year in my life part 4

                                                       Siem Reap to 4000 Islands


    So now being on the road for a month has been really exciting and getting to see some epic stuff we move on to Lao. We board our bus at 6 am and we are the only people on the bus and we are off. As we go on for a few hrs the bus starts filling up one seat at a time and after about 5 hrs every bus seat is full. I am hungover as shit and now with all these people on the bus the ac is not as effective plus the sun is burning me cause the curtain is busted in my seat.. The bus makes its next stop and there is no seats left . Next thing I see is people sitting on rice bags up the entire isle. The smell is just choking me to death and I look at Chris like next stop I'm off this bus i cant stand it any longer. The bus ride to Lao is about 12 hrs and we are about 6 in and the bus stops. We are told to get off this is our stop and we transfer here..I could not get off fast enough. Now where are we exactly?

bus stop in Cambodia.

 Hungry from being on the bus for a while and only having water we decide to grab some grub.  I am all about eating street food because you do find some really tasty treats roadside. Chris and I walk up to a stall to see what they had to offer and as soon as he get close to the counter about 1000 flies shoot off the food and are buzzing above me. I guess ill have more water and i scooped up some fruit. We are surrounded by about 30 or so kids and adults trying to sell us something  and other just looking at us. The little kids touching my arm to feel what my tattoos felt like. It felt like i was in show and tell but, that's the story of my life. We are there for about an hr and a bus pulls up and we are told that this is our ride.. We hop on and there we are on a bus full of other backpackers.. Let the fun begin..



    We are on this bus heading to the boarder of Lao and there is a new cast of people we start to chat with . We have Eddie and Deasy to Irish lads we have Danielle a Palestinian girl. 2 Jew kids named Greg and Elon and Chris a German lad and his girl.. See the Jews and the Palestinians can get along :).
Its getting darker and we are told the bus is having "problems" and they want us to stay the night in Pakse in Laos. We tell them that we want to make it to 4000 islands and they agree to get us there. we stop at the boarder of Cambodia and Lao to get our visas. We all get off the bus and sit in this market and have a beer and chat while we all exchange money. The local I'm dealing with is taking his time counting currency and i turn around and the bus is taking off across the boarder. Shit!!! I grab my dough and I'm off running across the boarder. 2 boarder guards with ak47s pointed dead at me start yelling at me as I start sprinting for the bus. I motion that its my bus and they wave me on. I'm running towards the Lao side of the boarder and can see the bus tail lights off in the distance. The bus stops and i hear Chris yell for me like "come on dude were waiting for you" Fuck off man I'm running full speed across this bridge I cant even see. If there was a pothole i would of broken some shit but, lucky for me I made it unscathed. I jump on the bus to some clapping and the boys are taking the piss out on me I give the friendly bird  sit down. I'm sweating my ass off and i feel a cold beer on my neck.. Cheers!!



                                       4000 Islands ,Don Det and the legend of longface


      Its about 9 pm and we get to the dock to go over to 4000 islands and we are ready to have a few cocktails some smoke and unwind.  4000 islands is a tributary to the Mekong river and is a really stunning place to visit. We were supposed to stay the night and we stayed for 6 days.. That's how it work. You find some little jewel and you don't want to leave. We all get off the sketchy longtail and look foe a room. We all stayed in the same place and at 2.50$ a night its a steal.  I go knock on the Irish lads door and we all gather and were off to relax.. 1st stop Adams bar. Adams bar is owned by its namesake Adam. He is a Brit who has been living on Don Det for about 4 yrs and we start up a conversation about life in general  we order some happy shakes and grab some ganja all set for the night.
 There is a man/kid that was chillin at the bar and he comes over he does not speak much but he is drinking a beer. You can tell by just looking at him that something was not right and Adam said he was shun by his folks on another island and just kind of hangs out but hes harmless. We stay at Adams for a spell and were off to another bar for some of the same same. Every time we stop someplace to eat or drink we turn around and "long face" is there. Like he pop out of nowhere kinda creepy but hey fuck it hes harmless. We sack up for the night..

Deasey and  Eddie

last in line

myself Eddie and Chris

swimming hole

Deasy with his back turned , Chris Danielle Eddie and myself

silk looms

  The next morning we all head out for breakfast and decide what we are going to do for the day. 1st stop Adams bar for a Shake and some cookies. Adam welcomes us in and we order some goodies about 10 minutes later Adam's old lady comes out with a plate and an oven mitt on with a plate full of fresh cookies. Nom Nom Nom we chow down and finish our shakes and I think that Danielle has no clue what she is in for as she eats 2 cookies and a shake. I remind her that eating ganja and smoking are 2 different things . We decide to rent bikes and check out the island. By the time we all get our bikes Danielle is almost trippin out.  The bike ride across Don Det takes about 15 minutes and we pass by all these little shops with ladies weaving silk everything from duvets to scarves  really beautiful. I pick up some silk goods and hop back on the bike. We end up all swimming in this little eddie in this cove on the Mekong. It was well worth the hike down to the river. Danielle says she cant go on much longer cause shes dying. Your not dying love your just really high!!. We repeat this for a few days and we decide to move on to Vang Vieng. Lao the next morning. 20 hr bus ride here we come... Valium check!  

a year in my shoes 3

                                Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and the night that never happened


      So we decided instead of taking the bus to Siem Reap we will take the boat up the Mekong to Siem Reap. I was really excited about this part of the trip because we were going to see ruins Or Angkor Wat.  The boat was about 60 ft long with  a/c seating down below or you can sit on the roof top. After about 20 minutes or so Chris and I decide we will take it to the roof and have some cans of barley it is after all 10am. The ride was about 6 hrs to Siem Reap and it was a blue bird day and the barley pops are going down smooth. I can never sleep on my travel days I'm too hopped up and drink beers to slow me down. We arrive at the dock in Siem Reap and find a tuk tuk to the hotel.. We treated ourselves to a nice room at the Rithy Rine hotel we check in, shower and by now the sun is setting and were off to find some food and drinks.. There are 2 Swedish girls staying next door to us, perfect knock on the door and dinner dates solved..


   Chris and I and our Swedish friends have dinner and the girls were going to crash out early so we all head back to the hotel. We get back to the hotel  and we decide were going to check out the best nightlife Cambodia has to offer. So we get our tuk tuk driver to take us where there will be some girls and drinks and we head out. Had a few drinks at dinner so we are felling nice as we zip along the roads in Siem Reap. Now if you have never been to Cambodia you will never understand how people can drive on both sides of the road with no stop signs or lights. Simply insane. I tell the driver to get in the back and ill drive. I just wanted to drive a tuk tuk once in my life so mission accomplished.. We pull up to a place that kinda looks like a bar or a club or something to that extent. We have the door held open and once inside were the only guys in the place and there is at least 60 girls there. The finest brothel Siem Reap has to offer. We get drinks and have a seat.. Madam comes by and asks us if we like ladies.. Come on im a dude i like girls very much but this was not what the plan was but fuck it lets see whats up.. Madam claps her hands and girls line up behind her and each has a number around their necks.  Shit just got real for me. As all the girls are fighting for your attention I'm just feeling worse and worse for them. This is not what i signed up for. Chris and I head out the door after we have a drink and madam sends 2 girls out to jump in our tuk tuk to leave with us.. Poor girls.


  We all end up at a bar and have a drink and Chris is being an ass asking them "So what do you do for work?" I really don't think they even speak English so its right over their heads and they just chuckle. Now the whole time when im not looking Chris is dropping Valium in my beers.. Its on son!!  next thing I know is I woke up in the am hung the fuck over from booze and Valium. Looking around for any sighn of those girls being back at our hotel room.  Money check Passport check Apple products and camera its all there. Chris  WTF happened last night? "Bro you were out of you mind last night  driving the tuk tuk back from the bar. Gee you think?? I ask him what happened to the girls. He sais he sung a song called your not coming back to the hotel and sent them on their way.  I am dying and we are heading to the ruins of Ankor Wat..


                                                       Angkor Wat  and im Dying

           
 Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by a king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer:, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu..(wiki). This place is really breath taking .Its a huge complex with many temples to see.. I can only imagine being a native coming through the jungle only to find this massive complex with all the stone carving and the arched roofs made  of stone. Its crazy that this place is over 1000 yrs old and the technoligy is so far advanced its mind blowing.. With my hangover in full effect and enough Valium in my system im in reverse for most of the day. It was about 100 degrees out and i could not drink enough water.. For fucks sake more steps. We stop at Wat after Wat and im munching on all sorts of fruit and bottles of water and im starting to feel better by 4pm. We are all templed out and we head back to the hotel. On the way we stop at a market and Chris comes out with a 4 pack of Guinniess cans. Perfect!! and lets begin.

Angkor Wat

Angkor

lots of carved stone

Add caption

me in the middle of hell day thanks Chris!!

    We get back to the hotel shower up and were going to take it easy tonight .. Yeah right!! We head into Siem Reap city center and we cruise right along stopping along the way to have some barley pops. As we are walking along the road scooters and tuk tuks and trucks flying by this scooter passes and the guy sitting on the back just falls off like a rag doll and tumbles along the road for like 50 ft.. Chris looks at me like WTF!! I think dude just had a heart attack and came off the back.  People begin to gather and we sat there and watched to see if the guy starts moving but hes not. They slide him to the side of the road and the traffic starts to buzz again. Not sure if the guy died but there is nothing we can do. Were off to to the night market for some grub and a few wobbly pops. we decide to just end it early because we have a 24 hr bus ride to Lao in the am.. were home by 1 am . Still thinking about that poor guy who fell off the scooter. Thats life..



 

a year in my shoes 2

                                                          Phuket to Phnom Penh


         So Chris and I wake in the am to catch a flight form Phuket to Phnom Penh Cambodia and we are running late and our last resort is a Tuk Tuk to the airport. We have an hr to get there and we are in a line of traffic. There is some bike race and half the lanes are blocked off. shit are we going to make it. We tell the driver that were going to miss our flight and he hit the gas into on coming traffic. Swerving back and forth as another vehicle appears over the bend, dipping and diving sweat dripping off us cause its 90 out and the near death ride. Our flight is delayed..


 Once we land its complete mayhem , just tons of people all over waiting in line for visas.  As we stand there "Lt Col.Tho Sreng" comes us to Chris and I and order us over. Give us your passports you don't have to stand in this line. "For 1000 baht i get you your visa and off you go" Chris and I gladly hand I'm the 1000 baht note and hes gone puff!. We wait about 10 minutes and he shows back up with our passports visas and we are on our way. The cost was 20 US dollars and a 1000 baht is 30 at the time. I guess they get that scam going for the white man.. Ill pay the white man tax anytime I don't have to stand on line .. Off to our hotel in Phnom Penh.

from our hotel in Phnom Penh

the Palace in Phnom Penh 

Temple Phnom Penh.

    We reach our hotel and its right next to the presidential palace and we are on the 10th floor.. Hey where is the elevator?? No elevator at all got to hump it . Now the hotel view was pretty cool and you can see the sun is setting. Chris and I both take showers to wash Phuket off us and we head out into the city. Cambodia is a really poor country and it is also very alive. With the Mekong cutting through Cambodia it is a very easy mode of travel and a few million depend on this river for food and travel. We find a roof top restaurant and have a few barley pops and off to bed. In the am we head to S21 camp and The Killing fields..  




                                                S21 concentration camp and The Killing Fields


       We wake up in the am about 8am and the night before we arranged a tuk tuk to take us all over the city. our 1st stop is the S21 camp. If you dont know about Pol Pot or what he has done to the Cambodian people  do some research. He basically was committing genocide within his own country. He wanted a country or worker bees and and kill off all that would be a threat to him. It is estimated that between 1-3 million people died. In a country of roughly 8 million people having 3 million killed is just insane to think about. Pol Pot lived into his late 80s without ever being brought to trial.. Crazy..

    When we arrived at the S21 camp I did not know what to expect..  All I can say is that during the tour you just feel gutted knowing what went on behind these walls. From the little brick cells with hand prints from those who have died there to the booking photos of the ones who did not make it out alive.. I don't think I have smiled since I have been to Cambodia. What it there to smile about? All the human suffering that has going down in this square in the middle of the city..

S21 Camp

think you have it bad..?

the cells

they would hang you upside down and dunk you till you gave it up

the racks

only 14 made it out alive this is one of the 2 left.

                                                              The Killing Fields


     After a morning of looking at all there is to be seen at the S21 camp we are off to the Killing Fields
  it was about a 40 min ride to the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Driving in 90+ weather and the dust is almost overwhelming but you deal with it. We stop and have lunch outside the gate to the killing fields and as soon as we jump of our tuk tuk we are surrounded by children begging for money. It is hard to say no but you cant give money to everybody you see so you have to take a stand against that 6 yr old girl. Sucks but that's what you have to do. As we enter the killing fields we are handed a headset so we can take the tour and listen to what had happened behind the fences. as we walk around the site we pass mass grave upon mass grave. I become sicker at every turn.. looking at teeth and bones coming through the ground. We must of passed about 200 mass graves then we come to the Big tree. Now the big tree was hung with speakers and they were played full blast so nobody on the outside could hear the screams of people being put to death.. Most were beaten to death and necks slit...... So they could save the bullets.. Felling Gutted..  

skulls from people 15-25

undisturbed mass grave

mass grave

     

A Year in my shoes.

 I have not wrote in my blog in a long ass time. lots have happened over the past yr that has been on opposite sides of the spectrum. From losing close Friends to traveling and meeting some of the coolest people on the planet. I am blessed that i have a job that allows me to cruise the planet. i saw some amazing sights in some of the most beautiful counties from the ruins of Ankor Wat to Halong Bay in Vietnam to the beaches of Thailand the Mekong river in  Lao down to Malaysia.  Most of my journeys i was  solo  and ran in to some of my fellow wanderers doing the same. November 12 2011 left for City of Bangkok. Now to really understand Bangkok you have to have step foot on well any st in Bangkok. utter complete mayhem. Scooters, trucks,Tuk Tuks  and people. The sights and sounds could not be explained 2nd hand. 1st stop after arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport at midnight lagged as hell from a 11 hr flight from Chicago to Tokyo then Tokyo to Bangkok I headed straight to Khao San Rd. I arrive about 1am now and to my surprise it was very quiet almost too quiet for my liking. Lucky for me i have a couple for friends who own tattoo shops on the Khao San and as I'm humping it down the road with way too much shit in my ruck sack (My BFF) i see Aod and Tony (Aod is Thai and Tony is a French National living in Bangkok) sitting outside Tonys shop eating some fish and other Thai treats. Aod welcomes me with open arms and pours me a glass of Chang (Thai Beer) over ice because its 90 at night and beer does not last to long. I call then 2 pounders pound half and then the other half within 5 minutes or its warm  FAIL! As we chat about tattoos and art and the love I have for Thailand we drink beer till i have to catch a taxi back to the airport to fly to Koh Samui an island in the gulf of Thailand. Now mind you I'm half in the bag with no sleep witch feels like I've been up for 4 days. I arrive back at Suvarnabhumi at almost 6am now to catch my 8 am flight . Im standing in line for a Thai Air for about 35 minutes with nobody in sight and our flight leaves in about an hr there was a couple standing ahead of me talking about missing the flight and we started having conversation Rick was from Seattle and Carly was from South Africa and were married and had a little one at home and it was the 1st time they had been away from the baby and having a little getaway..We get our tickets and board the flight little did i know I would travel and have a few epic times with them over the next 2 weeks..

my boy Aod

Flight to Koh Samui lands and we take a shuttle to the dock to a 3 hr ride on the high speed catamaran to the island of Koh Tao. Now being a veteran of the backpack and  travel scene for almost 20 yrs. I found my heaven on earth once i hit Koh Tao Thailand. Its a little island  known for good diving good sunsets and just a good time all around. Koh means Island in Thai and Tao is turtle so every time i stay on turtle island i have a blast. I have met some people on that island that i keep in contact with on a weekly basis.  Now myself Rick and Carly find a taxi down to Sairee beach witch is about a 10 minute ride from the dock. It only takes about 15-18 minutes to get across the whole island about 3 miles or so.
1st stop is over to Big Blue Diving where i did my diving certification yrs before we sit at a table looking over the ocean and order lunch.. Out of the corner of my eye i see my buddy Angko who is Burmese (lots of Bermese work in thailand) and has been working at Big Blue for yrs.. What a great kid he is always has a kind smile on his face and willing to do anything to make you feel at home. I'm greeted with the familiar "Mr Tony how are you? Glad to see you back and I'm greeted with a hug. we order food.  Don't forget now  i still have not slept since leaving my bed in Chicago so i am wrecked.
Now I'm  my tired ass state i cant even eat i just need to sleep so i head to the pharmacy to get some sleep time meds and put myself out to sleep. while walking traveling trough the resort I run in to Chris.  Chris is from Chicago and we met just before I came on this trip and we said we would cruise it together . Now this was Chris's 1st trip to SE Asia and I was the Vet to show the way. Chris had seen that i looked like i got shot out of a canon from Chicago to Koh Tao and offered me his room because it had an extra bed in it.. Shoots I'm there. Run down to the Pharmacy and Tell Rick and Carly that I'm off to die for a few hrs. Now fresh off to sleep with a hand full of Xanex and a beer Gnite..  When you stay in a diving resort they give you a free room. Its really nothing just a crash space. I get up to the room and there is no sort of breeze and even the fan was blowing warm air all over you. Not to good for somebody that's dying to sleep. Fuck this I'm out.. I'm off to find a room that had AC because my body has not adjusted to the heat and i want to take a hot shower and fall out. Now rooms that you can get are basic fan rooms with hot water, without hot water, With Tv no tv you get the idea. rooms range form a shared dorm for around 200 Thai baht witch is around 6 bucks to a villa that's about 5000+ baht a night. I went with one for about 1000 baht i just wanted to lay down.. Shower Xanex and turn on the tv  just in time Manny Pacquiao was fighting on tv and it was free FU pay per View. watch the fight and fall out.. I wake up 12 hrs later and its 3:30am and I'm wide awake and starving off to find some eats and go sit on the big rock at the end of Sairee beach all by myself.  As I'm walking down the beach there are a few stragglers here and there. I have my posse of stray dogs that were following hoping to have some of my Toastie from the 24 hr giant known as 7-11. Its a full moon and the water is calm the tide is out and you can walk about 30 meters out into the luke warm water and it wont be past your shins and the soft warm sand between your toes. I go out to my rock and sit, dogs splashing in the water. I look up and around me and feel right at home.... I think how lucky am I??.......Blessed.

Carly Myself and Rick

Enjoying a Big Chang at sunset

I hate this place :)

Getting gas Koh Tao style

Sairee Beach  

                             .... Koh Tao the High Bar to Krabi Town and Tonsai Bay and some monkeys
 
  We have spent a  few days on Koh Tao and just getting rid of the jet lag we decide were going to hit up the High Bar.. Now from the name you might get the feeling you know whats up but your wrong.. its just really high up on the mountain side :) that's what i tell everybody High Bar is like fight club.. you know the rules.. the drive to High Bar is a trek most taxi drivers wont take you to the top and if your on a scooter you better be alone because your not going to make it with 2 of you on it.. I always get the Kawasaki 200 or something like it that has plenty of power for 2.. when you get up to High Bar your going to meet Yoi at some point she is the owner and the head woman in charge. when you 1st meet her she can be quite intimidating but as you spend more time up there she will open up. Its a chill place with a pool table a bar and a seating area that over looks into the bay and some guest housing witch is choice. Order up the usual spliff and a mango shake. Sit listen to some Marley and watch the sunset. tomorrow im on the move to Krabi and Tonsai

view fro High Bar..

..   Next am i catch the am boat out to Surat Thani then its a 8 hr bus ride to Krabi town. To get anywhere in SE Asia your going to take trains, buses and sleeper boats. its always an adventure.
While i was on Koh Tao I met the wonderful Lizzie Love. She is Australian that has seen the roads of travels and she was heading to Tonsai Bay witch is a 30 minute long tail boat ride away. I get to Krabi about 7 at night and then im off to Tonsai bay to meet up with Lizzie now she has been on Tonsai for a couple of days and had told some people that a American tattoo artist is coming tonight. Wow what a cool little place I wash up on shore and within 10 minutes i see Lizzie and we head to have a drink and she introduces me to Lek. Now Lek is a Thai Local who runs a coffee stand right on the beach and man does he know how to make a good ass coffee. Hes just an all around good dude. I'm feeling the good vibe on this bay already. There were a cast of people from all over the world we had Hedvig from Sweden, Suki from Germany Laura and Jack from the Uk. Mela from Italy JJ from Ireland and the others from Sweden JoJo Gaz Zandra and Robert. there was just a good crew there and the time was right it was perfect.. Rick and Carly were at the next beach over and Chris shows up after a couple nights on Phi Phi to party. now were getting close to thanksgiving and were planing a small little dinner with us few from the USA. it turned out we had about 20 people from all over the world join us for dinner, what a good dinner it was my favorite thanksgiving ever. after dinner I tattooed Lek till 7 am

thanksgiving dinner..

                                               The monkeys and the haunted Bungalow
  so after spending my 1st night in the worst "room" of my trip in this little bungalow that when it rained it would rain on  my bed so it was time for an up grade. Now by me saying upgrade i just don't want to get rained on. so i found a bungalow up where Lizzie and Suki stayed 1000 baht a week that's a steal I'm in there. it was a basic room with a mozzy net a fan and a cold shower. that's all i need  now when you shower in Thailand or for that matter any where in in SE Asia you wash one body part at a time.. soap up that arm wash arm soap up one leg repeat.. I never just said fuck it and just went for it  toooo cold.

JJ and I Tonsai

tattooing Lek

So after some Sam Song (Thai Rum) and cokes and dancing on the beach till whenever it was time to shack up. Now on Tonsai there is electric only from 6pm till 1 am then its lights out except each bar runs its own power otherwise the island is dark and you need a torch to see.  I am pimping in my new bungalow and ready for some rest. In Asia there are many things you have to worry about killing you form spiders to snakes to fucking tigers so when you get to your room you make sure your mozzy net is tucked in so no critters attack you not like a net is going to do shit against the tiger. I climb into my bed and have my torch going and im setting up some music to fall asleep to some Massive Attack or some stuff that's trippy. zzzzzzzzzzzzz tilll i am woken up by this loud noises. It sounds like somebody is on my roof pounding on it my heart is pumping like crazy and I'm like WTF is that!! it gets quiet then i hear a thud on my floor like something big fell from the roof onto my floor. HOLY SHIT I'm going to get eaten. Now i still don't know what hit the floor but it was making some predator sounds. I clutch my torch and my knife ready to defend myself scared to turn the torch on cause i don't want the predator to spot me. now this continued till light broke. as soon as the sun i started to hear the banging noises again WTF. I make the charge outside only to see fucking monkeys pounding on my roof......fucking asshole monkeys. still dont  know to this day what was in my room...

fucking monkeys

Lizzie And Myself

at Leks coffe Bar Tonsai

                                                    Phuket to Siem Reap Cambodia.

    So after 8 days on Tonsai it was time to travel on Chris and I left on the long tail to meet up with a bigger boat off the coast of Tonsai bay. We climb aboard and grab a beer. I have been to Phuket before an its not my 1st choice of places to go but we needed to catch a flight to Cambodia. so 2 nights in Phuket will do. I just wanted a hot shower after spending 8 days in the rough. this time when we checked in we found a hotel across from the beach with an infinity pool and all the ac a person would want.. The shower was the most amazing shower i have had in a long time.. It was a waterfall shower that just dumped hot water on .HEAVEN!!. Phuket is a sex tourist hot spot with plenty of pole dancing and lady boys for your delight!. The lady boy is excepted all over Thailand and get zero slack for being them selves. Where as a country like mine you will get torn apart and sorry they will drink you under the table. Some of the nicest people you will ever meet. 2 days is 2 days to long in my opinion but to fly to Cambodia its a must..

our killer spread in Phuket..

been a long time

Wow I can't begin to tell of the last yr or so. I was sick missed my trip back to Thailand. Next winter can't come enough. I will be back next winter and make a killer trip of it!

Hawaii

This Thursday Feb 26th I will be heading to Oahu to work for the next couple of months till I head to Thailand.. Cheers Romer

Costa Rica

I just came back for 10 days in Costa Rica. I had a really good time with some good friends. We landed in Tamarindo . It's located on the Pacific side very north just be below Nicaragua . It is kinad like the High desert in Oregon . Really dry. The weather was great and the people were fine. During our stay we walked into town a couple of times and notices they put some sort of fluid on the roads so they don't dry out. It was kinda sticky and we found out that they were using the runoff from the sugar cane harvest to coat the roads. Sticky!! While we were there behind our hotel The Barcelo` (good place good security but food kinda suspect at times). There was a good local surf spot good 10 ft left handed wave. The good thing was the it was going off every day. One of our days wes spent riding 4 wheelers and doing some zip lines witch were fun. We got a good price for 3 hrs of riding and 7 zip lines was 100 bucks. I really enjoyed my trip. For the most part it was just to relax and Costa Rica really did the job helping with that!