Spring and even summer are really starting to creep into Colorado over the last week or so, and as a result (I think) I've had bluegrass on the brain. Something about summer in the mountains I guess... Anyways, I was thinking back to one particular show that I went to in college...
In the winter of 2003 I decided on fairly short notice that I wanted to see Yonder Mountain String Band, who hailed from somewhere named Nederland - up the canyon from Boulder according to my road atlas. I was in the midst of a huge Grateful Dead kick and had read an article where Phil called Yonder the next best thing, who the Dead would ostensibly pass the torch to, with Phish on hiatus, as it were. I'd never heard Yonder, but if Phil gave them praise (not to mention my obsession with all things Colorado) then I wanted a piece of the action, so I went straight out and bought their debut cd. I found out online that they were on tour and in the Midwest. Coming to Indianapolis to be exact. It was a Tuesday night, mid-semester, a few months before graduation. A two hour drive from Oxford seemed well worth the gas money to Sarah and I. This unassuming Tuesday night turned out to be a very memorable experience.
Reeltime Travelers, who have since gone their separate ways, opened the show. I was as impressed by them as I was by YMSB. Amazingly, somebody filmed the entire Reeltime Travelers set from that night, so you can relive it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72aEHemhJ-I&list=PLD464DF2186986C5C if you wish to. Various members of the band have gone on to their own careers and are hopefully doing well today. Their only album still in distribution is for sale on Amazon, and highly recommended: http://www.amazon.com/Livin-Reeltime-Thinkin-Old-Time/dp/B0037UTGCS. During Yonder's show they were in the audience and enjoying the show as much as the rest of us. That was a first for me.
Yonder's portion of the night needs little introduction and speaks for itself. You can download it at http://archive.org/details/ymsb2003-02-25.shnf. As you can see from the YouTube link above, there were only probably 100 people at the show, so the bar atmosphere was intimate to say the least. This was years before Yonder would sell out Red Rocks, which was very enjoyable in its own right and coincidentally also a night I was also able to participate in with them, but this was more intimate and for that very reason to a certain extent, better. I can't really say that they were just cutting their teeth on this cold Tuesday night, since the show was tight and the music was excellent, but again, this clearly wasn't Red Rocks. It was a lot of fun following Yonder's growth over the next several years from this show, seeing them in Austin, Houston, and Colorado, but this likely inconsequential night in the grand scheme of all things Yonder was one of my favorites. Maybe it was also more interesting because it was something new, but I really think the intimate setting had a lot to do with it.
Continuing my little interest theme in things local and small, this memory reiterates to me that the faux-experiences and pseudo-conversations on Facebook and Instagram so many people are participating in these days aren't worth the time spent on them. I've spent more time than I care to even calculate on Facebook in the last 5 years. It's best to diminish the virtual stuff and focus on more real experiences. I'm not saying social media and the internet in general is a bad thing, but I hope everyone who hasn't come to a similar conclusion about their relationship with their Facebook news feed does so sooner than later. Otherwise, we're all missing out on lots of unassuming Tuesday nights that turn out to be diamonds in the rough.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Small is Beautiful notes - Part I, Chapter 2
I just read Small is Beautiful and believe many more people should
read it. It was first published 40 years ago, but still mostly reads as
if it could have been written in the present. Its content, ideas, and
warnings are remarkably relevant today. If you can't spend the time to
read the whole book, hopefully this mini book report will give you
enough insight to perhaps change your perspective a bit.
Here's the book on Amazon! And Wikipedia!
Outline:
He begins by refuting idealists who suggest world peace will finally come once everybody has everything they need. But material wealth has never led to true happiness and peace. In modern vernacular, watch 5 minutes of The Kardashians or The Real Housewives of wherever... I'm no expert on those shows but based on the previews I can promise you fights and lusting after somebody else's boyfriend, house, dress, or whatever else.
The theory rebuked in chapter 1 suggested we have solved the mystery of producing enough of everything for everyone in an ongoing manner. Believers in that theory could ostensibly extrapolate that we should reach world peace once the productions methods of the developed world reach the developing nations, given the dominant modern belief that the soundest foundation of peace is universal prosperity. Schumacher asks whether this is really true and predicts that there really isn't enough to go around for everyone to be rich with current production systems and the demands of mankind. He suggests that in order for there to be enough for everyone, people of developed nations need to consider what they have as "enough" and be content, but that is extremely uncommon thinking for modern man.
The chapter winds down with comments about wisdom and technology, and how we would all benefit from a shift towards technology and machines which are
Here's the book on Amazon! And Wikipedia!
Part I : The Modern World
Chapter 2 : Peace and Permanence
This is a chapter partly about materialism through the eyes of the capitalist economist longing for never-ending economic growth. It continues the theme of "what's wrong with the world today" started in chapter 1. It's about the U.S.A. in the 19th century and China in the 21st century. Schumacher's words could have been written yesterday. It's fascinating to me that he wrote this in 1973.Outline:
- People claim that the road to peace is the same as the road to riches (economic growth). That isn't true. [One reason for this is that riches require fuel, and fuel is finite. Scarcity leads to war.]
- Economic growth, which viewed from the point of view of economics, physics, chemistry and technology, has no discernible limit, must necessarily run into decisive bottlenecks when viewed from the point of view of the environmental sciences.
- The road to peace is actually wisdom - wisdom to be good stewards of our resources, wisdom to realize our true needs and reduce our "needs" list, wisdom to use technology for good, wisdom to prevent greed and envy, etc.
He begins by refuting idealists who suggest world peace will finally come once everybody has everything they need. But material wealth has never led to true happiness and peace. In modern vernacular, watch 5 minutes of The Kardashians or The Real Housewives of wherever... I'm no expert on those shows but based on the previews I can promise you fights and lusting after somebody else's boyfriend, house, dress, or whatever else.
The theory rebuked in chapter 1 suggested we have solved the mystery of producing enough of everything for everyone in an ongoing manner. Believers in that theory could ostensibly extrapolate that we should reach world peace once the productions methods of the developed world reach the developing nations, given the dominant modern belief that the soundest foundation of peace is universal prosperity. Schumacher asks whether this is really true and predicts that there really isn't enough to go around for everyone to be rich with current production systems and the demands of mankind. He suggests that in order for there to be enough for everyone, people of developed nations need to consider what they have as "enough" and be content, but that is extremely uncommon thinking for modern man.
What is "enough"? Who can tell us? Certainly not the economist who pursues "economic growth" as the highest of all values, and therefore has no concept of "enough." There are poor societies which have too little; but where is the rich society that says: "Halt! We have enough"? There is none.He then calls out the fact that "more prosperity means a greater use of fuel," which won't last forever, and that scarcity of fuel will definitely not end with peace.
It is clear that the "rich" are in the process of stripping the world of its once-for-all endowment of relatively cheap and simple fuels. It is their continuing economic growth which produces ever more exorbitant demands, with the result that the world's cheap and simple fuels could easily become dear and scarce long before the poor countries had acquired the wealth, education, industrial sophistication, and power of capital accumulation needed for the application of alternative fuels on any significant scale. ... Here is a source of conflict if ever there was one.From there he states we all must begin to reevaluate our wants and needs, and will really only have a chance at peace and true happiness (and permanence) when we dial back our pursuit of luxuries and instead pursue wisdom.
An attitude to life which seeks fulfillment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth - in short, materialism - does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.I wasn't alive 40 years ago, but I have to believe the need for the restoration of wisdom has increased greatly from 1973 to 2013. There are an incredible number of unwise people alive today. I shouldn't rant further about that, though.
...
The idea of unlimited economic growth, more and more until everybody is saturated with wealth, needs to be seriously questioned on at least two counts: the availability of basic resources, and alternatively or additionally, the capacity of the environment to cope with the degree of interference implied.
...
If human vices such as greed and envy are systematically cultivated, the inevitable result is nothing less than a collapse of intelligence.
...
The foundations of peace cannot be laid by universal prosperity, in the modern sense, because such prosperity, if attainable at all, is attainable only by cultivating such drives of human nature as greed and envy, which destroy intelligence, happiness, serenity, and there the peacefulness of man.
The chapter winds down with comments about wisdom and technology, and how we would all benefit from a shift towards technology and machines which are
- cheap enough so that they are accessible to virtually everyone;
- suitable for small-scale application; and
- compatible with man's need for creativity.
This chapter is full of things wrong with the world. Each of them get more attention later in the book... but if you never read the book at all, just reading this chapter alone would do you a lot of good.
- Permanence is incompatible with a predatory attitude which rejoices in the fact that "what were luxuries for our fathers have become necessities for us."
- The cultivation and expansion of needs is the antithesis of wisdom.
- We must look for a revolution in technology to give us inventions and machines which reverse the destructive trends now threatening us all.
- Above anything else there is need for a proper philosophy of work which understands work not as that which it has become, an inhuman chore as soon as possible to be abolished by automation, but as something "decreed by Providence for the good of man's body and soul."
- How could we even begin to disarm greed and envy? Perhaps by being much less greedy and envious ourselves; perhaps by resisting the temptation of letting our luxuries become needs; and perhaps by even scrutinizing our needs to see if they cannot be simplified and reduced. If we do not have the strength to do any of this, could we perhaps stop applauding the type of economic "progress" which palpably lacks the basis of permanence and give what modest support to those who, unafraid of being denounced as cranks, work for non-violence: as conservationists, ecologists, protectors of wildlife, promoters of organic agriculture, distributists, cottage producers, and so forth? An ounce of practice is generally worth more than a ton of theory.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Small is Beautiful notes - Part I, Chapter 1
I just read Small is Beautiful and believe many more people should read it. It was first published 40 years ago, but still mostly reads as if it could have been written in the present. Its content, ideas, and warnings are remarkably relevant today. If you can't spend the time to read the whole book, hopefully this mini book report will give you enough insight to perhaps change your perspective a bit.
Here's the book on Amazon! And Wikipedia!
There is a lot of content in these first 10 pages, so it's difficult to distill. Here are a few select quotes:
Here's the book on Amazon! And Wikipedia!
Part I : The Modern World
Chapter 1 : The Problem of Production
Synopsis: Mankind erroneously believes we have solved the mystery of producing enough of everything for everyone in an ongoing manner, but in fact our current production system depends on finite resources at an unsustainable pace and therefore is not unsustainable.There is a lot of content in these first 10 pages, so it's difficult to distill. Here are a few select quotes:
They may disagree on many things but they all agree that the problem of production has been solved; that mankind has at last come of age. For the rich countries, they say, the most important task now is "education or leisure" and, for the poor countries, the "transfer of technology."
The illusion of unlimited powers, nourished by astonishing scientific and technological achievements, has produced the concurrent illusion of having solved the problem of production. The latter illusion is based on the failure to distinguish between income and capital where the distinction matters most... namely, the irreplaceable capital which man has not made, but simply found, and without which he can do nothing. ... [i.e. this illusion is] mainly due to our inability to recognize that the modern industrial system, with all its intellectual sophistication, consumes the very basis on which is has been erected.
...we are estranged from reality and inclined to treat as valueless everything that we have not made ourselves.
If we treated [fossil fuels] as capital items [instead of income], we should be concerned with conservation; we should do everything in our power to try and minimize their current rate of use...
All these questions and answers are seen to be absurd the moment we realize that we are dealing with capital and not income: fossil fuels are not made by men; they cannot be recycled. Once they are gone they are gone forever.
If we squander our fossil fuels, we threaten civilization; but if we squander the capital represented by living nature around us, we threaten life itself.
...our most important task is to get off our present collision course. And who is there to tackle such a task? I think every one of us, whether old or young, powerful or powerless, rich or poor, influential or uninfluential. To talk about the future is useful only if it leads to action now.
We often hear it said that we are entering the era of "the Learning Society." Let us hope this is true. We still have to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow men but also with nature and, above all, with those Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us; for, assuredly, we have not come about by accident and certainly have not made ourselves.
This is merely the introduction to the book and to Part I of it, but already the book's format is revealed; a methodical case being made with a ready supply of evidence, with some harsh reality, optimism, and a bit of Schumacher's Christian worldview sprinkled in for good measure.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
welcome 2012 ( - or, back to old ways for new years)
Recently I have been unable to keep up with email at work. I've been unable to stay focused in meetings. I've been trying to figure out why I don't get more done. I've been trying to figure out how I can't complete small tasks before getting blown onto something else for weeks at a time... and recently I've been scared by having similar situations creep up at home. I should have all the time in the world at home. I don't have a big house or landscaped yard to maintain. I'm not travelling all the time for work. I don't have a wife or kids. I'm not trying to stumble through divorce papers. I don't even have a girlfriend to blame... yet I feel really time poor. I am not totally starved for free time; lots of people would love to have as much as I do, but I don't use it as effectively as I should. I'm alone for hours every day yet I can't seem to set aside time to work on me. Call me an introvert or worse, but I desperately need me time. It's how I learned how to play guitar and found out that I loved weird genres of music. It's how I discovered Latin America, skiing and cycling were deep, core passions of mine. It's how I find my way into pages of books that blow me away.
My poor use of free time as me time really smacked me in the face recently on a long weekend where I (coincidentally?) skied 3 days in a row, explored Steamboat at my own pace, and almost read a travel memoir about a guy's travels through South America in its entirety. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I had a super satisfying weekend, and it reminded me of how I felt in college. I didn't check my email. I didn't spend a lot of time on social web sites or youtube or with the TV on. I didn't think about work or stop into the office. And it was amazing. I had been trying to trace back to a time when I was able to accomplish all I needed to and still had time to discover more about myself, discover new relationships and people, or just pursue the folly of my choosing. That time was, unmistakably, college. Miami gave me the opportunity to disconnect from everything and get a mountain of progress done in a very short time. That truly was a halcyon era of productivity and discovery. A lot of people look back at college and pine for the parties, the debauchery, the beer. I have my fare share of those stories and thoughts too, but mainly remember college as a time where I learned who I am. My world was vastly smaller but it was satisfyingly simple, and I was content in it. So I've been thinking about then, what made it different, and what I need to change to get back to that kind of handle on time/work/me.
Resolutions
In light of that, and since it will be already be April next week, I have decided that I should scrap the whole resolutions thing and instead just try to cultivate these traits over next 9 months:
With any luck, by December I will have done great things passionately, will have a small Inbox at both home and work, will be happy about what I spent my time on, and feel time wealthy rather than time poor. I hope my world is smaller but more satisfying. Who knows, I might even have enough time for a yard or a girlfriend or anything else that people spend all their time on and wish they had more free time instead of...
My poor use of free time as me time really smacked me in the face recently on a long weekend where I (coincidentally?) skied 3 days in a row, explored Steamboat at my own pace, and almost read a travel memoir about a guy's travels through South America in its entirety. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I had a super satisfying weekend, and it reminded me of how I felt in college. I didn't check my email. I didn't spend a lot of time on social web sites or youtube or with the TV on. I didn't think about work or stop into the office. And it was amazing. I had been trying to trace back to a time when I was able to accomplish all I needed to and still had time to discover more about myself, discover new relationships and people, or just pursue the folly of my choosing. That time was, unmistakably, college. Miami gave me the opportunity to disconnect from everything and get a mountain of progress done in a very short time. That truly was a halcyon era of productivity and discovery. A lot of people look back at college and pine for the parties, the debauchery, the beer. I have my fare share of those stories and thoughts too, but mainly remember college as a time where I learned who I am. My world was vastly smaller but it was satisfyingly simple, and I was content in it. So I've been thinking about then, what made it different, and what I need to change to get back to that kind of handle on time/work/me.
Resolutions
In light of that, and since it will be already be April next week, I have decided that I should scrap the whole resolutions thing and instead just try to cultivate these traits over next 9 months:
- focused - Prune away distractions. After all, 'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free...
- cancel my cable TV after moving from The Peloton to wherever else
- also as part of the move, (a) use additional square footage to be better organized and (b) make "get rid of things I don't need/use/want" part of the packing process
- Un-install the Facebook app from my phone or just stop looking at the dumb thing. They should seriously consider renaming it LifeVacuum instead of Facebook.
- cancel my Google+ account. [This is not quite as easy as it sounds. Prior to clicking all the submit buttons I'm currently reading through the terms to make sure I don't wreck my Google account....]
- unsubscribe from all the ad emails I get. I currently have 462 unread items in my gmail inbox. Most of it is stuff I don't care about. As it turns out, I don't need any pants from j.crew.... also newsworthy; I don't care about the Crate & Barrell sale this weekend, and I don't want to attend that new meetup about knitting.
- diligent - "Having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties."
- Maintain a job in a company I believe in and care about being a rock star in. I just read an account of leaving Google for Microsoft and really liked a few points in there. "Want to enjoy your work more? Find better work... That's what it really boils down to: find work you can be passionate about. Then find the company that considers that work important, wants you to be part of it and is in a position to be an industry disruptor."
- Spend my time on things that matter to me and that I care about. If I'm not passionate about something, be honest enough with myself to skip it and do something I want/need to accomplish. Self-caution: I hope this doesn't make me anti-social or upset friends.
- I know myself well enough to know my performance is poor in things that I either don't believe in or don't consider a priority. Recognize that feeling and respond to it rather than floundering.
- curious - Keep discovering new interests. Explore to improve in things I'm uncomfortable or weak at now.
- I'm going to buy a Mac laptop to replace my 2002 Windows XP single core desktop... this thing can barely run Chrome by itself. I'm going to re-learn Mac after many years away. I'll put VMWare on it and get a virtual instance of Windows 7 running, but I mainly want to have a Mac.
- I bought 2 fantastic books on JavaScript last week. I'm well into the first and have learned a ton. I only ever really learned enough about JavaScript to be dangerous with it, and I'm excited to apply some actual intelligence about a new language at work.
- I'm going to keep reading books about Latin America and travelling. Hopefully this year takes me to Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador... we'll see.
- Self-caution: Do not let this be the opposite of focus.
- consistent
- Early to bed, early to rise... I want to be healthy, wealthy and wise. Repeat. Give myself the whole day to succeed...
- If I want to diligently focus on becoming a better runner, I need to be running 3 days a week.
- ambitious - Set specific goals and go after them.
- Copper Triangle... Half marathon... Spanish... move to a new country.... volunteering in Nicaragua or Bolivia... there are lots of things to put here. With focus, consistency and diligence, I know I can accomplish a ton.
- content
- This is not the opposite of the above items, but I do need to recognize contentedness and be OK with who I am, where I'm at, and what I'm capable of.
- Be me and be happy about what that means. There is great relief and reward in simply being content. Be wise with my money and time, and content with what I have.
With any luck, by December I will have done great things passionately, will have a small Inbox at both home and work, will be happy about what I spent my time on, and feel time wealthy rather than time poor. I hope my world is smaller but more satisfying. Who knows, I might even have enough time for a yard or a girlfriend or anything else that people spend all their time on and wish they had more free time instead of...
2012 news and plans
On a lighter note, there's a lot going on in the Burch bunch, but these are the big ones. I'll try to actually update this site in a timely manner when more events take place.
On a lighter note, there's a lot going on in the Burch bunch, but these are the big ones. I'll try to actually update this site in a timely manner when more events take place.
- The big family news is that Danny and Alissa are due to have the first of my parent's grandchildren. I'm going to be an uncle. When she comes along in July, more things are going to change than I now realize. May we all be as ready as we can be.
- Dad is turning 60. May we all be as ready as we can be. Hopefully we find ourselves celebrating by a return trip to ol' Columbus town to see some Ohio State football in person this fall!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
pieces of a third trip to Costa Rica, part 1
11/22/2011
Tuesday morning, on the beach, partly cloudy skies. This is the sunniest day we have had, so we went straight to the beach after breakfast. We are the only 2 rooms in use as Casa Camarona, a terrific find in between Playa Cocles and Punta Uva. It's a relaxing spot so we booked 2 nights minimum. The last time I was in this area the water was glass but there must be a swell now - the waves are probably the biggest I've ever swam in. It's really something diving into/under a wall of water equally as tall as you, especially when you are already standing in 2'-3' of water already.
Today we have even bigger waves than yesterday, and rented boogie boards for some body surfing. I paddled out past the break and caught the first wave I tried. It was bigger than I expected... these waves suck up tons of water as they approach. You find yourself thigh-deep one second, then mid-calf the next, with a huge wall of water exploding over you. During one lull I paddled back out and found a particular set on the horizon I thought would be great to catch, but as they approached even the first one scared me to ride. I dove under it. The second was even bigger, and I noticed my board leash had snapped. When I came up between the second and third waves I swam to shore as much as possible before diving into the third and biggest wave. I couldn't get below it, and it sucked me up into it. That was a very unsafe situation. Thankfully that was the last of the set because I was exhausted and had swallowed enough salt water for one day. I swam in, found my board on the beach, and decided to wait for lower tide before another attempt.
Filling in details from the past couple days...
Sunday morning we went to Cahuita National Park and hiked about a mile out-n-back in search of wildlife. We ended up hearing Howlers but seeing none. The mosquitoes were bad inland. It rained off and on, so after lunch we headed to Puerto Viejo and checked into a 5 person room at Agapi with hot water, A/C and TV. It's a nice place but expensive. They have a sloth family on the property, so we saw a few sloths there. In the afternoon we walked to Playa Cocles. The swimming was nice but I got stung by a jellyfish and my arm looked terrible afterwards, like road rash from cycling or something like that. It was a strange sensation at first but felt like an electric shock, followed by numbness and pain in m elbow. The water was pretty clear so I was surprised to not have seen what stung me until we spotted lots of tiny clear jellyfish washed ashore in the sand later. After a nice dinner in downtown Puerto Viejo we bought a few beers at a super and headed home to watch Beckham's Galaxy win the MLS. We discovered Toña, a Nicaraguan beer that I had never had before but now highly recommend.
Yesterday we ate breakfast and decided to head out from Agapi. The goal was to head into Panama, Bocas del Toro, but with the rain it seemed smarter to travel little, find a hammock, and read away the rain. Where we are now is a great alternative to Bocas (and the possibility of our abandoned rental car getting broken into or floating away in this flood). We now have 2 rooms for way cheaper than Agapi, hammocks, lots of sun and big waves. After checking in we got in the water... there are consistent 3'-6' waves here, with the occasional 8'+ wave. We went for a jog for about 4km yesterday, almost all the way back to Agapi, which was very nice. After happy hour at our cabinas we drove down to Maxi's in Manzanillo. The food was good but probably 50% more expensive than when I was last there, with prices rivaling what you would pay in the States for Red Snapper or lobster. That has been an unfortunate recurring theme over the last few days... I believe the window of opportunity for stretching dollars way beyond reasonable expectation has closed in Costa Rica - at least in the Caribbean coast. Things seem to cost as much as they would in the States around here.
Tuesday morning, on the beach, partly cloudy skies. This is the sunniest day we have had, so we went straight to the beach after breakfast. We are the only 2 rooms in use as Casa Camarona, a terrific find in between Playa Cocles and Punta Uva. It's a relaxing spot so we booked 2 nights minimum. The last time I was in this area the water was glass but there must be a swell now - the waves are probably the biggest I've ever swam in. It's really something diving into/under a wall of water equally as tall as you, especially when you are already standing in 2'-3' of water already.
Today we have even bigger waves than yesterday, and rented boogie boards for some body surfing. I paddled out past the break and caught the first wave I tried. It was bigger than I expected... these waves suck up tons of water as they approach. You find yourself thigh-deep one second, then mid-calf the next, with a huge wall of water exploding over you. During one lull I paddled back out and found a particular set on the horizon I thought would be great to catch, but as they approached even the first one scared me to ride. I dove under it. The second was even bigger, and I noticed my board leash had snapped. When I came up between the second and third waves I swam to shore as much as possible before diving into the third and biggest wave. I couldn't get below it, and it sucked me up into it. That was a very unsafe situation. Thankfully that was the last of the set because I was exhausted and had swallowed enough salt water for one day. I swam in, found my board on the beach, and decided to wait for lower tide before another attempt.
Filling in details from the past couple days...
Sunday morning we went to Cahuita National Park and hiked about a mile out-n-back in search of wildlife. We ended up hearing Howlers but seeing none. The mosquitoes were bad inland. It rained off and on, so after lunch we headed to Puerto Viejo and checked into a 5 person room at Agapi with hot water, A/C and TV. It's a nice place but expensive. They have a sloth family on the property, so we saw a few sloths there. In the afternoon we walked to Playa Cocles. The swimming was nice but I got stung by a jellyfish and my arm looked terrible afterwards, like road rash from cycling or something like that. It was a strange sensation at first but felt like an electric shock, followed by numbness and pain in m elbow. The water was pretty clear so I was surprised to not have seen what stung me until we spotted lots of tiny clear jellyfish washed ashore in the sand later. After a nice dinner in downtown Puerto Viejo we bought a few beers at a super and headed home to watch Beckham's Galaxy win the MLS. We discovered Toña, a Nicaraguan beer that I had never had before but now highly recommend.
Yesterday we ate breakfast and decided to head out from Agapi. The goal was to head into Panama, Bocas del Toro, but with the rain it seemed smarter to travel little, find a hammock, and read away the rain. Where we are now is a great alternative to Bocas (and the possibility of our abandoned rental car getting broken into or floating away in this flood). We now have 2 rooms for way cheaper than Agapi, hammocks, lots of sun and big waves. After checking in we got in the water... there are consistent 3'-6' waves here, with the occasional 8'+ wave. We went for a jog for about 4km yesterday, almost all the way back to Agapi, which was very nice. After happy hour at our cabinas we drove down to Maxi's in Manzanillo. The food was good but probably 50% more expensive than when I was last there, with prices rivaling what you would pay in the States for Red Snapper or lobster. That has been an unfortunate recurring theme over the last few days... I believe the window of opportunity for stretching dollars way beyond reasonable expectation has closed in Costa Rica - at least in the Caribbean coast. Things seem to cost as much as they would in the States around here.
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