So here it is, the final installment. Webisode 12. It’s long overdue, but I’d rather post it nearly 3 months after I finished the trip than not at all. Some of you may be asking why I ended it. Why I flew home rather abruptly. Well the truth of the matter was that for a while now I’ve thought about joining the United States Coast Guard. I dream about being a rescue swimmer (yup just like Ashton Kutcher in The Guardian). Last summer I wasn’t dead set on the idea, so I decided that I would do the trip to give myself time to really think about it. A minimum 4-6 year commitment is nothing to do without full conviction, plus I was at the perfect point in my life to just pick up and head for unknown places.

So during my adventure I made sure to spend time on boats, stuck to a workout plan, and pushed my boundaries in the water to really see whether or not I felt I was cut out for it. As the months passed by my conversations with people I met started as “I think I want to try and be a Coast Guard…” then soon became “When I get home I am applying to the Coast Guard…”

Once I got to Colombia and caught myself doing this on a regular basis I decided that I was ready to come home. Sure there are other countries still on my bucket list, but I have a long life ahead of me. I had figured out what I want to do with my life, so why delay the decision any longer? That was a week before sequestration took effect in late February.

Flash forward to today. I have already applied, been accepted to start processing, taken the aptitude test (I scored in the 96^th percentile), and soon will be doing my physical. Once that is complete I will be eligible to get sent off to basic training (a.k.a. boot camp).

Unfortunately for me, due to the budget cuts from the sequestration my recruiter informed me that once I am done with processing that the wait to get sent off to basic will be around 1 ½ – 2 years. I would be 27 years old if or when that happens.

I’m not going to lie and say that it’s not disappointing. Maybe I’m a product of my generation because I’m too impatient. If I’m qualified and ready to start my career tomorrow, then why should have to wait until 2015? I’ve had a lot of mixed emotions about it all, but I’m looking at it as a lesson in life. Sometimes no matter what I do, there are circumstances that are out of my control. Instead of fighting it or letting it bring me down, I just have to make the best possible decision and keep moving forward.

So where do I go from here? Well as for the Coast Guard, all I can do is just complete my processing and wait to hear back from them. Maybe things change and I get a call later this year. Maybe I move to another country to work for a non-profit. Maybe in the meantime I start a different job here in California and end up loving it even more than the idea of the Coast Guard. Time will eventually answer all of these questions.

What I do know though is that I have already managed to live going from country to country in Latin America, speaking Spanish, getting to know people from all walks of life, living out of a backpack, all while having no plan at all and it was arguably the best thing I’ve ever done. So the idea of not knowing what happens next doesn’t exactly scare me. A little bit nervous maybe, but in that butterflies in your stomach, first day of school kind of way.

My world has been turned upside down before and not only was I able to figure out a solution, but also became a better person for it. I don’t see why this will be any different…

There are no instructions for being a traveler, but I remember what it was like planning a trip and having no idea how to do it. So there were 10 things I could recommend, this is what it would be:

1.)  Take care of business before leaving

Inform your bank and notify them of where you intend to go so they don’t assume your debit card has been stolen. Your health insurance may have certain policies involving international emergencies. If you have a car try to leave it with someone you trust, and see what the best option will be for it’s insurance (a.k.a. putting it under your parents name or “storage” options). Set up automatic-payment for any outstanding bills. Get the necessary immunizations shots you’ll need for where you plan to go. Look up traveler visa requirements. (http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/)

*Obviously you are not going to want to carry your entire savings with you for your trip, so visits to the ATM become frequent. Look for an online bank account that will reimburse you for ATM fees, which can add up very quickly ($5+/ transaction) and drain you bank with companies like Bank of America or Wells Fargo. Make sure they can mail you a new card if yours is ever lost/ stolen (some will only mail it to your address on file). They also tend to answer calls faster, which is useful if there are ever any problems to report.

**Keep watch of websites like Expedia, Kayak, and Spirit to see where you can get the best deals. After a while you will notice which airlines/airports are cheapest to fly in and out of and you can structure your plans around this if you need to. Buying a one-way ticket allows more flexibility for your return. You may get hassled by the airlines because they think you might over-stay your visa, but an easy loophole is to just buy a refundable return ticket or an open international bus ticket.

2.)  The Essentials

Less is more. Despite the fact that your life revolves around what you can fit in a backpack, the truth is that you don’t need to bring as much as you think.

-(3) shirts

-(2) Bathing Suits (can be used as shorts for guys)

-(1) Shorts

-(1) Pants

-(1) Fleece Sweater

-(1) Thin rain jacket

-Cross training shoes

-Sandals

-Multi-tool kit/ Swiss Army knife

-Hat

-3 Underwear (poly/ nylon)

-Sunglasses (knowing they’ll probably break)

-Small first aid kit

-Krazy glue (liquid stitches and can fix anything fast)

-Bag Rain Cover

-Copies of passport/ health insurance cars (hidden in bag, online, and/or on USB stick)

-Duct tape (rolled around pen)

-Combination Luggage Lock (keys can be stolen/ lost)

-Guidebook

-Zip lock bags

-Hygiene Kit (keep it compact)

*Think waterproof. You never quite know where you’re going to end up or what the conditions may be. Whether it’s when your stuff gets soaked while being strapped on top of a bus during hurricane season or even just after you wash your clothes it’s very convenient to have things that either are waterproof, dry-quickly, or won’t easily get moldy. Great things to look into buying are polyester/ dry-fit clothing, waterproof electronics/ cases, bag covers, gortex shoes, or sandals.

3.)  Bring the right electronics

In theory you have to be ready to lose anything you take when you travel and most likely the most valuable possessions you will be carrying will be you electronics. With that being said, deciding what to take and what to leave behind take is crucial. Unless you have a reason why you absolutely have to bring a laptop, it’s a good idea to leave it behind. (Of course I write this from my laptop in Colombia)

An iPhone/ iPod touch can access Wi-Fi anywhere and if you are ever in need of a real computer then internet cafes are pretty easy to find and usually relatively cheap with their rates (compared to the cost of replacing your laptop). A low cost USB stick will still allow you to bring files or documents you may need as well (You can also store them online through Google Docs/ Dropbox). If you do bring a phone, look up what the international rates will be. Electronics put a large bull’s-eye for criminals. Plus they are heavy.

4.) Lightweight Hobbies

It’s inevitable that you’ll have a lot of downtime so when you need to a few hours it’s nice to have a hobby that also doesn’t require a lot of baggage room or weigh a lot. Good examples of this would be an iPod, book (or better yet e-books), drawing pad, harmonica, juggling balls, ukulele, yoga mat (which can also be used as a sleeping mat), fishing line, or swimming fins /mask. However, if you are insistent on bringing larger items like a surfboard or guitar just keep in mind that you will most likely pay extra in every mode of transport you take, plus you will spend more time worrying about them getting broken or stolen.

5.)  Start somewhere for a month

Arranging a volunteer position or home-stay (living with a local family) is an excellent way to start a trip because it will help ease you into the backpacking experience. It will allow you to really get to know an area while meeting other travelers who will have valuable advice on places to visit afterwards.

Websites like helpx.net and wwoof.org can help find a location to start. Most will trade housing/ meals in exchange for a few hours of work each day.

6.)  Keep an open mind

Understand that the places you go may have completely different cultures than you are used to. The people you meet may have contrasting perspectives or worldviews. This is not because either side is right or wrong, but instead because we are a product of where we are from. If you try to look at things from their point of view, you just might learn a thing or two.

7.)  Leave the areas you visit better than how you found them

Simply put: responsible tourism can help a community thrive and irresponsible tourism can destroy one. Easy ways to positively contribute are volunteering, cleaning up after your self (or even others), buying goods from locals, and donating to reliable organizations.

8.)  Make friends with the locals

When it comes to certain things, I think most of us can agree that we know the in’s and out’s of our own hometown better than any travel agency does. This is the easiest way to learn about the culture of an area, avoid danger, and find good or inexpensive places to stay/ eat/ or visit. It also gives good practice to speaking the local language

9.)  Get a guide book

A large part of backpacking is the adventure in not knowing where you will end up next. But this doesn’t mean you should be naïve about the possibilities. This is why it is good to research the different areas that you can possibly visit.

Some may be able to get by without a guidebook, but for a novice traveler this is one of most valuable items they bring on their trip. With it you have access to maps, bus schedules, hostels, They also provide information on the history/politics of an area, expected prices, places to eat, things to see, etc. Lonely Planet and Frommers are usually the most popular brands and they can be purchased cheaply on Amazon.com

Before you set out take some time looking through your guidebook, research the internet and speak to locals or other travelers about how to get where you need to go, how much it should cost, and any other helpful tips. One way I avoided getting the gringo rate on buses was by having exact change that I needed for the fare. Figure out the bus schedules for connecting terminals and always be ready to go earlier than you think. You never know when you’re something will be late and you need to always have a Plan B. Not only will this keep you safe, but it will also help you save money.

10.)     Stay Healthy

It’s expected that your lifestyle will dramatically change while traveling, so things like exercising can easily become ignored. But if this happens for a few months time, you will quickly lose everything you worked hard for back home. It’s very easy to incorporate 15 minutes of push ups/ pull ups into you travel schedule and going for a run or hike is a great way to see the exotic places you will visit.

When it comes to eating remember cooking your own food is an easy way to stay healthy while saving money. Rice, beans, pasta, veggies, fruit, and bread are available just about everywhere you go and they can cost next to nothing. Plenty of hostels have kitchens where you can cook your food and while in transit you will definitely want to think ahead and pack a meal. The obvious things are fruits or a PB&J, but my personal favorite was cutting up a bunch of veggies and putting it on a tortilla with (unheated) refried beans.

*Good rules of thumb:

- If you’re in doubt about buying clean fruit, go for the ones you have to peel (bananas, oranges, pineapple, mango, etc.)

- If they have a water well, then it’s most likely safe to drink.

-If you want to try the street food but are skeptical of how clean it is, then go for the fried food, because any bacteria would have been sizzled right off. If you’re still worried then drink it with a coca cola. I figure if it can erode nails then it can probably kill off a parasite before it harvests itself inside your stomach.

I can’t believe I’ve already been on the road for 2 ½ months. I have traveled by boats, buses, shuttles, trucks, horseback, dinghies, and by foot. Really the only mode of transport I haven’t used yet is an airplane. I drink the water. I visit places that Americans aren’t “supposed” to visit. I haven’t used a drop of mosquito repellant. I hitchhike. I eat street food. I trust the locals. I swim without a buddy. There’s no doubt that my style in getting to this point has been unconventional and maybe even dangerous at times, but in a way I think that’s what I’m supposed to do on this open-ended journey alone. It’s soul searching at its finest.

After leaving Honduras on December 22, I decided to spend Christmas in Nicaragua. Since I spent over 3 months there on my last trip, I wasn’t trying to stay there for too long, and was more focused on meeting up with my brother who was visiting Costa Rica on a vacation with his girlfriend. I was able to hang out with them for a week and we stayed at a surf camp/ lodge. When I say “stay” I mean they had a private room where I stashed my bags, and I spent 5 nights on a lawnchair because they were out of beds. But it was worth it because we were in Mal Pais, which is a laid back town on the southwest tip of the Nicoya peninsula and it’s known for its consistent surf. It was also my 2nd consecutive New Years Eve with my younger brother in Central America, which I think is a good streak to keep alive.

It can cost $200 each way to travel with a surfboard bag, so my brother decided to buy a board once he got here. As much as I would have enjoyed traveling with a surfboard like other travelers do, I knew that it would cause more problems than it was worth. Not only is it an extra heavy bag to lug around, but also you end up paying more on local buses, you are forced to find accommodations that can keep it safe, and you constantly worry about it getting stolen or broken. Renting a board is also an option but at $10-15/ day it’s hard to justify doing it knowing that it costs more than a dorm bed. My solution to this was to shape a handplane out of wood back home before I left (it also doubles as my cutting board). Basically it’s a mini board that I can slide on either hand while I body surf. When I drop in on a wave I have more speed and mobility because it grips the waves better and allows me to lift my body off the water.

With my luck however, I lost it a few days ago. I was bodysurfing it on some good size surf in Puerto Viejo and got thrown over the falls on one of the waves. As I was getting the slammed against the bottom in the washing machine effect, the handplane popped off my hand. It’s supposed to float but the current was pretty strong and swept it up before I could find it. I also couldn’t hang out in the break zone looking for it for too long.

For a whole 12 hours I was bummed that I lost the most entertaining item in my backpack.

Luckily the hostel I was at helped me out and told me I could use whatever scrap wood and tools they had to make a new one. I started making it around noon and was bodysurfing it by sunset. It’s not as pretty as the first one I made back home, but it gets the job done and I am proud I was able to MacGyver a solution to my problem with very limited resources. In an ironic way this sums up the theme for my trip so far.

I didn’t know what to expect when I got to Copan Ruinas, Honduras. I knew it was going to be a tourist attraction, but I figured it would still be cool to say in 20 years that I was at a Mayan ruins site for the end of the 13^th calendar cycle.

People back home ask me if the locals we’re freaking out about the rumored apocalypse, but they really didn’t seem to care at all. More than anything they thought it was funny that people in the world actually thought it was the truth.

In the week I was there I was able to see a lot of interesting things including a re-enactment of the Mayan ball game, the Honduran philharmonic, and some museums containing ancient Mayan carvings and pottery.

For sunrise on the morning on December 22^nd I went to a ceremony at the ruins site that was intended to welcome in the 14^th Baktun (a.k.a. calendar). A Mayan lady performed a ritual where she lit candles facing north, south, east and west, and then said prayers in each of the directions. While we waited for the fire to burn out she really spoke from her heart about what she was grateful for and cleared up some misconceptions about the Mayans, including the false idea that they disappeared. There are still plenty of indigenous people living in rural communities in Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

Years from now when I look back on the week I think what I’ll remember most was when she stressed the importance for the human race to live more responsibly and sustainably, because if we don’t then it really will be the end of the world.

Call it whatever you want, but I believe that those who are able to should help those in need. I wish I could donate more money to responsible causes and organizations, but I can’t afford to. So I try to be a responsible tourist. It’s as simple as volunteering, leaving an area cleaner than you found it, and buying goods from locals. Positive change can happen if enough people could do little things like this.

I will say though that being around real poverty for a significant amount of time changes you. When I was volunteering at the Love the Child orphanage in 2008, I would feel that I was doing some good in the world, but then I would leave the property and see kids in the street with no shoes on the feet or food to eat. In a weird way it taught me my limits as a person, but it’s like Mother Teresa said, “If you can;t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”

While staying in Antigua I was able to visit Love the Child again. Every time I go there it’s a healthy reality check for me and I feel lucky that I was able to live, learn, and help out for 5 months in an environment like that.

I’ve decided that I will celebrate the end of the Mayan calendar in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. They are said to be the Paris of the Mayan world, because of the detail and beauty in their art and sculptures.

I’m still not sure exactly where I’ll go after the New Year. My brother will be visiting Costa Rica and I have another friend who’ll be in Colombia, so I like my options so far.

I was fortunate enough to see the legendary Ignacio Perez play for a couple hours. He is a member of the Buena Vista Social Club and now lives in Antigua, Guatemala, where he plays every week at Meson Panza Verde Restaurant. $5 cover…

[Lake Atitlan, Guatemala]

For the past few weeks I’ve just been trying to keep myself busy while still conserving my money for South America. Simple things I do to lower my expenses are cooking my meals, using second class transportation, downloading Spanish study material from the internet, hiking, and trading my nightly beer for an ice cream cone.

It’s a constant mental battle in a way though sticking to a strict budget. Part of me wants to travel as long as possible, but then sometimes I feel that I may be missing out if I don’t spend a little extra money to do cool stuff.

This is the 3^rd time I have been to Guatemala, and the only reason I’m not in Panama or further south already is because I’ve wanted to stay in the Mayan populated areas so I can be at a ruins site when the Mayan calendar ends on December 21^st.

(Originally I was thinking I’d go to the Palenque Ruins in Mexico, but getting deported kind of threw a wrench in that plan.)

There are numerous apocalyptic theories signifying the end of the world on that day, but there are also experts that say it’s just the end of the 13th calendar cycle. But thousands of years ago the Mayans were able to predict the length of the lunar moon cycle and they were only 34 seconds off. Maybe they were a little smarter than us…

We can speculate all we want but really nobody knows for sure what going to happen.

If the world does end though, I think experiencing it all go down on an ancient temple or pyramid is a pretty sweet way to go out.

*Also see https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tolan-Shaw-Music/218921591453559?fref=ts

When I travel I feel like I’m in a time warp. I go to these places that may still be 20, 50, or even 100 years or more behind western civilization and I get to live with them for a period of time. It makes me realize what I really  appreciate back home, but also makes me think about where we’ve gone wrong.

This is Victor. I met him in my hostel in Xela, Guatemala. He’s from Chihuahua, Mexico and funds his travels by playing his guitar in the places he visits. Now you’re probably wondering how I got to Guatemala.

Let me rewind a little bit…

I went to the migration office in Puerto Vallarta to get my tourist card and passport stamped, because in sailing down I hadn’t gotten it done yet.

They said I was in the country illegally, there was nothing they could do, and that I had to leave. They didn’t care where I went or how I got there.

In the next 48 hours I spent 40 of them on buses going through Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Chiapas in route to the border.

[The seats are made the Latino community and not my 6’5” frame, so sleeping during the 2 overnight rides was practically non-existent.]

I had no problems getting out of Mexico at the border, but once in Guatemala I was so delirious that I lost $20 in exchanging currency, and got pickpocketed for another $50.

I was disappointed in myself because I’ve heard stories of this happening to other people and have always tried to avoid being vulnerable like that, but obviously this was a special circumstance. At a certain point during the next 3 hour bus ride I figured I could either sit there and be bummed out about it or I could look at it like a $70 lesson in traveling. I chose the latter.

You live, you learn, I still got my health, I’m still traveling, and now I just got another story to tell…

Getting off the boat in San Blas. Videos speak louder than words…