Spree of Boredom (Trujillo, Perú)

Well, in my big spree of boredom here in Trujillo, I've come to realize that blogging offers some worthy distraction of my time.

Here's some random highlights to my day:

- bought a nice juicy mango last night at the market, when I was about to take it out of the clear plastic bag this morning for breakfast, I saw about 5 maggots squirming around all covered in fresh mango juice
- walked around and took some photos in the city today
- sat in the central plaza, where a middle class man was napping in the grass. We all got kicked off the grass by the police and the man woke up with a white flower petal mistakenly yet perfectly placed behind his ear, like a Hawaiin princess
- trimmed my nose hairs
- skyped and chatted with a handful of folks back in Canada. Holla!!
- had a bit of a boredom insanity breakdown while messaging Leticia without her even being on the other end
- tried out my new styling hair putty, only to end in disappointment
- spoke to my new Italian dorm mate, tried to see if he'd wanna eat dinner with me, but got rejected cause he has no Peruvian cash. I gave him 4 crackers as my good deed for today :-)
- had a hairless dog stare at me in my dorm for about 3 minutes in silence
- finally decided to go to the pharmacy to buy some pills for my swollen throat

Tomorrow... to the beach I go! (I hope).

Hmmm... now what shall I do?

Recant (Trujillo, Perú)

Ok fine, it wasn't my pillow that stunk last night. It's this peace bracelet I've been wearing for a few months now that I shower, swim, eat and sleep with. I guess the fabric is getting a little moldy smelling. And I normally sleep with my one hand by my face, hence the awful smell. So sad, I love that bracelet. I bought it in New Orleans in Dec. 2010. :-(

As a side note, recently I've gotten a "trenza" put into my hair. It's essentially a hair braid extension. It's all the here with women and men! Well, I think so at least. Now I'm scared it's gonna start to have mildew as well! Plus those two anklets I've been wearing. One ever since Panama. Ugh.

Smelly and Bored (Trujillo, Perú)

I'm feeling much better than last night, fever is gone. (Thanks for your concern Mom)! Now I'm just resting up in my hostel, I'm a little weak and have a sore throat.

I'm in a dorm room with 10 beds, but I'm the only one here! It's attached to another dorm room with another 10 beds, but alas, I'm still the only one here! As of yesterday there was about 8 other people in the dorms. Maybe I scared them all away with my snoring and my germs. To be honest, I was being anti social anyway. To the point where I've used my sarong as a curtain to hide myself within my bottom bunk, my little sanctuary of solitude. Sometimes I get really bored talking to other backpackers, especially after leaving good friends behind. I'd rather connect with local people anyway, when possible. I watched a movie earlier by myself, which I have no qualms about whatsoever, and on the walk home I told myself I will make an effort to be sociable tonight so I'm not so bored. Lo and behold, there's no one here.

As a side note, it's interesting, if you read my blog from the start of my trip I was so excited to be surrounded by backpackers and with travel talk. Don't get me wrong, I am sometimes, just when it's on a deeper level. Furthermore, I haven't done a travel documentary video in a while.

I remember close to the end of my 17 month trip back in 2005, my friend Bubba wrote on my blog "you must be jaded Dean" and it was a real eye opening moment for me. He described my feelings so well with that one word. Well, that is not how I feel now! I'm just in search of other things these days to keep me interested in traveling I suppose. Hence the longer stays in places and longer, deeper relationships.

So anyway, my blankets and my pillow case kinda stink. I think it's from all that feverish sweating I've been doing the last two nights. Great. If you look at the picture and think I've got dirty underwear beside my pillow, they're clean!

I could be an ass and trade my pillow with one of the other 19 vacant beds. Hmmmmm... It's not THAT mean right?? Screw it, no witnesses... here goes...

Freezing Hot (Trujillo, Perú)

I can't sleep, it's nearly 3am. Well, in the last 29 hours though Ive slept about 24 of the hours. I'm sick. :-(

I've had a fever ever since last night and I can't decide if I'm hot or cold or both. The thing is, it's boiling here to begin with which doesn't help things. One minute I'm sweating the next I'm shivering. Ugh. Being sick sucks when traveling solo.

El Mochilero (Trujillo, Perú)

Just arrived in Trujillo after a very comfortable 9 hour bus ride. Staying at a hostel called El Mochilero (The Backpacker) and saw this little quote on the wall. I wish it could represent everyone to be honest, not just backpackers. It states "my homeland is the world, my ceiling is the sky, my bed is the earth".

Ready or Not (Máncora, Perú)

I guess I've got a love/hate relationship with this place, this resort/hostel and all of the folks within it. My overnight bus leaves in about two hours and my friends are all outside wanting to spend our last moments together. I can't wait to start the next part of my Peruvian trip, but I don't wanna leave just yet. No! It's a trap! I gotta get outta here! Ugh... I'll be on my own once again, ready to encounter new people and new places. I'll be seeing Leticia in a couple of weeks though. Well, ready or not...

Shallow or Unengaged? (Máncora, Perú)

So I just had another goodbye with my good friend Sebastian. In the end we really bonded well. I never thought I'd have an 18 year old friend that I could just talk to with on such a frank level. He told me tonight that he enjoyed my company because we were able to talk openly and not at a shallow level, unlike many of the conversations he has with other travelers. I agree on some level that travel talk is shallow and can get real tiresome. However, I'm inclined to believe that everyone has a story, everyone has a deeper side to themselves than what is shown at face level. Perhaps it's just a matter of engaging them properly, being open yourself and thus allow others to open up as well.

Back in Quito I had made some terrible misjudgments about my friend Steph when she started as a new volunteer. One day I decided to try and understand where she's coming from and we ended up having a wonderful conversation about life. I was ashamed to have made such horrible assumptions about her that were clearly wrong. In the end, we too became close pals. As I've said before, people always surprise me, and I'm glad to always be on my toes. Once again, it's the unknowing.

Well, Ive been blessed once more to have made another great friend.

Tomorrow I will escape this trap... I WILL leave Mancora, I WILL leave Mancora...

The Second Half (Zorritos, Peru)

So here I am in this fishing town in the north of Peru, called Zorritos. I finally decided to leave the vicious trap of Loki Hostel in Mancora, where they suck you in with too much fun and too much alcohol.  Zorritos has hardly any other tourists, other gringos, here. Hence, more expensive accomodations, no trendy shops to browse through, no gringo restaurants, just real life of the locals. Slow internet and no English! Its a big change from Mancora. My Peruvian friend said that after Mancora, there will not be another place in Peru like it, it´s all downhill from there. I hope not.

After much waiting time to try and connect with United Airlines I have finally gotten through, and instead of extending my flight to another date, I have just cancelled it and received a credit. I can now choose when and from where I will fly home! Freedom!!

I decided a long time ago, back in Colombia, that I was not going to rush through my trip like other backpackers do that are on a strict schedule. Hence, if I want to stay two or three weeks in one place to get to know it a little better, to get to know some locals, to develop some stronger relationships, then so be it. Its so much more relaxed this way. 

So on this day, I was supposed to be in Sao Paulo, Brazil ready to board my flight back to Calgary, Canada, or ´home´.  It has now been 7 months and it only leads me to reflect on what I have accomplished thus far. Surely, there´s the tangible things such as travelled through 5 countries, learned to speak (modestly) spanish, learned to meditate, seen some really cool sights and done some really awesome activities.  But for anyone that knows me, these are minor things. For me, its all about the growth, the knowledge... the journey.

I have met some really incredible people along my journey, and they never cease to surprise and inspire me. Just recently I have met an 18 year old Scottish fellow named Sebastian. He started travelling after his high school graduation at the age of 17 and has been going now for 8 months, hitch hiking and working his way through South America. He has been gaining insights into life, growing into a mature adult, and defining who he is as a human being. A coming of age story at its best.   As well, I can honestly say I have met some friends that I hope will be friends for a very long time, despite the distance. I have just recently seperated from Leticia, who I first met back in Colombia and have now been in 3 countries with. She is a like a best friend that I´ve had for 15 years, we connect, we argue, we party, we laugh, we cry, we share our lives together. And there are many more just like Leticia that I´ve met, some for 5 days, some for 3 weeks or more.

As we all know, this trip originally was for me to become an independent single person, at the end of a 12 year relationship. Well, this is still ongoing for me, but I must say I have come a long way. I remember being back in Nicaragua weeping in my bed, weeping on the beach, weeping in the bus, wondering what has happened to my life.  In these past 7 months, I have discovered who I am once again. I am able to be alone and comfortable in my own skin once again. Not to mention, I have learned to date at the age of 33, meeting a few guys along the way.  However, not all of my past life has been resolved, has been healed, but I wonder if the pain will ever disolve 100%.  Nonetheless I am stronger and wiser.

I must admit, I am scared to return to what was once my life in Calgary, because my life there is not my life now. I sometimes tell Leticia about my career and my personality back in Calgary and she cannot fathom that person, that hardworking, over dedicated, detailed, agenda keeping, public-speaking personality. It is as though I have been put on pause over there, a time warp. I have experienced it before, the reverse culture shock, and I often warn first time, long term, travellers about it. It is something I don´t want to go through again and perhaps I won´t.  So as for now, I continue to remain here, in this life. 

Back in Vilcabamba (man, do I love Vilcabamba), I had my astrological reading done and the man (Hunter) told me that there is a period from May 22, 2011 - March 5, 2012 in which I will go through a hardship transistion in my life. I was in shock! May 22nd is basically when I ended my relationship.  And it brings me to now. So I have appropriatley called this blog, the second half. I have been granted another extension on my leave of absence from work, I have been blessed to have some more money and time to keep travelling. I will continue on this journey... this journey of self discovery, open to whatever comes my way. 

The more I learn, the less I know!

Higher Than Normal (Máncora, Perú)

Ugh! So I'm going to spill the beans on here, just because I need to vent out my frustrations. Plus I know only a handful will read this.

I am in the process of extending my trip for maybe another 5-6 months!! Exciting I know, yippee... hopefully you catch the tone in my voice as I wrote that.

I need to call my airline and extend my flight. I inquired with my butterfly (let's use the word butterfly for any derogatory words, ie: stupid, fucking, bloody, damn, shit, idiotic, etc) travel agent a few months ago and she wasn't butterfly helpful. I just emailed her again, let's see if the butterfly butterfly will butterfly respond!

In the last few days I've spent close to four hours in butterfly Internet cafes and on my iPhone, using butterfly skype to call my butterfly airline. I can't butterfly get through! "we are experiencing butterfly higher than normal call volumes..." oh yeah, butterfly off! I've just waited 75 minutes on butterfly hold and decided to finally hang up. The other day I waited 65 minutes. And this morning, due to skype my call was dropped at least 5 butterfly times, after getting through the butterfly voice recognition reception, in which they could find my reservation. However, when I go to the butterfly website I don't have the correct butterfly confirmation number to make any butterfly changes! BUTTERFLY!!

Relax Dean. Okay... Let's put things into butterfly perspective... I'm extending my butterfly trip!! Butterfly wonderful! Just another travel bump to get over...

Resort Life (Máncora, Perú)

One week thus far in Peru, in a beach town that the Lonely Planet travel guide calls "Peru's worst kept secret". I'm staying at a hostel called Loki which is more like a fancy beach resort than a hostel. Hammocks, sun beds, large pool with volleyball, Internet stations, life sized jenga, connect four, and battle ship, a huge fully stocked bar with rum n vodka slushies to drink under the blazing sun, and a lively discotech every night with themed parties. All for ten bucks a night! Amazing.

Every night is jam packed with the guests dancing on tables, mixin n minglin the night away. Ten metres out the door lies the clean and bustling beach, the surfers, the vendors, Peruvian and Latino families building sand castles, and stray dogs chilling under whatever shade refuge they can find. And, what would a beach be without all the bars lined up next to each other, serving booze and food throughout the daytime and pumping the tunes at night. If you don't like the song playing in one bar, walk 10 metres and check out the other bar.

So, needless to say, I'm exhausted from all the partying and dehydrated from the scorching sun. Did I mention we are in the dessert?

My friend Leticia has decided to volunteer here as a bartender for a month. I coulda done the same but decided I've done enough work in Quito and wouldn't be able to handle all the drunken customers. So now I must decide what's next on my agenda. More beaches? Remain here? Go inland? Hopefully my wifey will meet up with me eventually.

The cool thing about Mancora is that there's lots of young Peruvians here on vacation, so I've made a few friends that I can visit once I start traveling again.

Ahhh... So nice. Did I mention that I'm only spending $10/night?

As a sidenote... I can't believe I've quoted the Lonely Planet. I'm not a fan of this guide book. I exchanged my "Lets Go" central america book for a used, outdated Lonely Planet south america one back in Colombia. I have decided to not use it and left it in a town back in Ecuador. Meh, who needs a guidebook anyway?

Not Knowing... (Máncora, Perú)

My friend Ioana just posted this quotation on Facebook. I love it. It's very Oh The Places You'll Go-esque. Journey, journey, journey... I love not knowing what will happen in life...

“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” - C. Joybell C.