Playing Catch Home While Staying Home Sick

Working at the hostel in Manzanillo.

I had to remind myself today to slow down and enjoy living in the jungle. I woke up feeling awful again today, battling more intestinal trouble, this has been happening for about one week now. A lot of people have been sick in Puerto Viejo lately, and I was not spared. On top of becoming sick last Friday, I had also just gotten hired at The Point Sports Bar and Grill at Playa Negra on the north side of Puerto Viejo. So, I attended my first day of work sick, and had one day to lie in bed, before working three days in a row, all a little under the weather. A little under the weather is an understatement. The first night I was sick, I lost 5 pounds! You can imagine the things a body is going throw if it can lose 5 lbs in one night. But I made it through and was even starting to feel better. So when I woke up this morning feeling horrible again, and having been up in the bathroom most of last night, I was disappointed. Yesterday, Jahsiah and I went to Manzanillo to finally start our first day of real work on

Jahsiah's mosaic floor.

the hostel, Paraiso Natural, that we helping our friend Ferguson with. Jahsiah was working on tiling one of the bathrooms, I had been painting. Our plan was to return today, but I found myself unable to get out of bed, and sadly stayed home.

It was my first day home in the jungle mansion all alone and I was struggling to feel comfortable. There are so many noises coming from this jungle constantly, and when one is alone and not feeling well, it is easy to start thinking about how alone you are out here, and how if you needed something, you would have a hard time communicating to someone, especially considering my cell phone doesn't work at the house! Around the height of my afternoon jungle paranoia, a text came through that my boss at The Point wanted me to work tonight. I had said I would love to pick up shifts since as of right now, I'm only working three days a week and that just won't cut it money wise, but the reality was, I was not feeling well enough to work tonight. So, no Manzanillo to help on the hostel, and no Point for some tips and money. I was feeling rather lame and frustrated. And then I realized, I didn't come down here to keep stressing every little thing. I didn't come down here to go back to working 7 days a week, like I did in Oakland. I came down to Costa Rica to slow down a bit, to enjoy my life, to appreciate having the day to myself in the jungle. But it's so hard for me to not fall into the same manic cycle of exhausting myself as is usually my M.O. In fact, I was feeling so guilty all day that I didn't just suck it up and do something today, that I finally had to sit down, get out my camera, and make myself write a blog so that I felt like I had accomplished something.

So here it is, some pictures that had been lost in the shuffle since my computer broke, which by the way, it is very broken and looks like it is done. Hoping to get another computer in a month or two so that I'm not having to highjack Jahsiah's computer. In the meantime, enjoy some photos that go back to previous posts.

Breakfast at Hotel Leon del Sol in Leon, Nicaragua

Our host Mario, was a Nicaraguan who now lives in Napa. He had just opened his hotel, which was very nice. He helped us get the vet come to the hotel to look at LaDainian's foot after attacking the bull. If you are ever in Leon, go to Mario's hotel and you will be treated like royalty.

The famous Tuk-Tuk. I had been meaning to post a photo of one. If you've been to South East Asia or Central America, you know a Tuk-Tuk. If you haven't ridden in one yet, make it a goal to do so!

A beach on the Pacific side of Nicaragua, just north of San Juan del Sur.

Volcano Ometepe on Lake Nicaragua.

First glimpse of the Caribbean!

First Imperials, we made it!

An orb spider, better than screens.

Home sweet home.

The view from our balcony.

Our balcony.

Our kitchen in our new home.

The lesson of today, there is no point in working hard to get what you want, if you don't let yourself enjoy it once you get it. Time for me to slow down and enjoy the life I set out to create for myself.