The Beginning (Granada, Nicaragua)

Well, it´s now been three days since I left Calgary and it already feels like an eternity since I´ve been gone. It amazes me how time goes so much slower when you´re not doing your daily routine of work and living.

So, here I am in Nicaragua... pollution, the smell of burning garbage, over populated streets, blazing hot sun, humid air, sweaty clothes with beads of perspiration dripping down my face... I love it!! Ahhhh, it´s so nice to be traveling once again in developing and tropical countries. I´ve missed it.

It hasn´t taken me very long to adjust to the backpacker lifestyle. Gone are my days of naivety when I was all bright eyed and cluesless of how to survive. My very first night I was a little nervous about getting to my first hostel, but a simple taxi ride, shared with some guy from the states made it easy. I´m no longer afraid to ask just anyone if I can join them, or share a cab with them, or ask for directions.

My first day in the big capital city was quite boring actually, it consisted of me walking around aimlessly by myself for a few hours and then the first sight of two white guys sitting down at a restaurant, I asked if I could join them. We ended up doing more walking around aimlessly in what they said was the more boring place they had seen in their, so far, 8 months of traveling through Latin America. Great. The highlight of the day was to watch a bunch of teen-aged school kids watch a soccer game in a food court, man can they cheer and holler over the excitement! That night as I returned to my hostel, I basically got kicked out because I supposedly had only booked one night and there was no room for me. Oh well, I once again hopped into a taxi at 6:15pm and went to the bus station and headed for Granada. This is where I am now. A very quaint, touristic, colonial town. It reminds me a lot of Antigua, Guatemala where Jeremy and I had visited a couple years earlier. The second I passed through the town in the bus, flashbacks of Jeremy and I traveling together touched my nostalgic heart and mind. But only for a second.

Anyhow, here in Granada, I´ve connected with some great travelers from a huge array of countries from around the world, all with the same goal to explore and have fun. This is waht I love about backpacking, you learn not only about the local culture, but also about so many other foreign lands.

I´m gone for 7 months, and others have already been gone for 8 or months and still have 4 or more to go! Gee, I´ve been trumped and have a feeling I´m going to want to stay longer if possible. It´s amazing how flexible I am, someone has suggested I no longer go north and then backtrack south. It makes sense, I´m going to skip a couple countries I had originally thought of visiting.

As well, I´ve noticed that times have changed since my last big trip. There´s wifi everywhere, and everyone has their own laptop or iphone with them. Sure makes communicating a lot easier! I´m feeling a little old, but lo and behold, I´m not alone. There´s definitley some others in their 30s or older. Nice.

For so long, many of my friends, family and co-workers asked, ¨Dean, are you excited to go?¨ and I never was really able to say yes. But now that I´m here and in full swing, I´m so excited to be here and am trying to enjoy every minute. This time around, I´m going to try and relax a lot more, no rushing, no over planning, no stressing about this nomadic lifestyle. I´ve been wearing the same outfit for a couple days now, meh...

One last comment, I am so grateful to have spent my last weeks in Calgary surrounded by my friends and family that truly love me. Knowing that I wouldn´t see everyone for an extended time, allowed me to fully appreciate everyone and live each day to the fullest in Calgary. If you´re reading this, THANK YOU.