Coral, kayaking and copious ruins in Honduras

Our next stop was the country of Honduras. Honduras has a bit of dodgy reputation and is often avoided by backpackers. Not us though! We planned three stops, all miles apart from one another and from our last stop in Nicaragua. Getting around in Central America can be done very cheaply by the use of chicken buses, but you end up hopping from town to town and spending the whole day travelling. You can also use tourist shuttles, which are more expensive but faster as they take you from point to point and often pick you up and drop you off at your accommodation.

To get to our next destination of Lake Yojoa we decided to opt for a shuttle. We’d arranged it and booked our accommodation, only to receive a message that the shuttle wasn’t going to go that day and would leave the following day at 2am instead which threw our plans a bit! We scrambled around and eventually got in touch with Big Foot Hostel in Leon who were running one leaving at 4am so we booked that instead. Imagine our absolute delight when a huge minibus turned up for what turned out to be just the two of us! They helped us with the necessary paperwork at the border and we sped to the town of La Guama where they dropped us at the side of the road for us to catch another bus. It was a Sunday and when a mototaxi blasting Bob Marley stopped for us we hopped in that!

We stayed at D&D Brewery close to the lake and had a hot shower for the first time in a good few weeks. We’d actually gotten so used to cold showers that we both complained it was too hot. Who would have thought? The following day we went for a walk through the nearby Ecological park, a jungle on the edge of the lake. It was a well paved track where we spotted many birds. The setting was beautiful and I think one of my favourite walks that we have done on this travels.

The next day we set off at 5.30am to go on a birdwatching tour on the lake, we were in a tiny rowing boat being rowed down the canal towards the lake and spotted several species, including some toucans flying above us. It was a beautiful start to the day. After the tour we hired a kayak and kayaked the same route to the lake, spotting several jumping fish. It was incredibly hot so we decided to head towards some rocks at the edge of the lake where there was some shade. We had just stopped when we both spotted at the same time the biggest spider that we’ve ever seen, the leg span was bigger than our heads and we both quickly decided that we actually we were fine and didn’t need any shade!

Our next stop was going to be one of the Bay islands off the Caribbean coast, we opted for Roatan rather than the usual backpacker haunt of Utila. We got up early again and left at 5.15am to get the 5.30am chicken bus to San Pedro Sula. We’d arrived at the bus stop and within 3 seconds the bus pulled up! San Pedro Sula was, until 2016, the ‘murder capital’ of the world. Thankfully we were just passing through. We managed to book a connecting bus to La Ceiba for about 45 minutes after we arrived so we didn’t need to spend too long there. As with all of Honduras there are a lot of armed police and guards. Outside petrol stations you will see men with huge machine guns or shotguns. Whilst unnerving at first, it actually led to us feeling pretty safe. Before boarding the bus to La Ceiba all our hand luggage was checked and our bags scanned with a metal detector. We arrived into La Ceiba around 1.30pm, walked 15 minutes to a bus stop where we could catch a bus to the ferry port. We noticed that on this bus the guy collecting money let vendors on but would keep the door shut preventing any unwanted guests from boarding. Once at the ferry port we had a bit of time before our ferry so we grabbed some rice and beans for lunch. There was free WiFi at the terminal so we did some research about how to get to our hostel and whilst doing this I kept reading that the crossing was notoriously rough. I got a little nervous thinking back to my longtail boat experience in Thailand. However I didn’t expect to be handed a sick bag once we boarded the ferry which really got me worried! Thankfully the crossing was absolutely fine, it was a little bit wavy but I wouldn’t say it was anything out of the ordinary and it definitely didn’t need a sick bag. Arriving into Roatan port we were greeted by two huge cruise ships which were quite the sight – one of them even had a rollercoaster on the top deck! We eventually reached our accommodation at 7pm – a very long day.

The next few days were spent relaxing on different beaches. The first day we stuck close to our hostel but the following days we ventured out to West Bay where there is a coral reef off shore offering snorkelling opportunities. To get there you can take a 5 minute water taxi for $5 per person each way or you can scramble over rocks and beaches for an hour. Obviously we decided to scramble over rocks (it saved us $40 over the two days!).

There was a large school of fish very close to the beach that just surrounded us when we waded into the sea, they got so close to us and one even nipped us both! The next day we hired snorkelling equipment and swam out to the reef. We saw lots of beautiful fish, including plenty of parrot fish and a fish that was shaped like a triangle! At a few points the coral finishes and you’re left with a very deep patch of ocean going down to the sea bed, here the water is so clear and so blue and it was just stunning to see.

We were heading to Copan Ruinas next and it looked like a long journey involving a few buses so we got in touch with my new best friends, Big Foot, again to arrange a shuttle from La Ceiba to Copan Ruinas. They offered one at 2pm and our ferry was due to arrive at 12.30pm so it all worked ok. Only the afternoon before we were due to leave I got an email to say that they’d cancelled our ferry and we now had to get the 6.30am one! This meant leaving our hostel at 5am to get to the port on time. We also had to hang around for 6 hours! The ferry over to La Ceiba was a good journey but again we were handed sick bags, I did notice it more on this journey but was fine as long as I kept my eye on the horizon! We disembarked at 8am and hung around the port for an hour using the free WiFi. We then got a bus to the meeting point of Wendy’s. We didn’t want to spend 5 hours there though so we went to small nearby cafe where we nursed a couple of cups of coffee and a slice of cake. We then moved to Pizza Hut when we got a text saying that the shuttle would pick us up an hour earlier- result! When it arrived we couldn’t believe it when it was just the two of us again! Having the space to spread out definitely makes these long journeys easier.

Copan Ruinas was our last stop in Honduras and the sole reason to visit was for the Mayan ruins. We arrived just after opening at 8am and we had the place to ourselves for about 90 minutes. The ruins are known for their hieroglyphic staircase which is really impressive but under a canopy now so you’re not able to get the full impression of it. There are also many Stelas which are statues of the leaders in days gone by. The leaders all have absolutely ridiculous names such as Waterlily Jaguar and Smoke Monkey which really made us laugh.

Near to the ruins is a bird rehabilitation centre and once the birds are recovered their food is supplemented at the ruins meaning that you get lots of scarlet macaws in the ground who nest in the bird houses and feed in the grounds. They are such colourful, beautiful birds but the thing that astonished us the most was how big they are!

Overall we really enjoyed our time in Honduras and felt really safe there. With public transport being a bit of a pain we can see why people avoid it but we’re glad that we didn’t.

March 30, 2024 0

Nicaragua – volcanoes, islands and colonial highlands

Crossing from Costa Rica to Nicaragua was our first independent border crossing for a while and it was a mighty travel day. Our first bus left La Fortuna at 6am to take us 8km to El Tanque, there we had to wait over an hour for our bus to the border, Penas Blancas. The bus was supposed to be direct but after two hours we were told to change buses. The next bus was extremely crowded but as we’d been on the previous bus we were allowed to board first, ensuring our seat. We reached the border and we’d paid our exit tax for Costa Rica online so we were able to get across the border on foot pretty quickly. From the Nicaraguan side we faced catching two buses, or one bus and a taxi to the ferry port, Joey however flexed his expert taxi negotiating skills and got a great price to take us straight to the port at San Jorge. There we had an hour wait for the ferry, then an hour’s ferry ride to the volcanic island of Ometepe.

Our journey wasn’t over yet though as we needed to get to the other side of the island which involved a tuk tuk ride, only about halfway through the clutch went on the tuk tuk so the driver had to call his friend to come and pick us up! All in all in took about 13 hours to make it to our hostel.

Ometepe sits in Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, has two volcanoes and is incredibly scenic; there are banana plantations everywhere and the two volcanoes can be seen from everywhere. We started our day by hiring a scooter and going to do some kayaking on the lake. We spotted lots of birds, all really close to us as well as some small alligators, I wasn’t that keen on getting too close to them but they were cool to see. We scootered around some of the island finishing at a nature reserve where you could take a short hike and a dip in the lake which was a nice way to end the day.

The following day we went to Ojo de agua, we thought these were hot springs but it was actuallly a nice natural swimming pool but definitely not hot! The surroundings were beautiful and it was a pleasant way to spend the hot morning.

The natural swimming pool – it was not the hot spring we were expecting!

From Ometepe we were heading to Granada, we took a taxi to the port again, sharing a taxi with another couple from the UK who were also heading to Granada. We chatted to them on the ferry and then rather than take two buses, Joey negotiated another great rate with a taxi to take the four of us all the way to Granada!

Granada was a beautiful small colonial town, the buildings were colourful and there seemed to be a great atmosphere about the place. It’s super hot when the sun is out but come the evening everyone takes their rocking chairs out onto the pavements, it was amazing to see and we definitely fancy getting a rocking chair now!

We spent a day exploring the churches and a museum before the next day going to a Laguna which used to be a volcano crater! You book a shuttle with a hostel and then have a day pass to the Laguna where you have free access to a kayak as well as tractor tyres inner tubes to bob about on the lake- a very pleasant way to pass the time!

We then headed to Leon and had hoped that the couple we’d met in Ometepe would leave the same day as us so we could share another taxi but they told us the night before that they were going to spend a night in the capital so we were forced to use our first bit of public transport in Nicaragua!

Everyone we’d spoke to and all the blogs we’d read actually rated Leon above Granada, but we didn’t feel it. The small area around the cathedral was nice but overall we much preferred Granada.

The cathedral is the largest in Central America and you can walk on the domed white roof which was stunning, but otherwise we found the city quite dirty and underwhelming. Our hostel didn’t help the situation as our bathroom was separated from the bedroom by a shower curtain, and you had to walk downstairs and along a corridor to switch on a pump to allow you a decent enough water flow to take a shower or indeed flush the toilet!

We went out to a local beach on the pacific coast on a chicken bus which was quite the experience, it was packed to the rafters and had a beach toy vendor on board as well as someone selling pizza slices fresh out of a box! The beach was pleasant but extremely hot, as was the whole of Leon. There was a small shaded area where you could rent a hammock which we did, definitely what I Imagined travelling life to be like – hammocks on a beach!

We were able to catch up with our new friends from Ometepe again, but here our paths divide as we’re taking the less trodden path through Honduras and they’re heading straight to El Salvador where we’re hoping we might cross paths again.

We really enjoyed Nicaragua and appreciated the lower prices. We’re in our final four weeks so it’s now a case of really ensuring that we enjoy this last bit of time travelling and to us that means treating ourselves well, spending a bit more on accommodation and eating out. We can diet when we’re home!

March 21, 2024 0

Costa Rica Costa Lota

We cheated a little bit to get into Costa Rica and opted for a shuttle to whizz us over the border. It was pretty straightforward and the only annoying thing, which is going to become a thing in Central America, was having to pay an exit fee to leave Panama!

We’d heard lots of stories about how strict Costa Rica was for checking proof of onward travel so we went prepared but they barely batted an eyelid at us,

Our first stop was Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast. The town itself seemed a bit run down, it rained a lot every night and our hostel had definitely seen better days. Our room was tucked in the corner of a dorm and the bathroom smelt like sewage. We don’t often complain but I did this time and was told it was a town problem.

We spent some time on the beach enjoying the clear Caribbean sea, but our favourite thing was a short walk through the jungle to another beach. During this walk we saw our first sloth and it was magical. Later that day we saw one further down in the tree and he turned his head to us and it definitely looked as though he was smiling right at us! We also saw howler monkeys, and well, they howl a lot.

We took a bus out to Cahuita national park, where we saw more sloths and most exciting, a raccoon. This little fella was incredibly naughty as he hopped on a table to steal someone’s lunch!

We then headed to the capital San Jose for a couple of days. I was still recovering from my latest bout of a bad stomach and I really wanted some comfort, my own bathroom and no pressure to do anything. San Jose definitely answered its calling and all we did was a quick walk around. Our favourite thing was watching some pigeons take a shower in the fountains.

We then headed down to Manuel Antonio, said to be Costa Rica’s most popular national park. We had to book tickets online and I could only get a 10am slot, but that turned out to be just fine. There are beaches inside and outside the park so we spent one day at a beach outside the park and the next day in the park. There are several trails you can do and you can hire a guide to help you spot wildlife, this isn’t something that we did and we still managed to spot plenty of things, including a sloth and her baby! We saw three different types of monkeys, including some very naughty white faced capuchins. They were in a tree on a beach and all of a sudden made a beeline for our bag, and the side pocket. They took out the cover of our beach towel and threw it on the ground and I realised that there was a bottle of hand sanitizer in the pocket. What is it with monkeys and hand sanitizer? Were we about to get mugged by a monkey again?! Thankfully he then spotted a carton of coconut water elsewhere and left us to it! We would highly recommend Manuel Antonio to anyone in Costa Rica, you’re not allowed to take any food in with you and there is a cafe area within the park for you to eat and this time it’s humans who are in the cage!

From Manuel Antonio we were heading all the way to Monteverde, a mammoth journey, we had to take one bus from our hostel to Quepos, from there another bus to Puntaarenas and there we waited for 4 hours for our connecting bus. We found a cafe and they didn’t mind us camping out for the 4 hours. We enjoyed coffee, juice, lunch and a massive traditional ice cream called a Churchill. Whilst we were waiting at Quepos two red parrots flew over our heads which was amazing to see.

Monteverde is another cloud forest. If you don’t know, a cloud forest is a rainforest but at higher altitude. We went straight to the tourist information to book a couple of tours and then on their recommendation headed to a viewpoint just outside of town to watch sunset. The sunset wasn’t anything to write home about but the surrounding views of the hills and forests were magnificent.

The following day we got up early to catch a bus to the Monteverde Cloud Forest and take part in a bird watching tour. We were in a small group of 4 and our guide was very knowledgeable, spotting straightaway the elusive resplendent quetzal bird that everyone wants to see. We were very lucky and spotted a few that day so we were able to see it in flight and resting in the tree. The male’s long tail feathers were quite magnificent. Joey was on photography duty as usual, saw something move, snapped it, showed our guide who was so impressed that he’d managed to spot a Toucanet before him! We spotted various other birds including a black faced solitaire whose song sounds like a rusty gate, it was beautiful! We also saw a hummingbird in a nest which was amazing to see.

After our tour finished we headed back into the forest to complete a few more trails and saw a large family of coatis. We also headed to the continental divide, we couldn’t see much due to cloud cover but what was interesting was the difference in temperature only a few metres apart. On your left side you have the cool of the Caribbean and then on your right side you can feel the humidity of the Pacific.

That evening the wind really started to pick up and then the rain started, it didn’t really stop the next day and it meant that we couldn’t do anything we wanted. We’d planned to visit the Santa Elena cloud forest but it was far too windy for that. Then we tried to walk to another rainforest and had to turn around as conditions were so bad. We had booked a night jungle walk but didn’t see much as it was so wet and windy. We saw a few birds, a rabbit, a tarantula, a tiny toad and I spotted a salamander. Our guide was way ahead of us when we called him back and he told us it was really rare to see one so I was very pleased with my spot! I think maybe Joey and I should become wildlife guides?

From Monteverde we took the Jeep-boat-Jeep option to La Fortuna. It’s not a jeep anymore, just a shuttle van on bumpy roads to the lake, a boat and then another shuttle. It was quite picturesque and we saw a beautiful rainbow en route. We enjoyed the trip over the lake, it felt like a sightseeing activity rather than a travel day!

The weather didn’t show much sign of improving in La Fortuna, we had two solid days of rain upon arrival and just spent the time sheltering in our room! We booked a tour for our last day as the forecast looked the least worst! Thankfully the day stayed dry. We started off the day at La Fortuna waterfall. You have to climb 500 steps to the base of the waterfall and then climb back up those 500 steps but it was worth it. Having been to Iguazu Falls in 2015 it takes a lot for a waterfall to impress us, and I’m happy to say that La Fortuna impressed us. The jungle setting really made it.

From there we headed to Arenal volcano which was active between 1968 and 2010. We hiked through jungle here to reach the base. We never saw the top of the volcano as it was cloudy but we saw maybe 90% of it. En route we saw a turtle which was super cute, especially when he took a little tumble down the hill! After this we headed to the hanging bridges – a set of 6 suspension bridges in the jungle. After my experience with the suspension bridge in Taiwan you may be wondering why I thought this would be a good idea! Well, in the Monteverde cloud forest there was one hanging bridge and I crossed it without too much thought so I thought I’d push myself out my comfort zone and do these. It was a lovely walk through the jungle, the first bridge was one of the highest and probably the scariest for me, but as time went on I grew more confident until I was practically skipping along the final one. We saw a few bits of wildlife along the way including two sleeping owls.

Our last port of call for the day was a hot river. Not a hot spring but a river! It was quite shallow but hot so a very nice way to finish. It was just the getting out and dressed again that was the hardest part!

It was a lovely way to spend our last day in Costa Rica, we really enjoyed the country and all the amazing wildlife it offered. I would have liked to visit a couple of other national parks but for one reason or another we couldn’t, so maybe we’ll revisit st another point to do those!

So was Costa Rica as expensive as everyone had told us? Yes, I dubbed it Costa Rica Costa Lota. I would say that prices were similar to UK prices, we didn’t eat out much at all, we cooked for ourselves and groceries were expensive! A small (200g) bag of pasta cost £1 and we properly eked out our toothpaste to avoid paying $6 for a tube! However we did manage to stay within our overall budget, buses weren’t too expensive, we didn’t drink alcohol and whilst we splashed on accommodation, to get a private bathroom after Puerto Viejo it was manageable by being mindful.

March 17, 2024 2

Panama: one canal, two hats and three islands

As I mentioned in my last blog we had to cut short this leg so we flew from Buenos Aires up to Panama City. We stayed in the old city and spent a day exploring that part. There were several churches, including St Joseph’s, whose most famous story involves the gold covered baroque altar. Legend has it that when the pirate Henry Morgan ransacked Panama City the priest painted the altar black to disguise it, told Morgan that it had already been stolen and persuaded Morgan to make a donation to replace it. Morgan is then famously said to have said: ‘I don’t know but I think you’re more of a pirate than I am’.

Whilst the altar is beautiful, the most astonishing thing about the church was the incredible nativity scene that it hosts in the back of the church. It was huge and had so many different scenes and figures. We were breathtaken with just how much detail had gone into it. There were 17 different scenes from Mary visiting Elizabeth, to Joseph’s dream, to the shepherds and the annunciation in the temple. It was astonishing just how much effort had gone into putting it together and we enjoyed going back a second time to appreciate it again.

The nativity scene in St Joseph’s Church

Whilst we were in Panama City Joey couldn’t resist buying. Panama hat. I didn’t know that these hats were actually made in Ecuador, but were made famous by the gold rush, when the miners wore them when they traveled overland to Panama. Joey looked so good in his I had to run out the next day to buy one for myself!

The following day we went out to see the Panama Canal. We timed our visit for the afternoon so we could see the ships crossing. They cross one direction in the morning and the other in the afternoon. It was difficult to find accurate times online so we had to take a bit of a guess when we arrived. As it happened we were waiting for a while, mainly as the ships were late arriving! The exhibition halls were shut which was a shame but there was still information available and a bilingual commentator gave various facts and figures during the afternoon. Firstly three sailing yachts passed through, tethered together followed by a large container ship which only had two feet of space either side. Vessels that sail through the canal are piloted through the canal by specialist canal pilots. It was fascinating to see them open the locks and to see the ships fall with the water levels. It’s a slow process but very enjoyable. There’s an imax cinema on site as well where you can watch a film about the history of the canal narrated by Morgan Freeman. The canal was a definite highlight, but only because we got to see some ships navigate their way through. It would have been nice to see if there hadn’t been any ships but that definitely added to it!

From Panama City we headed up to the Cloud Forest and to Boquete. It took all day to get there but it went pretty smoothly. We had booked a hostel but were staying in a tent, the tent itself was comfy with actual mattresses inside to aid a good night’s sleep! The rest of the guests contained some characters, including a European couple, of which the male half smelt as though he’d never seen a bar of soap in his life! This led to some other guests complaining and a very heated row with the owner in the kitchen! They then left the hostel in a huff, at 10pm, but before they left they ensured that they pushed the button lock on the bathroom closed so that no one could use the bathroom. It was quite the act of pettiness that was still making us laugh days later. I have so many unanswered questions about this couple – they had their own tiny tent, how was she able to stand the smell? Where did they go at 10pm? So much to unpack!

During our time in Boquete we did the Pianist hike, a hike that steadily climbs through the cloud forest to the top of the mountain. It was picturesque at the start as we meandered through rolling pastures beside a stream. Then we entered the forest and the cloud descended and it felt as though we were in the cloud as we cut through gorges and climbed our way through masses of mud, slipping and sliding as we went. We eventually reached the top, not before reaching the biggest patch of mud and me having the biggest tantrum as I became very acquainted with it.

Once we reached the top there wasn’t a lot to see in the cloud, the only thing actually marking the top was a cross dedicated to two Dutch girls who went missing and died on the trail in 2014. Their deaths remain a mystery and since we hiked the same trail we’ve started listening to a podcast about it and are both in agreement that we’re not sure we would have done it if we’d listened to the podcast before going!

One long walk was enough for us so we spent the rest of our time mooching around town. We then headed over to the Caribbean side, to a place called Bocas Del Toro. This is an archipelago and you must travel 30 minutes in a speedboat to reach the main island. Obviously I’ve had bad experiences with boats in choppy waters on these travels, but actually I quite enjoyed this sailing! We went so fast I could almost feel the g force against my face. We arrived safely, checked in and then got a water taxi over to another island to go to a beach.

Bocas was a beautiful place, with super clear water, lovely soft sand and beautiful palm trees. Unfortunately for us the only sunny day we had was the day we arrived! The following day was cloudy with heavy rain forecast in the afternoon. We headed out to Wizard beach on Isla Bastimentos, again getting a water taxi followed by a short hike through the jungle. We were super pleased and surprised when the boat driver stopped the boat enroute to pick up litter from the ocean. You don’t get that in a lot of places! We headed back just as it started to drizzle. Once we were back it poured it down and didn’t stop for almost 24 hours. When it eventually did stop we caught a bus out to Starfish beach, a beach famous for, believe it or not, the number of starfish on the beach! It was beautiful to wade into the water and see a large number of them. They are hard to photograph but worth going to see. It surprised us how large they were, just sitting in the sea doing their thing.

Starfish at Starfish beach and beautiful beaches

The following day I woke up sick as a dog. My stomach had been bad since Boquete but this was next level so we took me off to a pharmacist and got me some antibiotics. I’m not usually one for seeking out help for my stomach and generally believe in riding the storm out but this felt like I needed help! I was feeling pretty sorry for myself and spent the day resting.

Panama on the whole was enjoyable, I’m still feeling a little on edge after the bag incident but trying to relax a bit more and go with it. Our next leg is Costa Rica and all I hear from people is how beautiful but expensive it is so I’m nervous and intrigued by that! We backpacked Japan on a budget so I’m sure we can manage Costa Rica.

March 2, 2024 0