we have definitely covered some ground in the last few days. we made our way across the - craziest - nicaragua/costa rica border and even managed to fall in love with the country despite it all!
the border was just insane because there didnt seem to be much organization to it. we had to go through like 2 or 3 check points just to get out of costa rica by walking around what looked like a huge truck stop. then people kept pointing us in what seemed like a random direction to get to the entrance of nicaragua where there were people trying to SELL the immigration papers to the weary gringos. they told us there was no system in nicaragua so the only way to get the papers was from them and we said if your country is stupid enough not to have a legal way to get in, we will enter illegally! but of course, there were FREE immigration papers so there is SOME system - good or bad is still up for debate. we seemed to pay a lot of sucker fees that probably amounted to about $14 but its the principal of feeling suckered that really mattered. oh well, after the border we had to find a bus that they told us was ´´afuera´´ (outside) but no real directions there either...gee thanks for the great welcoming! haha
eventually we made it to ometepe, the island in the middle of lake nicaragua with 2 volcanoes. i remember flying over on my way to costa rica the first time and señor brand told me you could visit so i had to! it was a really fun place that had a lot more to do than expected because it was larger than expected! you could hike the two volcanoes and do all sorts of tours but we didnt allot enough time for all that so we tried to explore on our own. the exploring was a bit slow because of the bus system on the island. although people have lived there for years they were just now paving the road around it. when i say paving i know what you are thinking but we are talking laying bricks, by hand on muddy roads...not the most efficient especially when riding in old run down buses! we tried to walk to the ´´close´´ places but i realized no one wore a watch so their 10 minutes was truly like 30! oh well, we learned to just go with it. one day after lunch we were waiting for the bus and these guys who were delivering milk and yogurt to the whole island offered us a ride. knowing hitchhiking is normal and the bus wasnt really coming for a while we took it! i know what you´re thinking dad, but it was fine! we really enjoyed the island but only spent 2 nights so no time for a long hike!
we made our way to granada via more random school buses but it kept things interesting and made the 3 hour trip seem short so who needs true organization!? granada is SO CUTE! it is a colonial town with old buildings and people still using horse carriages to get around as their main transportation (well we saw that on the island too but it seems to clash more in the city than it did on the island). there are of course cars and motorcylces, taxis and buses here too but the horses get me every time! the people here are spunkier than panama and costa rica. i feel like the other two are so much more used to tourists it doesnt phase them as much, but here, people notice! we have mostly just wandered the city a bunch and found little cafes here or street food there - again, parents, nothing to worry about we are both still healthy and it was more in the budget! we even found time for a $3.50 pedicure....living the life i tell you what! we went out dancing with our toes newly painted the other night with a lady from our hostel. when i say lady, i mean lady! haha she has a daughter my age and she was partying harder than most of my friends, but hey, to each his/her own. we had a good time and thats all that matters.
oh! about the title. last night we went to dinner at a mexican restaurant and there was a mariachi band that came by and played for tips - completely normal and acceptable. THIS MORNING - i mean right at 5 am ON THE DOT - there was a mariachi band that came in to sing about 5 FREAKING SONGS for someone´s birthday! taylor didnt wake up right away which surprised me but she told when she did wake up that she thought she was dreaming!...oh goodness. i was a little grouchy at the time but looking back now, it was funny.
we are off to matagalpa, nicaragua today. a small town north of here in the mountains (supposed to be ´´cold´´ but i dont believe them!) for a coffee tour. we will be trying to make our way to el salvador wednesday. i believe we will be spending 1 night in el salvador then off to honduras so there is a lot of travel in the future for us. keep us in your prayers! God has been so good to us this far and i pray for that to continue. praise Jesus for directing those hurricanes away but i will be praying for NC!
let me know whats going on in your life!
adios,
jen
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
west side
so i think i mentioned that we weren´t going to make it to the west side of costa rica but after realizing that our former travel plans would take us extra time in the bus we have found ourselves in playa del coco, costa rica. we are probably going to be here for the next day or two and then head north to nicaragua. we are hoping nicaragua is a little cheaper than costa rica because really, we haven´t found it to be much cheaper than the states - which seems bizarre being in latin america but somehow it´s true.
the last two nights were spent in a small town called tortuguero where we got to see sea turtles come up from the ocean and lay their eggs. there were a ton of turtles as we were out there for about 30 minutes or so. it was a guided tour but our guide, once again, was a little abrassive and intimidating but nonetheless knew what he was talking about. overall it was a good experience because we had made friends with people on the bus/boat ride to the town so we all had a good laugh afterwards.
the next morning we went on a canoe ride where we got to see 3 types of monkeys - pretty close - some caiman, a sloth, and a lot of birds. it was bright and early - started at 6 am so we went to breakfast with our new friends and then took a good nap. there wasnt much to do during the day but we just took it as a chance to relax and go for a nice walk to see more wild life. really all we saw was a ton of spiders and some lizards but still a good walk.
today we spent about 10 hours on a boat, 2 taxis and 4 buses so we are grateful for a day or two at the beach. by about wednesday we plan to be in nicaragua looking for our next adventure.
hope all is well back home! feel free to update me on your life too!
pura vida.
jen
the last two nights were spent in a small town called tortuguero where we got to see sea turtles come up from the ocean and lay their eggs. there were a ton of turtles as we were out there for about 30 minutes or so. it was a guided tour but our guide, once again, was a little abrassive and intimidating but nonetheless knew what he was talking about. overall it was a good experience because we had made friends with people on the bus/boat ride to the town so we all had a good laugh afterwards.
the next morning we went on a canoe ride where we got to see 3 types of monkeys - pretty close - some caiman, a sloth, and a lot of birds. it was bright and early - started at 6 am so we went to breakfast with our new friends and then took a good nap. there wasnt much to do during the day but we just took it as a chance to relax and go for a nice walk to see more wild life. really all we saw was a ton of spiders and some lizards but still a good walk.
today we spent about 10 hours on a boat, 2 taxis and 4 buses so we are grateful for a day or two at the beach. by about wednesday we plan to be in nicaragua looking for our next adventure.
hope all is well back home! feel free to update me on your life too!
pura vida.
jen
Friday, August 20, 2010
5th best river for rafting in the world
im not sure if i mentioned it or not but last night when we got to this small town of turrialba, costa rica it was pouring down rain. im not talking brisk summer shower, i mean buckets of water falling what seemed like constantly so that only filled the "5th best river in the world" even more.
*side note* we went looking for something to eat last night after a long day of buses and we found a place called 24 horas pizza BUT THEY DIDNT SELL PIZZA...we were a bit confused and slightly bummed but ate a sandwich anyway...i guess it´s the same?
so back to the overflowing river. today we went rafting through a company that our hotel hooked us up with. we somehow got $10 off the original price and im still not sure how but i wont argue if you want to save me money! the guy came to our hotel and gave a short presentation with pictures and everything - how conveinent - so how could we resist?
the morning started kinda early, about 7:45 to get up and get ready. the guides came to get us around 8:45 and we were off. it was about 45 mins in a van to get from town to the river and of course we had our crash course in how to raft but really, the guide didnt give us much practice and was a little more serious than seemed necessary so he got a little frustrated at the beginning - eventually we learned and he relaxed so it turned out grand! we were accompanied by 3 spaniards who are also staying in our hotel - imagine that - so the whole day was filled with spanish (and i loved it). taylor and i were having trouble speaking in just english once we got back - from being too tired and only spanish, it messes with you! the river was CRAZY! they said it was at least a meter deeper than it had been yesterday due to the rain so the rapids and waves were even bigger. our super intense guide was from chile (he came here for work and will return to patagonia soon to guide more rafting there - like i said, super intense). it turned out to be good though because we took things more seriously and all survived! haha i cant even beging to explain these rapids. to say the least, the entire boat - 2 guides, 3 spaniards and 2 chicas (us) - flipped out of the boat at the same time. how it happened and how we all got back in is still fuzzy to me but like i said, we lived! they said the rapids were class 3 and 4 but they were constant. i mean i have been rafting in other places and it seems like there is about 5 big rapids and the rest in fairly easy this was more like 5 easy spots and the rest was pretty intense. but in the end we all loved it.
pura vida.
tomorrow we travel to another beach town on the carribean coast called tortuguero. from the name you might gather that there are turtles but if you didnt, there are turtles there. i dont think we´ll see the pacific side of costa rica this trip but we already saw it in panama and will be seeing it again in nicaragua so im not too worried.
i´ll keep you posted.
jen
*side note* we went looking for something to eat last night after a long day of buses and we found a place called 24 horas pizza BUT THEY DIDNT SELL PIZZA...we were a bit confused and slightly bummed but ate a sandwich anyway...i guess it´s the same?
so back to the overflowing river. today we went rafting through a company that our hotel hooked us up with. we somehow got $10 off the original price and im still not sure how but i wont argue if you want to save me money! the guy came to our hotel and gave a short presentation with pictures and everything - how conveinent - so how could we resist?
the morning started kinda early, about 7:45 to get up and get ready. the guides came to get us around 8:45 and we were off. it was about 45 mins in a van to get from town to the river and of course we had our crash course in how to raft but really, the guide didnt give us much practice and was a little more serious than seemed necessary so he got a little frustrated at the beginning - eventually we learned and he relaxed so it turned out grand! we were accompanied by 3 spaniards who are also staying in our hotel - imagine that - so the whole day was filled with spanish (and i loved it). taylor and i were having trouble speaking in just english once we got back - from being too tired and only spanish, it messes with you! the river was CRAZY! they said it was at least a meter deeper than it had been yesterday due to the rain so the rapids and waves were even bigger. our super intense guide was from chile (he came here for work and will return to patagonia soon to guide more rafting there - like i said, super intense). it turned out to be good though because we took things more seriously and all survived! haha i cant even beging to explain these rapids. to say the least, the entire boat - 2 guides, 3 spaniards and 2 chicas (us) - flipped out of the boat at the same time. how it happened and how we all got back in is still fuzzy to me but like i said, we lived! they said the rapids were class 3 and 4 but they were constant. i mean i have been rafting in other places and it seems like there is about 5 big rapids and the rest in fairly easy this was more like 5 easy spots and the rest was pretty intense. but in the end we all loved it.
pura vida.
tomorrow we travel to another beach town on the carribean coast called tortuguero. from the name you might gather that there are turtles but if you didnt, there are turtles there. i dont think we´ll see the pacific side of costa rica this trip but we already saw it in panama and will be seeing it again in nicaragua so im not too worried.
i´ll keep you posted.
jen
Thursday, August 19, 2010
¿why are you traveling during rainy season?
as we crossed the panama/costa rican border, a swiss guy asked us that because it was pouring down rain as it has been more often than not. we didnt really have a reason for traveling in the rainy season, it just worked out this way so we´ll go with it and get soaked along the way.
since the last update we have put some miles behind us and even a whole country. we had a great time in boquete, panama scootering around for the day and even found the waterfall. it was a nice place to be but unless we wanted to hike to a volcano in the middle of the night (which we didnt) there wasn´t much else there for us so we made our way to the border. we took a school bus (local transportation in panama to use american school buses) to a town called david, about an hour away then found the smallest bus possible to the border - changuinola. this bus probably fit about 25 people comfortably but why not fulfill a stereotype by filling it with about twice that amount along the way? once we made it to town we had to get a taxi to the border which we ended up sharing with some european guys - no worries for those who`ve seen Taken, they were gringos too! the border was a funny place because we had to pay for a sticker to cross this bridge - in the rain, walking and then we had to have proof of onward travel - which i didnt - so i had to buy a bus ticket back to panama that will be good for a year even though we all know i won´t use it - really they just wanted my moneys!
crossed the border $12 poorer and on we go. we caught a bus to a beach town about 2 hours north of the border called talamanca de puerto viejo (o algo asi) only to realize we had just stepped into jamaica! there was more bob marley than che guavera if that tells you anything. the hostel we found from the book and the first we saw off the bus turned out to fit the town - a ton of rastas, fixing each others dreads and rolling joints. im not really sure if any of them ever left the hostel because they were ALWAYS there...oh well it was a cute place and a good price so we stayed two nights. our full day at the beach (on the carribean coast) was spent on bicycles riding from one beach town to the next, stopping wherever we pleased. it was cool because one of the beaches is well known for its surf - called salsa brava - so we watched the surfers for a little while. it was all around a good day. it ended pretty early because we had ridden 26 km on bikes and just wanted to rest.
today we made our way to turrialba, costa rica - about 6 hours in buses - so that we can go rafting tomorrow! i kinda like the day of travel because we can kinda rest but i kinda hate to waste a day and spend the whole day in the bus....it is all a part of the travel so i will take the good with the bad and enjoy my time here!
ill try to keep you posted!
jen
ps we somehow gained an hour by crossing the border. i bought a bus ticket and thought it was wrong but turned out i was wrong because i didnt realize i had changed time zones! we are now 2 hours behind NC, just so you know.
since the last update we have put some miles behind us and even a whole country. we had a great time in boquete, panama scootering around for the day and even found the waterfall. it was a nice place to be but unless we wanted to hike to a volcano in the middle of the night (which we didnt) there wasn´t much else there for us so we made our way to the border. we took a school bus (local transportation in panama to use american school buses) to a town called david, about an hour away then found the smallest bus possible to the border - changuinola. this bus probably fit about 25 people comfortably but why not fulfill a stereotype by filling it with about twice that amount along the way? once we made it to town we had to get a taxi to the border which we ended up sharing with some european guys - no worries for those who`ve seen Taken, they were gringos too! the border was a funny place because we had to pay for a sticker to cross this bridge - in the rain, walking and then we had to have proof of onward travel - which i didnt - so i had to buy a bus ticket back to panama that will be good for a year even though we all know i won´t use it - really they just wanted my moneys!
crossed the border $12 poorer and on we go. we caught a bus to a beach town about 2 hours north of the border called talamanca de puerto viejo (o algo asi) only to realize we had just stepped into jamaica! there was more bob marley than che guavera if that tells you anything. the hostel we found from the book and the first we saw off the bus turned out to fit the town - a ton of rastas, fixing each others dreads and rolling joints. im not really sure if any of them ever left the hostel because they were ALWAYS there...oh well it was a cute place and a good price so we stayed two nights. our full day at the beach (on the carribean coast) was spent on bicycles riding from one beach town to the next, stopping wherever we pleased. it was cool because one of the beaches is well known for its surf - called salsa brava - so we watched the surfers for a little while. it was all around a good day. it ended pretty early because we had ridden 26 km on bikes and just wanted to rest.
today we made our way to turrialba, costa rica - about 6 hours in buses - so that we can go rafting tomorrow! i kinda like the day of travel because we can kinda rest but i kinda hate to waste a day and spend the whole day in the bus....it is all a part of the travel so i will take the good with the bad and enjoy my time here!
ill try to keep you posted!
jen
ps we somehow gained an hour by crossing the border. i bought a bus ticket and thought it was wrong but turned out i was wrong because i didnt realize i had changed time zones! we are now 2 hours behind NC, just so you know.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
middle school band practice
we made it to a small mountain town in panama called boquete bright - nope it was still dark - and early in the morning. we took a night bus last night that was actually pretty cool because it was a double decker bus and we sat in the front seat. it was as if we had shotgun on the top floor so we had extra foot room and no one bumped us getting on and off so it was pretty nice. sleeping on buses used to not be such a problem for me but for some reason i was struggling last night so today once we finally found a hostel in town we slept from 9 am to 3 pm. it was awesome. it was great to have a day of rest not to mention it was raining pretty hard when we woke up and gave us an excuse to stay in bed. eventually we wandered around town and got some food - dinner of chicken, rice and beans plus an apple juice for 2.60, and tasty too! really from there we just came back and hung out but all around a good day.
the title comes from what seems to be in every town the trumpets and drums are played out of rhythm and seriously loud for HOURS! it seems like we´re in the middle of band practice and it is awful. eventually tonight there was rhythm to it but really, still just loud and annoying. it seriously lasted for at least 4 hours today and i dont know what the occasion was.
tomorrow the exploration of boquete starts! we are going to be scooting around town to see waterfalls and possibly the hot springs. the only problem with the hot springs is that we got a little too much sun on the island yesterday so the hot springs may not feel so good. plus we have other opportunities to go to hot springs that it wont matter if we miss out on this one or not.
i´ll try to keep you posted!
jen
the title comes from what seems to be in every town the trumpets and drums are played out of rhythm and seriously loud for HOURS! it seems like we´re in the middle of band practice and it is awful. eventually tonight there was rhythm to it but really, still just loud and annoying. it seriously lasted for at least 4 hours today and i dont know what the occasion was.
tomorrow the exploration of boquete starts! we are going to be scooting around town to see waterfalls and possibly the hot springs. the only problem with the hot springs is that we got a little too much sun on the island yesterday so the hot springs may not feel so good. plus we have other opportunities to go to hot springs that it wont matter if we miss out on this one or not.
i´ll try to keep you posted!
jen
Saturday, August 14, 2010
panama city day 2
we made it to the canal via a ferry to a small island where we soaked up the sun. the water was a little gross and i couldn't see the bottom (like a lake but it's the ocean) so i got in once because i was melting and then just let myself melt from there. we never made it to see the actual locks of the canal but we saw some HUGE ships going through it including (what i think was) a US military ship...also huge. it was a good day of just hanging out and enjoying our time here but i have to say, i never thought there could be a place more hot and humid than raleigh, nc and i have found it.
we are traveling to the mountains tomorrow where we've heard it's "frio" but i don't believe it. i feel like, no offense of course, that some if not most latinos are whimps when it comes to the cold so im excited. raleigh has been freakin hot and so has panama, a little frio in my life will do me good!!
side note: i bought an ipod shuffle today for $22. they told me straight up it's an imitation so i have low expectations but hey $22, i'll live if it dies. the best part about it is that it came with 2 songs - "hit me baby one more time" britney spears and "barbie girl"...who sings that? i don't even know but hilarious. im not sure exactly how i will get more music on it but i can guarantee i will know those by the time i return (if i don't throw it out the window first).
i'll try to keep you posted!
jen
we are traveling to the mountains tomorrow where we've heard it's "frio" but i don't believe it. i feel like, no offense of course, that some if not most latinos are whimps when it comes to the cold so im excited. raleigh has been freakin hot and so has panama, a little frio in my life will do me good!!
side note: i bought an ipod shuffle today for $22. they told me straight up it's an imitation so i have low expectations but hey $22, i'll live if it dies. the best part about it is that it came with 2 songs - "hit me baby one more time" britney spears and "barbie girl"...who sings that? i don't even know but hilarious. im not sure exactly how i will get more music on it but i can guarantee i will know those by the time i return (if i don't throw it out the window first).
i'll try to keep you posted!
jen
Friday, August 13, 2010
panama city!
hola de la ciudad de panama, panama,
we made it. yesterday was a day of travel and rest and today has been a day of outdoor adventures (mas o menos). we started the day wandering the city a little. this city is a lot like miami which is crazy. there are HUGE - like taller than i have ever seen anywhere else - skyscrapers that are mostly apartments for the rich and then there's the part of the city we are staying in that is a little more local and what to be expected in central america. our hostel is nice and fairly cheap and the people here are pretty cool too. we met an italian who lost his job so decided to travel south and central america instead. he is going all the way to mexico too so we might meet up with him again later.
random event - we stopped at a bench overlooking the ocean after walking around a lot and there was some kind of band practice (like marching band kinda music) and they started playing the star spangle banner...i thought we were in panama, why do they play/know our anthem?
thanks for your prayers along the way!
i'll try to keep you posted!
jen
tomorrow - the canal. you can't stay in panama city and NOT go to the canal so we're gonna take a ferry to this island where you seen the whole canal and hang out on the beach - perfection. plus it's the cheapest way to see it! even better!
we made it. yesterday was a day of travel and rest and today has been a day of outdoor adventures (mas o menos). we started the day wandering the city a little. this city is a lot like miami which is crazy. there are HUGE - like taller than i have ever seen anywhere else - skyscrapers that are mostly apartments for the rich and then there's the part of the city we are staying in that is a little more local and what to be expected in central america. our hostel is nice and fairly cheap and the people here are pretty cool too. we met an italian who lost his job so decided to travel south and central america instead. he is going all the way to mexico too so we might meet up with him again later.
random event - we stopped at a bench overlooking the ocean after walking around a lot and there was some kind of band practice (like marching band kinda music) and they started playing the star spangle banner...i thought we were in panama, why do they play/know our anthem?
thanks for your prayers along the way!
i'll try to keep you posted!
jen
tomorrow - the canal. you can't stay in panama city and NOT go to the canal so we're gonna take a ferry to this island where you seen the whole canal and hang out on the beach - perfection. plus it's the cheapest way to see it! even better!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
here goes nothing
it seems like it has been a crazy road to get to this trip but it is finally here. i will now only be meeting taylor in panama as lauren (and taylor) got into an accident in colombia and lauren's foot is now broken in two places and in a cast. she is returning to the states thursday, the same day i am leaving for panama! pray for her healthy recovery and high spirits. she is a girl of great spirits and we know God's plans are bigger than our own but she will be greatly missed on this adventure.
i will be sure to take tons of pictures but i probably won't post them until i get back in october. i hope you enjoy following our adventures and feel free to send up a few prayers for our travels!
cuidate.
jen
i will be sure to take tons of pictures but i probably won't post them until i get back in october. i hope you enjoy following our adventures and feel free to send up a few prayers for our travels!
cuidate.
jen
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