More Flights, More Airports, More Travel, More Fun

3/3/2017     

Nicaragua

This is longest that I have spent in Nicaragua since 2012 and it was a great time. I wasn’t really jet lagged  (surprisingly) but pretty lazy to start off. Took me for ever to get some work done around the house.

Weather was great to start but starting to get hot towards the end of February.

Nothing really exciting other than the highway from the border with Costa Rica is under construction. That should be good for tourism and development but could risk our private little paradise becoming too popular. But if it is good for the locals that is the important thing.

I guess the other thing of notice is that I am the proud father of a bouncing baby Cow that is pregnant. Actually I am half owner. I put up the cash and my friend does all the work. I am not a good cattleman. I absolutely insisted that the cow and eventually calve be treated humanely and no abuse. Profits go down because of this but I don’t care. I more or less didn’t to help my friend and will just buy more when we sell. The cows are free range until they meet their bovine maker so I could buy into that.

I am currently Managua and will fly a bizarre way to get to Medellin that takes two days but if I am retired I need to change my spending habits. Being that I have time on my hands I decided to do it this way.

I will start Spanish lessons when I get settled into Medellin.

Onward

Medellin

March to April 2017

Well if this is retirement it works for me. I am reading a lot biking a lot, I lost some weigh, eating well and sleeping whenever I want.

The first week or so was getting caught up on some work and getting settled here can be time consuming which I still working on after 6 weeks here. The most impressive thing is I managed to pass my Colombian drivers license.

Toronto

May 2017

I was hoping for nice weather in May but I think that a bit too much. Toronto was cold and wet and then transitioned to wet and cold. No worries, I went to see my and family. And that would be Allan Macho Man Randy Soupster Macho King Savage to you. Always great seeing them. Allan is always busy with work and family but we still managed to get out and do a few things. Including seeing some guy fall and split his head open in a neighbor hood bar.

Nova Scotia

May 2017

Good thing the weather improved to be very wet and very cold but it was really nice for one day. In Cape Breton I a lot of cooking, and playing 45 which is more a less a local card game with random rules but a lot of fun and I have been playing this sense I was very young. I suck at the game but did manage to win the grand prize of 80 dollars when night and that was basically used to buy Tony’s Donair for 5 in Halifax.

My mother is extremely old and losing her faculties so it is great to see her before my youngest sister decides to put her in a home.

I saw my 92 year aunt who was a war vet and my 90 year old uncle. Both are sharp with a great sense of humor. Might have been 40 years sense I have seen them last.

For shame but the bad eating habits that I had while I vacation. Not sure you can even go on a vacation when you are retired but I think I did.

My three nieces, 1 nephew and myself with to Lunenberg, Peggy’s Cover and Halifax for a couple of days and amazing scenery but I think the best part of the trip was going to Tony’s Donair.

Now I am on my way to Texas for a week and then back to Colombia.

-->

I am fluent in Spanish now as long as fluent means I cannot speak much

3/3/2017     

Nicaragua

This is longest that I have spent in Nicaragua since 2012 and it was a great time. I wasn’t really jet lagged  (surprisingly) but pretty lazy to start off. Took me for ever to get some work done around the house.

Weather was great to start but starring warming up towards the end of February.

Nothing really exciting other than the highway from the border with Costa Rica is under construction. That should be good for tourism and development but could risk our private little paradise becoming too popular. But if it is good for the locals that is the important thing.

I guess the other thing of notice is that I am the proud father of a bouncing baby Cow that is pregnant. Actually I am half owner. I put up the cash and my friend does all the work. I am not a good cattleman. I absolutely insisted that the cow and eventually calve be treated humanely and no abuse. Profits go down because of this but I don’t care. I more or less didn’t to help my friend and will just buy more when we sell. The cows are free range until they meet their bovine maker so I could buy into that.

I am currently Managua and will fly a bizarre way to get to Medellin that takes two days but if I am retired I need to change my spending habits. Being that I have time on my hands I decided to do it this way.

I will start Spanish lessons when I get settled into Medellin.

Update April 2017 I have not started Spanish Lesson

-->

Onward

Last Night in Abu Dhabi

The Holy Land

1/20/2017

Getting into Iraq was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I thought with so many stamps for the UAE and Iraq that I would receive lots of grief and or they would insist on stamping my passport but a quick questions as to what I did in Iraq and a low tech D2 I was on my way.

Being in Jerusalem is liking walking through the pages of the Bible and walking through the pages of time.

It is thought to see it all in such a short time and I was sick in bed with the flu for 5 days so it became necessary to start prioritizing. The first place I went to was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is supposedly where Christ was crucified and it also where his alleged tomb is.

It was really amazing to see this. I think it is mostly bunk but I do believe in the historical figure Jesus Christ.  And if I think once he rose from the grave and if he saw is shadow there was six more weeks of winter.

The priest that were guarding or controlling the crowd were more or less a bunch of pricks. I was surprised at just how thuggish they were in dealing with the crowds. I can’t imagine what it would be like in the summer with the heat and with it being a lot more crowded.  Follow if Jesus indeed.

It was such a spiritual experience for some with many people crying, wailing, passing out all for their love of Jebus. I didn’t want to detract from the people that this meant something to so I was in and out as quickly as possible.

The Wailing Wall

From my hotel it was a short walk to the Damascus gate and then it like walking back in time with its labyrinth of alleyways and stone passages. As you make your way to the Temple Mount, Wailing Wall etc you pass by the 10 stops where Jesus stopped.

The Western Well is nothing like I have seen. Jewish worshippers in their traditional dress. I am embarrassed that I don’t more but you can see their arm straps and something on the head that I thought was a Go Pro but I don’t think so. Some are quite animated when they pray and while others write prayers and slip it into the cracks of the Wailing Wall. For some it seems to be a very joyous occasion with lots of traditional singing and dancing.

From the Wailing Wall you can make your way to Temple Mount which has an extremely important site for the three monotheistic religious. The Muslims believe this is where the Prophet descended to heaven while Christians and Jews believe this is where Ibrahim was going to sacrifice his son Isaac.

For the next few days I was sick as a dog and pretty much stayed in my hotel.

Time was running out so I did those day tours that I normally don’t like doing but I was running out of time so  over the course of two days I went to amazing Acre, Nazareth, Valley Armageddon,  Capernaum (where Jesus stared his Ministry).

I would like to come back for sure to learn more about the Holy Land and this rebel rouser they call Jesus.