The wave

Yesterday I went to a BBQ on the beach near Leòn. You see, when you start your travel in Central America, you begin with a decission of which camp you will belong to. The people that travel in your direction are called 'The Wave'. In my case, I belong to the wave of the rainy season of 2005, going from north to south. There are also two other groups of travelers you'll come across when you travel, these are the contra wave and the stuck people. The contra wave is obviously doing the same trip just the other way round. The stuck people, are those that decided to stay in a small region for a long time - volunteering, working, doing their divemaster or just found a hostel where they can do drugs for cheap, sometimes for a VERY long periods of time. My wave is the one going by The Book (Lonely Planet), reading it from the start in Mexico to the end in Panama - cover to cover. Our contra wave thought it would be cool to rebel and start with reading the end of The Book first. Weird people. You can see that you become very Megubash with the wave, obviously, coz you all share the same attractions, the same hostels, the same hikes, the same experiences together. Generally, I guess that 95% of the people have about 80% the trip more or less the same. Both of the waves will eventually meet the guy in Lanquin that can speak hebrew. "Ani lo mipo ani, ani me beer sheva".
So, back to the BBQ, on events like this, in order to maximize the information flow and the fun from the conversation, you want to get a good mix of people around your table. The stuck people are very helpful, giving you tips about the best laundry, the best restaurants, the best attractions in town and other crucial travle information. They are the key for not getting to the next town, meeting other travelers, and thinking 'Shayse, how did I miss that???'. With people from your wave, you can share experiences, exchange pictures and emails, build relashionships and plan the rest of your trip. And of course, the contra wave, they influence your future. From them you get the most up to date dos and don't about your next region, you hear about the popular not-in-The-Book hostels, and get to generally know what the rest of your trip will look like. With them, the art is building the best relationship in a short period of time because you'll probably never meet these people again. Of course, you hold the future of their trip too, so everybody wins from this and enjoy these short relationships.
We had a good mix yesterday: A couple of kiwis (new zealanders), auzis (australian) and dutch from the different groups. A deck of cards, a couple of beers and good music. Just the perfect setting for a wonderful evening. This is how the economy of travel works. These are the evenings that determine where most of the money of the involved people will flow. Economics rock! :)

Tomorrow I'll probably be in the not-in-The-Book hostel in Grenada called 'the bearded monkey', (guess how I know about it),
Adios for now,
Eitan, from the wave of 2005 ;)