Espero

5 a.m.: Wake up

5:25 a.m.: Airport shuttle to Managua Airport

Wait extra long (left early w/ B for his early flight)

8:35: Flight to San Jose

Wait

10:35: Flight to Guatemala City

Immigration. Baggage. Customs.

Taxi to bus station

Wait 2 hours in horrible teeny waiting room with broken chairs

3:00: Bus to Xela

7:00 p.m.: Arrive in Xela

Taxi to hostel

So many steps, so much waiting…is it worth it? Is it annoying? I found myself getting bored and impatient in the aforementioned horrid bus station waiting room – but then I remembered, “This is what I choose. Travel can’t always be fun. This is just part of travel. This is what makes getting there so awesome. It’s like having a gourmet meal you make – so delicious to eat, and even fun to cook – but yes, you have many dishes to wash afterwards. It’s just part of traveling, and you must embrace it.” Besides, I could be at work, in a wretched, tedious meeting, and here I was, wearing comfy clothes, writing in my travel journal, writing letters, reading Dostoevsky. This is fun. It’s what I want to do.

So yes, traveling isn’t always glamorous. It can be feeling nauseas on a ferry to Ometepe or crying alone on a street where no one knows you or not finding good dinner or not eating enough or getting ripped off. But it’s learning. It’s interesting. It’s challenging. And it’s something I choose to do, enjoy, and this is just part of the journey of life.