Akron/Family - Dont be Afraid

I just got back from my trip through Nicaragua and I'm realizing that no matter how many photos I take of anything, I'll never be able to really explain a lot of what went on. It would be very difficult for one photo to convey the experiences of the solitary bus ride scenery of volcanoes, FSLN flags, and barbed wire fences. Random conversations, smells, and especially, night-time are particularly hard for me to capture on film. It's taken me a long time, but I'm finally starting to appreciate the fact that some experiences are just better kept as little anecdotes between you and the people who were there. I'm slowly learning that I don't HAVE to photograph everything that happens to me. Maybe what I mean to say is, not photographing every second may preserve the experiences in a different way and conserve some of their mystery.

So while I develop my photos, I thought I'd just compile a list of what went on because it also helps me remember the little details I didn't bother bringing the viewfinder to my eye for, but are nevertheless, worth remembering.

Chicken Buses Taken: 10 +
Plates of Gallo Pinto Consumed: 8
Street Dogs Befriended: 3
Dutch Kids Befriended: 4
Volcanoes Ascended: 4
Volcanoes Sand-Boarded Down: 1
Times I thought to myself "Please don't die on this mountain": 1
Hitchhikes: 3
Weddings Attended: 1
Malaria Contracted: 0
Toñas Consumed: 20 +
Monkeys Seen: 14
Monkeys Harassed: 10
Times Surfed: 1
Flor de Caña Bottles Recycled: 5?
Shoes Destroyed: 1
Digital Cameras Destroyed: 1
Jurassic Park References made: 6 +
Horses Ridden: 1
Beds Slept In: 7
Gringos Encountered: 5
Snakes Spotted: 2
Rolls of 35mm Shot: 6
Lanchas Taken: 1
Watched 'Speed' Dubbed in Spanish: 1
Obama Bumper stickers Spotted: 2
McCain Bumper stickers Spotted: 0
Cordobas Spent: C$ 8,400
Times Stargazing In the Back of a Pickup Driving Through An Empty Nicaragua: 1
Splinters: 2
Cicadas Evaded: 3




This was taken in the previously bombed-to-smithereens city of Dresden.