Friday, June 26, 2015

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

The socializing and excitement began on Saturday night and hasn't really slowed down. A Canadian intern at the resort wanted a night on the town with some friends from around the property to celebrate her 22nd birthday, and we got to tag along. There are currently a good number of fairly young gringo property owners around, mostly surfers who teach or work seasonal jobs. The highly rated surf break is packed in the afternoons and it is fun to watch. 

The Saturday night festivities started with dinner at Big Bob's Burrtio Banditos joint 10km down the dirt road. The birthday girl brought a large bottle of rum and everyone ordered Pepsi or juice to mix. We ate pizza and finished the bottle with help from the some of the other surfers that frequent Big Bob's on the weekends. The next stop was in the nearest big town called Masachapa. In the fishing village that parties hard, we went to La Barra which seems to be the most popular open air disco. A decent dance floor and a good music selection. The crowd was friendly and we tried to remember some of the Salsa steps we had learned in Antigua. It was a great time, better than I had expected since I normally dislike crowded dance clubs. The open air atmosphere with plenty of space made it easy to relax, drink, talk, or dance.

Sunday: Julia was up at 6:30am to head into Managua with Angela to pick up our incoming friends (Megan and Brock). Out way too late the night before and up way too early, we would feel the effects for the next few days. I at least got to try and sleep in a little, before laying on the couch all day watching golf. Julia returned by early afternoon and it was good to see our friends and do some more socializing. They stayed in a condo on the ocean and we met them for drinks by the resort pool before returning home to cook some Mango Chicken Curry. 

Monday: We woke up early again, this time taking our friends to the fishing village of Masachapa in the early daylight in order to see the boats returning and to buy some lobster, barracuda, and other goodies. Back at the resort, we filled a cooler with drinks and played 9 holes of golf in 4 hours. The rough is a little thicker in the rainy season so ball searching was often and lengthy. With an empty golf course, we also had the luxury of taking our time and enjoyed the views. 
                            Fresh fish
                                                                 Golfing
 
That night, we drank at the resort pool while watching the sunset. Osman made us ceviche and lobster pasta (gluten-free), the girls got to watch The Bachelorette together, and we saw what chocolate does to a 2 year old at 8pm. 

Tuesday: We packed our bags for a week of exploring some other parts of Nicaragua with our friends. Osman dropped us off at the bus station in Managua and we quickly hopped onto a shuttle bus headed for the picturesque colonial city of Granada. We wanted to give Megan and Brock a decent taste of backpacking life and the bus ride didn't disappoint. It stopped frequently, we had to put our bags on our laps, and the bus was packed to the brim. We warned Brock that he would get a butt in his face, and he did. The rooms at the hostal in town were also a good representation of our normal accommodations, with unique decorations and an open bathroom. The next step was to find some local food and slow service, and that we did. We were thirsty from the heat but some restaurants wait to bring out the drinks with the meal. We had to ask for ours after waiting about 25 minutes. The food was good with lots of rice, meat, and veggies. 

That afternoon we walked around town, trying to avoid the occasional rain shower. They have some great old churches and the market area is as real as they get. With so much to see and not much time, we paid $10 to do a 1 hr horse drawn carriage ride around the town as the sun was setting. It was a great way to see all of the outlying sights but it was tough not to think of the scene from Seinfeld. 

                                            Talking with carrage driver 
                                                    Granada Cathedral 

That night, we found Mojitos for 95 cents each and then ate outside at an okay place on the main tourist drag. 

Wednesday: Slept in and got some much needed rest, then ate a late breakfast before walking down to the lake. Granada sits on Lake Nicaragua, a huge body of water connected to the Caribbean by Río San Juan. It was a prosperous city that was fairly well protected, but it still got ransacked a few times by pirates led by Captain Morgan, who figured out ways to get there. We went down to the water to do some kayaking around the hundreds of tiny islands that sit offshore. The area was created by numerous eruptions from neighboring Volcán Mombacho. The islands are now privately owned and have huge houses built by rich locals and expats, and even a former president of Costa Rica. We did a 3 hour tour. (A quick random side-note; did you know that the lyrics and music from Giligan's Island and the song "Amazing Grace" can be interchanged? Try it).
                                                       Ready to do this 

We had 2 double kayaks and a local guide who showed us around. Pushing off from shore, we quickly took on water from the waves and had to use a sandal to scoop water out and keep from sinking. After the initial struggles, between the islands it was smooth and calm. We saw monkeys on a tiny island and Megan tried to shake hands with one of them. We swam a little near an old fort before making the easy downwind trip back to the dock. 
               One of the islands with a big house on it owned by a rich family
                                Attempting to make contact with a monkey

That night in town, we satisfied Julia's sushi craving at a place that had 2x1 on Wednesdays. Although only 3 types of rolls were on the deal, it was still tasty. Despite the good food, we would have to give the restaurant, Tercer Ojo, a bad review. The food was generally expensive and the prices were all listed in US Dollars. When the bill came, they had converted all of the food prices to Nicaraguan Cordobas using the exchange rate of 27.5 C to $1 (higher than the standard 27/1 everybody else uses). They added on the usual 15% tax and the 10% "voluntary" tip. Then when they converted the total price back to US Dollars, they usd a different exchange rate of 27 C to $1. The result was over $2 higher than it should be and more importantly, extremely odd and unethical. Most tourists probably wouldn't notice, but we were checking the bills carefully due to the added taxes and tips that are somewhat unique to Granada. We argued the discrepancy with the waitress and she seemed to acknowledge the different rates and after speaking with a manager, accepted the correct lower amount. Our advice is always check your bill carefully, especially in touristy cities that regularly use 2 currencies. 

Thursday: We ate a cheap local breakfast of gallo pinto with eggs, cheese, and tortillas. Megan found a rather large spider in their room and the cleaning lady killed it with a can of bug spray and a broom. We then hopped in a cab for the hour ride north to the airport in Managua. From there we jumped on a smallish plane that took us to the Corn Islands, a pair of Islas on the Caribbean known as Big Corn and Little Corn. We booked a place on Big called El Paraíso and actually met the chef on the plane ride out. He is from San Diego and gave us some good advice. 
                                                    Getting on a plane

Our bungalows are nice, with hammocks on our front porches and AC. We are about 100 meters from the water and a 15 minute walk from the town center. The first night, we strolled around a little to find rum and watched the locals play baseball on the airstrip that is safe after the last plane leaves at around 4pm. We ate dinner at our resort which was relatively expensive but delicious, followed by card playing and drinks. 

Friday (today): Up early for free breakfast before walking over to the closest nice beach called Southwest Bay. With only 2 resorts on this stretch of sand, it was basically empty. The water was not very clear but the sand was good for playing and building. We all burned in the sun then walked to a local restaurant by the airstrip for some lunch. I ate a pickled jalapeño out of a jar and got the hiccups and cried for a few minutes. It was painful but luckily I recovered in time to finish the scrumptious food.
                                             Southwest Bay Beach

We relaxed at the resort in the afternoon before walking into town for some street food for dinner. I ate deep fried enchiladas while everyone else chose plates of meat and sides. The total cost for all 4 of us was just slightly more than 1 main dish at our resort. It is amazing how good it feels to eat cheap food. 

We played some more cards tonight and plan to get out and explore more of the island tomorrow. The relaxed pace here has been good compared to the busy schedule we set for ourselves earlier in the week. We will fly back to the mainland on Monday and will arrive back at Gran Pacifica on Tuesday after saying goodbye to our friends. It has been nice to see more of Nicaragua and to catchup on things back home. 

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Feels Like Home

Sunday morning we woke early at 5am and walked 3 km to catch the 6:45 bus to León. We were unsure till Saturday afternoon whether we'd meet Angie and family in Estelí or León, so when we hit the produce market in Esteli on Saturday morning we picked up 6 large mangos and 3 avocados for home. It made our final walk to a bus terminal of this 4 month trip about 7lbs heavier, which made us even more excited when we reached León to throw our packs to the ground and not place them again on our backs for some time.

                                                    Early morning in Esteli

We took our first bike taxi of the trip from the bus terminal to the center of León. Angie, Osman and Kaiden arrived a few hours later, with a deceivingly shy Kaiden in his mom's arms. It only took about 30 minutes before he remembered our faces, content to ride on our shoulders and hold our hands while walking down the street.

                                                                In León 
                               Reunited!

The afternoon was spent chasing pigeons and scoping out the Parque Centro in León. We ate our dinner at the amazing buffet style stand near the cathedral. Each of us loaded our plates full of meat, fried fritters stuffed with cheese or banana or zucchini, fried sweet plantains (my favorite), and slices of avocado; on average, a plate piled high cost $3-$5 depending on the amount of meat. We returned to our small hostal which had turned into a happening bar. Angie and Kaiden headed to bed while Micah, Osman and I had a drink before retreating to our quarters where we turned the fans up high to cool us down and try to drown out the Latino music blaring from the bar.

Monday we all did some shopping before returning to Gran Pacifica. After walking through the market and a few used clothes stores, Micah and I found a well organized and well priced thrift store. Micah was on a mission; after seeing the man with the 2008 NCAA Final Four shirt at lunch on Saturday, he then saw another man (he says the same man) on Sunday morning wearing a Jayhawks shirt. Ten minutes after entering the store, I heard a whistle a few aisles away and looked up to see Micah with possibly the biggest smile I've ever seen, proudly holding a $4 Kansas Jayhawks shirt in his hand. It only got better for him, when he found a pair of Footjoy golf shoes, a half size too big but good enough, for $5.20. When I asked if the shirt fit him, he replied, "it doesn't matter" and walked to the cash register with his new treasures.

                Successful thrift store find

We arrived to our temporary home by mid afternoon on Monday. It looks just as we left it, with a few minor marks on the wall we painted from Kaiden's bike riding, and many more June bugs and fruit flies swarming the kitchen this time of year. Monday afternoon and Tuesday were spent cleaning: our clothes, our backpacks, our shoes, our bodies. I had never felt so dirty as I did the last few weeks, and felt like nothing I did- hand washing clothes, scrubbing my skin- made a difference. The combination of sun and sweat along with dirty clothes will do that to a person. 

From Tuesday until today is all one long blurred day. We've slept well each night and woken each morning to Kaiden pounding his fists on our door yelling, "Julia, Micah.... Wake up!" and then he usually walks in to steal our water bottle/ camera/ alarm clock and not even acknowledge us. We have enjoyed a full kitchen to cook meals in and a fridge to keep our water cold. Each afternoon, Kaiden, Micah and I spend nearly two hours in the pool at the house, working on our tans that are beginning to fade. We watch HGTV and the US Open, without any guilt of laziness. 

There have been a few exceptions to the typical day. On Tuesday, Micah decided the hair had to go. He hadn't cut his hair since we left Portland (5 months) and hadn't shaved since Easter (2 months). We were lacking proper equipment and I lack skill and experience in this field, but he pinky promised that he wouldn't get mad at me when all was said and done. One pair of scissors, one razor (sans attachments), a child's comb and 2 hours later.....

Then he spent another 30 minutes trimming selective parts of his beard and mustache before the whole thing was gone. If I do say so myself, the end result is pretty good.

Yesterday we decided we better make sure the golf course has been well maintained during our absence. Micah also got to wear his new used golf shoes! We both felt a bit rusty but enjoyed the ocean views from the 4th hole and the wind blowing through our hair. I even practiced my Spanish, warning some guys working on a house to the right of the green that I'm not very good and they needed to be cautious. I do love that everytime I golf, I feel like I get the sport just a little more. 

                                           Chipping to the first green

Our biggest time occupier at the house by far is the 2.5 year old bilingual. Part of me feels like we never left, but when I look at him and see how much changed in 4 months, it seems like we were gone an eternity. He now answers questions, although the answer is almost always yes unless you're asking him to do something, then it's NO. He's funny, sassy and intelligent; he can go from English to Spanish as easy as flipping a switch. He's also potty trained which is a huge relief for all living at this home, and he likes to yell, "I'm watering the plants" when he pees in the grass. He also loves to play hide and seek, but we're still working on the logistics; he always hides under the table and tells me where he is when I start looking. 

                                                          Our band

           Kaiden's new shirt from Guatemala

Life has definitely slowed down since arriving back at base camp and we realize now how nice of a break this will be from the road. My parents have purchased tickets to visit their grandson for the beginning of August, which means we'll have a week or two of catching up on life and playing pinochle with them before Micah and I head south. There's discussion of other visitors for us in the fall, which we're excited at the possibility of. Our first real visitors arrive tomorrow. Megan, my country music and wine drinking sidekick, and her boy Brock, both of whom we played kickball with, will be with us for the next 10 days. We hope to give them a dose of everything during their trip; some Pacific coast surfing, a glance at real third world Nicaragua, the colonial town of Granada, a chicken bus, and a few days just relaxing on an island in the Carribean. We promise to keep you up to date on our abilities as tour guides.


Saturday, June 13, 2015

No Hay Problema

We are not going quietly back to our temporary home at Gran Pacifica. There are still things to see and do, and multiple buses to catch. Let me get you caught up.

We left La Esperanza on Sunday morning, and after a bus, a mini-bus, and a tuk-tuk (our 1st of the trip), we arrived at D&D Brewery & Lodge. In the small town of Las Naranjas and close to the jungle lined shores of Lago de Yajoa, the brewery was built by a guy from Virginia who first came to Honduras with the Peace Corp. It is a beautiful piece of property, thick with plant life and well designed accommodations. When we arrived on a Sunday afternoon, it was busy with well-to-do locals and a few gringos. As expected, the food was a little pricey but the micro-brew ($2.18 a pint) was a good deal. We opted to eat lunches in town and dinner with pints at the brewery. It has been a while since we have tasted good beer, and we felt confident calling this beer good. My favorites were the Porter and the Amber, but they also offer a Pale, 3 fruity options, and a wide variety of beers from around the world. 
                 The initial beer tasting
                                                   The beer they make

Monday: We caught a bus to check out the Pulhapanzak Falls. Being from the Northwest, we are generally underwhelmed by the waterfalls we have seen, but the 43 meter high cascade of water was very impressive. It was powerful and the spray immediately drenched us at the lower viewpoint. They even had a cool zip-line setup that goes right over the top of the falls that we did not try. We just strolled around and enjoyed the park area, having the whole place to ourselves. 
                       Pulhapanzak falls

After the falls, we caught a bus back to the brewery and decided to get off at the junction town of Peña Blanca to get lunch and buy things. Right as we stepped out onto the street, the afternoon rains started and we quickly settled on a pizzeria. Surprisingly, they had really good crispy rolled tacos (or flautas) and we feasted. With full bellies, we threw on our coats and navigated the streets of flowing water, while locals watched from underneath tarps. We popped into a few shops and bought some groceries before cramming into another mini-bus for the short trip back to Las Naranjas. I then watched the latest episode of "Game of Thrones" and that night we ate some classic pub snacks and drank more beer. 
                                  Braving the pouring rain in Peña Blanca

Tuesday: Another self-guided sightseeing trip. This time we decided to try and get a view of the lake and attempted to follow the map at the brewery. We walked down a scenic path along the canal. At a junction, we decided to stay along the waters edge but the path soon got very thin and tough to navigate in sandals. The numerous fishing locals we passed by seemed to be confused why we were walking down there. The ants bit a little and the plants stung a little. Eventually we found a path leading away from the water and to the nicely mown trail that we were supposed to be on. The trial soon got smaller and took us through thick jungle and along the edge of a creek. Past some small farms and out to a tree and rock filled island/penninsula area. The views of the lake were better than expected and we could see thunderstorms pouring down on the southern edge of the lake. The walk back involved some surprise encounters with large livestock and I learned that Julia is not as much of an Idaho farm girl as I had thought. 
                                     Looking for the correct path to the lake
                                 The actual path wasn't that much easier
                                                      Found the lake

For lunch we found a small kitchen that served basic baleadas for 45 cents a piece. Then we headed back to Peña Blanca for some rain-free discount shopping. I bought a pair of foam sandals for $2.25 and we picked up a tortilla holder to help us remember Honduras. That night, our last at the brewery, was more food and beer. At this point we decided that they still have some work to do in their kitchen. We imagine the owner is a brewer and doesn't have much of a chef background, asking his local cooks to try and make normal American brewery food. They may not know that we like our fried foods crispy and not soggy. We did also order the special local dish, but it was small for being 3x more than you would pay in town. Overall though, we enjoyed our 3 nights and the good micro-brew is truly a unique experience for backpackers surrounded by light local beers. 
                                          We came here for the beer

Wednesday: Destination Nicaragua. We were up at 5am to catch the direct bus to the capital of Tegucigalpa (4.5 hrs). Expecting a large bus, instead a small 30 passenger one rolled up already packed. The lady who seemed to be running the show assured us people would be getting off soon and we wouldn't be standing the whole trip. She was right, and it wasn't long until I was crammed into a front seat. I made myself as small as possible and survived until the lunch stop halfway through where more got off. Julia and I snagged some seats together and the last 2 hours were smooth. 

In Tegucigalpa we took a taxi to the correct bus office. It was the most horn-happy driver we have ever seen. At one road construction spot, he kept constant pressure on the horn while simultaneously yelling out the window. He got us there in plenty of time though and we were soon on a direct bus to the border town of Las Manos. 

At the border, things got a little more difficult. While waiting in line for the window to check out of Honduras, a man asked for our passports and took them inside the office. He came back out and said it would be $10 total for both of us. We declined and said we would talk to the guy through the window. The man in the window asked for 70 lempiras each (which is about $3.20) and we questioned why we needed to pay anything. I had read one blog where a guy said he was asked for $10 when exiting but upon further research, couldn't find anything saying we needed to pay to leave. Border fees are always a little suspect, you never really know if it is just an official taking advantage of you. If they had a formal sign, like Belize had stating the fee and why, then we are cool with it. But there was no sign and we decided to fight it, prepared to walk across without an exit stamp if necessary. I told the man we didn't have to pay last time we were here and that we didn't have any money, asking if there was a bank close by. He said no and after some silence, went back to typing things into the computer. Julia and I looked at each other, not quite sure what would happen, then the man called us to the window and handed us our passports back, saying go ahead. We happily grabbed them and quickly walked into Nicaragua, feeling only slightly bad for lying to the man who may or may not have been just doing his job. 

Across the border and back in our temporary homeland, 2 women in a trailer asked us some questions and scanned our necks with some device before giving us a stamped sheet of paper. At Immigration, the window man seemed to be confused that we didn't get an exit stamp when we left Nicaragua  back in February. He kept asking us dates and we tried to show him the stamps from other countries to help him out. He shook his head for a while before filling out some forms. I apologized to the English man waiting behind us, and after a lengthy check-in and the $12 entry fee, we got our passports back. Onto the next checkpoint where the officer noticed that the window man forgot to give us the tourist card we needed. We walk back to the window and wait on the man again, this time he is confused about how he didn't give us the right stuff. Back again to the checkpoint where a woman asks for the $1 special municipality fee. After about an hour, we were finally free to move about in Nicaragua. From the border, a bus took us to Ocotoal from where our 4th bus of the day took us to Somoto. Another 12 hour travel day but we covered a lot of ground. 

That night in Somoto, we checked email using the free wifi in the central park and ate chicken and enchiladas at a place across the street from our hotel. While eating, an older gringo who was talking English with some locals at a nearby table, asked to join us. He had made numerous mission trips down here with his non-denominational church and just decided to sell his house back in Boston and move down here permanently. He rents a room attached to the restaurant for $80 a month and said they have been feeding him like family. The lady who cooks referred to him as "Pastor David, Salvador de Nicaragua" (Savior of Nicaragua). We could tell the locals really appreciate all he is trying to do. Before we said goodnight, he gave us 4 keychain flashlights and prayed for us. 

Thursday: We did a tour. Somoto, in northern Nicaragua, has jumped onto the backpacker circuit ever since they realized the adventure possibilities inside the nearby canyon. A steep and narrow birthplace of the Río Coco (the longest river in Central America), Cañon de Somoto has been on our radar since we came down in January. Due to it being the rainy season, the full canyon tour was too dangerous, so we got a partial tour. A local kid, probably close to 19 years old, led the 2 of us around. In the beginning, we had to cross the swiftly flowing river that was waist deep. At the time, we felt it was tough, but had no idea it would be the easiest of the 7 times we crossed the Río Coco. 
                  Canyon from viewpoint

After checking out the viewpoint, we descended back down to the river and the real fun began. We donned life jackets and proceeded with a pattern of jumping into the water and swimming as hard as we could to the other side, followed by rock scrambling farther up the canyon. We both consider ourselves decent swimmers, but when you are wearing shoes and a vest, the current pulls harder and you struggle. We tried to find small rock climbing holds on the walls that didn't contain spiders to secure ourselves. At one point, Julia saved my life by extending her hand while the other clinged to the rocks. She pulled me in and made me promise to write about it. Shortly after, at another crossing, she nearly drowned our guide who was pulling her up river with one hand while pulling himself up stream with the other. Our nerves were getting a little more shaky with each desperate swim, but luckily it got a little easier, and we made it deep into the skinny canyon.
                                                        Before things got real
                    One of the crossings 
            A Lizzard on the canyon wall 
                        Floating back down

From that point, we just jumped into the flow and floated down through some small rapids. We briefly floated via a boat and then the last bit just slowly drifted, relaxing in our jackets back down to the trail out. Happy to have survived the canyon during the dangerous rainy season heights, and equally happy to have gotten sunny weather as we saw the skies begin to darken. On the way out, we met 2 sisters from Lake Tahoe. The older is living in Somoto for the Peace Corps and the younger came to visit for 2 weeks. Julia had to break the news to the younger that generally, sisters who come to Nicaragua for the Peace Corps usually stay down here and have babies. 

Back in town, we relaxed in our room as we heard loud cracks of thunder. Around 3:30pm it began to pour and didn't let up until the next morning. Needing to check email and eat food around 7pm, we again covered ourselves in rain jackets (I wore my new foam sandals) as we navigated the streets like we were back in the canyon. We took cover under a children's play structure in the central park to use the Internet and luckily found some decent fried food in a restaurant a few steps away. Before bed, we watched the movie "Ghost" in English and laughed. 
             Using the free wifi in the park

Friday: A chicken bus took us further south to the university town of Estelí. Here is where some of the more important battles between the local Sandinistas and the U.S. funded Contras took place in the 80's. I imagine most of you remember the infamous "Iran Contra Affair" of the Reagan administration, where the CIA secretly sold weapons to Iran and gave the money to the Honduran based Contras to quell the believed communist uprising in Nicaragua. It is said that the farmers in these hills took up arms and fought back the sneaky Contras on their march toward the capital of Managua. 

Julia and I come in peace to Estelí. Our 2nd to last stop of the 4 month backpacking stretch. On the bus ride in, we talked about our desire to find a scale and weigh ourselves and our packs, both of which have changed drastically over the past 16 weeks. Amazingly enough, we walked into Hotel El Mesón and they had a old fashioned scale (the first we have seen all trip) sitting in reception with a sign saying "free to use". We took turns weighing various things while the other would go check out a potential room. 

Here are some stats you might enjoy:
Micah's luggage = 55 lbs
Micah's weight loss = 15 lbs
Julia's luggage = 37 lbs
Julia's weight loss = 9 lbs

This is more than I would advise carrying. We are weighed down by souvenirs that one would not normally buy if they were traveling for longer. We have the luxury of a temporary home and will store said souvenirs in a closet for the next 6 months. The weight loss is as expected, with the constant walking and lighter eating habits. We are both very healthy and feel great, so no need to worry. 
                              Hotel scale

The rooms at the hotel turned out to be pretty nice as well, so we booked in for 2 nights. The plan is to just stroll around town and I hope to eat as many plates of Jalapeño de Res or Pollo as I can. This seems to be a Nicaraguan specialy of either beef or chicken covered in a Jalapeño cream sauce with onions. Osman first showed me this in León back in February and I haven't seen it since. They have it here and I love it. We also have a Mexican restaurant right outside our window that serves up delicious tortas and soft tacos, reminding us of our travels through the Yucatán.

Saturday (today): We walked down to the market to eat lunch and buy mangos and avocados. I saw a man wearing a 2008 NCAA Final Four shirt (the year Kansas won) and contemplated if it would be weird to try and buy the shirt off of a random guy's back. I concluded that the weird part would be when I feel the material and inspect it for stains. So we checked out the local used clothing stores instead, hoping that at least those shirts would be washed. 

Tomorrow (Sunday): We will catch a bus to León where we will meet up with Angela & family. Hopefully little Kaiden is still cute and not deep into his terrible twos. The next big trip isn't until August but there will still be stuff to write about, like the arrival of some friends in a week and a trip to the Corn Islands, so this blog will continue and we hope you keep reading. 

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

The quick and dirty summary of the past five days is as follows: hours upon hours driving in beautiful highlands; simple but unique Mayan ruins; and rain. Lots of rain.

If you want more details, continue to read.

Before I begin though, I feel inclined to talk about Honduras, the country we've lived in for two weeks now. When Micah and I would talk about traveling Central America, as the conversation shifted to Honduras I would say something to the effect of "oh, the place we won't spend much time in, besides the isolated and safe island of Roatán". I've been nervous about Honduras the entire time and the few travelers we met with horror stories about buses getting hijacked didn't help my situation. But we've heard scary stories about every country we've visited thus far and we have yet to have a scary story ourselves. Reality is, if you don't flaunt your stuff and you stay out of the big dangerous cities, Honduras ain't that bad. I wouldn't travel here alone but I also wouldn't travel in Belize (the country I initially thought would be the safest) as a single female... unless you enjoy feeling like a walking piece of meat. I'm amazed and saddened that Central America is perceived as such a dangerous place when the people, for the most part, are friendly and helpful and the land is beautiful.

That being said, we might have witnessed a murder on Tuesday. We had survived the 90 minute ferry ride from Roatán to La Ceiba without feelings of nausea, bussed to San Pedro and were now on a bus from San Pedro to Copán Ruinas. We were pulling out of the terminal and our bus began to slow down before taking a left turn onto the main road. I heard commotion out the window and when I stuck my head out, there were about 5 local men crammed in a small space bordered by two collectivos and our large bus. It was obvious within seconds that there was a fight brewing between two of the men, the drivers of the collectivos. The collectivos didn't appear to have been damaged but from the position they were parked, must have almost hit. There were some punches thrown, a few cheap kicks to the ribs, and then the younger guy turned and walked back to his van. I was doing some quick math in my head: the murder rate in San Pedro Sula is 187/100,000 people, which breaks down to 1 in every 54 people are murdered. Those are bad odds! As our bus drove away, I kept my visual and saw the driver that I had thought was retreating back to his van instead pull a long machete out and showed off his weapon by jabbing it in the direction of the other driver. I think your odds of being murdered change significantly if you piss off a guy with a machete. We drove away before we saw it get ugly(-ier).

We set a new longest travel day record on Tuesday, starting with a taxi at 6am and arriving in Copán Ruinas at 7pm that evening. I always feel like we should be energized after simply sitting in a bus all day and ready to explore after traveling, but it's not the case... we're pooped the next day. Wednesday was our recovery day; we read in our room, swung in the hammocks on the terrace, and Micah made a scrumptious chicken curry for dinner in the hotel kitchen. 

  Taking advantage of the terrace which also included a small soaking pool (which we didn't use)

                                      Micah doing his thing in the kitchen

Thursday we got an early start and walked the 1 km to Copán Ruins. I'm becoming a pro at writing about ruins, as this was our sixth of the trip. I'll summarize its differences from the others and let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Copán covers a much smaller area and doesn't boast the grandiose temples that reach the sky, as the others have. But it does have macaws in the trees, beautiful backdrops of hills and valleys, and the largest Mayan hieroglyphic known to date. It was also discovered that the Mayans built temples on top of existing temples, so underground tunnels were constructed that link the older temples to each other for tourist exploration. The park entrance was $15 and to see the tunnels was $15 more, so we opted to stay above ground.

 El Cementerio- for residential living and inhabitants were then buried next to their home when they passed away so it doubles as their cemetery

                  Copán is best known for its sculptures, pottery and hieroglyphics

The Hieroglyphic Stairway, largest known Mayan hieroglyph discovered to date. Several thousand glyphs on 63 steps tell the history of the city.

                                            Patio de Los Jaguares

                                          Sculptures on front of a temple

On our walk back to town we hiked up a steep cobblestone street for a lookout of the small city with red-tile roofs. We enjoyed the left-over curry for lunch and again for dinner. Between the meals, we hung out on the partially covered rooftop terrace for the best view of the afternoon thunderstorm. The rain hit the scrap metal roof with such power that we couldn't hear each other speaking and the loud clapping of thunder made us question our choice to be on the highest point in the city, surrounded by metal. At one point, we were thankful we weren't still at the ruins. And then even more thankful we weren't in the tunnels at the ruins.

                                      View of Copán Ruinas from Mirador El Cuartel

                The clouds rolling in

8am the next morning, we caught a collectivo for a windy ride through the hills to Gracias. For the second time since our travels began, a little girl got motion sickness and threw up in the van. I, for the second time since our travels began, felt like the super hero when I handed baby wipes to the parent to clean the child and the unfortunate person sitting next to them. We walked in search of the perfect hostal in Gracias, which doesn't exist as they were all very expensive or dirty and small. We chose the second dirtiest one we found that had a shared bathroom with a door on the single toilet that didn't latch, two very used twin beds in a small room and to our horror, more cockroaches (who didn't show their faces until that evening). It was also our second cheapest hostal of the trip at $9.10.

We had arrived early with plenty of time to explore, so we threw our packs down and headed out the door. Had our typical plate lunch which included rice, small baked potatoes, salad, beef for me and chicharron for Micah and a drink, each for $2.55. As we were pondering whether to walk to the fortress after lunch, another downpour began. We ran back to our room and spent a couple hours playing online and reading until it let up. With our rain jackets on, we ventured out in the light drizzle and tried to walk to the fortress but decided against it when we were unexpectedly told it cost 50 lempiras each. We noticed that carts were beginning to pop up on the corners and planned to find our dinner here. The Central Park had 3 stands and we chose the one where the gal in charge asked "que quieres, mi amor?" (what do you want, my love) when we walked up. We sat under the tent to take cover from the constant shower and indulged in tacos, baleadas and pastalitas, all plus a drink for 100 lempiras or $4.50.

                                                          Gracias

                                    Happy señoritas making yummy food

Arriving back to our room, Micah rearranged items on the nightstand between beds and jumped when something moved on its own. Convinced it was a large spider, his search began and I stood as far away from the nightstand as possible. Once the nightstand was cleared and upside down, the antenna of the momma cockroach and all the baby cockroaches were visible. The next five minutes were spent with Micah and the nightstand outside, flip flop in hand, and I documented from the safety of my bed. See below.

Micah asked if I would hold the flip flop while he moved the nightstand. I would not.

                              So brave

Saturday morning we again boarded a collectivo and arrived in La Esperanza after 2.5 hours. We decided the rain wouldn't start before 2pm when we would arrive, so Micah didn't cover his pack with it's rain fly. I am without one since I accidently left it in Nicaragua and have paid the price with a thoroughly soaked bag numerous times. As it began to rain AGAIN with our bags on top of the van, I apologized to Micah but hey, misery loves company. Luckily we were both saved since at some point, the attendant guy had put our bags in the covered back of the van and they were perfectly dry. We got out our rain jackets and put garbage bags over our packs to walk in to town.

          Locals walked by and laughed at us

We went with the first hotel we could find to catch the end of the UEFA Champions League Final (European soccer match). Feeling our options were to stay inside and be dry or chance the rain, we put on our big kid pants and went for a walk. We meandered through the street market and managed to make it to the top of a hill overlooking the town before the rain resumed. At the top of this hill was a cave that had been made in to a chapel, so we glanced in and then headed back to the safety of our room. 

  Our room at Hotel El Rey. No standing room, curtain for a bathroom door, but there is a flat screen tv!

                             View of La Esperanza from La Gruta cave/cathedral

From the quiet of our room, we heard some chanting and ended up watching a crowd march down main street in protest of the government. It's been on the news here lately so we knew it wasn't against the U.S. and we were safe to stand on the porch and watch. Apparently the government used some social security funds for a political campaign and that's recently been brought to the public's attention. No Bueno. Afterwards, still raining, we walked to the closest restaurant we could for dinner before it was lights out.

                             Protesters

Today, Sunday, we continue this trend of finding a new town to explore each day. We are heading towards Lago de Yojoa, a lake high enough in the mountains to require a long sleeve shirt in the evening and there's likely another thunderstorm there waiting for us. We loved the heat of the Carribean but we still welcome this change with open arms.

The road has treated us well but has begun to take its toll. We both agree we could live out of hostals and backpacks for another few months, but since we know that we will soon return to Nicaragua, we are tired. Our bodies crave well rounded meals, our backs crave good mattresses. We safety pin our shorts to keep them on our thinner bodies and we smell our clothes to determine if they are clean enough to wear. In days, we will be reunited with my sister and her family. I look forward to smothering my nephew in hugs and drinking a glass of wine with my sis and bro-in-law while Micah and I divulge them with our favorite travel stories. It will be good to have a break from the road, but I will anxiously await the day this fall when I put my pack back on.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Time Warp

It is strange how this works out when we are alternating who writes these blog posts. Julia has informatively told you about most of the Mayan ruins we have explored, and now for the 4th time this trip, I get the task of summing up our time on a Caribbean island; Isla Mujeres (Mexico), Cayo Coco (Cuba), Caye Caulker (Belize)... and now Roatán (Honduras). Some themes are the same, like the relaxed days of swimming, snorkeling, enjoying the scenery, and drinking rum. On each island we step into a bubble where everything slows down and everyone speaks English. But there are some differences which I think you will find interesting, so I will not just copy & paste to fill the paragraphs below.  

As Julia mentioned last post, we found a few cockroaches in our room the first couple nights. I managed to usher them out of the room and we didn't think much of it. On the 3rd night, Julia awoke around 2am, frantically brushing herself and rolling toward me, saying she had one on her. I turned the lights on, and after a brief chase was able to trap the intruder in a bowl and decided to leave it imprissoned on the front patio. The next morning, we released it, hoping the dog would finish it off, but it flew away. Now we were on full alert and on the 4th night, decided to do a thorough sweep of the room before bedtime. I flipped on the bathroom light to find 5 roaches scattered around. Then the fun began... our neighbor Klaus joined me in grabbing bowls and cups and we proceeded to trap the critters and slide them outside where they 1 by 1 would be given a slight breath of freedom, before the sandal of death would be dropped multiple times. A total of 7 would be executed that night, 1 escaped to an unoccupied adjoining room, 1 flew off into the night, 1 taunted us from outside the bathroom window, and a final 1 is still believed to be trapped in the door frame by a wad of toilet paper. That is an army of 11 cockroaches seen during a war that lasted almost 2 hours. We drugged ourselves with allergy medicine that night to sleep, and when the sun came up on our 5th day on Roatán, Julia and I requested new chambers. Thanks to Alanis Morissette, my understanding of the word "irony" is a little messed up, but I think it is ironic that possibly our favorite accommodations on this trip had the biggest bug issue and are the only ones where we asked to change rooms. 

                     A few of the captives

Other than the critters, life here has been splendid. Similiar to Caye Caulker, the accommodations are a big reason we ended up sticking around for 8 nights. Colorful rooms with refrigerators and gas stoves; patios with chairs and tables that look out into a dense garden with bright flowers and palm trees; hummingbirds fly around and very little street noise is heard. The hotel caretaker has a cat and 3 friendly dogs (although the 6 month old puppy pees on our porch every time she is excited to see us). Plus we have our new Danish friends to explore the island with during the day and drink and play cards with at night. Meals are shared and the days blend together. These times feel more like a vacation with very little stress. 

           Julia enjoying the patio and good internet


The days have not all been just lying around and enjoying our place. The snorkeling in Half Moon Bay, just a 5 minute walk away, is spectacular. The reef runs the length of the small bay and around the sides. There are some great deep spots and a variety of fish. One day Julia and I swam around to the outer side of the reef and the water was clear and cool, with the bright blue sea illuminating the colors of the coral. I might be addicted to underwater photography now so please excuse the numerous pics. The snorkeling is exhausting and serves as our only real form of exercise in this lifestyle.

                                                             The Reef
                                                          Colorful Fish

                                                        Little sea turtle


For a change of scenery, one day we strolled further west with the Danes, 3 kms down the beach to the prettier but more expensive West Bay. There you have your typical Caribbean beach with palm trees, soft white sand, turquoise waters, and resorts with weekly tourists lining the shoreline. They have inflatable slides setup and even a jet pack thing for your feet that propels you into the air. We snorkeled along the far western end where the reef is a little beat up but still managed to see some new things and more amazing depths. I tend to feel clostrophobic when floating just a few feet above the sharp coral, so I really enjoy when we find the walls that drop almost 30 ft, making me feel small and even a little afraid.  

                                      Julia enjoying the beach in West Bay
                                            Not sure what this is
                 Me swimming in the depths

With the island being quite large, on Saturday we rented scooters to get out and explore. Julia has been wanting to do this for a while but I have generally been reluctant due to my inexperience on motorized 2-wheelers. Under the tutelage of Klaus, I had confidence and honed my skills on the flat main drag in town (with one small trip onto the curb) before we hit the hilly roads. Luckily it was smooth surfaces for most of the way and we covered a lot of ground. The open air feeling was amazing and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to use my weak horn to get back at Central Americans for all of their honking at us. Julia held on tight and took some pictures as we rose up and down the ridge line that encompasses the middle of the island. We had partly hoped to find some secluded beach on the outskirts, but that didn't happen. We ended up cruising down to West Bay again to do some swimming before rolling back into our town of West End as the sun was setting. A great experience despite the toll it takes on the backside. I can see us doing this again in the near future. 

                                                     Scooter cruising 
                       The Danes rolling through Punta Gorda on the east side of island
                         View from the top of one of the hills, looking west.

Feeding ourselves is another major part of our island life. With the Danes, we alternate cooking meals, and multiple pastas and stir-frys were created. We pampered ourselves with eggs, banana pancakes, and french toast in the mornings and have gained back some of the lost weight. On other nights we head to the beach to try the street food. At $1.40 for a filled tortilla, Baleadas are the cheapest food in town and are quite tasty. From another small spot on the strip, $4.60 will get you a good sized plate of food with your choice of grilled meat. We had some really good tacos from a cart, but as we were leaving, he taunted our senses by cooking up some lobster tails and shrimp for a special event next door. We gaze and ask how much, he pauses and says $100 for the 4 of us, we say maybe some other trip. 

                                               Expensive street lobster

The only other real activity that takes up our time is socializing late into the night. Like us, the Danes prefer a relaxed evening on the patio with a $5 bottle of rum and some mixers instead of $7 cocktails at the beach side bars or semi-cheap drinks surrounded by booty videos. We play card games like "Presidents" and "500" (similar to gin rummy). Mix drinks contain rum, ice, juice, ginger ale or coke, and lime. Travel stories are exchanged and future destinations are dreamt about. We learn a Danish phrase or two and try to decide whether free education and outstanding benefits are worth the astonishingly high tax rates. I would say "yes" but realize that it also makes it more profitable for people to abuse the system. Just one of the many topics that can be discussed when socializing with fellow travelers from around the globe. 


                                                           Socializing

Now it is early Tuesday morning, our bags are packed and we are not really sure how 8 days have already passed. We think all of the above has been good for us. We are either reenergized and ready for almost anything that Honduras has to throw at us, or we are already mentally back "home" in Nicaragua and done backpacking. In 2 weeks we will be reunited with family at their house at Gran Pacifica, where bags can be unpacked and clothes thoroughly washed. But we have more ground to cover and after a big travel day, tonight we will hopefully sleep in Copán Ruinas, a town next to some more Mayan ruins for Julia to write about.