Tag Archives: nicaragua

Beneath the Sun and Stars

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Ryan Murdock

I’m just back from a short job in Glynco, GA, followed by a few days of filming in Florida. It was a steamy week of early morning / late afternoon shoots and midday business meetings on the beach. We were scorched by the sands, gouged by the shells, plagued by mosquitos and swarmed by biting ants. And that was just the first day…

But I’ve returned to my desk and I’m ready to entertain you.

We’ll get back to travel stories soon. I’ve also got some cool new books to tell you about, both classics and new stuff, and some great music to shove in your ipod for the road.

Read Full Post
Posted in Reader Questions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Contaminated Alibis

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Ryan Murdock

Vagabond Dreams Outtakes are “deleted scenes” from my book. Think of them as a “Special Features” disc for a DVD yet to be invented. This incident took place in Bluefields, Nicaragua, on the Mosquito Coast, exactly 10 years ago…

 

I walked to the Enitel building to place a call before dinner. I hadn’t sent a message home in weeks. I expected end-of-world explorer’s reports, yellowed clippings of my obituary: Last seen on a jungle boat to the Mosquito Coast.

The line crackled and fizzed. My father’s voice was an echo far away, like talking to someone at the wrong end of binoculars.

Read Full Post
Posted in Central America, Vagabond Dreams Outtakes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Venus Set Me Free

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Ryan Murdock

cornisland.jpgIslands are places where different destinies can meet in the fullness of isolation, and in their own time. Island time doesn’t match the time of other places. The ideal island is a whole world, and even a tiny island may contain multitudes.

 

Read Full Post
Posted in Central America, Postcards from the Edge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Vagabond Dreams Outtakes #3 – Interrupted by Gunmen

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Ryan Murdock

Vagabond Dreams Outtakes are “deleted scenes” from my book. Think of them as a “Special Features” disc for a DVD yet to be invented. This incident took place on the outskirts of Managua…

 

I sat in blank Zen-minded drowsiness as the plush coach sped through vacant pre-dawn streets, letting the rumble of the engine lull me to sleep. I was just dozing off in the shabby outskirts of Managua when the driver slammed on the brakes. He got out of the bus. Voices carried through the open door; one authoritarian, the other desperate.

Read Full Post
Posted in Central America, Travel stories, Vagabond Dreams Outtakes | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

By Freighter Down That Lazy River

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Ryan Murdock

The journey from Managua to the port town of Bluefields on Nicaragua’s remote Mosquito Coast takes place in two phases: the first a teethrattling ride in a dustchoked bus down the only jungle road. At the road’s terminus, the lost town of Rama, you must throw your lot in with the Rio Escondido as it seeks communion with the sea.

boat1.jpgThe engine pulses and shudders through the flaking steel deck as the boat parts slowly from the broken wooden pier. Bags of concrete sit in a dusty pile on the aft deck. The hold is stuffed with sacks of fruit and the lounge with Nicaraguans chatting happily over the too-loud TV.

Read Full Post
Posted in Central America, Travel stories | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment