Central America

Like my previous trips, during my final three days I wished I was already gone. I ended up meeting three other travellers and went clubbing with them one night, which was a lot of fun. The original reason to stay in town was to experience more nightlife during the weekend but I found the Ricas a bit less flirty than the Hondurans and Nicas.

I spend the saturday and sunday watching the NFL wildcard playoffs in a casino. That was a great time. I met random old americans who were in town to retire, and watched all 4 games:

Washington 17, Tampa Bay 10

New England 28, Jacksonville 3

Carolina 23, N.Y. Giants 0

Pittsburgh 31, Cincinnati 17

Unfortunately the smoke inthe casino got to me - my lungs don't do well with smoke since I quit smoking in Summer 2005 - so I think I got a mild case of bronchitis.

I was rooting hard for Washington, Jax, Carolina, and Cincy. I lost $40 bucks on the cincy loss.

The final night, I couldn't wait to go home. I donated all my books and my running shoes, as my friend WL says, "go asset light" (ironic, since that's was Enron's corporate strategy).

I left for the airport as soon as I woke up. I ate at a local spot I had found. I had gone to three restaurants, a chinese spot, a cheap local spot, and a nice local spot. Food was great.

In the airport, I bought a case of Ron Flores de Cana, the Nicaraguan rum. Awesome stuff.

My flight home was wonderful. I arrived in Boston and thought of the Saint Etienne Song, Mr Donut, "Sound of Radio Boston makes me smile".

I ended up making a trip to SF a few days later, before school started again. In, SF, my friends are announcing engagements, children, the making of their second million, and house purchases. I miss hanging out with them and love how I can just hop back in the bay and feel like it's 2003. But I also feel a lot less mature then them -- still building up my career and still single. SF is no longer home.


Please contact me if me or CR can help you plan your backpacking trip to Central America

The next two days were mostly uneventful. We went to the central market, but it was quite modern and not that interesting. We went to the strip clubs, Le Grillon, which was a great time and super cheap, but a bit unnerving because prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, so all the "strip clubs" were also brothels. Lots of sketchy old sex tourists.

The only interesting point was when a taxi tricked us into paying about 30 dollars for a 2 dollar cab ride. We reported him to the police and hopefully he'l lget into trouble. If you go to Costa Rica, always write down the taxi number and always insist on having the meter turned on "La Maria, por favor. Siempre".

That Friday on the 6th, after we were at the Mall, CR left for the airport and went home. I had 3 days left in San Jose and I wished I were on the plane with CR.

The next morning CR and I woke up at 6am to catch the bus to Volcan Mombacho. CR wanted to buy souvenirs but we didn't have the time. We had a disagreement the night before and some bad feelings leaked into the morning. He thought I was being childish and I thought he was being emotionally defensive. We talked about it and those feelings quickly evaporated when we reached Volcan Mombacho.

This place was crazy. We could have take nthe "ecobus" up to the top of the volacano but we decided to hike instead. It was a rigorous hike: 2 hours to hike about 4 miles, climbing about 1000 meters or 3000 feet, with our 30 pound backpacks on. We were dying on the climb up but the hard exercise felt good.

I love cloud forests. Volcan Mombacho felt cool, breezy, misty, mysterious, and reaching the top was a worthy goal to reach for. In contrast, when I think of rain forests, I think of humid, mildewy, sticky, unending. We hopped a gate to a less safe part of the trail and heard what I now think was a howling monkey. It scared us at the time but we pushed on and make to Mirador La Roca, at 1222 meters. What a climb.

We actaully decided to run down the mountain, chasing down the "ecobus". We stopped at a coffee plantation on the volcano and bought souvenir t-shirts. We walked down to the highway and caught a chicken bus to Penas Blancas, the border with Costa Rica.

We walked the border and cleared customs fast. We weren't sure if we were going to push for San Jose that night, or stop somewhere else on the way, so we spent about 20 minutes figuring out where to go.

Little did we know that the last bus to San Jose was leaving. We decided to go to San Jose and asked the ticket guy for a bus to San Jose. He kept saying "soulemente a pied". I was like, "only a foot???" I looked in my dictionary and realized that he meant standing room only. We agreed, but the bus was already 200 feet down the road. The ticket guy shouted out and the bus stopped - we paid the driver and got on th ebus. We stood for about 3 hours, watching beautiful sunsets, and then seats opened up.

We arrived in San Jose probably around 9pm. After some frantic searching for housing, we ended up in Tranquillo Backpackers. Like most hostels, this place was luxurious, expensive, and filled with a certain type of traveller... in my negative moments I felt like they were wannabe Indiana Jones, but in retrospect, they were just finding their own type of adventure and wandering and relaxation.

We left the apartment and headed for the TicaBus to get to Managua, Nicaragua. The bus was full. We found three other travellers, an America Chris from Seattle, and two brits, Ally and Ralph. The 5 of us headed to another bus company, but and I knew already that company didn't have a direct bus. We suggested taking a third bus to get to the nearest town to the border, Danli. We took a taxi to get there and caught the bus. CR said I was being cocky with the other three and indeed I didn't get a good first impression of them. But talking with them on the bus, I ended up liking all three a lot.

We took a bus from Danli to the border, Manas Blancas, cleared immigration for Nicaragua, took a bus to Ocotel, and transferred onto a bus to Managua. Within Managua, we taxied from one bus terminal to another and got on a minibus for Granada. Some guy "helped" us with our bags and tried to collect US$1, but we refused. The bus honked and flashed its lights to get us on, but still waited for 10 more minutes after we left. That's Nicaraguan "marketing".

Granada is a beautiful colonial town, reminded me of Cartagena, Colombia. All 5 of us had dinner at a posh Italian restaurant. Chris, Ally, Ralph, and myself got trashed on the local beers, Tona and Victoria (Victoria was the better beer), and half bottles of the local run, Ron Flores de CAna (which cost US$7). Awesome dinner.

CR and I eventually found a room that was pretty cheap. We hunted for bugs and CR got annoyed with me and my drunkeness. I brought it up the next morning and the issue was not resolved, but neither did it fester. While waiting for the bus to leave, I walked around the market and there were lots of fresh fruits and some ugly looking meat. Very vibrant market.

We noticed that night that the places contained in Lonely Planet were more typically full and double priced. Hereagain, I recommend using another book as the primary source to avoid being "Lonely Planet-ized". In this case, local advice found us a great hotel.

We took the Utila Princess back to La Ceiba, found that the Hedman Alas was full, and took the Empresa Christina bus to Tegucigalpa, the capital. The climate in Honduras is dicated by altitutde, and the temperature dropped from humid 80s to comfortable 60s.

That night, we stayed with the generous LRA. We tried to take her out to dinner but she was tired. CR and I had a luxurious dinner at Tre Fratelli for about US$30. We returned to her apt, she was asleep. We left a bottle of wine for LRA, and she had left us some Honduran Eggs.

We had spent almost a week and both of us, while not sick of
Central America or homesick for America, were feeling like we had accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. We wanted to leave Utila on New Year's Day but no transporation was open.

We played pool in one of the ubiquitus Honduran poolhalls. the price was something like $0.25 per game. I beat CR 3 games to 2. We played 8 ball but the ball were in bad shape , had lost all their spring, and it was hard to break. We hiked to the airport about 5km north on our way to Pumpkin Beach, which is a fossilized coral beach. It was awesome - just mounds and mounds of fossilized coral. And quite a bit of trash - Captain Hal had said that hurricane's Katrina and Wilma had kicked up a lot of trash.

That night, we ate at Jade Seahorse, had another drink at Tranqillo Bar and Treetop Bar, and went to sleep early. We ran into LRA but weren't in the mood to socialize with her big european set. The only ferry the next day would leave at 6:20am.

On New Years Eve, CR chatted up another girl in our "hotel", a hot candian girl Alicia. CR and I went for breakfast and randomly ran into LRA, K, and their friend Ruben. It's a small town so seeing familar faces was common. We all agreed to find a way to the Cays (unpopulated sand reefs) together. We walked along the street and found a ghetto little sign for "Captain Hal". We went into his yard and woke him up... for US$50, we rented out his ride to and from a Cay (Water Cay), and snorkel equipment for 5 people. Captain Hal Whitefeel spoke in a heavy creole accent, a real maritime / pirate feel to him. The snorkelling off Water Cay was awesome, CR and I stayed in the water for 2 full hours chasing fish around. He saw a lobster there. The ride back was choppy but fun. LRA got soaked in the back and I had to help wipe her off.

CR and I split off from the european contigent after we arrived and we had a big meal, about 5 entrees total. At the restaurant, CR picked up on this hot Russian girl living in Guatamala named Sasha. I didn't see what the big deal was but CR was quite affected. We made tentative plans to all celebrate together but then Sasha split.

The meal did not sit well and we celebrated new years together at CocoLoco. People were setting off fireworks and the mood was festive, though most of the tourists seemed to be on drugs (which CR and I don't do). We smoked a few cigars, drank a few beers, and I called it an early night around 1am. CR took another walk around. At one point he saw Sasha with another guy and was a bit dissapointed.

The next morning, we met LRA at 8am and met up with the same taxi driver and went to the ferry terminal. The driver tried to rip me and CR for an extra 10 lempira each, or $0.50, but LRA stopped him. He lamely said that he would charge only "los caballeros cinquente".

We took the ferry and all three of us enjoyed getting outside. Arriving at Utila, LRA found her friend K. CR and I went in search of a room. After some desperate searching, we ended up staying in The Monkey Tail Inn for a total of US$6 per night. The place was gross. One toilet, cold shower, and toilet paper was to be put in a wastebasket not the toilet.

LRA left us notes as to where she was but CR and I didn't catch up with her. We had a few drinks at CocoLoco, and then went scamming for chics at Bar in the Bush. Typical bar tab: US$1.25 for a beer or rum and coke.

When we told the owner the night before that we would leave at 7am, and the owner had given us a funny look. We woke up at 5:30am to catch the 6am bus to Copan Ruinas. At 5:45, we realized why the funny look: he was nowhere to be found and we were locked in. We tried to get out to no avail. We walked around the hotel looking for a way out, even getting to the back parking lot, but no luck. (Incidentially, the hotel seemed to be renovating and building an adjacent and secure parking structure).

Finally, I found a way to the side that went thru an empty lot to a dirt mound that would help us jump a fence. I called to CR to get there and as he ran over, he fell into a hole and landed on his face. Luckily, no injuries, and we caught the 6am bus to Copan Ruinas. It took about 2 hours to get to the ruins.

On the bus I met a friendly little boy, I forget his name. He seemed genuinely curious of who me and CR were. We chatted a bit and I quickly let my guard down. He was warm though poor. I wish there was something I could have done for him. When he got off the bus, he said, very sweetly, "Que le vaya bien".

They Mayan Ruins 1km from Copan Ruinas were awesome. Mindblowing. We paid US$22 to visit the site and the tunnels and saw the carvings, pyramids, layers, and architecture of the Mayans. Only photos or being there will convey the majesty of the Mayan ruins. We also took the nature hike and saw many butterflies and birds, but no jaguars or monkeys.

We found a house that doubled as the Casasola bus terminal and ticket office, and around 4pm we took a Casasola bus out to La Ceiba. We were told it was "expresso" and "directo" to San Pedro Sula (SPS), but it turned out that the bus stopped frequently. I told the ayudante that we were heading to La Ceiba and he dropped us off at a terminal in SPS. Getting to the terminal, we found out no additional buses were leaving that day. Misinformed!

We went to the bathroom and started a highspeed run to the Hedman Alas bus terminal, overpaying a taxi to take us there "rapido por favor". Luckily, a bus was leaving in 30 minutes at 6pm, and that's the bus we caught. Tickets were about US$15. Waiting for the bus, we ran into someone we'd spend the next few days with, LRA. LRA was Spanish and worked in the Spanish embassy of Honduras in Tegucigalpa.

The three of us made it to La Ceiba around 9pm and went to get street meat and beers. LRA went to sleep afterwards but CR and I went in search of the legendary nightlife of La Ceiba, supposedly the party capital of Honduras. No such luck. We went home and went to sleep.

The next morning we took the 29A minibus (costing $0.24) to the bus terminal and headed off on bus 119 to the bordertown of El Poy. It was a chicken bus, meaning it stopped on the highway anytime someone waved their hands. It took us about 3 hours to get near El Poy, between El Salvador and Honduras, when the bus broke down. CR and I got off, and met Jessica from the Peace Corps. The three of us walked down the hill to hitch a ride and we made it to La Palma, about 20 minutes from the border.

CR and I stopped to get a bite and walked around the town a bit. The town is the center of production of Salvadorean art. We got to El Poy, cleared migracion, and found three other travellers waiting in a collectivo taxi to go from El Poy to the bus terminal in the next real town, Neuvo Ocotepeque. The 6 of us crammed into a car meant for 4 people. Arriving in the bus terminal, we had a wait and chatted with Johan, Stew, and Bill. I also used a disgusting toilet, the first of many. Luckly, CR had packed toilet paper.

CR and I got on the bus and headed towards Santa Rosa de Copan, hoping to get just a bit further into La Entrada to make our push towards Copan Ruinas and the Mayan ruins there. We got into La Entrada and decided to stay there. I was a bit frightened by where we stopped: an empty lot. We walk for not very long and found the intersection of CA4 and CA-?, and found a hotel quickly.

Later, we headed out to get street meat and realized that despite the crummy appearance, La Entrada was a safe place to stay. The 3 or 4 food vendors on the main highway street were totally friendly, as were the people, and the young people had nothing to do more than just walk around the dirty main highway. Off the highway, it seemed scary because the streets were dark but CR and I walked down one and they were all just people's modest homes. Few homes were more than a wooden box and there was the smell of burning trash, but we never felt unsafe.

We went to bed early, planning to catch the early bus to Copan Ruinas.

I flew out of San Diego around 8pm, after a great week of laying around and doing nothing with my friend MM. I got into San Salvador International (SAL) around 6:30am, cleared customs quick, and waited about an hour for my brother to arrive from SF.

The moment I walked out of immigration I realized I had left my Rough Guide to Central America book back behind customs. Some broken Spanish and a reference to my English-Spanish dictionary later, a security guard led me back behind security, where I got my book.

We took a collectivo taxi to San Salvador, as I read about in my Rough Guide book. We walked around Central Historico, the center of town and a big jungle of little markets and eateries, all on the street. Tried pupusas and fresh sour mango for the first time. We stayed at Ximena's hostel, got a room for US$23.

After a nap, we headed to Zona Rosa, where things were completely dead. We found one nghtclub where at least a few people were there to be watched. We ended up chatting with a bartender there named Danny. We took a taxi home for about US$7.