HOTEL LORD PIERRE San Andres Island

... one of the biggest crabs I have ever seen, moving shiftily sideways into the undergrowth, its beady eyes firmly pinned on us. This thing was about twice as big as my fist, and whilst it was running away from me, I felt like doing the same. Fascinated, we stood and stared for a while before cautiously continuing on our path. Land crabs are common on Little Corn and are huge. They live in big holes that look like rabbit warrens and are not for the faint hearted. And if you see a moving ...

... haben sich heute leider nicht blicken lassen. Aber man kann ja wirklich nicht alles auf einmal haben. Die Fotos gibts dann jedenfalls spaetestens zu Hause :-)

Was ist noch so passiert in den letzten Tagen. Eigentlich nicht viel. Ich fuehl mich hier wirklich richtig wohl. Dass es keine Autos, Strassen und nur wenig Strom und fliessendes Wasser gibt hab ich ja schon mehrmals erwaehnt, oder? Aber auch wenns manchmal nervt, kein Wasser zum Duschen oder fuers Klo zu haben, im ...

... Seit langem konnten wir aber endlich wieder mal die Fuesse ausstrecken und uns richtig breit machen. Ausserdem haben wir unser erstes Gallo Pinto (Reis mit Bohnen und was dazu), das klassische Fruehstueck, Mittag- und Abendessen einer mittelanerikanischen Durchschnittsfamilie bekommen. Und ich muss sagen mir hats geschmeckt.
Gegen Abend war dann die Grenze zwischen Costa Rica und Managua zu passieren. Eigentlich vollkommemn unproblematisch. Nur die Polzisten ...

... as opposed to an hour as we previously agreed upon. They didn't come early, as a matter of fact, we hitched a ride with another boat since they were about 25 minutes late and we were the last tourists left on this island. We ended up on a crowded boat when the ride there was plush. Lunch at Casa Cecilia's was good to sample some local food. We had crab stew and crab soup.

... guy was very excited when I told him that I wanted to get to know the real San Andres, the people from here, the food. He agreed to take me around the island the following day on bikes. So we set off about 10 the following morning and took it quite slowly, cycling along the coast road line with palm trees and skirtig a sea of many hues of blue. The main language of the natives is English, albeit with a Caribbean accent an it ...

... scream as we dropped a little after take off. lol. it was cool being able to see engines go round, and the scenery as we flew over ometepe, a huge lake and volcano, on the way was worth it. i couldnt believe the size of the tiny airport on the other side.... basically a small metal hut for going in, and leaving.... we thought we would stay up to a week on the larger corn island, and the latter week on the smaller. however our plans quickly changed ...

Beautiful Place. Perfect temperatures. Our hotel is (very) far from being a Palace but the view is worth millions!!! Sorry for the short story but I am too busy doing nothing or swimming with rays... The 18th, we went around the island but the weather was as if a hurricane must be having fun close by. The wind and rain are impressive and there was no possibility to swim. At least, I will not get sunburn. Let's hope the plane will be able to take off tomorrow. Next stop, Santa Marta.

... Michelle´s parents also booked at a resort, a different one from ours, but they were owned by Decameron (along with 4 other resorts), so we were able to meet up and eat meals together. San Andres is a tiny island in the Caribbean, its much closer to Nicarauga than to Columbia. The island is only 3km by 13km, so its fairly easy to get around the entire place in a couple of hours. The island is made from white ...

... they're always ready with a smile and a ¨hello¨. Being an old British outpost, English is spoken on the island. But what the locals speak is a weird pidgin of English, Spanish, and some unusual Caribbean dialect. Since San Andres and Providencia are nature reserves, tourists come here by the thousands to dive, snorkel, or just swim in the bathtub-warm waters. The sea around the islands is protected for miles around. Thursday was spent walking from ...

... got there before the lines got drawn of course, England exerting a dominant and disproportionate influence in the Caribbean for centuries, governing many countries outright and many others de facto. That’s all over now, of course, but the language lingers, and is something of the black people’s identity, as distinct from Hispano-Latino.

By this time of course I’m semi-fluent in Spanish, so miss it. My opportunity to prove it comes ...