Central and South America

Nicaragua, Esteli and Somoto

2011-03-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

We started the day with breakfast at the hostel and then shared a taxi to the minibus station with the older lady Kaley we had mat the previous night. At the station we parted ways as we were heading north towards Honduras and she was heading south. Our trip was a short jaunt to the small cowboy frontier town of Esteli. We checked into Hostel Luna which was a hostel and accompanying cafe that supported local development projects with its earnings. We then had lunch at the cafe and I decided to finally get my hair cut while Shannon scooped out a place for a massage. We later reconvened and did a walking tour of the town, booked a tour for the next day, had some supper and then headed back to the hostel where we read for a couple of hours and went to bed really early.

Somoto
Just down the road from Esteli is the frontier town of Somoto but we were not going there for the town we were going there to “tour” the Somoto Canyon which involves a hike up toward the head waters, a partial walk down the river bank, swimming/floating the river the rest of the way while looking up at the jetting canyon walls on either side of you, then a small boat ride and finally a short walk back to the house we started at. So wouldn’t you know it but the only other gringos on the bus to Somoto to also attend the canyon tour were the Bostonites Christy and Chris we had met in Leon. This tour was a little different than most as there is a family that runs the tours. We ended up having lunch, supper and staying at their small ranch house. The walk was a hot dusty trip up the road, through cow fields and up a hill until we finally hit the river. We started walking along the bank of the river which was made of huge rounded rocks. We walked until the river started to pool, at which point our guide pulled out his blow up dingy. We piled our dry clothes etc. in the dingy and then jumped into the cool water with our life jackets, which helped us float along. The greatest part of this tour was the perspective you had floating down the river as the canyon walls started to rise up to 30 meters or more and the river narrowed to 8 meters across at times. The canyon funnelled us through thin river straights with shear rock walls going up to the heavens. Despite the heat of the day, the coolness of the water sucked the heat right out of us. We later laid on the hot rocks at the end to warm up. We walked back to the family residence, had some beers and a typical Nicaragua supper of tortillas, rice, beans, and chicken in a tomato salsa (steamed vegetables for Shannon). We drank some more beers, talked with the family as best we could and then the four gringos played some cards and headed off to bed as we all had an early day of travel the next morning in opposite directions.

Nicaragua, Leon - Beautiful Churches Everywhere

2011-03-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

From what we had saw and heard about Managua, the city did not really feel like a place we should remain and so we walked to the collectivo station (shared minivan taxi) and caught one to the city of Leon. We arrived early and grabbed a cab to Hostel Lazybones which appeared to be a scaled down version of the Hostel Oasis which was the fancy hostel we had stayed at in Granada with Chris and Heather. After unpacking we found out that the this hostel has also been the previous owner of Oasis so it made sense that everything looked very similar with its hammocks, wall murals, and pool. Every day in Leon was extremely hot and so we spent every morning hanging around the pool. Our first afternoon was spent walking around the streets viewing all the gorgeous old churches and colonial buildings. Leon really grew on us as it is very authentic, full of history, with at least 10 beautiful churches within a stone throw, a cobble stone city square, a good sense of safety and friendly people.

The next day we signed up for a kayaking trip through the Las Penitas estuary to see the mangroves and hopefully an alligator. That day we headed out in the afternoon with our tour guide and a young English girl. The mangroves were so peaceful and quiet. Our guide told us stories about old Leon and the myth of a priest who was beheaded by the Spaniards and who was believed to still roam the area of old Leon. He also told us about the importance of the mangrove, as it filters the water and is home to many of the animals in the area. As well, he explained that last year there was a bad storm that blew over and destroyed a lot of the mangroves and that the University has since been working hard to replant the mangroves (red and black mangrove trees are in the area). During our kayak trip we paddled the estuary which came from the main land and went around either side of a very close island. After an hour of paddling we stopped on the island so that our guide could teach us about turtles and the University’s turtle breading station which was on the island. We were told that the breading season was over, but that turtles come to shore during the breeding season along beaches and lay their eggs in the sand. Since turtle populations have been dwindling due to over fishing, destruction of habitat and pollution, volunteers and biologists gather the eggs and move them to a controlled setting where they can be watched 24-hours a day along the same beach, and hatch safely. The baby turtles are released into the wild either at dawn or dusk when there are limited predators to enhance their survival. We were very fortunate that day as the season was not over and a batch of turtles had been born that morning. We were able to hold the baby turtles, take pictures and were invited back to release them into the ocean at dusk. We continued our kayak tour up the estuary in search of alligators without avail but were able to see numerous species of birds that frequent the mangrove forest. We returned to the turtle hatchery before dusk, had a swim in the warm Pacific Ocean, played in the waves and then watched the turtles being released into the water. It was amazing to see them instinctively head towards the ocean. We did not leave until every last baby turtle was gobbled up by the surf.

The next day we were going to head out but our lazybones and the extreme heat after breakfast slowed us down to a halt. We spent the morning swimming, laying around the pool and reading our books, as it was too nice to travel. We also briefly met a couple Christy and Chris from the Boston area. They owned an organic farm back home and were travelling for two months during the winter season. In the afternoon we had finally gotten ready for a walk around the city at which time we also found a great buffet-style lunch comida for $2 per person. We toured the local market and then went for a roof-top tour of the Cathedral at Park Central for $2 per person. It was worth every penny to check out the roof as there were more than 20 domes of various sizes, three steeples with at least 15 bells and a great view of the entire city out to the surrounding volcanoes. We were both surprised but super excited that they let people self tour this amazing spot. We spent the rest of the day soaking in sweat but went to an internet cafe with our computer to call Todd for his birthday which is Scott’s brother. It was awesome to hear his voice and it made us excited for our trip to see Todd and his girlfriend Kim for a week starting March 7th at the end of this adventure. We headed back to Lazybones hostel and right away jumped in the pool. While in the pool we ended up talking to an artist from Burlington by the name of Kaley Archer. She explained that her and her late husband had travelled all around the world and that since his sudden death she had continued to travel and was on her way to travel and volunteer throughout Central America. Due to the heat of the day and after deciding to move on to another destination early in the morning we hit the sack.

All Inclusive to Managua

2011-02-15T07:03:00.000-08:00

The next day we were allowed to stick around the resort until 3 PM so we stored our bags and hit the pool after breakfast and chilled there all day, had some lunch and then jumped in a very expensive resort-approved safe taxi for way too much money to the capital of Nicaragua, Managua. After driving around trying to find the hostel we were looking for we decided that once we got there we would just hang out around the pool, drink some beers, and share some travel experiences with fellow backpackers.

That night we went to El Tercer Ojo which is the sister restaurant to the one we went to Granada with a couple from Australia. The next morning we went out for some breakfast that for some reason took 1 hour to prepare and then had to race back to the hostel where Chris found out that their flight was bounced forward an hour and then frantically had a cab called and we said our goodbyes to Chris and Heather and they were off. It was really awesome having not only one set of friends but two sets visit us abroad... hint hint to the rest of you!!!

Masachapa - Montelimar All Inclusive

2011-02-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Lago Apollo. To the right is the look at we had been at the previous day

Picture 2 - The meal at the vacant restaurant on the beach.

Picture 3- The vacant resort on the beach. So nice but completley empty.

Picture 4 - Our Cyclo Taxi to the all inclusive resort Barcelo

Picture 5 - Enjoying our first and only night at an all inclusive

Picture 6 - Pool side

Picture 7- Drinks at the Casino

Picture 8 - Chris won big!

Picture 9 - Beach side

Picture 10 - Minutes before having to pack it up and leave the pool side.

The next day we grabbed an early taxi south to the coast and during the drive the taxi allowed us to stop at Lago de Apoyo, which is a very large crater lake (an old volcano that has collapsed in on itself and filled with crystal clear blue water. This was incredible to see and to the right of the lake in the distance we could see the other volcano we were at the previous day and the lookout we had viewed out at the lake from. The taxi ride was a little more than two hours, which carried us up a mountain side and then down down down to Masachapa-Pochomil which are beach towns that were deserted by all people for some strange reason except for the staff working at the various empty restaurants?? We had some beers and lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean. With only two hotels to stay at and at prices a little above our price range Shannon and Chris ventured off to check out other places and returned back to report that there was one really cool resort looking place that they saw, which was deserted except for one cleaning lady who said we could stay there for $7 a person. Shannon and Chris considered it as it really was a nice place, but without anyone around, no food, etc it didn't seem safe and so they returned empty handed. We then decided to check out the all-inclusive a few kilometers away, which was mentioned by the older couple we met in San Juan Del Sur. So we decided to take a tricycle or cyclo taxis as they assured us that there were no taxi's in this town only these cyclo taxis. They peddled us down the road (a few kilometers) for $5 a couple to check out the all-inclusive resort Barcelo down the beach in an area called Montelimar. For some reason we expected the rate to be cheap since there didn't seem to be anyone around in this area and since the Cyclo Taxi told us that all the travelers had left for San Juan Del Sur. After arriving to the all inclusive and after much debate and trying to wheel and deal we ended up forking over $75 a person for 24 hours of all inclusiveness (3 meals, all the drinks we wanted, a cabana with cable and hot shower, pools, and beaches). We spent the rest of the day drinking by the pool and then hit the supper buffet where we were surrounded by Nica’s and Quebecer’s. After supper we went to the on-site casino and drank the night away playing 1 Cordora slots which was a lot of fun as there are 21 Cords in a Dollar so when you hit the pay out button there would a pile of coins spitting out of the machine. Chris won 600 cords and it sounded like he won a million dollars with all the coins dropping out, but in actuality it was only about $30. Exciting none the less.

Granada Part 2, Volcan Mombacho

2011-02-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

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Picture 1 - Hostel Oasis - Best hostel ever

Picture 2- Army truck to take us up Volcanoe Mombacho

Picture 3- Facts on Mombacho

Picture 4- Hiking through the crack at the top of the Volcanoe

Picture 5- View from the top of the Volcanoe crater.

Picture 6- Display of the Volcanoe and craters at the top. We did the two craters at the top left.

Picture 7- Yes I am ziplining up side down

Picture 8 - Scott doing the superman

Picture 9- Crazy bug at the bottom of the zipline

The next day we had organized a tour to venture to a volcano. We got a taxi to the National Reserve and jumped in the back of an old Mercedes Army truck up to near the top of Volcan Mombacho at 1100 meters above sea level. We then walked around the two craters at the top to see the view and learn about the area. As well we learned the difference between rain forest and cloud forest where the later is always in the clouds and always is at 100% humidity. We walked through a crack in the volcano only a meter or so apart at times and had pictures taken with our legs supported on either wall high in the air. There were also fumer holes that are holes in the ground from where the volcano releases its heat/steam. Then there was a clearing that had an amazing view over Granada and Lago Nicaragua with a wind that almost was pushing us over. After getting the army truck back down the volcano and went zip lining with 17 lines zipping through the forest. This zip line was different than the one in Costa Rica where they allowed you to do Superman, Up Side Down, and in Tandem. There was a lady and her mother from Alberta and mother was in her 60’s was nervous at first but by the end completed both the Superman and Upside Down zip line. The last zip line they allowed Scott and me to go down together with me on his lap. That night another fancy meal at El Tercer Ojo which is a Asian fusion restaurant with really great food and lots of it and of course lots of wine.

Granada Part 1

2011-02-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - a Church in Granada

Picture 2- View of Granada from the bell tower of the Cathedral

Picture 3 - Inside the Cathedral

Another cab ride back to the ferry and then from San Jorge to Granada and arrived by 12. We hit the ATM in Granada and headed to Hostel Oasis. This was hands down the best hostel Scott and I had been to yet. It had a pool, tons of hammocks, a great cheap breakfast, high ceilings, and very neat murals everywhere. We settled in and started a walking tour of the city to see the monuments and hit up a good restaurant where we sat in the middle of pedestrian only street and had a great lunch with cold beers under an umbrella while peddlers tried to hock their goods. We checked out all the major churches in the city and hung out in the Parque Central which is an area about a city block large full of vendors and people just hanging out. Right on the Parque Central is the main cathedral which we toured and climbed the steeple right to the top that gave a bird’s view of the city and surrounding volcanoes. The heat was getting to us so we toured back to the hostel had some free coffee and cooled off in the pool, chilled out and then got ready to go out for fancy dinner out on the town.

That night we went to El Zaguan a relatively fancy restaurant with mariachis playing and the ever presence of the open wood burning BBQ grill. We all ordered too much food and then more food and bottles of red wine and talked the evening away, it was a stumbly walk back to the hostel and a great night sleep.

Isla de Ometepe Part 2

2011-02-15T06:57:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Our Hike up Maderas to the look out

Picture 2 - The view from Maderas look out

Picture 3 - We needed a break after at Hostel El Encante

Picture 4 - Our Bike Ride to Ojo de Agua - Bike trouble Chris to the rescue

Picture 5 - Hostel El Encante's Restaurant view

Picture 6 - Fresh Spring Water treat - Ojo de Agua

The next morning we took cab to the other side of the island to the small village of Santa Domingo to El Encanto Hostel that is situated on the flank of Volcano Maderas. Within minutes of checking into our rooms the owner had arranged for us a guided hike up to the lookout on Volcan Maderas overlooking Volcan Concepcion. Along the hour and half hike we saw petroglyphs, crazy chirpy large blue birds with mow hawks, a monkey, walked through farmer fields, forests and then the incline up to the lookout which was an awesome view over the island and over the lake and of course a great view of the Volcano. The hike was nicely downhill the way back to the hostel which was good especially for Heather who was punched after the accent.

We had lunch and then took bikes on a ride on the island that almost ended in disaster along the bumpy dusty road as my rear gear shift blew apart but luckily Chris the bike mechanic and our key to the hostel fixed the bolt that came out. Thank goodness the next bit of road was paved. We biked for about half an hour to Ojo de Agua which is just what we needed after a long day of hiking and biking. It is a freshwater natural pool with concrete walls, stone and sand ground filled with natural spring water in the forest and it was very cool and nice spot for some fancy drinks poolside along with a taste of homemade tequila that tickled the throat violently. We swam and read our books it was very refreshing. We saw parrots in the trees and one even flew end to end over the pool. After an hour and a half we were back on the bikes to make it back to the hostel. We showered up caught the sunset and headed down for supper. The owner of the hostel and restaurant had lived 9 years in Canada and 5 other places in the world. The food at the restaurant was awesome and he had the best view from his restaurant, hostel, banana farm. That night we ate good food, had a few drinks, played a game called pigs and called it an early night again as we had to be up early the next day to take an hour taxi to catch the ferry.

Isla de Ometepe Part 1

2011-02-15T06:54:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Shannon on the way back from the bike tour to Chaco Verde

Picture 2 - Scott passing the herd of cows on our bike tour

Picture 3 - Volcanoe Conception, unfortunately the cloud does not and would not clear

Picture 4 - Lago Nicaragua from the Restaurant at Chaco Verde Inn

Picture 5 - The Lane way from Chaco Verde Inn looking at Volcanoe Concepcion

Ometepe is a very interesting in that it is an island on the largest fresh water lake in Central America and was formed by two Volcanoes Concepcion and Maderas and these two have been connected by lava that had flowed out into the lake and over the last 1000 years. Both of the volcanoes have not been active since 1957 but they still off-gas and thus it is very rare to see their tops as they are always covered in cloud cover like a halo.

From San Juan del Sur we took a cab to San Jorge and right away boarded on the ferry across which was a boat that carried around 20 cars and had three decks to sit on. We arrived in San Jose del Sur and caught a pick-up truck taxi to Laguna Chaco Verde (green lagoon) and had some lunch and checked into a cabana that was divided with two rooms with separate doors, hammocks on the porch and some lazy chairs. We headed on a small hike to look at the lagoon, check out a look-out over the lower reaches of the island and then ventured to find another beach that we were unsuccessful. It was very hot so we had a bunch of beers with lunch of course... good ol Tona (pronounced Tonya) and laid out our towel and took in some beach time and swimming. Shannon and I rented two suspect bikes and went for a tour into the sunset to check out the country side (the island only really had one road around most of the shore line and one through the middle). Scott waited for the clouds to clear on Concepcion to get a picture of the sunset gleaming on the sides of the volcano but oc course this did not happen as it is rarely clear. We carried on and found ourselves behind a herd of cows. We soon turned back to the Inn but did not forget to buy a 26’er of 7 year old Cana de Flors Rum or as they say here Ron, a 3 litre bottle of Coke and some snacks and biked back to find Chris and Heather on the hammock and lazy chair so they were already in the Ron drinking position. I walked over to our bar/restaurant and got two full glasses of ice which they were reluctant to give us as they have their ice shipped in from town. We literally had 2 drinks each and the bottle was gone, should have bought a 40 ouncer as it was delicious. The guys at the restaurant on site, the only place to really eat within a kilometre or so came over to our cabana to ask if we wanted any supper and since Ron had left us it was time for beers and a great supper at the sandy floor restaurant overlooking beautiful Lago Nicaragua.

Enter Chris and Heather, San Juan del Sur Part II

2011-02-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Home stay picture with Suzanna

Picture 2 - Marsella Valley Disk Golf Club

Picture 3 - Marsella Valley home made baskets

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In the morning we packed our things and moved onto the place Chris had booked for us from home - La Terraza, which had three private rooms on each floor with a really nice sheared kitchen, common area, and balcony with some wicker chairs and a hammock. The top floor had a view of the beach and city. We were going to stay there for the next two nights before moving onto the next community. Scott and I spent the day at the beach. Scott had left a note for Chris and Heather at La Terraza telling them to meet us at the beach. Around 5pm Chris and Heather arrived. They were starving and tired. We moved from the beach to the restaurant right on the beach where we had been swimming that day. We watched a wedding happen on the beach next to the restaurant and then the sunset over the Ocean. We all called it a night fairly early around 7 or 8.

The next morning we were up early and had breakfast at a cafe across the street. We then booked a cab, bought some beer and ice and headed out to the Marsella Valley Nature Centre that has the Disc Golf course outside of town. The course has 12 holes and the baskets are made of bamboo poles and round wire that is supported by old shrimp netting so it is more like a “basket” than a traditional disc golf basket. We played two rounds of golf and for the second the owner Vince came out and threw with us and explaining his property and living in Nicaragua. During our second round there was a pack of Howler Monkeys that were hanging out in the trees near-by so that was an added treat. We then walked to Maderas Beach, a surfer haven. We met an older couple who were Nicaraguan but had moved to the USA and had recently returned. They invited us to their home should we be in the area which was in the Northern country. They also recommended an all inclusive resort that is located close to their home, noting that they sometimes spend weekends there when they want to get away (we never had the time in our journey to meet up with this couple unfortunately). That day we body boarded, rented a surf board, and taught Chris the basics of surfing. A long bumpy ride in a cab home, we stopped at Suzanna’s to introduce her to Chris and Heather, take some pictures, and buy some fried plantain chips. That evening we were to go dancing with Linda at the Crazy Crab. We had some supper and then headed to the Crazy Crab. Unfortunately it wasn’t open and we didn’t see Linda, which was too bad since we were not going to be able to see her again as we were leaving the next morning very early to go to the Island of Ometepe.

Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur

2011-02-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Sunset at San Juan Del Sur - Boats in the distance

Picture 2 - Drummer on the beach

Picture 3 - Parrots in the trees

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Picture 4 - Another sunset

Picture 5 - School on the beach

Picture 6 - Tona Beer a Nicaragua favourite

Picture 7 - Us and Jenny our Spanish teacher

The Nicaraguan border was slightly difficult to navigate as it is very spread out. First we had to get our passport stamped on the Costa Rican side. We changed our Costa Rican Colones (520= 1 American dollar) to Nicaraguan Cordores (21 = 1 American Dollar). We then had to walk 1km, where police checked our passports. A little further down on the other side of the street a half of a block in we waited in line to have officials stamp our passport into Nicaragua. Then we had to cross the street again and walk through a small opening into a parking lot/ bus station. There a taxi driver offered to drive us to San Juan Del Sur for $20. Since the buses would have likely been 2 hours and the taxi only 30 minutes we took the taxi. We needed to be in San Juan Del Sur before supper as we had to connect with the Spanish school we had previously contacted to make sure there was room in the school and that they had set up a home stay (accommodation and meals with a local family) for us.

We arrived in San Juan del Sur around 3:30 PM and quickly found the Spanish school. We spoke with Jenny who explained in some English that she was the only teacher available and so Scott and I would have to take lessons together. Normally they the school provides 4 hours a day of one-on-one. She also said that a home stay was no problem and that she would take us to the home that evening. Our Spanish studies would be Monday through Friday 8 AM until noon every day in a restaurant overlooking the beach and ocean, which I didn’t think was a bad deal at all. We would be staying with a family from Sunday night until Saturday morning. On Saturday our friends from Stratford, Chris and Heather VanPelt would be arriving to spend 7 days with us across Nicaragua. After eating Jenny drove us to our home stay family. We quickly met the head of the family Suzanna. Suzanna was the grandmother and with her lived her daughters Chillo, and Martha, Chillo’s husband William, their three children, Kayley (11), William (6), and Andrew 8 months. Chillo’s friend Linda also lived with the family. The family was very close and very accommodating to Scott and I. Linda was the only family member who spoke English and she was not always there and so Scott and I would use our limited new Spanish and sign language to converse with the family. It definitely forced us to learn as quickly as we could. We learned that Suzanna had her own business, which included selling fried shaved sliced plantains with a cabbage salad on top and a piece of chicken or beef. Her product was apparently very popular and from about 6 pm – 10 pm her and her family would sit outside her home and sell over a hundred of these each night for a dollar a piece.

On Monday we started our lessons with Jenny – who claimed not to speak any English, but I think this was meant to immerse us in the language and she knew more English that she was letting on. Mornings were filled with studying with Jenny and in the afternoons the school offered free activities. That afternoon we went with the class to a secluded beach by boat called Playa El Coco. On Tuesday they offered Salsa lessons in the community centre. I really enjoyed it but Scott called it quits half way through as it was really hot. On Wednesday Scott took the afternoon to go to a private disc golf course a few kilometres out of town and I decided to hang out at the beach right in San Juan del Sur. While at the beach I unfortunately witnessed several people pull a man out of the water attempt to give him CPR and then without waking up putting him in the back of a truck to take him to the closest hospital, which was 20 minutes away. It really shook all of us on the beach. Later that evening Scott returned from the Disc Golf course raving about it and the American owner Vince. We decided that when Chris and Heather arrived we would all go there on the Sunday. That evening we had said good night to Suzanna and her family and just as we turned off the light we heard cars crashing and we both looked at each other and said oh my gosh I hope the kids weren’t hit, as they would often play with their friends on the sidewalk until late, as it is summer holidays right now. We went to the front and found out that a car had hit two people on a motorcycle. Thankfully no one was hurt. For the next hour the police directed traffic outside the home and it sounded like the whole community came over to Suzanna’s house to see what had happened. On Thursday afternoon Scott and I again went with the class to a beach slightly out of town called Playa Remanso or Romantic beach. The waves there were huge and we were loved diving into them. That evening we went to a local pub to study. That night they were hosting a DJ from the USA and we really were grooving to the music but around 10 we realized we hadn’t studied much and the next day was our last class along with an exam. We moved onto another pub a little quieter and tested each other for the next hour. I must say I really enjoyed learning Spanish and was really wishing I could stay a couple months to become fluent. Scott enjoyed it also but was ready to move on. The next day we reviewed our week’s studies completed our tests and passed with flying colors. We received our certificates and thanks Jenny for all her patience. That afternoon we spent our time lying on the beach. Scott played some ultimate Frisbee with other people on the beach. That evening we sat out with the family and said our goodbyes.

Tamarindo Beach - Good bye Costa Rica

2011-01-29T17:51:00.000-08:00

Picture 1- Tamarindo Sunset
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Picture 2- Restaurant on the beach
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Picture 3- Waves at Conchal Beach
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Picture 4- Sand/ Seashells at Conchal Beach
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Picture 5- Sand at Conchal Beach
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Tamarindo beach reminded Scott and I both of Phuket in Thailand. It was a very touristy place, complete with a Subway “eat fresh” location, a sushi restaurant, and multiple smoothie stands. We arrived late on a Friday and planned to spend a full day there on Saturday, with intentions to leave early on the Sunday. On the Sunday our plan was to travel to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua to start a week of Home Stay and Spanish classes. On the Saturday in Tamarindo we spent the morning walking from Tamarindo Beach to the attached Beach “Playa Grande”. Playa Grande was very quiet, large and backed on a National Park. The two beaches are separated by a small estuary which had quite a current and thus you paid a local with a small boat to take you across the water on a boat for a dollar each which based on watching other people trying traverse made the two bucks well worth it. At 11:20 AM we took the bus to a beach about 20 minutes away by bus called “Playa Conchal”. Playa Conchal was very pretty as the sand was mostly made up of crushed sea shells hence the name. The waves there were intense. They were so big at times they threw both Scott and I onto the beach a couple of times. The water was coming in so fast that it knocked over a BBQ, and almost washed away a few people’s coolers, sandals, and children . After a day in the sun and waves, we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach, where the waves would every once and a while reach our table. Back at our hostel on Tamarindo Beach we watched the silhouettes of boats against the sunset. That night we fully had intentions to see a local band but our 8:00 PM nap turned into a full night’s sleep. The next day we got up early grabbed an “energy smoothie” and arrived at the bus stop around 7:50 AM, which was just in front of the strip mall. The bus was supposed to be there at 8:30 but we soon found out that the bus doesn’t have a schedule on Sundays and runs on Tico time (Costa Rican time), and therefore could show up soon or maybe later. At about 10:30 AM Scott and I spoke to a taxi about taking us to Liberia. Just as the taxi pulled up so did the bus. We apologized to the taxi and hopped on the bus as the bus was $6 and the taxi was $40. We arrived in Liberia and luckily got on the next bus to Nicaragua right away.

2011-01-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

Picture 1- Jason playing Guitar at the La Iguana Chocolate
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Picture 2- Our ride in the Ketchup truck
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Picture 3- Two hour hike to Waterfall.
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Picture 4- The Valleys of Costa Rica
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Picture 5- Relaxing in the Hammocks
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Picture 6- Our Tree House Room
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Picture 7- Our Open Air Room Looking onto Ronalds Farm
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Picture 8- Tree House
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Picture 9- Chocolates we made from scratc
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Picture 10- Shelling Cocao beans, and then grinding them
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Picture 11- The Waterfall in Bagaces
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Picture 12 - Disc Golf in Bagaces
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Picture 13- Mastatal Waterfall

Our cab arrived at 4 AM and we arrived to the bus station is Quepos around 4:20, which was lucky because the 5 AM bus ended up being a 4:30 AM bus. The four hour trip between Quepos and Puriscal ended up being along a mountain ridge with crazy views of the valley below and mountains around. We arrived in Puriscal around 8:30. Puriscal is about 1 hour past Mastatal but because it is the closest community we had to go there first and then back track. As the next bus out of Puriscal was not until 3 PM we decided to splurge the $40 taxi ride. The ride was bumpy, up and down mountain ridges, and very long and well worth the $40 as it would have taken at least 2 hours in the bus. We drove through the one bar, one convenient store, one internet cafe town Mastetal and about 2 km outside it was the family run cocoa farm “La Iguana Chocolate farm”. When we got there, we were greeted by the oldest son and only English speaking family member Jorge. (In Jorge’s family he has his mother – Lidia, father – Juan Louise, Middle brother – Vinny, Youngest brother – Roy and an older sister that lives and works in another community). He showed us to our rooms which were in the tree house. The tree house was two rooms reached by a ladder on a high platform. The front door opened to a three walled room with the back forth wall being completely open facing the cow field behind. It had a double bed facing the open wall with a mosquito net draping over it. It was very cool. We were introduced to three volunteers, two Americans, Kailey, and Brian and a Canadian Erin. There were also three young Swedish girls there who had arrived the day before. Today was apparently chocolate making day and so they were all hard at work making chocolate. As we had a long day of travel we all relaxed in the hammocks to read. Soon after Jason approached me and said “Where have you taken me? The boonies, what can we do here?” I said we can hike as we were next to a National Park, make chocolate, learn Spanish or learn to weave baskets as this was a class they had. Jason laughed and I said I guess you should have looked at the web site when I showed it to you huh. He said he was going for a walk into town for a beer. That afternoon Tanya, Scott and I took the chocolate tour run by Jorge who explained to us the process of taking a cocoa bean and turning it into chocolate. The pods containing the beans are first picked and fermented in wooden box for a week and then roasted in a metal cauldron over a fire and let to cool. We then shelled the beans, ground the beans and then made some chocolate. Jason came back and said that he had run into Erin in town and that they both had hung out at the bar. That evening we all ended up heading into town with is about a 10 minute dark walk through a field and then about another 10 minute walk up the gravel road. At the bar there was a Costa Rican soccer game playing on the TV, which had everyone drawn in. On the walk home we saw a baby coral snake crossing the road. Cailey said that we had to watch out for snakes as they had found a poisonous snake in the kitchen a couple days previous.

The next day Jason went for another walk in the other direction to the other town about 30 minutes away all uphill called San Miguel, while we all relaxed reading, taking naps, doing yoga, or practicing our Spanish. He came back in time for and epic game of hoss and pepper where he and I whooped Tanya and Scott. After that we had lunch. All our meals here were included and consisted of typical Costa Rican food. All meals include a white rice and Pinto bean mix. At breakfast this is mixed together with spices and is called Gallo Pinto. Breakfast usually has eggs and fried plantains. Lunch has the rice and pinto beans with salad, and either a meat or vegetable mix... supper is very similar. That afternoon Brian, Lisan (one of the Swedish girls), Jorge, Jason, Tanya, Scott and I all decided to hike to the far waterfall. The hike was a good hour and a half. About half of it was by road and all up hill, the second half was through fields and forests and was very steep and all downhill. We then had a short hike alongside the river. We were all very sweaty by the time we reached the waterfall. It was a very high waterfall with plants growing off the side as the water flow was not that heavy. As it had rained the water looked a chocolate milk colour. We were all so hot that we jumped in immediately. It took Jason a little convincing to get in but soon we were all in watching the lizards climb the rock walls. We stayed a short 45 minutes as we had to get going to clear the forest and field before it got dark. By the time we got to the road it was dark. After walking a short distance a pickup truck stopped and offered us a ride. We all go in the back where there were several steel barrels. I could smell vinegar and asked Jorge what was in the barrels he laughed and said ketchup. I knew he wasn’t kidding as I could see a smashed tomato on the ground. The truck stopped about half way in the town San Miguel where we all got off for a pop. We then started heading back again when the same pick up “Ketchup” truck picked us up again. It really was our lucky day. We were starving when we got back and were so appreciative when we saw that Jorge’s mother had supper ready and waiting. After supper Jason has discovered that one of the Swedish girls Kelly had brought a guitar. He borrowed the guitar and we started a camp fire. Jorge had went to town and brought back a few beers. We sat around the fire, had a few drinks and talked as Jason and then Kelly played guitar. The next morning Jason and Tanya had to take the 5:30 AM bus back to San Jose as they had an 8 AM flight the next morning. We said our goodbye’s and gave our hugs. We were really sad to see them go. It was so nice to have them during our travels for the last three weeks. I was also worried about them taking the two buses needed to get back to San Jose and jokingly said I would send them with a sign attached to their back indicating that they were our babies and needed to get to Canada.

That day Scott and I decided that we would sign up to work from 7 AM -12 today and the next. If you worked then you got your room and board at a discount. That morning Scott ground beans all morning with Brian into Cocoa powder. I worked in the garden planting lettuce seeds and making signs for the plants. That day a new person had arrived Rachel. She had met the family about 4 years ago and continues to come back periodically to visit them. She had brought a banjo and would play it and sing and was very good. That afternoon I shelled pinto beans with her and Jorge’s father and Ronald the neighbour and uncle. From our room the open wall looked onto Ronald’s field with his house in the distance. Each day Ronald would speak to us in Spanish and we would nod our heads as if to completely understand him but we only knew a few words.

The following day was chocolate making day. I was so excited. We took the cocoa powder from the previous day added sugar and various flavours, vanilla, pistachios, cinnamon and rum, coffee, and coconut. We then pressed them into the moulds took them out and let them harden. These chocolates were pretty much 95% cocoa, not milk chocolate. They were delicious. We finished making chocolates in the afternoon at which time Brian, Rachel and Scott and I decided to head to another smaller waterfall about 30 minutes hike away. Scott wanted to go to the internet cafe and so I left him arrows in the dirt to find his way. He said good thing I did because at times there were two trail options. The waterfall was small but very clean and pretty. Brian daringly jumped from the top and I say daringly not because it was really high but because the swimming hole was very small and so you had to jump into an exact spot. That night the Swedish girls had returned from meeting one of their friends at the bus stop about 1 hour away. We ate supper and then decided to play a mix of Swedish, Canadian and American rules for the card game asshole. It was and international game with lots of debate and laughter. That night Scott and I said our goodbyes exchanged emails and were off to bed. The next morning we were up at 5:00 am to catch the 5:30 but. We said goodbye to the family again and were given chocolate and cookies for our travel. I was really sad to go, as I felt so relaxed and happy at the farm.

Our 5:30 am bus took us to back to Puriscal where we had originally came from 5 days previous. We then grabbed the next bus to San Jose and then another bus to Bagaces. In Bagaces Scott convinced me to find a disc golf course which had found pictures of on line. We spoke to a local who indicated that the course was there, but was no longer open and operating. Scott asked the cab driver to take us there anyways to check it out. When we got there Scott spoke to two American guys who apparently worked for another American who owned a chilli farm. The owner had allowed the guys to build a 9 hole disc course. They said the course was definitely open to play and that they would be over to play with us. Scott and I played for about 45 minutes. Scott was in heaven. We then had to head out as we didn’t want to miss the next bus. Just as we were leaving the guys showed up. They apologized for taking so long and said that although we didn’t have time to play that maybe we wanted to buy some discs that they had made up with the park logo on it. Scott was super interested and bought 3. They guys called us a taxi. When the taxi arrived we asked him to take us to the waterfall just outside of Bagaces and to wait for us for about 30 minutes and then drive us to Liberia. The waterfall was the widest I’ve seen and you could walk behind the whole thing quite easily. We had just enough time for a quick swim, walk behind the falls, and a quick coca cola (which they make with sugar and not corn syrup in central America). We arrived in Liberia just in time to quickly eat supper and catch the last bus to Tamarindo Beach. After four buses and one taxi we arrived in Tamarindo around 9:30 and were exhausted.

Manual Antonio - Crazy Monkeys, Pretty Beaches

2011-01-29T10:30:00.000-08:00

Picture 1- Studs on the beach

Picture 2- Lizards lounging

Picture 3- Tiny Mushrooms in the Forest

Picture 4- Squirell Monkeys - Sound like birds

Picture 5- White Faced Monkey Hanging Out

Picture 6- Sloth climbing back up the tree

Picture 7- Another White Faced Monkey

Picture 8- Spider

Picture 9- Red Mushrooms

Picture 10- Secluded Beach in Manuel Antonio Park

Picture 11- Manuel Antonio Beach
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We rented a private room with two double beds, air conditioning, hot water and cable TV. It had been awhile since we had had such luxury. Since we were all pooped we all were drawn into watching the surfing movie “Blue Crush” with English subtitles. With the go-go pace we’d been keeping it was a nice treat. We then treated ourselves to a more expensive dinner on the beach front. The next day I was still very sick and so Tanya, Jason and Scott went out for some food while I stayed to rest. That day we decided to spend some time at the public beach “Espadilla” in Manual Antonio. Jason rented a surf board and tried to get some more surfing in and we all did some wave jumping. That night and every meal from that moment on we ate at a hostel called Backpackers Paradise Casa Linda as the food was really good, reasonably priced and had free coffee and tea. The breakfasts there were three dollars and came with a large plate of fruit, a pancake, rice and beans, and scrambled eggs! They also had huge fresh fruit smoothies for $1.50. The next day we decided to do some hiking and beach visiting within the Manual Antonio National Park. Some of the park was closed but we were able to see three of the beaches within the park and a lot of animals. We were lucky enough to see a sloth climb all the way from the ground up a tree, which does not happen often. They only come down to the ground every couple of days to go the bathroom. We also were invaded by a group of white face monkeys who were more brave than wild monkeys, as every so often they would dart down and steal peoples food, items etc. I saw them snatch a package of cookies from a little girl, and Jason said he saw one playing around with a women’s bra in the trees. It seems funny, but it really is too bad that this is what happens when people feed monkeys. We also saw many lizards up close and personal. Jason and Tanya also got to see an animal that looked like a small mouse/kangaroo??? The beaches within the park were some of the prettiest that we have ever seen which made the $10 entrance fee well worth it. The jungle, mangroves, white sand, and blue water was beautiful. On our way back to the room Scott and I ran into a group of squirrel monkeys which are more of a caramel colour with a white face. They are smaller and make noises that sound like birds chirping. Then we headed down to the beach for the sunset and an early evening as we were taking a 5:00 AM bus the next day to a cocoa farm outside of a small community called Mastetal, which is about two hours southwest of San Jose.

Santa Elena and Monte Verde - Jungle Animals (This should be before Montezuma)

2011-01-29T10:08:00.000-08:00

Picture 12,3 - Exotic Costa Rican Frog Display

Picture 4- Kiss me Flower - Well known in Costa Rica

Picture 5- Millipede

Picture 6-Hike in the Santa Elena National Park.

Picture 7- Small Type Tucan in the tree

Picture 8- Tanya's B-day

Picture 9- Jason with "the Bos" on Tanya's B-day

Picture 10- Tarantula found during night hike.

The next morning was slow and we caught a bus to the ferry that took us across Lake Arenal. The boat cuts your travel time in half compared to driving the beaten up roads to Santa Elena and the cloud forests of Monte Verde. Santa Elena is a very small town consisting of three roads that make up a triangle. We quickly found a cheap hotel and ventured out for some food. Jason surprised us by running to the grocery store for some girly drinks of guaro (sugar cane vodka), Fresca and fresh cut pineapple spears... delicious. With so many attractions in Santa Elena we could not decide on what to do first. So we ended up skipping the Orchid Farm, Butterfly Gardens, Snake Exhibit and Bug Museum, as we sat on the hostel lawn drinking our cocktails. That night we decided to a night jungle tour. We were lucky and were able to spot sloths, a green side striped viper, two tarantulas, a leaf cutter ant colony, coatis (which one fell out of the tree right in front of our eyes), and several sleeping birds. Since it was Tanya’s birthday we decided we had to get our swirl on. We started the evening with a drinking game. We were joined by a young dutch guy who named himself the boss. He was a hoot and the game was full of extreme laughs before we hit the floor hard for some dancing at the only bar in town which was full of Ticos and Gringos alike... despite the energy from the day before I think we were all spent as we left the bar around midnight.

The next day we slept in to catch up on some much needed sleep and headed for Santa Elena Natural Reserve for a 9 kilometres of hiking through the cloud forests always looking up and around for birds or animals. Our quest was to find the elusive scarlet macaw or tucan... a quest that we did not succeed in...however the hike was awesome as we passed through many different types of forest, with trees covered in moss, natural tarzan vines, and constant mist. It was a good time to just take a nice walk through the quite forest. We were all excited that evening to see the Frog Exhibit which consisted of large plexi-glass enclosures that had one or two species of frogs or toads in them. We must have spent 2 hours looking and taking pictures of the amphibians. Some were poisonous, some had crazy colours, and others were tiny tiny.... very neat.

Montezuma - Beach Time Part Two

2011-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

Picture 1- Surfing

Picture 2- Last night in Montezuma, drinks and dancing with friends.

Picture 3- Tortuga Island

Picture 4- The crazies at Tortuga Island

Picture 5- The Daily Menu!

Our third day in Montezuma started with a Spanish lesson in the morning, which taught us some of the basics, but definitely not enough. Our teacher “Bill” was very helpful. We then walked 45 minutes down the beaches to get to Playa Grande, where are rented surf boards were waiting. We played in the waves until our boards arrived around 2pm. Scott, Jason and I attempted to ride. At first the waves were big and I was getting tumbled pretty good. Eventually, they settled and we all rode for about an hour or so. Jason and I had both gotten up and Scott was content having fun using his as an extremely fast body board. Jason and Scott got pretty nasty chest burn from the boards and took a break. (Next time we will remember to wear shirts or rent rash guards.) I kept riding as the time was flying. For the last hour before sunset Jason switched me boards and came back out. We both were getting up on the surf boards. Scott and Tanya caught it all on video. Just before the sun set we cleaned up and started the hike back down the beach to the hostel. That night Jason and I lost our second game of Hossen Pepper to Scott and Tanya. It was then time to call it a night.

Up again early we got on the boat heading to Tortuga Island; however, not before Tanya showed us the very large black and blue bruises that covered both her upper thighs and bottom. Tanya decided that she was going to take her pillow with her for the hour boat ride this morning to Tortuga Island to protect her bruised bottom. That morning we had also found out that the sarongs we had left on a close line to dry, had been taken and so we quickly went out to get new ones before we were off to the Island. The boat ride was very pretty. Just before arriving to the island we did some snorkelling, where we saw a puffer fish, and tons of other various colour and shaped fish. It was one of the better snorkelling trips we have been on. Tortuga was a very beautiful beach; however, there were a lot of people there. We played some Frisbee catch, did some swimming and since I had picked up a cold and was not feeling great I did a lot of lying on the beach.

We were back to the hostel around supper time and so we grabbed some food before Jason and I redeemed ourselves in Hossen Pepper and again called it a night. The next day we had no plans and we spent the day laying on the beach, and window shopping. In the afternoon we decided to take another trip to the waterfalls for some fresh water swimming, as Jason said that the salt water was “drying him out” and he couldn’t do it anymore. Scott and I got to the waterfall first, which was just in time to see a local jump from the bottom waterfall. The bottom waterfall is the higher and more dangerous waterfall of the three, as you have to climb the wet rock wall to get to the jumping point. Definitely a bad idea, ... the local was ok but I was glad he only did it once. A few minutes later Jason and Tanya showed up and Jason decided he wanted to swim his backpack to the far rock. As he was losing the bag I jumped in to help him and as hilarious as it looked we swam the bag over. The locals thought Jason was crazy but it worked. After the waterfall Scott and Tanya made supper while Jason and I called my mom to let her know we were ok. She had received a weird call from someone asking her if she spoke Spanish and when she said no they hung up. We talked with her for a bit, gathered some addresses for post cards and then headed back for spaghetti, chicken and fresh garlic bread, which Tanya and Scott had made with the very limited (no knives, etc) utensils our hostel had. That night a couple from the Netherlands, which Jason and Tanya had met on the boat ride to Tortuga, came to visit us at our hostel. Then a little later an American named Bart who we had ran into everyday since arriving, also showed up. We decided to have some drinks and play some funny drinking games. Then we were off to the bar for some dancing.

The next day the boys were sad to say goodbye to Montezuma, as they had made friends with the owner by playing endless video game tournaments in soccer; however, since the walls of the rooms did not reach the roof , voices carried very easily and I was looking forward to getting a good night’s sleep. Our boat ride to Jaco was a very wet hour and a half. By the end of the boat ride Tanya was drenched, I looked like I had wet myself and Scott and Jason were also fairly wet. Every time Tanya and I got slapped with another wave all we could do was laugh, as Jason hid for cover behind Tanya while she wiped the salt water off her face and glasses. Once in Jaco we grabbed a cab to Manual Antonio, where we all promptly fell asleep!

Montezuma - Beach Time

2011-01-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

Picture 1- Top waterfall with Tarzan swing

Picture 2- Tarzan swing to the left

Picture 3- 45 foot waterfall. We all jumped, some of us have gifts to remember it by

Picture 4- Bottom waterfall - Tanya and Jason

Picture 5- Bottom waterfall- Shannon and Scott

We had planned to head to Tamarindo beach, but decided that we should stay in the next place for more than two days... and so we headed to Montezuma. Montezuma is a very small low key beach town on the Pacific coast just east of San Jose. We ended up staying in Montezuma from January 10-14. To get there we had to take another 5:30 am bus, then a ferry, and finally another bus. We made it to the friendly beach town sometime in the afternoon and quickly found a very basic hostel on the beach for $10/person. Within minutes of arriving, Scott and I were called over to a restaurant by the Swedish couple we had spent Christmas and New Years with, Vlad and Suzanna. We briefly caught up with them before they were off to go surfing and we were off to find supper.

The next day Tanya, Jason, Scott and I set out around lunch to hike to two waterfalls. We didn’t know it was going to be a “real hike” and so Tanya and I wore flip flops and soon realized this jaunt would be very interesting in sandals. We made it up and down several rock and dirt cliffs in our flip flops, it was very impressive. The first waterfall was a medium size water hole with about a 70 foot high waterfall. It also had a rock platform to the left which you could do cannon balls and flips off of. If you were careful you could also get onto the rocks behind the falls and jump off. In talking to others we realized there was another two waterfalls linked to this one about a 15 minute further hike away, where you could jump off a 45 foot drop to the pool below. We packed our things and started to climb back up the dirt and rock wall and soon found the next waterfall. We watched some of the locals jump the 45 foot drop before Jason decided to jump. I have always said that if Jason can do it I am usually also down to do it, so I was next. It was one of those things where you look down say no way and then say, “ok I just have to go if I am going to do it” and then just go. Wow it was definitely a two screamer. After some convincing Scott did it, which was surprising as he is very afraid of heights. Tanya was the videographer and caught this all on tape. It was then her turn. She went and when she came up she wasn’t talking. From my jump I knew that any limbs or flat feet would result in a sharp slap or blunt force and from her jump it looked as though she had sat a little. When she finally caught her breath she told Jason that she now had a very sore bottom. We all laughed a little but it was clear that she had a few welts that might become a bruises the next day. Just above this waterfall was another wider smaller waterfall with a Tarzan swing. We all tried the swing and took a swim and then hiked back to the hostel for some dinner. We spent the afternoon in the very large waves with a boogie board Jason had rented,... so much fun. We would ride the very large waves crashing over us, which would eventually jet us right onto shore where Tanya was reading her book... it was total jokes. That evening we booked a two hour group Spanish lesson and surf rental for the next day, a day trip to Tortuga Island for some snorkelling and white sand blue water fun in the sun, and finally a water taxi for our fifth day in Montezuma to take us to our next destination - Manual Antonio.

La Fortuna - Part 2 Pictures

2011-01-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

Picture 1-Couples who zipline together stay together :)

Picture 2-Scott thinks he is Tarzan

Picture 3-The end of a very long adventurous day

Picture 4-Trees full of Iguanas

Picture

5-Voncan Arenal - Boo no lava in four months, but very pretty.

La Fortuna - Tons of Adventure

2011-01-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Picture 1-Ziplining

Picture 2-Rafting

Picture 3-Natural Hotsprings in La Fortuna

Picture 4-Hanging Brinde to Volcanoe Arenal View Point

Picture 5-Baldi Hot Springs

As we have already mentioned travel is a slow and a some-what steady game in Costa Rica, so it was not a surprise that after a early morning rise and a cup of coffee at the soda (small restaurant), that the bus ride to La Faturna that we thought would only take 2-3 hours ended up being 6. At least we were in seats this time. During the half-way mark we stopped at a bus station for a breakfast break and met up with Matt the Colorado traveller we sat on stools with on the way to San Jose. He was with his mother whom he had picked up in San Jose and had been touring around with for a couple days now... travelling is fun running into familiar people all over the country or countries. As we arrived in La Fortuna it was raining and for some reason the would not give us a ride to the hostel “Gringo Pete’s” as it was too close, so we ended up getting soaked during the walk and decided very quickly that we were going to one of the many hot springs in the area. Since La Fortuna sits at the base of the active Volcan Arenal there is abundant veins of molten rock that heat streams in the area. We decided to go to Baldi Hot Springs and Spa which sounds fancy and it was ... there were too many pools, lazy lagoons, and waterfalls to count, but there had to be at least 15 distinct areas. This hotel essentially diverted a river of hot springs water into all these naturally looking built pools with sitting areas, lounge chairs, tiled walls and floors, concrete waterfalls, swim up bars and water slides all surrounded by beautifully landscaped vegetation that makes you feel like you are in a jungle that is all connected by walkways. Not only did we relax in the hot water, we slipped on super expensive beers and ate at the buffet supper. But the highlight of this oasis adventure was the water slides... they only had three of them and one was super slow but the other two had all of us along with a gang of other gringos laughing our assess off. These slides were the fastest any of us had ever ridden and there was no option of not flying out of the chute and hitting the water, tumbling head over hears or ass over tea kettle. Jason literally managed to burn a portion of the water slide tube onto his swim shorts leaving a few blue plastic burn holes... classic. We ended up leaving the paradise springs at 9:30 PM as being crazy we had organized a 3 AM hike into the forest to see the nocturnal creatures of the night and to get a close up view of the lava from Volcano Arenal, followed with hotsprings, ziplining, lunch and finally white water rafting.

Well 3 AM came way too soon and it seemed that as soon as we went sleep we were getting up but we had a full full full day of fun planned. The walk through the forest was relatively unimpressive... our guide did not spot any significant wild life except the bird that almost took my head off. We ended the hike at an opening that was going to give us a fantastic view... but we had the inkling already that we would see nothing but clouds... the sky would not open for us. We then hiked back to the van and went to a free hot springs which was a small river of hot water that flowed under a bridge which was very picturesque and the water was so soothing. We then were quickly dropped off at our hostel where we changed and were picked up by another tour company that was taking us up the hills to their zip line course. Zip lining consists of being put into a harness with a hook attached to your waste that is then connected to wire cables that are strung in the air from tree to tree or post to post through the jungle. The staff called our hooks our Lamborghini’s. Well for me being scared of heights this was going to be very interesting. The zip lining park contained 14 wires that criss-crossed across this valley from the forest floor up to the platforms built around massive trees to actual soaring towers... it was a lot of fun. Ther was a misty rain coming down so this added to your speed and as well kept everyone cool and having fun. The longest of the zip lines was 750 meters long... yes three quarters of a kilometre long... that took almost a full 2 minutes flying through the air hundreds of meters above the forest floor. We also did a hanging bridge, tarzan swing and were lucky enough to see a group of white faced monkey’s swinging through the trees we were also soaring through. What a trip. Included in our package tour was lunch at an Israeli vegetarian restaurant where everyone had tacos and I had the falafel plate. It was hands down the best food that we had on our trip or possibly ever... fresh and super tasty.

After lunch we got a ride to the head of the river to start our river rafting leg of the day! With all the adrenaline pumping we had all forgotten we had been up since 3am. Jason, Tanya and Shannon had never done river rafting and I had only done it once on the Ottawa River years ago and that was in a bigger raft ...this one was a small boat that fit the four of us and our trusty captain. Jason and I took the front and Shan and Tanya in the middle our guide in the back. With about 10 minutes of survival tips to ensure we knew how to take directions, steer the raft, take refuge inside the raft, pull someone back into the raft, we were off and running down the river. Within the first 10 seconds a wash blasted over the bow and drenched all of us and it was game on. What were we in for during this journey... they said this river San Carlos was class 2 or 3 but with the recent rain was running at least a 3-4 (5 or 6 you need certification to run). Fun stuff. The Rio San Carlos was having it’s way with us... I was more intent in coming over the swells and throwing my weight forward in attempts to drench Shannon behind me with a wave of water. Tanya at one point, as we all turned towards her in horror almost was thrown from the raft only to be hauled back in at the last moment by our captain and Shannon. Then there was a rock that we literally were pushed but the current on top of. We sat perched on the rock for a minute, stuck with massive rapids surrounding the boat while our captain assessed the damage and devised a plan to get us off the rock and back into the rapids. Our captain laughed “this is no problem, but this situation does not happen often”. We all very slowly shifted our weight and managed to slide without incident back into the rapids (another guide with a different company gave our captain props for getting us out of that situation as it was surely a cap sized situation). Later there was another rock that we were pushed up on top of but this time the swell of the water was coming over the raft and was quickly filling up the boat... we all had to get out on the downstream side of the rock and pull the raft out from under the blanket of rushing water. All the time sailing or coasting down the river we laughed... what an electric day, as Jason had put it. After a quick swim while we waited for our ride we were then in a van back to La Fortuna. At this point in the day the gas in our tanks was running out but there was still enough left for a bunch of beers and supper back in La Fortuna where we had a clear view of Volcan Arenal, which was a bonus.

San Jose - a Beautiful City

2011-01-28T10:34:00.000-08:00

Picture 1-Outside San Jose - Country side

Picture 2-Volcanoe Poas

Picture 3- Tired Sloth

Picture 4-City Centre Clowns

Picture 5-San Jose Graffiti Wall

From the things that we had read and from what people told us, it all indicated that San Jose the capital of Costa Rica was somewhere where you arrive and soon wanted to leave due to its crime and filth. We found out that this was not the case... we all really enjoyed San Jose. We started our walking tour at the contemporary art museum which was in an old rum distillery that still had a lot of the working parts intact and incorporated it into the charm of this revitalised area. The museum entrance fee was free that day. We then headed to a park to learn about the conquest and demise of an America pirate who tried to conquer Costa Rica. He was eventually defeated and killed by firing squad. We decided to skip the Jade Museum and ended up walking for a couple of hours up and down a pedestrian-only street that was a shoppers dream... everything lined the streets multiple times. We toured through the covered markets where you get lost if you don’t pay attention as it is a maze of vendors and stalls. We ended the afternoon going to the Pre-Columbian and Money Museum that explained the history of Costa Rica’s currency and the history of their flora, fauna and animals, which were often depicted on the country’s currency. We headed back to Pangaea Hostel for some drinks, supper and cards.

The next day we had organized a tour to Volcano Poas which has been inactive a number of years but still has remnants of smoke puffing out of the huge crater. The ride was 45 minutes long and gave us a good idea of what the transitional state of city to rural Coast Rica would be like and Shannon and I were surprised at how nice the roads and rural cities and towns were maintained... very unlike Peru or Panama. Costa Rica is full of rolling green green hills. So beautiful. We stopped at a coffee plantation and tired our first cup of fresh brewed Costa Rican coffee... superb! We arrived at Volcan Poas National Park and hiked up a paved walkway to the crest of the volcano to see... nothing but low lying clouds... you could not see anything but clouds. Disappointed we took another pathway that came to lookout where you could see a volcanic lake created by a dormant volcano crater and all we saw was the very foggy outiline which looked like a like... from reading ahead we knew there was a possibility that we might not see anything, but that if it got sunny the clouds may briefly clear but that you would have to act quickly. We saw the clouds start to shift and we could start to see more of the lake and so the four of us took off in a full out run back to the lookout and just as we arrived all the clouds lifted and we saw the beautiful crater full of coloured volcanic rock, a pool of blue green water, with a stream of smoke/steam rising from it. The pool was surrounded by past lava flow now charcoal colour, well worth the wait it was awesome. With lots of pictures and video, we happily piled back into the bus and headed back to San Jose where we puttered around the city and back to the hostel for some supper, beers, cards and a relatively early night as we had to catch a 6 AM bus the next morning to La Fortuna.

Panama to Costa Rica - Welcome Jason and Tanya

2011-01-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

So we left Isla Boca Brava and started our day of travel first on a small boat across to the mainland, then the back of a pickup truck, and then in a posh brand new Toyota SUV to the bus station and finally a cab ride to where we had made a reservation at The Purple House Backpacker Hostel in David. The hostel was truly a purple house with everything in it collected and organized throughout the house was all purple as well, all the sheets, pillows, walls, cups, plates, wall decorations by the owner a New Yorker. We spent the day eating Chinese food, playing the slots at the casino, watching TV and the movie The Soloist and caught up on our plans on what we would do in Costa Rica.

The following day we woke really early as the bus from David to San Jose, Costa Rica leaves at 6:30 AM. We arrived at the bus station and ran into a fellow traveler Mark who we met in Boquete, and a couple from Costa Rica, Jose and his girlfriend. We waited at the ticket counter as people that pre-booked their tickets organized their seating arrangement and soon found out that the bus was full (it was the day after new years, which happened to be a Sunday also) and as well the only other bus at 12:30AM was also full... we were in a bind as Jason and Tanya were arriving that night in San Jose. Jose managed to talk to the bus driver and determined there were two seats left on the bus and that the driver was going to sell those seats to the girls, Shannon and Jose’s girlfriend and that the boys, Jose, Matt and myself could sit in the aisle way... we were all ecstatic that we had a ride. It ended up that Jose took a pillow and sat in the aisle at the front of the bus, Matt was at the back on a tiny padded stool and I had a 5-gallon upholstered bucket... the steal of the raw deal. Sitting in the aisle on an upholstered 5-gallon pail sucked... as well the ride which we thought was going to be 6 hours very quickly turned into a 13.5 hour trip (7am – 8:30 pm) which included a 3 hour stop at the boarder where we had to stand in line waiting as only one person was working the emigration booth to get our passports signed off to leave Panama... oh Central America... everything gets done when it gets done (Menena Menana). During this trip we now had an appreciation for the roads and times for travel in Costa Rica. During the wet season (December to May is the dry season) they get a lot of rain and thus roads get partially or fully washed out and rutted and repair is either non-existent or it gets done when it gets done. Roads wind up and down mountains for hours but hey we made it to San Jose. Due to the hours of travel and being on a bus Shannon slept for a bit and I waited up till 11PM when Jason and Tanya arrived on the air porter with their 14 hours of travel already under their belt we were all due for some drinks at the hostel bar Pangea, which was particularly posh.

Boca Brava - Part 2

2011-01-07T06:10:00.001-08:00

Boca Brava - Panama

2011-01-07T06:09:00.001-08:00

We headed to Boca Brava Island on December 27th. We had to take two buses, a taxi, and a long boat to get to the island but it was worth it – warm weather! Along the way we had run into Bob the fellow Canadian from Lost and Found Hostel. Once we made it to Boca Brava Hotel we ran into 5 others from our Lost and Found Family –Angela and Andrew from Cincinnati, Vlad and Suzanna from Sweden, and Till from Germany. We had all come here separately to get away from the rain. The hotel was totally booked and so we were all lucky to get a room. Since they were so full every night for three nights the hydro would go out. Although it was slightly chaotic with all the people and sometimes lack of hydro the place and island were beautiful. While at Boca Brava we visited various islands by boat, went on a snorkelling trip where we saw a sting ray and various different fish, and a white sand beach, rented kayaks and paddled to pacific ocean, almost died paddling heavy waves between two large rock cliffs, laid on the beach every day, sat in hammocks, read, and hiked to the beach where the wild howler monkey’s eat leaves and were close enough to get on video and take pictures. The food there was awesome and having our Lost and Found friends around was very cool. Originally we had thought we would head to Boca Del Tora after a couple of days but the weather there was not looking good and so we decided to stay until New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Eve only Vlad and Suzanna were left from our extended family. They introduced us to two fellow Swedish girls and we all eat supper and played games until the boat heading over to the other island for New Years was ready to go. The party on the island was full of rum punch, Champagne, a bonfire, fireworks, and lovely people. Around 1:00 we got back on the boat to head back to the hotel. When we got to the hotel they were having a staff party and so the restaurant was packed. Scott and I made some New Years calls back home and then headed to bead as it was going to be an early morning heading to David again and then to San Jose, Costa Rica to meet Jason and Tanya. Yah!

Lost and Found part 2

2011-01-07T06:07:00.001-08:00

Lost and Found - a Hostel near David Panama

2011-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

We were dropped off on the side of the road where there was a small sign indicating Lost and Found was up the large hill. We walked and walked and walked straight up and just when we thought we were there we came to a sign with two chairs that said, take a rest you are about half way. We kept going and finally made it to the only cloud forest in Panama. Lost and Found had great views of the nearby volcano and great hiking trails. The hostel is owned by two Canadians and is run mostly by volunteers. It felt very homey. We eat breakfast and decided to try out their scavenger hunt, which supposedly would take 5 hours on the trails and would win us a bottle of rum if we completed it. The first task was a labyrinth made of very large plants. We couldn’t believe it but it was a huge labyrinth and it took us close to 25 minutes to complete. We then hiked up the rest of the hill, which was very, muddy, quiet far and really slippery in our sandals. Just for fun we took a detour and went to the very top to the Mirador or Look out. From there we were able to see the Pacific Ocean is was definitely worth the extra effort. We then had to find the bearded tree, which was more difficult to find than we thought and the decent down the other side of the hill in the mud was a slippery mess. We finally found the bearded tree headed to the river and small rapids and decided we should head back as we didn’t want to get caught in the dark trying to get up and down the muddy trails. We got back to the hostel tired and muddy. Not too tired to participate in some drinks and a foosball tournament, which we both lost.

The next day was Christmas Eve, we both were fairly down and decided to head to the closest town about 30 minutes by bus to get internet access to Skype our family. We hiked down the hill to the road again in the slippery muddy mess and waited on the highway for the next bus to drive by. In town we ended up at an internet cafe with a dozen 10 year old boys playing computer games and listening to the loudest 90’s dance music ever. The Skype on their computers didn’t work and so while the owner was out we hooked up our own computer and were able to make a few short calls home. The owner came back and so we disconnected our computer and called it a day, but not before picking up Christmas cookies at the local bakery for everyone back at the hostel. It was so strange to see all the houses and trees decorated for Christmas with green grass and palm trees. We headed back to the hostel for Christmas dinner. The volunteers had made two ducks, a potato type recipe with a local root vegetable “yucca”, and salad. After supper we were all gathered in the common area for Christmas games and drinks. The games got crazy that is all I can say! It was so much fun! We found out that one of the volunteers – Jane, a Scottish woman recognized us from Peru. She also was able to take a leave of absence and travel for 6 months.

The next day was Christmas Day and 10 or more of us decided to participate in a tour to a local farmer “Kune” organic fruit and coffee farm. He served us fresh fruit for breakfast, and some of his organic coffee. We then toured his farm, where he had various herbs, orange trees, papaya trees, mango trees, banana trees, sugar cane, yucca, chickens and roosters. He showed us how the remove the red shell of the coffee bean, how they then roast it. Then we saw how he gets the sugar juice from the cane and we all drank fresh lemonade mixed with the liquid cane sugar. Next he told us the story of how he became an organic farmer and how he became involved with tours and then making fruit wine. We also had a history lesson on the origins of coffee. Since it was Christmas he opened one of his older bottles of fruit wine “blackberry” 9 months. It was delicious! We all had lunch and then were on our way back to the hostel for Christmas dinner, but not before getting a chance to buy some of Kune’s coffee, which has been rated as a 81% out of 100% for taste by the professionals. We were all starting to feel like a family, a couple from Cincinnati – Angela and Andrew, Till a German, Bard a Norwegian-and fellow game boarder, Nico one of the volunteers, Kim a British man cycling Central and south America, Jane the Scot, and Bob a fellow Canadian from Ottawa. Christmas dinner with these friends was wonderful. That night we played silly drinking games with a British couple, James and Emma from Ireland and Vlad a young guy from Sweden. It was an early night as the next day we were off to the hot springs with Bob, Vlad, Vlad’s girlfriend Suzanna and Sharon from Israel. That morning we said our goodbyes to all people and staff at the hostel. The hot springs were refreshing considering all the rain that we had the four days we were at Lost and Found. There was even a devious resident monkey which took off with Bob’s shoe causing Vlad to run after the monkey, which he did eventually drop. We were then dropped off at a nearby hostel in a famous North American retirement city of Boquette. It was raining hard there and was so windy. We headed to the grocery store and found Yah peanut butter, which we had not been able to find since leaving Canada. Back at the hostel it sounded like a hurricane and the power went out a few times. We had plans to head to the Caribbean coast to Boca Del Tora the next day but everyone coming from there had said that it has been down pouring there for over a week now. We decided that we had had enough rain and would be heading to an island on the Pacific coast “Boca Brava”, where people had been raving about the beautiful weather. The next day on the way to Boca Brava Scott had mentioned that there was a disc golf course along the way at the “Waterfall Hostel”. I said that’s funny the volunteers at Lost and Found had said the owners were looking into buying that hostel as it had not been open for about a year and was for sale. On the bus we spoke to an expat Brit who knew the area and through some confusion realized where our bus was stopped for a tree clearing due to the crazy weather the previous day was literally right in front of the Waterfall Hostel. We yelled at the bus driver to stop got our bags and walked over to the hostel grounds. The grounds keeper was there and he explained that yes there used to be a disc golf course there but that it had been closed for a year and that yes the owners of Lost and Found were looking at buying it. He said the bar was open there though and that the waterfall and pond there was public if we wanted to go for a swim. We bought some beer and had a beer with the groundskeeper as it was so hot out. We then went over to the waterfall where we stood under the falls, swam and jumped off the falls into the pond. It was a pretty amazing two hour break from the bus trip. We thanked the grounds keeper and stood on the highway to pick up the next but. We were back on the road to Boca Brava.

Panama City

2011-01-07T05:56:00.000-08:00

We left Peru on 20 December. We had a flight from Cusco, Peru to Lima, Peru and then another flight to San Salvador, El Salvador and a third flight to Panama City, Panama... it was a day long adventure of flights. The next day we decided to explore Panama City, which we discovered is very different from Peru. Panama City is very busy and very loud. We walked to an area called Casco Viejo where the old colonial buildings are being re-developed, the old facades are held up by wood planks and new walls and floors are being built up behind them. This area is right on the water and will be a booming area in a few years. We got slightly lost walking to Casco Viejo and ended up in a rougher neighbourhood where both Scott and I got whistled at. Once we found our way we decided we needed to wind down with a pitcher of sangria! We walked along the boardwalk and visited the Museo del Canal Interoceanico, which was a very informative museum on the history of the Panama Canal. Did you know that many Caribbean people migrated to Panama to help build the Canal, which changed the culture, food and music of Panama? During of the construction of the Canal, Malaria and Yellow Fever was killing many of their workers it was during the building on the Canal that they started to understand how these diseases propagated and how they could manage it by managing the mosquito population. The museum had a beautiful Christmas tree which we got our pictures taken in front of it to send as an E–Christmas card to everyone. On our way back to the hotel that night we walked up the main street called Central Espana Ave. This street for several blocks is closed to traffic and is pedestrian only and since it was Christmas time it was packed with vendors selling, shoes, t-shirts, toys, food and really anything you wanted. We decided that the city was not for us and that tomorrow we would see a few things and then take the night bus to a hostel called Lost in Found “Cloud Forest” near a city called David. The next day we were off to the Albrook Mall to see if we could get a back up camera battery. No luck but the mall was very interesting very similar to back home and the prices are pretty much the same. But we did learn that Panama loves fried chicken and Chinese Food. We then hopped in a cab to the Parque Natural Metropolitano to do a quick trail before we headed to the canal. We were hoping to see more wildlife, but were able to see some turtles, a small lizard running on the water and some banana trees and along with numerous trails of leaf cutter ants carrying small bits of leafs. Another quick cab to the Canal – Miraflores Locks where we were just in time to watch enormous container ships coming through the locks, watch a quick movie on the old Canal and the new expansion set to be finished in 2014 and visit the official Canal Museum. Around 7pm we headed to the bus station which is right next to the Albrook mall. We were several hours early so we headed to the Cinnabun stand in the mall (just like back home mmmmm). The overnight bus was soooo cold and the connecting but was filled to the max. In Panama number of bus seats does not equal seats sold. By about 7am we had reached our drop off Lost and Found Hostel outside of David.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2010-12-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

It's Even Christmas at the
"Museo del Canal Interoceanico de Panama"
In Panama City!

Aguas Calientes, and Ollantaytambo

2010-12-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Guinea Pig Lunch
Picture 2-4 - Ollantaytambo Inca Ruins

More Machu Piccu Pictures

2010-12-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

Picture 1-3 - Machu Picchu
Picture 4- A crazy Lama at Machu Picchu
Picture 5 - Our hiking group and our awesome guide Lenny.

Inca Trail and Machu Picchu

2010-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Ruins we viewed on day three before Machu Picchu
Picture 2 - The Porter group and us celebrating
Picture 3 - 5am day 4 at the Sun Gate. Just prior to our descent to Machu Picchu
Picture 4 - All the trail hikers at the Sun Gate
Picture 5 - Machu Picchu!!

Pictures - Inca Trail Day 3

2010-12-21T18:36:00.001-08:00

Inca Trail - Our favourite adventure so far.

2010-12-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 11 December we started to panic because we had not been able to reach our tour company to let them know where we needed to be picked up on Monday 13 December for the Inca Trail Trek. Finally we were able to reach someone at the head office in Lima and were told there would be an information session on Sunday. At the information session we met the rest of our trekking group (three young Australians – Tim, Chris and Hamish and our guide Lenny who the other guides called Antonia Bandarias). Scott fit in with the boys as they bonded over popular media of course including Star Wars, sci-fi, and boy jokes. On Sunday I had the stomach flu all day and was very worried about starting the trek the next day. Luckily the bug cleared up and we were good to go at 6 AM on Monday to start the 45 km long Inca Trail. The first day we hiked about 6 hours covering around 11 km. At about noon it started to pour; just in time for the uphill portion. Despite being cold and wet it was a very cool hike up to our campsite. We were all very excited for tea time as we were cold to the bone. It continued to rain throughout the night and we prayed it would not rain the next day, as this would be our hardest part of the trek. It was sunshine when we woke up, which we were all very excited about. The day was divided into four parts. We started hiking at 7am and hiked 400 meters up mostly through the forest to an altitude of 3700 m. We then took a short break and trekked the rest of the way up to an altitude of 4200 m. The last 100 meters was tough, as at that height above sea level the air is thin and it was hard to catch our breath and we must have stopped at least 10 times with the peak in plain sight... it was a struggle. Once we were all at the top we descended straight down the other side of the mountain for 45 minutes following a waterfall that at times was running right beside and under the path. At the bottom we had lunch, and then were off to trek another 45 minutes up another mountain from 3600 to 3950 meters and then down again, where we crossed a river and set up camp on the other side. Each day our guide Lenny would take us to various Inca ruins along the way. They were all very different and astonishing. It was hard to imagine that the Inca’s could build such large cities, temples and terraces for agriculture in the mountain tops, made of intricate stone work.

Lenny let us know that there are about 300 trekkers on the trail and about 200 porters/guides. A group of about 30 trekkers including us were trekking much further than the other groups each day, which I thought was great as it made our third day of trekking much easier. On the third day we had beautiful weather. We hiked about 30 minutes slowly up and were able to take picturesque photos from the top of a mountain. Then we descended down, down and more down for about 2 hours. We made it to camp by about 12:30 pm and were done for the day. Wednesday was our celebration day. We had beers with the porters said our thanks to them for all their hard work. We were able to have a shower and went in early as the final day we had to be up by 3:30 am to start our trek by 4:30 am. On Thursday, our final day we hiked for about an hour to the “Sun Gate” which looks down on Machu Picchu; however it was very foggy and we were unable to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu. We then trekked down to Machu Picchu and completed a two hour tour with Lenny. Following this we said our goodbyes and wished him a Merry Christmas as he had to catch a train at 12:00. By the end of the trek we were a very closely knit group and it was sad to say good bye. During the trek Scott and I had come to be known as the mother and father of the group and the three Australians were our niño’s (baby’s). The boys have also made me an official member of the boy’s club.

On a side note let me tell you that the Inca Trail is hard but the way they set it up makes it so much easier. The Porters, which we had 6 carry all the camping gear and have your tent set up when you get to the site. They also cook all the meals which always included a soup, a main, and a dessert. The food was incredible. The porters are something else they are these little men that carry up to 28kg of weight in bags on their back up and down the same trail we hike. Lenny told us that most porters are farmers but that they also work as porters as it is now a good paying job and has good regulations. We made sure to tip the porters well as you just can’t believe how they are able to do what they do. They are amazing hardworking people.

After Machu Picchu Scott and I and our three boys headed to Aguas Calientes which literally means “hot Water”, as this community has a hot spring there. In Aguas Calientes we had lunch and drinks together. One of the boys Hamish ordered Guinea Pig, which is a Peruvian dish. All the boys tried it and it came out actually looking like a deep fried Guinea Pig on its belly with its mouth full of coriander. We had tons of laughs and then said our goodbye’s as they were heading to Lima and Huacachina to go sandboarding and we were staying in Aguas Calientes for a night to enjoy the hot springs. We couldn’t have asked to spend four days trekking with a more fun group of people. On a sad note Hamish was sad to find out that the gift shop did not have a tee shirt with the slogan “I survived the Inca Trail so toughen the fuck up!”.

The next day we took the only transportation out of Aguas Calientes, which is a very slow train to Ollantaytambo. There we had lunch and then booked it over to some more Inca ruins and more Inca stairs; however it was definitely worth it, as all the ruins have something unique at each site. We then grabbed a taxi from Ollantaytambo to Cusco. The drive takes over an hour and the driver only charged us 20 soles or $8. It sounded too good to be true; however we soon found out why it was so cheap. Along the way we picked up a mother her young son and infant, another lady and a man who rode in the hatchback. At one point we had 7 people in a very small car, it made for a laugh and funny conversation once we got to Cusco. Think clown car. Then it was onto supper which we decided would be a chocolate croissant and apple turnover gotta love vacations!

Pictures - Inca Trail Day 1 and 2

Cusco, Peru continued

2010-12-21T18:20:00.001-08:00

Pictures
1- Peruvian cultural dance performance
2- Native women by the river. Carrying their children in a back shall is very normal.
3- Cusco Cathedral on the Plaza de Armes
4- Went to Moras - Saw the agricultural research sight. Each level changes by several degress celsius.
5- Salt mines - at Salinas

Cusco, Peru

2010-12-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

From Copacabana we took the bus all day long back up the coast of Lake Titicaca through Puno and onto Cusco. Cusco is a very large city situation and occupying an entire valley. The houses especially evident at night with their light twinkling the valley rising up into the surrounding hills. On top of one of the hills is the light up statue of Jesus painted a bright light, just next to him on another hill are ruins of an Inca Temple that have stone work that a very skilled mason would be envious. The stones at this ruins site called Sacsayhuaman are up to 20 feet high and are interlocked so tightly that you could not even slip a piece of paper between them ... no mortar what so ever. Down below the city is active with more and more cabbies flowing through the streets. In the central part of town surrounding the Plaza de Armes all the streets and sidewalks is cobblestone that adds so much to the entire experience of an ancient city that has survived numerous earthquakes. The streets are full of touts selling paintings, handicrafts, shoe shines, massages, restaurants and of course trips to all over the Sacred Valley. The area from Cusco to Machu Picchu is called the Sacred Valley due to the ancient trails of the Incas to the temples and house of kings. Cusco self-titled historical and cultural capital of South America. Thus far in Cusco we have toured numerous museums, ruins, a statue of an Inca King that is on top of a 9 story tower, a cultural dance show and among others one of the beautiful churches we have ever seen El Cathedral which is the centre piece of the Plaza de Armes. Inside the Cathedral every wall is covered with massive paintings depicting Christian events tied together with ancient Quechan traditions with local stories. The stone work for the pillars and central domed roofs are just magnificent. Each nave of the church has wooden door ways that are at least 50 feet tall and each of two doors 10 feet wide. Inside the doors are alters carved out of wood and covered with 24 karat gold leaf foil and there are at least 12 of these not including the central alter that is covered in 2000 kg of silver plating. We cannot forget to mention that the food in Cusco has been unforgettable... with all the tourists that visit this city each year there are so many restaurants to choose from that makes every meal a hard decision on where or what type of food you want to eat. Despite numerous attempts for both of us to make excuses not to do the Inca Trail ... we have decided to have a go and make the 45 km trail to the ancient city of Machu Picchu. Cusco continued on next blog entry.

Isla Del Sol, Bolivia

2010-12-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Isla Del Sol or “Island of the Sun” is where the first Inca’s were said to have lived (Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo) after breaking free from the Northern Chavin culture and moving south. We took a 2 hour boat over to the island at 8 AM and were hiking the island by 10 AM. Circling the island takes about 6 hours, is 12 km’s and goes up and down various hills, which reaches a highest elevation of 4200 m. It was a beautiful day and so we took beautiful pictures. There were so many stairs up, up and more up along the spine of the island, but this was great practice for the Inca Trail which reaches the same elevation and is known for its thousands of stairs. Along the hike we saw some famous Inca ruins, the Sacred Rock and reached the other side of the island by 4:30 PM. We traveled down multiple sets of stairs before reaching an area with hostels and restaurants, where we were greeted by a 10 year old boy entrepreneur who convinced us to stay at his hostel. He even took us to our room took our money, wrote down our passport information and signed us in. It had gotten very cold and we were tired and so we both took a quick nap before supper (I napped in my toque). Then we hiked back up, up and more up the stairs to eat at a restaurant over looking out at the sunset. A storm was rolling in, so there was no sunset but the view was still amazing and a three course meal for $7 each by candlelight is worth the hike even minus the sunset. The next morning we were back on the boat back to Copacabana. They filled the boat so full we were all very nervous that the boat would capsize. The boat was being rocked by the waves and so the lady next to us had to stand the whole way to deal with her sea sickness. We made it to shore though and were off to the bus station for our 10 hour bus ride to Cusco.

Copacabana, Bolivia

2010-12-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

The bus to the Bolivian border crossing was quite beautiful as it followed along the Lake Titicaca coastline that is full of farm fields busy with people getting the fields ready for planting for the summer that is just beginning. The bus was full of gringos and relatively few local people so we had numerous conversations with a group of 4 Australian fellows that were touring South America, a couple other Aussies, an American and various other friendly travellers. The board crossing was relatively easy just three separate line ups of gringos a couple of more stamps to our passports and we were in Bolivia. Just 5 minutes over the board lays Copacabana a small coastal bay town on Lake Titicaca that is full of boats eager to take people on tours of the surrounding area and more specifically to Isla Del Sol or Isla Del Luna. As with any tourist friendly town or city when the bus stopped all the gringos were touted by locals to stay at their hostel and eat at their restaurant and we settled on the El Mirador which was a 6 story hotel that looked nicer on the outside but was okay on the inside... it overlooked the harbour with quite a beautiful view across the lake. We checked in and dumped our bags and met the 4 Aussie guys we met on the bus down on the main street for a huge cheap meal and beers. The rest of the day we spent walking around the streets and just enjoying our time. A few things to note about Bolivia is the prices were close to half the prices in Peru and all the ladies were walking around with sacks made of a sheet wrapped and tied across their chest and in most cases a baby or young child could be found coddled. As well the ladies wore bowler hats that we later found out were to mimic an ancient method of binding a baby’s head to change the shape of their skull which is now hundred years later not allowed a tradition that is also is carried on in Peru.

Lago Titicaca

2010-12-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

So we woke up a little later than expected and mis-read the Lonely Planet thinking that the bus ride from Arequipa to Puno was only 3 hours but ended up being 6.5 hours so we arrived in Puno – “the largest city on Lake Titicaca” a little later than expected 7pm. Puno is a city on Lake Titicaca, which is the highest lake in the world sitting around 3800 meters, with dimensions of 175 km by 65 km length to width, it is quite amazingly beautiful. Being the altitude there is 3800 metres we both were suffering from major headaches and went straight to bed. We booked a half day tour of the floating islands for 9am and were off to Uros Islands. There the local ladies showed us how they create a floating island. They showed us that the local people cut the reed roots, tie them together in metre square bundles, tie each bundle together, throw fresh reeds on top and then anchor the island down to avoid floating away. The Uros Islands consist of about 42 artificial islands with a population of 2000 in total. Their number one income is tourism. The islands were very neat like walking on a water bed... very bouncy. The people were very nice. Their typical dress is very bright and they showed us their homes and handicrafts. We bought a small blanket art piece and then took a reed boat ride over to another island. We then went back to the mainland of Puno where we eat at the market and bought some warm clothes for the Inca Trail when we arrive in Cusco, which we have convinced ourselves to complete no matter the cost. Scott has been battling the stomach flu for the last couple of weeks and so we stayed in tonight and got caught up on the blog and left for Bolivia the next morning.

Arequipa - Canyon Hiking

2010-12-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

The second night in Arequipa we sat on the roof top patio at our hostel “La Posada del Virrey" discussing a trek we planned to take the next day. The trek was a two dayand one night venture into Colca Canyon and then back to Arequipa by van. We should have clarified the specifics when they said trek as what they really meant was mountain climbing. The first day we got up at 3 am and travelled by van for 5 hours. We started our “trek” at 8:00 am at 3200 meters high. We then spent the next four hours descending 1000 meters down the mountain side. The trail was mostly rocks and very steep and so it was at times very hard to avoid tripping. We then hiked 20 minutes across a bridge and up to where we had lunch. We then trekked 400 meters straight up the other mountain where we came to three small mountain communities. We then decended about 600 meters straight down and across the river to the side we had previously started on. That day we travelled 16 km’s. At the bottom there was some small basic cabins with beds and a pool. We were all so beat we used the cold pool only to cool off and clean up before supper. As we were so tired we barely ate supper but had some good conversations with our group, which consisted of some Germans, Columbians, an America and a Brit. We crashed at 8pm as we had to get up at 4:45. The next day was a 1000 meter trek straight up the mountain (4km in length), which I was not up for. The previous day I was having difficulty catching my breath during the up parts and was very nervous. The altitude had gotten to many of us. Good for us they offered anyone who wanted a mule ride up the mountain for 60 soles ($20). Out of about 3 groups there were 10 of us that decided to take the mule (3 boys and 7 girls). Mules are amazing animals they just persevered up this never ending mountain. The mule group left an hour after the trekkers and so they were already on their way up. About half way we met Scott and our group leader. Scott was pooched and so he hopped on the extra mule they had. A few minutes up one of the guys from Columbia was also struggling. It took us about an hour and a half to get up the mountain by mule. The trekking group took between 2-3 hours. On the way back by van we stopped at a hot springs, which felt incredible! We also stopped alongside the road to take pictures of wild flamingos, Lamas and Alpaca. It was an exhausting two days and Scott and I are now very sore. We were so grateful to our trek leader Salome who was the most patient and encouraging women ever. At this moment we are getting more information on the Inca trail to make sure we won’t hold others back. If you look at the picture with the wide view of both mountains you will see that we decended the mountain on the right from top to bottom. We then climbed up the mountain on the left walked across it and then descended again to the bottom (if you look closely you can see the trail we took on the left zig zaggin down). In the picture you can see the pool we stayed at. It is at the very bottom.

Arequipa -upscale dining, mansions, and cathedrals

2010-12-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

We then took an overnight bus to Arequipa which is the second largest city in Peru. Arequipa is a beautiful city. Very upscale and surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. The weather there is very sunny. This city is beautiful. Despite surviving numerous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions it is bustling city full of elegant restaurants, art galleries, shops and the buildings here are fantastic. Being the city is located at 2300 metres above sea level it does not take long walking up the steady incline to our hostel to lose your breath. Altitude sickness is something that you have to be aware of, as you don’t realise how quickly you feel like dirt and struggle to breathe... but spending some time at the higher altitudes and drinking mate de coca (coca leaf tea, no it does not get you high) does help with easing the body into the elevation change. We will have to ensure that we are completely acclimatized as we are going to Puno, Peru and Copacabana, Bolivia both located on Lake Titicaca which is located at 3800 meters. We are then onto Cusco and the Inca Trail, which at it’s highest point is 4300 meters above sea level.

In Arequipa we spent lots of time wandering around the streets touring through churches, monasteries and old mansion houses. Like I said this city is full of beautiful buildings and most of which are made of stones quarried from ancient volcanic rock. The rock has a distinctive white colour hence why Arequipa is deemed the “White City” as well we just found out today that the name literally means in the ancient Katchwan language “behind the wall of volcanoes”. There are 8 volcanoes surrounding the city the most famous being El Misti which compares to Mount Fuji in Japan in sheer beauty for its perfect conical shape and due to the fact that it stands relatively alone). The most amazing aspect of this city is the need to continually rebuild the city due to the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. As recently as 2001 an earthquake damaged and destroyed some of the most beautiful buildings specifically La Cathedral a beautiful church that spans an entire block side of the Plaza de Armes which looking at it today looks like it was built hundreds of years ago but was in rubble less than 10 years ago.

Nazca - One of the Worlds Great Wonders

2010-12-07T12:07:00.001-08:00

The next day we were off to Nazca to see the famous Nazca lines. The night we got there we went to the Nazca Lines hotel where the famous researcher Maria Reiche of the Nazca Lines lived for the last 25 year s of her life and so they have a planetarium there where they give an hour lecture on her research and the theories behind how the lines became to be and how they are still there. She theorized that the lines were made over a thousand years by the different people’s in the area to reflect various constellations, to show the summer solstice and winter solstice, and for ceremonies. The most recent theory believes that it was mainly to navigate the underground water and rivers and for ceremonies. The Nazca lines are famous for the very large images of various animals “The monkey, The hummingbird, The Condor etc.”; however what I learned was that there are lines that stretch kilometres and there are hundreds of lines and triangles some kilometres in width. We met a guy named Daniel from Denmark who had spent the last 8 months travelling through Central America and now South America. He indicated the Central America had very kind people and highly recommended it which was nice to hear. The next day we bought plane tickets to fly over the lines. The plane held us and 3 other tourists. We took a 35 minute flight to see lines that stretched on forever and the various figures. The lines were really neat to see and being up in a such a small plane dipping and diving was awesome. Half way through I started to smell bananas which was odd. Then when we got off the plane a girl from Chille said I am so sorry guys and she held up a bag. The ride had not gone so well for her .

Huacachina - fun in the sand

2010-12-07T12:05:00.001-08:00

Next we were on to Huacachina. This place has a very blue green lagoon in the middle and is surrounded by mountainesque sand dunes on all sides. All the hostels had outdoor pools as it is very hot here. The second day we spent lounging around the pool and then at 4pm we went with a group of 10 or so dune bugging and then sand boarding. The dune buggies race up and down these huge sand dunes. It is even more stomach wrenching than a roller coaster. Following this they get you on wooden boards that look like snow boards. On the smaller hills we attempted to use it like a snow board but it is very different you have to lean on the back of the board to go, not the front. Then on the next 4 huge hills we’re talking hundreds of feet we were directed to lie down on them and go head first. It was incredible just like bob sledding. It ended with a view of the sunset over the sand dunes. I’ve never been in a place where you can just see sand as far as the eye can see. It was beautiful. We then had supper with two couples from our group a couple from France and a couple form England (James and Maria). James and Maria work for an accounting firm and took a year off to travel around the world.

Paracus

2010-12-07T11:46:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Paracus on Sat. 27th of Nov and ate the best sea food I’ve ever had. We also tried a Peruvian dish called Ceviche, which is generally raw white fish marinated for 24 hours in lime juice , onions, cilantro, chillies and served cold. Ceviche is delicious. The next day we booked a 2 hour boat ride out to Islas Ballestas. On the boat we were able to see a 50m wide and 150m long three pronged famous geoglyph similar to the nazca lines. This has always been here and even the winds and sand do not wipe it away. There are some theories as to how it got there and how it continues to stay there. We then got to the island where there is a wide variety of animals due to the Humboldt current from Antarctica. We were able to see hundreds of Sea Lions, Penguins, Pelicans, dolphins and all differ types of birds including various types of boobies. There are some many birds that the government removed the guano every five years and sells it as fertilizer. Scott recorded the cutest video of a baby Sea Lion trying to get up on the rocks to get to its mother who was calling out to it.

Outskirts of Lima

2010-11-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

So we left Central Lima on Thursday and went to the South region of Lima City to Miraflores a suburb on the Pacific coast. The ridgelines are the highest I have ever seen and they have an open air, very upscale mall built into the side of it. The coast is lined with surfers. This is still spring here so the water, which is not that warm to begin with is very very cold right now. There are 7 beaches on this coast and we walked about half of them on Thursday when we first got to Miraflores. It looks like they line the coast with rocks to keep the sand and rock cliffs from eroding. There are hundreds of stairs to get down to the beach. The view from the tops of the cliffs is amazing. Thursday night we went to the centre of Miraflores where there are several cafes, restaurants, and salsa bars. We enjoyed an awesome cafe latte, and ate supper at Govinda a vegetarian restaurant. This is where Leo the Peruvian man who we met the night before works as a chef. In the centre of Miraflores there are two parks Central and Kennedy and both are filled with people, vendors, and activities. Around the outside of the parks are two story buildings with hostels, McDonalds, restaurants, cinema’s, bars etc. In the park there was a group of teenagers doing hip hop dance routines, which was really cool. Scott and I watched both the girl and boy group for at least a half hour. That night we stayed at the Friends House Hostel. We were in a dorm room, which is a room with 6 beds - bunk bed style. It was only the two of us, a girl Carissa from Arkansas and her Peruvian boyfriend. She spoke English, which was a treat for us to be able to have long conversations in English. She was completing her Masters in Archaeology at a local University and she explained to us about the history of the Moche, which were pre-Inca. In Peru the cable TV gets WB channel which is sometimes in English with Spanish subtitles and a lot of the Peruvians watch this channel so we watched the Wedding Crashers with others at the Hostel that night.

The next day we thought we should move on, to another suburb called Barracas. We grabbed a taxi, the driver was so nice, as we could not find the hostel Kaminu and he was determined to get us to the right spot. Finally we realized it was in the valley, which required us to walk off the street and down stairs to get to it. The hostel was great and Piero and his wife the owners were so upbeat and friendly. The place is very bohemian and since we were the first guests to say that we had found the place that was published in the newest revision of the Lonely Planet Peru we got a 10 Soles discount. The doors there are thin and about three meters high and there is a dog named Bingo who is so docile. We walked around Barracas, which is not very big; however very nice as it looks over the beach and is where all the Peruvians go to eat out, go to dance etc. After touring around we went to the Metro, which is a chain grocery store to get sandwich fixings to eat in the park overlooking the wooden bridge and valley right by our hostel. Later we went back to the hostel where we hooked up with a Peruvian guy named Joseph. Joseph was so friendly, in that he helped us figure out where to go tomorrow, where to stay and how much it would cost. Joseph is mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide as he can speak Japanese, German, and English. He is a friend of Piero the hostel owner. Later another friend of Piero’s came up to hang out with us Juan. Juan kept razzing Joseph saying he was a bad tour guide. They hugged it out though and both gave us their email address. Juan is going to Cusco, near Machu Picchu on Dec 16 when we will just be done our trek from Machu Picchu. He is staying with his brother there and told us to connect with him once we are done our trek. He is a surf instructor, free spirit type who loves the f-word and is proud to be a hippy :).

On Saturday we got up and took a taxi to the local bus station Soyuz, where we got tickets to Paracas. The bus is about 3 hours and very similar to taking the Grey Hound. I didn’t expect this but once you get out of Lima and start travelling south it is all dessert with huge mountain looking hills completely made out of sand. Houses are built on the side of the sand mountains. It is so neat. Something is to be said about what we have seen and are now observing on the bus heading to Paracas, everything looks like it is under construction all the time. Buildings or dwellings will be one or two stories and look like they are going to add another story on top but never finish. Construction is done a lot with bricks made into small 2.5 by 2.5 meter walls separated by re-bar where they form up while in construction and pour concrete, thus you will have walls separated by concrete pillars next to each other and then built on top of each other. There is the ever presence of crime in Peru, as all the buildings especially more upper scale ones have fences built around them, either brick walls, or iron fences that are all toped at least 8 feet high with wire, electric wire, broken glass, or sharpened re-bar welded together. Thus when you walk or drive down a street it looks barren but behind these protective curtains could be parking lots, markets, restaurants and the like you just need to find the door or buzz yourself in. Now that they have walls surrounding everything you now have infinite canvases for people to graffiti and post signs onto... it is quite interesting to see.

Central Lima

2010-11-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

So the flight from Toronto to New York was short and sweet... we started watching the movie Inception but since the flight was only 2 hours long we just got a taste. Then we had 4.5 hours in the New York JFK where we watched some Big Bang Theory on our net book and had a bite to eat and we were off to Lima, Peru. The flight was overnight 8 hours so we had lots of time to re-watch Inception which was a fantastic movie and it made our dreams all that more interesting. Lan Chile was our airline and if you ever have a chance to fly with them you will not be disappointed... drinks, sleeping eye covers, ear plugs, blanket, pillow and infinite channels of movies, shows, music and the likes are all free. Lots of leg room was a super plus. We arrived in the airport and customs was like we were citizens just returning from a day trip away it was a breeze. We sat in the airport for half an hour and in that time had figured out where to stay, where to buy a SIM card for our cell phone, the current exchange rate and how to get to our hostel. Let’s start with the cab ride... insane... if we go with the theory that rubbing is racing... it was a race through the streets of Lima. Just to sum up the situation here ... cars are beat up more than back home... most cars have bond-o patching holes, there are 400,000 cars in Lima and 300,000 are cabs and they drive like cabbies... fast, pushy and rough. The part of the city between the airport and Lima Central was a mess of broken down buildings and even those were surrounded by walls topped with glass, barbed wire, electric fences and other ramparts. The taxi driver told us not to cross the river as we (tourists) would be stuck up at gun point and robbed. Once we crossed the river things really brightened up... nicely painted buildings, sidewalks and a safer atmosphere. Lima is a beautiful city full of massive Baroque architecture. Baroque style has the French/Spanish type iron, concrete and wood balconies. Lima also has the garage door type shops, and open air cafes and restaurants like Thailand had. There is a shop in every nook and crannie. Since the city has survived two recent massive earthquakes which destroyed some of the city you would not think that there would be much left; however, we are getting our fill of churches and museums, as they are very abundant here. There is rich cultural and religious history. We ended up doing a 4 hour group tour around Lima with an English speaking guide that despite being a lot of money was worth the knowledge, orientation and experience of areas where we might not have wandered. We went to a museum where we learned that there were local people in Peru named the Moche, Nazca, and Wari from 400AC where as the Inca’s did not come until 1450 AC. The tour guide explained that the number one employment is mining, then fishing, then farming and the average salary is $200 American a month or 600 soles. We then went to the Convent San Francisco, which is a huge beautiful church. There we saw the beautiful paintings and visited the catacombs, which are underground graves. They had unearthed all the graves and placed them in cases. So basically you walked through several underground very tiny tunnels (Scott almost lost his head a few times), where there were hundreds of bones on display. Food in Peru is very good. You have your rice and beans (Tacu Tacu), all types of potatoes(fried, French fries, ones that look like dessert as they are mashed in various shapes and colours. Drinks are basically pop (inka cola-mountain dew type stuff), coffee, tea, juice, and pisca sour (a cocktail of grape brandy and lemon lime juice). The most important meal here is lunch and it is huge. You can get lunch and a drink for about $5 a person. We met some Peruvian guys Bob and Leo and had some drinks with them last night. Both were very nice and told us a lot about Peru. We met Bob in the Plaza de Arms which is a city square about 100 times bigger than Goderich square. The buildings around it are the house of the Arch Bishop, the President, the Mayor and two private companies. Bob is a waiter and goes to the square to try to get people to come to the restaurant he works at. When we were having drinks he showed us that he had met Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins in the Plaza de la Arms and got a picture with him. It was very cool. Last thing to talk about is our hostel “Le Espana”. It is an older 5 story mansion. The rooms are basic, bed, bathroom, fan, tv ... but the place is amazing with beautiful church like art and chandeliers and spiral stair cases everywhere. There is tons of pets roaming about, 2 parrots, 3 large turtles, several pigeons, a dog, and a cat. Scott is going to make a video of it “Cribs style”. Thanksto Jason for the idea. Lastly, we are starting to pick up Spanish. Bob, restaurant staff and our handy Spanish guide have all been really helpful. Well that’s it for now. Peru is wonderful and we are still in the city, I’m sure the Inca trail and the smaller towns will be very beautiful.

On Our Way Finally!

2010-11-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

So over the last week it has been a frenzie of meeting up with family and friends, getting our house ready to be occuppied, and getting packed for four months. We love our family and friends. They are the best!

Oh packing... we have been setting stuff out all week. On Friday I packed and repacked twice, each time taking a little out. Trying to get everything into one bag is a skill. Saturday I packed and uppacked again and then on Sunday I finally got Scott to pack with a little help from Chris and Heather. He was trying to get us all to watch you tube so that he could avoid it.... but there was no avoiding it! it needed done. After he packed we both repacked and got rid of a ton more items. We were finally down to about one back pack each weighing 20-25 pounds and then a day pack each weighing 10 pounds each. Man it really comes down to 3 pants, 2 shorts, 5 tshirts/tank tops, bathing suit, a shamwow :), one pair of hicking sandles, one pair of hiking boots,hygene items, travel books, and electronics. Thats it and really even that is too much.

Sunday we were up till 1:30 AM loading our IPods, as this will be our familiarity of home. We were up by 8am on Monday. finshed up a few things, said good bye to the neighbors and family, and we were off. We dropped Scotts truck off at his work said good bye to his co-workers and were off with the airporter. We got to the airport at 1:30pm. Our flight leaves Toronto at 4:30pm goes to New York, there is a 4-hour lay over until 10:30pm then we arrive at Lima, Peru at 6:40 am. I am so excited to get there. Thanks everyone for all your help! The big day is here.

Getting things done.

2010-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

So thank you to Craig and Christena who have been keeping me updated on my own blog
...Christena informed me I had a blog :)
and Craig explained the route we would be taking on the trip for the next four months:)
So there you have it ..1-Scott updates the blog, 2-my friends check the blog, 3-I call my friends, 4-they update me on the blog.
I realize this is crazy and so I've decided to become more internet interested and I have told Scott that if he puts up any more posts before I have a chance I'm breaking free and starting my own blog. He thought that was pretty funny and so here I am so that I don't have to start my own blog... cause I'm not sure how that would go.

Well the last three days have been craziness. I swear I have clocked over 10 hours looking for flights. I was able to find an all inclusive in Panama for the first week of our trip and then to Peru for the next three weeks all working out to the same price,... but after thinking about it I thought this is not what this trip is about and I would rather have the extra week in Peru. With that all said we then decided to go to a travel agent to make sure we had insurance on the flights. I definitely felt over prepared and I believe she booked the same flights I had picked and same price, but at least if we lose our ticket or the airline goes bankrupt we are covered. Also while we were there she looked into booking a four day treck for us from Dec. 15-18 on the Inca trail, up Machu Picchu and then a train ride back to Cuzco. The treck is like 7 hours of trecking a day. I'm thinking Scott and I should hit the gym hard for the next 10 days so that we aren't dying carrying our 50lb packs on this treck (maybe we can find somewhere to stow them). Although it sounds hard I am so excited!

I believe in the last 3 days I have met my computer quota for the year. On top of checking fligts I have also been searching out cell phones, looking up other peoples blogs and trying to find a cheap net book. There was a post on kijiji for a $100 net book but the lady never got back to us and so then we tried to get one on sale yesterday but they were sold out everywhere. I finally found some in London and so I finagalled it so that I could order it on line and pick it up in London over the weekend, as the sales man assured me twice... you cannot buy it over the phone with your credit card... crap! So I had to try to figure out how to order it on line. So done and done. We now have purchased a samsung 10.1" netbook, which we need to pick up in London on Saturday. We also bought an unlocked blackberry quad band phone fairly cheap, so that we can send texts to all you awesome people.

We just purchased an additionall 45 days of insurance, as the insurance we bought through Scott's work only covers the first 60 days. Good thing we read the fine print. One lesson I have learned is that insurance companies have a magic number and it's called 3 MONTHS and medication needed for longer than this.... you will be paying for. I think I've decided that my next trip will be 3 not 4 months :). Well I feel anxious after all this... I'm sure you feel the same way after reading it all. This is craziness but it is going to be so COOL. I can't wait.

Cell Phones, Netbooks, SIM Cards... Technologically Un-inclined

2010-11-09T11:59:00.000-08:00

So we have decided to try our trip high tech... again in last minute fashion we are looking for the following "make your life easier devices".
Unlocked Quad Band GSM Phone... sounds easy... ya there is not many choices.
Netbook... again not cheap and it would be nice if someone did not want there's but I don't even know of anyone that has one...
SIM Cards... there are a bunch of these out there but the International Use anywhere cards seem to have huge rates and thus it seems like we will buy SIM Cards for each Country we go to that we want to have the luxury.
As well in working out some flight details we may have completely reversed the entire order of our trip from now starting in Peru and working our way North... silly us.

Vaccines

2010-11-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well we went to a travel clinic in Kitchener last Friday and thought we were prepared but entered a woorl whin of fun... fast talking doctor that was confusing us more than helping us... it is tough when you think you know something and then it comes down to the question as to if your drug plan covers some of the vaccines and pills... (thrills and bellyaches). So it turned out that most of our vaccines are covered but some of our pills... specifically Malarone a malaria pill was only covered for a portion of the needed use... with having to take it 2 days before you leave and 7 days after you return and with the lenght of our trip they figured we needed 125 pills each and our drug plans only cover 100... at $6 a pill per day for each of us... that adds up quickly... anyway Safety First... as I always say... and that is my career... anyway now is the time to wind down our working schedules in which Shannon is done on Friday and I have another week after her... it is time to get the house ready for us leaving and determining what is happening to it once we are gone... until next time.

Gear, Books and Vaccines

2010-10-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well we went to Moutain Equipment Co-op (MEC for those in know) and unloaded the credit card to get some essentials... new pack for Shan with a detachable travel bag along with another travel bag, rain jackets, hiking shoes, money belts and some other nick nacks... having the gear really helps but it always seems like you need more... oh the fun of being a gear-head. Thank goodness my Europe Bound back pack cicra 1994 is still in one piece with many other pieces of tread having been added through the years of use. It is funny how we have an attachment to inanimate objects (my pack has been out West numerous times, East Coast, Japan, Nashville, Thailand, Cambodia, Europe leaving me behind, and numerous car camping adventures.
With all our gear assembled there was that dire need for purchasing some Lonely Planet Guides... as you travel you can always spot the newbs sitting in a cafe reading the Lonely Planet... my favorite of the travel books by far... nice pictures to get you an idea of where your going, lots of maps of off-shoot placed that are detailed enough to get you from being lost to found. As well they have all the good information of what is good, what to avoid, typical costs, suggestions and more recently more green or eco centric artilces and descriptions which is always a plus as I have always said "Leave the campsite in a better condition than we found it" or "Take nothing but photos and Leave nothing but memores" or something like that... so we bought the Central America on a Shoestring, Costa Rica (as we are planning on spending a lot of time there), Latin Spanish Phrase Book, and Peru. The good thing is being prepared the bad thing... having to carry around books on your back... we are sure they will all come in handy.
Now in typical Shan and Scott fashion we are doing our vaccines last minute... just made the appointment today for Friday and thankfully a lot of the "required or suggested"ones we have already Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, Japanese E. Now we have to get Yellow Fever, Twinrex top up and those dreaded pills for Malaria... yep there is no vaccine and there are a variety of pills with varying side-effects... I could not stand these in Thailand and am not looking forward to taking them in C and S America.
Till next time.

Planning the Plot Thickens

2010-09-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well it is getting closer to the date and since the last updated both our companies have approved our leave of absence for 4 months... right now we are in the stages of getting our house in order and writing out lists of things to purchase and loose ends to tie off before we take off.

Planning Stages

2010-05-07T12:52:00.000-07:00

Well the adventure is starting to be a reality once again the Dynamic Due of Scott and Shannon are planning for another adventure this time to Central and South America... we are learning Spanish although Scott at a slower rate... no comprende... and reading books, looking at pictures and picking places we want to go... too much excitement for something that has not been approved through our work as of yet... more to come...