I slept in a cattle shelter last night..sort of!

i never went to volunteer at that farm it was a 2 km hike from where i got dropped off and I had no idea if they had vacancies for rooms and sun was just blazing down so instead i went to Monkeys Island Hostal

They had a talking parrot and a lil pet monkey which was cool...........plus when i walked up i could see all kinds of backpackers so i felt right at home!

It was 2.50/night, but was quite the dormatory.........basically 6 posts in a rectangle shape with a tin roof, it had all kinds of assorted sized mis-matched wood covering the sides and cardboard in a few spots to fill in the voids. It was about 10feet wide x 25 feet long and had 5 single beds in a row

At the bottom, the boards started about 8 inches from the ground and they went up to about 18 inches from the tin roof so......it was very excellently built to keep out horses and cattle but basically anything could crawl under the walls and birds could fly in from top................but i got clean sheets and a mosquito net, and there was awesome comeraderie with all the hardcore backpackers,

2 Aussie girls are travelling from Mexico to South America in 18 months and 1 english guy started last may in Fairbanks Alaska, bought a van and has travelled all South through B.C., most of states, lots of mexico. He just sold his van and will do every country in south america, he figures he´ll be anoth 12 - 16 months travelling.

That is kind of people there. I am soooooooooo jealous of them and everyone was sharing things and talking about places they left or were going to.......i got lots of good travelling info..............better than any book or intenet as these people had just been to these countries.

There was even this Mexican old hippie couple and some Canadian with dreadlocks living in a tent on site for 1.00 per day. They are more hardcore than i am.

Well as i sat in the hammock, to my left was a volcano rising up to the clouds with a rain forest type junglñe at the bottom, to my right side was banana, orange, papaya and other trees, and the ground sloped down to a black, volcanic ash beach then a lake far as the eye could see..........except for some little mountains waaaaaaaaaaay off across the lake.

It was so beautlfi plus with sounds of birds and howler monkeys, it was like the soundtrack to a national Geographic show in the jungle.

Man,I am sad writing this as I´ll never be there again for the rest of my life probably, it was soooooo freakin nice and relaxing there.

The first day I just swam in the lake, read a book on beach, lazed in the hammock and got travel tips from people that just came from El salvadore and Honduras where I must go in the next 7 1-2 weeks. El salv sounds awesome, Honduras doesn´t sound very good at all..........but we´ll make best of it.

Yesterday was my big adventure day..............i was gonna leave the island when the aussie travel girl asked if i wanted to join her and 4 others in climbing the volcanoe to see a waterfall, what the heck i thought.....big mistake

It was a 40 min walk just to the entrance and not a single vehicle passed on the road that was the remote part of the island, hardly inhabited and not lavish or developed at all...people had electricity but i don´t think running water as i saw many carrrying water in pails from the lake. Anyways, finally got to entrance and clouds looked dark grey when we paid our 2.00 admission
The worker was grinning, no doubt thinking we were stupid tourists and gonna get soaked totally to the bone.

Well not even 30 mins into the climb it started to rain.........then it started to pour...........then it started to pour even more.

The 2 girls tried hiding under a tree for shelter for about 5 minutes and the rest of us had no cover so we just stood in rain getting soaked wondering where the heck they were as we waited for them. Anyways I should have never went. It was over 3 km straight up the side of volcano just to see some stupid waterfall and view of island, but because of the weather and we were up in the cloads after about 2 hours of climbing we could see nothing but a hazy fog.

Meanwhile, my overweight chain-smoking body was totally exhausted and slipping and sliding slowly up the mountain, we finally made it to the top.....was it pretty???
oh of course.......was it worth the total hell it was to climb up there??????? Never in a hundred years...

We got back to the hostal I think 5-5 1/2 hrs after we left, my totally muscles cramping and about to die...........i am quite out of shape but still that was hard work.

I had amazing grilled fish with fixings for supper and actually stayed up with canadian guy who climbed a different side of volcano and really cut his feet up bad, and this mexican hippie couple........we guzzled beers till 1.00 am.

Today left my little paradise island and bussed to Granada........actually very pretty churches and buildings here of old spanish style.

Found this out of the way hostal, 5.00/night my own room, clean but bathroom down the hall. I am very happy..............plus across the street they are selling .75 hamberguesa´s.....yee haa, as they are quite tasty and with extra jalepeno peppers are quite spicy and it isn´t friggen rice n beans!

Food has been really good so far and usually locals in country's I travel are thin like bean poles. But i've seen quite the fat locals in this country, and i am eating my way to be their size with such huge helpings.

Anyways, the place here is closing internet cafe. Gonna maybe get another hamburger, and walk round until about 10:00pm then decide my next 2 weeks travel places and route i´ll take.

It actually does take lots of planning for such a trip and tonight is no fun but research time.........oh well I've got a balcony overlooking the market and street so it will be good, and no body else's snoring to listen to tonight as i´m out of the tin shelter and in my own room.

Cheers everyone, wish u were here.......one day some of you will join me.............