yr.

I have called Catacamas, Olancho my home for one year today. It has been a journey I cannot explain in words, and no one would understand even if I tried. One year in California flies by, but here it’s different. I am in the middle of nowhere with no distractions (well, except for the chickens, dogs, and loud speakers selling pescado at four in the morning). I decide my routine every day and sometimes all that entails is washing my laundry and reading a book.

The friends I have made here are incredible. We laugh, struggle, cry, visit, complain about the food, eat, drink & are merry until we run out of phone minutes and money.


The sites I have seen and things I have done have blown me away – scuba diving, hiking, attempting to climb a 2500 meter mountain/tree, swimming in a volcano and climbing to the top of another.

Most important, I am learning more about myself and life than I ever will. The solitude here gets tough. Boredom strikes often. But then I either pick up a good book, cook a meal or hit the road.

This next year is going to fly by, so says an old friend who has left me in this dusty town with nothing but a guitar and a fedora. We’ll see. Whatever happens, I am looking forward to it.


Number of:

lifelong stomach diseases acquired: 1
lifelong friends acquired: 24
hours of Spanish spoken since arriving in Catacamas: 19
times Shannon has convinced me to go running with her: 6
piropos received: 1,624,339 (as of this morning when the plumber came by to fix my toilet)
piropos given: 1
scars from bug bites: 17
volunteers that have left/got kicked out from our group: 21
functioning washing machines at my apartment: 1
packages/letters received: too many to count
packages with beer in them: 1 (thanks Adam!)
scorpions killed: 1
machetes fondled: 3
visitors from the States: 3
enemas received: 1
peach core rules broken: 0
text messages sent: 3,724
full-body sunburns: 4
hitchhikes: 56
aforementioned hitchhikes that were sketchy: 53
books read: 20
times I went to Nicaragua: 0
sticks of real butter taken pleasure in: 36
beds sampled: 29.5
day’s salary spent on sushi rolls & sake bombs: 103