tonite we have a staff only night dive at the haliburton wreck.  she lies in about 100ft or 30 meters of water.

- cindi and I just signed up for the wreck and nitrox specialty.  only 50$ each!!

- we should have all of our divemaster requirements completed by next friday except for the snorkel test. 

- they “think” they are going to pour a bunch of straight rum down our snorkel while chanting crude american jokes …we will see

- we got skype…username is opdyckej - if you download on your computer, we can call you computer to computer free.

- all of our online security issues are ok…

- 3-4 more weeks in utila…we think we will go to roatan before we leave honduras…then looking forward to costa rica!!

later
jason

A Day in the Life of a DMT

Alarm goes off at 5:45 AM.  Yes, I know my buddies at CC CLT know this is WAY earlier than I’d wake up for anything, however, when your day is filled with diving - somehow I am wide awake.

Put on my swimsuit, grab some water and a granola bar and head to the dive center, which is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. 

Look at the whiteboard to see which boat we are on (there are 4 at Utila Dive Center) and start working on the roll call and insurance list.  18 people on the boat @ 2 tanks a person (plus 2 spare) which means we need to start hauling 38 tanks from the tank room to the boat at the end of the dock.  Each tank feels like it weighs 100 pounds, but Jason estimates them to be about 30-40 pounds.  (I sure hope my arms and/or back starts looking a little more toned after all of this!) 

Then it’s back to the equipment room - if we are going out as fun divers we just grab our own BCD’s, regulators and weight belts (Jason and I each brought our own mask, fins, snorkel) - but if we are helping out with an Open Water, Advanced, or Rescue Class, we have to get all the students equipment together as well.

Once the students arrive and everyone is accounted for, we have a boat briefing, decide which dive site to go to, and head out.  We do 2 dives in the morning - go back to the dive center, unload the boats, clean equipment, grab something to eat and then it’s time to do it all over again (if we’re lucky). 

Since arriving on Utila, I have logged 36 dives.  Not bad for only 2.5 weeks of diving.  As a Certified Dive Master you have to have 60 logged dives, but I’m hoping to have well over 100 before we leave.  Jason said I have to do my 100th dive in the buff.  We’ll just have to see about that. 

A few evenings a week we have classes.  Physics, physiology, equipment, skills, Recreational Dive Planner (using the table and wheel) - and tests after each class.  So far Jason has passed every test, I have to retake the RDP (damned wheel!). 

By the time class and tests are done - it’s nearly 8 PM.  We head to dinner, which is another event.  Each night of the week on the island only a few restaurants are open, so it’s always a guessing game as to what place is open - and it’s a LOT of walking.  And sweating.  Bug bites.  Blisters. 

But then we make it home around 10, exhausted, we recap what we saw that day - whether it’s a giant turtle (one day we saw 3!), a school of squid, an eel, spotted eagle rays, angel fish, parrot fish, lobster, seahorses, tarpin, porcipine fish, etc.  And suddenly all the negatives disappear. 

We’ve met some fantastic friends - there are about 20 of us in the DMT program.  It’s been great getting to know them all and share travel stories, as well as getting travel advice for what lies ahead.  Places we’ve heard to not miss include Sri Lanka and Borneo, Malaysia.  We can’t wait for our travel plans in the next year, but for now are happy on this little island. 

But on our next leg - we are DEFINITELY bringing a laptop.  My sincere apologies for the lack of emails, posts, and pictures.  Once our DMT program is completed (hopefully by next week) - we will be better at making more internet time.  I have about 500 pictures I’m dying to share with you all. 

For now, it’s back to diving, knowledge reviews, mapping, equipment exchange, rescue assessment, classes……….

online security issues

Hello All -

I wanted to report that I am currently having some online security issues.  I believe that I may have been a victim of phishing (like an idiot)….they even had what appeared to be a valid SSL certificate.

The internet cafes here are pretty sketchy and i think my paypal may have been compromised.

Ihave taken all the neccessary precautions and have reset passwords on ALL of my accounts.  I don’t believe they will take me for anything, but I am remaining very cautious.  In that process,it seems that I may have locked out my gmail account.  Please email me at jasonopdycke[at]dot[com] …or you can email cindi. I will let you all know when my gmail is back online.

For all the travelers out there…be very wary and careful with typing your password.

We have in our possession an IronKey. This thing is very sweet and I highly recommend using one.  Basically you run an instance of Mozilla Firefox directly from the Ironkey flash drive.  This means all your history, cookies, favorites, settings follow you and your drive.  The ironkey also contains a password manager that allows you to pre-populate your usernames and passwords from a trusted computer and when visiting those sites from an untrusted comuputer, the ironkey password manager auto-fills the fields so you can avoid most keylogging.  I am sure there are ways around this…bu definately more secure than typing our password.  All data on the ironkey is encrypted with 256 bit encryption.

On a lighter note…cindi and I are doing fine….she was able to successfully clear her mask and swim maskless underwater.  She was worried about this and I a very proud to say she scored a 4 out of 5.  One step closer o divemasters!!

We also bought our first dive computers…exciting!!

take care all

jason

more from utila

thanks to laura and sabrina for the donations!!!!

we are almost done with the first week of the Divemaster program. We have done 7 dives….deepest around 110 ft. for all the divers…the visibility is amazing. at least 100 ft. finding the boat is easy here. the coral is beautiful everywhere…but the north side of the island has way more life.

Last night our dive center held a bbq….it was a fun time.

So everyone probably wants to know how expensive it is here….here are a few items.

18 Lempira to the Dollar

beer - 25 limp
gallon of water - 25 limp
dinner for 1 - 100 limp
internet - 40 limp/hr
street food for 2 - 60 limp
divemaster class - 750$ per person
apartment 400$ month plus electric.

Ok - upload speed is riduculous…so we only got a few more pics going. You can look at them here.

later jason

Safe and Sound in Utila

First things first - we want to say a very special THANK YOU to Mary Beth Melton for the donation!! You are the best girl - we REALLY appreciate your love and support!

We finally made it to Utila after a long flight to Atlanta, then San Pedro Sula - we immediately hopped on a bus (1st class, the A/C was a must until we adjust!) to La Ceiba and spent the night there. Yesterday morning we caught the 9:30 ferry to Utila and arrived! Our dive instructor was waiting for us at the pier - we easily found our apartment and started our divemaster course at Utila Dive Center.

The name for our website bubbles and bugs is perfect as I’ve already gotten about 400 sandfly and mosquito bites and we logged our first 2 dives this morning! It’s extremely humid, something I thought I’d gotten used to living in the south the past 3.5 years, but the south has NOTHING on Utila! I guess Jason will just have to deal with looking at me sweat constantly for the next year - how sexy!

I came to this island first in 2003, fell in love with it and dreamed of returning. It’s very small, tons of backpackers, and everyone comes here to dive. I am a little nervous about the Divemaster course - has anyone else out there taken it before? Tomorrow is our skills review - and I am paranoid about removing my mask, but I guess I will have to buck up and put on my best poker face.

We’ve made some friends already and Jason tried his first Salva Vida. His first beer report will come in the next week or so. The island has progressed a lot since I arrived, the internet used to be over $5/hour and now it’s just over $2/hour - however, prices on everything else have seemed to go up. If you are interested, I kept a blog on my first trip to Utila here http://islandindigo.blogspot.com/2003/04/ill-take-you-there-imagine-yourself-on.html.

We managed to upload a few pics on this slow computer - we’ll take more later. Enjoy!

More on our picture page here….http://bubblesandbugs.com/pictures/

Pack it Up! Pack it In!

Ok -

First off…Want to thank some people for their recent donations! So…thanks to Denise Atkins, Steve and Mary Wesa, and Ree Sherriffe. We really appreciate your support…The cash will come in handy!

We are leaving tomorrow morning at 5:45 am. Wanted to provide some input on the last minute errands and also a packing list.

Cindi’s Packing List - damn that’s a lot of sh*t

All in a Vaude pack…

Ahnu Red Mary Jane Tennis Shoes
Mary Jane Crocs
Chaco Sandals
Rainbow FlipFlops
9 pair underwear
2 bras
3 pair socks
2 bathing suits
1 Patagonia Skirt
3 pair Shorts (Northface and Columbia)
1 long sleeve shirt (Columbia)
3 tank tops
5 Tshirts
2 pair jogging shorts
1 pair yoga pants
make up and hair product…and yes even a travel blowdrier
First Aid Kit -lots of assorted bandaids, malaria meds, over the counter meds, bug repellant
Zune
2 books
1 journal
Lonely Planet Central America on a Shoestring
Lonely Planet Latin America Phrasebook
Thermarest Travel Pillow
Cocoon Silk Sleep Sack
REI Travel Towel
Black Diamond LED Headlamp
SwissArmy pocket knife
Mask, Fins, Snorkel
Rain Poncho
4 GB thumbdrive

Jason’s Packing List

All in an Arc’Teryx Bora 80…

10 Tshirts
4 pair shorts
3 swim trunks
2 UnderArmour Rash Gaurds (size fat)
9 pair underwear (Exofficio Hanes)
9 pair socks
Nike running shoes
Rainbow sandals
Chaco sandals
Patagonia Rain Jacket
Plastic Mess Kit - sporks, and bowls
Spyderco Knife
Mask, Fins, Snorkel
Cocoon Sleep Sack
Tempurpedic Travel Pillow
2 travel towels
Assorted Bathroom and Hygene Crap
Bag of Jolly Ranchers
nuts and snacks from Mom - love ya!
Assorted chargers and Adapters
Pacsafe Mesh security net
copies of travel docs like passports etc
Iron Key - this thing is awesome - I will write a post about it soon.
2.5 USB 40 GB harddrive
4 GB thumbdrive

Camera Gear

All packed in a Crumpler Shrinkler (or Whickey and Cox) bag…

Canon 40d
Canon 28-135 IS (kit lens)
Canon 70-200L IS 2.8
Canon Powershot SD950
Canon WP-DC19 Underwater housing for the SD950
2 4GB CF cards
16 GB SD card
2 GB SD card

Errands we ran

bought travel insurance through World Nomads and Divers Alert Network (DAN)
insured camera gear
changed all addresses to parents
scanned and uploaded travel docs (passports etc)
notified bank and credit card companies of our leaving the country
activated iron key
cancelled cell phones
cancelled gym memberships - we never went anyways
bought a bunch of crap (cindi’s words)

We probably forgot some stuff…but my mom is cooking Spagetti and Hawaiian Wedding cake.  

Next time you hear from us…we will be in Utila.

Later Jason

T-minus 5 days!!!

I finally arrived in Platte City, Missouri after a 21 hour drive.  Yes, that’s right.  What should have taken 15 hours took 21!!!  But I arrived right after 3 AM and Jason’s mom let me in and I went straight to bed and slept for 12 hours. 

Now we are down to crunch time. 

We have a list about a mile long of things to get done between now and Sunday - and Jason also wants to fit in a day at “Oceans of Fun” to work on our tans.  As you can see, we have our priorities straight. 

We are turning off our cell phones Saturday - so after that, it’s only email.  Our cell phones don’t work at Jason’s parents house and they only have dial up - so if you are trying to contact us, sorry for the delay! 

I wanted to give a “Holler!” to my friends in Charlotte.  They are all amazing and gave me a great send off.  Ashley was kind enough to let me stay with she and Jeff for 10 nights, I stayed with Tracie for 2 nights, Amy got me a car cell phone charger so I could chat with everyone as I drove across the country, Jenn arranged a lunch for 15 of my closest work friends and then showed up around 3 PM with 2 coolers of beer and tons of snacks!  Ashley, Jessi and I managed to go see ‘Sex and the City’  and then Amy joined us at Zapata’s for dinner.  Aden got me $25 for my Zune to keep me updated on the latest and greatest tunes, Amy got me some calling cards for Latin America, and Ashley got me a fabulous journal to organize my thoughts in (much unlike this rambling post).  Anyway, THANK YOU!  I am lucky to have such amazing friends in Charlotte and Fort Mill (love the GNO crew!  We’ll always have myspace!) - and I look forward to seeing you all again. 

Now it’s time for us to get back to work!!!

Thanks again…

…for an amazing send off - Randy and Jill!!

After Randy’s famous burgers, opdycke beers, a few mojitos, Pete’s homemade moonshine, and 17 hours in a U-haul truck, I have finally recovered and reconnected to the world.  All of our belongings are now safe in Platte City, Missouri stored in Grandma’s basement as we are drawing closer to our leave date.

To all my friends in Charlotte, I will miss you enormously and hope to be back soon.  The last 6 years have been amazing. 

Here are some pictures from the party:
 

I just had to add this one shot of Charlotte.  Cindi and I took this during our last month in town.  I will surely miss the queen city. 

I am now off to scuba dive at the Boy Scouts Sea Base high adventure camp.  This will be my 3rd time visiting and I love the waters of Islamorada, Florida.  I will be going with my brother Ben, and will also hopefully get to see my brother Sawyer as he is working on an 80 foot schooner all summer at SeaBase.

Later-jason

Would You?

While I put together a post on the how’s and why’s of this trip - I wanted to post this video I came across today.  It’s inspiring.

Brought to you by Erik Trinidad @ http://www.theglobaltrip.com/

Very Rough Itinerary

So we’ve got this website set up, got most of our gear (which we’ll list on a future post), got our shots (well, I’m getting mine Tuesday) - but we’ve left out one not so minor detail……..where are we going?

*  June 8 - July 31:  Utila, Honduras
I spent 3 weeks on Utila back in 2003 and fell in love with this island, it’s attitude, and most importantly - scuba diving!  Jason and I will begin our PADI Divemaster training on June 11th and finish our IDC on July 24th.  Then we’ll spend another week or 2 there to enjoy diving on the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world, eating Baleadas and drinking some Salva Vida - and hopefully I can brush up on my Spanish speaking skills!

*  August 1 - 30:  Costa Rica (and Panama?)
Another place I visited in 2003, but have been dying to return and take Jason to.  While we’re there, we’ll visit the beaches, rainforests, cloudforest, do a canopy tour, white water raft, hike the Volcano Arenal, sit in the natural hot springs, visit national parks (Manuel Antonio and Corcovado) and hopefully have some time to head down to Panama.   

 *  August 31 - September 20:  Home
We’re taking a couple weeks to go home to regroup and get a couple VISA’s in order.  We’ll mostly be spending time with Jason’s family - however, I will be going to Salt Lake for a week or so to see my family too.

*  September 21 - October 11:  India
This time Jason will be showing me the ropes as he was fortunate to be sent there for work in 2003 (although, sorry babe, I am NOT swimming in the Ganges like your dumbass!).  I’ve always dreamed of seeing the Taj Mahal, so we’ll definitely be visiting Agra, Delhi, Japur, and surrounding areas, then heading south to the beaches of Goa.  I’d like to avoid big cities as much as possible, but we’ll probably stop in Bangalore and Mumbai, just to check them out as well.

 *  October 12 - 18:  Nepal
Our main goal here is to see the Himalayas and perhaps visit the base camp at Mount Everest.  

*  October 19 - November 15:  China
Here is a country I have mixed emotions about visiting.  The current situation with China and Tibet breaks my heart - and I really had no interest in going here.  However, Jason insisted and after reading more about China and the history - I am really looking forward to it.  We’ll be flying into Beijing and visiting the Great Wall, Xi’an, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.  Again - I’m pretty anti-big city, so if anyone has suggestions on what to see between Beijing and Macau - we are definitely open!  We’d love to go to Tibet, but unfortunetly, I don’t see that happening. 

*  November 16 - December 13:  Thailand
This is going to be one of the highlights of our trip.  The culture, the people, the beauty, the food - it’s going to be Awe-SOME!  We will be spending time doing LOTS of scuba diving and also spend 14 days volunteering and working with the elephants.  We’ll visit temples, ancient cities, attend a full moon party (December 12th), and eat!

 *  December 13 - 20:  Laos
The jungle, waterfalls, archaeological site, and spiritual monuments - this is somewhere I don’t know much about (yet) but intrigues me.

 *  December 20 - January 10:  Vietnam
I hold a very tender place in my heart for Vietnam as my father was in the Air Force during the war.  It’s not a place I heard much about growing up, but I heard enough to make me want to go there and learn more about the people and the history.  We will definitely be visiting the Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and then heading north to do more diving, enjoy the breathtaking beaches, and take a boat tour of Halong Bay.  We’ll also have to find a fabulous spot to spend my 30th birthday!

 *  January 11 - 25:  Cambodia
Another highlight of the trip - two of my best friends just returned from Cambodia and said it was amazing.  I am looking forward to seeing the Temples of Angkor, the killing fields, the national parks, and beaches. 

 *  January 26 - February 9:  Indonesia
This is where we plan to take a little time out to relax on the beach.  I obviously haven’t read up enough about Indonesia, but I know it’s inexpensive and beautiful.  I’m sold!  Any suggestions out there of what we must do while in Indonesia?

 *  February 10 - March 9:  Australia
First stop, Cairns!  I am pretty sure after diving just once on the Great Barrier Reef, I may never want to return home.  Perhaps this is where I’ll find my calling in life to live and work as a dive instructor.  However, I’m sure after the shock of how expensive Australia is compared to where we’ve been - I may change my mind.  We also plan to visit Alice Springs, Brisbane, and Sydney. 

 *  March 10 - April 1:  New Zealand
An outdoor lovers paradise - we’ll be skiing, rafting, bungee jumping, hiking, and hanging with the Kiwi’s.  Perhaps we’ll be lucky and be there for the Golden Shears Sheep-Shearing Contest! 

 *  April 2 - 7:  Fiji
The last few days of our trip will be spent relaxing on Fiji - drinking Pina Coladas, scuba diving, and soaking it all in before we head back home.  Back home to a different frame of mind, a lot of amazing pictures and memories, and a new president! 

 So there it is - our extremely rough itinerary.  Basically - if we fall in love with a country, we’ll spend more time there, if we don’t love it - we’ll move on.  We don’t have a timeframe as much as a budget we’d like to stick to.  If you have been to any of those countries or have any ideas of where we should go - please let us know! 

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we plan to make the very most of it, because as Mark Twain says, “”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” 

Jobs’ll F*ck your Dreams

Don’t let them. 

Quitting my job is probably one of the hardest things I have ever done.  They treated me well, paid well, served beer in the cubicles, afforded some great travel opportunities such as Sweden, India, Hawaii, and Montgomery Alabama.  They also allowed me to wear flip flops to work if I wanted.  (Some people took the lack of dress code waaaay too far.)  I will miss this software company for all the right reasons….the people, the passion, the professionalism, and kicking Randy’s ass at ping pong. 

I can’t tell you how excited I am to step out into the world of travel and see what kind of trouble we can get in.  In the scheme of things, I guess it isn’t such a big deal, but I must reserve the right to worry about getting a job upon our return. 

Cindi and I were talking about me quitting my job yesterday and she said this:

“You’ll be back in the game by the time you are 29.”

Did she mean “game” as in my job?  I think this is bullshit.  This is proof how society has trained us to work all of our lives, live in debt of mortgages and credit cards, and drink lots of starbucks.

Several people have told us:

 ”You guys make it look easy.” 

They mean that we make it look easy to quit our jobs, sell everything we own (including cars we are upside down in), and travel around the world.  Well I am here to say that it is not easy…and it shouldn’t be.  It’s hard, really hard.  But I know in my heart that it will be worth the sacrifice.   Most people have the same response when we tell them about the trip. 

“Wow, you guys are brave.  I wish I could do that.” 

My new response is “No you don’t!”  If you want to do it…you can. 

Don’t be a sheep.

jason

New Stuff

Hello All -

As Cindi said…we are gearing back up for the trip.  Still heading down to Utila to start the plethera of diving in June.  Itenerary and details to come.

For now, the site is still gettings some work.   We are trying a new theme and a new photo gallery.  Check it out here:  http://bubblesandbugs.com/pictures/  It uses the Lightbox2 and Slickr  Wordpress plugins.

Let us know what you think.

L8r - Jason