Hurray for content!

• My aunt and uncle came to visit me in Bagaces, they arrived the day of the going away party and the “Who We Are Right Now” premiere. It also happened to be the day of the horse festival (or tope) in town. My uncle Frank was almost run over by a horse stampeding through the streets.
• Went to manuel antonio and stayed at some magnificent condominiums with the whole family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, my sister and parents. It was amazing to see everyone after so long, and expose them to a bit of Costa Rican culture. I got to feel like the resident expert and that doesn’t happen all that often.
• Went on tons of awesome tours, the kind I never would have paid for myself (thanks mom!), including a mountain biking ride up some crazy steep hills, white water rafting tour, canopy zip line tour, and a sunset dolphin/snorkeling cruise. We got some surfing in as well, and the waves at manuel antonio were perfect for us.
• Christmas abroad was awesome. Amazing food, I missed my grandmothers cooking dearly while I was away.
• Jamming with Rebecca, my cousin, was tons of fun as well singing songs like, island in the sun by Weezer.
• Stepping off the plane at Pearson. Being back in Canada after almost a year away. It was interesting how you can instantly adjust back to home. But even now, months later, there are tiny details of everyday life that still weird me out and make me think back to how things were in Costa Rica
• New years at the cottage with my buddies from school and my sister and her friends was awesome. We built an igloo outside. This was my reintroduction to Canadian life.
• Seeing all my Oakville friends again was amazing. It’s awesome how even though I only see them like once a year when we get together everything can still be so comfortable.
• Coming back to Ottawa, moving back into the Bronson House, jamming with my roommates, cooking for myself and throwing parties. These aspects of everyday life are maybe what I missed the most when I was away.

Well thats what I’ve been up to. Oh, I’ve started working with my friend John Wiseman at his company Blogging Squared part time while continuing my studies at school. I’m going to start on a new blog design very soon, so look for some changes coming up soon. That’s all for now, cheers!

The Caribbean rocks.

So last week I took some time off work and traveled with my friend Amanda to Panama. I left Bagaces on Sunday at around 2:30 in the afternoon and got a bus to San Jose, a four and a half hour journey which was almost entirely spent standing. I met up with Amanda at Costa Rican Backpackers hostel later on that night. I got some food here and met a few people around the hostel. It was interesting how many people we would repeatedly run into that we had met in previous hostels throughout the entire trip. We went straight to bed and woke up early the next morning to catch a bus to Cahuita, a small surfing town on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. The drive there took us once again through Braulio Carrillo the long winding mountain road I mentioned in my post about Tortuguero.

From Cahuita we took a local bus to the Sloth Rescue Center in Aviarios del Caribe. There we went on an hour long tour on a narrow river where we saw many different types of birds and even spotted a sloth resting in a tree overhanging the river. Once we got back our guide took us to see the baby sloths that were being raised in the reserve. Sloths are seriously the coolest animals ever. We saw them hang out in laundry baskets soaking up the attention while relaxing in positions reminiscent of stoned children watching Sunday morning cartoons. They look like the most content creatures I’ve ever seen. The purpose of the Sloth Rescue Center is to help reintroduce injured sloths to the wild, or provide a home for sloths that cannot survive in the wild.

From here, we traveled to Puerto Viejo and got a room at Hotel Puerto Viejo, a very rustic place with a hostel like feel but with more private rooms then dorm style accommodations. Our room was interesting in that when you opened the door, you climbed a steep 12 foot staircase which brought you to the bedroom which gave it a kind of tree house feel and gave us a good view of the surrounding town(and conversely the surrounding town a good view of us). That night we explored the beach until a dead fish scared my Ichthyophobia (fear of fish) afflicted companion back into town. We went out to dinner at a restaurant called the “Hot Rocks Cafe” that played movie on a giant projection screen while you ate.

The next morning we walked over to another hostel called Rockin’ J’s. This place was really interesting. While mosaic tiles are rampantly found throughout Puerto Viejo, no where else in town uses this art form more abudantly or more creatively than Rockin’ J’s. The atmosphere there was very chill and offered a variety of sleeping arrangements from hammocks, to tents, to private rooms. A friend of ours actually paid only four dollars for a place to set up his own travel hammock he had brought with him. Amanda and I stayed in a tent which was located on the second floor of an open structure. The hostel provides you with a secure bin to store any valuables. We had a few drinks at the bar and lounged around in hammocks for a while before meeting some Australians and playing a little guitar.

The next day was spent at a beach about 3 kilometers south of Rockin’ J’s. The weather was awesome this day and we relaxed pretty much the whole time with nothing more then the waves, a can of Pringles and a few beach towels. I went on a really nice run along the beach where I saw a wild horse drinking out of the ocean.

The food and restaurants in Puerto Viejo were amazing as well. The restaurant Bread and Chocolate is definitely worth a mention for it’s freshly baked bagels, bread and homemade chocolate truffles, brownies and muffins.

Next, on to Panama. We took a bus to the border town of Sixaola and crossed a very rustic (dilapidated might be a better word) bridge into Panama. Walking this bridge really meant looking for the next plank of wood that looked sturdy enough to support you or else risk falling 15 feet into the river below.

We split a cab with some fellow travelers to the edge of a river where a boat came to take us to Isla Colon of Bocas del Toro. While here we met up with two interesting characters, Sean and Daniel, two Californians living in Atenas, Costa Rica. We ended up spending the rest of the week traveling with them. Sean was a really interesting guy who did some really interesting off the wall portraits and provided us with tons of dramatic comedic relief throughout the rest of the trip. Daniel was an incredibly talented musician, especially on the guitar and harmonica which also provided a lot of entertainment. The boat ride to Isla Colon was absolutely gorgeous with tons of birds scattered all around and a tangled mess of tress lining both sides of the river. Once on Isla Colon we headed to a hostel called Mondo Taitu.

This hostel was one of the coolest I’ve stayed in, in the last seven months, and was probably the main reason why we didn’t travel any further past this point. The people there were very friendly and by the end of the first day we had amassed a group of about 10 people who we hung out with for the rest of the week.

Isla Colon of Bocas del Toro was a very interesting place. There seems to be a large community of young entrepreneurs from around the world. From Jay, the ex-mortgage broker from the States turned Sushi Bar owner to the young group of kids running the Mondo Taitu hostel, it was really interesting to see how a little ambition and adventure can really open up a lot of opportunities for you. If you’re willing to give up a few luxuries of North American living you can really get accustomed to a much simpler life doing the things you love to do anyways in another country.

Some of my favorite memories from the trip would have to be:

• Every night finding a ladies night where girls drink free between certain hours
• The Aqua Lounge hostel with a water trampoline and a roof you can jump off of
• A vegan cooking class given by Freda, one of the girls working at Mondo Taitu (I had this strong suspicion I’ve seen her on Suicide Girls.)
• Awesome Sushi at the Blowfish restaurant
• Singing “I will survive” with the Californians
• Spear fishing with a hunting knife tied to a stick
• Peanut butter and banana sandwiches, surfing and Sean’s impromptu yoga class on Playa Wizard in Bastimentos
• The crazy guy who kept demanding Daniel open more pipas for him
• Sloths!
• All the Israelis, Germans, Americans, Argentinians and Canadians we met and hung out with at Mondo Taitu
• All the dancing
• The interesting conspiracy theorist who kept telling me to do a Google search for “Chem Trails”

Man, I want to go back. I’ll try and put up some pictures once I get them.

All for now, Cheers!

Cheers!

Last weekend I took a quick trip with Kate, the new employee here at Unidad, and Elizabeth one of our friends from the monkey project to Ricon de la Vieja, which is one of the seven currently active volcanoes in Costa Rica. It’s name interestingly enough means “The old woman’s corner” which comes from a legend about a girl who became a recluse living on the volcano after her father threw her lover into the volcano’s crater (Gotta love Wikipedia).

The park is only about 30 kilometers outside of Liberia. To get there, Kate and I took an early bus from Bagaces to the town of Guayabo. From Guayabo we were picked up by the owner of the lodge we were staying at. We stayed at “El Riconcito” lodge, a former client of Unidad22. The lodge was really amazing, staffed by some of the nicest people I’ve met here.

Kate and I met Elizabeth there, she had arrived three days previous. Unfortunately weather conditions prevented us from being able to climb the volcano to the summit. High winds and rain make the climb very perilous. We were told that the best month to climb the volcano is April, so if this is your intent try and plan your trip with this in mind. Instead we went on a horse tour around the park where we saw waterfalls, thermal pools, and amazing views.

That night we had dinner while chatting to some of the people working at the lodge. After a few beers and a few rounds of a drinking game that Kate taught us, we decided to go with our new friends from the lodge to a small bar about 10 minutes down the road.

This was probably the coolest part of the trip. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole town was there that night at the bar. It was really neat to see kids as young as 6 and people as old as 80 all hanging out in the same place, drinking, dancing, and just having a good time. We made a lot of friends very quickly, and were never starved for someone to dance with. The boys were very taken by my two Gringa friends while I met a young tica with whom I danced with and spoke to for much of the night. She said my dancing was really good for a first timer, (I took the compliment and neglected to mention I had done it 3/4 times before).

At the end of the night we went back to the lodge and hung out outside for a while talking and joking around under a clear sky. This weekend really solidified the notion I have been developing over the last 7 months that, travelling really is not about seeing the inside of resorts, but getting out into the spots where you really don’t belong. It’s in these places you learn the most about yourself and the world around you.

But here’s the good news for you! My employer “unidad22” is currently looking for someone to fill my place, so if the idea of working and traveling in Central America appeals to you, and you work in the tech industry, apply now!

I believe they are looking for someone with similar characteristics as me:

• PHP Experience
• MySql
• Flash/Actionscript a plus
• HTML
• CSS

So read through my blog, if this experience sounds like something you might be interested in, you can apply here.

It seems each day we hear about a new bit torrent tracker going off line, another lawsuit against individual file sharers, another twenty-something pulled out of his parents basement in handcuffs. The tactics taken by the RIAA and MPAA, while occasionally pointless, frivolous, transparent or even humorous are in fact working. Sites are being shut down, it is becoming harder to obtain copyrighted materials online, and the risk involved in stealing music/video/software online is becoming too high to validate the decision. We are slowly losing our online anonymity and it’s scary.

Is this a bad thing? No, not at all. We should be accountable for what we do. For a while the Internet was an exclusive community that enjoyed benefits comparable to a secret society, it could make and abide by its own set of rules. This is no longer the case. The internet is now a global phenomenon, a part of everyday life, and as such it will now fall subject to the rules of our global society. The fact is, that illegal file sharing is stealing, and if you steal you will be punished.

I am not saying that I have never downloaded a movie online, or shared music, or that I am going to stop entirely at this moment, but slowly now I am realizing I was wrong, and my actions were motivated by the fact that I knew I wouldn’t be caught, and I felt the legal alternatives we’re unfair. But more and more individual users are being targeted for lawsuits and better legal services are being provided.

Think about this, you wouldn’t go into your neighbors backyard and jump in their pool without asking, but who thinks twice about stealing their neighbor’s wireless connection? The idea of anonymity or lack of accountability justifies the crime (Kind of like the Milgram experiment). Or you justify it, citing your neighbors lack of precaution as justification for taking advantage of them. We would attribute these kinds of qualities to criminals, but not to ourselves.

So yes, we shouldn’t be sharing files. Does this mean that we have to become slaves to the MPAA and RIAA who control a monopoly on our music and video content? Allowing them to charge whatever they want for the content they control?

Absolutely not.

Remember, we are collectively smarter then these organizations, infinitely more technically savvy, and more willing to embrace new technologies. Frankly there is little need for these organizations anymore. So let’s innovate, or support those who are innovating.

Increasingly artists like Trent Reznor and Radiohead are experimenting with new methods of distribution and revenue generation. Additionally Amazon has launched a new music store that offers a huge selection of music entirely DRM free.

What we need to do now is support these causes. The ones that have it right. Otherwise nothing is going to change. Basically, Consumers, Artists and the Tech Community have to work together on this to find a solution that works for everyone. Artists have shown their willing to leave behind the confines of record labels, independent movies are coming out all the time as well.

Still not satisfied with the options that are out there? Then it’s time to innovate. As members of the tech community we can make a difference by coming up with alternative methods of distribution that rewards artists while providing digital content to users. Artists don’t want to rip off Fans, and Fans don’t want to rip off Artists, it’s the middle man that profits off both parties that is causing the frustration.

So why don’t we find a way to connect these two bodies directly?

A few weeks back I headed to the remote beach of Tortuguero which is on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. This beach is only accessible by air or water which makes it extremely peaceful. I can’t remember the last time I was that far away from a road or highway. To get there we first traveled to San Jose and spent one night in Tranquilo Backpackers Hostel. If you are looking for a cheap place to stay overnight in San Jose I highly recommend this place. The atmosphere is amazing, the rates very decent, free pancake breakfast in the morning (do-it-yourself style), guitars-a-plenty, pretty much everything you could want from a hostel! I was actually a little sad we were only there one night, but the next morning we got up at the crack of dawn (which for me means about 8:00) and cabbed over to the bus station to Limon. The ride to Limon is amazingly spectacular. The road cuts right through the middle of the national park of Braulio Carrillo, driving through this park means winding through a tangled maze of waterfalls, clouds, mountains and trees. Occasionally there will be a mountain of trees off in the distance that reaches higher then the buses window will let you see, and falls lower then the edge of the cliff the road is on. It is interesting to see how these trees just pile one on top of another making a vertical wall of forest.

On the bus we met a tour guide who agreed to help us get to Tortuguera. We got off the bus in a town called Cari Ari, and went with him to catch a bus that would take us to Rio Suerte, the river that provides water access to the remote town. The boat ride was an interesting part of the journey and felt more like a tour then part of the traveling. Along the way we saw some amazing jungle scenery and caught a glimpse of a crocodile as well. On our return trip we saw even more wildlife including an assortment of exotic birds, monkeys and bats.

The town of Tortuguero is essentially one long boardwalk with restaurants, hostels and tourist shops along either side. There are no cars in the area which adds to the peaceful atmosphere. We stayed at Ms. Meriam’s Cabinas I. The cabina had an ocean view which was amazing but the room itself was significantly less clean then most other hostels I had stayed in. But this was countered by the fact that they had hot water, so I can’t complain. Additionally the restaurant attached to the hostel served up some amazing Caribbean style cuisine, including the best Gallo Pinto I’ve had in Costa Rica so far, prepared with Coconut Milk.

That night we went out with the guide to watch the turtles lay eggs on the beach. The beach is closed to the public at night to preserve the natural breeding grounds of the Leather back, Green, Loggerhead, and Hawksbill turtles. The guide took us along a trail that runs parallel to the beach about 100 meters from the shore. Park officials with walkie talkies communicate with one another, finding turtles and directing tour groups to the sections of the beach where turtles have been located. Once on the beach, flashlights are no longer allowed, and photography is prohibited because turtles have been known to be scared off by bright lights and return to the ocean without laying eggs.

We were fortunate enough to witness turtles in all the different stages of the egg-laying process that generally takes one hour to complete. We saw one emerging from the water, one digging a hole to lay eggs in, laying eggs, burying the nest and returning to the ocean. The experience was amazing and I’d recommend it to anyone. First, I was struck by the size of these turtles, and it was also interesting to see such an intimate natural process take place right in front of your eyes in the wild.

The next morning we woke up at 6 O’Clock and met our guide who took us on a Canoe trip of the river. He spotted tons of interesting birds including herons and toucans, caymen crocodiles, spider monkeys and howler monkeys. It was pretty impressive how well he could spot nearly invisible animals in the dense jungle. The rest of that day consisted of lounging around in hammocks, and a really nice 10km run along the beach. By that night we were pretty exhausted and went to sleep relatively early. We caught the 11:00 boat back to Limon and began the long journey home.