How to Kill a chicken Part 1: Find a chicken

 A while ago my friend had offered to take me to the countryside to get a “gallina india”, one of those chickens that ranges about in the countryside, scratching for food and coming home sometimes to lay eggs. It is about as free-range and organic as you can get and I was determined to kill

A bitter-sweet symphony in Pearl Lagoon

The boat sputters and heaves against the waves. I see the front lift up and then smack down on the surface of the ocean sending a wave of bathtub-warm wáter to where I am sitting in the back of the boat, drenching me instantly. I taste the salt on my lips and hug my bag closer

Semana Santa in Bluefields

“How much longer?” my dad asks next to me, his voice sounding slightly pained. I look over at him, wondering if he is talking in his sleep or just resting his eyes. He is jammed up against the window of the bus, trying, I suppose, to get some relief from the overwhelming humid heat inside

The randomness function

“I’m pretty sure the last bus leaves Leon at 2.” “Nahhh, there is one at 2pm and one at 3pm” “Are you sure?” “Yeah” “Sure sure?” “Yeah, my cousin asked his friend who said so.” I dug my feet into the hot sand and looked out at the beautiful expanse of crashing waves and blue

The unbearable strangeness of culture

Cultural filters are important for being able to function in a society. You have to be able to filter out the unimportant from the important and focus on that which society deems relevant. Without said cultural filters, every time I see a man here on the street with a second-hand American shirt that says “Kiss

A New Year and New Beginnings

It is hard not to feel a sense of awe when you get to the sun pyramid at Teotihuacan. You drive from the modern day pyramids of Mexico city, glittery gold and silver and glass masses, down the valley and across a flat plain, weaving your way through slums and cacti and desert shrub until

The ride to El Astillero

I have mixed feeling about the internet, however I trust it enough to know that if you can’t find anything about a town on any kind of travellers blog or web page or travel guide it usually means one of two things: 1. The difficulty and time and effort of getting there usually isn’t worth

How not to kill a scorpion

Tonight was not a fun night by any standard. It started off pretty good; I went for a long late afternoon paddle up the side of the lagoon and was finally able to see my first howler monkey and on the way back to my hostel I was graced by not just one, but a

The sweet smell of Fear and Arepas.

“Please buckle your seatbelts as we may experience some turbulence while we descend”  the pilots voice sounds over the airplane’s intercom. I grip the seat just a little tighter and chance a look out of the window. Everywhere I can see are these marvellous white cloud formations that we seem to be flying right through-a sea of deep

The charm of Kolkatta

Kolkatta. Man. What a city. Kolkatta had always been one of those cities that I knew was important and interesting but I had never had or made the opportunity to actually inform myself about it. Perhaps to my own benefit for these last 4 days in Kalkotta have made me fall madly in love with