Thanks for reading everybody! Cannot wait to share our next adventures with you which at this point in time looks like it will be Belize and Guatemala for our honeymoon. Cheers y'all!
Friday, June 28, 2013
A useful post if you're planning on visiting Nica and Honduras
Hostels:
-Managua – Hospedaje Dulce Sueno (gets the job done, no breakfast, no wifi, $10/p/night)
-Granada – Hotel Oasis (excellent with pool, hammocks, kitchen, free breakfast and wifi)
-San Juan del Sur – Hotel Estrella (cheap, across from the beach, balconies with views, free breakfast and wifi)
-Ometepe – Hotel Ometepel (expensive, buggy, no pool, relatively clean, would not recommend, free wifi but no breakfast)
-Leon – Hotel ViaVia (huge rooms with beautiful bathrooms and nice patio/hammock area, free wifi, no breakfast and a bit pricey, but good location and awesome rooms)
-San Pedro Sula – Hotel San Jose (cheap, gets the job done in SPS, no wifi but computers for use, no breakfast)
-Copan Ruinas – La Posada (wonderful little hotel with pool, kitchen, rooftop hammock area, nice rooms, friendly staff, free wifi, no breakfast)
-San Pedro Sula – Hotel Teranzza (cheaper, gets the job done, attached restaurant so you don’t have to venture out, free wifi no breakfast)
Bus routes:
-Busses do not run from Rivas to UCA (you must take the bus from Rivas to Jenotepe, and transfer there for a bus to UCA for all domestic transfers)
-Lonely Planet lists bus routes with much more frequency than we found them to be. Try to ask other travelers what actual times for routers are at that time of year.
Other info:
-In San Juan del Sur they have a Sunday Funday run by the hostel Pachamama. DO IT!
-In Copan the best breakfast in the city has to be at Picame – cheap and incredible.
-Ometepe is an awesome island to climb a volcano, but there isn’t anything else. If you don’t want to hike a volcano, you are better off spending that time in SJDS or Leon or Esteli.
-Managua – Hospedaje Dulce Sueno (gets the job done, no breakfast, no wifi, $10/p/night)
-Granada – Hotel Oasis (excellent with pool, hammocks, kitchen, free breakfast and wifi)
-San Juan del Sur – Hotel Estrella (cheap, across from the beach, balconies with views, free breakfast and wifi)
-Ometepe – Hotel Ometepel (expensive, buggy, no pool, relatively clean, would not recommend, free wifi but no breakfast)
-Leon – Hotel ViaVia (huge rooms with beautiful bathrooms and nice patio/hammock area, free wifi, no breakfast and a bit pricey, but good location and awesome rooms)
-San Pedro Sula – Hotel San Jose (cheap, gets the job done in SPS, no wifi but computers for use, no breakfast)
-Copan Ruinas – La Posada (wonderful little hotel with pool, kitchen, rooftop hammock area, nice rooms, friendly staff, free wifi, no breakfast)
-San Pedro Sula – Hotel Teranzza (cheaper, gets the job done, attached restaurant so you don’t have to venture out, free wifi no breakfast)
Bus routes:
-Busses do not run from Rivas to UCA (you must take the bus from Rivas to Jenotepe, and transfer there for a bus to UCA for all domestic transfers)
-Lonely Planet lists bus routes with much more frequency than we found them to be. Try to ask other travelers what actual times for routers are at that time of year.
Other info:
-In San Juan del Sur they have a Sunday Funday run by the hostel Pachamama. DO IT!
-In Copan the best breakfast in the city has to be at Picame – cheap and incredible.
-Ometepe is an awesome island to climb a volcano, but there isn’t anything else. If you don’t want to hike a volcano, you are better off spending that time in SJDS or Leon or Esteli.
Copan Ruinas
After our “interesting” time in San Pedro Sula where men walking around with unsheathed machetes felt normal (don’t you love how traveling changes your sense of social norms?!), we continued on our journey of reaching Copan Ruinás in southwestern Honduras. The express bus not running that day due to engine problems, we hopped on a smaller bus that would leave us in the quaint crossroads town of La Entrada. Transferring busses all the hallmarks of a good crossroads town were present – a tiny parking lot of more busses than you could count and no signs marking anything, combined with that sweet smell in the stagnant, humid air of trash, foul water, and diesel fumes. We left quickly.
On our next bus we were joined by three members of the Honduran arming, all carrying fully loaded 12-guage pump action shot guns. Apparently, there is no law in Honduras about where you can and cannot point your fully loaded weapon, but as it draped sideways across his lap the woman and young boy sitting next to him seemed not to mind.
Finally arriving in Copan, we checked into a lovely hotel that was clean, had private baths, and also a nice rooftop kitchen and hammock area. Our time in Copan was filled with souvenir shopping, wonderfully delicious dinners, and cheap full-flavored breakfasts. This area has the best coffee in Honduras, but personally I think I am more partial to the coffee of Costa Rica – Honduras is a close second though. Of course, we also visited the ruins which are home to the longest hieroglyphic staircase in all of Central America. This was nearly as far south as the Mayans region extended, and the work that archaeologists have done is incredible. While other sites like Chichen Itza are known for their grandeur and temples, Copan is known for its sculpture and artistic beauty – and it did not disappoint! The price of admission is a bit ridiculous at $15/pp just for the ruins, plus another $7 for the museum (which was worth it). We also sucked it up and hired a guide – such a hard choice because if he’s good it’s totally worth the $25; and if they aren’t you feel it was a waste of money (and of course you can’t know which ahead of time!). We got lucky, and our guide was fantastic. It certainly enriched our experience of visiting the site.
After two hours in the hot sun walking around the ruins, an ice cream treat was in order and then a trip through the museum which housed many original works that had since been replaced with replicas inside the site. About half way through the large museum we both realized we had studied enough Mayan history for one day, and sped through the second half a bit quicker before retreating for naps and pool time at the hostel.
Our final dinner was wonderful and romantic as we shared a bottle of vino and had the most delicious steak and shrimp dinner. Tomorrow, we will head back north to San Pedro Sula and fly out Sunday morning. (Update: we successfully did both of these things safely, and even got stamps at US Customs. I think Amber should post a picture of the first stamps in her passport!)
On our next bus we were joined by three members of the Honduran arming, all carrying fully loaded 12-guage pump action shot guns. Apparently, there is no law in Honduras about where you can and cannot point your fully loaded weapon, but as it draped sideways across his lap the woman and young boy sitting next to him seemed not to mind.
Finally arriving in Copan, we checked into a lovely hotel that was clean, had private baths, and also a nice rooftop kitchen and hammock area. Our time in Copan was filled with souvenir shopping, wonderfully delicious dinners, and cheap full-flavored breakfasts. This area has the best coffee in Honduras, but personally I think I am more partial to the coffee of Costa Rica – Honduras is a close second though. Of course, we also visited the ruins which are home to the longest hieroglyphic staircase in all of Central America. This was nearly as far south as the Mayans region extended, and the work that archaeologists have done is incredible. While other sites like Chichen Itza are known for their grandeur and temples, Copan is known for its sculpture and artistic beauty – and it did not disappoint! The price of admission is a bit ridiculous at $15/pp just for the ruins, plus another $7 for the museum (which was worth it). We also sucked it up and hired a guide – such a hard choice because if he’s good it’s totally worth the $25; and if they aren’t you feel it was a waste of money (and of course you can’t know which ahead of time!). We got lucky, and our guide was fantastic. It certainly enriched our experience of visiting the site.
After two hours in the hot sun walking around the ruins, an ice cream treat was in order and then a trip through the museum which housed many original works that had since been replaced with replicas inside the site. About half way through the large museum we both realized we had studied enough Mayan history for one day, and sped through the second half a bit quicker before retreating for naps and pool time at the hostel.
Our final dinner was wonderful and romantic as we shared a bottle of vino and had the most delicious steak and shrimp dinner. Tomorrow, we will head back north to San Pedro Sula and fly out Sunday morning. (Update: we successfully did both of these things safely, and even got stamps at US Customs. I think Amber should post a picture of the first stamps in her passport!)
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Leon, Nicaragua to San Pedro Sula, Honduras (map it!)
Wowsers! We have just completed a travel day that rivals my 36 hour train trips in India! Beginning at 5am this morning, we woke up and got a taxi to the bus station in Leon (read: the side of the street by a gas station) and caught the 7 hour TicaBus to Tegucigalpa. The border crossing went smoothly, with the international bus company all but holding our hands through the border. The bus was air conditioned and quite luxorious, but with the front windows blocked out we began to get a bit motion sick by the end since we could only see out the side. Alas, we finally made it to Tegoose.
Unfortunatley, we made it about 15 minutes too late to catch a bus to Santa Rosa de Copan and instead are having to layover tonight in San Pedro Sula -- a city we had hoped to visit only once on our flight out!
The bus here from Tegoose was another 5 miserable and long hours. Exhausted, we found the closest restaurant to our hostel. At least the rooms are clean! Tomorrow we will be getting out ASAP and leaving on the first bus possible (7am) for Copan Ruinas (the one major Mayan site in Honduras) and spending the rest of the trip there before flying out.
The one thing I was most excited for on the whole trip, I cannot wait to arrive! Cannot wait to tell y´all about it! Chao!
The bus here from Tegoose was another 5 miserable and long hours. Exhausted, we found the closest restaurant to our hostel. At least the rooms are clean! Tomorrow we will be getting out ASAP and leaving on the first bus possible (7am) for Copan Ruinas (the one major Mayan site in Honduras) and spending the rest of the trip there before flying out.
The one thing I was most excited for on the whole trip, I cannot wait to arrive! Cannot wait to tell y´all about it! Chao!
Left our hearts in Leon...
So many things to update folks on over the past few days! I suppose I will go in chronological order (apologies in advance as I feel this will be a longer update).
We had a great few last days in San Juan del Sur, and departed Monday morning for Leon via a bus from SJDS to Rivas, another bus from Rivas to Managua, Taxi, and another colectivo Taxi to Leon (meaning simply that it is a Taxi with many people and cheaper than an actual Taxi). This journey was particularly (and unfortunately) rough as we had some issues getting to the right bus terminal in Managua. We had heard the bus from Rivas went to a the Huembres terminal in Managua, and we needed to be at the UCA terminal. However, the folks getting us on the bus said this one did indeed go to UCA (and that there was no need to transfer buses in Jenotepe - a small city along the way). Considering the fare was about $2 and it was a full bus, it is hard to imagine they were that hard pressed for business. Alas, they (you know what us) and just outside Managua told us the bus did NOT go to UCA, and worse, that they never told us it went to UCA (they did, about 4 times... telling 2 other travelers on the bus with us the same thing). This was bad on many levels, namely the fact you do not want to be stuck on the side of the road in Managua when the only Taxis in sight are the ones that just ¨happened to be at the exact spot the bus dropped you off¨. What´s worse: I have generally found in my travels that bus drivers and those working the bus lines are 9/10 times very helpful and trustworthy. Nicaragua is the first country I´ve visited where I´ve found quite the opposite to be true -- just very sad and frustrating in general. Trying to scam us on the Taxi fare I get, as people make very little money here. But telling us that you go somewhere you don´t (and to get our unneeded business)? That I have trouble comprehending. OK, tirade over...
Having arrived successfully and safely in Leon we immediately decided to stay an extra day. On every corner was an iglesia as beautiful and impressive as the last. Colonially styled and built in the 17th and 18th centuries, each edifice beckoned to us to take time to explore it individually and with purpose. (I think by now we have both seen enough colonial churches for one trip!) We were able to take a walking tour around town during the day, including some spectacular people watching from the central park and also take some fabulous photos. The highlight (churches aside) was definitely the museum of ¨Myths and Legends¨ inside an old prison, complete with larger than life size paper-mâché manikins.
The last night we went to a great restaurant where I had one of the best meatball sandwiches ever created, and Amber ordered something that made her wish she had ordered the meatball sandwich. (Yes mother, I offered it to her and she was able to partake in the heavenly deliciousness.)
Oh! And how could I forget... our room in Leon was spectacular. Huge room, large private bath, and our own two rockers along a patio out front (to yell at the loud kids of course!). Leon was also the first city I have visited in a long time that I wish we could have spent more time in. Oh well -- we will just have to return at some point in the future!
We had a great few last days in San Juan del Sur, and departed Monday morning for Leon via a bus from SJDS to Rivas, another bus from Rivas to Managua, Taxi, and another colectivo Taxi to Leon (meaning simply that it is a Taxi with many people and cheaper than an actual Taxi). This journey was particularly (and unfortunately) rough as we had some issues getting to the right bus terminal in Managua. We had heard the bus from Rivas went to a the Huembres terminal in Managua, and we needed to be at the UCA terminal. However, the folks getting us on the bus said this one did indeed go to UCA (and that there was no need to transfer buses in Jenotepe - a small city along the way). Considering the fare was about $2 and it was a full bus, it is hard to imagine they were that hard pressed for business. Alas, they (you know what us) and just outside Managua told us the bus did NOT go to UCA, and worse, that they never told us it went to UCA (they did, about 4 times... telling 2 other travelers on the bus with us the same thing). This was bad on many levels, namely the fact you do not want to be stuck on the side of the road in Managua when the only Taxis in sight are the ones that just ¨happened to be at the exact spot the bus dropped you off¨. What´s worse: I have generally found in my travels that bus drivers and those working the bus lines are 9/10 times very helpful and trustworthy. Nicaragua is the first country I´ve visited where I´ve found quite the opposite to be true -- just very sad and frustrating in general. Trying to scam us on the Taxi fare I get, as people make very little money here. But telling us that you go somewhere you don´t (and to get our unneeded business)? That I have trouble comprehending. OK, tirade over...
Having arrived successfully and safely in Leon we immediately decided to stay an extra day. On every corner was an iglesia as beautiful and impressive as the last. Colonially styled and built in the 17th and 18th centuries, each edifice beckoned to us to take time to explore it individually and with purpose. (I think by now we have both seen enough colonial churches for one trip!) We were able to take a walking tour around town during the day, including some spectacular people watching from the central park and also take some fabulous photos. The highlight (churches aside) was definitely the museum of ¨Myths and Legends¨ inside an old prison, complete with larger than life size paper-mâché manikins.
The last night we went to a great restaurant where I had one of the best meatball sandwiches ever created, and Amber ordered something that made her wish she had ordered the meatball sandwich. (Yes mother, I offered it to her and she was able to partake in the heavenly deliciousness.)
Oh! And how could I forget... our room in Leon was spectacular. Huge room, large private bath, and our own two rockers along a patio out front (to yell at the loud kids of course!). Leon was also the first city I have visited in a long time that I wish we could have spent more time in. Oh well -- we will just have to return at some point in the future!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
¡No hay bus! (There are no busses.)
1 hour "chicken bus" from San Juan del Sur to Rivas. 10 minute taxi to San Jorge. And then finally an hour ferry ride across rough open waters to Isla de Ometepe and then arriving at our hostel (all for about $3). So was our journey to the "beautiful" island, just for more rain and clouds! It was pretty bleak and even though we were planning on hiking the volcano, an 8 hour hike through rain and clouds with no view didn't exactly sound like our idea of fun. Needless to say, we only spent one night there before deciding we missed SJDS and have since returned -- only to find the rain has followed us here! Oh well...
However, before we left the island we rented an ATV and explored the island, checking out "El Ojo de Agua", a collection of natural volcanic mineral water springs which were beautiful. Some of the cleanest water we've ever swam in, you could see straight down to the bottom which was 6-7' deep!
Our journey to and from the island also allowed Amber to experience her first two (harmless) scams! The first, we were charged an absorbent amount for the taxi to San Jorge from Rivas -- in my naivety I thought the drive was much longer than it was and this seemed like a fair price. Of course the true value of the ride was about 1/3 as much; oh well. The second and much more obvious scam was in the taxi from San Jorge to Rivas on our return, in which the taxi driver tried to convince us there weren't any busses to SJDS that day, and wanted to charge us $20 to take us there. (The bus was $1.) Laughable in its own right as the most obvious and likely scam, it was made even better as (one of the many) busses to SJDS passed the taxi as he was saying this. In the end, not wanting to wait another 45 minutes for the bus we shared a cab with two other travelers to SJDS, which we had now haggled down to $3/person (a pretty good deal since it was a 20 minute cab ride instead of the 1 hr and $1 bus ride).
Now in SJDS, we spent the following morning trying to find some petroglyphs near town, which we failed miserably at. We did however succeed at a 3 mile loop hike with a free shower from the heavens thrown in.... All part of the experience!
Tomorrow, we are participating in a "pool crawl" involving a shuttle taking us from hostel to hostel all with pools and cerverzas. Yes, we are on the beach -- but sometimes trading the salt water and sand is a nice alternative!
On Monday we will head to Leon, north of Managua, before making our way across the border to Honduras and Tegucigalpa (yes mother, probably on Monday).
¡Chao!
However, before we left the island we rented an ATV and explored the island, checking out "El Ojo de Agua", a collection of natural volcanic mineral water springs which were beautiful. Some of the cleanest water we've ever swam in, you could see straight down to the bottom which was 6-7' deep!
Our journey to and from the island also allowed Amber to experience her first two (harmless) scams! The first, we were charged an absorbent amount for the taxi to San Jorge from Rivas -- in my naivety I thought the drive was much longer than it was and this seemed like a fair price. Of course the true value of the ride was about 1/3 as much; oh well. The second and much more obvious scam was in the taxi from San Jorge to Rivas on our return, in which the taxi driver tried to convince us there weren't any busses to SJDS that day, and wanted to charge us $20 to take us there. (The bus was $1.) Laughable in its own right as the most obvious and likely scam, it was made even better as (one of the many) busses to SJDS passed the taxi as he was saying this. In the end, not wanting to wait another 45 minutes for the bus we shared a cab with two other travelers to SJDS, which we had now haggled down to $3/person (a pretty good deal since it was a 20 minute cab ride instead of the 1 hr and $1 bus ride).
Now in SJDS, we spent the following morning trying to find some petroglyphs near town, which we failed miserably at. We did however succeed at a 3 mile loop hike with a free shower from the heavens thrown in.... All part of the experience!
Tomorrow, we are participating in a "pool crawl" involving a shuttle taking us from hostel to hostel all with pools and cerverzas. Yes, we are on the beach -- but sometimes trading the salt water and sand is a nice alternative!
On Monday we will head to Leon, north of Managua, before making our way across the border to Honduras and Tegucigalpa (yes mother, probably on Monday).
¡Chao!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
blanco a rosa. (white to red.)
Our bus journey from Granada to San Juan del Sur treated us to police check points, rolling country side, and the first sun we had seen in days! After rain and clouds in Granada it was nice to have some good weather.
Our first evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner on the ocean of fresh sea food and some cheap beer. We played trivia at a local American bar where we met two fellow Boilermakers! (Can you believe it?! Here we are traveling the world just to run into folks from Lafayette.). The winners of trivia got a bottle of rum, and were nice enough to share some shots with us. We also checked out an open mic night at a local hostel which was a lot of fun.
Day 3 in SJDS involved hiking to the top of a lookout point - a very steep climb that was not marked but friendly folks along the way helped us out. The views and breeze at the top made it well worth it. A smaller version of a "Christ the Redeemer" statue also was at the top which was cool to check out.
Our afternoon was spent lazily sitting on the beach and cooling off in the ocean. We turned from white to red pretty quickly and spent the rest of the afternoon in the shade enjoying fresh mojitos. We met another couple on the beach and enjoyed our afternoon with them before meeting up for dinner. Another course of delicious lobster tail for cheap and great sangria.
Oh, and our hostel is right next to the water too (across the street from the beach) for $10/night. Rough life we know, but someone's got to live it! Today we are heading to Isla de Ometepe and if the weather holds will try to climb a volcano!
¡Chao!
Day 3 in SJDS involved hiking to the top of a lookout point - a very steep climb that was not marked but friendly folks along the way helped us out. The views and breeze at the top made it well worth it. A smaller version of a "Christ the Redeemer" statue also was at the top which was cool to check out.
Our afternoon was spent lazily sitting on the beach and cooling off in the ocean. We turned from white to red pretty quickly and spent the rest of the afternoon in the shade enjoying fresh mojitos. We met another couple on the beach and enjoyed our afternoon with them before meeting up for dinner. Another course of delicious lobster tail for cheap and great sangria.
Oh, and our hostel is right next to the water too (across the street from the beach) for $10/night. Rough life we know, but someone's got to live it! Today we are heading to Isla de Ometepe and if the weather holds will try to climb a volcano!
¡Chao!
Monkey see, Monkey do.
As I was zipping through the canopy hanging upside-down like a monkey high above the ground I was convinced I was going to slip straight through my harness and began to question the load-bearing weight capacities of the seemingly flimsy caribeaner separating me from a gruesome fall...however the tree branch I was fast approaching proved a much more urgent matter and giving way to all inhibitions I frantically released my grip from the harness and put both arms over my face to protect myself. What a rush! It would be fun to be a monkey I thought.
Safely reaching the platform at the end I turned to see Amber complete the same zip line. And so began our first morning in Granada... The tour guides allowed us to zip tandem, upside-down, right-side-up, and even had one where they bounced us as we traveled on it -- what a rush! In the afternoon we explored western Granada and were able to explore more beautiful colonial churches and also climbed a bell tower for spectacular views of the city, and more importantly a wonderful breeze and escape the heat from below.
In Granada we ate dinner at a fun little restaurant with dirt floors; Amber enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh shrimp and rice, and Chris dared to try the lengua empanidza (breaded tongue) ...which really was pretty good! Side note: Amber would also like to announce that after Chris taught her how to play cribbage for the first time, she won not only the first, but SECOND game as well. (Ugh, how embarrassing for me!)
Next, we're heading to the pacific coast town of San Juan del Sur.
Safely reaching the platform at the end I turned to see Amber complete the same zip line. And so began our first morning in Granada... The tour guides allowed us to zip tandem, upside-down, right-side-up, and even had one where they bounced us as we traveled on it -- what a rush! In the afternoon we explored western Granada and were able to explore more beautiful colonial churches and also climbed a bell tower for spectacular views of the city, and more importantly a wonderful breeze and escape the heat from below.
In Granada we ate dinner at a fun little restaurant with dirt floors; Amber enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh shrimp and rice, and Chris dared to try the lengua empanidza (breaded tongue) ...which really was pretty good! Side note: Amber would also like to announce that after Chris taught her how to play cribbage for the first time, she won not only the first, but SECOND game as well. (Ugh, how embarrassing for me!)
Next, we're heading to the pacific coast town of San Juan del Sur.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Nicaragua!
Hello all! If you haven´t heard I´m currently taking a two week hiatus from work to travel Nicaragua and Honduras with my fiance (just got that new title upgrade). I hope you follow along on our journey!
Our first night we flew into Managua from Houston late in the evening and took a sketchy taxi ride before making it to our hostel safely. The next morning we left as quickly as possible for Granada via the UCA bus terminal (where nearly all domestic transfers depart from). The bus terminal we just buses lined up with men shouting at everybody where there bus would go, and following no set schedule they just leave when it's full. We would not see a true bus station on the entire trip until San Pedro Sula. (Even in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, there are no bus stations -- every company operates its buses out of its own "stop", usually a ticket window on the side the street with a small waiting area, ie. 4-person bench.)
We started our trip with some good local street food, and were on our way to Granada.
Our first night we flew into Managua from Houston late in the evening and took a sketchy taxi ride before making it to our hostel safely. The next morning we left as quickly as possible for Granada via the UCA bus terminal (where nearly all domestic transfers depart from). The bus terminal we just buses lined up with men shouting at everybody where there bus would go, and following no set schedule they just leave when it's full. We would not see a true bus station on the entire trip until San Pedro Sula. (Even in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, there are no bus stations -- every company operates its buses out of its own "stop", usually a ticket window on the side the street with a small waiting area, ie. 4-person bench.)
We started our trip with some good local street food, and were on our way to Granada.
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