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Last Shout - Posted by: Derek - Tuesday, 06 October 2009 10:04
InfoGringo - It's not just about Costa Rica anymore. Long Term Travelers from all points around the globe are encouraged to join. Need advice on paying for travel by working online? I can help with that too, it is how I finance my travels.
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A Whole New Direction

A Whole New Direction
I am changing InfoGringo into a site for long term travelers to all points around the globe. Since my idea of travel is settling down in one spot for months and getting to know the food and culture, that is what I am going to start writing about.

I got the travel bug on my first trip to India. Without too many details, I had a Pen Friend that I had written to in India from the time I was eleven years old. In my early twenties I went to India by myself and lived with my Pen Friend for two months. I returned two more times in the following two years.

Long term travel has also taken me West to Vancouver, East to Cape Cod, South to Costa Rica and North to Montreal. With other stops like Northern Vermont along the way.

Each place that I go has had different food and different culture. Even moving a couple hundred miles from Quebec to Massachusetts means experiencing a different way of life.

Staying in a place for several months rather than just a week or two creates logistic problems that that the weekend warrior does not endure, like buying appliances and household items like food or deodorant. It can also mean dealing with scorpions or worse, vipers! (I killed a very poisonous viper with a cleaver in my last week in Costa Rica. Only realized a week later that I could have been killed just as easily as the snake had it been quicker than me.)

So wherever you are, and wherever you plan to go, please join InfoGringo and share your experience. I've made a pretty good site, it just needs people to join in.

Safe Travels!

Derek


by Derek, Tuesday, 06 October 2009 10:00 Comments(0), Read all
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We are now living in South Florida

Hey Everybody,

So I built Infogringo for fun, but never spent too much time working on it. I did meet one member in person, and we became good friends. (Hi June!)

So now that I am back living in Gringoland, what ever will become of this site, you may ask. Well, I do online promotions for a living, it is how I manage to just take off to live in Costa Rica for a most fantastic year.

Providing it holds my interest, I am going to start working on this website again. I have a lot of pictures and information about Costa Rica that never got added. I also never did a real push for traffic to gain members, something that I really should have done way back at the beginning. So I am going to vigilantly ban the spammers, and try interacting with the site a little more in the hopes that you, the visitor, will join in and participate.

Another thing that I am going to be doing a lot more of is promoting all things travel related. Promotion is how I make a living, and considering how little I work and how comfortably I live, I've figured something out in that area. I don't cover pages with ads, I don't promote crap just because it will pay well, and I never EVER use eMail as a way to make money. So rest easy when you join, the site should give good value for no money. That is the secret to my success.

If you are a traveler who is trying to figure out how to finance an extended vacation, then send me a note and I might just help you get started making money online. It's a big internet, and I do have a few bits of knowledge that I would be happy to share. My first advice to making a living online is not to pay for a course or tutorial. If it is available to the public, then it will no longer work. So nothing you can buy or download will work, in my opinion. You need to go your own way, create your own niche, and then hope for the best. How can I help? That depends a lot on you.

So here it is, the new Infogringo. I'm the gringo who sadly left Costa Rica so that my son could go to a better school.

I have lot's of stories, from the first to the last day in Costa Rica, interesting things happened. From a poisonous frog killing my dog, to me killing a very poisonous viper in the backyard a week before we left. Yes indeed, I killed a snake that would have killed me had its fangs out maneuvered my cleaver. It's head came off quickly, but the dang thing still took a long time to die. Scary. True story.

In just under a year, I encountered at least 50 scorpions and even had a one on one brawl with a full grown bull complete with horns, and I have a picture to prove it. I'd say that I won, but it was more of a tie.

The bigger story is how wonderful the people of Costa Rica were. I will miss all of my neighbors, but I will not miss their roosters.

There, I finally posted something new on this site. Now I need to stay motivated and post something again tomorrow, and maybe even put some pictures online, if for no other reason than to show my own family some pictures of our most fantastic trip.

That's the news. Please join and post something so that I do not get the impression I am just posting to a cyber-void.

Derek

by Derek, Monday, 05 October 2009 17:06 Comments(0), Read all
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Leaving Costa Rica

Leaving Costa Rica

So we have been here for roughly eight months, and my wife wants to head back to civilization. We've opted to take one more 72 hour visa run and then move to Montreal when our next 90 days expires. Yes, we will go North just in time for winter.

When we came to Costa Rica, I had the incorrect thought that I would meet somebody here who does what I do for a living. To date I know of no other person who honestly and truly makes a good living working part-time at home online. I thought that Costa Rica would just be the natural choice for people that do what I do. If I was right, they do not frequent the places that I go, or know any of the same people.

So my son is four years old and we need to start thinking about school. Contrary to what the majority of websites say about Costa Rica, I do not think that the public or private schools here are very good.

As for me, my online thing continues to do pretty well. I never graduated from University, so I am considering going back to school. When I went in my 20's, I was struggling financially so studying often took a back seat to eating. Maybe this time will be better.

Anyhow, that's the news. I'll be leaving our private oasis sometime in September. But I will continue to be here to answer the question or two that somebody will ask every couple of months.

If anyone knows anything about sending a shipping container from Costa Rica to Montreal, I would love to hear from you. We are thinking that we may buy more furniture before we leave.

by Derek, Monday, 08 June 2009 14:14 Comments(0), Read all
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A video about a Scorpion


by Derek, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 19:41 Comments(0), Read all
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Looking for real info about Costa Rica?

Looking for real info about Costa Rica?

If you found InfoGringo and have questions about living here, I'd be happy to answer your questions. You can even send me a Private Message in the forum and ask me to call you, or I can give you my US number. I brought my Vonage box with me, so I have a US number here in Costa Rica.

I also met one member at the airport, became good friends, and then let her live at my house for a week, complete with pool and maid. Worked for both of us.

Derek


by Derek, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 18:00 Comments(0), Read all
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Produce from the market in Alajuela.

Produce from the market in Alajuela.

Forum post with additional video.


Produce in Costa Rica. - Watch the top videos of the week here

Shot a 10 minutes video of our house and property, as well as a much shorter video showing what about $30 will buy at the market.

by Derek, Monday, 27 April 2009 14:45 Comments(0), Read all
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Scorpions in my Pants and Bull Punching

Scorpions in my Pants and Bull Punching


I have to start this post by saying that I speak from experience. Getting stung in the ass by a scorpion sets the tone for a rough day. It's a butterfly effect of sorts that ends with punching a large bull complete with horns in the head... twice.

So I rolled out of bed yesterday morning and grabbed the shorts I left on the floor the night before. I put them on and started my day, fumbling to make coffee and checking eMail. When the coffee was made I sat down, albeit briefly. There had been a good size scorpion in my pants and he made his presence known when I sat down.

I now have a scorpion dance.

The point of the scorpion dance is to jump around until whatever is in your pants and shouldn't be there falls out. It works remarkably well, quickly resulting in said scorpion falling at my feet. Shoes? Who climbs out of bed and puts shoes on before making coffee? Not me.

I know from past scorpions that when you see one, you do not need to rush to find something to kill it with. You can walk away and it will still be waiting for you when you return. Scorpions are pretty slow critters.

Somewhat shocked, but with surprisingly little pain, I got my first scorpion sting. Not as bad as being nailed by a wasp in my opinion, not even close.

Stung on the ass by a scorpion pretty much set the tone for the whole day. Here's what I did in the hours that followed, I think the apex was when I punched a fully grown bull in the head, twice. Keep reading, I have mentioned that cows love bananas, and so do bulls.

  • I fired a guy that has been working for be for three weeks. He bid on one of my projects and said it would be done in 5 days. Fuck it, I don't care if he is ten minutes from completion. He's fired and I want a refund.

  • Got annoyed about waiting for bus, so decided to walk to the next town. Bus caught up with me at the next stop. I took it.

  • Went to the pet store to buy scorpion spray, closed. Waited until I got somebody's attention. They put one finger in the air to say something like, "One minute!", or maybe "1 O-clock". I had been waiting outside for ten minutes and it was about one minute to one. "Fuck it!" I left.

  • Went to the hardware store to buy a light bulb. Four guys behind the counter, two more working in the back, and only one other customer. I waited for a few minutes until somebody asked what I wanted. "A light bulb, here." Nobody came to take the light bulb out of the case. "Fuck it!" I left. They called after me, I ignored them.

  • Went back to the pet store, I need scorpion spray and it is the only place I know that has it. The one finger pointing up lady was there. In spanish she said they open at one. In spanish I told her that a sign with their hours would not be expensive. "Put up a sign! Seriously, it's not that hard."

  • I needed the light bulb, so I went back to the hardware store. Amazing, they all seem to speak very good English at the hardware store. "You had six people working, four of them waiting behind the counter, and a total of two customers. If I have to wait you will not get any of my business, not now, not ever." In my haste to leave I did not realize that I got the wrong sized bulb. "Fuck it!"

  • Again, bus not on schedule. I got tired of waiting. "Fuck it!" I walked.

  • Got home and the programmer I fired messaged me to say the job was complete. "Fuck it!" Too late. {UPDATE: He was not finished, not even close.}

  • A huge bull hopped our fence and started to eat our banana trees. When he started to eat a rather large banana tree, I tried very briefly to convince him to hop back from whence he came. He ignored me so I punched him in the massive horned head. He looked at me like he was going to gore me, so I punched him harder. The rest of the banana trees are safe.

So that is how getting stung on the ass effects your day. I do not recommend it.

This morning the housekeeper saw a video I shot of the bull in our yard. Blah Blah Blah, you should not get so close to that bull, it is dangerous. If she only knew I had a fist fight with said bull and won.

If you think I am cruel for punching a bull, keep in mind that I am 165 pounds, and the bull has to be near 1,700 pounds complete with a good set of horns. It's not like I kicked a puppy, I merely got his attention. We're still friends, he greeted me at the fence this morning, but from his own side in the field, not my yard.

by Derek, Wednesday, 22 April 2009 12:38 Comments(0), Read all
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Been a while since I last posted...

Been a while since I last posted...

I have been enjoying the five months that I have been in Costa Rica. We've been to Florida twice to satisfy our visa requirements, once to Disney World, and the last time to Ft. Lauderdale to do some serious outlet shopping.

Nearly two months ago I got a new member here, somebody that I knew nothing about... Not even gender. Long story short, I met June at the airport upon her arrival with only her Infogringo ID, "Yeisem". Long story short is that she has become good friends with my wife and I, and she actually stayed at our house the last time that we left the country.

Coming back from the US is always nice. I can safely say that we are happier in Costa Rica than we ever were in the US. We still prefer Montreal to Central America, but you can not beat the weather in this region. Just ask National Geographic. they rate Atenas as having the best weather in the world, and we are just a couple of short miles from there.

We also met a guy via Craigslist that takes care of our dog when we leave. He left soon after we came back last time, so now we are babysitting his Subaru WRX. It's a pretty funny car, tinted windows (including windshield), thrush pipe, purple lights inside that blink with the bass, and piles of racing modifications. This is not the type of car that I normally drive, but it is a lot of fun to zoom around Costa Rica with a monster under the hood. Mazda should not own the rights to, "Zoom! Zoom!"

Let's see what else.... My son turned four on Christmas Eve. In the five or so months that we have been here his vocabulary in Spanish has grown to somewhere around 150 words. It was amazing to see him go from zero Spanish for the first two months to speaking quite a lot in the three months that followed. I think that we are doing him a huge favor by coming here for a year.

A few months ago we were toying with the idea of going to Italy next. I think that this idea is dead now. A good friend of mine moved to Vietnam about six years ago, and I for one think that Vietnam sounds like a really cool next place to live. Perhaps not for a whole year, but for three months would be a neat adventure. That is enough time to get to know the basics about a place. Before my some goes to school, I want him to be a seasoned traveler with at least a second language and maybe even a third. He says daily that he wants to go to French school, an idea that neither my wife or I put in his head. HE wants to go to French school, that is 100% him. I think that we will let him go to a French school, it's a great idea.

Moving on, I should talk a little about drivers in Costa Rica, they are terrible! Drivers here think nothing of following the car in front of them into an intersection just as the lights change, and then blocking the whole intersection until the light at the next block changes. Then somebody from the opposite direction blocks the intersection. Make that worse as it is happening at every intersection and you can create gridlock with a half dozen vehicles. Idiots when they drive!

You know the expression, "Only you can stop forest fires." Perhaps they should create billboards here that read, "Only you can stop traffic jams." They just do not realize that blocking a road to talk or get ahead of the light and into the intersection effects everybody. If everybody stopped doing it, everybody would get where they are going faster. They are ten times worse than the drivers in India. I say that from experience.

The bus system here is fantastic. Yes, they do need to deal with traffic, but they are reliable and cheap. It takes a little more time to travel by bus than it does by car, but who can beat the 50 cent price tag for most trips? We have the money for a car, no problem there, we just do not think that it is so important to have one here. (And we live in a rural area.)

Latin American Fashion is questionable at best. Don't get me started on that.

And now my son needs to get to bed.

FYI, I joined Twitter today. Here is my profile page: http://twitter.com/derekbarker Please follow my Tweets. I am more than happy to help new people coming to Costa Rica, and even pick you up at the airport and see that you have a good first day here. Come by the house, have a beer by the pool and unwind after your flight. We like to meet new people.

by Derek, Saturday, 04 April 2009 22:05 Comments(0), Read all
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Off Topic - I am launching a new website

Off Topic - I am launching a new website

I am launching a Reality TV Stock Exchange, www.RTVSE.com


Reality TV Stock Exchange - BETA Testers Needed - Funny videos are here


The basic idea is to buy and sell shares of Reality TV Show contestants and make money in the process. This may not be that easy as share prices drop to zero and trading stops whenever a contestant is voted off the show. With that, you do not want to be left holding shares of a loser.

When somebody wins the show though, your account is credited with their full value, plus the full value of the next runner up.

I need 500 people to BETA test the system. I am just getting started. If you have a minute, please click on the "Digg" button at www.RTVSE.com

by Derek, Thursday, 19 March 2009 19:48 Comments(0), Read all
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Pura Vida ≠ Carpe Diem

Pura Vida ≠ Carpe Diem

So I was lounging yesterday and discussing the usage and meaning of, "Pura Vida!" To me it means to enjoy life in the now, things have a way of working themselves out.

On the surface, seize the day or 'Carpe Diem' might sound a lot like 'Pura Vida!', but that could not be further from the truth. Simply put, here is the mathmatical equation:

(Carpe Diem + Procrastination)2 = Pura Vida.

In effect, seize the day and do nothing.

With that, 'Carpe Diem' is really the root of 'Pura Vida!' without the procrastination.

by Derek, Monday, 23 February 2009 15:04 Comments(0), Read all
 
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Pet Friendly Hotel in Costa Rica. B&B in Alajuela

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