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.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
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!
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