TravelStream™ news feed for member rlphillips on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/rlphillips en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:16:32 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1214652420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1214652420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1214652420/tpod.html Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:16:32 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Oaxaca, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico

Hi all,

We have arrived back in the UK now, but it seemed silly to do all these blog entries and not have an entry for the last month of the trip, plus i have the luxury of writing it on my computer with fast internet! Plus its easier for people to see the highlights on the blog rather than us boring you with 5000 photos we took!

After leaving Cancun we headed to Merida. Merida is Yucatan's capital. We found a nice hotel near the centre of town, which was an old colonial building which had been converted. Our room was enourmous and we had 3 beds. Amy was impressed by the Andy Warhol pictures on the wall. The Hotel also had a massive tv, which was a bit of a novelty since we hadnt seen anything this plush in ages. We spent a few days in Merida, walking round town. I bought a hammock and Amy bought a leather bag, which she is very pleased with.

Our next stop was Palenque, site of the famous ruins. We couldn't get a bus in the day so had to opt for the night bus. The night bus took around 8 hours and dropped us off at the edge of town at 6am. We didnt think we would be able to find a hotel that would let us check in that early, but luckily they did. Upon entering our room we were greeted with a towel in the shape of a swan. Unusual for a budget hotel. We crashed for a few hours, and decided to go and visit the ruins. Palenque ruins are set on the side of a hotel, and span out below. A beautiful setting in rain forest with a river running through. We stayed a couple of days in Palenque town. A scruffy little town really, but people were friendly, and there were plenty of places to eat and hang out. We decided to go on a tour to see some local waterfalls. Misol Ha, Agua Clara and Agua Azul. Misol Ha was a big waterfall, dropping 120ft into the pool below. It was difficult to take pictures near the fall since spray covered the lense. Agua Clara, promised beautiful blue waters, unfortunately dude to heavy rains, the water was brown! Agua Azul was also a little murky, but beautiful setting as it cascaded down the mountainside.

Next stop was San Cristobal de las Casas. Our bus trip from Merida, left us feeling a bit ill since the air conditioning on the bus was so fierce, and despite numerous requests to turn it down, they were ignored. We had planned to visit numerous towns surround San Cristobal, but since we didn't feel up to it, we just milled around town and went to a local market. Food here was really good, and Amy enjoyed trips to the local restaurant that served bagels.

Ever since entering Mexico, tropical storm Arthur had played havoc with the weather and it rained alot most days, which also hampered our efforts to go and explore. We decided to head to the beach. Chiapas's premier spot to sit and relax on the beach...Puerta Arista on the pacific coast. We got on a bus, 5 hours to Tonala, where we would hop on a collectivo and head to the beach resort. Tonala was not the most scenic of towns, typical breeze block constructions with wires hanging out the top to prevent them from collapsing during earthquakes. When we arrived in Puerta Arista, it was not what we expected at all. Mosquitoes whizzed passed our ears, the town look abandoned. The only person we saw in the street was sleeping on the side of the road. We passed an old wooden house, which was almost derelict looking, a couple sat in broken wooden chairs staring into space. Their entire garden flooded with rancid water. You could see the water twitching with mosquito larvae, and a pile of cloths towered out of the brown water. We continued to walk to the San Jose's cabanas, getting bitten to death as we walked. Upon arrival the cabanas looked reasonable, but there was no one here, and they guy still wanted 25 dollars a night. We decided to give it a swerve and went back into town. We decided Puerto Angel was our next stop. So we booked a night bus and checked into a hotel to shower and get some sleep. We wanted to leave at 2 in the morning to get our bus, but the hotel owner explained that the door was locked. He didnt seem best pleased about having to get up and open it for us, and kept rambling on in spanish about how we had to arrive half an hour early to get the bus. I think he thought i was stupid and didnt understand him, he kept telling us that the door would be locked. I lost my rag in the end and told him just to get up and open the door, since he ran a hotel and it was nonsense that people could not come and go as they pleased.

2am came and he resentfully came and opened the door and we left for Puerto Angel. We sincerely hoped it would be better than Puerta Arista, we were still plagued by rain, most of the day, with a few breezy and dry spells. The next morning after traveling all night we arrived in Pochutla, another typical mexican town, and we got a cab to Puerto Angel. It didnt look to promising on the trip down, it was still raining and the roads had been covered in mud slides. As we entered Puerto Angel, it had been particularly badly hit, mud covering the roads, and rain coming off the surrounding hills flowed over the road. First place we tried, was right up on the hill and a little expensive, since we weren't near the beach or anything. Next stop, Hotel Cordelia's. A lovely hotel, i think probably the best we had stayed in all things considered. White building right on the beach. That afternoon the sun came out and was here to stay. We spent the next few days just sitting in the sun and relaxing.

Next stop was Zipolite, a long stretch of beach a few kilometers north of Puerto Angel. Beautiful long stretch of beach, we bagged ourself a room for $15 a night!. The bed was rock hard, but we had a bathroom and it was on the 2nd floor so we got a bit of a breeze. We stayed about a week, and did nothing. Only on the penultimate day did we venture out to do anything. We went to a lagoon on Playa Ventanilla. This is a wildlife sanctuary where they have boat tours around the lagoon, you can spot crocodiles and local bird life. One of the other people on the trip, a mexican who had spent a long time in Miami did a bit of a translation for us, which was handy since my spanish vocab didnt include words for species of birds. They rear the baby crocs, and release them into the lagoon when they are ready. We met an English guy called Matayo, from Devon who worked in the sanctury and filled us in on what they did there. They also protect turtle eggs, and have days where they release them into the sea, which we had missed by just a week, if only we had got off our arses and gone earlier!

It was nice to get a fill of sun after so much rain. Next stop, the world renowned surf resort of Puerto Escondido, (hidden port in spanish) We found a fantastic hotel with pool and stayed in cabanas. There were alot of English people staying at the hotel, but they were more into getting wasted every night and they were a cliquey bunch. I tried my hand at surfing again and Amy hired a body board. We had been advised to go to another beach playa Carrizalillo, but we checked out the local one first. Playa Zicatela wasnt much good for beginners with 15 foot waves. Amy was struggling to get on her board, to catch waves, partly due to the fact the leash was tied to her foot rather than her wrist. I had a bit of luck but the waves broke to quickly and were pretty powerful. We ventured to
playa Carrizalillo by cab. A beautiful bay at the foot of some steps, but sadly no waves whatsoever. So i decided to call it a day on the surfing. That night we headed to our favourite restaurant in Puerto Escondido. Acuarius. They served steak and chip baguettes, which we were quite fond of.

Our final destination Oaxaca, 1500 metres above sea level it has a cool refreshing climate. After a 12 hour bus journey we finally arrived and checked into a hostal near Zocalo, the plaza in the centre of town. We spent our days walking the streets and checking out the local markets and getting a few souvenirs for folks back home. There were a few sights to see around Oaxaca, we checked out the ruins of Monte Alban, not Mayan ruins this time but Zapotec, and they sit nearly 2000m above sea level overlooking Oaxaca, There are 360 degree views of the valleys below. On our last day we took a tour. We are not usually into tours, but this happened to be pretty good. First stop was El Tule, home to one of the oldest trees in the world. Its claimed to be over 2000 years old is 52 metre circumference is pretty impress. It stands over 40 metres high and dwarfs the church it stands next to. Then we headed to Teotitlan del Valle where they make rugs. The folks here spend 30-50 days making one rug which sells for between 80 and 150 dollars, no wonder people come from miles around to buy them at this price. Hierve el Aqua which means water boils, The water is also full of minerals, so as it runs off of the edge of the nearby cliff, calcium carbonate and magnesium in the water create a petrified waterfall, and the sulphur ads nice yellow bits in places. There are only two places like this in the world, the other one is in Turkey.

On our way back we checked out Mitla, ruins that date back to 500bc! Above the foundations the building is constructed with thousands of pieces of cut stone which are not cemented together, they believe this was so the structure absorbed the energy during earthquakes, and explains why it still stands 2000 years later. The next day we headed home, overnight bus to Mexico city and a flight to JFK. Amy's bag never turned up at JFK which she was pretty upset about, but luckily it turned up at Gatwick on a flight from Atlanta :O)

Well we are back home now and moved into our flat in Brighton and looking for jobs. Back to the real world :O(

Hope you enjoyed the blogs!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1216207560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1216207560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1216207560/tpod.html Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:30:43 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Puerto Escondido, Pacific Coast, Mexico

jkl
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1216207440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1216207440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1216207440/tpod.html Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:29:36 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Zipolite, Mexico

m,
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1212343260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1212343260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1212343260/tpod.html Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:53:32 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Playa del Carmen, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Dear all,

This isnt going to be the most detailed of blogs, since i have already ruined 4 dvds and changed computers 4 times. One because after a copied 4 gig of photos the dvd drive wouldnt eject. So i moved to a new computer,which locked up half way through burning a DVD. PC 3, decided it had a virus and rebooted halfway through DVD 2. A a previous attempt yesterday resulted in another coaster, courtesy of the guy that ran the internet cafe.

After leaving Lake Atitlan we headed to Semuc Champey, a river which flows over limestone pools, the river diverts under the limestone pools. The water looks extremely blue due to the limestone base. We also hiked up to a viewpoint right at the top of hill which was hard work up really steep steps. Amazing view from the top though and we enjoyed a well earned swim at the bottom in the limestone pools. We stayed in a place called Lanquin, which was around a 20 minute drive from Semuc Champey. We also explored some caves, that were filled with water by candle light. One of the highlights was some very large bat caves outside of Lanquin where thousands of bats nested, and flew out at dusk everynight. We climbed through some rather claustrophobic holes to reach a large open areas where thousands of bats slept hanging from the ceiling. Our hostel, which resided next to a river was very nice, we had a wooden hut, which stood on upright wooden poles hammered into the ground. These structures had no lateral support, so when anyway walked around in them they swayed from side to side which was rather unerving during a thunderstorm. Next day we headed to Flores in the north of Guatemala, this was to be our base to explore Tikal, the famous ruins in Guatemala. After 9 hours stuffed into a small minivan, we arrived at Flores, a town set on a small island in the middle of a lake. We decided to head to Tikal and stay the night at a local hotel, food was crap, but it was a nice setting. We argued with the guys at the entrance to the park, they wanted to charge us to go to our hotel which we thought was a bit ridiculous, and we wanted to by our ticket after 4 so we could go in the next day. We didnt take no for an answer and after a quick visit to Administration, we managed to avoid the jobsworths and got to our Hotel. We ventured into Tikal to watch the sunset. A number of temples are scattered through the park. We headed to temple 4 which was the highest, to view the sunset. A storm began to roll in. It began to rain very hard. The paths were quickly filled with around 5 inches of water and were like rivers. Lightning hit trees around, and branched fell. We heard whole trees falling in the distance and encountered a few on our way back to the hotel. It was a pretty sobering experience.

Next day we packed up and headed back to Flores, not before a waiter in the restuarant plucked a scorpion off my back and stamped on it. We stayed one more night in Flores before heading off for some chilling on the beach. First stop, Cauye Calker, Belize. Island of the coast. Town is built right up close to the beach, and where the beach has eroded, there isnt much beach left, and you couldnt walk out much without stepping on squidgy seaweed. Given the beach experience wasnt really up to what we expected we decided to go on boat trip to do some snorkelling. Which turned out to be one of the best things we have done on the trip. We swam with sting rays and nurse sharks, the rays came up really close and one tame one even tries to hug you. Which was pretty amazing. I also swam through an underwater cave and saw a barracuda up pretty close.

We decided to head over to one other Caye before heading for the Mexican border. Ambergris Caye (La Isla Bonita) as in the Madonna song. Nice enough place, beach was similar affair to Cauye Caulker, we walked around town a bit before heading to bed before leaving the next day.

First stop after passing the Mexican border was Tulum. Mexico is much more developed than Central America. Buses are plush and on time, roads are good, food is good very similar to the states in appearance. We have yet to see the more out the way areas, but so far looks pretty first world!

Tulum was beautiful, beach was wide and white sand. We stayed in some Cabanas on the beach, which was ver handy for the beach. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, frequent showers meant we only had about a day in total on the beach, plus we were a 8 dollar return cab ride from town everytime we wanted to get food so it was becoming a little expensive to stay. We decided to go to Playa del Carmen up the coast. More resort like than Tulum, we managed an hour or so on the beach before the rain came again. It rained on and off most the time were were there, but we made use of our time. We went to see Indiana Jones at the cinema, which incidentally is rubbish, and spent some time on the internet and looking around the expensive malls. It was nice to have a dose of the modern after not seeing anything like that for a while. I bought some new sunglasses and Amy got a bikini and some new sunglasses to. After our trip to the cinema we arrived back to discover the air conditioning had leaked all over my camera charger and broke it. Luckily a local camera shop had a spare, which was amazing. Today we decided to leave and head to Cancun, more out of curiosity really than anything else. Very resort like, high rise building and expensive malls. Amy wanted to see the Sex in the City movie, but sadly it wasnt on. So we leave tomorrow to head for Merida north on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Bye for now!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1210798020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1210798020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1210798020/tpod.html Fri, 23 May 2008 10:29:33 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

San Pedro, Guatemala

Hi All,

Well we have had a few adventures since the last blog. We climbed an actve volcano Pacaya. Last erupted in 2006 spewing a river of lava 100 metres deep, filling a deep ravine on the side of the volcano. The acent is fairly low key through woodland and grassy expanses. But once you reach the top, it opens out into big rivers of Lava. The path of the lava no long decends from the top, but from below a few hundred metres from the peak. It wells up into the middle of the old lava flow, and whilst we were there the crust from one of the caverns collapsed releasing a river of lava down the mountain. Amy toasted (incinerated) some marshmallows and we strolled amongst the searing heat of the molten rock. Im pretty sure if this was in England there would be a 10 mile exclusion zone. Guatemala doesnt really have much of a health and saftey legislation for tourism. Pacaya was our last day in Antigua so we headed to Lago De Atitlan. A freshwater lake set amongst three towering volcanoes. After arriving at Panajachel, the biggest town we took a boat to San Pedro. Upon arrival we werent too impressed. Its a scruffy little town, we had breakfast in some bar which was disgusting and decided it wasnt for us and headed to San Marcos, a quieter town across the way. San Marcos was quainter and we found a nice little hotel. The only problem was, it was too quiet, and there was little to do except meditate under pyramids. After a night in San Marcos we headed back to San Pedro. We must have missed something, so we wondered around for an hour or so looking for a hotel. We got a nice spot on the beach areas amongst pretty gardens and a great view of the lake.

After a few days we realised the appeal of San Pedro. Its relaxed atmosphere and many bars and restuarants makes it a nice place to chill. But its disorganised and pretty ugly. Our travelling companion Gina, the Australian diplomat, was coming to the end of her travels so after some farewell drinks and a nice meal, she left the next day. We headed to Panajachel. This was a stop off before heading to our next destination Semuc Champay. Supposedly the most built up, Panajachel is supposedly not much appeal for travellers, but we liked it, restuarants were good and there were plenty of shops selling Mayan Artisans.

Since we are getting to the last month of our trip, we are moving pretty regularly, its fairly difficult to find a couple of hours and an internet cafe so its been a bit slack lately. But there are few more to come.

Richard and Amy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1210188360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1210188360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1210188360/tpod.html Wed, 14 May 2008 20:32:34 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Antigua Guatemala, Western Highlands, Guatemala

Hola Blogreaders,

Its been a while since the last blog, we have either not been in place long enough to write it, or its been expensive or we have been in the jungle. A fair bit has happened since the last blog. We left La Palma in El Salvador and headed for Copan, Honduras. This is the site of the famous Copan Ruins. More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cop%C3%A1n

We arrived in the town of Copan, and sought a hotel. We opted for hotel Classico. Quaint little hotel in the south of the town. We stayed a few days and mostly ate in the host of restuarants serving international cusine. It had been some time since we had eating anything different from the usual rice and beans combo. First few days we just ate and wandered the cobbled streets of Copan.

We noticed an interesting habit of Honduran men. They frequently get buses to stop, and several would exit the bus wearing wide brimmed hats, line up and urinate on the side of the road, and then each one would return in sequence to the bus. It seems at every opportunity they will take the fertilise the side of the road. Even on street corners in broad daylight, as if a law was about to be passed banning it, and they are making the most of it while they still can.

It was time to check out the ruins. Located a kilometre outside of town we took a moto taxi. We decided to go as early as possible so we could take photos of the ruins without loads of other chumps in the pictures. There were two options on the ticket. One was ruins, ruins and museum and finally ruins / Museum and tunnels for an extra 30 dollars per person. Which seemed a little steep. So we just opted for museum and ruins. We strolled around the empty ruins and the sound of Macaws filled the air as they flew overhead. They also had guides available to show you round, we didnt bother since we probably wouldnt remember any of it 10 minutes after we left anyway. When it came to the tunnels we bunged one of the guards 10 dollors and he let us go and have a look in the tunnels anyway. Im getting used to this bribary business. Its much easy than doing things by the book, and cheaper.

We met a couple of fellow travellers, Alexandra and James, Alexandra was from Australia and James was from Arizona. We hung around and ate, and drank for a few days. We decided to visit the local hot springs, so we paid for a local tour. We turned up and our transport was to be a pickup truck, with a plank of wood across one side. We clung to the sides as the truck sped through the Honduran highlands. Flat tyre and an hour later we finally arrived. There were two parts to the springs, the fancy bit and the basic part. We opted for the basic option since we didnt want to pay the extra 10 dollars. Upon entry we discovered why the cheaper option was cheap. Two concrete holes painted blue, with hot water being pumped in from a large metal pipe, leaves and dead insects floated on the surface, and the odd twitch which suggested some sort of larvae spawning in the water. We decided to cough up 10 bucks and check out the real deal. It was well worth it, quaint little rock pools set in the mountain side reached by a hanging bridge. We spent the afternoon, applying mud in the mud baths and sitting in water hot enough to boil spuds. During our absence it turns out that the truck had sustained another flat and a local gringo from Texas had pumped up the tyre and offered a few of us a lift back to Copan. He was an odd looking fellow, snippets of Wolf Creek entered my head, Amy and I opted for the truck we came in, which sped off into the mountains followed by wolf creek man. The return journey was a bit on the rapid side, we clung on for dear life as the truck sped and skidded round corners on bendy mountain roads, the following truck dissapeared from view, but we all made it safely to Copan and none of us had been bound and gagged in a remote outhouse.

Amy became ill from dodgy eating carrot cake that night, and we had to extend our stay at Copan for her to recover. The days that followed i spent practicing my spanish in the local pharmacies accompanied by various charades to indicate which medication i needed to purchase. It did the trick though, and after a couple of days we headed to the Bay Island of Roatan to do our PADI. This is a basic cause that qualifies you to do open water diving. We hopped on a bus with our new friend James, and head for the bay islands. We arrived in La Ceiba and got a taxi to the port. It was very hot, we bought our tickets and waited to board the boat. Upon entry to the waiting room, security was tight and our bags were searched. They quickly determined that i had pen knife in my bag. They asked me to locate which i did, but quickly dismissed it as a threat and let me through. For those of you who dont know i purchased the knife for 10 pounds on Ebay before my departure. I was expecting a normal size pen knife but to my dismay, upon arrival i discovered it was in fact about an inch an half long, and more indicative of female grooming than to strip bark from wood, or cut up fruit.

The trip over was very rough, swell was big and the boat dipped and climbed the swell of the Caribbean. Numerous people vomitted into plastic bags. I tried to keep my eyes fixed on the horizon and remained standing for the majority of the Journey. Amy seemed relatively unaffected.

Upon arrival in the port we grabbed our bags and tried to find ourselves a taxi. A fellow tourist grabbed our attention and was seeking to share a cab. Gina from Australia. We clambered into the cab and headed to West End. We opted to stay in Mariposa lodge, which was a three bedroom house. We took two of the rooms between us leaving a third free. Few days later we decided to start our PADI course with a local dive school, called Reef Gliders. Our instructor was a Yorkshireman called Gary. He was an excellent instructor with a great sense of humour and the patience of a saint. First day was spend reviewing various videos and filling out the answers the questions. But the next day we finally got in the water. Other the ensuing days we learnt numerous techniques to enable us to dive safely. These included swapping air sources under water and removing water from our masks. It was good fun, Amy throughly enjoyed it, and was eager to do it again. I did enjoy diving, but i just felt after you have done it, there is not much thrill to be had, i found the gear cumbersome, and it did little to appeal to my speed freak side. The further you go down the less light penetrates the water so things appear lacking in colour, i think i prefer the freedom of snorkelling as opposed to diving. Dont get me wrong i can see why people love it, but i think id rather jump out of a perfectly good plane, or hack it down a mountain side on a bike. I think i might try Kite Surfing in Tulum.

After getting up at the crack of dawn every day, we decided to have a few lazy days before leaving Roatan. The beaches are beautiful in Roatan, the only downside is the abundance of sand flies. I got bitten to death, and spent large proportions of the night writhing up and down on my back on the fly to scratch all the bites on my back. We found out it was easily combatted by Off. The local repellent, but they still feasted on me, Amy escaped bite free. I spent my days chilling back at the house, and we all rented scooters one day. Although it seemed a good idea at the time, it wasnt to be. We had recently aqcuired some new residence at the house that we quickly got to know. Valter and Denise a dutch couple. They along with Gina and James joined us renting scooters. We headed to the beach on the otherside of the island. First casualty, Amy, turning a steep corner, the bike toppled. Amy, unscathed, jumped clear of the bike. Her confidence was crushed so James and i decided to return the scooter. James, Valter and I decided to go for a little ride across the island. After an hour or so on the road, casualty number 2. Me. James ahead, braked suddenly upon seeing a speed hump. I braked to avoid him, sadly the gravel on the side of the road didnt provide sufficient grip, and the bike toppled and slid along the road. Fortunatly, the only damage was to the bike. These bikes didnt feel particularly safe. They seemed to have a rather high centre of gravity and didnt lean into bends very well. Couple with loose gravel on the side of the road, unmarked speed humps, and numerous drivers not requiring any form of driving license or test made for a bad combination. The island was fairly unremarkable apart from the stunning beaches. We decided to head back and meet the girls. Casualty number 3. Valter careered off the road falling and cutting his foot, and sustaining significant damage to the scooter. Still no one was brown bread, we decided to cut our loses and return the scooters the next day. We snuck out early to return our remaining scooter in the hope we wouldnt get charged so much on seeing the damage to the other scooter. We shelled out 100 dollars in total. Not too bad considering, we have since decided scooters are not for us. Valter and Denise got hit for a wopping 160 bucks on top of their rental.

We hit the road and headed for Omoa, a small stop off before the Guatemlan border. A rather quaint little town, it would actually be quite nice if it wasnt for the fact that litter was strewn everywhere. Plastic bags floated in the sea, cans and crisp packets littered the beach. We stayed the night and headed for Livingstone, Guatemala the next day. This was to be a short stop off for refreshments before we headed for our final destination Rio Dulce. Toted by the lonely planet to be one of the sites of Guatemala. The boat ride started off in a stunning gorge. The rivermouth opened up into a large inland delta. After an hour or so we reached Rio Dulce. Not quite what we expected. A large bridge now spans the Rio Dulce, longest in central america, the rivers edge was awash with large yachts and boats. Obviously a bit of money here. We checked out some accomodation, and decided to break away from the pack. It was nice to be on our own again, and do whatever we wanted. We stayed in Rio Dulce for a few days and checked out the local hot waterfall called Finca Paraiso. We got a local bus with a couple of English girls we met in our Jungle accomodation, wooden huts set on the riverside in the rainforest. Upon arrival, we headed towards the sign pointing to Finca Paraiso. After 30 minutes or so of walking, we began to suspect we were heading in the wrong direction. The lakeshore was visible and i couldnt see anywhere where these waters from the riverside could cascade 25ft. We reached the resort of Finca Paraiso, not the waterfall. We had gone the wrong way. A local offered to give us a lift in his tractor, adding to the numerous forms of transport we have sampled in central america. When we finally arrived at the waterfall it was worth the trip. We spent the afternoon swimming in the hot and cool pools and taking pictures.

Next day we headed for Antigua. Colonial town in the highlands. Its a pretty place, cobbled streets and low rise buildings with tiled roofs, surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. Amy´s birthday was yesterday. We went out for a nice meal, and we have also met up with our friend Gina again and are going to spend a few days with her and travel to Lago de Atitlan.

Thats all for now folks. This internet cafe is getting a bit sweaty. So im off to find Gina and Amy. No doubt we have some additional Mayan artisan items to pack into our bags.

Richard and Amy
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1204054200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1204054200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1204054200/tpod.html Wed, 14 May 2008 20:29:51 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

David, Panama

Hi All,

We left Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast on the 25th of Feb and headed into Panama. We got the early morning bus to Sixaola which is at the border. This dilapidated town looks like someone exploded a nuclear weapon just above. All the buildings were cracked and falling apart. The corrugated roofs were potholed with rust. This was very much a forgotten town. The border crossing to Changuinola in Panama is the smallest crossing on the Costa Rican / Panamanian Border. We checked in our passports on the Costa Rican side and proceeded to cross the bridge over the river. This bridge was the subject of years of neglect. Wooden panels missing, it was like stepping stones across a river 50 feet up. For the duration of the crossing we were hassled by a tout insisting he could take us to Changinola and it was 27 kilometres away which i knew was complete nonsense. When we reached the other side he pointed to his cab. When i didnt comply things started to get rather heated and he was insisting to this other cab driver that we were his customers and our boat left in 20 minutes. Which was odd since we werent getting a boat. I told him to get lost, eventually he complied and we shared a $6 cab ride to Changuinola with some weird polish people who tried to stiff us for $3 when we just saved them $30.

We got the bus from Changuinola which was a 4 and half hour bus ride to David, which is Panama´s second biggest city. The bus ride was beautiful, and miandered up the mountains and across rivers through dense rainforest. This seemed alot more authentic that Costa Rica, with local people living more authentic lives.

After a night in David we left the next day to Bocas Bravas, which was a small island 200 metres of the coast of Panama about an hour drive from David by cab. We stayed in the only place to stay there which was up 80 steps from the dock. Nice bar and restaurant over looking the island was beautiful. We opted for a double room which was our own cabina overlooking the sea. Beaches were a short walk, abandoned and really scenic, with calm waters for swimming. We had howler monkeys munching on fruit outside our cabina, and we saw large Iguanas. We stayed here for 4 days, before departing for Panama City.

Check out the pics of Bocas Bravas.

Richard and Amy
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1208300400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1208300400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1208300400/tpod.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:21:27 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

La Palma, El Salvador

Hi Everyone,

Well its been a while since i last edited the blog. This has more to do with the quality of the computers than anything else. I have thrown away computers better than these over ten years ago. I digress. First stop after Masaya was Leon, another colonial city, this one was not quite as polished and felt a bit more authentic than Grenada which was a little bit too touristy, we didnt stay long here, strolled around the town and went Volcano boarding, this involved climing a local volcano called Cerra Negra and sliding down it on a bit of wood. This mass of black rock standing over 670 metres didnt even exist 158 years ago, when a small black mound appeared in a corn field. The last eruption i believe was in 1995 when the surrounding area was piled with 16 feet of ash, and Leon was covered in 11 feet of ash. Still active, the crater belts yellow sulphurous smoke, and just beneath the surface its hot to the touch. We climbed the volcano and ran into the crater. You can´t hang around too long in the crater since the sulphur doesnt do you any favours. Plus its hot! The Volcano Boarding was interesting. You sit on essentially a wooden sled. We wore these orange jump suits and it looked like the set of Prison Break on top of a volcano. Sadly we didnt pick up alot of speed on the decent and fell off a few times sinking into the shale, but it was a fun experience none the less.

Next day we headed for Matagalpa, touted as a must see in the Lonely Planet, beautiful blue / green mountains, a pretty mountain town. Our arrival was an underwhelming experience, we had to confirm with the bus driver that this was in fact Matagalpa. Deforested hills, dry with exposed rock, covered with what were essentially slums. Everything in the town seem to close at 5pm, and the hotels were nothing to write home about. On a brighter note, the Bar called the Crazy Horse round the corner served up a great steak on a sizzling platter. We left sharpish the next day and headed for Esteli.

Esteli was a bit more interesting than Mataglapa, not a great deal to do but we met some nice people and decided to hang around for a couple of days. The highlight being a trip to a Cigar Factory called Nicks Cigars. Amazingly we were shown around for free! Working conditions were somewhat below par. People work all day for around $5, 10 hours shifts, making cigars, packing leaves and constructing boxes. Where the leaves were packed and the storage room, nicotine hung heavy in the air, and it was impossible to stay in there any length of time without coughing and spluttering and your eyes would sting. But people work in this all day, no wonder they come back for more, they must be addicted to thier jobs, literally! It was an interesting process, leaves are dried, and stored in a humid room, packed and then sent to the factory round the corner to be made. The tour guide spoke in spanish, so thats about as much as i could gather.

We made a snap decision to go to El Salvador, nothing much really drew us to this country, but since we were in the area, it seemed silly not to check it out. We got ourselves a Tica bus ticket and turned up at the Texaco garage at 6:30 to catch our bus. We crossed two borders, one into Honduras and then into El Salvador. Upon arrival in San Salvador, the capital, we sought some accomodation. Somewhat unsettling is everyone seems to be packing M16´s and Shotguns. This country is obsessed with security, and even the local newsagent has a guard with shotgun in hand. Strangely though even the gun toting guards muster up a Buenos Dias and a smile. I didnt really get the impression that all these guns were necersarry, we didnt see any trouble whilst we were here, its almost like its just the culture, years of civil war and i guess its a difficult habit to get out of. Next day we headed to Playa El Tunca. This surfers mecca is popular with people all over the world and is apparently the best place to surf in Central America with point break after point break and huge waves. We decided to try our hand at surfing again. We stayed at a place that was recommended to us, called Hotel Mopelia. Run by Belgian, "Gille", had several cabinas, a pool, and a bar/resturant area. He definitely made our stay there a pleasant one, good conversation and a few cervesas made us stick around for a few days. His wifes knocks up excellent burgers and we were lucky enough to have the trial run for meat balls! Which was excellent. Our surfing sucked big time, and the waves here, 2 metres and more pummelled me into the sea bed. After a few days of persevering and swallowing large volumes of sand and seawater, we decided to call it a day. I dont think surfing is for me. Other than the company of our host and the pleasant surroundings of the hotel, Playa El Tunca has little to offer unless you surf, and the days are hot and humid, so on the third day we headed for the mountains. Suchitoto was our next stop. A peaceful town set in the mountains overlooking a large resovoir. A beautiful church is the central focus of the town and is surrounded by colonial buildings. We stayed in a hostal, almost mansion like. We were the only guests, the tiled floors and high ceilings were very inviting and we had lakeside views from our balcony. We only stayed 1 night as there wasn´t much to do. Next day we pressed on and we have just arrived in La Palma, 10km from the Honduran Border. Its pretty cold here, high in the mountains, so we are going to investigate for a day or too before heading to Copan.

Thats all for now folks.

Richard and Amy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1207527120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1207527120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1207527120/tpod.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:54:25 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Leon, Nicaragua

Blah blah blah blah volcano boarding.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1206723840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1206723840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/rlphillips/1/1206723840/tpod.html Sat, 05 Apr 2008 14:17:07 -0400 Amy and Richards Trip to Central America

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

After leaving Granda, we spent a night in the market town of Masaya. There was a big artisan market with all sorts of gifts and souvenirs that we could not possibly buy since we had no where to put them nor did not want to carry them for 3 more months. Amy opted for some bangles made from coconut, and to Amy´s dismay i opted for a beefy flick knife to replace my pathetic excuse for a pen knife. Next day we headed to Managua, supposedly not the nicest place in Nicaragua, we were warned of miserable people and pick pocketers aplenty. We stayed out of town a bit near a large shopping mall called Las Americas. We decended upon the mall to stock up on a few calories at burger king, since the meager diet of rice and beans we had been consuming for the previous 2 weeks, wasnt cutting it. Rice and beans combined with excercise i can report is excellent for losing weight. After shedding 19 pounds, i feel like an 8 year old wearing his fathers clothes. One day i even popped on a pair of Amy´s shorts not realising they were hers. Fear not, im not about to waste away since i was a fat git before i left anyway, so if anything im back to normal.

We spent the afternoon at the Cinema, which was a big treat since we had been squinting at milky and muffled films in hostels that show pirate flicks on delapidated projectors. Next day was our flight to the Corn Islands, off the coast of the Caribean side. With the promise of white sands and blue seas, we boarded our plane.

An hour and half we arrived on Big Corn, we decided to head straight for Little Corn as this was supposedly the unspoilt least touristy of the two. We took a small boat over which crashed against the waves as it speeded at nearly 40mph. Lots of people got wet. Upon arrival one of the locals beckoned us to follow him, so we did reluctantly. Im always suspicious of these types, as they ask for cash or spìn you some line about how one place is better than the next. When we arrived at the three ajacent spots we wanted to stay, we found out they were all booked. Amy rushed around finding somewhere and poucing on backpackers if they looked as if they were leaving. Her persistence paid off and we got a room at Graces. As promised the seas were blue, and the sand white. Coco beach was buffeted by a constant refreshing breeze, which compared to the other side of the island made it much more pleasant. It was almost dare i say, "cold". Something we don´t encounter on a regular basis in these parts, except in the odd internet cafe or clothes store. The following few days were fairly uneventful. We swam, we lay and we ate. We met a couple of Australian girls called Nicky and Kate, who were a great laugh and we spent a good deal of time with. Sadly there is always a few weirdos. Some guy called Rod from LA, i had nothing to say to the guy, and generally comes across as quite rude, but in a socially inept way, rather than intentionally. There was also this crazy American woman who had brought a collection or rather ugly puppets on her travels, she would always bring them out in the evenings like a portable ugly punch and judy show. She must have sacrificed considerable space in her backpack to accomodate these hideous puppets, and i found it particlarly odd as did everyone else.

First night in the cabin could have been better, we heard from other guests, that the previous occupants of our cabina had locked a cat in the room. We were suffocated by the intoxicating smell of cat urine for the duration of our two night stay in the cabin. Somewhat annoyed we decided to move to a roomier once, however we were not the only occupants, rats scurried across the tops of the bamboo walls at night, sqeaking and gnawing away at any item of clothing we happened to leave lying around. The next day we decided to move to Elsa´s. These places were on stilts, so should alleviate the bug problem. With unhooked all our hanging bags and moved across to our new home. Shower, toilet and comfortable bed, we finally had somewhere nice to stay. The next day a couple we had met earlier in our travels had reached the island and we all decided to go for a walk. We crossed the island and headed up through town along the coast. The town quickly filtered out into a few huts and stray dogs, and one of the dogs from Elsa´s decided to follow us, since whenever she strayed, she was decended on by packs of skinny dogs barking. As we ambled along the coast, the beach began to dissapear and was replaced by rocks and trees which spread out into the ocean. So we ended up walking in the sea across the rocks. I managed to slip on a rock, cutting my foot and pulling a muscle but we continued on, with the terrain become ever more difficult to navigate, but since we had come so far we were reluctant to turn back. The dog was also unsure, and we carried her over a few of the rocks. The rocks continued, and since the dog was too scared to go back, we had made our bed, Amy and I had to carry this dog over numerous rocks for around 2 hours. We emerged on the other side 2 and half hours later, thirsty and a bit sunburnt. Tired, we sat in hammocks and glugged water. We had open ended flights and were able extend our stay. Amy wanted to stay forever, but white sands and blue seas do get a bit dull after a while, so we decided to stick to our original return date.

We have just arrived in Leon, which is like an oven. So next blog will be the news from there. We have just booked onto a Volcano Boarding trip, which involves hurtling down the side of an Active volcano strapped to a plank of wood. Cant wait!

Bye for now

Richard and Amy.
]]>