no trip of mine would be complete without a major fuck up, and that's without mentioning the bed bugs and 2 hours spent on a hot, stuffy broken-down metro in mexico city.
i've just missed my flight to los angeles because i didn't complete the online visa. fortunately the man put me on the next flight in 3 hours with no extra charge. thank god i am not flying with easyjet. let's just hope there is no souvenir elephant tucked away in my luggage.
hopefully it's plain sailing from here on in. ginger sarah is so organised i can't imagine anything else can go wrong.
see you in a week (hopefully). x
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Vic´s trip to a volcano
Today I ate marshmellows which we had toasted in the lava of an active volcano.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Estudio Espagnol en Granada
Apologies for the lack of contact. I´ve been studying intensively in the stunningly beautiful town of Granada, Nicarargua.
I finaly left Samara after 5 weeks of sun, sand, sea, and surfing. It was time to leave. Typically, I´d been spending too much time straddling things other than my surf board )pool tables, dance podiums etc). Also, the Spanish I was learning with my gangster friend was only fit for a stint in prison or a brothel.
I´ve had a much quieter time in colonial Granada, studying by day and chilling out with my host family at night. It´s so lovely, I have a mum and dad again. Marlene and her husband Agusto have really looked after me. He´s been concerned about my cough, spoon feeding me medicine as I lie in the hammock every day. I haven´t the heart to tell him it´s a smoker´s cough. It really is like being back at school again. Every day I´m up at the crack of dawn, doing my homework, before cycling off to school. I am now able to converse a fair bit in Spanish.
Monday, 22 February 2010
Still surfing in Samara
Hola
I can´t tear myself away from Samara. I´m enjoying the surf, sunsets and the company of a Nicaraguan gangster. I´ll finally be leaving after a full moon party at the weekend (minus the metal souvenir elephant that said ganster has asked me to carry back to the UK). My itinery is a week´s Spanish study in Nicaragua, then diving in Honduras, followed by trekking up the volcanoes of Guatemala. Finally I am meeting back up with my lovely friend Eda in Saint Cristobel in Mexico before flying to LA. Needless to say, I really don´t want to think about coming home. Who knows, maybe I won´t........
Vic xx
I can´t tear myself away from Samara. I´m enjoying the surf, sunsets and the company of a Nicaraguan gangster. I´ll finally be leaving after a full moon party at the weekend (minus the metal souvenir elephant that said ganster has asked me to carry back to the UK). My itinery is a week´s Spanish study in Nicaragua, then diving in Honduras, followed by trekking up the volcanoes of Guatemala. Finally I am meeting back up with my lovely friend Eda in Saint Cristobel in Mexico before flying to LA. Needless to say, I really don´t want to think about coming home. Who knows, maybe I won´t........
Vic xx
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Dating Dilema
A Costa Rican guy I like asked me if I fancied doing something with him today. I thought he meant a stroll with his dogs along the beach, or a game of pool, but before I knew it, I had agreed to go to the river to swim and hang out, NAKED.
In hindsight, I´m more than a tad apprehensive. Not for the fact he could be the Samara serial killer, more for the fact that a few days surfing hasn´t yet turned me into a beautiful beach babe. Nor has my Brazilian wax done me any favours; my nether regions make me look more akin to a pimply, plucked chicken sporting a God-awful goatee, rather than a sexy porn star. Add that to the fact that my overstretched swimsuit makes me look like I´ve just stepped out of a Mothercare catalogue.
What am I to do? After surfing I am going to race round the shops to see if I can pick up a half decent bikini. Maybe I can compromise by going topless? Surely he can´t help but be impressed by marvellous mammaries? I´ll save the Dixy chicken look for after sunset.
On the plus side, I may not yet look like a surf chick, but I can surf. Yesterday, when I was feeling lazy and reluctant to drag myself down to the beach, I caught the first wave and many more after that. I am so chuffed with myself.
Vic x
In hindsight, I´m more than a tad apprehensive. Not for the fact he could be the Samara serial killer, more for the fact that a few days surfing hasn´t yet turned me into a beautiful beach babe. Nor has my Brazilian wax done me any favours; my nether regions make me look more akin to a pimply, plucked chicken sporting a God-awful goatee, rather than a sexy porn star. Add that to the fact that my overstretched swimsuit makes me look like I´ve just stepped out of a Mothercare catalogue.
What am I to do? After surfing I am going to race round the shops to see if I can pick up a half decent bikini. Maybe I can compromise by going topless? Surely he can´t help but be impressed by marvellous mammaries? I´ll save the Dixy chicken look for after sunset.
On the plus side, I may not yet look like a surf chick, but I can surf. Yesterday, when I was feeling lazy and reluctant to drag myself down to the beach, I caught the first wave and many more after that. I am so chuffed with myself.
Vic x
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Another strenuous day in Samara
I´ve been far too busy to keep up my blog. Busy doing what? Well here´s a idea of my daily grind.
I wake early to a quick breakfast of delicious sweet, soft and ripe Costa Rican bananas. They taste so different to the hard, green, artificially ripened ones we eat at home. My breakfast provides me with much-needed energy for my surf lesson. I´m sad to say that I still can´t get up on the board and catch a wave under my own steam, but at least Samurio, my surf instructor-come-DJ, hasn´t seen my backside (yet). The way he is talking I think he´d like to see a whole lot more, but I think I´ll stick to bumping and grinding to his Latino tunes at Ladies Night.
After surf school I prepare a healthy light lunch. Today it will be lush, ripe avocado and sweet juicy tomatoes with local cheese. In the afternoon you´ll find me chilling on the beach, finishing the day with a long walk along the crescent shaped bay, whilst listening to the sounds of The xx and Beach House (courtesy of my lovely Fairhaven neighbour Pierre).
At one end of the stunning, palm-fringed bay, I´m welcomed by surf-fishermen, who catch fish whilst wading waist deep in the white foam of the surf. Sometimes the Pelicans beat them to it, deftly swooping in for the catch of the day. At the other end of the beach, buff Costa Rican guys play soccer as the sun sets. I tend to linger here a little longer than perhaps I should.
Yesterday evening, as the deep orange sun set into the water, shining like a crystal ball, it made me wonder what the future holds. I was listening to John Lennon "Imagine", which reminded me of my childhood; Mum played it all the time. With her gone, I am free as a bird. Words cannot express how sad I am. Sad that I can´t ring her to tell her about all my amazing adventures. Sad that I can´t write her a postcard from every exciting country I visit. Sad that she won´t be there to welcome me at the airport on my return, and most of all sad that I may never see her again.
Despite the sadness, I feel an overwhelming sense of joy and hope. Joy that I am so blessed to be here in Samara, experiencing the beautiful beaches, the pleasant people and the overall feeling of tranquillity that permeates this sleepy seaside town. Joy that I am free to explore the world. Hope that I think somewhere, somehow, both my Mum and Dad are together again, looking down on me, happy for me. For every tear I cry, I smile and laugh a million times more. Where better to deal with grief than in Paradise?
Pura vida.
Vic x
I wake early to a quick breakfast of delicious sweet, soft and ripe Costa Rican bananas. They taste so different to the hard, green, artificially ripened ones we eat at home. My breakfast provides me with much-needed energy for my surf lesson. I´m sad to say that I still can´t get up on the board and catch a wave under my own steam, but at least Samurio, my surf instructor-come-DJ, hasn´t seen my backside (yet). The way he is talking I think he´d like to see a whole lot more, but I think I´ll stick to bumping and grinding to his Latino tunes at Ladies Night.
After surf school I prepare a healthy light lunch. Today it will be lush, ripe avocado and sweet juicy tomatoes with local cheese. In the afternoon you´ll find me chilling on the beach, finishing the day with a long walk along the crescent shaped bay, whilst listening to the sounds of The xx and Beach House (courtesy of my lovely Fairhaven neighbour Pierre).
At one end of the stunning, palm-fringed bay, I´m welcomed by surf-fishermen, who catch fish whilst wading waist deep in the white foam of the surf. Sometimes the Pelicans beat them to it, deftly swooping in for the catch of the day. At the other end of the beach, buff Costa Rican guys play soccer as the sun sets. I tend to linger here a little longer than perhaps I should.
Yesterday evening, as the deep orange sun set into the water, shining like a crystal ball, it made me wonder what the future holds. I was listening to John Lennon "Imagine", which reminded me of my childhood; Mum played it all the time. With her gone, I am free as a bird. Words cannot express how sad I am. Sad that I can´t ring her to tell her about all my amazing adventures. Sad that I can´t write her a postcard from every exciting country I visit. Sad that she won´t be there to welcome me at the airport on my return, and most of all sad that I may never see her again.
Despite the sadness, I feel an overwhelming sense of joy and hope. Joy that I am so blessed to be here in Samara, experiencing the beautiful beaches, the pleasant people and the overall feeling of tranquillity that permeates this sleepy seaside town. Joy that I am free to explore the world. Hope that I think somewhere, somehow, both my Mum and Dad are together again, looking down on me, happy for me. For every tear I cry, I smile and laugh a million times more. Where better to deal with grief than in Paradise?
Pura vida.
Vic x
Thursday, 4 February 2010
It's ladies' night
Here's a pic of the gorgeous sunset on Samara beach. After a really quiet but active week surfing the waves in Samara, we are off to ladies' night at a local bar where our surf instructor is DJing. Buenos Noches.
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