The End is near

It is the beginning of the end. I have 2 more days here, one day of travel, and then I fly from this country. As if to sense the ending, all of my things are breaking.
The casualties: My Ipod. missing in action.
Hat, shoes, knife, also missing.
My computer. Severly wounded. Condition is critical, but there is some hope, if I can get it to the USA before too long.
Fins: One is gone, presumed dead, the other is soldiering on.
Contact lenses: One still remains(right eye). Many have deserted the cause.
Speargun: The tip is gone, stuck in a fish, but its will is strong. Hope remains.
Surfboard: Dinged, dented, beaten and bruised, but still it floats, and is in one piece.
backpack: Most Holy, dirty and covered in oil (cooking oil).
Machete: Rusted.
Me: Somewhat tan, except for my nose. Torched there. I have much stronger arms from paddling all the time, but my frisbee skills are gone to waste. I need to throw. Soggy. I spend most of my time in or under water. My feet are always sore, but I walk barefoot on the rocks all the time.
So I welcome the end, despite how nice this trip has been. Sometimes its good to go home and replenish.

Banana Bread

So, as some of you all might have noticed, I typically run into trouble, ask for help, and then ignore any advice that is given to me and figure out the solution by myself. So too have I solved the Banana Bread problem. It vexed me for quite some time, I recieved many good recipies (That I haven't looked at yet) (except for your's, mom) but I didn't follow any of the recipies.
I made my own!!
Here follows the new method.
1)Mash up a bunch of bananas in a bowl, using a dirty old fork, because thats all you have to mash with.
2) Add a bunch of sugar. LOTS.
3) add a healty chunk of butter, and use the same dirty old fork for mashing it up with the other two ingredients.
4) add two eggs or maybe one, depending on how much you make.
5) add pancake mix. Enough to make it just too thick to pour proper, then add enough water to make it pour.
6) a little bit of salt.
7) take a frying pan and add a bunch of oil, then pour a slice in and turn it over when you think its ready.
The wonderful thing about this is that it is pre-sliced banana bread.
each slice is cooked on both sides, and a tinsy bit gooey in the middle.

I've made it twice now and its turning out quite well.

Dead Weight

I have a new anchor. My trustworthy, loyal, helpful, and friendly computer is dead. So I probably won´t post pictures for the next couple weeks. Its a funny problem, perhaps fixable, but I´m not too optimistic. Anyways, the waves are good and the water is clear at times for fishing, and I´ve been getting lobsters and fish pretty easily. The swell isn´t that big, so I can get a 30 second ride in, but when it gets big there is the possibility of a 2 minute or more ride, because this point is a really long break.
Yesterday I had something strange happen to me. I was diving for lobsters, and i managed to get ahold of one, near the end of my breath. I was about 10 ft down, but there were 6 foot waves also, and I finally got my hands on this little guy and I had been down too long. So when I get free of the rock and to the surface I was hungry for the air, and I made it up. Not too bad, but then after that, for the rest of the day, my balance was WAY off. Not just a little sea legs, I was plastered drunk. My ears were telling baldface lies to my eyes, and anytime I would walk around or turn my head I almost got seasick. It was exactly like being inside a boat that is pitching and heaving, but you can see the insides where nothing is moving and you want to get sick really bad. But this was just walking around.
I don´t know what it was. I cleared my ears just fine, and I´ve been down for that long before, but something about this time messed me up. Any ideas anyone?
Since I don´t have my trusty laptop alive and well, I think I´ll have to go after one of those small nettop computers, the ones with about 10 inch screens. I think thats a better fit for what I want to do anyways.

Final Destination

I am back in Pavones, where I was about 5 weeks ago, and I intend to stay here for the rest of my time in Costa Rica. I have failed in a few things; I never took language classes, but my Spanish is not too terrible, I have learned some. I also did not make it to the Caribbean coast, but it has been raining and flooding over there. I never have gone to the highest mountian, nor intend to. Most of my time has been spent on the beach.
But I am looking towards home again in my mind.
Mostly I look forward to the things I cannot get here. I miss banana bread. I caught a whiff of something that was like it and it is consuming my mind. There are bananas here, and sugar, and everything, but I don't have a recipe, (hint hint but you must send it text or something, I have slow internet) and I don't have an oven or a pan.
I miss bacon. Its here, but expensive. Maybe I'll break down in a few days and get some.
I miss candy. Oh, how I miss candy. It is like missing alcohol or cigarettes for some other people, but I cannot get the right kind of jelly beans down here. They don't have good candy. Outrageous. I miss security, but since I'm staying in a place for a long time, I think I'll have a little bit more of that. Its not the same, though.
I miss having a car, being able to go all over the place so easily, but it makes me think about how pampered a life I've been living if these are the stupid things I miss. I can live without them, but I still miss them.
And I miss Altair. My Life on Water is not the same without her support. I have a board to stand on, but no mast to climb, no halyards to hang off of or sails to fill.
I have three weeks left here, and I intend to surf everyday I can, and dive as much as I can, but paradise would be having a sailboat down here, I think.

Sick

It came slowly, sneaking through the night. First I went to bed feeling full, and the full feeling persisted for a while, making it hard to sleep. Then I am tired to the extreme, having got interrupted sleep for the past 6 nights. Now I know. Its 2:00 am or so and I am not going to be able to sleep through this, it is a matter of time. I can hope, so I go to the bathroom and sit down to see if it will come out the normal end. It does, surprisingly, with a torrent of water. Not a good sign, but I think it is the food I ate last night still. I go back to bed, and sit there a while, then I can feel my heart beating in my stomach. Something is inside and wants out. It will not go down. I return to the bathroom a few more times, but it stays inside, and the rear end leaks fluid. Finally I KNOW. I sprint to the bathroom and lean over to feel my insides grab with all their might and push. They push again, and again. I don’t know how many times, but it doesn’t come easily. I ache inside, my nose is burning and filled with bits of bad smelling things. I go to the sink and try to dig them all out, then go back to bed. But it is not enough. There is still some left inside, something that laughs at my torment, something that tickles my bouncer, slowly getting him angry. It is dawn now, and I go outside to see the lights, and a friend out there has some water, so I ask for some of his “clean” water, because I have just now discovered that you shouldn’t drink the water here.
I drank the water. I thought that in Costa Rica, the water standards were government mandated, and all tap water was supposed to be tested and drinkable. It has been in all the other places I’ve been, certainly more remote (some of them). But I forgot. Years ago, the entire Peninsula was cut and cows were planted for fast food. The entire peninsula. So now I am downhill of where cows once were. A bad combination. I forgot. Damn.
Maybe its that, maybe it’s the food I ate last night. I feel a squeeze and understand that the leftovers are now going to come out. I run.
Leaning over, I spout water, almost clear, but smelling bad, one, two, three times, then I am empty. Still the bouncer tries to throw the empty air out the door. I ache inside. I am weak, I just lost something like a gallon, and there is no water for me to drink because the stores are still closed.
I go back to bed and get two hours of fitful sleep. When will I get my due? Now I am sitting here, tired, but sleepless, full of water again (and orange juice) but wondering when I will spout it back. I can feel it staying in my stomach. It doesn’t go down. I hate my bouncer.
Dieing Continued…
One of my roommates gave me a pill to take. It’s the first pill I’ve taken in a long time. Hopefully it will do some good. Its supposed to be an antibacterial, so if I have some sort of Bacterial badness because of the water, that will (hopefully) fix it. Its called Guanil, made by Entero. Guanil sounds like something from the bad side of a bat. Hopefully it will do some magic. I hate being sick. Fever, sore throat, and maybe some weakness, that is too bad, but throwing up is just not something I ever want to do again. In my last hours of life I am of course writing the details, but also I just watched King Kong. Some people don’t like that movie, maybe its too long and boring (which would prolong my life, according to Dunbar, (from Catch-22)) but something about it really catches me. I was looking for the plants in the tropical jungles that are in the movie, but I didn’t see any that I recognize. Maybe I’ll finish up my time with some more Peter Jackson, and watch the Lord of the Rings. (if I make it that long)
Abatement
I still live! Last night I slept, and it was wonderful. Its been 5 days since I had a good night. I ate yogurt, bananas and apples. Soon I will move on to harder food. I went for a walk, but I think I need to rest today as well. Yesterday I could hardly walk, and I was dizzy all the time, but now I can walk just fine, though I am not as strong as I want to be. I’ll go surfing tomorrow.
Atonement and resurrection
The blood that flows through me now is like transfused from an athlete! I feel new. This morning I took a long session surfing, which was maybe the best session I’ve had in a long time. I also almost got a job at the hostel, I think I might be able to get one, but maybe I don’t want one. I can get free room and some money, but I have to work 8 hours a day, which is no good. It might be better for me to pay to stay and have the time for myself. All I have is another month.

I am all better now. But I think I'll leave this place soon, despite it having pretty good surf. I don't like the smell.