TravelStream™ news feed for member howardino on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/howardino en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:21:30 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1194127740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1194127740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1194127740/tpod.html Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:21:30 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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San Jose, Costa Rica

My last entry for this trip, and I hope its been enjoyable reading. Sorry if some of the photos and stories were not up to scratch, and if there were a few gaps here and there, but Ive really enjoyed writing it. There are obviously times when travelling when a little time spent in an internet cafe is just what you need, and beleive me, Ive seen a few now. Fortunately none were as bad as in Bolivian jungle towns, and no others were as expensive as Costa Rica.

Ive been back from this trip for just over a month now, and I miss the place loads, especially because some fantastic people i met are still living the dream now. I did go to Holland by way of a warm down (quite literally), and i hope to write about that too if anyones interested....

So back to the story. My last 3 days were far from boring, I went to a hostel in the capital San Jose (where i had been 2 years before), which in itself was really weird as the place had changed so much. There was a halloween party on that night which i went to and met a nice american girl amongst others. Then i went to a suburb to see my old friend Evelyn, who i had originally met in my home town of Hastings 3 years previously. We had a great time and it was fantastic to catch up, and go out for some beers with her bloke Andre. And on my last night i had a fairly quiet one, just as well as i was up the following morning at 5am to catch my flight home. I cant describe the feeling when i finally touched down in a chilly autumnal Gatwick, perhaps if i had to use one word it would be 'fulfilled'.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1193692080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1193692080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1193692080/tpod.html Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:21:55 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

I had had enough of Bocas after 2 weeks, and decided to at least get to the right country with a few weeks to spare before my flight. It happened to be Costa Rica, where i had been on a great holiday a few years before with some friends. It didnt start too well as i travelled the short distance across the border with a group of slovakians who were not amazingly friendly (mostly as protection as i was getting super paranoid about getting robed just before the end), and then hid away in my room for 3 days just reading and avoiding people.
Fortunately this worked to give me some enery and stimulate one last bit of enthusiasm, so when some familiar faces from Bocas arrived I was really happy to see them.
I had originally intended to stay only for a short time and then go to some other parts of Costa Rica in the 2 weeks available to me, but the town is so relaxed and the weather so good, that i ended up staying there until i had but 3 nights left. It was really weird to walk the same streets id walked before, and could almost picture the friends i went with originally.
So, what did i do? Er, generally i sat on the beach, tried surfing again (with no success), went bike riding through the nature reserve, partied some more, and almost got arrested for not having my passport with me when i went through a police checkpoint!
It was also really nice to spend some time with the Canadians, amongst others and generally relax in the knowledge that i only had one more short bus ride left to do...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192471020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192471020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192471020/tpod.html Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:14:42 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Bocas Town, Panama

OK, so the three of us were headed up to Bocas del Toro, which is famous for its beaches, snorkelling and nightlife. For 3 hours i found myself at the back of the bus talking to a local woman and her mentaly handicapped son in the best spanish i could muster. She reckoned it was better than his, so i guess i have to be pleased... It was really quite nice though, especially seeing his face when i lent him my mp3 player and gave him a blast of Bob Marley! Also on this ride we met a cool canadian couple, Dylan and Steph who i was to hang out with a lot over the next few weeks.
Bocas is the name of the town, the island and the region, and its on the Carribean. Beers cost about 30p, and every night theres something going on in one of the many bars. I had a great time for a few days, but then Kenny and Cory decided that their holiday was over and headed back to California. Unfortunately, this was the moment when, nursing yet another hangover and completely unable to find my enthusiasm for travelling any more, I decided to bite the bullet, cut my trip short and buy my flight home.
In retrospect i think i made the right choice, as the whole prospect of another 2 or 3 months rushing through countries like Mexico and Guatamala really didnt appeal. Of course Im writing this from the UK, so the other side of the coin is that i was really stupid to leave behind all that lovely sun and new interesting people, but it would only have delayed the inevitable...
After a few days feeling quite sad I met some other people and went to another island to try and relax away from the heaving fiestas. It was lovely, but i think i missed all my old friends a bit too much at this point. Anyway, I must have stayed there for almost 2 weeks in the unbearable heat before hitting the road again and making for Costa Rica, my final country.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192297560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192297560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192297560/tpod.html Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:55:46 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Playa Las Lajas, Panama

I left Panama City with Cory and Kenny, my new chums, and decided to go and do a spot of surfing on our way up to Bocas del Toro. So we consulted this book, which recommended Playa las Lajas as a great spot. The only problem was that when we got to this strange little spot by the sea, there was absolutely no other tourists there, nowhere to hire surf boards, and generally our room was a favourite hangout for cockroaches.
No photos taken, but it was good to have a night off the drinking (well almost). We left early the next morning and i doubt ill be going back!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192124220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192124220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1192124220/tpod.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:55:57 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Panama City, Panama

As you would expect after 8 nights sleeping on a boat, I think we were all delighted to get back to dry land and a comfortable bed.

We disembarked at Colon, which is by all accounts an undesirable place to stay, so we all jumped straight on a bus for 2 hours and got to Panama City. Its probably the most Americanised city Id seen so far, with all the fast food joints everywhere and even a Hooters. But it was also quite a sound place to hang out for a few days. Good party town, good company, good weather. Cant ask fairer than that!

On one day I headed to a nearby national park which had awesome views of the city, and then onwards to Miraflores Locks to see how the Panama Canal works. Just like a lot of water and some boats really...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1191860700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1191860700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1191860700/tpod.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 12:35:06 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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San Blas Islands, Colombia

I was really sad to leave Columbia, but justified my descision by telling myself that I still had many more countries to go in Central america and time and money were beginning to run out. So I bade farewell to my friends and went aboard a beautiful 52 foot yacht called Aguila (or Eagle). My travelling companions were an english girl Sam, a Belgian called Barbara and some American brethren; Cori, Kenny and Britney. The captain was another american called Tim, and he had stocked the boat up with some really decent food (he used to be a chef), and plenty of rum!

Ended up spending 8 nights on the boat, as we sailed along the coastline of Columbia and Panama, finally reaching the San Blas Islands, which are possibly the most picturesque things ive ever seen. Hundreds of tiny desert islands, surrounded by amazing coral reef, complete with white sandy beaches, palm trees and crystal clear water. We spent 4 days there, snorkling and sunbathing, before reaching the northern end of the Panama Canal at a city called Colon where we headed straight to Panama City.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1191076620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1191076620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1191076620/tpod.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:06:00 -0500 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Santa Martha, Colombia

Plans can change massively when youre travelling, a fact demonstrated by my time in northern Columbia. Originally I had hoped to spend about a month up there, a week or so in Cartagena and then 3 weeks on the beach at Tyrona National Park, Taganga, the city of Santa Martha and the Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) trek. Then maybe head to the capital Bogota, Venezuala, or Panama.

What actaully happened was that I arrived in Cartegena with Luke and Ash, didnt particularly like the overcrowded city, and decided to head off the following day to Santa Martha to get to the tropial beaches without further ado. I picked up 2 Irish girls on the way, and hung out with them becoming a free Spanish teacher for a few days as they were both completely 'inutil' (useless). Luke and Ash headed straight off as I guess they wanted some alone time, and I was left to look after the others!

After a few days we headed to the Tayrona National Park, which i had heard very good things about. It involves an hour's walk through the jungle before finally coming to the most beautiful beach Ive ever seen. We only spent 2 nights there, sleeping in hammocks and then I had to get back and check my e-mails (as I had to meet other friends somewhere). Probably for the best as the mozzies there are amongst the most hostile Ive ever seen...

After returning to Santa Martha and checking my mails, I had a few days to kill, so I took a 5 minute cab ride to a nearby fishing village of Taganga (which apparently had an outbreak of Dengue Fever), and stayed there for a couple of nights, met some more nice people and did a couple of dives before heading back.

Here's when the plan changed... I had to go back to Cartagna to see off my friend Sarah who Id met all the way back in Sucre, Bolivia, had a few great nights out there, and would have returned to do the Lost City treck, but for an offer I received one morning of sailing to Panama on a really nice yacht the following day. So basically I went for that instead.

There is oviously some truth in the stories you hear about Columbia, but predominantly these are a thing of the past, and I feel now is the best time to go, as the locals are so friendly to tourists and the prices and crime rate hasnt inflated yet. Altogether its probably my second favourite country after Argentina, a must see!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1190918520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1190918520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1190918520/tpod.html Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:49:58 -0400 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Cartegana, Colombia

So the three of us arrive on the north coast, after a night sitting on a bus with super efficient aqir conditioning. It was absolutely freezing, so had to try and sleep shivering under a hoody. Then i was almost very feint once i stepped off the bus into 30 + temperatures with super humidity.

We jumped into a cab for the long stretch into the city centre, where we moved into a pretty cramped and crappy hostel. Sadly, we only stayed a night, as the desire to spènd some time on the beach was too great to spend any time in an odd city. So the next morning we headed on a bus to Santa Martha, 6 hours away. However, we had acquired 2 more irish girls, fresh off the plane, who didnt know what they were doing, or where to go. The cab back to the bus station was an interesting experience, as the road was blocked and we all had to carry all our stuff through a bust poor area, in the mid day sun. And then almost started a fght between rival bus employees, how fun!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1190053500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1190053500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1190053500/tpod.html Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:38:32 -0400 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Medellin, Colombia

I had a few nice nights in Salento, and then headed with Ed and Ella, our new travelling friend, up to Medellin (Columbia´s second city). It is where the Jackel used to reign supreme, but these days its pretty safe.
I spent the first week in a Hostel Kiwi, and as some great nights out, and in. I couldnt actually think of much to do during the day though, so perhaps i wasted an opportunity to see some new things. I did however get round to exploring the botanical gardens, and the metro system, which included a cable car to take communters up the side of the valley to some of the poorer neighbourhoods. Sadly I didnt have my camera with me at that stage, or as it turns out, at any stage worthwhile during my whole 8 or 9 days in the city. Hopefully i will be able to get someone to send me something, or otherwise just look it up on google. Its in my top 5 cities in South America.
But, as is often the way, i am not always my best in lively party hostes, being a man of many more years then most of the young whipper snappers, and so after a while i moved to a quieter place to hang out with the 2 irish couples id met in Salento. It was also sad to say bye to Ed, who had entertained me loads for the previous month or so, but I did meet up once more with my german friend, Sarah from Sucre, although she too departed within a few days. The only photos ive got are bad ones of some mates, and a couple of the bus station, neither of which are worth posting now! After a quiet weekend, I left Medellin for the Carribean on an overnight bus with Ash and Luke.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1189355820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1189355820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/howardino/samerica2007/1189355820/tpod.html Sat, 20 Oct 2007 14:24:36 -0400 Que linda! Latino adventures of the fun kind.

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Salento, Colombia

By this time, and after a few good nights out in Cali (plus a few crap ones), Ed and I had split from Clare as she had to go to Canada (as you do), but picked up an isreali guy who id originally met looking after my howler monkey in Bolivia. We then headed to Salento, which is in the main coffee growing region of columbia, and the type of place youve probably seen on the tv.
Stayed in a great little hostel owned by this English guy and his missus, and guarded by 3 absolutely gorgeous lassie dogs, and as always in south america, a litter of puppies. The place was a great place to relax away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and i spent my time walking in the cloud forests, drinking rum and playing poker. Met up with an israeli girl Ella, and irish couple Bree and Niall, and another irish couple from San Augustine, Ash and Luke. It was all good fun, but didnt stay there for very long as a weekend in Medellin was beckoning!
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