We left Costa Rica two weeks ago, and I'm slightly embarrassed that this post took so long to write. But, here it is.
After spending time in Granada, Nicaragua, which turned out to be our favorite city of the trip, we took a boat to Isle de Ometepe. Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes, Concepcion and Maderas. The ferry to Ometepe was a much better experience than the one to Utila at the beginning of our trip. This was due to a number of reasons, the main one being we were on a lake instead of the ocean. Taking dramamine also helped/knocked me out. Once we got to Ometepe, we had to take a rickety old school bus to the hostel we were hoping to stay at. After walking through the rain and a very muddy road we reached the hostel only to be told that they were full due to a Quinceañera. Luckily (or not so luckily as we would soon find out) they had a sister hostel right next door that had a room available. I believe we took a nap as soon as we set our bags down (our bus left Granada at 5 A.M.) and once we woke up we tried to find an entrance to a trail that was mentioned in the Lonely Planet book and known for seeing monkeys. We managed to pass the trail and by the time we figured it out, we decided we had done enough walking and would go back to the trail the next day. It had also started to rain, so we weren't really in the mood to go monkey spotting. We arrived back at our hostel just in time to hear the speaker testing for the Quinceañera. The "testing" lasted from about 3 o'clock in the afternoon to whenever the party ended, sometime after we went to sleep. It's amazing what ear plugs can do for you!
The next morning we headed out to find the trail that would lead us to monkeys. It was a beautiful trail overlooking Lake Nicaragua and one of the volcanoes. At the very beginning of the trail we reached a little obstacle. I'm guessing a little stream was highly flooded and the only way to continue on the trail was to wade through it. So, Nick and I took off our boots and socks, hiked our shorts up and walked through a river that was probably about 40 feet wide and 2 1/2 feet deep. There were multiple paths to take on the trail and it was easy to spend a couple of hours walking around. Just as I was starting to get discouraged because we had yet to spot a monkey, we found a tree full of them! There were probably 10 or so Howler monkeys sitting in the tree, including a baby. You can check out an informational video on Howler monkeys here. After watching the monkeys for about 20 minutes we decided we should start heading back to our hostel as we needed to check out by a certain time. On our walk back we spotted another Howler monkey and her baby. Since the monkey was not howling at the moment, Nick tried instigating the monkey by howling at it. I think the monkey was extremely offended by Nick's attempt at mimicking her howl. She started howling and then started to scale the tree branches closer and closer to us. Since she had a baby she was trying to protect and Nick looked pretty scary, I told Nick to knock it off and suggested we start speed walking away from the monkey. I was in no mood to get in a fight with a monkey.
Our next stop was the other side of the island. We needed to catch a bus to do this. So, we walked back down the muddy road to reach the main road of the island and waited. The people at our hostel thought that the bus should pass by in about 20 minutes. Now, you would think that by this point in the trip we have figured out that buses aren't always reliable in terms of what time they pass through, and they especially aren't reliable on Sundays. After standing on the side of the road for exactly an hour, the bus came. We knew we would need to stop in a different town and change buses in order to get to our final destination. However, we did not know that we would need to waste 3 hours in this other town. Again, it was a Sunday so trying to waste 3 hours was not an easy feat. We started by sitting under a pavilion and reading books. A stray dog came up and practically climbed in my lap. I had to use all of my strength to not reach out and pet and hug the dog, as it was probably crawling with fleas and other insects and/or diseases. This poor dog, which was heartbreakingly skinny followed us around the park and surrounding areas for about 20 minutes. We found a restaurant that was open and wasted the rest of our time watching a soccer game and eating a small snack at the restaurant. Eventually we made it to our final destination, a beautiful hostel right on the lake with a dock, kayaks, hammocks and more.
Unfortunately, this hostel was also connected to a public boat landing/little beach and the only unfortunate thing to happen on the trip happened here. Just as we did with any other hostel we stayed at, we put our shoes outside our door so they wouldn't stink up our room. (Rain, sweat, heat...just not a great combination) We went to the buffet dinner that the hostel puts on every night and after returning to our room I noticed that my tennis shoes were gone. Although it is unfortunate my tennis shoes were stolen, we were very lucky that both of our hiking boots and Nick's tennis shoes, which were also sitting outside, were still there. I'm sure whoever took the shoes needed them much more than I did, and now I have a GREAT excuse to go shoe shopping!
Early the next morning we set off to hike the volcano Maderas. We had set up a guide the night before, as it is illegal to hike the volcanoes without one. The hike was beautiful and we saw some monkeys along the way, though it was a pretty difficult hike. There were numerous times that I was hoisting myself up rock walls using tree branches and roots, hoping that my feet wouldn't slip from the small crevices that I managed to jam them into. It took about 3 1/2 hours to make it to the top, which turned out to be pretty anti-climatic. The crater was covered in cloud and it was impossible to see down into the volcano or anything around it. It was also freezing up at the top. After having lunch at the top we started our descent. We got a couple of good pictures of the volcano on the other side of the island.
The next day, Tuesday, July 19th, we spent relaxing, as we were pretty tired from climbing a volcano the day before. We did some kayaking around the lake and circled Monkey Island but only saw one monkey.
Wednesday, July 20th, was day one of our travels from Ometepe, Nicaragua to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. Now, the border crossing we needed to use was in the northwest corner of Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo is in the southeast corner of Costa Rica. We knew it would be a long trip, but we were determined to get to Puerto Viejo to scuba dive one last time. Wednesday was a full day of travel, stopping in San Jose to sleep. The day was pretty boring and there is not really anything to write about, accept for the ferry ride back to the mainland of Nicaragua. This ferry was by far in the best shape of any of the boats we previously were on. The seats were padded, there were tables and they served food and drinks. The ferry also had biggish bathrooms which I happened to use. It was in the bathroom that I realized just how different things are in the US versus Nicaragua. I saw a live hen, in a plastic bag, in the bathroom, on the ferry. It was quite the experience.
We arrived in Puerto Viejo on Thursday and spent the day walking around the very, very touristy city. Friday we went scuba diving. The visibility was unfortunately pretty bad and the coral did not even come close to comparing to what we saw in Utila, but we did spot a turtle! Other things we saw included many crabs and shrimp/lobsters and a lot of lion fish.
On Saturday we started our adventure to our last destination, Tortuguero. We knew it would be tricky to get there, yet we were determined to not go back to San Jose to do so. There was a boat that would leave from Puerto Limon that would get us to Tortuguero. So, we took a bus from Puerto Viejo to Puerto Limon and then a taxi to the boat dock to catch the boat. Little did we know that the boat wouldn't leave unless there were six people going. When we arrived, which was about an hour before the boat was to leave, we were the only ones there. We had very few options at this point, as we were in a bit of time crunch with our trip ending and needed to get to Tortuguero that night. Option #1: Wait at the dock until the scheduled departure time. If more people come, we pay $35 each for the boat and get to Tortuguero that night. If more people don't come, we pay $35 six times to cover the cost of six people or the boat doesn't leave that day. Option #2: Our taxi driver would drive us the 2 1/2 hours to the a town where we would catch a different boat (very reliable boats that leave every day at a certain time - tourist filled). Oh, he would take us there for $100, no less. Because we already had reservations in Tortuguero for a hostel, as well as reservations for a turtle tour that night we had no choice but to fork over the $100 and take the taxi. We knew when the boats were supposed to leave the other port and we knew that the 2 1/2 hour drive away would only give us about a 30 minute wiggle room to catch the boat. Long story short, our taxi driver got lost about 500 times down some muddy dirt roads, later exclaiming that "All the roads look the same" and "I've only been here two times before". I was crossing my fingers the entire time, hoping that we wouldn't get stuck in the mud or that we wouldn't get a flat tire. Finally, we arrived to the boat place 15 minutes after they were supposed to leave. Thank goodness that nothing runs on time in Central America and we were able to get on a boat to travel the rest of the way to Tortuguero, which is only accessible by boat. So, after an hour boat ride through what seemed like the jungle, we made it to Tortuguero.
That night we met up with our guide at 9:30 to head out on our turtle watch. Late July through October is the high season for turtles to lay their eggs along this particular stretch of beach. We waited with our guide until she was radioed from the turtle spotters on the beach. Then we made our way along the beach in search of the Green turtles. We ended up seeing three turtles. Two of the turtles we watched crawl back to sea. Apparently they had started to dig their hole, felt something they didn't like, so decided to call it quits for the night. Fortunately the last turtle we saw did not feel anything strange. We got to watch the turtle lay her eggs from an outrageously close distance. I mean that we were within a foot away from the turtle, crouched right down next to it. The turtles are huge, too! I would say that the turtle was about 4 feet long, and it's shell was about 2 1/2 feet wide. We watched the turtle for about 45 minutes and then let her be to finish things up. Apparently the turtles are in a trance when they lay their eggs and aren't bothered by much around them. The whole process takes about two hours. Sadly, we were not able to take any pictures of the turtles as the flash would disturb them. Besides diving, watching the turtle lay her eggs was one of the main highlights for me on this trip.
Monday morning we started our journey back to San Jose for one final activity: dinner with an old co-worker of Nick's dad. They had a traditional Costa Rican meal for us, which was pretty delicious and lots and lots of exotic fruits for us to try! They were extremely friendly, and it was the perfect way to end our trip.
Tuesday we flew out of Costa Rica, headed for Chicago. We spent the night in Chicago at Nick's old roommate, Mike's apartment. Wednesday was supposed to entail a short one hour flight from Chicago to Minneapolis. But what fun would that be?? Instead, our flight got canceled due to weather and we were put on standby for a flight 3 hours later. Luckily we were able to get on the flight and we did end up making it back to Minneapolis.
So, that's it. Nick started work five days after we returned, and I start back up with school workshops in three weeks. Pictures are on facebook. Overall the trip was amazing, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience as my first time out of the country. Traveling like this really helps you to appreciate what you have back home, but at the same time helps you to appreciate the laid-back, simplistic lifestyles of others. Our next trip will most likely be somewhere we can use our scuba certification and likely be much shorter than six weeks long. Until our next trip...
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Back to the US of A
In approximately six hours our plane will be taking off from San Jose, headed for Fort Lauderdale. It´s 6:30 in the morning here and I can´t sleep anymore... I think I´m almost as excited as the night before and morning of that I left for Honduras. Although the trip has been absolutely wonderful, there are some things back home that I will be happy to have again, or in some cases, not have (long, crowded, non-air conditioned buses).
It has been awhile since the last post and a lot has happened. We spent three days on an island in Nicaragua, hiked a volcano, crossed the border into Costa Rica and made our way from northwest Costa Rica to southeast Costa Rica in about 12 hours, went scuba diving, watched a green turtle lay her eggs and had dinner with a friend of Nick´s dad, who lives in San Jose.
There will be one more post once we are back, giving detail to all the above activities. Look for it.
It has been awhile since the last post and a lot has happened. We spent three days on an island in Nicaragua, hiked a volcano, crossed the border into Costa Rica and made our way from northwest Costa Rica to southeast Costa Rica in about 12 hours, went scuba diving, watched a green turtle lay her eggs and had dinner with a friend of Nick´s dad, who lives in San Jose.
There will be one more post once we are back, giving detail to all the above activities. Look for it.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Granada: Tourist Hot Spot of Nicaragua
We arrived in the beautiful city of Granada on Monday afternoon. After walking from hostel to hostel, either being told they were full due to a group of 30 arriving later in the day or deducing that the place looked like a complete bore, we decided on a place that a man next to a horse and carriage recommended. Hostel Libertad. When we first walked in it seemed to be okay. Lots of hammocks, a bar, in a decent location, and lots of information on things to do. Upon further investigation, the so-called kitchen was barely usable, the water wasn´t working for at least 5 hours, and when it did start working the water trickled out of the faucet so slowly that it would have taken me an hour to take a shower. Oh, and there was a really stinky girl lounging around, which caused both of us to cringe when the wind blew the wrong way and would cause Nick to shudder sporadically throughout the day when the memory of "stinky girl", as we began to call her, crept into his mind. Needless to say, before going to bed that first night at Libertad, we had decided we would wake up early the next morning in search of a new hostel.
This was one of the best decisions we made the entire trip (besides deciding to get scuba certified). We have now been at Hostel Oasis for three happy days/nights. This place is, by far, the best hostel we have been at the entire trip. First of all, it´s huge. So, so, so many rooms and dorms. Tables, rocking chairs and hammocks galore. A kitchen which we use at least once a day. The best showers, which are even shared! A decent sized book exchange and game selection. A pool. And so many friendly backpackers. I'm a little sad that tonight is our last night at Oasis.
Besides Oasis, other great things about Granada include beautiful churches, beautiful colorful buildings lining the streets, delicious chocolate banana bread, Lake Nicaragua and all the little islands, and the most beautiful lake in the world.
One afternoon we spent in a canoe on Lake Nicaragua, navigating through the 365 islands that are right along shore. Well, we didn´t really see all 365 islands, but we did see a lot! We also heard, and sort of saw, some howler monkeys high up in the trees. Another day, which is ranking towards the top of the list as one of the best things of the trip, was spent at Lago de Apoyo, a crater lake, that is said to be one of the best swims in Central America. And it was. The water was warm, was crystal clear, had no weeds, and was surrounded by the most beautiful mountain and volcano background. Tonight is the baseball game, and we are crossing our fingers for this to be the one day it doesn´t rain in the evening.
Tomorrow we leave for Isle (Island) de Ometepe. If you watched Survivor this past season, the name "Ometepe" and "Zapatura" should both sound familiar. Both were the names of the teams on Survivor and both are islands on Lago de Nicaragua. After three or four days on Ometepe, we depart Nicaragua for Costa Rica, the sign that our trip is quickly coming to an end. We have decided that we will be putting our scuba certification to use in Costa Rica, but have yet to decide if we want to dive on the Pacific side (not as clear/no reef, but shorter bus ride from Nicaragua) or on the Carribean side (live reef, dolphin tours, but about a 12 hour bus ride from Nicarauga). We have decided we will decide on Ometepe.
One last hurrah scuba diving and one night of hopefully seeing the turtles lay their eggs and/or retreat back to sea will finish up our trip in Costa Rica. One month ago today we were just arriving on the island of Utila. It is amazing how many completely different things we have experienced in a months time.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
More than halfway
I've been sitting still at the computer at the hostel we are currently staying at for about thirty minutes now, and I cannot stop sweating. We are in Leon, Nicaragua and out of the mountains for the remainder of our trip. It is considerably warmer in the lowlands. 90 degrees, to be exact, but the online weather report tells me it feels like 99.
We are spending longer amounts of time in each city in Nicaragua, which is causing the days to kind of all blend together. It was easier to keep track of the things we did when we were hopping from place to place and activity to activity.
Now that we have been in Nicaragua for about a week, we have come up with a couple of differences that we have noticed between Honduras and Nicargua:
Honduras
Okay, back to the trip. We spent about three days in Matagalpa. A lot of the time was spent walking around the city. Monday we went to the chocolate factory, only to find out they weren't making chocolate on Monday (Lonely Planet did NOT inform us of this piece of information). Since the main reason we chose to come to Matagalpa was to go to the chocolate factory, we decided to go on Tuesday. I think we were a little let down by the whole thing. We were hoping to see the entire process of chocolate being made, from seed to bar, kind of like in a factory on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. This "factory" has two employees working a day. One day of the week they crack open the cacao seeds to get at the chocolate seed. The rest of the days the seeds go into machines, mix with sugar and then mix and mix and mix. We did buy a few bars, which were good, but not the best I've ever had.
After the chocolate factory we took a short taxi ride to the town of San Ramon. Lonley Planet had a short write up about this Co-op in San Ramon that lets you tour a coffee plantation, learn to make typical Nicaraguan food, see their farming, etc. We got dropped off at the Co-op headquarters, really had no idea who to talk to or what to do, but ended up getting set up to take a tour of a coffee plantation and then stay with a family who lives on the Co-op's grounds (something like that...). The coffee plantation was much like the chocolate factory, kind of a let down. It is not coffee season, so the only thing we could look at was unripe coffee plants. One of the best parts of the tour was when our guide knocked down some mangos from a tree and they were delicious. We stayed with a family in their "guesthouse" (they are set up with tourists often) and learned how to make corn tortillas. It was a neat experience, living for half a day with a rural Nicaraguan family, although we didn't think it was quite as neat as the $50 the lady totaled up as we were getting ready to pay and leave. Oh well.
Now we are in Leon, which is turning out to be a pretty neat city. There are a lot of beautiful churches and many different types of museums. The restaurants are full of variety, and the hostel we are staying at is full of backpackers (most of our hotels up until now have been pretty empty). Yesterday we took a 45 minute bus ride to the Pacific Ocean and spent the day at the beach. Today we went to an art museum and are about to take a roof top tour of the cathedral. We'll be in Leon until Monday and then Granada for about four days. In Granada we plan to attend a baseball game. It's nice being in the same city for a few days. Besides not needing to pack our bags and catch a bus all the time, it's nice to be able to cook our own meals in the hostel kitchen. I can't believe that in 17 days we will be on a plane heading back to the US.
We are spending longer amounts of time in each city in Nicaragua, which is causing the days to kind of all blend together. It was easier to keep track of the things we did when we were hopping from place to place and activity to activity.
Now that we have been in Nicaragua for about a week, we have come up with a couple of differences that we have noticed between Honduras and Nicargua:
Honduras
- more mountains
- smaller cities
- less variety in the food
- very little diversity in the population
- bigger, more up to date/commercialized cities (for example, I have seen two Payless shoe stores, one in Matagalpa and one in Leon)
- more diverse population (when compared to Honduras)
- strange vendors on buses
- attempting, by having trash cans on the sidewalks, to clean up the country. There is still trash/litter all over, but not nearly as bad as it was in Honduras.
Okay, back to the trip. We spent about three days in Matagalpa. A lot of the time was spent walking around the city. Monday we went to the chocolate factory, only to find out they weren't making chocolate on Monday (Lonely Planet did NOT inform us of this piece of information). Since the main reason we chose to come to Matagalpa was to go to the chocolate factory, we decided to go on Tuesday. I think we were a little let down by the whole thing. We were hoping to see the entire process of chocolate being made, from seed to bar, kind of like in a factory on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. This "factory" has two employees working a day. One day of the week they crack open the cacao seeds to get at the chocolate seed. The rest of the days the seeds go into machines, mix with sugar and then mix and mix and mix. We did buy a few bars, which were good, but not the best I've ever had.
After the chocolate factory we took a short taxi ride to the town of San Ramon. Lonley Planet had a short write up about this Co-op in San Ramon that lets you tour a coffee plantation, learn to make typical Nicaraguan food, see their farming, etc. We got dropped off at the Co-op headquarters, really had no idea who to talk to or what to do, but ended up getting set up to take a tour of a coffee plantation and then stay with a family who lives on the Co-op's grounds (something like that...). The coffee plantation was much like the chocolate factory, kind of a let down. It is not coffee season, so the only thing we could look at was unripe coffee plants. One of the best parts of the tour was when our guide knocked down some mangos from a tree and they were delicious. We stayed with a family in their "guesthouse" (they are set up with tourists often) and learned how to make corn tortillas. It was a neat experience, living for half a day with a rural Nicaraguan family, although we didn't think it was quite as neat as the $50 the lady totaled up as we were getting ready to pay and leave. Oh well.
Now we are in Leon, which is turning out to be a pretty neat city. There are a lot of beautiful churches and many different types of museums. The restaurants are full of variety, and the hostel we are staying at is full of backpackers (most of our hotels up until now have been pretty empty). Yesterday we took a 45 minute bus ride to the Pacific Ocean and spent the day at the beach. Today we went to an art museum and are about to take a roof top tour of the cathedral. We'll be in Leon until Monday and then Granada for about four days. In Granada we plan to attend a baseball game. It's nice being in the same city for a few days. Besides not needing to pack our bags and catch a bus all the time, it's nice to be able to cook our own meals in the hostel kitchen. I can't believe that in 17 days we will be on a plane heading back to the US.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Adios, Honduras. Hola, Nicaragua!
We have completed our time in Honduras and are currently in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. We will be in Nicaragua for two and a half weeks and then in Costa Rica for about five days to finish off our trip.
We were in Gracias, Honduras from Monday, June 27th to Friday, July 1st. Gracias is a pretty small town, maybe around 9,000 people and a pretty poor town. The city was the recommended base for climbing the tallest mountain in Honduras.
On Wednesday, June 29th we started our hike in Parque Nacional Celaque. This particular hike does not require a guide, so we decided to do it on our own. We hiked for five hours the first day, up to a "campsite" - a couple of logs holding up a tin roof. About an hour after setting up our tent it started to pour. We were thankful for that little shelter, since the tent that we rented from a store in Gracias was not of the best quality. As we were couped up in the little tent while it rained, we decided that it was a really good decision to not hire a guide, as it would have made for a pretty awkward, rainy afternoon. The hike up was tiring, but overall not too bad, except for the last hour and a half which was pretty steep. Only one bad thing happened on the hike up - we saw a snake off to the side of the trail.
We woke up early, after a restless night in the tent, to hike up the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. It took about an hour and half to reach the very top, which was quite the accomplishment, however the view was a little disappointing. We were up so high that we were above the clouds, so we couldn´t see too much. After having a celebratory apple at the top, we started our hike back down the mountain. Although the hike down was less exhausting, it was certainly more painful on the knees, feet and legs. Once we were back in Gracias we celebrated by going to a bar/restaurant for a delicous pizza and even more delicious frozen mojitos!
On Friday, July 1st we decided to go to the hot springs early in the morning to let our aching bodies soak in warm water. Oh yes, I should mention that the shower at our hotel in Gracias was ice cold, so the hot springs were a nice treat. After the hot springs we packed up and tried to figure out how to get to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. I felt like I was on Amazing Race for this trip. We first had to take a bus from Gracias to San Juan, then get on a different bus to La Esperanza. The bus to La Experanza was built to comfortably fit about 25 people. There were about 45 people on the bus. It rained the entire way, which was fine for a day of traveling, except that our bags were strapped to the top of the bus. Now, the roads in Honduras were not always in the best condition, and the rain made them considerably worse. The bus with 45 people on it got stuck in the mud. Just when I thought we would need to all get off the bus to lighten the load and/or push, the locals started jumping up and down inside the bus. Nick and I joined in, and after about two minutes the bus was on its way. It was quite the experience. After arriving in La Esperanza we had to transfer again to get to Tegucigalpa. This final bus started taking off as we were still walking to a seat. If there is one thing I have learned from this trip, it is that you just have to trust things will work out.
The only reason for going to Tegucigalpa was to get a bus to Nicaragua. After spending the night in Tegucigalpa, two taxi rides, four buses, and 11 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. We will be here for a couple more days before heading to some small villages.
Happy 4th of July to everyone back home. We will spend the 4th at a chocolate factory in Nicaragua!
We were in Gracias, Honduras from Monday, June 27th to Friday, July 1st. Gracias is a pretty small town, maybe around 9,000 people and a pretty poor town. The city was the recommended base for climbing the tallest mountain in Honduras.
On Wednesday, June 29th we started our hike in Parque Nacional Celaque. This particular hike does not require a guide, so we decided to do it on our own. We hiked for five hours the first day, up to a "campsite" - a couple of logs holding up a tin roof. About an hour after setting up our tent it started to pour. We were thankful for that little shelter, since the tent that we rented from a store in Gracias was not of the best quality. As we were couped up in the little tent while it rained, we decided that it was a really good decision to not hire a guide, as it would have made for a pretty awkward, rainy afternoon. The hike up was tiring, but overall not too bad, except for the last hour and a half which was pretty steep. Only one bad thing happened on the hike up - we saw a snake off to the side of the trail.
We woke up early, after a restless night in the tent, to hike up the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. It took about an hour and half to reach the very top, which was quite the accomplishment, however the view was a little disappointing. We were up so high that we were above the clouds, so we couldn´t see too much. After having a celebratory apple at the top, we started our hike back down the mountain. Although the hike down was less exhausting, it was certainly more painful on the knees, feet and legs. Once we were back in Gracias we celebrated by going to a bar/restaurant for a delicous pizza and even more delicious frozen mojitos!
On Friday, July 1st we decided to go to the hot springs early in the morning to let our aching bodies soak in warm water. Oh yes, I should mention that the shower at our hotel in Gracias was ice cold, so the hot springs were a nice treat. After the hot springs we packed up and tried to figure out how to get to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. I felt like I was on Amazing Race for this trip. We first had to take a bus from Gracias to San Juan, then get on a different bus to La Esperanza. The bus to La Experanza was built to comfortably fit about 25 people. There were about 45 people on the bus. It rained the entire way, which was fine for a day of traveling, except that our bags were strapped to the top of the bus. Now, the roads in Honduras were not always in the best condition, and the rain made them considerably worse. The bus with 45 people on it got stuck in the mud. Just when I thought we would need to all get off the bus to lighten the load and/or push, the locals started jumping up and down inside the bus. Nick and I joined in, and after about two minutes the bus was on its way. It was quite the experience. After arriving in La Esperanza we had to transfer again to get to Tegucigalpa. This final bus started taking off as we were still walking to a seat. If there is one thing I have learned from this trip, it is that you just have to trust things will work out.
The only reason for going to Tegucigalpa was to get a bus to Nicaragua. After spending the night in Tegucigalpa, two taxi rides, four buses, and 11 hours later we arrived at our hotel in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. We will be here for a couple more days before heading to some small villages.
Happy 4th of July to everyone back home. We will spend the 4th at a chocolate factory in Nicaragua!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Copan Ruinas
We successfully made it from Copan to our next destination, Gracias. Due to recent internet troubles, we were not hopeful in regards to the internet we would come across in Gracias, so I do not happen to have my journal with me at the moment which includes all the little things I was supposed to blog about.
I will fill in what I forget a little later, perhaps tomorrow, or for sure by the end of the week.
Copan was a beautiful little town and the people were extremely friendly. We were in Copan for three nights, two full days, I believe. On the first day we walked about 30 minutes to Macaw Mountain, a wonderful bird reserve. More on that when I have my detail book.
On the second day in Copan we went to the see the Copan Ruins. I can try to describe it, but I wouldn´t do it justice. Look for pictures when we return. Nick would be angry if I left this detail out, though: We were the very first people at the Ruins. Ever. We basically discovered it. Or we were just the first people through the gate on Sunday. Either way, it was awesome seeing all the structures without all the people. The only problem was that we had no idea what we were looking at. So, after spending about two hours exploring on our own, we hired a guide to walk us through and explain it all to us. It was fascinating to hear all of the rituals they had, such as killing the person who performed the best at their ball game (sending him to the God´s, apparently). Our tour guide, Antonio Rios, was quite the character with all of his jokes.
Besides all those touristy things, the best thing in Copàn was their licuados, a type of fruit shake (although instead of ice cream, it is made with milk and ice). Banana and chocolate seems to be one of my favorites, though who am I kidding? Any flavor shake is my favorite. I like them so much that, for the first time, I went into a licuado store by myself (impressive, since I´ve been pretty reliant on Nick´s spanish) and orderd my own licuado, in Spanish, by myself! That´s how bad I wanted one.
Today we left Copan and five hours, three buses later we arrived in Gracias. We will be here until Friday. From Wednesday to Thursday we will be climing a mountain right outside of Gracias.
More details once I bring my little journal with me to the internet cafe!
I will fill in what I forget a little later, perhaps tomorrow, or for sure by the end of the week.
Copan was a beautiful little town and the people were extremely friendly. We were in Copan for three nights, two full days, I believe. On the first day we walked about 30 minutes to Macaw Mountain, a wonderful bird reserve. More on that when I have my detail book.
On the second day in Copan we went to the see the Copan Ruins. I can try to describe it, but I wouldn´t do it justice. Look for pictures when we return. Nick would be angry if I left this detail out, though: We were the very first people at the Ruins. Ever. We basically discovered it. Or we were just the first people through the gate on Sunday. Either way, it was awesome seeing all the structures without all the people. The only problem was that we had no idea what we were looking at. So, after spending about two hours exploring on our own, we hired a guide to walk us through and explain it all to us. It was fascinating to hear all of the rituals they had, such as killing the person who performed the best at their ball game (sending him to the God´s, apparently). Our tour guide, Antonio Rios, was quite the character with all of his jokes.
Besides all those touristy things, the best thing in Copàn was their licuados, a type of fruit shake (although instead of ice cream, it is made with milk and ice). Banana and chocolate seems to be one of my favorites, though who am I kidding? Any flavor shake is my favorite. I like them so much that, for the first time, I went into a licuado store by myself (impressive, since I´ve been pretty reliant on Nick´s spanish) and orderd my own licuado, in Spanish, by myself! That´s how bad I wanted one.
Today we left Copan and five hours, three buses later we arrived in Gracias. We will be here until Friday. From Wednesday to Thursday we will be climing a mountain right outside of Gracias.
More details once I bring my little journal with me to the internet cafe!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Diving, Bus Rides, and Hammocks
Okay. Finally in a town where internet is readily available. I have 40 minutes to write down what we have been up to for the past week!
On Monday, June 20th, we left the island of Utila. Before jumping to the next destination, here is the breakdown of our time in Utila (Thursday the 16th to Sunday the 20th):
Thursday: Watch a couple of scuba videos. As our instructor, Oliver, would say, "They're cheese." We then had to take quizzes on what we watched (or, what we had read in the books they gave us the night before. Nick and I were good students and read ahead like we were supposed to). After all the boring stuff, we learned all about the equipment we would be using and how to put it together and take it apart. We then went just off shore to do our confined water skills. We spent almost 2 hours underwater, watching Oliver demonstrate the skill first and then repeat it back to him one at a time. (There were three students: an English guy, Kieran, Nick, and me) We all passed.
Friday: More videos and quizzes. Then our first open water dives! We did two dives in the afternoon. They bring out two tanks for each person, so that you dive once, come up, exchange tanks and dive again. Each dive lasts about 45 minutes. Between these two dives we saw a barracuda, some squid, an eel, and countless amount of fish and coral. It was amazing!
Saturday: We had two more open water dives in the morning. Saw about the same in terms of underwater life. (Nick and I were hoping so badly to see any of the following: dolphins, whale sharks, eagle or manta rays, turtles, any shark, really, and an octopus. Sadly we didn't see any of these....so I guess we'll just have to go diving again!) We also had our final exam to finish the course. Nick had the highest score in the class. At night we sat on the top (it was a 2-story pier) of the pier and had some beverages. Something caught Nick's eye, and upon further investigation, was decided that it was an Eagle Ray! It was huge, swimming so swiftly through the water. We watched it for about five minutes until it swam off into the dark sea.
Sunday: Part of the price of the scuba certification package included two free fun dives. So, we went out one last time with Oliver, searching for the great beings of the ocean. Unfortunately it wasn't the clearest of conditions on this day, so we didn't see anything new. It was still fun, though. And as Nick later pointed out, diving is one of the most peaceful activities. You don't think about anything other than the coral and the fish. There is no worrying about jobs, school, where we'll be next, how we'll get there. Nothing. Occasionally I would think about the best way to de-smudge my mask while underwater, but that was the most stressful thought. (If you are curious, to take care of that problem I decided to flood my mask purposefully and then clear it out by tipping it slightly open at the bottom while blowing air out of my nose. Belinda, you are probably the only person reading who will probably vividly enjoy this description.)
Other things we did while in Utila when we weren't scuba diving included: eating baleadas, the staple food of Honduras (a tortilla, filled with a combination of meat, eggs, beans, cheese, sometimes sour cream, and any other delicious things they decide to put in it), sharing a bungalow with our friend Penelope the gecko, walking to find a place called Pumpkin Hill that was supposed to be a good lookout spot but failing miserably to find it, and eating a lot of PB and Jelly. A lot. We bought a loaf of bread and a jar of each and consumed it all in the days we were in Utila.
Monday, June 20th: Most of the day was spent traveling. First the ferry back to the mainland (taking Dramamine before was one of the best decisions of my life) for one hour, taking a bus from the port city of La Cieba back to San Pedro Sula's bus terminal for about 4 hours, and then a bus from San Pedro to Lago de Yojoa. Once in Lago de Yojoa we made our way to Cortijo del Lago - a peaceful, quiet, beautiful place set right on the largest lake in Honduras. It was like being up north, only better, due to the mountains in the background. The place is in the middle of nowhere, so we slept, ate, and hung around their property for two days. We saw the biggest toad in the world. It seriously was about the size of a grapefruit.
Tuesday, June 21st: Woke up to birds chirping and then spent an hour or so reading in the hammocks in the sun room. After breakfast we napped for two hours. Why? Because we can. We are not on any set schedule. We don't have to be at any specific place at any specific time (except, of course, for our flight back to the US). After our nap, we read some more in the hammocks (I finished Water for Elephants and loved it). The afternoon consisted of renting a canoe and paddling around lake for about two hours and more reading in the hammocks. There must be something in the water here (well, obviously, which is why we don't drink it) because what I believe to be grasshoppers are also gigantic. We have been taking pictures, although I won't be posting any until I am back on my own computer. Look then for proof.
Wednesday, June 22nd: We hopped a short bus to a new hotel, still in the same area of Lago de Yojoa. This one was called D & D Brewery (which you can google, if interested). We got off the bus in the main area of town, and had to take a tri-wheel taxi to the Brewery. We walked to Bio-P-Argue, or "Paradise" as the sign says. There we walked on trails for a few hours. This place is part coffee plantation, part lime tree orchard, contains big trees and rivers and streams. Back at the Brewery I had my first beer in years...and LIKED it! It was an apricot ale.
Thursday, June 23rd: We took a bus from the Brewery to Pulhapanzak Falls - a huge waterfall. We stayed there for a couple of hours before heading back to the brewery. On the walk to catch the bus I asked Nick if we could stop for ice cream. Then, out of nowhere, is an ice cream truck! Fate!
Friday, June 24th: We woke up early and caught a bus from Lago de Yajoa back to San Pedro Sula. Our last time being in that bus terminal, which we are not even the slightest bit saddened by. We then took a bus to Copan, which is where we will remain until about Monday. So far, from what we have seen, this city is really cool. It has cobblestone streets, red tiled roofs, and a central park. Some poor soul is doing our laundry tonight and we pick it up tomorrow. On the agenda while in Copan includes seeing the Copan Ruins, going to Macaw Mountain to see a bunch of colorful birds, and anything else our little minds come up with!
The food is good, I don't mind the temperature, and it seems to rain every night (but the rain hasn't affected our plans ever). We will be on again before leaving Copan.
Off to make Macaroni and Cheese. We decided to buy some food at the supermarket to try and save money.
On Monday, June 20th, we left the island of Utila. Before jumping to the next destination, here is the breakdown of our time in Utila (Thursday the 16th to Sunday the 20th):
Thursday: Watch a couple of scuba videos. As our instructor, Oliver, would say, "They're cheese." We then had to take quizzes on what we watched (or, what we had read in the books they gave us the night before. Nick and I were good students and read ahead like we were supposed to). After all the boring stuff, we learned all about the equipment we would be using and how to put it together and take it apart. We then went just off shore to do our confined water skills. We spent almost 2 hours underwater, watching Oliver demonstrate the skill first and then repeat it back to him one at a time. (There were three students: an English guy, Kieran, Nick, and me) We all passed.
Friday: More videos and quizzes. Then our first open water dives! We did two dives in the afternoon. They bring out two tanks for each person, so that you dive once, come up, exchange tanks and dive again. Each dive lasts about 45 minutes. Between these two dives we saw a barracuda, some squid, an eel, and countless amount of fish and coral. It was amazing!
Saturday: We had two more open water dives in the morning. Saw about the same in terms of underwater life. (Nick and I were hoping so badly to see any of the following: dolphins, whale sharks, eagle or manta rays, turtles, any shark, really, and an octopus. Sadly we didn't see any of these....so I guess we'll just have to go diving again!) We also had our final exam to finish the course. Nick had the highest score in the class. At night we sat on the top (it was a 2-story pier) of the pier and had some beverages. Something caught Nick's eye, and upon further investigation, was decided that it was an Eagle Ray! It was huge, swimming so swiftly through the water. We watched it for about five minutes until it swam off into the dark sea.
Sunday: Part of the price of the scuba certification package included two free fun dives. So, we went out one last time with Oliver, searching for the great beings of the ocean. Unfortunately it wasn't the clearest of conditions on this day, so we didn't see anything new. It was still fun, though. And as Nick later pointed out, diving is one of the most peaceful activities. You don't think about anything other than the coral and the fish. There is no worrying about jobs, school, where we'll be next, how we'll get there. Nothing. Occasionally I would think about the best way to de-smudge my mask while underwater, but that was the most stressful thought. (If you are curious, to take care of that problem I decided to flood my mask purposefully and then clear it out by tipping it slightly open at the bottom while blowing air out of my nose. Belinda, you are probably the only person reading who will probably vividly enjoy this description.)
Other things we did while in Utila when we weren't scuba diving included: eating baleadas, the staple food of Honduras (a tortilla, filled with a combination of meat, eggs, beans, cheese, sometimes sour cream, and any other delicious things they decide to put in it), sharing a bungalow with our friend Penelope the gecko, walking to find a place called Pumpkin Hill that was supposed to be a good lookout spot but failing miserably to find it, and eating a lot of PB and Jelly. A lot. We bought a loaf of bread and a jar of each and consumed it all in the days we were in Utila.
Monday, June 20th: Most of the day was spent traveling. First the ferry back to the mainland (taking Dramamine before was one of the best decisions of my life) for one hour, taking a bus from the port city of La Cieba back to San Pedro Sula's bus terminal for about 4 hours, and then a bus from San Pedro to Lago de Yojoa. Once in Lago de Yojoa we made our way to Cortijo del Lago - a peaceful, quiet, beautiful place set right on the largest lake in Honduras. It was like being up north, only better, due to the mountains in the background. The place is in the middle of nowhere, so we slept, ate, and hung around their property for two days. We saw the biggest toad in the world. It seriously was about the size of a grapefruit.
Tuesday, June 21st: Woke up to birds chirping and then spent an hour or so reading in the hammocks in the sun room. After breakfast we napped for two hours. Why? Because we can. We are not on any set schedule. We don't have to be at any specific place at any specific time (except, of course, for our flight back to the US). After our nap, we read some more in the hammocks (I finished Water for Elephants and loved it). The afternoon consisted of renting a canoe and paddling around lake for about two hours and more reading in the hammocks. There must be something in the water here (well, obviously, which is why we don't drink it) because what I believe to be grasshoppers are also gigantic. We have been taking pictures, although I won't be posting any until I am back on my own computer. Look then for proof.
Wednesday, June 22nd: We hopped a short bus to a new hotel, still in the same area of Lago de Yojoa. This one was called D & D Brewery (which you can google, if interested). We got off the bus in the main area of town, and had to take a tri-wheel taxi to the Brewery. We walked to Bio-P-Argue, or "Paradise" as the sign says. There we walked on trails for a few hours. This place is part coffee plantation, part lime tree orchard, contains big trees and rivers and streams. Back at the Brewery I had my first beer in years...and LIKED it! It was an apricot ale.
Thursday, June 23rd: We took a bus from the Brewery to Pulhapanzak Falls - a huge waterfall. We stayed there for a couple of hours before heading back to the brewery. On the walk to catch the bus I asked Nick if we could stop for ice cream. Then, out of nowhere, is an ice cream truck! Fate!
Friday, June 24th: We woke up early and caught a bus from Lago de Yajoa back to San Pedro Sula. Our last time being in that bus terminal, which we are not even the slightest bit saddened by. We then took a bus to Copan, which is where we will remain until about Monday. So far, from what we have seen, this city is really cool. It has cobblestone streets, red tiled roofs, and a central park. Some poor soul is doing our laundry tonight and we pick it up tomorrow. On the agenda while in Copan includes seeing the Copan Ruins, going to Macaw Mountain to see a bunch of colorful birds, and anything else our little minds come up with!
The food is good, I don't mind the temperature, and it seems to rain every night (but the rain hasn't affected our plans ever). We will be on again before leaving Copan.
Off to make Macaroni and Cheese. We decided to buy some food at the supermarket to try and save money.
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