Moodboard.

Distance makes the heart grow weak

So that the mouth can barely speak

Except to those who hide their needs

And I have read the golden seal

That tell of how the seedlings feel

Reminds my heart what love can yield

-FEIST-

Angryness cure.

Pretty Song.Pretty Video

Lovage.

http://www.myspace.com/johnnyosbourneofficialpage

School's out, Let's go surfing...

Just got back from an amazing weekend in Léon.
And I'm exhausted, in a good way...


Friday night after working a full week for my thesis at the "shrimpy factory", I really needed an escape from serious people. So when I woke up saturday morning I just packed my bag for the weekend and left. I managed to catch a cheap microbus to Léon, "biggest" university town of Nicaragua.

Arriving there I did what I always do when I travel, finding the most cheery hostel in town. You just got to love hostels, you meet people in no time and there's always stuff to do. This time, Bigfoot hostel, amazing hippie-, organic-, pure earth- minded place. It was again freaking hot that day so after a stroll downtown and looking to some churches and stuff, I headed back to the hostel to hang the rest of the afternoon in one of their hammocks on the patio. Napped a bit, read a bit, chatt a bit and so I met these two English backpackers Louise and Ben. We went for dinner and by the time we got back a whole bunch of hostelhippies, lost US surfers and other crazy people were ready for a party night in Léon. Music in clubs here is, let's face it, even weirder than in France. I even heard a Nirvana song in a reggaeton remix. And the mix of partying Nicaraguans and foreign people is such great fun. I had a blast.

Sunday I signed up for a day of surfing with some people of the hostel. Ronnie, an english dude, escaped his country to surf a bit everywhere and ended up as so many others in Nicaragua given surf lessons. The whole group drove in an "almost-falling-apart" van to Las Peñitas, one of Léon's surf beaches. There's nothing there only miles and miles of beautiful beach, some wooden beach houses with hammocks and perfect waves. One of the Nicaraguan families that lives at that beach, stores up the surfboards for the hostel and we could use their beach house to hang out for the day. Surfing here in the pacific ocean is nothing compared to the few attempts I did in Belgium. I felt so tiny in that massive amount of foamy water, even with a longboard. Haaa, I think I have a new addiction.

We took a quick lunchbreak and surfed more in the afternoon. 

The day just went by soooo quick and after some rest in the hammocks at the beach house we drove back to Léon and I, with two red knees and elbows of the surf adventure, catched a microbus back to Chinandega. I got to know some people at the hostel to travel with next weekends, so goodbye hotel boredom!

Tomorrow back to shrimpbusiness. We're visiting a lab somewhere in  nomansland at 7 AM madderfakkers! Don't get me wrong, so far I really like the stuff I do here for my thesis, but I get very ill and itchy of seriousness. I'm so signing up for life as a travelling hobo after university, promise made.

Luis.

Iglésia.

Basilico.

Léon city life.

Bigfoot Hostel

Chillin' in the hammock.

Paradise.

Surfs up. 

Pacific Ocean Baby

Landlords of the beach.

Volcanoes in the back.

Jicaro.

Today I visited the Miramar lab with Jessica, a Nicaraguan girl who just finished her studies as a Chemist Engineer and works over a year now for the company. In the lab they grow the shrimplarves which are then transported to the farms everywhere in Nicaragua. I was pretty impressed I must say.
Not only the landscape we drove through to get there but the whole lab was pretty cool.

JICARO TREE

The lab is situated just next to the pacific ocean and man those waves. Locals were surfing and selling fish on the beach. I didn't brought my camera, stupid me, cause I'm not allowed to photograph on the plants.


On the way back we chat a bit about the traditions of our countries, when I realised Belgium really doesn't have a typical dish, right? Anyway, Nicaragua has plenty of typical drinks, liquors, dishes, fruits,...
Papaya and Mango are what apples and pears are to us. So I'm in some kind of heavenly state of mind at breakfast time.
Jessica asked the guy who drove us to stop the car on the way back in the middle of nowhere. She jumped out and came back with this green mango-like fruit called "Jicaro". It grows everywhere here. I don't know if you're familiar with the milky soy-like drink "Horchata" they sell sometimes in Spain, well it's made of Jicaro seeds.
Here they drink a typical Nicaraguan horchata, "Semilla de Jicaro": Jicaro seeds, grounded mais, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, water and of course sugar. When we crossed a little grocery store, (we were back in the living world by then) she asked again to stop and jumped out and came back with a can of that drink for each of us and a bag of "rosquillas". Those are crunchy cookies made of maisdough, cheese and other stuff, but they're good. Must say, "Semilla de Jicara" is a damn good refreshing drink. And I love my Nicaraguan co-workers!

Semilla de Jicaro

So now I'm here with a Jicaro on my desk, ready to make some diagrams of today's lab visit. Fingers crossed that the hotel-owner allows tropical fruit as room decoration.

I am here...

pictures coming up if I find some time...


I've been buzzy the last couple of days. Constantly explaining my plans to people, making presentations and even childish diagrams to explain everything and I think they are starting to get what I want to obtain... Yiha
Tomorrow we're visiting two labs and next week the biggest shrimp farm of Nicaragua. 
I think we're started...
In the meantime I got to know some people of the company... Most of them Spanish people, we went to lunch yesterday and man those people are so dedicated to their work...




Besides thesis work I'm in constant fear that I have a fever cause I'm ill and glow like a lightbulb but I went to the factories doctor and he just laughed that we Europeans can't handle the heat. So I guess I don't suffer (yet) from a tropical disease. He just gave me a lifestock of anti-cold pills and told me to eat more than only ceasar salads. 
I constantly wake up at 6 AM here so now (4PM) i'm already semi-death, time for siesta and a caipirinha...


zZZZzz...

Lying planet

Yesterday I was bored of being in this hotel and decided to check out some beaches. According to my lonely planet the waves should be perfect for beginning rookies like me. So I just left and took a big yellow American schoolbus used as public transport here. I'm still not used to the staring people, really I'm I the first Kaukasian invading this place? :-)
So the bus dropped me off at this beautiful beach with black volcanic sand and indeed perfect waves but no   place to rent a surfboard, only straw beachbars and palmtrees. I also saw for the first time the volcanoes of Nicaragua as I turned my head towards the land. Pretty impressive view I must say.

Last year I already learned that the lonely planet can sometimes also be the "lying planet", I read it was only 5 minutes walking fromt that beach to the nearest town but hell no. It was like a two hour walk and in 32°C even if it's cloudy that's just suicidal. But I met some funny people along my walk: an old man collecting crabs in the mangrove beside the road and trying to convince me to let him drive me on his bike to town, some woman telling me I should wait for a bus to go to Corinto,...

Finally when another person told me it was still an hour walking ( I already walked an hour in that blistering heat) I grabbed a taxibike. Cool way to talk to locals.
Nice, peacefull coast village. And again staring all the time. Around noon I headed back on a microbus to Chinandega and had lunch in a bakery (some local pastry filled with ham, fresh cheese and veggies, yummie). After some wandering around on the market and surviving another raindrash  I headed back to the hotel to see if my luggage got back...
There Arelys called me to say that they still hadn't brought it, probably it will arrive monday. Let's hope so cause I start feeling like a hobo...

Today just prepared some powerpoint presentations to explain my goals during my stay here. I'm actually really looking forward to the shrimpcollaborations... Tomorrow I'll be present at  8 AM at the office, si senor!

A day at the office.

Friday was my first day here in Chinandega. No more rain when I woke up, but a bright smiling sunshine. After breakfast Emmanuel came to pick me up and drove me to the company which is actually only 600m further in the street of my hotel. There I met Arelys (the managers assistant), she's like the sweetest lady ever. When I told her my luggage story she took care of it by calling like 10 times to the airport to ask if there was any progression...  At the end of the day some airport woman called me that my backpack had arrived, but my suitcase is still pending somewhere in the air. 


I also met the general manager, to whom I tried to explained what the purpose was of my stay here and what I data I should obtain to do calculations for my thesis. He was actually very well aware of what I had to do here, a great relief. Oh yeah, maybe some of you don't know what I'm actually doing here. The goal of my thesis is basically calculating the impact aquaculture farms have on the environment. This by taking into account as completely as possible all inputs and outputs the farm generates. 
He told me to come back in the afternoon to have a little meeting with all people who will work together with me to obtain what I need. 
I was still supertired so  I was happy I could go back to the hotel to rest a bit. But first I went to town to buy some stuff I needed, no luggage you know. By the time I arrived at the local (very american like) supermarket the sky was already getting stormy gray again...


I think I'm really the only non-Nicaraguan here  in Chinandega cause people keep staring curiously at me as if I'm a big giant intruder of their city. But once you talk a bit to them and they notice you do an effort to speak their language they're really nice. 
I didn't see a lot of the town but I think it's mainly an industrial city cause on the road from the company to town I saw all this people walking, cycling, driving to work... Today I'll do my further Chinandega exploration.


So in the afternoon, I borrowed an umbrella of the receptionist lady and went to the company again where they explained me what to do on monday. I think I'll have a lot of work here but I don't mind, I'm really looking forward to work together with these people.


And now it's weekend and I'm off to visit some stuff. Think today I'll try to catch a microbus from Chinandega to the beach to check out Playa Corinto. Hopefully I get back before the evening rain.


A plus,
Luis. 

In nicaragua...

Finally arrived in the town where I'm supposed to stay to work on my thesis. They arranged a room for me in this hotel and the people working here treat me so friendly that it makes me almost feel bad. Earlier  I asked them if the jar with water in my room was filled with purified water, since drinking tap water in Nicaragua is a good suicide attempt. And 2 minutes later this guy at my door shows up with a plastic waterbottle, holding it as if it was the most expensive wine bottle of France. I hope they'll soon realize that treating me like Cleopatra is really not necessary.


Supertired, so not capable of making this a long post. It was a loooong trip and my luggage got lost somewhere between Miami and Managua. Luckely I'm prepared for that kind of shizzle, longlive mini-showergels and tooth brushes! Hopefully someone will call tomorrow to tell me that they found my luggage back...


The view from the airplane on Nicaragua was so nice, can't wait to do some trips here in the weekends. Man what a green green green tropical country, even if the roads are all flooded from the drashing rain. Rainy season is really... ahm rainy...  
The whole road from the airport to Chinandega was flooded. I felt like I was driven here in a submarine instead of in a car.


It was a guy from the company, Emmanuel, who came to pick me up at Managua airport and he told me they expect me to be at the company tomorrow morning to arrange things further. So I'm off to bed cause I think if I stay awake one minute longer, I might die.


Nighty night peeps.
Luis.

The journey continues...

It's 2.14 AM and in one hour Severine comes to pick me up to drive me to Brussels.  She's that crazy (and kind) that she wants to drive me at this mortal hour of the night to the airport. I admit I've got good friends :-)
Normal people would be asleep right now but I'm just to excited of travelling to a new country and I can sleep as much as I want when I'm dead.

It's been two weeks since I got home from Erasmus in France and I barely had the time to see everyone properly and take care of all the things I had to arrange for this trip.

But I'm ready, bags are packed, mind is in travelmodus...
Nicaragua here I come. 

-I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list-

Susan Sontag

Moodboard.

My fuzzy mind inspired by

Best Montpellier purchase.
Dirty white vintage converses.
Hippy Market, partout in France.

I want to fall asleep in that bathtub!



Late Afternoon Beach Jogging



Blueberry Muffins

Wanted: waking up in this tent

Photographer Ben Watts
www.benwatts.com

Girl Power

Nasty Gal .
www.nastygal.com

Flower Power Hippie Hour.

Surf Surf Surf.



Yimmy Yayo's photoblog, <3
http://blog.yimmyayo.com/



I have no idea where this is, but I want to go there. Now.

Nicaragua...        coming closer.

Burn all bridges, become an island.

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

Moody Mood Status? Everyday a little less post-erasmus depressed Best Buy of The Week? Starbucks Soy Vanilla Cream Frappucino... OMNOMNOM Proud of...? Baking thousand walnut cookies for a bday gift and only eating a quarter of them myself and I finally started running again  Listening to...? Elbow's performance @ Rock Werchter Best thing about last week? Catching up with friends and family Best thing about this week? Catching up with more friends and family Funniest thing? My sister who got shoppingcrazy at HM and scared off other customers by running around as an escaped hippie Saddest thing? First year that I'm not a lifeguard during summer
Aim for next days? Not forgetting to take my malaria pills (^^Nicaragua) and starting to get some travel info

Granny

Ghent.

Hometown Glory.

Hometown Glory².

Rainbow from my room.

Antwerp.

Don't forget.

Eugène + Schaar

Sisters in crime.