Archive for January, 2009
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27
Jan
2009
A Few Days In Central America
Things have been busy the last few weeks, but I’ve also found some time here and there (like on a plane back from Chicago one late night) to edit some of my photos. And thus I have the chance to share some of the warmth and beauty of Central America with you all.
My first full day in Costa Rica found our GAP adventures group bound for Liberia. After a long bus ride and checking into the hotel, we made for the beach! Even coming from Atlanta, it was like someone turned the clock back to summer suddenly. While it doesn’t equal the gulf beaches, Playa Hermosa, which means beautiful beach, was as advertised.
Stand By Me - Playa Hermosa
We Three - Pacific Sunset
The next day, we enjoyed a boat ride through Palo Verde, that although near Liberia was quite a bumpy ride. The highlight of the boat ride for me was definitely the monkeys, although we saw a couple of crocs and a ton of birds as well. The monkeys were totally looking for handouts and were used to them despite the signs that predicatably said to not feed them. We were good travelers and didn’t offer them a morsel.
Really No Food? Panhandlers of Palo Verde
The afternoon was free to wander. I did a bit of ambling on my own and later with a couple of other photogs in the group, Chrysta Brown and Jennifer Young. Liberia had a hint of tourism, particularly on the main strip, but the town had plenty of bright colors and peeling paint and was really what I had hoped to find.
A Little Bit of Everything - Liberia
Iglesia Católica de Liberia
The next morning found us bound for Nicaragua. I honestly didn’t have a lot of expectations for Nicaragua. I had heard a lot of great stuff about Costa Rica and what I had heard about Nicaragua was encouraging. Our first stop was San Juan del Sur, an up and coming coastal destination and a perfect place to ring in the new year on the shores of the Pacific, literally on the beach. The first New Year we saw in together was the UK in honor of the guys from Scotland. UK new year happened to be very close to sunset.
San Juan Del Sur Sunset
If Liberia had been colorful, then San Juan Del Sur was positively a riot of color, mostly pastel. Between New Years Eve celebrations, a day spent on a sailboat and a night watching sea turtles hatch, I only had one morning to really explore SJDS, but it was a rewarding morning.
Pick A Color - Streets of San Juan Del Sur
Yellow Meets Blue - San Juan Del Sur
This is just a taste, if you want to see more of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the full album is going up here.
12
Jan
2009
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and back again
On our second day in La Fortuna, the only activity I had planned for the day was an activity our entire group had signed up for. I had been mentally prepping for this one the whole trip. The planned activity was zip lining, AKA Canopy Tour and several other monikers.
In brief, these are tours of the tree tops. Strong cables are strung between trees and people glide on them on little pulleys while strapped into harnesses. While I can’t say that there was no trepidation, I can say it was a highlight of the trip. I can’t say that I was looking that much at the trees and the wildlife, but I can say it was a genuine adrenaline rush. We made ten jumps between various trees on a resort near La Fortuna. Some of the jumps were small, some were really quite long. The last real line was over a river and quite long.
When you zip line, you were a harness that’s strapped to a pulley and you use a sort of leather strap on your dominant hand as a brake to control your speed. On our first jump, like several of us, I fell short of the next platform, having applied too much brake. I resolved after having to use my hands to pull myself up the last little bit of cable that I wasn’t doing that again. I barely slowed down afterward and was one of only a few in the group to make each successive leap to the next platform. I simply refused to brake! At least until the guide on the platform was having his hands at me to slow down!
After our last leap, we got onto a cart and drove back to the resort. They sold us photos of ourselves taken while we were going between the trees. I think I should work on this as a new profession – one CD cost $45! They told us we could make as many copies as we wanted at least. So, after we got back into town and had lunch, I was duly appointed to get some blanks and sit down in the internet cafe and make copies. The fun part was that the software was in Spanish and apparently the first computer I sat at had an issue with it’s CD drive as it broke after the 4th copy! The next machine was much faster.
Didn’t do much else that day. We had our last full group meal that night as one of the group was staying there to go to Monteverde with her Aunt. Afterward, hung out with part of the group (Lenny, James, and Sidra) who didn’t go to La Disco until retiring to the room to more or less do my last packing for the trip. I knew the next night in San Jose would be rushed so I wanted to have my stuff together. My bags needed to be ready to be loaded up when the rafting group left in the morning.
All but three of us were going whitewater rafting. I had considered doing it, but all in all, if I wanted to white water raft that bad, I have plenty of choices here and it was one of the more expensive activities. I just didn’t have that much interest basically. So, the three of us, James, Lenny, and I were staying behind that morning and would be picked up to rejoin the group at 1:30pm. Instead, we went back to Baldi Hot Springs for the day! Perfect way to spend my last full day in Costa Rica. Resting in hot springs, going up and down the water slides several times and just generally feeling like a complete bum!
When we met back up with the group, we had lunch and then took the long winding roads back to San Jose. It was a three hour drive into the city. We all wondered what it would look like after the earthquake, and ironically we couldn’t see any damage. Apparently the bulk of it was outside of the area we were staying in. I’d seen lots of photos on TV and heard conflicting stories about death tolls, but didn’t feel it and never really saw it. It was very odd, like being at the scene of an event but not sharing in it. Don’t get me wrong, very happy not to have been harmed in anyway, but it still created a surrreal feeling.
We had our last group meal at a restaurant that served Thai and Indian food. I had Indian chicken curry! Yum!! The restaurant was nice and it was a great way to end the trip. After dinner and chatting, we all made our way back to the hotel for our final night. We chatted a bit and said our farewells. Jenn and I were the first out the next morning. We had to leave the hotel about 5am. I took one more hot shower (my second since getting back to San Jose and the magic of hot water) and went to bed for all of four hours before I dragged the last of my belongings into my bag and knocked on Jenn’s door. Our tax driver was waiting for us and made good time to the airport.
Of course, we get to the airport, and our flight to Houston was delayed (apparently one of many that day). We made up a lot of time in the air but still think we got to our gate late. Both of us had tight connections, I to Atlanta, Jenn to Toronto. I still don’t know if she made hers but the last I saw her she was still in the immigration line. I managed to run and get far into the line. But as soon as I got through passport control, I stood and waited for my bags forever. People were complaining vehemently all around me. I swear it’s either Continental or Houston or both, but every connection I’ve made there has been a nightmare. My bag finally shot on to the conveyor and I was off to the races. I managed to get through customs quickly and re-checked the bag and ran to my airplane. By the time I got there, I felt half dead and looked only slightly better. I barely made it onto my plane.
The whole flight, I wondered what the chances were my bag had made it. It wasn’t long after landing before I figured out it hadn’t. The funny thing was there were a lot of people without their luggage who weren’t making connections like me. It’s like they left a pile of suitcases sitting somewhere in Houston. I stood in line, filed my luggage claim and was told I’d get it delivered to my house by 10pm.
I dragged myself home, only stopping at the grocery store to replenish the cupboard enough for a day or two and collapsed on the sofa to wait for my bags.
I drifted in and out of sleep for awhile. About 10pm, I woke up and called Continental about my bags. They told me they came in at 9pm and it shouldn’t be long… I drifted back to sleep. About 11pm, they called me to say my bag would be delivered about 3am! And asked if anyone would be awake or if there was someplace outside they could leave it! I think not! I asked if we could just schedule it for today so I could properly go to bed.
Somewhere in all this, I also got an e-mail from Lenny and James that they had gotten stuck at the airport here in a missed connection back to the UK. They got put up at a nice hotel near the airport at least.
We exchanged emails today. I suggested some places they might do touristy stuff and where to shop if they were interested. They ended up deciding on the shopping spree option. I can’t entirely blame them. We had the fastest reunion dinner ever at the airport this evening, only the day after we all left Costa Rica! HA! Hopefully, they are 30 minutes into their flight home by now!
Oh, and yes, I finally got my bag, a bit before 3pm today! So, I finally feel like I’m back. It may take me a few days to get back into the swing of life here. It was a great trip. I’ve told several people now that it feels like ages since I left for this trip, not two weeks. And not in a bad way, it’s just that I saw and did so much, it just feels like a month passed while I was away. Much to catch up on, much to remember.
I’m not sure when I’ll next call on Costa Rica or Nicaragua. They were both interesting in their own way. The trip did concentrate more on Nicaragua, so maybe more Costa Rica some day. I’d particulalry like to see some of the non-westernized parts. La Fortuna was so tourist-driven that I hardly took any photos there. It seemed like they’d look like they could have been anywhere. That said, there were parts of Nicaragua that, even without hot water, I much enjoyed and I’d like to see more. Granada could have been easily a day or two longer and I heard good things about Leon. Nicaragua was probably one of the poorest places I’ve been. We were told only Haiti in this hemisphere was poorer, but it’s also one of the safest places in Latin America and the people I met were unfailingly kind. Also due to the conflicts of the 80’s, a very young country, we were told between 60 and 70% of the population is under 30. I definitely left with a warm place in my heart for Nicaragua and had fun in Costa Rica, but there are so many places I’ve yet to see that it’s hard to say that I’ll definitely go back soon.
Hopefully I’ll get to start going through the photos from the trip soon!
8
Jan
2009
Back From Beyond
When last reporting from Granada, I was getting ready to return to the midst of nowhere in Lake Nicaragua. I’ve definitely had my share of remote places for the moment.
We took a van to Managua airport. The actual airport is quite a bit nicer than expected, but we were flying out of the small end of it which is for local destinations. We were flying to San Carlos. Quick lunch in the Subway in Manaqua International Airport where I learned that Atun is Tuna. I was so hunrgy I didn’t much care.
We then hopped on our little 12 seat plane. My first flights were aboard propeller planes, although slightly bigger, so I can’t really say they scare me, but I don’t find them at all comfortable or overly assuring. I prefer jets when given the choice. Actually, I have to say that anytime they weigh not only my bags but me, I’m not comforted. They weighed us all, and all our bags. My bag was 10 pounds over the limit (but 10 under for the US). But luckily the group weight was what counted for our flight, so no extra charge.
A wee bit later we had flown over Lake Nicaragua and landed in the tiny burg of San Carlos. We watched our bags get unloaded and were told we couldn{t collect them until we were inside the hut. I cannot call this small building next to a single dirt runway a terminal. It was simply a hut. Once inside we watched another group pile into the plane returning to Managua. It was about this moment that one of our group realized her bag was not there. Yes, it had never been unloaded…
It was at one funny and tragic. Our guide spent half an hour bartering with the people at the desk. In the end, there was no way to get the bag back same day. They were putting it on a plane for the next day. I really felt for her, luggage lose, even for a day is no fun at all.
We took taxis to the docks at San Carlos and then boarded a boat to our “Eco Lodge” on one of the islands of Solentiname. The location was, I have to say, beautiful. A gorgeous little piece of island shaded by a variety of trees and plants. The couple who run it, Daniel and Olivia, were incredibly friendly. The islands are sparsely populated, maybe 1,000 people we were told.
The place is remote enough that the power is solar, so limited. The cabins only had a light. I had to recharge my phone at the main building. Not that I got a signal there, just that I needed it for an alarm. They do have a phone there for emergencies, but not for general use. Apparently it’s a bear to call out.
The first night, I shooed a gecko out of my cabin, another guy had spiders, and another group had bats. This should give you an idea just how out there it was. During the day, you quickly forgot, but at night, the warm temps and the critters made me want civilization badly. I really think only Ometepe or only Solentiname would have made the trip better for me. I’m hard pressed to pick one over the other, but I have reached my limit of backwater for the moment.
On our first day, our fellow traveler’s bag arrived (at a cost of $100 – which with luck her insurance will pay for) and a boat had to go back to San Carlos with her to get it. A few of us went back for lack of anything else to do. Sure, I could have laid in a hammock, but I had a better time in the hour long boat ride and 20 minutes meandering through a small market where they rarely see tourists. I got some cookies and thought the guy said they were 30 cordobas, when they were actually 13 (yes, my spanish is that bad). To his credit, he refused to accept my error. There are 20 cordobas to the dollar right now, so we aren’t talking a lot. I just have to give a shout out to the honest locals of San Carlos, Nicaragua!
Back to the eco lodge and a lazy afternoon. We spent two days eating (great meals) and the only exercise I got was walking to “town” the second afternoon. Even by Ideal, Georgia standards, this was not a town. Chickens and ducks and a room in a couple of houses with groceries or clothes. If quaint is what you’re after, Solentiname is your place. While there, a Brit who is travelling on a world ticket for a year briefly joined up with us to eat and share stories. She’s travelling alone and on the last two months of her year abroad. About my age and quit her job and sold everything to do it. Much jealousy. Although I’m not sure you’d ever find me wandering off to plaves like that wee island on my own. I need a bit more city to stay sane it appears.
I likewise think that I see I’ll never do peace corps. The cold showers have completely worn thin. Granada was at least luke warm. Solentiname was back to cold and bitter. I guess I could get used to it, but I’m not really sure I want to. That’s apparently a creature comfort that I’m hard pressed to give up.
I think I’ve complained enough, lest I sound like I’m completely having no fun here. I cherish every moment that I’m getting to see a little more of this wide world.
Today was back to Costa Rica day. We had breakfast at 6:30am and boarded a boat to San Carlos. We went through immigration there to exit Nicaragua and boarded a collectivo boat heading south on the San Frio River to Los Chiles, Costa Rica. Passports stamped and sat on the boat. As it’s a collectivo, it only leaves when it’s full. As we were first in line, we sat on for over an hour.
Just about time to shove off, it began to pour rain. A theme for the day. The roof of the boat had about a 100 leaks and one was, of course, over my bag. Drip, drip, drip… My bag is water resistant, not water proof, but it appears it was never enough to seep through luckily. It was a drizzle that alternately poured all the way to Los Chiles where it stopped just enough for us to load our bags on the van for the next leg luckily. As soon as the tarps went up over our bags on the roof, the sky opened again. We crowded in the building to get our passports stampd for re-entry into Costa Rica for a bit before boarding the van.
The van was a two hour ride and we were all determined to make no stops. Every time a stop was offered, we said no thanks. The only stop we really made was sitting on the side of the road looking at monkeys playing in the trees outside our windows. Still, no one budged, we were determined to make good time to La Foruna.
La Fortuna is a totally touristy town. I hope to explore it a bit if just for some tacky souvenirs, maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next morning, we’ll see what works out. Today we still didn’t have time for a lot. We got in and unloaded.
I happened to turn on the news (trying to catch up) just in time to see that there had been a 6.1 earthquake here in Costa Rica. It was felt here in La Fortuna even though it’s 5 hours away from San Jose. The epicenter was apparently a bit north of San Jose, where there were two deaths and a bit of damage. Hard to tell how much as the news thats doing much coverage is all in spanish. At any rate, we felt nothing on the road on the way here and are all well. As far as I know, this changes nothing about our travel plans or leaving here on time next Sunday. If you’ve seen the news and wondered, though, all is well on my end.
In the evening today, we took a bus tour out to see lava flows from a viewing spot for the local volcano – forgive me I’ve forgot it’s name. It was somewhat disappointing, the rain returned and we only saw a few brief flares that were bright enough to shine through the thick clouds. The town is close enough we might still see something tomorrow night, though, so fingers crossed.
From there we went to Baldi hot springs, a natural hot spring that’s been totally turned into a resort. Tons of hot pools and two huge slides. I had immense fun plummeting down those hot water slides because I had to use both hands to hold my glasses on, it was like being shot out of a gun at max velocity! Some of us are totally considering a return trip tomorrow.
My only definite plan tomorrow is a canopy tour at 10am. Otherwise, maybe some sightseeing around town and a little chill time. The next day part of the group is going whitewater rafting. Three of us not interested are staying in town until noon and will be picked up and taken to re-unite with the rest for our trek back into San Jose. So, yes, the trip is in its final days now! WAAHHH!!!! So, yes, I’ve complained a little, but you see now that I’ll still be sorry to leave.
6
Jan
2009
Back To Nowhere
Ah, about to head off to another anonymous island in Lake Nicaragua. After Ometepe, I think I´m over the middle of nowhere now, but maybe this stop will surprise me and be stellar. But after getting into Granada and getting to be in an actual city a few days, I am really not itching to go back. Apparently the next place, Selentiname (sp?) is pretty remote and unvisited and this is the last GAP tour going there, so maybe it´s pretty cool to get to go.
I spent a good chunk of my day exploring the small town of Altagracia on the isle of Ometepe on my own as reported part way in last time. I took a local bus out and got in some net time during the rain and wandering around the small town. I eventually found a local cemetery, which is on my list of cool things – seeing the different burial practices and all. Similar to Yucatan but not as colorful. There were horses and a bull grazing in this one. I didn´t realize about the bull until I was quite close but he seemed content to eat and really didn´t care.
Afterwards, I got a ¨quick¨ lunch in a little restaurant. It was the slowest meal yet – over an hour to get food after ordering. It really is slow time down here. I missed several buses back to the hotel while waiting on lunch. Finally got it and woofed it down and made a run for the central square to find a bus back. Lucky me, the bus that should have left 15 minutes earlier was still sitting in the square, jam packed with people and boarding more and more. I´ve been on a couple of ¨chicken buses¨in Mexico, but this was much more crowded. Lots of kids, so maybe school was out. Not sure, but crowded. Standing room didn´t even really exist. I was one step up from the exit on the stairs. Oh, and it was an old Bluebird school bus made in Fort Valley, Georgia! Surprise, right up the road from home!
The bus finally shoved off, and then stopped several more times to take on more passengers, never dropping any off. I have no idea how they kept squeezing them in. One mother got on the bus, handed her baby to the ticket collector, climbed over everybody and then had her baby passed back to her. It was really a neat experience ONCE!
After getting back, the group re-gathered and most of us went to a rodeo. I won´t go again. Seeing them get the bull riled up once was quite enough. Several of us left early and waited outside for the rest. I´ll try to be neutral and accept it as not my culture, but it was not fun.
Next morning, we made our way up to Granada! Granada is a lot like Merida, Mexico. And in January, it´s as hot as Merida was in May! Whoa! It´s a colonial spanish city like Merida, so that´s where a lot of the similarities come from. In two days, I´ve wandered a lot of the streets and gotten some (I hope) great photos of old spanish architecture, peeling paint, and all.
Yesterday was a tour of Massaya Volcano. There have been several chances but all involved hours and hours of hiking. This is a park and you can literally drive to the crater. Perfect! It was quite a site. No lava visible in the day, but you could see and smell sulfur smoke rising from the crater. Apparently no eruptions since 1772, but still active. We walked around there a bit and then visited a nearby town market and a pottery shop/school. There were some great bargains to be had, and now I just have to hope they can make it home in one piece! Think good thoughts!
After we got back, I walked to the edge of the old city to a giant old cemetery I´d seen on the way in. Fantastic! A half hour walk, but totally worth it as I got there in the best afternoon light. There´s really no way to describe it. I think it may be similar to New Orleans. Tons of mausoleums. Crosses and statuary dotting the cemetery´s skyline. I really could have spent a day there but it was late and I wanted to get back to the centro historico before dark. There were tons of guards in the ecemetery but there were also people sleeping amongst the graves! Not a full fledged city living in the cemetery like we saw in Egypt, but none the less they were there.
This morning, got up early and tried to re-pack everything. We have a charter cessna to ride from Managua to Selentiname island this afternoon. There are weight restrictions for both checked in bags and carry-on. I´m worried about hitting the weight limit on my carry-on since that´s all my camera stuff. So, I tried to re-distribute to the pack anything I wasn´t worried would break. I may have to pay for overage in the checked bag… oh well.
Anyway, that´s it from Granada. I could easily stay here a few more days. Nice city, nice people, but just a taste of it on this trip. Maybe back one day, maybe not. You never know.
3
Jan
2009
Catch up From Lake Nicaragua
Wow, it´s been several days now. I never had time in San Juan del Sur to post a blog and last night in Ometepe the only apparent computer was tied up for hours. I tried twice, once before dinner and was told the second computer in the hotel didn´t work. I saw someone using it later and came back when she was done and was told again just one computer… uhm… It´s very hard to communicate that this makes no sense with the language barrier. I just got frustrated and went to bed.
Anyway, catching up as the title says, we left Liberia early in the morning of Dec 31st, bound for San Juan del Sur. As a group, we decided to pass on the bus on both sides of the border and paid a little extra for a van. Fast drive to the border and then a slow crawl to get through. I truly would not have enjoyed crossing that border without a guide or at least someone who spoke spanish. We had to go through several iterations of getting passports checked, paperwork checked, etc. And then finally crossed into Nicaragua where it was just chaos, particularly not speaking the language. Had no idea what was being said, just followed and loaded bags into cabs as we took three to San Juan del Sur.
Arrived before noon and different groups drifted into different directions. The group I was with ended up walking along the beach. Pretty nice little cove with tons of boats harbored there. Still not a gulf beach but pretty.
The town was pretty nice and fairly gringo. Not hard to communicate even knowning no spanish and everything you could need. We went and arranged our next days activities and had dinner. And then onto the beach for New Years. They had a beach party we all went to. Was told it was crowded, but I have been in far more packed streets in Edinburgh and Rome on New Years. To me, it was great, not pressed against everyone but a happy celebration.
Tried to get in early, though as we had a long day ahead. Well, it was another of those days where we went different directions. I chose sailboat for most of the day. The sailboat was owned by a retired American businessman, Ralph Hewitt. He and his wife also own a hotel in town, Park Avenue Hotel. He uses the sailboat as part of a sailing school deal for youth, teaching them to operate a sailboat and help them out a bit, most are fairly underprivileged. He had two aboard with us, nice young men. And Ralph was a real hoot, had been a DJ in the past and sang songs from my parents day and quizzed on who sang them, etc.
This was my first time on a sailboat. Other than losing a baseball cap I had for a decade to the sea, I had a great time. We had some wonderful winds and went up the coast aways. A couple of the group snorkled and I even plopped into the ocean and swam a bit. I stayed close to the boat, though, because I am blind without my glasses. First time swimming in the pacific and the water was perfect for it. I floated for awhile too and somewhere in all this burned a bit. I had three coatins of SPF 50, two before the water and another when I got out and still managed to get a few blisters. Sigh! I´ve had far worse, though!
We had lunch and sailed down the coast, hoping to see some sea turles, dolphins, or whales. Only saw pelicans, but the sailing alone was great fun for someone who had never done it.
We were dropped off back at our hotel in early evening. A group of us had italian, mostly those going to see the sea turtles hatching! I have seen this on TV but never imagined I´d see it in person. Sea turtles return to the beach they were born onto lay eggs. They dig a hole and fill it with eggs and bury them. When the nest hatches, as a team, they dig out and make a run for the sea. We did this at a preserve. They also capture nests that hatch in the day because they stand a better chance at night if released and they are endangered. So, we were got a chance to see those and help release them.
Actually, although I wouldn´t trade the experience, I also wouldn´t repeat it. It was kind of nerve racking standing on the beach trying not to stomp baby turtles! We only had these little red lights (and not enough of those for everyone). I was constantly afraid I was about to crush them. After those made it in, we began to search for hatching nests. We split into two groups (about 10 each) and must have seen 5 nests just in our group. Really an amazing experience to watch the sand thrust up and all these little turtles about an inch long pull themselves into the air and get their first real strong breath of air before flopping themselves into the surf.
We then made our way back to the hotel and got back slightly before midnight.
Got to sleep in a bit the next morning. I got up and went and took some photos of the streets around the hotel as we had not sat still for long for me to do that until then. Afterwards, we grabbed another three taxis and bid farewell to San Juan del Sur.
Next stop was Ometepe, an Island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, one of the larger fresh water lakes and I believe largest in central america. We had to take a ferry to get here and then a van from the port city to Playa Santa Domingo. There´s not much of a beach right now, though because the wet season just ended and the beach is flooded.
A nice place if you want to just collpase or maybe to naturey things. I´m kind of hitting my naturey overload point. And possibly my group activity point. Scrambling over rocks to see one of the Volcanos of the island (there´s an easier volcano later in the trip) or seeing a waterfall (more rocks to scramble over) just did not appeal to me. So, I took a local bus to this little village today, Altagracia, about half an hour from the hotel. It was gray and overcast when I got here and it started to rain lightly. So, I found an internet cafe and decided here was my chance to catch up while it cleared up. Supposedly this normally lasts an hour at most and sure enough it looks much nicer outside so I´m probably almost done.
I don´t know that I´ll ever make it this way again. The people are incredibly friendly but unless I want to learn spanish, it´s not easy to make it around here. And in Nicaragua, hot water is a luxury. When I get to another hot shower, I may stay in there an hour! It´s amazing how the little things are what you miss most. The weather is warm, the water is not really that cold, but it feels like needles hitting me in the morning when all I want is hot water to bring me back to life.
Onward to a city stroll now!
