Through Central America to the Panama Canal
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ode to Iceberg Lettuce & Three Saturdays in Xela, Part I
Saludos!
The past three Saturdays in Xela can sum up the eh-hem, ¨range¨of experiences I have had while living in the highlands of Guatemala. As I write you from this internet cafe, Santana is blasting from the small radio in the corner and school children in uniforms are rushing home for lunch--which is the main meal here as opposed to dinner in the States...the smell of fresh tortillas and tamalitos (which I have since learned have tons of calcium and contribute to the low rate of osteoperosis in women in Guatemala)...so forgive me if I am a little distracted...
More .... Traveljournals.net
The past three Saturdays in Xela can sum up the eh-hem, ¨range¨of experiences I have had while living in the highlands of Guatemala. As I write you from this internet cafe, Santana is blasting from the small radio in the corner and school children in uniforms are rushing home for lunch--which is the main meal here as opposed to dinner in the States...the smell of fresh tortillas and tamalitos (which I have since learned have tons of calcium and contribute to the low rate of osteoperosis in women in Guatemala)...so forgive me if I am a little distracted...
More .... Traveljournals.net
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Belize
Belize boarder crossing nice and easy. Vorn said the the officers on the Guatemala side ¨there is no exit tax for Guatemala¨ and we grabbed our passports and kept walking. Dont think the guy was very happy but didnt say anything. Ha ha!
Visited the hospital to get my foot checked out - just a sprain but the doctor growled at me like he was my father or something! Interesting hospital system. Basicly its free, but as my injury was a week old I had to pay $5USD, then another $1USD for the drugs they gave me, and they dont even explain what they are giving you. No label or anything on them.... The nurse that checked me in was lovely and very interested in how the system works back home. Back to our crappy hotel to rest the foot then off the Caye Caulker in the morning!
2 nights on Caye Caulker, one of the more popular Islands and know to be the cheapest. Although it wasnt that cheap! Just swam in the afternoon, had a beer or two at the bar on the ´Split´. Its called the Split as a hurricane caused the end of the island to flood, seperating a small part of land, now nicknamed the Split. Sat out on a table which is stuck in the ground in the water, about knee deep. Very refreshing!
Lazy morning with Vorn and I napping, eating and just sitting on our ass enjoying the down time. The hostel had a little boat that we took out for a paddle around the beach front. Lots of pelicans hanging around for fish, but we really didnt see any. The water is so clear and warm, you can see right to the bottom. Its also the saltiest water I have ever swam in. Ran in to Matt (the Pom from Flores) and had a swim at the beach with him, few drinks at a cool bar with swings as the chairs. Its ok mum - cant actually swing much on them, wasnt going for broken leg number 4! Seafood dinner - tasted the local ´Snapper´, was nice apart from it took about an hour to get served in a restaurant that had no one else to feed. Think they went out to catch them and clean them first maybe... Ate dinner in the outside part of the rest, over looking a jetting with a local fisherman cleaning his catch of the day. A massive stingray swam around cleaning up the scraps, I bet he knows to wait there every night for the fisherman.
The locals here a pretty friendly with their ¨no worries man¨ attitude. Very very laid back people. Matt went diving on one of the days - imitating his tour guide with a slow speaking Jamaican accent, ¨Never chase a bull shark, a bull shark will chase you back¨. 2 nights were enough for us and we caught the ferry of the island the following morning and caught a bus back to Guatemala, Flores. (again, we aced the boarder crossing!!)
Source : Traveljournals.net
Visited the hospital to get my foot checked out - just a sprain but the doctor growled at me like he was my father or something! Interesting hospital system. Basicly its free, but as my injury was a week old I had to pay $5USD, then another $1USD for the drugs they gave me, and they dont even explain what they are giving you. No label or anything on them.... The nurse that checked me in was lovely and very interested in how the system works back home. Back to our crappy hotel to rest the foot then off the Caye Caulker in the morning!
2 nights on Caye Caulker, one of the more popular Islands and know to be the cheapest. Although it wasnt that cheap! Just swam in the afternoon, had a beer or two at the bar on the ´Split´. Its called the Split as a hurricane caused the end of the island to flood, seperating a small part of land, now nicknamed the Split. Sat out on a table which is stuck in the ground in the water, about knee deep. Very refreshing!
Lazy morning with Vorn and I napping, eating and just sitting on our ass enjoying the down time. The hostel had a little boat that we took out for a paddle around the beach front. Lots of pelicans hanging around for fish, but we really didnt see any. The water is so clear and warm, you can see right to the bottom. Its also the saltiest water I have ever swam in. Ran in to Matt (the Pom from Flores) and had a swim at the beach with him, few drinks at a cool bar with swings as the chairs. Its ok mum - cant actually swing much on them, wasnt going for broken leg number 4! Seafood dinner - tasted the local ´Snapper´, was nice apart from it took about an hour to get served in a restaurant that had no one else to feed. Think they went out to catch them and clean them first maybe... Ate dinner in the outside part of the rest, over looking a jetting with a local fisherman cleaning his catch of the day. A massive stingray swam around cleaning up the scraps, I bet he knows to wait there every night for the fisherman.
The locals here a pretty friendly with their ¨no worries man¨ attitude. Very very laid back people. Matt went diving on one of the days - imitating his tour guide with a slow speaking Jamaican accent, ¨Never chase a bull shark, a bull shark will chase you back¨. 2 nights were enough for us and we caught the ferry of the island the following morning and caught a bus back to Guatemala, Flores. (again, we aced the boarder crossing!!)
Source : Traveljournals.net
Guatemala - Ixil adventures
Guatemala - After 28 (almost 29) years of wanting to travel the world and almost as many years of being afraid to do it alone I have finally sucked it up and did it! In the process, I fell further in love with this country and had whole new worlds open up before me.
After I left Panajachel I caught the bus up to Nebaj. The journey involved taking 3 different chicken buses and with each one I become increasingly the source of much hushed whispers and giggles around me. Clearly, I was moving waaaay off the gringo trail. On the second bus towards Quiche a young woman spent most of the 3 hour trip staring at me and looking away whenever I caught her looking at me. She followed me into the washroom at the bus station once we had arrived and when I said hello to her she covered her face in her hands, giggled and ran away. This would soon become a familiar experience as I made my way through Nebaj and Acul. I knew I was a strange novelty when packs of small children followed me through the streets and groups of women called out to me to wave and giggle (men are rarely a good indicator since they just stare no matter where you go).
More ... Traveljournals.net
After I left Panajachel I caught the bus up to Nebaj. The journey involved taking 3 different chicken buses and with each one I become increasingly the source of much hushed whispers and giggles around me. Clearly, I was moving waaaay off the gringo trail. On the second bus towards Quiche a young woman spent most of the 3 hour trip staring at me and looking away whenever I caught her looking at me. She followed me into the washroom at the bus station once we had arrived and when I said hello to her she covered her face in her hands, giggled and ran away. This would soon become a familiar experience as I made my way through Nebaj and Acul. I knew I was a strange novelty when packs of small children followed me through the streets and groups of women called out to me to wave and giggle (men are rarely a good indicator since they just stare no matter where you go).
More ... Traveljournals.net
Goodbye Panama, South America awaits !
It's 1st March already, I've been away for 5 months !
So, it's my last day here in Panama, tomorrow I fly off to Quito, capital of Ecuador. Originally I thought I would be saying goodbye to Central America here but now I know I left Central America when I left Costa Rica. So I suppose I should be saying goodbye Central America and Panama ... and Belize. Confused ???
Anyway, on Thursday we took a partial transit on the Panama Canal. It's pretty impressive just from the sheer size of the tankers that go through, puts the locks in the UK to shame ! I'm glad we didn't do a full transit all the way to Colon though because it was pretty slow and the boat we were on was full of US pensioners wearing name tags showing which state they are from .... very Golden Girls.
That reminds me, my "awesome" tolerance level reached it's peak on the trip to David when we stopped for a toilet break and this guy from the states said to me, "do you speak English ?" and I replied "er, yes" and he said "Awesome !" .... I couldn't stop myself, I said "actually it's not awesome, I come from England and so it's fairly normal that I speak English" - he looked at me a bit strange after that.
So, I've been on the Panama Canal, it wasn't awesome but it's pretty cool that I've done it !
Tamara headed back to Costa Rica yesterday. Actually we've had a good laugh together. Considering we met for about 3 minutes on a beach in Manuel Antonio where she overheard me saying I was going to Panama, she said "oh, maybe we could travel together" and I said "er, yeah, ok" .... a slightly random way to meet someone that you're going to spend 2 weeks with ! Anyway, it worked out well.
So, the next stage of my adventure starts tomorrow, South America.
I loved Guatemala, I loved Belize, maybe I didn't give Honduras enough of a chance however I have yet to meet anyone who raved about mainland Honduras. I would like to publicly apologise to El Salvador for missing it out, I feel guilty. Nicaragua didn't disappoint and I would recommend it to anyone. Costa Rica is ok. Panama is the biggest surprise, don't particularly like the city but I have never liked cities however the country is stunning with the most welcoming people I have ever met.
To finish, a quick tip to anyone due to visit Panama City ... In Lonely Planet it says the traffic doesn't yield to pedestrians. They really don't, even on zebra crossings putting a foot on the stripes does not result in any deceleration. The only way to get across is to take your life in your hands on step into the path of the traffic - great fun on the 4 lane Via Espana !
Source : Traveljournals.net
So, it's my last day here in Panama, tomorrow I fly off to Quito, capital of Ecuador. Originally I thought I would be saying goodbye to Central America here but now I know I left Central America when I left Costa Rica. So I suppose I should be saying goodbye Central America and Panama ... and Belize. Confused ???
Anyway, on Thursday we took a partial transit on the Panama Canal. It's pretty impressive just from the sheer size of the tankers that go through, puts the locks in the UK to shame ! I'm glad we didn't do a full transit all the way to Colon though because it was pretty slow and the boat we were on was full of US pensioners wearing name tags showing which state they are from .... very Golden Girls.
That reminds me, my "awesome" tolerance level reached it's peak on the trip to David when we stopped for a toilet break and this guy from the states said to me, "do you speak English ?" and I replied "er, yes" and he said "Awesome !" .... I couldn't stop myself, I said "actually it's not awesome, I come from England and so it's fairly normal that I speak English" - he looked at me a bit strange after that.
So, I've been on the Panama Canal, it wasn't awesome but it's pretty cool that I've done it !
Tamara headed back to Costa Rica yesterday. Actually we've had a good laugh together. Considering we met for about 3 minutes on a beach in Manuel Antonio where she overheard me saying I was going to Panama, she said "oh, maybe we could travel together" and I said "er, yeah, ok" .... a slightly random way to meet someone that you're going to spend 2 weeks with ! Anyway, it worked out well.
So, the next stage of my adventure starts tomorrow, South America.
I loved Guatemala, I loved Belize, maybe I didn't give Honduras enough of a chance however I have yet to meet anyone who raved about mainland Honduras. I would like to publicly apologise to El Salvador for missing it out, I feel guilty. Nicaragua didn't disappoint and I would recommend it to anyone. Costa Rica is ok. Panama is the biggest surprise, don't particularly like the city but I have never liked cities however the country is stunning with the most welcoming people I have ever met.
To finish, a quick tip to anyone due to visit Panama City ... In Lonely Planet it says the traffic doesn't yield to pedestrians. They really don't, even on zebra crossings putting a foot on the stripes does not result in any deceleration. The only way to get across is to take your life in your hands on step into the path of the traffic - great fun on the 4 lane Via Espana !
Source : Traveljournals.net
On Top of It All in a Costa Rica Lodge
Costa Rica :To find a thrill or just chill in a spot where monkeys are invited to breakfast.
"Why is the ocean so loud?"
That's about the only complaint Terry Conroy says he has ever heard in the years he's been running the eight-room Lookout Inn. The tough customer (a New Yorker) was staying in one of the inn's tiki huts, the tented tree houses exposed to eye-level views of the abundant wildlife and sparkling Pacific below.
More ... Washingtonpost.com
"Why is the ocean so loud?"
That's about the only complaint Terry Conroy says he has ever heard in the years he's been running the eight-room Lookout Inn. The tough customer (a New Yorker) was staying in one of the inn's tiki huts, the tented tree houses exposed to eye-level views of the abundant wildlife and sparkling Pacific below.
More ... Washingtonpost.com
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