A Different Trip - Looking For More Funny

In a couple of days I’ll fly back to Houston and am looking forward to doing so. My time in Costa Rica has been really good but its also been a different kind of trip. I’ve traveled shorter distances and I’ve stayed longer than I normally would in places I’d usually be more inclined to pass through. I thought this would have been one of those adventures where I’d get warmed up and crave a little challenge and adventure. I could have very likely trotted over the Nicaraguan border and looped through San Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. That would have been an adventure but it wasn’t feeling like the thing to do. I felt more inclined to run in the morning, hang by a beach, and swim in the ocean after a short ride on a local bus.

In the past four years, almost exactly, starting before this blog and in Chile, I began a series of travels. Looking back, I’ve done a lot more than I think I realized and have covered a vast amount of territory. Costa Rica has been all about short travel days, no stress, limited goals, pineapple, papaya, and cerveza. I've also taken a lot fewer photos. In a sense I feel like I just sat down after a four year whirlwind experience of long walks, world travels, and busy unpredictable work.

Life is good and at the end of the day I feel like I’ve been doing a pretty good job of taking advantage of the good.

I’m back in Dominical for a 3rd time. In some ways I don’t really know why I like this place but I do. I’m not a surfer, hippie, or someone running away from something but Dominical has a certain appeal for the moment. It’s a nice little place to drop out for awhile. It’s fun to drop out for a short period of time but but I've about had my fill of maximum chill.

The surf has calmed quite a bit since the first time I passed through. It now looks like a good day in Galveston, Texas. The water is even the same color. Well, maybe a Very good day in Galveston.

The owner of the hotel I’ve been staying at is actually Dutch. I thought he was Italian because the Lost Planet Guide said he was. When I asked him about it he said, “Oh, I had an Italian Chef that acted like he owned the place. He doesn’t work here anymore”. I’m now on a first name basis at the hotel. In other words I’ve been around enough where I’m remembering names and people are remembering mine.

In two days I need to be in Liberia which is kind of far to travel via local bus. I asked the Dutch owner what he thought I should do. He turned it over to the German woman working the front desk. A viable solution was found rather quickly. Tomorrow it’s an easy bus ride to Quepos for an overnight then an early tourist bus, at a very reasonable price, to Liberia. Pura vida attitude mixed with Dutch hospitality and German organization. No problema. Very Easy.

As with all my trips they usually end with some kind of epiphany and an intention of making forward thinking changes upon my return home. Often times it’s the thought of making a move, changing up my work, or pursuing some repressed creative interest. However, what usually happens is that I step off the plane and the very next day dive right back into what I was doing when I left. I’m usually very motivated and fresh so it’s easy to pick up where I left off. In no time I mindlessly surrender to the ease of old patterns. In actuality, it’s really not a bad thing. I’ve got quite the angle on it all and am very grateful for it.

In no time the bank account starts a steady upward trend and without any hesitation I begin to think of a new excursion. However, whatever epiphany or intention I had usually gets put off or forgotten as I get caught up in the distraction of busyness. The Achilles heel is that even though I know I’ve got it pretty darned good I know I could do much better and am not using other gifts and talents I know I possess.

Travel is adventure but adventure doesn’t always have to be trekking all over the world. Perhaps I’ll return home with this thought, put some new strings on my Collings OMH Guitar, and strum a new tune. Maybe the persona needs a new suit as I might want to consider a different stage.

Often times when I meet foreigners who don’t speak English very well they will say something is more funny when they mean something is more fun. For example, “We go this place. It’s more funny”. I’m having my share of fun but I think I’d like to spend more time where it’s more funny. I'm kind of thinking along those lines.