Friday, November 28, 2008
You can´t always get what you want....
We flew to Baltra from Guayaquil, and met our group at the baggage claim. 3 Germans and 3 Aussies, as well as our fantastic guide, Cesar. We hopped on a bus and rode to the docks to get on board the Merak, our home for the next 5 days. We immediately sat down to an elaborate lunch, and were shown our cabins. Oli and I had requested the Marital room, assuming that with a double bed, there must be more room than the standard bunk bed cabins. WRONG!! The bed was slightly triangular, pretty small, and cave like, as the ceiling lowered towards the back. There wasn´t even enough room for both of us to stand in there! It was cozy though, and we had a little port window for some fresh air. We set off for the first stop, a small bay on Santa Cruz Island. We saw hundreds of sea lions! Little tiny babies searching for their moms, barking until their cries were returned. The dads stayed in the water, swimming back and forth. They sure smelled! There were lots of dead babies as well, ones who had been abandoned by their mothers and left to starve and then rot on the shore. So sad! Ahh more soon, this internet sucks. $4 an hour?!?!?!?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
How to Catch a 2 Toed Sloth
So we arrived in Guayaquil yesterday, and hopped in a cab to the lovely Dreamkapture hostel in the northern suburbs. Relaxed, wandered, had some lovely Lebanese food in the mall down the road! Back to the hostel to relax a bit more, read, write, and then down the street to this AWESOME mexican taco place! We are actually taking a food tour around the world, and have been pretty successful in not having ANY local foods in most of the places we have been!! This is not on purpose, mind you, but it is becoming an embarassing trend. Read a bit more, then bed time!
This morning we had a lovely brekkie at the hostel, then headed out to the Parque Historico, for a little zoo wander, where our quide explained how to catch a 2 toed sloth, and then to see the historical reproduction of the city from 1900. It was... a bit tacky. As were the plantation fields and servant´s homes. Ahh well. Then off to downtown, where we witnessed one of the creepiest things ever- the iquana park. Its just a park in the middle of town, which has been infested with huge jurrasic looking iguanas. Tons of them! Climbing over each other, over people feet, and up some peoples legs! Ugh. Oli decided to pet one, but didn´t look very pleased afterwards. We then walked along the riverfront promenade, the Malecon, and enjoyed the breeze. We attempted to go to the MAAC, the museum of Contemporary Art and Architecture, but after searching and searching for the entrance, we discovered it is closed on Sundays. WTF?! Then up the 384 steps of Santa Aña to see the colorful houses and shops, and then killer view from the top. Gorgeous!
We are now trying to wrap up some of our affairs before we depart for the GALAPAGOS!!!! We will be gone until December 2nd, on a cruise for the first 5 days, and diving for the rest of the time, fingers crossed! We will update you once we reach Quito! Miss you all, love you, and Happy Thanksgiving, you Yanks!!
This morning we had a lovely brekkie at the hostel, then headed out to the Parque Historico, for a little zoo wander, where our quide explained how to catch a 2 toed sloth, and then to see the historical reproduction of the city from 1900. It was... a bit tacky. As were the plantation fields and servant´s homes. Ahh well. Then off to downtown, where we witnessed one of the creepiest things ever- the iquana park. Its just a park in the middle of town, which has been infested with huge jurrasic looking iguanas. Tons of them! Climbing over each other, over people feet, and up some peoples legs! Ugh. Oli decided to pet one, but didn´t look very pleased afterwards. We then walked along the riverfront promenade, the Malecon, and enjoyed the breeze. We attempted to go to the MAAC, the museum of Contemporary Art and Architecture, but after searching and searching for the entrance, we discovered it is closed on Sundays. WTF?! Then up the 384 steps of Santa Aña to see the colorful houses and shops, and then killer view from the top. Gorgeous!
We are now trying to wrap up some of our affairs before we depart for the GALAPAGOS!!!! We will be gone until December 2nd, on a cruise for the first 5 days, and diving for the rest of the time, fingers crossed! We will update you once we reach Quito! Miss you all, love you, and Happy Thanksgiving, you Yanks!!
PaPaPaPanamaaaaaaa
Hola amigos!
Out last stop in Central America was muggy, crazy, and memorable. We landed after the 1 hour flight from CR, and toddled on over to the bus stop, 300m from the airport entrance. We headed towarda Via España, and the first bus that came flying by was PACKED. We waited 20 minutes, then hopped on the next one, for the hour long journey into the city. The buses are old school buses from the U.S., like chicken buses, but they are painted an array of vibrant reds and pinks. And they drive like crazy! We found ourselves in the banking neighborhood, and hopped out by Hotel Continental. Walked down a small dead end alley, and found our hostel! Zuly´s was a great choice, with fun people everywhere. However, after living in luxury, it was saddening to share a bedroom with 5 other people... and the sheets were too small so they kept popping off, and Oli and I have found tiny red bites on our arms and legs.... bed bugs? Never saw any, or felt any, but would the marks lie?
Our first night in Panama City, we wandered around a bit, and found out we are situated right by a movie theater, $2.10 a showing. Wow! So we grabbed some lunch, wandered around.. Oli got a haircut and I got a French pedicure, costing us $10 combined. And then we were off to see 007! Great action scenes, very loose plot, and super annoying people! Everyone talks loudly, with no regard to the movie. I guess because it is subtitled anyway it doesn´t bother them, but it bothered me! After the movie, we grabbed some $0.50 beers and hung out at the hostel, playing Kings in the Corner all night.
Day 2 in Panama City- We slept in, then hopped on the bus to the city center, where we were supposed to catch another bus to the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, the bus stop had been ripped out, and we wandered around asking many people before finally a very nice man helped us out and told us we had to go to the bus terminal instead. At this moment, we once again cursed the writers of the Lonely Planet Central America On A Shoestring, 2004 edition. UGH. Guidebooks lie often, and are almost useless when 4 years old! But I digress..
We went to the bus terminal, which was chaotic, to say the least. Finally found our way, squeezed on the bus towards Paraiso, and away we went. Upon arrival at the Mireflores Locks, we walked for about 20 minutes to the brand spankin´new welcome center, which housed a thorough museum. We sprinted through the 4 levels, and up to the top floor viewing deck. What a sight! Words can´t capture the intricate sight, and unfortunately, pictures can´t suffice either! We went down to eat at a very very expensive restaurant(which we found out too late)and ate while we waited for 2 huge boats to approach the locks. We had a great view from here, which is when our camera malfunctioned and corrupted our memory card. Great. We do have pictures from after this incident though, so enjoy!
After lunch we trudged back out to the road to wait in the baking sun to catch a bus to the Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo. The gardens weren´t so much botanical as they were a giant park with grass and tables and playgrounds... but the zoo was cool. We have never seen monkeys this excited and active in our lives! Cool ocelot, pretty birds, etc.
Waited for an hour for the bus, then headed home to go to another movie! This time, The House Bunny. We grabbed the best street chili dogs EVER, some rum, and then headed into the cinema. Believe me, the rum definitely helped this movie. It actually wasn´t so bad, and made us almost miss LA. Almost. Off to the Istmo Pub afterwards for a snack and some local brews, which tasted like a cross between band-aids, cigarette butts, and bacon. Not a very nice blend. And we tried all 4 on tap! Shame shame. Next time, we´ll stick to the Stella!
The next day we were basically worthless. We bought another camera, so we now have our lovely Fujifilm fancy one, and another Olympus point and shoot. We wandered around, caught up in our journals, and then for the main evernt.. a double feature! First we went and saw Body of Lies, a DiCaprio/Crowe movie. It was good, but not one we need to see again. We grabbed dinner at the pub, Oli tried the beers again with disgust. And then it was off to see movie number 2- Baby Mama! Man, we need to get out of this city. We were basically seeing everything available in English as it was so cheap. Thankfully, we had rum for this movie too.
Then it was off to bed, as we would be leaving for Ecuador in the morning!!
Out last stop in Central America was muggy, crazy, and memorable. We landed after the 1 hour flight from CR, and toddled on over to the bus stop, 300m from the airport entrance. We headed towarda Via España, and the first bus that came flying by was PACKED. We waited 20 minutes, then hopped on the next one, for the hour long journey into the city. The buses are old school buses from the U.S., like chicken buses, but they are painted an array of vibrant reds and pinks. And they drive like crazy! We found ourselves in the banking neighborhood, and hopped out by Hotel Continental. Walked down a small dead end alley, and found our hostel! Zuly´s was a great choice, with fun people everywhere. However, after living in luxury, it was saddening to share a bedroom with 5 other people... and the sheets were too small so they kept popping off, and Oli and I have found tiny red bites on our arms and legs.... bed bugs? Never saw any, or felt any, but would the marks lie?
Our first night in Panama City, we wandered around a bit, and found out we are situated right by a movie theater, $2.10 a showing. Wow! So we grabbed some lunch, wandered around.. Oli got a haircut and I got a French pedicure, costing us $10 combined. And then we were off to see 007! Great action scenes, very loose plot, and super annoying people! Everyone talks loudly, with no regard to the movie. I guess because it is subtitled anyway it doesn´t bother them, but it bothered me! After the movie, we grabbed some $0.50 beers and hung out at the hostel, playing Kings in the Corner all night.
Day 2 in Panama City- We slept in, then hopped on the bus to the city center, where we were supposed to catch another bus to the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, the bus stop had been ripped out, and we wandered around asking many people before finally a very nice man helped us out and told us we had to go to the bus terminal instead. At this moment, we once again cursed the writers of the Lonely Planet Central America On A Shoestring, 2004 edition. UGH. Guidebooks lie often, and are almost useless when 4 years old! But I digress..
We went to the bus terminal, which was chaotic, to say the least. Finally found our way, squeezed on the bus towards Paraiso, and away we went. Upon arrival at the Mireflores Locks, we walked for about 20 minutes to the brand spankin´new welcome center, which housed a thorough museum. We sprinted through the 4 levels, and up to the top floor viewing deck. What a sight! Words can´t capture the intricate sight, and unfortunately, pictures can´t suffice either! We went down to eat at a very very expensive restaurant(which we found out too late)and ate while we waited for 2 huge boats to approach the locks. We had a great view from here, which is when our camera malfunctioned and corrupted our memory card. Great. We do have pictures from after this incident though, so enjoy!
After lunch we trudged back out to the road to wait in the baking sun to catch a bus to the Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo. The gardens weren´t so much botanical as they were a giant park with grass and tables and playgrounds... but the zoo was cool. We have never seen monkeys this excited and active in our lives! Cool ocelot, pretty birds, etc.
Waited for an hour for the bus, then headed home to go to another movie! This time, The House Bunny. We grabbed the best street chili dogs EVER, some rum, and then headed into the cinema. Believe me, the rum definitely helped this movie. It actually wasn´t so bad, and made us almost miss LA. Almost. Off to the Istmo Pub afterwards for a snack and some local brews, which tasted like a cross between band-aids, cigarette butts, and bacon. Not a very nice blend. And we tried all 4 on tap! Shame shame. Next time, we´ll stick to the Stella!
The next day we were basically worthless. We bought another camera, so we now have our lovely Fujifilm fancy one, and another Olympus point and shoot. We wandered around, caught up in our journals, and then for the main evernt.. a double feature! First we went and saw Body of Lies, a DiCaprio/Crowe movie. It was good, but not one we need to see again. We grabbed dinner at the pub, Oli tried the beers again with disgust. And then it was off to see movie number 2- Baby Mama! Man, we need to get out of this city. We were basically seeing everything available in English as it was so cheap. Thankfully, we had rum for this movie too.
Then it was off to bed, as we would be leaving for Ecuador in the morning!!
Cloudforesting.
We awoke early on Monday morning and were out the door by 7am, on our way to the Monteverde cloudforest. Seth and Majela had not been there before, and believe it or not, neither had we! We were on the road for an hour or so and we stopped for some delicious ´pinto´, the local breakfast specialty. When we got back on our way we were surprised to find the turn off just around the corner. It was time for our hellish ride to begin - the road up there is notoriously terrible, 35km is a long way....
We were all pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves cruising down a beautifully fresh, tarmac highway! Seth was a little concerned as to how he could have missed the news of the new road, but was ultimately relieved! The scenery grew increasingly beautiful as we climbed but the road abrubptly turned to gravel, and then to dust, and then to mud. Before we knew it our gorgeous road was gone, we had fortunately got a little more than half way though.
Seth´s ´billy goat´ ride took us through the unbelievably potholed "road" unscathed and we arrived at our destination, the rain forest living up to it´s name with a light drizzle. When we knocked on the door of out hotel it appeared to be empty. We had chosen this place as it was home to one of the original Quakers (yes Quakers!) that had founded the area. We waited and still no one turned up so we decided to try some other places. We were pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon the Mariposa Lodge, closer to the park entrance and we were able to secure ourselves our own 2 bed apartment for the evening! Before we left for our hike in the cloudforest proper, we went and stocked up, hiking snacks, nibbles and of course rum, limes and beer for our return!
We arrived in the park and started on the hike we had chosen, The Triangle, circumnavigating the whole park. It really was a wonderful experience. The path is literally carved into the vigin cloud forest, the light rain only adding to the authenticity! We wandered past streams and waterfalls, gorges and cliffs, all the while being extremely optimistic about spotting the greatly sought after Quetzal. We didn´t see one of theses elusive birds but we had a great time none the less! We finished our day in Monteverde hanging out in our cabin apartment, enjoying our beers, rum and company.
As we left the cloudforest we decided to check out the cheese factory there, started by the founding Quakers. Unfortunately no tour, or free tasting, but we did spot some very odd looking choco-cheese! We then embarked on the bumpy ride back to civilisation!
On the way back to Santa Barbara we stopped in the small beach town of Punta Reinas and had some good seafood and a short walk along the promenade. We then started back for Seth & Mayela´s where we spent our last evening with the family, eating great spaghetti, watching McHale´s Navy and playing a local version of Monopoly!
The following day we were up with the kids at 630, said our goodbyes and were off to the airport for our flight to Panama. It was sad to leave the home we had had for the past week and the family that had been so wonderful to us. Time to become real backpackers again though......
(..... now we just want the luxury back!!!!)
We were all pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves cruising down a beautifully fresh, tarmac highway! Seth was a little concerned as to how he could have missed the news of the new road, but was ultimately relieved! The scenery grew increasingly beautiful as we climbed but the road abrubptly turned to gravel, and then to dust, and then to mud. Before we knew it our gorgeous road was gone, we had fortunately got a little more than half way though.
Seth´s ´billy goat´ ride took us through the unbelievably potholed "road" unscathed and we arrived at our destination, the rain forest living up to it´s name with a light drizzle. When we knocked on the door of out hotel it appeared to be empty. We had chosen this place as it was home to one of the original Quakers (yes Quakers!) that had founded the area. We waited and still no one turned up so we decided to try some other places. We were pleasantly surprised when we stumbled upon the Mariposa Lodge, closer to the park entrance and we were able to secure ourselves our own 2 bed apartment for the evening! Before we left for our hike in the cloudforest proper, we went and stocked up, hiking snacks, nibbles and of course rum, limes and beer for our return!
We arrived in the park and started on the hike we had chosen, The Triangle, circumnavigating the whole park. It really was a wonderful experience. The path is literally carved into the vigin cloud forest, the light rain only adding to the authenticity! We wandered past streams and waterfalls, gorges and cliffs, all the while being extremely optimistic about spotting the greatly sought after Quetzal. We didn´t see one of theses elusive birds but we had a great time none the less! We finished our day in Monteverde hanging out in our cabin apartment, enjoying our beers, rum and company.
As we left the cloudforest we decided to check out the cheese factory there, started by the founding Quakers. Unfortunately no tour, or free tasting, but we did spot some very odd looking choco-cheese! We then embarked on the bumpy ride back to civilisation!
On the way back to Santa Barbara we stopped in the small beach town of Punta Reinas and had some good seafood and a short walk along the promenade. We then started back for Seth & Mayela´s where we spent our last evening with the family, eating great spaghetti, watching McHale´s Navy and playing a local version of Monopoly!
The following day we were up with the kids at 630, said our goodbyes and were off to the airport for our flight to Panama. It was sad to leave the home we had had for the past week and the family that had been so wonderful to us. Time to become real backpackers again though......
(..... now we just want the luxury back!!!!)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
More Costa Rican Bliss!
We have been enjoying our stay here so much we haven't had the time to blog! But we are leaving for Panama tomorrow so thought we had better catch up a little.
After we hiked on Friday Seth took us to see an amazing waterfall at the base of a number of cascades. It was great, we were able to walk behind it and peer down into the pool of foam that lay beneath, home to the old bridge! We spent the evening hanging out in the sauna and watching movies, it was so nice to relax in a homely manner!
After a relatively early night, we got up on Saturday and went to 'Hiper Mas', fingers crossed, to find a new camera. We emerged triumphant with a great new camera that we were itching to try out. Whilst the kids went to the dentist, we got a tour of Santa Barbara and it's farmers market, including some awesome shrimp ceviche and coconuts! We wandered some more in town and decided to go for a really great lunch (they know how to do pork in this country!) and then to the local zoo! They had lots of great birds and monkeys and all kinds of animals. Aswell as the animals, the entire park was home to thousands of big 'ol spiders with golden threads..... apparantly not poisonous but definately scary looking! We came back to the house and relaxed before our big night out. Seth's friend Alex was having a bar opening - cowboy themed! We started with a quick beer and a shot at Mr. Pitufo's and then onto Bar Trapiche. As we pulled up the entire bar seemed to explode, it was someones birthday and the tiny bar had an 8 piece band in it! It was quite the experience, totally authentic and we enjoyed the music with a couple of beers and some more ceviche! When we got to Alex's bar the party was already underway and we joined in with the fun, Jen even ended up in a beer chugging contest! We rolled home later ready for bed and extremely merry!
Our Sunday started off with a football game, the biggest team in Costa Rica, Saprissa, was playing right here in town. It was a lot of fun to sit in the stands with Majela, Freddy and Jazmine, taking in the local flair and a sausage-in-a-taco!! The game ended 1-1, not a great result for Saprissa. After the game we walked back to the house, had lunch and hung out until it was time for us to go to 'Cuento de Navidad', the Christmas play, at Cafe Brit, not too far away. It was 'A Christmas Carol', in Spanish of course, and it was a lot of fun! We were able to follow along and enjoy as many of the jokes as possible. We finished our Sunday evening with a family trip to a great pizza place, we tucked in and came home for to get a good nights rest before we headed for the cloud forest 1st thing yesterday morning.
Well thats enough for now, pics and more story to follow!
After we hiked on Friday Seth took us to see an amazing waterfall at the base of a number of cascades. It was great, we were able to walk behind it and peer down into the pool of foam that lay beneath, home to the old bridge! We spent the evening hanging out in the sauna and watching movies, it was so nice to relax in a homely manner!
After a relatively early night, we got up on Saturday and went to 'Hiper Mas', fingers crossed, to find a new camera. We emerged triumphant with a great new camera that we were itching to try out. Whilst the kids went to the dentist, we got a tour of Santa Barbara and it's farmers market, including some awesome shrimp ceviche and coconuts! We wandered some more in town and decided to go for a really great lunch (they know how to do pork in this country!) and then to the local zoo! They had lots of great birds and monkeys and all kinds of animals. Aswell as the animals, the entire park was home to thousands of big 'ol spiders with golden threads..... apparantly not poisonous but definately scary looking! We came back to the house and relaxed before our big night out. Seth's friend Alex was having a bar opening - cowboy themed! We started with a quick beer and a shot at Mr. Pitufo's and then onto Bar Trapiche. As we pulled up the entire bar seemed to explode, it was someones birthday and the tiny bar had an 8 piece band in it! It was quite the experience, totally authentic and we enjoyed the music with a couple of beers and some more ceviche! When we got to Alex's bar the party was already underway and we joined in with the fun, Jen even ended up in a beer chugging contest! We rolled home later ready for bed and extremely merry!
Our Sunday started off with a football game, the biggest team in Costa Rica, Saprissa, was playing right here in town. It was a lot of fun to sit in the stands with Majela, Freddy and Jazmine, taking in the local flair and a sausage-in-a-taco!! The game ended 1-1, not a great result for Saprissa. After the game we walked back to the house, had lunch and hung out until it was time for us to go to 'Cuento de Navidad', the Christmas play, at Cafe Brit, not too far away. It was 'A Christmas Carol', in Spanish of course, and it was a lot of fun! We were able to follow along and enjoy as many of the jokes as possible. We finished our Sunday evening with a family trip to a great pizza place, we tucked in and came home for to get a good nights rest before we headed for the cloud forest 1st thing yesterday morning.
Well thats enough for now, pics and more story to follow!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Ticos and Ticas
So we hopped on the first chicken bus to La Virgen, then caught another one to the border. Immigration was pretty fast, and we were sorted out by 8:30. The 9:30 bus to San Jose was sold out, so we played cards with Tamara and James until the 10:30 bus. Less than $8 to get there- not bad! We passed out on the bus, woke up briefly to say adios to our fellow gringos as they departed at Monteverde, and then slept again. Our phone was dead, and we didn't have the number for Seth, whose house we would be staying at, so we had to ride in to the center of San Jose and look for an internet cafe. Just our luck, it began raining as soon as we got off the bus. We were in a pretty bad area of town, and it was getting dark, so we ran into a few hotels asking for directions. Found the cafe, got a hold of Seth, then hopped in a tragic cab for the hour long ride to Santa Barbara. The driver was frightening, and quite stupid, and we were thankful to get there in one piece. He got lost constantly!!! We were finally dropped off in front of the church, where he tried to demand more money than we had agreed upon. Thanks guy!
Seth showed up and got rid of the driver, then off we went to a bar for some dinner! Delicious beans and rice with crunchy pork on top, washed down with a cold Imperial. Mmmm welcome to Costa Rica! We then hopped over to Mr. Pitufo's bar, with looks like it is in a 1950's time warp. Very charming! Caught up with Seth, who is an old friend of the family that I have known basically my whole life, and then headed up to his house in the hills to meet the family. The kids, Jasmine and Freddy, were still up, and super energetic. We also met Seth's lovely Tica wife, Mayela. We got the grand tour of the house, and went to bed early. Long day of travel!
The following morning, we had a great breakfast made by the maid, Lydia, and then spent the day lounging by the pool. It was so nice to relax! The sauna wasn't so bad either!! We got caught up on our reading, and almost caught up on our journaling. In the evening, we headed off to a few local bars, then to the grand opening of the posh bar Pitch. Pretty fancy, with camera crews and a live band. Oh, and free rum! We had a great time. Interesting clientele, and we wondered what type of longevity a place like that will have.
Friday morning, we went to Volcan Poas to hike up to the crater. It was a short walk, actually, on a paved road, and it was beautiful at the top! The fog was rolling over the top and mixing with the volcanic vapors- very scenic! Tough to describe, but photos will follow soon! We then hiked up a narrow trail lined with green trees and bushes, and lots of moss. We arrived at the other crater, which is now an acidic lake. Gorgeous views! Lovely short hike as well. It was nice to see some of the scenic beauty of Costa Rica. Ahhhhh gotta go, more soon!
Seth showed up and got rid of the driver, then off we went to a bar for some dinner! Delicious beans and rice with crunchy pork on top, washed down with a cold Imperial. Mmmm welcome to Costa Rica! We then hopped over to Mr. Pitufo's bar, with looks like it is in a 1950's time warp. Very charming! Caught up with Seth, who is an old friend of the family that I have known basically my whole life, and then headed up to his house in the hills to meet the family. The kids, Jasmine and Freddy, were still up, and super energetic. We also met Seth's lovely Tica wife, Mayela. We got the grand tour of the house, and went to bed early. Long day of travel!
The following morning, we had a great breakfast made by the maid, Lydia, and then spent the day lounging by the pool. It was so nice to relax! The sauna wasn't so bad either!! We got caught up on our reading, and almost caught up on our journaling. In the evening, we headed off to a few local bars, then to the grand opening of the posh bar Pitch. Pretty fancy, with camera crews and a live band. Oh, and free rum! We had a great time. Interesting clientele, and we wondered what type of longevity a place like that will have.
Friday morning, we went to Volcan Poas to hike up to the crater. It was a short walk, actually, on a paved road, and it was beautiful at the top! The fog was rolling over the top and mixing with the volcanic vapors- very scenic! Tough to describe, but photos will follow soon! We then hiked up a narrow trail lined with green trees and bushes, and lots of moss. We arrived at the other crater, which is now an acidic lake. Gorgeous views! Lovely short hike as well. It was nice to see some of the scenic beauty of Costa Rica. Ahhhhh gotta go, more soon!
Nica pictures!
Pictures from Granada, before the camera incident (glad we had saved them!!)
Pictures from SJdS, AFTER the camera incident. (Thanks Becky and Chris for letting us borrow your camera!!!)
Pictures from SJdS, AFTER the camera incident. (Thanks Becky and Chris for letting us borrow your camera!!!)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
W-w-w-wipeout!!!
We hopped into the truck to head to the beach for our surf lesson, unfortunately there was no more room in the back so we had to ride up front, with air-conditioning.... shame. We were particularly grateful when our short journey to the beach turned out to be an hours ride on another wonderful Nicaraguan dirt road. It was worth it though, as when we arrived we were treated to a great view of the secluded beach we were to spend the rest of the day on.
After a quick how to with our instructor, an older local guy, we were in the water, floating on our boards with him holding us. As a wave came along he told us when to start paddling and gave us a nice push onto the wave, all we really had to do was stand up! It wasn't quite that easy but we gave it our best shot and both of us (in fact Jen before I) were standing on our boards, wobbling along within 15 or 20 mins. It was now time to try it on our own and 2 and a half hours later our bodies were battered and broken but content (edit: Jen just wants me to recognise here that she was the only one in the water the whole time and the teacher said she was the best student.)!
We spent the whole afternoon in the water, trying again and again, succeeding and failing! The most frustrating thing was that even if one was successful, for 30 seconds of standing up we had to walk/swim/paddle for 10 minutes to get back to the same spot to start over again! It was great fun and we both surprised ourselves as to how well we took to the water, we did suffer though - sore knees, bruised ribs and especially for Jen, more bruises unaccounted for! Who knew it would be such a brutal sport?!?
After another long truck journey back (again, we were a little slow getting into the back of the trucks and just HAD to sit in the cab!) we knew it was time for a big meal and several beers, so the group of us went to Jerry's Pizza and feasted on good slices and great company...... and cold beers! We hung out for the evening, played some crazy 8 countdown, and headed off to bed after a grueling game, as we were getting up at 6am to the bus to the border of Costa Rica!!
After a quick how to with our instructor, an older local guy, we were in the water, floating on our boards with him holding us. As a wave came along he told us when to start paddling and gave us a nice push onto the wave, all we really had to do was stand up! It wasn't quite that easy but we gave it our best shot and both of us (in fact Jen before I) were standing on our boards, wobbling along within 15 or 20 mins. It was now time to try it on our own and 2 and a half hours later our bodies were battered and broken but content (edit: Jen just wants me to recognise here that she was the only one in the water the whole time and the teacher said she was the best student.)!
We spent the whole afternoon in the water, trying again and again, succeeding and failing! The most frustrating thing was that even if one was successful, for 30 seconds of standing up we had to walk/swim/paddle for 10 minutes to get back to the same spot to start over again! It was great fun and we both surprised ourselves as to how well we took to the water, we did suffer though - sore knees, bruised ribs and especially for Jen, more bruises unaccounted for! Who knew it would be such a brutal sport?!?
After another long truck journey back (again, we were a little slow getting into the back of the trucks and just HAD to sit in the cab!) we knew it was time for a big meal and several beers, so the group of us went to Jerry's Pizza and feasted on good slices and great company...... and cold beers! We hung out for the evening, played some crazy 8 countdown, and headed off to bed after a grueling game, as we were getting up at 6am to the bus to the border of Costa Rica!!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Huevos Tortugas
Hola Amigos!
So after the brutal mugging yesterday, we decided to wander the streets and explore the town. Very quiet, full of surf shops. Cute though! Hot as hades.. We went back to Casa Oro to read a bit, and then have some cervezas before the big event..... TURTLES! We are very close to La Flor, which is one of the biggest nesting colonies in the world. They are in the middle of a big arrival, with as many as 3,000 mamma turtles reaching shore nightly and dropping off their eggs. Fantastic!
We signed up for the tour, a whopping $30 each, and arrived at 6:30 for the very technical powerpoint presentation. Woohoo! Did you know that turtles mate with many partners, some at the same time, and then self fertilize? Did you know that a turtle can lay up to 120+ eggs in one sitting? Did you know that out of every 1,000 baby turtles that hatch, only one will make it to adulthood? If you answered ¨No, I did not know that!¨, then you would have been thoroughly enthralled at this presentation! We felt the same way.
So after our little lesson, we all piled into the trucks and vans to ride off to the turtle sanctuary. What a long, bumpy ride! I lucked out and the only seat left was in the front, so I enjoyed some rockin´ eighties tunes and nice air conditioning, while the others melted behind me. The 22k ride took a little over an hour. Yikes! We arrived at 8:30, had a little briefing, then off to the shore! Keep in mind that we were with a large, large group of gringos- who wants to take a guess as to how many of them followed the rules once we reached the sand???
When we reached the beach, we were stunned. The moon cast a bright glow over the sand, and there were TONS of big mamma turtles, en route to the sea or just emerging. Some were digging their holes with their back fins, some were filling the holes with sand.. and some were plopping out eggs. Wow! I have never seen a reptile fill their nest, and it was a sight to be seen.
Unfortunately, because there are so many turtles that surface each night to lay their eggs, the beach isn´t large enough to accomodate all of them. So each night, many turtles end up digging up the nests that were laid the previous nights, and laying their own eggs in their place. Because of all this digging and uncovering, a potent egg odor lingers over the beach. Mmmm.
Exciting evening! We hung around for an hour, dodging these determined turtles, while spying on this intimate time in their lives... Then it was back in the van for the long drive home! I slept quite comfortably, though Oli said he felt very violated by the bouncy benches in the back. Poor poppet.
We are off to go surfing... hang ten dudes!!!
So after the brutal mugging yesterday, we decided to wander the streets and explore the town. Very quiet, full of surf shops. Cute though! Hot as hades.. We went back to Casa Oro to read a bit, and then have some cervezas before the big event..... TURTLES! We are very close to La Flor, which is one of the biggest nesting colonies in the world. They are in the middle of a big arrival, with as many as 3,000 mamma turtles reaching shore nightly and dropping off their eggs. Fantastic!
We signed up for the tour, a whopping $30 each, and arrived at 6:30 for the very technical powerpoint presentation. Woohoo! Did you know that turtles mate with many partners, some at the same time, and then self fertilize? Did you know that a turtle can lay up to 120+ eggs in one sitting? Did you know that out of every 1,000 baby turtles that hatch, only one will make it to adulthood? If you answered ¨No, I did not know that!¨, then you would have been thoroughly enthralled at this presentation! We felt the same way.
So after our little lesson, we all piled into the trucks and vans to ride off to the turtle sanctuary. What a long, bumpy ride! I lucked out and the only seat left was in the front, so I enjoyed some rockin´ eighties tunes and nice air conditioning, while the others melted behind me. The 22k ride took a little over an hour. Yikes! We arrived at 8:30, had a little briefing, then off to the shore! Keep in mind that we were with a large, large group of gringos- who wants to take a guess as to how many of them followed the rules once we reached the sand???
When we reached the beach, we were stunned. The moon cast a bright glow over the sand, and there were TONS of big mamma turtles, en route to the sea or just emerging. Some were digging their holes with their back fins, some were filling the holes with sand.. and some were plopping out eggs. Wow! I have never seen a reptile fill their nest, and it was a sight to be seen.
Unfortunately, because there are so many turtles that surface each night to lay their eggs, the beach isn´t large enough to accomodate all of them. So each night, many turtles end up digging up the nests that were laid the previous nights, and laying their own eggs in their place. Because of all this digging and uncovering, a potent egg odor lingers over the beach. Mmmm.
Exciting evening! We hung around for an hour, dodging these determined turtles, while spying on this intimate time in their lives... Then it was back in the van for the long drive home! I slept quite comfortably, though Oli said he felt very violated by the bouncy benches in the back. Poor poppet.
We are off to go surfing... hang ten dudes!!!
Monday, November 10, 2008
We have been mugged....
by a troupe of bandit jellyfish. They were a vicious bunch, and took no mercy. They snuck up while we were chin deep in the cove of San Juan Del Sur, and took advantage of the murky waters. They eyed up our gorgeous, 4 week old camera, and went for it. They caught Oli by surprise, with repeated lashings to his forarm. He dropped the camera, and I caught it under my feet. As we went down to grab it, the waves took us hostage, and knocked us off our tip-toes. Then when we dove for it, they came back for more flesh. My arms, legs, and feet fell victim to their ruthless ways. We kept on fighting the good fight, with the help of our new friends Becky and Chris, but to no avail. The attacks continued, and we were outnumbered. We returned to shore with our tails between our legs, and stingers in our extremeties. Oli had it the worst, but opted to head down the beach to a cafe for some vinegar instead of taking Chris up on his offer to pee on him.
Sad, sad day. We will not let the ocean gods beat us. We are going back for more later, but without any flashy valuables. And don´t worry, the pictures will continue- we are going to borrow one for the time being, and replace our dearly departed in San Jose. Lets hope number three´s a charm. I wonder if the insurance company will pay to replace this one as well.....
Sad, sad day. We will not let the ocean gods beat us. We are going back for more later, but without any flashy valuables. And don´t worry, the pictures will continue- we are going to borrow one for the time being, and replace our dearly departed in San Jose. Lets hope number three´s a charm. I wonder if the insurance company will pay to replace this one as well.....
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Hondurian photographs
And below are the pictures from Honduras, and the Bay Islands. Please note that it is excruciatingly painful to upload this amount of photos in one day, and if the bars weren´t closed, we would not have been this productive!!!! Let us know how much you love our updates please... we know you lurkers out there are shy, but we can see you!!!! Say hello :)
Rio Dulce and Livingston
Below are the pictures from our last days in Guatemala. ENJOYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
"I'm gonna get ya little fishy... " - The Cat, Red Dwarf
So the boat ride to Roatan was a little rough..... well it was a lot rough. Despite all odds though, none of the 4 of us got sick..... several others did though - the wonders of Dramamine! When we did finally arrive we were hoarded by a huge number of cab drivers, still with a dodgy belly, this was a little overwhelming but we managed to find a nice local guy who took us to the West End, via the shop and liquor store, to the sweet sounds of very loud Reggae!
We got to the west end and the place we wanted to stay at, The Mariposa Lodge, was full, so after a short trek we arrived at the 2nd choice, Chillies, and an awesome 2 bedroom cabana right at the back of the property, seemingly in the middle of the Jungle. We went out to explore and get some food and some cash and investigate the diving situation.
We arrived back at the lodge 2 hrs later, with no cash, all the ATMs were down, sore feet and a PADI course booked the next day with the Native Sons, starting at 830 am. So we opened up the rum! Several cocktails later we had walked down the beach with Angela and Ulla to a Reggae bar and were dancing away. 830 am came around a little too early!
Instead of it being just the 2 of us, 3 others had joined right then but fortunately our diving course started with a video. Our instructor, Andrea, was great and after a quick set-up tutorial, somehow, we found ourselves in a boat, suited up and ready to go. 3 - 2 - 1 and we were over the side backwards and in the ocean. Without really knowing what we were doing we ended up kneeling on the ocean floor (at least we were - not everyone had too much control!) and purposefully filling our masks with water and other fun stuff!! Despite the initial anxiousness and slightly dodgy feeling, it was awesome and we got to have our 1st experience of breathing under water, the reef, the little fish, the big fish and the general awesomeness of SCUBA - at least that is what I thought!
Who knew learning to dive took so much studying?! We watched more videos and read more chapters as the days progressed. We did "confined" water training in the bay and managed to stay out of the pool and everyday we had an open water dive. The reef in Roatan is dubbed as the 2nd best in the World, I have no basis for comparison, but would have to agree! As each day went on we both fell more and more in love with Scuba and the reading wasn't that bad!
Tuesday night was the last night for Angela, Ulla and Claudia (now that we had finally found her)so we all went out and had a few to drink, and then a few more! We also found out that Obama was the new President, so we had a few more!! Yay!! On Wednesday we woke up much earlier than we wanted and had our 3rd open water dive in the morning and came back for lunch, after which we took our final tests, and passed.... yay!! Only our 4th open water dive and we would be away!!
That afternoon things got messy..... I got ill and the power went out - no running water, no flushing toilet! And there was civil unrest on the Island. We stayed in! Come Thursday, still under the influence of a stomach bug, I was unable to dive but Jen went out and finished her course and came back a certified Open Water Diver! To celebrate we had lunch, and I kept it down... woooooo! Another quiet, powerless evening lay ahead and in the morning I was able to take my final dive and Jen had her 1st fun dive. Before lunch I was certified too and with the power back on we were even able to get some cash, pay our bill and get back on the road by lunch.
The boat ride back to La Ceiba was no where near as bad and we were able to enjoy our books and arrived safely on mainland Honduras, ready for a full 2 days of travel! We jumped on a bus and started our journey to Nicaragua, first stop Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.
6 hours later we arrived and took a cab to the hotel there, where we even had a TV! But no remote! Come morning we trotted over to the TICA bus office for the 9am bus all the way to Managua, Nicaragua. It was full. So the journey began. A cab to the other bus station, a chicken bus to El Paraiso, another to the border. Another chicken bus (chicken buses are old US school buses, made for little kids, most Central Americans fit into these seats. I, however, don't.) to Ocotal and then a bus from Ocotal to Managua. We had a cab take us to the other bus station were we finally arrived in Granada, Nicaragua around 730pm last night. Long day! We met a friendly Aussie girl and Coast Rican guy who led us to the hostel, we wished however we had taken a cab as after 45mins of walking with our packs, we were a little hot!!
After getting a room we needed to eat and desperately wanted a beer. Just our luck, no alcohol may be served here for the 3 days we are in towne due to the election..... what are the chances? Early to bed it was!
Today we are exploring here and deciding where to go next before we head to Costa Rica, maybe stay here, maybe to the beach to surf and chill, who knows??
Till next time....
I'm gonna get ya little fishy...........
We got to the west end and the place we wanted to stay at, The Mariposa Lodge, was full, so after a short trek we arrived at the 2nd choice, Chillies, and an awesome 2 bedroom cabana right at the back of the property, seemingly in the middle of the Jungle. We went out to explore and get some food and some cash and investigate the diving situation.
We arrived back at the lodge 2 hrs later, with no cash, all the ATMs were down, sore feet and a PADI course booked the next day with the Native Sons, starting at 830 am. So we opened up the rum! Several cocktails later we had walked down the beach with Angela and Ulla to a Reggae bar and were dancing away. 830 am came around a little too early!
Instead of it being just the 2 of us, 3 others had joined right then but fortunately our diving course started with a video. Our instructor, Andrea, was great and after a quick set-up tutorial, somehow, we found ourselves in a boat, suited up and ready to go. 3 - 2 - 1 and we were over the side backwards and in the ocean. Without really knowing what we were doing we ended up kneeling on the ocean floor (at least we were - not everyone had too much control!) and purposefully filling our masks with water and other fun stuff!! Despite the initial anxiousness and slightly dodgy feeling, it was awesome and we got to have our 1st experience of breathing under water, the reef, the little fish, the big fish and the general awesomeness of SCUBA - at least that is what I thought!
Who knew learning to dive took so much studying?! We watched more videos and read more chapters as the days progressed. We did "confined" water training in the bay and managed to stay out of the pool and everyday we had an open water dive. The reef in Roatan is dubbed as the 2nd best in the World, I have no basis for comparison, but would have to agree! As each day went on we both fell more and more in love with Scuba and the reading wasn't that bad!
Tuesday night was the last night for Angela, Ulla and Claudia (now that we had finally found her)so we all went out and had a few to drink, and then a few more! We also found out that Obama was the new President, so we had a few more!! Yay!! On Wednesday we woke up much earlier than we wanted and had our 3rd open water dive in the morning and came back for lunch, after which we took our final tests, and passed.... yay!! Only our 4th open water dive and we would be away!!
That afternoon things got messy..... I got ill and the power went out - no running water, no flushing toilet! And there was civil unrest on the Island. We stayed in! Come Thursday, still under the influence of a stomach bug, I was unable to dive but Jen went out and finished her course and came back a certified Open Water Diver! To celebrate we had lunch, and I kept it down... woooooo! Another quiet, powerless evening lay ahead and in the morning I was able to take my final dive and Jen had her 1st fun dive. Before lunch I was certified too and with the power back on we were even able to get some cash, pay our bill and get back on the road by lunch.
The boat ride back to La Ceiba was no where near as bad and we were able to enjoy our books and arrived safely on mainland Honduras, ready for a full 2 days of travel! We jumped on a bus and started our journey to Nicaragua, first stop Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.
6 hours later we arrived and took a cab to the hotel there, where we even had a TV! But no remote! Come morning we trotted over to the TICA bus office for the 9am bus all the way to Managua, Nicaragua. It was full. So the journey began. A cab to the other bus station, a chicken bus to El Paraiso, another to the border. Another chicken bus (chicken buses are old US school buses, made for little kids, most Central Americans fit into these seats. I, however, don't.) to Ocotal and then a bus from Ocotal to Managua. We had a cab take us to the other bus station were we finally arrived in Granada, Nicaragua around 730pm last night. Long day! We met a friendly Aussie girl and Coast Rican guy who led us to the hostel, we wished however we had taken a cab as after 45mins of walking with our packs, we were a little hot!!
After getting a room we needed to eat and desperately wanted a beer. Just our luck, no alcohol may be served here for the 3 days we are in towne due to the election..... what are the chances? Early to bed it was!
Today we are exploring here and deciding where to go next before we head to Costa Rica, maybe stay here, maybe to the beach to surf and chill, who knows??
Till next time....
I'm gonna get ya little fishy...........
To bring you slightly up to speed.....
Hmmm where were we.. where were we... ? Ahh yes! Volcanic excursion!! So the lava was tumbling down toward us. It was so unpredictable, with giant pieces of molten rock just rolling wherever it pleased. In retrospect, it really was quite dangerous, and we were tempting the gods, but alas, we are still alive to tell our tale. We approached the lava to take the obligatory pictures, warmed our hands and faces, toasted some marshmallows, then away we went. Back through the pitch black, the howling wind, and the unsteady rocks which tumbled down the volcano with every step. Thankfully only one person fell, and wasn´t hurt too terribly. I was wishing for a more powerful flashlight, and the rocks were so treacherous! After 40 minutes, we made it back to the tents, and climbed in to get any warmth we could. We fell asleep to the wind whipping our tent violently, and awoke many times throughout the night
We woke up at dawn, tore down camp, and admired the spectacular view. Absolutely once in a lifetime, amazing experience. We trekked back down to civilization pretty quickly, and were in Antigua, exhausted, by 10am. We unpacked, said goodbye to our amazing guides, and went in search of a hearty breakfast and some internet time before we departed for Rio Dulce. We caught the minibus to Guatemala City at 1, and then the bus to Rio Dulce at 4:30. Uneventful ride, consisting of scattered sleep and reading. We finally arrived in Rio Dulce at 11, where we hopped in a cab to Backpackers Hostel right on the water. We had a few drinks and some dinner, and went to bed in the 25+ person dorm (only $2.50 per person, what a deal!!).
We awoke the following day, Halloween! We hopped in the water shuttle to go up the river to the rasta town of Livingston, right on the Carribean. It was supposed to be about an hour long ride, but of course, things on this trip are never that simple! We went around picking up tourists and locals from many different places throughout the town, picking up the last batch about 45 minutes later. This crowd was so special. The minute they approached, they began spazzing out about how crowded the boat was, how the last one with this many people flipped over and sank, how it was immoral to put people in this situation, how dangerous it was to have no life jackets, etc. However, they had no qualms about jumping in, shoving the poor kid with the chicken in his lap to the floor, and pulling out their massive video cameras. Classic gringos, thanks guys! Americans have a tough enough time traveling without people like you tainting our reputation even more!! So about 10 minutes in, another boat pulled up beside us. I guess the weight was a bit much for our current boat, so we swapped to the other one, mid river.
Ten minutes later, the motor stopped. Ha. Awesome. It all honesty, the current wasn´t so bad, and it would have been easy to swim ashore, though a bummer to loose all of our belongings. The biggest guy on the boat began to scream. He was saying he needed ot go back to his hotel, how it was illegal to treat people this way, how if the boat didn´t turn around immediately, HE was going to turn the boat around. The boat began to rock. Thankfully, another boat pulled off and sent him away. As he drove off, he screamed how we should all get a refund, and how horrible things were in Guatemala. Oh joy. After he was out of sight, everyone began to chuckle and say they wished they had caught his outburst on camera. The boat immediately went ashore once the motor began to work, and we all received life jackets. Then, finally, away we went! The boat ride was gorgeous, we road through the jungle, past tiny water huts, local fishermen, lily pads, hot springs, and more.
It was so serene. We finally arrived in Livingston around noon, and set off to find a hotel. The town was alright, not really all it was cracked up to be by the guidebook and people we had met. Mainly a lot of cruiseship passengers wandering around, buying tacky souvineers, and lots of overpriced restaurants. However, our hotel had a fantastic balcony with hammocks, from where we could sit back, watch the passerbys on the streets, and drink cheap beer! So we spent our afternoon drinking, reading and writing, with the sounds of reggae in the background.
Dinner over more beers, and then some Coco Locos, which are coconuts filled with rum. MMMM.... Happy Halloween!!!!
The following morning, we took the 7am water shuttle to Puerto Barrios, and then another bus to the Honduran border. We met some lovely German girls, who were also heading towards the Bay Islands that day. We decided to team up with Angela and Ulla, and travel in a group. Four bus journeys later, we arrived in La Ceiba. It was pitch black, and way past the last boat rides to the islands, so we decided to find a hotel. We went to many places, then decided to head back to the first place we saw. It was torrentially downpouring, the streets were flooded, and there were sketchy characters around every corner. Ulla and Angela had been traveling with their friend Claudia, a girl from Guatemala, and she was with us until the rain got heavier, then she hopped into a cab. We didn´t see her for days.
We went back to the hotel, dried off, and went in search of food. As we left, the owner of the hotel said that we were in a very bad area, that there wasn´t food anywhere nearby, and that it wasn´t safe, even for four people to walk together. We ventured out anyway. We wandered for a long while, before we passed an expats bar, where a man told us that there was a Pizza Hut down the street. Victory!! We had some pizza, then went back and passed out.
We were unsure of whether the boats would be running the next morning, due to the heavy rain, but the hotel owner called, and we were in luck! We rushed off to the dock and bought our tickets. Finally, something was going our way!!
We woke up at dawn, tore down camp, and admired the spectacular view. Absolutely once in a lifetime, amazing experience. We trekked back down to civilization pretty quickly, and were in Antigua, exhausted, by 10am. We unpacked, said goodbye to our amazing guides, and went in search of a hearty breakfast and some internet time before we departed for Rio Dulce. We caught the minibus to Guatemala City at 1, and then the bus to Rio Dulce at 4:30. Uneventful ride, consisting of scattered sleep and reading. We finally arrived in Rio Dulce at 11, where we hopped in a cab to Backpackers Hostel right on the water. We had a few drinks and some dinner, and went to bed in the 25+ person dorm (only $2.50 per person, what a deal!!).
We awoke the following day, Halloween! We hopped in the water shuttle to go up the river to the rasta town of Livingston, right on the Carribean. It was supposed to be about an hour long ride, but of course, things on this trip are never that simple! We went around picking up tourists and locals from many different places throughout the town, picking up the last batch about 45 minutes later. This crowd was so special. The minute they approached, they began spazzing out about how crowded the boat was, how the last one with this many people flipped over and sank, how it was immoral to put people in this situation, how dangerous it was to have no life jackets, etc. However, they had no qualms about jumping in, shoving the poor kid with the chicken in his lap to the floor, and pulling out their massive video cameras. Classic gringos, thanks guys! Americans have a tough enough time traveling without people like you tainting our reputation even more!! So about 10 minutes in, another boat pulled up beside us. I guess the weight was a bit much for our current boat, so we swapped to the other one, mid river.
Ten minutes later, the motor stopped. Ha. Awesome. It all honesty, the current wasn´t so bad, and it would have been easy to swim ashore, though a bummer to loose all of our belongings. The biggest guy on the boat began to scream. He was saying he needed ot go back to his hotel, how it was illegal to treat people this way, how if the boat didn´t turn around immediately, HE was going to turn the boat around. The boat began to rock. Thankfully, another boat pulled off and sent him away. As he drove off, he screamed how we should all get a refund, and how horrible things were in Guatemala. Oh joy. After he was out of sight, everyone began to chuckle and say they wished they had caught his outburst on camera. The boat immediately went ashore once the motor began to work, and we all received life jackets. Then, finally, away we went! The boat ride was gorgeous, we road through the jungle, past tiny water huts, local fishermen, lily pads, hot springs, and more.
It was so serene. We finally arrived in Livingston around noon, and set off to find a hotel. The town was alright, not really all it was cracked up to be by the guidebook and people we had met. Mainly a lot of cruiseship passengers wandering around, buying tacky souvineers, and lots of overpriced restaurants. However, our hotel had a fantastic balcony with hammocks, from where we could sit back, watch the passerbys on the streets, and drink cheap beer! So we spent our afternoon drinking, reading and writing, with the sounds of reggae in the background.
Dinner over more beers, and then some Coco Locos, which are coconuts filled with rum. MMMM.... Happy Halloween!!!!
The following morning, we took the 7am water shuttle to Puerto Barrios, and then another bus to the Honduran border. We met some lovely German girls, who were also heading towards the Bay Islands that day. We decided to team up with Angela and Ulla, and travel in a group. Four bus journeys later, we arrived in La Ceiba. It was pitch black, and way past the last boat rides to the islands, so we decided to find a hotel. We went to many places, then decided to head back to the first place we saw. It was torrentially downpouring, the streets were flooded, and there were sketchy characters around every corner. Ulla and Angela had been traveling with their friend Claudia, a girl from Guatemala, and she was with us until the rain got heavier, then she hopped into a cab. We didn´t see her for days.
We went back to the hotel, dried off, and went in search of food. As we left, the owner of the hotel said that we were in a very bad area, that there wasn´t food anywhere nearby, and that it wasn´t safe, even for four people to walk together. We ventured out anyway. We wandered for a long while, before we passed an expats bar, where a man told us that there was a Pizza Hut down the street. Victory!! We had some pizza, then went back and passed out.
We were unsure of whether the boats would be running the next morning, due to the heavy rain, but the hotel owner called, and we were in luck! We rushed off to the dock and bought our tickets. Finally, something was going our way!!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
We are alive!
Sorry for the lack of updates, we have been stranded in paradise! From Antigua we traveled up the Rio Dulce to Livingston, then off to Honduras! La Ceiba was a shithole, but then we were off to the Bay Islands. We were in Roatan, getting PADI certified and having a blast. There was a bit of civil unrest, some strikes, 48 hours without water or power, and then Oli got Monte´s revenge!! Poor guy. We left on Friday, and made it to Teguc. for the evening. We just arrived in Granada, Nicaragua, after 11 hours, 3 taxis, and 5 chicken bus rides. Wooooo! We will give a thorough update manaña. Hope everyone is well!
YAY OBAMA!!!!!
Sorry for the lack of updates, we have been stranded in paradise! From Antigua we traveled up the Rio Dulce to Livingston, then off to Honduras! La Ceiba was a shithole, but then we were off to the Bay Islands. We were in Roatan, getting PADI certified and having a blast. There was a bit of civil unrest, some strikes, 48 hours without water or power, and then Oli got Monte´s revenge!! Poor guy. We left on Friday, and made it to Teguc. for the evening. We just arrived in Granada, Nicaragua, after 11 hours, 3 taxis, and 5 chicken bus rides. Wooooo! We will give a thorough update manaña. Hope everyone is well!
YAY OBAMA!!!!!
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