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!!!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
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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