I have had a lobster meal once in my life when I was seven and went to Mexico my family and another family. It was amazing and I have always wanted to have lobster again but whenever I go out to eat it is always so spendy so I get the cheaper meal, usually being the grilled fish which is also delicious. In Honduras about 20 minutes from the orphanage there was a fish house that sold lobster for $7 a plate. I always told myself before leaving I was going to get lobster... It never happened. Then I went to Nicaragua and ate on this beautiful beach and looked at the menu. It also had lobster for $7 a plate. I got the shrimp in garlic and butter instead because it was cheaper (by about $1.50). After that I was kicking myself! I went again to eat in Cahuita, Costa Rica on the coast and ordered the veggie pasta, again because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. I arrived in Bocas del Toro and told myself I was not leaving until I got my lobster dinner! And 2 nights ago I got it and it was amazing! I spent $7 for a meal eating at a restaurant over the water, watching the sun set. My plate was loaded with lobster, rice, beans, potatoes and veggies. It was delicious! I promised myself I would budget and cook breakfast the next day. So I bought an onion, tomato, green bell pepper and 2 eggs for $1.80 and made huevos rancheros using a little community salt, oil, and the hot sauce that I am now traveling with for circumstances such as this. It was delicious! I would use my favorite term amazing but that may be a bit extreme to use as a matter of opinion for my own cooking. None the less, it was good and I was very happy waking up this rainy morning, unable to do my hike to a nearby beach, knowing I was going to be able to cook and each huevos rancheros!
Tomorrow I am off to Boquete for Carnival and then to finish my trip I am headed South to Panama City to enjoy the end of Carnival and see the canal.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Panama, 7 day countdown!!!
I said goodbye to Greg at the airport in Costa Rica and had my first jolt of how I was going to feel back in the States, culture shock wise. I had to leave the airport in a rush because I started feeling nauseous. It is hard to explain, well easy to explain, but I do not want to offend anyone. I headed from the airport to Cahuita, Costa Rica. It is a small town on the Southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. While I was waiting for the bus I befriended a man who was very interesting. He was the first person I have met while traveling this time around, that I have wanted to stay in contact with and wanted to spend the evening with. We talked for 5 hours on the bus (he was going to the same small town I was). He walked me to my hostel chatting and then I helped him carry his gear to his hotel while chatting and then we decided to go and get dinner and drinks. It was a blast and we talked for about 10 hours. He lives in Boseman, Montana and has traveled to 54 countries and all but 3 of the States in the U.S. He is a hard core outdoors man and does mountain climbing, mountain biking, skiing, cross country skiing, rafting, fishing, and much more. He was telling me story after story about his journeys around the world and his near death experiences. At one point I asked him if he had ever read the book three cups of tea and mentioned that he reminded me... Just then he cut me off and said that Greg Mortenson is his neighbor and racquetball partner! So then we began talking about Greg Mortenson. It was a crazy coincidence. I told him how much I enjoyed the book and how much respect I have for Greg Mortenson. We exchanged email addresses and he is going to set Greg and I up when we take our road trip to visit the national parks in the U.S. It made my evening.
After Cahuita, which was surprisingly lovely, I headed South to cross the boarder. I do not dislike the Caribbean, but I do prefer the the non-Caribbean parts to central America. Mostly because I enjoy practicing my Spanish. But Cahuita was lovely and the people were extremely nice. Especially Jose, the 70 year old man that ran the hostel that I stayed at. I went to pay and had to wait for about 5 minutes while he peed in a bucket right in front of my room. My room was right near the beach and it was all wooded up. With the window shut there was absolutely no light. I shut the window before going to bed and I woke up in the pitch black and I had no idea where I was. I mean no idea what so ever! I couldn´t even figure out what Country i was in. I had to go back and re-trace my steps. I remembered saying bye to Greg at the airport in Costa Rica, I remembered the bus and talking to John Rose, I remembered arriving in Cahuita, then I knew where I was but it took a good five minutes to orient myself. And then back off to sleep I went. I appreciated the two nights of sleep Greg and I got in a cheap hotel in Alajuela, Costa Rica, but not enough. One morning I said that I was surprised there was no noise at night nor in the morning at the hotel. No cars, no chickens, no roosters, no dogs, no people. But I didn´t appreciate it enough. First thing in the morning around 4:30 am in Cahuita I woke up to roosters crowing. It is making me slightly reconsider wanting to get farm animals when I get home...
Back to the boarder crossing. I crossed the boarder between Costa Rica and Panama easily and then took a bus, another bus and a small boat to Isla Colon of Bocas del Toro. I checked into a cheap hostel there and was in serious culture shock, about as bad as the airport in Costa Rica. I ended up in a hostel room with 7 other people that were from all over the world and they were all getting showered, dressed up, hair dried, putting on make-up, walking around in their undies (boys and girls) to get ready to go next door to drink. That is when I realized I have changed on this trip. Normally a good night out wouldn´t bother me, even when I was at the orphanage I enjoyed a handful of nights out. But seeing all of these people and hearing their conversations was way too much for me at that moment. I grabbed my book and headed down the road and found a quiet little bar with a local man playing his guitar where I sat and listened and read for about 3 hours until around 11:30pm, which for me is late! I walked back to my hostel and everyone was still up and being noisy and I headed to bed. The next morning I made my pancakes and checked out and took a boat to another island where there are much less people and tourists. Had I came to Panama for a week wanting a spring break atmosphere this hostel would have been perfect. So I am not knocking the hostel. But for me right now it was just not a good fit at all. But where I currently am on Isla Bastimentos, I love it here. I took a boat to a nearby beach where I spent the day yesterday reading and relaxing and today I took a boat back to the main island where I rented a bike and road across the island which was amazing! The vegetation was gorgeous. Some of the most beautiful plants and sights I have seen in a while. And tons of wildlife! Wild horses, cows, goats, pigs, all just walking around grazing, sleeping and bathing. Mark Wahlberg would be in heaven!
My trip planning has been great thus far, if I may say so myself... But yesterday I realized I was going to be traveling through Panama during their biggest Holiday week of the year, Carnival! I chatted with some people today that said buses, planes, hotels, etc are going to be impossible. So today I booked a room for my last 3 nights in Panama City and an old hostel that looks awesome and I am trying to make my plans for Boquete where I will be from Friday through Sunday. Hopefully it all works out. People are nice enough here though, I am sure if I couldn´t find a room a local would set me up. Hopefully it won´t come to that but just in case...
I am trying to think if there is anything else... I am alive and safe and enjoying life. It is amazing here, not just here, but in Central America. Beautiful. But I do absolutely love Portland and tell everyone how much I love it whenever I am asked about my home. I am and will continue to take tons of pictures and upload them when I return.
Stay warm, take care and be safe. I miss you all.
After Cahuita, which was surprisingly lovely, I headed South to cross the boarder. I do not dislike the Caribbean, but I do prefer the the non-Caribbean parts to central America. Mostly because I enjoy practicing my Spanish. But Cahuita was lovely and the people were extremely nice. Especially Jose, the 70 year old man that ran the hostel that I stayed at. I went to pay and had to wait for about 5 minutes while he peed in a bucket right in front of my room. My room was right near the beach and it was all wooded up. With the window shut there was absolutely no light. I shut the window before going to bed and I woke up in the pitch black and I had no idea where I was. I mean no idea what so ever! I couldn´t even figure out what Country i was in. I had to go back and re-trace my steps. I remembered saying bye to Greg at the airport in Costa Rica, I remembered the bus and talking to John Rose, I remembered arriving in Cahuita, then I knew where I was but it took a good five minutes to orient myself. And then back off to sleep I went. I appreciated the two nights of sleep Greg and I got in a cheap hotel in Alajuela, Costa Rica, but not enough. One morning I said that I was surprised there was no noise at night nor in the morning at the hotel. No cars, no chickens, no roosters, no dogs, no people. But I didn´t appreciate it enough. First thing in the morning around 4:30 am in Cahuita I woke up to roosters crowing. It is making me slightly reconsider wanting to get farm animals when I get home...
Back to the boarder crossing. I crossed the boarder between Costa Rica and Panama easily and then took a bus, another bus and a small boat to Isla Colon of Bocas del Toro. I checked into a cheap hostel there and was in serious culture shock, about as bad as the airport in Costa Rica. I ended up in a hostel room with 7 other people that were from all over the world and they were all getting showered, dressed up, hair dried, putting on make-up, walking around in their undies (boys and girls) to get ready to go next door to drink. That is when I realized I have changed on this trip. Normally a good night out wouldn´t bother me, even when I was at the orphanage I enjoyed a handful of nights out. But seeing all of these people and hearing their conversations was way too much for me at that moment. I grabbed my book and headed down the road and found a quiet little bar with a local man playing his guitar where I sat and listened and read for about 3 hours until around 11:30pm, which for me is late! I walked back to my hostel and everyone was still up and being noisy and I headed to bed. The next morning I made my pancakes and checked out and took a boat to another island where there are much less people and tourists. Had I came to Panama for a week wanting a spring break atmosphere this hostel would have been perfect. So I am not knocking the hostel. But for me right now it was just not a good fit at all. But where I currently am on Isla Bastimentos, I love it here. I took a boat to a nearby beach where I spent the day yesterday reading and relaxing and today I took a boat back to the main island where I rented a bike and road across the island which was amazing! The vegetation was gorgeous. Some of the most beautiful plants and sights I have seen in a while. And tons of wildlife! Wild horses, cows, goats, pigs, all just walking around grazing, sleeping and bathing. Mark Wahlberg would be in heaven!
My trip planning has been great thus far, if I may say so myself... But yesterday I realized I was going to be traveling through Panama during their biggest Holiday week of the year, Carnival! I chatted with some people today that said buses, planes, hotels, etc are going to be impossible. So today I booked a room for my last 3 nights in Panama City and an old hostel that looks awesome and I am trying to make my plans for Boquete where I will be from Friday through Sunday. Hopefully it all works out. People are nice enough here though, I am sure if I couldn´t find a room a local would set me up. Hopefully it won´t come to that but just in case...
I am trying to think if there is anything else... I am alive and safe and enjoying life. It is amazing here, not just here, but in Central America. Beautiful. But I do absolutely love Portland and tell everyone how much I love it whenever I am asked about my home. I am and will continue to take tons of pictures and upload them when I return.
Stay warm, take care and be safe. I miss you all.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Quick Update and Happy Valentine's Day
Happy Valentine's Day!
I am currently in Alajuela, Costa Rica. I ended up really enjoying my time in Nicaragua. I really enjoyed Leon, Nicaragua and doing the hike as well as visiting the beach that is close by on the Pacific side. After Leon, I headed to Granada, Nicaragua where I stayed for about 3 nights doing one day trip to Masaya before meeting Greg at the airport in Managua. We hiked to Lago de Apoyo which most people get to by bus, but we were lucky enough to meet up with some fellow HHK volunteers that drew us a map and directions to get to the lagoon and we were able to hike about 2 hours to it. It was lovely and we were on a side of the lagoon that was completely isolated. The next day we got up and made our way to Isla de Ometepe. Isla de Ometepe is a large island created by 2 joined volcanoes in the middle of a lake off of the shore of Granada. It was a trek to get there we took 3 buses and a ferry but it was well worth it. We stayed on the southwestern side of the island which is only accessible by a bumpy dirt and gravel road. The sunsets from where we were staying were amazing as well as the food and the people. We rented bikes one day and road all the way around the volcano Maderas. It was a 6 hour bike ride on old school bikes with no shocks using a dirt and gravel road that was insanely hilly. Initially I wanted to bike around the entire island, but the man renting us the bikes said that we should just try doing the nearest volcano. I am so glad he did because it was exhausting! It was extremely hot and really rough terrain. It was beautiful though and the people on the southeastern side of the island are pretty isolated because buses cannot make it to that side of the island because there is not a decent enough road. There is only one paved road which runs half way around the northern volcano. The people on the southeastern side of the island do not get to see many tourists and they were all very eager to chat with us and meet us. Each time we would stop to take a drink or shade break kids would run up to us wanting to chat. It was good times. To really enjoy the island though you cannot be pressured for time and have to be more or less up for anything and wanting to relax. The bus schedules are pretty inconsistent and sometimes only running twice a day and the ferries run weather depending. We met quite a few people that thought that the island would be much more tourist friendly and easier to travel around than it was. We had a blast though. On our third day there we did a waterfall hike which was also really nice. We were going to go to the summit of the smaller volcano, but after the bike ride I just could not do it.
From Isla de Ometepe we headed to San Juan Del Sur for 2 days and a night. It was nice but really touristy and got bad marks on my list because there were hardly any places where you could find sweet bread (pan dulce) which I am hooked on! But luckily we were only there for 2 days and then we made our way across the boarder and into Costa Rica. We first went to Liberia a small cowboy ranch town. We got a really decent and cheap place to stay with a T.V.. It was my first T.V. in a LONG time! We also were able to find plenty of bakeries and little diners or "sodas" with delicious food! Upon arriving in Liberia we hadn't eaten a decent meal in over a day and had been traveling for about 7 hours. We had been walking around looking for a cheap place to stay for about an hour and finally found a good room where we dropped off our stuff. We then walked around looking for a good place to eat. We found a place named Soda Ines' which looked welcoming, and it was. It was an awesome little diner with the most amazing food. It could have been because I was so hungry but it was delicious! I got the casado con pollo which was a huge plate with white rice, black beans, roasted chicken, a salad made of eggs, potatoes and beets as well as a zucchini salad which was amazing. Oh and a place of fresh corn tortillas. It was amazing. We visited a volcano our first full day in town and did more hiking. The National Park that we went to is described as the Yellow Stone of Central America. It was really pretty and we saw some really interesting and smelly sights. After Liberia we made our way south to Alajuela which is right near the airport. It is a really nice town with bakeries everywhere! For Valentines Day Greg and I are going to go to 3 bakeries and get 1 thing from each. There are so many delicious choices! We went to one bakery twice yesterday and it takes us forever to make our way through town because I have to stop in every bakery just to see what they have. My mouth is watering thinking about it... Today we went to another volcano, Volcan Poas. It was a bit of a let down because both the lagoon and crater were covered in mist and fog and it was raining. Although the rain was actually nice. I was cold for the first time in a while.
Greg heads back home tomorrow while I make my way first east to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica for a couple of nights and then I will cross my final border into Panama. In Panama I plan on spending about 5 days in Bocas Del Toro, 2 or 3 in Boquete and then my final days in Panama City checking out the canal before catching my flight home. I will update probably one more time with my adventures in Panama. If any of you are curious if I miss the kids, the answer is yes, terribly! Greg came at a good time because after Bethany left to go back to the orphanage I found myself looking through all of my old pictures and reading all of the cards wrote me and just crying. I found myself sitting on buses alone not wanting to talk to anyone but just thinking about the kids and my eyes would well up. But once Greg got her and I had a traveling buddy again it helped take my mind off of the kids. Which after tomorrow, once Greg leaves, I am sure the feelings will come back up again. I am really hoping to go back for New Years with my 2 Hogar roommates and actually maybe all 3 could make it.
I hope everyone is staying warm. I hear that you guys in Portland got some more snow! I will see you all soon.
I am currently in Alajuela, Costa Rica. I ended up really enjoying my time in Nicaragua. I really enjoyed Leon, Nicaragua and doing the hike as well as visiting the beach that is close by on the Pacific side. After Leon, I headed to Granada, Nicaragua where I stayed for about 3 nights doing one day trip to Masaya before meeting Greg at the airport in Managua. We hiked to Lago de Apoyo which most people get to by bus, but we were lucky enough to meet up with some fellow HHK volunteers that drew us a map and directions to get to the lagoon and we were able to hike about 2 hours to it. It was lovely and we were on a side of the lagoon that was completely isolated. The next day we got up and made our way to Isla de Ometepe. Isla de Ometepe is a large island created by 2 joined volcanoes in the middle of a lake off of the shore of Granada. It was a trek to get there we took 3 buses and a ferry but it was well worth it. We stayed on the southwestern side of the island which is only accessible by a bumpy dirt and gravel road. The sunsets from where we were staying were amazing as well as the food and the people. We rented bikes one day and road all the way around the volcano Maderas. It was a 6 hour bike ride on old school bikes with no shocks using a dirt and gravel road that was insanely hilly. Initially I wanted to bike around the entire island, but the man renting us the bikes said that we should just try doing the nearest volcano. I am so glad he did because it was exhausting! It was extremely hot and really rough terrain. It was beautiful though and the people on the southeastern side of the island are pretty isolated because buses cannot make it to that side of the island because there is not a decent enough road. There is only one paved road which runs half way around the northern volcano. The people on the southeastern side of the island do not get to see many tourists and they were all very eager to chat with us and meet us. Each time we would stop to take a drink or shade break kids would run up to us wanting to chat. It was good times. To really enjoy the island though you cannot be pressured for time and have to be more or less up for anything and wanting to relax. The bus schedules are pretty inconsistent and sometimes only running twice a day and the ferries run weather depending. We met quite a few people that thought that the island would be much more tourist friendly and easier to travel around than it was. We had a blast though. On our third day there we did a waterfall hike which was also really nice. We were going to go to the summit of the smaller volcano, but after the bike ride I just could not do it.
From Isla de Ometepe we headed to San Juan Del Sur for 2 days and a night. It was nice but really touristy and got bad marks on my list because there were hardly any places where you could find sweet bread (pan dulce) which I am hooked on! But luckily we were only there for 2 days and then we made our way across the boarder and into Costa Rica. We first went to Liberia a small cowboy ranch town. We got a really decent and cheap place to stay with a T.V.. It was my first T.V. in a LONG time! We also were able to find plenty of bakeries and little diners or "sodas" with delicious food! Upon arriving in Liberia we hadn't eaten a decent meal in over a day and had been traveling for about 7 hours. We had been walking around looking for a cheap place to stay for about an hour and finally found a good room where we dropped off our stuff. We then walked around looking for a good place to eat. We found a place named Soda Ines' which looked welcoming, and it was. It was an awesome little diner with the most amazing food. It could have been because I was so hungry but it was delicious! I got the casado con pollo which was a huge plate with white rice, black beans, roasted chicken, a salad made of eggs, potatoes and beets as well as a zucchini salad which was amazing. Oh and a place of fresh corn tortillas. It was amazing. We visited a volcano our first full day in town and did more hiking. The National Park that we went to is described as the Yellow Stone of Central America. It was really pretty and we saw some really interesting and smelly sights. After Liberia we made our way south to Alajuela which is right near the airport. It is a really nice town with bakeries everywhere! For Valentines Day Greg and I are going to go to 3 bakeries and get 1 thing from each. There are so many delicious choices! We went to one bakery twice yesterday and it takes us forever to make our way through town because I have to stop in every bakery just to see what they have. My mouth is watering thinking about it... Today we went to another volcano, Volcan Poas. It was a bit of a let down because both the lagoon and crater were covered in mist and fog and it was raining. Although the rain was actually nice. I was cold for the first time in a while.
Greg heads back home tomorrow while I make my way first east to the Caribbean side of Costa Rica for a couple of nights and then I will cross my final border into Panama. In Panama I plan on spending about 5 days in Bocas Del Toro, 2 or 3 in Boquete and then my final days in Panama City checking out the canal before catching my flight home. I will update probably one more time with my adventures in Panama. If any of you are curious if I miss the kids, the answer is yes, terribly! Greg came at a good time because after Bethany left to go back to the orphanage I found myself looking through all of my old pictures and reading all of the cards wrote me and just crying. I found myself sitting on buses alone not wanting to talk to anyone but just thinking about the kids and my eyes would well up. But once Greg got her and I had a traveling buddy again it helped take my mind off of the kids. Which after tomorrow, once Greg leaves, I am sure the feelings will come back up again. I am really hoping to go back for New Years with my 2 Hogar roommates and actually maybe all 3 could make it.
I hope everyone is staying warm. I hear that you guys in Portland got some more snow! I will see you all soon.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras
I just arrived in Leon, Nicaragua. Bethany and I left Antigua and headed for the boarder of El Salvador and Guatemala. We crossed without any problems and made our way across the country to San Miguel, El Salvador. One thing I knew before entering the country but nonetheless found interesting was that they use U.S. currency. It just seemed extremely strange seeing everyone walking around carrying dollars, especially since it has been 7 months since I have used dollars and now the first place using my own currency again being in El Salvador. We both loved El Salvador! Although our bus dropped us off in the middle of the city, San Miguel, in a sketchy part of town, every Salvadoran that we met was extremely generous. The people acted as if they had never seen a tourist before in San Miguel, but neither did we (we did not see any other tourists our entire time in El Salvador). We used only local buses which were an adventure! The 3 hour bus we took from the Capital to San Miguel was playing an 80´s MTV music video DVD, all in English. I had never seen so many 80s´s videos! We were both cracking up! Also, I think I failed to mention that I got my haircut one night in La Ceiba with Stacy and Bethany because it had been over 6 months and my hair was hating me. I received a $4 haircut from a salon in La Ceiba and I came out looking like an 80´s male rock star. I had been joking with Bethany about my haircut and how I felt like I looked like a rock star from the 80´s but it didn´t come together until we were on a bus in El Salvador and the Van Halen video for Jump came on. I look like David Lee Roth from Van Halen! We were both cracking up! I think everyone on the bus thought that we were crazy! The buses in El Salvador are great! They are cheap, the perfect temperature and even the cheap local ones have flat screen tv´s. All of the music that we heard playing in restaurants, on buses and in hotels was in English and from the 80´s. We were both having childhood flashbacks.
The locals, El Salvadorans, are amazing. The men catcall, the same as the men in Honduras, but the men in El Salvador are so much more sincere. It did not feel creepy, but rather flattering. I guess it is kind of hard to explain but after being in Honduras for 7 months and experiencing different forms of catcalling we felt we could definitely decipher a Honduran catcall from an El Salvadoran catcall. For example in Honduras we experienced a lot of men saying, hey baby I love you, in a broken accent. In El Salvador it was more, Oh my gosh, beautiful ladies (both in English and in Spanish) in a really sincere, surprised voice. Obviously this totally depends on where you are in Honduras and in El Salvador. But we really enjoyed all of the people we came into contact with in El Salvador and never felt uncomfortable.
Power Outage... I realize now, that with the few and far between power outages at the Hogar we were lucky. Since traveling in Tegucigalpa we lost power twice and I just got to Leon and the power just went out. But I am back after 1 hour in the dark.
Ok back to El Salvador, I loved it. We spent the day in a small hillside village, Alegria. There we met up with a group of people that work for the daily newspaper. They write weekly articles on tourism in El Salvador. We got to be their models in a coffee shop in exchange they let us ride around town with them and their tour guide. They were all very nice and we got to hitch a ride with them to the local laguna, lagoon. Alegria sits on top of a volcano. It erupted some years ago and the crater filled with water, sulfuric water, and is now a green lagoon. It was beautiful. We went to a local bakery and bought a piece of higo pie that was amazing and reminded me of a peach pie my grandma makes. Higo is a local fruit that is like a kiwi.
While we were waiting for the bus in Alegria 2 men pulled up and offered us a ride to the closest town Santiago de Maria where we could then get a direct bus to San Miguel, our home base. We jumped in the car (after analyzing how safe we felt) and chatted with the two men up front. They had just spent the day in Alegria trying to get a group to help them build a donated soccer field for the local community kids. After talking to the men, we learned that the driver is a teacher/director at a local Catholic school in a beautiful small town called Santiago de Maria. While waiting for our forwarding bus he bought us some water and took us to the new community church that he is helping paint and to the school he works at. He said that the students at the school are all very interested in learning English and asked if we could help him with suggestions on how to get volunteers to come and teach English for 6 months to a year. We suggested he make a web page and offered to help translate the page into English and provided him with our email addresses. If anyone is interested in teaching English in El Salvador please email me. Mauricio, the director of the school, said that the volunteer would live in a spare house with the room free. The volunteer would only have to pay for their flight and food which in El Salvador is super cheap. The town is darling and you can find pretty much everything you need. It is about 1.5 hours East and a bit South of the Capital. You would not have to be Catholic in order to work at the school and all that you would be responsible for teaching is English. In San Miguel, where we were staying we were paying $4 a night for a hotel with a private bathroom, a fan, and cable tv. We payed $1.15 for dinners which included a drink down the road at a comedor. For breakfast we lived on wheat rolls and peanut butter and for lunch we just bought street food, same as dinner. The pupusas were awesome and ranging from $0.15 - $0.35. Pupusas are a corn based flour with either cheese, beans and cheese, veggies and cheese, veggies and beans, cheese and meat, basically with whatever you want inside. Imagine a pancake, stuffed with beans and cheese with the pancake dough made of corn flour and then doused with shredded cabbage and hot sauce. Mmm...
We left El Salvador and headed to Tegucigalpa which we had heard was the ugliest part of Honduras. I loved it! I thought it was a very nice city surrounded by mountains with a perfect climate. Sunny, with a good cool breeze, and rainy at night. I really enjoyed Tegucigalpa. The people there were also very friendly and helped show us around and get the right buses when we were downtown and lost. We stayed with a past volunteers grandparents in Tegucigalpa and got to eat delicious homemade, local food and really practice our Spanish, oh and get a warm shower. We spent the day on Saturday in Valla de Angeles, which is a small town in the hills of Tegucigalpa. It was a very nice and relaxing day. This morning Bethany and I parted ways (sad day, now traveling alone). I will miss Bethany, we share the same appetite for good local street foods and sweets. She headed back for the Hogar and I headed South to Managua, Nicaragua where I caught a bus to Leon, Nicaragua. I am going on a day hike tomorrow with a non-profit, volunteer run, organization called Quetzaltrekkers to a nearby volcano. After a couple of days here I am heading back to Grananda, then to Managua, then to Isla Ometepe, then to Costa Rica making sure I save a good 10 days to spend in Panama.
I hope that everyone is doing well. I miss you all and cannot wait to hear what has changed in your lives when I get back home (SOON)!
The locals, El Salvadorans, are amazing. The men catcall, the same as the men in Honduras, but the men in El Salvador are so much more sincere. It did not feel creepy, but rather flattering. I guess it is kind of hard to explain but after being in Honduras for 7 months and experiencing different forms of catcalling we felt we could definitely decipher a Honduran catcall from an El Salvadoran catcall. For example in Honduras we experienced a lot of men saying, hey baby I love you, in a broken accent. In El Salvador it was more, Oh my gosh, beautiful ladies (both in English and in Spanish) in a really sincere, surprised voice. Obviously this totally depends on where you are in Honduras and in El Salvador. But we really enjoyed all of the people we came into contact with in El Salvador and never felt uncomfortable.
Power Outage... I realize now, that with the few and far between power outages at the Hogar we were lucky. Since traveling in Tegucigalpa we lost power twice and I just got to Leon and the power just went out. But I am back after 1 hour in the dark.
Ok back to El Salvador, I loved it. We spent the day in a small hillside village, Alegria. There we met up with a group of people that work for the daily newspaper. They write weekly articles on tourism in El Salvador. We got to be their models in a coffee shop in exchange they let us ride around town with them and their tour guide. They were all very nice and we got to hitch a ride with them to the local laguna, lagoon. Alegria sits on top of a volcano. It erupted some years ago and the crater filled with water, sulfuric water, and is now a green lagoon. It was beautiful. We went to a local bakery and bought a piece of higo pie that was amazing and reminded me of a peach pie my grandma makes. Higo is a local fruit that is like a kiwi.
While we were waiting for the bus in Alegria 2 men pulled up and offered us a ride to the closest town Santiago de Maria where we could then get a direct bus to San Miguel, our home base. We jumped in the car (after analyzing how safe we felt) and chatted with the two men up front. They had just spent the day in Alegria trying to get a group to help them build a donated soccer field for the local community kids. After talking to the men, we learned that the driver is a teacher/director at a local Catholic school in a beautiful small town called Santiago de Maria. While waiting for our forwarding bus he bought us some water and took us to the new community church that he is helping paint and to the school he works at. He said that the students at the school are all very interested in learning English and asked if we could help him with suggestions on how to get volunteers to come and teach English for 6 months to a year. We suggested he make a web page and offered to help translate the page into English and provided him with our email addresses. If anyone is interested in teaching English in El Salvador please email me. Mauricio, the director of the school, said that the volunteer would live in a spare house with the room free. The volunteer would only have to pay for their flight and food which in El Salvador is super cheap. The town is darling and you can find pretty much everything you need. It is about 1.5 hours East and a bit South of the Capital. You would not have to be Catholic in order to work at the school and all that you would be responsible for teaching is English. In San Miguel, where we were staying we were paying $4 a night for a hotel with a private bathroom, a fan, and cable tv. We payed $1.15 for dinners which included a drink down the road at a comedor. For breakfast we lived on wheat rolls and peanut butter and for lunch we just bought street food, same as dinner. The pupusas were awesome and ranging from $0.15 - $0.35. Pupusas are a corn based flour with either cheese, beans and cheese, veggies and cheese, veggies and beans, cheese and meat, basically with whatever you want inside. Imagine a pancake, stuffed with beans and cheese with the pancake dough made of corn flour and then doused with shredded cabbage and hot sauce. Mmm...
We left El Salvador and headed to Tegucigalpa which we had heard was the ugliest part of Honduras. I loved it! I thought it was a very nice city surrounded by mountains with a perfect climate. Sunny, with a good cool breeze, and rainy at night. I really enjoyed Tegucigalpa. The people there were also very friendly and helped show us around and get the right buses when we were downtown and lost. We stayed with a past volunteers grandparents in Tegucigalpa and got to eat delicious homemade, local food and really practice our Spanish, oh and get a warm shower. We spent the day on Saturday in Valla de Angeles, which is a small town in the hills of Tegucigalpa. It was a very nice and relaxing day. This morning Bethany and I parted ways (sad day, now traveling alone). I will miss Bethany, we share the same appetite for good local street foods and sweets. She headed back for the Hogar and I headed South to Managua, Nicaragua where I caught a bus to Leon, Nicaragua. I am going on a day hike tomorrow with a non-profit, volunteer run, organization called Quetzaltrekkers to a nearby volcano. After a couple of days here I am heading back to Grananda, then to Managua, then to Isla Ometepe, then to Costa Rica making sure I save a good 10 days to spend in Panama.
I hope that everyone is doing well. I miss you all and cannot wait to hear what has changed in your lives when I get back home (SOON)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)