SPOT round two!

Our SPOT has been stolen once again. And unlike the first time, there will be no tales of a rescue mission, no reunion pictures and no more updates for a little while. In the meantime I present ¨Christie SPOT!¨ Christie standing in for in spot´s absence, index finger is in Granada and pinky finger in Liberia, Costa Rica where we hope to have another unit. After our first go around with spot, we learned not to leave it alone, so on Christmas morning we stopped at an open courtyard in front of a church with the intention of sending a signal. As the unit was sitting there a bicycler pedaled by and grabbed it. This has happened before, people not sure what it is and curious, with us right there, we though no big deal and asked for it back. He pedaled more quickly down the ramp and down the street with Christie and I chasing on foot. Our hostel was 1/2 block away and the clerk ran outside at our yells, but could not stop the cyclist. A few minutes later we settled on the fact that we were out of luck.

Travelling through Nicaragua, the most impoverished Central American country, has opened our eyes to more of a survival mentality. Where people once looked out of curiosity, we are finding more people willing to take out of desperation. Maybe the 2 - AA batteries can be exchanged for something worthwhile......maybe the unit can be sold as something other than it is. In the end, we continue to learn the ropes in the countries we cross.

In the meantime, we have slowed significantly and are spending Christmas to New Years with my parents. We are enjoying seeing Nicaragua through their eyes after spending Peace Corps training in the area. Oh, and they helped Santa deliver a rear cassette, chain rings, brake pads, tires and other goodies he knew we needed!

Happy New Year! We have very simple resolutions this year, spend more time together and bicycle more!