Nicaragua

Nicaragua:

Even though Nicaragua should have started off as highlight for me, it actually ended up being the opposite. In the early hours before leaving Costa Rica I picked up a bug which was determined to expel any liquid from my body through any orifice possible.  From La Fortuna we shared a shuttle with a few Germans and made our way north towards Nicaragua – a much better option than taking 3 public buses! Along the way our driver stopped for 15 minutes at a restaurant next to a small river which had trees filled with armies of iguanas sunbathing in the morning sun. Passport control was at a quick stop at a small house and from there we boarded a boat which was part taxi and part wildlife spotting. The river was called Rio Frio (Cold River) and everyone, except me, thoroughly enjoyed the picturesque trip up the river spotting wildlife including howler monkeys, caimans and birds while I stood dry retching over the side of the boat. I felt like death but it was still a nice experience travelling up the river through forest while seeing all the wildlife.

San Carlos: Once through passport control we were going to take a taxi to reach our hotel but because it was such a small town a young lad helped me carry my luggage as I was pretty weak by then. For the rest of the day Gillian explored the town while I remained horizontal. By the next morning, even though it felt like Mike Tyson punched me in the kidneys, the nausea stopped and I could brave wander a few meters from a toilet. San Carlos is a small town situated where Rio Frio, Rio San Jaun and Lago de Nicaragua meet. There wasn’t much happening there apart from being one of the main shipping towns but at least it had one decent restaurant. At the top end of town was a small museum which was the only place there worth visiting and unsurprisingly I was again the only South African to sign the visitors book. Travelling through Central and South America I have hardly met any South Africans and in many places I’ve been the first that many people have met! 

Our hotel was very basic and Nicaragua being a poor country showed its true colors when there was a power cut and we were told that there was only running water early mornings and in the evenings. During daytime we had to flush the toilet with water that stood in large plastic containers inside the shower! We booked a boat from San Carlos to El Castillo on our second day. One thing that made me smile was watching the vendors at the dock. These guys would have put Gadgetman to shame with the amount of electronics, sunglasses, watches, etc, strapped to their bodies!  I bought a pair of “real” Ray Bans off one of them for about 3 dollars.

El Castillo: The long narrow boat we boarded was filled to the brim with people and some had to stand. What made matters worse were the vendors forcing their way on selling anything from bread, agua con leche and chicken with plantain chips. I do actually love these entrepreneurial vendors as it is so interesting seeing all the ingenious ideas that they have come up with. Our boat was the “slow” one stopping all along the way at the most random of places. Many times we had to wonder just where the hell these people wander off to! El Castillo was a brilliant little village packed with lots of charm. The people there were very religious and even though poor, seemed to be happy. There was a happy vibe in the little town which made it a really nice place to visit.

Our rustic wooden hostel was built on stilts over the water and had a deck with swinging chairs overlooking the rapids in the river. It has to be one of my favorite accommodations so far.  There was a “fiesta” while we were staying, which meant many baseball teams came from all around to compete followed by a party in town after. One of the bars played ear drum bursting music which rattled our wooden cabin till the early hours of the morning even though the party was “called off” due to an old lady passing away on the same day. We of course had to see the baseball teams playing and while there noted all the muddy horses tied up all around the field belonging to the various locals coming from afar.

By the time I had fully recovered from my stomach bug, Gillian came down with something else so I booked a fishing/canoeing trip with one of the locals.  He took me down the main river to a little side stream where we dug for bait worms. It was nice paddling over the calm water in a dug-out canoe while listening to the birds chattering in the forest. However, the fishing was not great and the elusive prehistoric looking gaspar fish avoided my bait. I only managed to catch 6 small tilapia while sitting under a large tree filled with noisy howler monkeys who kept dropping fruit into the water next to us. I sat there wondering when one was going to fall on my head! What did manage to fall on my head, after the skies turned dark, was buckets and buckets of rain. I was fooled by the clear skies of earlier and was thoroughly soaked to the skin on my journey back to town. My guide had to bail water out of the boat as there was so much of it ironically coming from above!

Apart from watching baseball, visiting the historic fort, lazing on the wooden deck of our hotel and my canoeing trip there was not much else to do although we made an effort to try the infamous river prawns. I’ve seen large prawns in my life but nothing prepared me for the size of those bad boys. They were humungous and looked more like crayfish - although the long thin arms confirmed them to be prawns. Garlic butter complimented them well and a cold beer rounded off a memorable culinary experience. The warm smiles from the friendly locals saying “hola” as we walked past, together with a nice vibe made our time in El Castillo very memorable.

Ometepe Island: We left El Castillo on the 7am slow boat stopping off at yet again many random places. On that occasion one of the locals even had a box of tweeting chicks in it! From San Carlos we booked the 2pm boat to Ometepe which was another 10 hours making it a very long day as we only reached the island at 12:30am. We boarded a rusty rattling minibus with a smiling old man with his large glasses in the back with us, one lad driving and another riding shotgun, guarding the baggage tied to a rack on the roof. The bad road to Altagracia only slightly prepared us for what was still to come during our stay. No amount of banging on the doors or hooting of the horn could wake the staff up at the recommended Hotel Central so we had to look for accommodation elsewhere. Luckily we found a place in Hotel Castillo where we based ourselves for the next 3 nights.

Ometepe is an island created by two cloud covered volcanoes. In order to get around I rented a chopper-style motorbike off one of the locals which came complete with paperwork and a dented petrol tank. We took off that afternoon for Moyogalpa which is also the largest town on the island. Along the way a policeman stopped us and asked for my license which I had left back at the hotel. The owner’s paperwork was kept while I returned to obtain mine, after which we all lived happily ever after. Even though the stretch of road between the two towns was tarmac it was still an experience driving along dodging pigs, cows, mules, dogs, chickens, goats, horses, kids, rocks and unmarked speed bumps. There wasn’t much to see in Moyogulpa although we ate some of the best food we had had in ages in an English/Canadian couple’s coffee shop. Gillian had a roasted vegetable and grilled cheese salad while I had a steak and caramelized onion sandwich on granary bread, accompanied by a fresh starfruit and grapefruit juice. It was such a nice change after having to eat gallo pinto pretty much every day!

The next day we headed off to climb partway up the Maderas volcano to the waterfall and to see the petroglyphs. We were warned about the bad roads in the south of the island but I really wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead. The dirt roads opened up a very big can of worms for me as I had to navigate not only pigs, cows, mules, dogs, chickens, goats, horses, kids, rocks and unmarked speed bumps but much more. The “roads” were abominable to say the least with large loose rocks, potholes, drainage culverts and loose gravel. To add to this I had to handle a low chopper-style road bike with smooth tires, Gillian on the back and only a front brake that worked. The engine ran at high revs which made crawling along even trickier and I must have aged by at least 5 years after we bumped and skidded our way along the bad roads.

It was very hot as we hiked the 3km up to the waterfall and we were slightly disappointed when we finally got there. The waterfall was very small but at least the hike through the forest made up for it. We also managed to spot one of the few elusive green parrots flying about far away as well as a brightly colored snake. One bird which was very common though was the blue magpie. They looked a bit like small peacocks with crowns on their heads and they make funny pew-pew sounds which would have fitted any Star Wars zap gun. On the drive back we stopped to see 8 petroglyphs and again we weren’t overly impressed which made our very nerve wrecking trip that day debatable. For the rest of our stay in Altagracia we caught up with our blogs while relaxing in hammocks, playing cards and drinking cold beers. We felt like we did our good deed by supporting a local woman who barbequed meat outdoors and served it with plantain chips, gallo pinto and a cabbage salad.

Granada: The minibus taxi dropped us off again at the port from where we took the 12pm boat to Granada. It was a bit windy and the water choppy so we weren’t sure what to expect especially after a Chinese girl told us many people threw up on the way in because of the big waves! One doesn’t always associate lakes with huge sea-like waves but Lagoa de Nicaragua is a very large freshwater lake and accounts for a large proportion of Nicaragua! We arrived in Granada all blurry eyed around 4:30am and took a taxi to the Oasis Hostel where we booked in. The hostel was pretty good with kitchen, wifi, free PCs with internet and it even had a small swimming pool. We changed to a dorm after a nap as the private room was a bit expensive.

Granada itself was a funny city with a few colorful colonial Spanish buildings and the streets were busy with some very poor people. Walking towards the market the streets were lined with vendors selling pirate DVD’s, watches, sunglasses, fruit and juices. The food market was very interesting with the maze of little walkways. There was even more on offer in the market and I could see anything from large bags filled with rice, beans and corn to chunks of unrefrigerated meat. One thing I noted is that Nicaragua seems to have a love affair with plastic bags. Pretty much anything gets put in a plastic bag and women selling cold drinks in a plastic bag with straw was very common to see on the streets. I bought one only to discover it was beetroot juice!

A thought that might have crossed some people’s minds especially after visiting Costa Rica might be “where are all the caimans, giant toads and turtles?” I discovered the answer to that question while visiting the souvenir shops in the main square of Granada. Well, they are caught, killed, cut open with innards taken out, sewn up and dried and displayed in all various positions and sold for next to nothing. The turtles had it easiest as they just stared into nothingness while the caimans were posing holding small drums or small wooden bowls – always with a permanent death grimace on their faces. The toads were posed in sexual positions and I could only question the sanity of whoever massacred these poor animals.

Lago de Apoyo: We stayed for 3 days in a hostel called Paradiso which is located on the edge of Lago de Apoyo. Paradiso was linked with the Oasis hostel in Granada and offered cheap transfers between the two. I had a nice view of the lake while lying in a sun lounger sipping a cold beer. The water was nice and warm for swimming in and had different layers of colors: brown in the shallows, green slightly deeper and finally it changed to a deep blue. Mountains surrounded the lake and I can see why the Lonely Planet suggested it as one of the must see things in Nicaragua.

Apart from chilling out you could go swimming, kayaking, hiking, bird watching or simply eat and drink. We went kayaking one day and Gillian managed to tip, not once but twice, probably the most stable kayak I’ve ever paddled. Other than that I found it funny that even though I’ve never seen the point of bird watching I ended up actively looking for the beautiful mot mots with the large camera and zoom lens. These pretty birds are various colors of blue and green and have long tails which are bare until the tip of flared black feathers. They swing these tails from side to side like a pendulum to either attract females or let predators know that they have been spotted. Another tiny animal that amused me was the small geckos that kept us company pretty much everywhere we went. They made very funny chicken-like clucking sounds, especially during the evenings, and sure have had many people guessing as to what it could be.

From Lago de Apoyo we took a taxi to Managua where we stayed near the Tica Bus station in budget accommodation for the night and left for Honduras the next morning at 5am. I have slightly mixed feelings about the country but in general we found the people in Nicaragua very friendly, especially in the smaller places. El Castillo was my favorite place as even though it was small it had a lot of charm. Granada didn’t impress me that much as it was just another city stuffed with way too many people.  Getting harassed by vendors had me saying “no gracias” like a parrot or stuck record but I guess that is all part of the experience. In general it was a nice country and also a hell of a lot cheaper than Costa Rica which was a good thing for our budget. 

Complete photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=336093&id=749927742&l=8d2bae27ad

Costa Rica

Costa Rica:

San Jose: Having been to San Jose I can second the general opinion that it is not a nice city, with muggings common at night in down town. We had an enjoyable stay in Aldea hostel which is fairly new.  The staff there were very friendly and helped us book a few trips out of the city. Two eventful things happened while we stayed there: A massive car crash happened right outside our hostel while we were busy cooking dinner. We watched the whole scene through the windows – luckily no one was hurt even though the cars were pretty smashed up. The other thing that happened was that a girl had her bag stolen right outside the hostel one night while waiting for her taxi. It was slightly disturbing especially as it happened so close to us. If you ever travel through San Jose, use it only as a gateway to get to other places things.

Coffee Tour: When I lived in the UK, I bought a lot of Costa Rican coffee and therefore could not resist a coffee tour. Britt Coffee is located in the Heredia province of Costa Rica (there are 7 regions in total). The slightly higher altitude gives rise to a cooler climate and that together with all the mineral deposits coming from the volcanoes makes for good coffee. I didn’t have overly high expectations of the coffee tour but have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised. Our guides were actors as well who kept bantering with each other and even staged a small show dressed up in funny costumes while acting out the history of coffee. It was a great day out as we learnt about the history of coffee as well as the manufacturing process. 

It has been rumored that coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder who saw that his goats became hyperactive when eating particular red berries. Arabs were the first to start drinking coffee and soon started trading it with other countries. Coffee first came to Costa Rica in 1750. The berries change colour from green (unripe), to red (ripe) and finally to black (over ripe). There are 3 layers to remove before reaching the actual beans – only 25% of the actual berries is used!  Workers harvest the berries with woven baskets tied around their waste which when full weigh 25lbs. Years ago the Costa Rican Government parceled up land and allocated it to families.  This means that today, many locals have their own small plots for growing coffee. After harvesting they deliver their coffee berries to a plant, such as Britt Coffee, which is supplied by over 1,000 individual growers.

To start the beans are weighed and dropped into a tank filled with water. Good beans sink to the bottom whereas the poorer floating berries are sold to instant coffee producers. The first process is crushing the berries to remove the outer skin. The slimy whitish beans then go into large containers which are filled with water where natural fermentation takes place – a little like fermenting wine. The fermentation process helps to remove the 2^nd layer after which the beans are left outside, on large flat concrete bases, to dry. Workers have to rake the beans every hour for a week to ensure the beans reach the optimum humidity level of 11.5% – any higher can cause fungi to grow on it. The beans can then be stored in a neutral environment as they absorb other smells, for up to a year. After storage the last parchment layer is removed to reveal a green coffee bean. These beans are then roasted at a temperature of 300C to the desired color and taste – caramelizing the natural sugars turns the beans brown. 

The longer beans are roasted, the darker they become and more natural oils are released - Espresso for example is the darkest bean with the strongest flavour. Another interesting fact is that after the Costa Rican government ruled that ALL of the best coffee must be exported, sugar sales have increased dramatically.  The reason for this is that good coffee tastes nice hot and cold without sugar whereas bad coffee tastes bitter, hence the high sugar sales! For creating froth you don’t need an expensive coffee machine only a French Coffee Press (cafetiere).  Pour chilled semi-skimmed milk into the press and pump the handle up and down fast about 30 times. This creates lovely foam which you simply heat up in the microwave.  No $5,000 coffee machine required!

Tortuguero National Park: The day after the coffee tour, we were picked up at our hostel at 5:45 for a day trip to the park. On our way we drove up into the mountains through a cloud forest - water condenses at around 1,200m forming a cloud, hence then name. The weather up there was not good – cold, windy and rainy but luckily the weather back down at sea level was much better. Along the way we passed many pineapple and banana plantations and stopped at one for some photos. I bought a coconut (with straw) off a local who also displayed a large beetle gnawing on a sugar cane.  We continue to be amazed by the random things we see along the way.

 Most of the trip consisted of a boat ride along a series of canals through the forest. We saw many species of wildlife, including white herons (who have yellow worm like feet to attract small fish), tiger herons, Jesus Christ lizards (so called because they can run on water!), caimans, crocodiles, howler monkeys, white faced monkeys, black river turtles, anhingas, snowy egrets, northern jacanas, montezuma oropendol and we even saw a nocturnal two-toed sloth next to the road! Our guide, Thomas, also pointed out a very well camouflaged owl sitting on a branch. He was very passionate about his job and mentioned a few interesting facts such as:

·        -- > Whales were actually wolves and have evolved over thousands of years into swimming creatures. The funny lumps on their bodies are patches of “skin” and may even contain hair.

·         --> White Faced Monkeys are the only predators in Costa Rica who decide what they are going to hunt together in a pack.

·         --> The leaves on trees are NOT green. We only perceive it as green because of this is the part of the light spectrum they emit.

·         --> Matter cannot be created only redistributed so where do all the bananas come from? Millions get exported but nothing comes back to replace them. The answer is carbon! Plants absorb carbon from the atmosphere to create the fruit – hence why you can grow plants using hydroponics!

·         --> Road-kill only happens outside National Parks. You will never see a dead animal next to the road inside the park.  Reason: the animals only move around outside the park because they are forced to do so by humans.

·         --> Animals that eat leaves move a lot slower than animals that eat grass because they are harder to digest and provide less energy.

Gillian became sick after our day trip and ended up visiting the hospital as her coughing became worse and she had a fever. I can only praise the Costa Rican health services as they were professional and very efficient. She was diagnosed with lower airway infection and ordered to bed which meant that we ended up staying in San Jose for 7 nights. Travelling around Costa Rica can be a bit tricky especially if you want to do various National Parks, and so with Gillian still recovering, we decided to rent a car.  Unfortunately we discovered that quoted prices on the internet are only half the story – the neglect to include the mandatory taxes and insurance (we were quoted $350 and paid $470). Nevertheless, we were pretty screwed without one so had to bite the bullet. In hindsight, I definitely would have gone for a jeep rather than our economy car as some of the potholes we encountered were almost as big as our little car!

Quepos: After the vast distances we covered in South America, Central America seems very small. We drove from San Jose to Quepos in under 3 hours and settled into a small hotel in town. The town was fairly Americanized with many tourist souvenir shops. I’ve never seen so many deep sea fishing charters in one town – all advertising the catch and release of blue and black marlin, sailfish, dorado and many more. Since Gillian was still not very well, I aided her recovery by giving her a day off and booked a fishing trip for me the next day. Quepos is a mecca for deep sea fishing and there are two optionson offer: inshore fishing for rooster fish, red snapper and snook or deep sea fishing for sailfish, dorado, tuna and if you’re lucky, blue or black marlin! I decided to splash out and booked a boat for the day.

Deep sea fishing: The boat had a captain and a very energetic helper who tended the rods. Generally, flashers and teasers would be more thought of in connection with strippers, although the terms are also also used with respect to fishing. Extended on either side of our boat were 2 down riggers, each with a teaser (squid-like rubber lure) and baited with a small fish or lure on the hook end. The next two rods were situated on either side of the boat (on the lower deck) while the last was bang in the middle mounted in the rod holder in the top. Last but not least was a flasher (rectangular shiny piece of metal) that spins around in the water and reflects the sunlight which attracts fish. That gave us a total of 5 rods all baited with either small fish or lures. Our captain maintained a steady pace and thus began the waiting game.

When a fish strikes all hell breaks loose on the boat amidst loud and frantic shouting. Both captain and mate drop anything they might be doing and scurry towards the rods with outstretched arms as if sleepwalking, only very much faster. After spotting the jerking rod they would grab it and set the hook by which time I would have position myself in the swivel chair on the back of the boat. We had quite a few strikes which we lost before actually hooking into a sailfish. Having an acrobatic sailfish on the other end of your line is a pure adrenaline rush to say the least. I was amazed by the power of the fish as it leapt out of the water while viciously shaking its head trying to dislocate the hook. Luckily for me it never happened and soon I was able to pose with my first but hopefully not last sailfish! For the rest of the day I was more emotional than a pregnant woman as I switched between happy and very sad when I lost a very large dorado and a few more sailfish. I did however finish the day a very happy customer with a smile as big as the sailfish I caught!

Manuel Antonio National Park: This is Costa Rica’s 2^nd smallest national park with beautiful beaches and it is home to cheeky white faced monkeys and raccoons. We rented a very poor guide that day and felt pretty much ripped off after a very short and dull tour. A large part of the park we hiked ourselves and managed to see a white nosed coati, sloths, agouties and few birds. Most of the park and trails were however closed off due to a hurricane that destroyed most of the trails 6 months earlier. The fun part was back on the beach where the white faced monkeys came down from the trees to terrorize the tourists. 

There was a whole troop of them constantly scouting for unsuspecting sunbathers and quickly jumping down to steal their food. They were a constant source of entertainment as they went about their monkey business. Not to be outdone were the raccoons. They were even bolder with their theft and raided people’s bags with no care in the world! It was very funny watching the startled tourists trying to shoo off the naughty blighters.  Manuel Antonio was a very nice park to visit and definitely worth a visit. The iconic beaches and cheeky thieving wildlife made it a memorable visit for us.

Monteverde Cloud Forest: From Quepos we drove north past Jaco and over a river containing lots of large crocodiles and onwards towards Monteverde. We took the turn off onto the dirt road leading to Monteverde and discovered that our little car was definitely not up to it – we rattled along for a little bit but soon decided to turn back and give Monteverde a miss. Back on the smooth tarmac road we set off for our revised destination which was a small town called Arenal. Due to the lack of sign posts, we took a wrong turn and after asking for directions discovered that we were yet again on another dirt road to Monteverde! That time we decided to continue and after shaking along and dodging numerous potholes we finally reached the village. We stayed in Eddy’s Cabinas which was lovely and as the owner also owned the barber shop downstairs, it was time for a quick and very cheap haircut.

Monteverde itself is a beautiful little village perched up in the mountains, overlooking the cloud forest - a very vivid rainbow stretching across the town made it even more picturesque! Tourism is big in Monteverde and there are quite a few activities on offer such as zip-lining, hiking, a coffee tour or a visit to the sloth or bat sanctuary or Frog Pond/Butterfly show. On our first evening we booked a night hike as Gillian was eager to see a tarantula. The company we did the hike with had a few bird and animal feeders positioned outside their hut and we soon saw raccoons, white-faced coatis, hummingbirds and a kinkajou who kept stealing the bananas meant for the birds. As it was very windy that night we didn’t see too many animals although Gillian got to see her tarantula. The two we saw were orange and black in colour and are apparently kept as pets by many people. Unfortunately many die as people don’t feed them the correct food.

Twitchers: One of the main things to do in Monteverde is to try and spot a quetzal – a very elusive and colorful bird. Twitchers come from all over the world to try and catch a glimpse of this bird so we headed off early the next morning to try our luck. Bird watchers amused me as they walked about, as if in a trance, with opened mouths and some with a zoom lens the size of the Hubble telescope. We decided not to chance another bad guide so did the hike on our own. There were many groups with guides anyway and the funny thing was that Gillian spotted a quetzal that a guide failed to spot, even after she tried to point it out to him! I quickly zoomed in and took a picture and after that the quetzal promptly flew off followed by an entourage of over excited gawking twitchers and guide, all falling over each other – it was hilarious to watch!

Sloth Sanctuary: We couldn’t resist a visit to the sloth sanctuary on our way back to town and so we stopped in too see the sloths up close. A very passionate woman told us many facts (and a few myths) about sloths which were very interesting. The sloths at the centre had been rescued and cannot be returned to the wild due to their injuries from overhead electric cables, being hit by cars or bitten by dogs. There are two welfare sanctuaries for sloths in Costa Rica. The main one were founded by our tour guide’s parents and is situated on the east coast in Cahita, where they run a volunteer programme. We really enjoyed seeing the sloths up close as they lazed about with their ever present “smiles”. They are really curious animals and one kept trying to reach for us with its long claws. Here are a few more sloth facts:

·         --> They only defecate every 7 days, therefore 30% of their bodyweight is sh*t!

·         --> Sloths live in trees and feed on the leaves. They only risk coming down to take a dump in order that they can bury their sh*t next to the tree they feed on before any rain can wash it away to fertilize the soil.

·         --> Sloths used to live alongside dinosaurs and evolved to walk on land and became huge animals. When the  American continents joined, predators came down from the north so sloths evolved back to living in trees and being much smaller.

·         --> Two and three toed sloths are actually two very different animals and according to our guide should be called Choloepus and Bradypus respectively.

Frog/Butterfly Sanctuary: A visit to this place is best at night time when the frogs are most active. Unfortunately we didn’t know that and due to Gillian’s strict Excel spreadsheet stating that we had to leave that day, we could only see them during the daytime. There were 30 different species of frogs of which our favorite was the red eyed tree frog. Apparently the large toad is the one that people lick to get high and the poison dart frog is the one Indians used to poison their arrows.

Arenal: Arenal is a very small village next to a large lake with hundreds of notice boards advertising places like the infamous German bakery as well as various hotels well in advance. We only stayed there for one night as although it is a reasonable little town, there was just not much happening there.

Cana Negro: One thing we saw a lot of in Costa Rica (but also in South America) were the funny looking cows grazing along the roads - they look a bit like the Droopy the Dog cartoon in cow form. It was nice to settle into a quiet wooden cabin at the edge of town after the very long and bumpy road where I had to constantly dodge potholes. The sleepy little town had lots of character and we even got to eat at every restaurant (a total of 3) in town. Cana Negro was good for spotting wildlife, especially birds that flew around pretty much everywhere. 

The only proper activity we did there was a fishing/bird watching tour where we saw many birds, caimans and very large tarpon which had no interest in my bait whatsoever. Also very interesting was seeing pink spoon bills for the first time! These birds also change colour, just like flamingos, due to eating small pink shrimps which are found in the river. Back on land we visited a small butterfly sanctuary which was very interesting, especially seeing the weird caterpillars. For seeing wildlife this little place is a must while in Costa Rica. 

La Fortuna: The touristy town of La Fortuna was our last stop in Costa Rica and we found that pretty much every shop sold tours, even restaurants! The backpackers where we stayed was really nice and had amenities such as internet, bar/snack bar and a swimming pool. Our first trip from there was to visit the hot springs and even though it was a bit commercial it was still great fun. There were many different pools to choose from and all varied in temperature. Three water slides also kept us entertained although with the middle slide you literally took your life in your own hand as it would easily have broken all UK health and safety rules! I went down and bruised my elbow at the bottom while Gillian bumped her head and sported a large lump for many days after. It was funny watching people going down the slide and crashing down below in a tangle of arms and legs, before surfacing with a very stunned (or pained) look on their faces! The slides turned me into a young excited boy again and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Our evening there ended with a buffet dinner which in term of buffets had a very large variety of food and tasted pretty good. 

Seeing lava flowing down the side an active volcano was not to be as the damn volcano stopped erupting 5 months before we arrived – even though it had been active since 1968 – typical! We had to be content with hiking the Toucan Trail next to the volcano which had no toucans on it the day we were there. To cheer ourselves up we went zip lining through the forest canopy with a company called Sky Tram. Their restaurant was situated part way up a mountain and had a great view over Lake Arenal and the volcano. 

A tram(cable car) transported us all the way to the top and from there we zipped our way down through the forest canopies – brilliant! It was a nice way to end our time in Costa Rica before we returned our very muddy and battered hire car back to Alamo. Costa Rica was all about seeing wildlife and we were definitely not disappointed. Having a rental car also helped us a lot as we weren’t dependent on buses and could zip around quickly from place to place. It is a relatively small country and getting from one end to the other was fairly quick but visiting all the National Parks on the other hand would prove difficult as there are so many. With all its wildlife, sandy beaches, sport fishing and hiking I can highly recommend a visit to Costa Rica.

Complete photo album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=333373&id=749927742&l=48c422c8f3

South America - Summary

         South America - Summary:

                                                View World Map in a larger map

We travelled through South America for a total of 5 months and during that time I saw and experienced many weird and wonderful things. I came to learn that random is the norm and never ceased to be amazed by the everyday life of the locals. Health and safety was a term that would have given most of the locals a glazed look in their eyes if ever mentioned, as it surely didn't exist in most places, especially the electrics! I wanted to point out a few more things that entertained me along the way:

·        Empanada ladies: These ladies were especially common in Peru and Bolivia and they usually sat below a tree with a large bowl covered with a cloth, selling either meat or chicken empanadas. I really miss seeking them out in the most random of places as not only were the empanadas dirt cheap, they were also really tasty! 

·        Gringo dog: (*Said in a Superhero voiceover*) Whenever you are most unsuspecting, whenever you least expect, you will find Gringo Dog! He will materialize out of nowhere, seek you out and run alongside you for the rest of the day while barking at cars, locals and other dogs!

·        Lunch dogs: These dogs appeared without fail every time we had lunch or breakfast next to the road no matter how random or remote the location.  They appear from behind bushes, out of the ground, out of the sky or when you blinked! It was almost like the scene in the Terminator 3 movie where the terminator materializes out of the vinyl floor!

·        Dogs: Each dog in South America owns at least one human being - sometimes they own both husband AND wife complete with their litter of 10 kids or more!

·        Roof Dogs: These special species of K9s were especially common in Peru and Bolivia. Their preferred locations were on roofs as they yapped or simply watched the world go by.

·        Campsite dogs: Dogs qualifying for this position either had to be extremely annoying by yapping in a very nervous high pitched voice or be good thieves. Stealing Gillian’s shoes was extra points to qualify for this sought after category…

·        Prayer places: The locals use these random little shrines for saying their prayers. They were positioned pretty much everywhere along the road and we saw them while driving along. Some were filled with photographs of dead loved ones or even car parts of the specific fatal accident!

·        Mystery Silver bucket: These we found while wine tasting. It is placed in front of you for some unknown reason and rumors are that you spit your wine out in these. I’ve dismissed this ridiculous and absurd rumor and am thus still left with the mystery…

·        Toilets: These vary from bad to very bad in most places and include (or not) no toilet paper, no flush, remnants of a much lighter previous inhabitant, no door lock, no door and no toilet seat, overflowing waste basket of toilet paper, complete with wildlife and skid marks!

·        Coca leave chewing – Chewing coca leaves was common with the locals especially in Peru and Bolivia. Some of them took it to a new level with chipmunk cheeks and green juice running down their cheeks. For many it helps with coping with the hardships of everyday life especially in the Potosi mines.

·        Parrilla/Asado/Churrasco: These terms refer to Argentinean barbeques or steak houses and never ceased to lure me in. I was like an alcoholic eying up a cold beer and I broke out in a cold sweat every time I saw the name displayed or advertised on a sign.

·        Soap Operas – “The dramatic pause”: These intense moments occurred every single day in South American soap operas. Very dramatic music would be playing in the background while the camera focuses back and forth between the intense faces of the very bad actors – very funny to watch!

·        Brazilian Bikinis: Not much to report on these, literally!

·        Mobile Speakers: These were cars fitted with absurdly huge speakers on the roof or on the boot complete with a driver who very much likes the sound of his own voice. We saw many of these cars driving around either advertising or blaring very loud music.

Best food: Without fail the Argentinean melt-in-the-mouth steaks with Chimichuri sauce and a nice glass of red wine to round it off.  

Worst food: The cremated lobster we had in the Galapagos. It was such a letdown especially after we saw the lobsters earlier that day at the fish market. In general though it would be Bolivian food as having chicken every day became boring very quickly.

Favorite country: Argentina was my favorite country as it had everything: good food, pretty scenery, friendly people and best of all, it was fairly cheap.   

  

Worst accommodation: Maybe it was because our expectations were shattered by empty promises in our travel notes, but camping in Cafayate (Argentina)  was pretty bad as it was dusty due to no grass, had cold showers and the promised water chute and pool were filled with tadpoles eating their dead mother.

Best City: Rio de Janeiro is definitely my favorite city as it ticked all the boxes. Beautiful sandy beaches, evergreen forests, high mountains, great vibe and to top it off the Christ Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain for great sunsets.

Worst City: Uyuni (Bolivia). It looked and felt like it should have been created for a scene in a Wild West movie - complete with deserted windswept arid streets. The only thing missing was tumbleweed and Clint Eastwood staring my way ready to draw his revolvers, backed by a soundtrack of “the good, the bad & the ugly”.

Best natural wonder: The Iguazu Falls from both the Argentinean and Brazilian side were very impressive with large quantities of water crashing down the 275 waterfalls! Torres del Paine in Chile was also a very pretty national park with huge towering mountains, glaciers and ice-blue lakes.

Best manmade sight: This can only be Machu Picchu which sat perched up high on a mountain with breath taking views. Even though very touristy it was still a spectacular place to see.

Highest place: While driving between Colca Canyon and Arequipa we drove over a mountain pass at 5000m and stopped for a quick photo. The highest climb however, was Laguna 69 which was 4860m and proved difficult for many of our group as the air was very thin and so the pace was slow.

Favorite activities: Impossible to narrow it down to one so I have named a few:

·        Ecuadorian Jungle: Floating down the river in a life vest with a cold beer was definitely one of the highlights for me!

·        Dune Buggies: Racing over sand dunes in a souped-up V8 followed by sand boarding, BBQ and getting drunk on pisco sours before falling asleep under the stars in the Huacachina desert was a brilliant experience!

·        Galapagos Islands: Snorkeling with the playful sea lion pups and seeing all the weird and wonderful animals on the islands was definitely a highlight.

·        Lares Trek & Machu Picchu: Seeing the kids faces when we handed them bread as we hiked the Lares Trek was priceless. Seeing Machu Picchu was magical.

·        Motorbiking Sacred Vallley: Zipping along the Sacred Valley near Cuzco with a 650cc motorbike was good fun.

·        Zip-Lining: Zip-lining along 3km of wires strung between two mountains over a river was thrilling.

·        Ghost Ride: Hitting high speeds on a mountain bike ride down the World’s Most Dangerous Road had our adrenaline pumping.

·        Dynamite: Buying dynamite and blowing it up was pretty nerve wracking, but there is just something about blowing things up…

·        Pucon Volcano: Climbing an active snow covered volcano and then bum-boarding all the way to the bottom was great fun to say the least!

·        Torres del Paine: Being a tough hike made this even more memorable. I will never forget the breathtaking views.

·        Hang gliding over Rio: Flying with the vultures high above the Rio with a beautiful view over the city and beach was one of the best things we’ve done!

·        Amazonian Boat Cruise: Seeing everyday life on our Amazon boat cruise was a very special experience.

Worst journey: Our journey from the Pantanal all the way to Paraty took us 36 hours and 5 different buses to reach our destination. The screaming kids also didn’t help matters. Another occasion would be our taxi ride back from Laguna 69. The driver spent most of his time on the wrong side of the road while dodging potholes and stray animals. He overtook cars on bends and we could only hope and pray not to die a quick death!

Most challenging moment/activity: The four day Torres del Paine hike with very heavy backpack and terrible weather. We had everything from horizontal sleet to gale force winds blowing people over! Laguna 69 was also a tough hike because of the high altitude.

Funniest moment: When the dog at the Pucon campsite stole Gillian’s shoe and came back to steal a 2^nd while were searching for the first! The beat boxing grey winged Trumpeter in the Ecuadorian jungle as well as the parrots mimicking our laughter was also very funny. The constant banter with the Tucan group especially entertained me! Taking silly pictures on the Bolivian salt flats was also great fun as we tried be be creative by taking many different photos with a variety of props.

Scariest moment: Seeing Paul fall down while swinging on a strangler vine and missing a sharp spike in the ground by a mere inch. It could have been much worse and he was very lucky to have missed it. Preparing and setting the charge for my over-the-counter dynamite whist in Bolivia. The crew from our Tucan Travel group wasn’t very happy with me especially after I stored the dynamite above me next to charging battery that later melted…

Favorite animal: So many to choose from but I would say the beat boxing Trumpeter was my all time favorite as it made such a funny sound as it puffed itself out. Also, Toucans with their colorful beaks, manatees with their round dog-like faces and the cheeky monkeys were great to see. Listening to the sugarcane rats’ call as they seemed to run out of steam was also very amusing!

Grumpiest moment: If I didn’t get a proper cup of strong coffee in the mornings. Seriously though, it was getting ripped off by a crooked taxi driver in Buenos Aires who slipped me a fake note!

Happiest moment: That would definitely be receiving my birthday cake on the Lares trek. It was baked in a hole in the ground using llama dung to fuel the fire at an altitude of 4250m! During the night it snowed as well so I woke up to my first ever white birthday! That was a very special moment for me.

Most disappointing moments:

·        Not being able to see the Nazca lines after I hyped myself up for a plane ride over the Peruvian desert. Due to a plane crashing  and killing 4 British tourists the aviation authorities cancelled all flights for a few days - we happen to be there at that time – typical!

· All of the horse riding excursions where we had to walk the whole damn time due to the companies compensating for inexperienced riders.

·        The Navimag ferry trip down the Patagonian fjords. The bad weather caused us to miss out not only on the scenery but also on other trips which were highlights for our friends.

Earliest start: Getting up at 2:45 to trek the Colca Canyon (Peru) closely followed by 3:15 for the hike up to see the Torres del Paine towers. There were many more…

Most thrilling moment: Blowing up dynamite in Bolivia followed by the Ghost ride – downhill mountain biking along single track before finishing on the world’s most dangerous road!

Most painful: Having fresh ginger juice poured into my nostril to try and clear my sinuses as well as burning my arm on the zip line which took off a lot of skin.

Most entrepreneurial locals:

·        The suicidal kids who hooked their tiny dug-out canoes onto our big boat and climbed over the sides to sell their wares.

·        Kids posing with llamas or alpacas in Cuzco for pictures. All at a fee of course.

·        A band busking in a random gorge in the middle of nowhere in Argentina!

·        The empanada ladies in Bolivia

Most missed: I’ve missed quite a few things while away:

• Bacon
• Granary bread
•  Heinz baked beans
• Full English breakfasts
•  Proper croissants (Pret’s chocolate one being my favorite)
• Sunday Roasts
•  Comfy bed with my down pillow