Two Beers and a Pretzel

Well, it’s raining in San Jose today, and I’ve been trying to take care of some business and couldn’t catch the bus to the volcano, but I’ll be going tomorrow morning.

After dragging 2 Digital SLR’s around for two weeks, I had only used them once.  However, I’ve used the little waterproof Olympus constantly… so, I’ve shipped all the bulky and expensive camera gear back home.  Whether it makes it there is another matter, but it is insured.

Copan Ruins in infra-red

The biggest lemon I’ve ever seen.  I found it on the hike in Copan…  never saw the tree, but we were on a steep hill, so it must have rolled down from somewhere.

The border in Nicaragua.  An impromptu market and a lot of people giving you a horrible exchange rate between Cordobas and Colones.  That’s a constant at any crossing.  When I crossed from Honduras into Nicaragua, they were offering 70 Cordobas for 100 Lempiras (appx $5.29) while the correct exchange rate was 95 for 100.

And then Costa Rica…  everyone had to open their bags for a very brief inspection.  This was slightly more modern with a convenience store integrated with the immigration office.

I woke up at 5 AM in Managua to the reassuring sound of gunfire.  My best guess is that a semi-automatic, shotgun, and a 45 were all involved.  Upon leaving the hostel, I asked the doorman if it was safe, and he told me it was OK because the guns were 3 or 4 blocks away.  Needless to say, I ran for the one block to the bus station.  Thankfully, without incident.

The bus left at 6 am.  About an hour later we make a stop somewhere in Nicaragua to pickup more passenger and Vicky got on.  It was nice to have someone to talk to because the trip did not end until 5 pm.  About 2 hours were whittled away at the border.  45 minutes at the Nicaragua exit point, and an hour and a half to get into Costa Rica.

Once you´re in, it´s very easy to see that you just came from the 2nd poorest Central American country into one of the richest.  San Jose might as well be Cincinnati with palm trees (albeit a bit larger).

I´ve seen one Chevy truck in 2 weeks – near the place I ate last night.  That´s it for american vehicles.  Everything down here is Toyota and Nissan.  In fact, the indiginous village back in Copan has a few buildings that were donated by the Japanese.  I´m not sure if it was government or charities, but a definate presence that no other country appeared to have.

I´m staying at the Hostel Toruma in San Jose.  For $35, its ás nice as your average Courtyard by Marriot.  The building is an old mansion that used to belong to the Costa Rican president.  These guys are part of a Hostel network, so they have some of the nicest places all over Costa Rica.  They have one in Arenal – right near the volcano.  They say you can sit in the hot springs and mud baths after dark and watch the volcano erupt while drinking a mixer…  That sounds like a plan to me!

I have pics from the border crossing, but I can´t get the wifi here to give my laptop a valid IP address.  I´m on PC´s without USB ports, so no pics today.

Perhaps the areas around the TICA bus stations are not the best neighborhoods…  After Roatan and Copan, these two capital cities make me want to go to East LA, or the South side of Chicago.

To catch everybody up…  I ended up skipping Tanya’s, as that looked like waaay too much food, and Jesse invited me to his buddy’s place for dinner.  With a change to party with the local crew of gringos, I went for it. Denny runs an internet company in Copan, and was a generous host, allowing me to Skype with my family for the better part of an hour.  After dinner we went to the Red Frog bar and met the owner, Dan and another traveller, Tom (who is a guide in Yosemite).

Dan got us good and drunk.  His signature mixed drink is the “Dirty Dan”.  Tastes like koolaid, must be 151 from the way I felt on Friday.  Then a drink called the “Uterus”…  Tom owes me a picture – you won’t believe what it looks like.

So I was sick all day Friday.  Caught the Saturday bus to San Pedro, and then to Tegus.  Today I took a bus to Managua.

I may elaborate later, but let’s just say these are not the best places I’ve ever been on vacation…

Guys at the bus stop follow you to a hotel, follow you to an ATM, and then as you to pay for the “security” they provided, as well as try to fleece you for 2x the price on the room (I assume they got a commission).

Anyway, 6am bus to Costa Rica tomorrow, and no new pics from the bus rides, so I’ll post again when I get to San Jose…

Wow, what a day…  I relaxed all day yesterday, as the horseback riding tour didn‘t work out.  I ended up booking a hiking tour for today.  My guide, Jesse, was from West Virginia.  We hiked in the hills of copan for about 6 hours total.

I ate termites!!!  They taste like citrus and pepper.

We then found a Mayan site associated with fertility where women from important families went to give birth.  We both sat in the “chair” and it was very comfortable.  I just couldn’t imagine taking a 9 month pregnant wife up there…  “Hey honey, come on, it’s just a 2 mile uphill hike to give birth on a rock shaped like a giant frog!  The Joneses did it!”   Jesse did a birthing demo:

From there, we hiked up to a waterfall with three different falls, a pool to jump into, and a part that goes thru a cave.

Finally, we ate lunch at an indigenous village.  The little kids from 3-12 years old sold me some “corn dolls”, and we ate freshly made corn tortillas, (yum) fried bananas, and chicken with rice, as well as the non-native Coca Cola.  What we didn’t finish was devoured by the kids.

I asked Jessie how the little girls could be so cute up until their late teens but seriously downhill from there quickly.  He said most girls start having babies at 14-15, and usually have 8 kids in their life.  They don’t have traditional families (even though they are mostly Catholic), and the boys/men have no obligation to support a specific woman.  In fact, even though a boy may father many children by many different girls, he will still live with his mother until he decides to get married – because men do not clean, cook, or do laundry.  What the men do is tend the crops and grow food for the whole village.

Well, I’m off to Twisted Tanya’s Thanksgiving Celebration…  Yes, there’s turkey and stuffing in Honduras!!!

Tomorrow I’m catching a bus to San Pedro, then an early bus on Saturday to Tegucigalpa and on to Managua, Nicaragua.  Then another Early bus toSan Jose, Costa Rica.  The flight was about $500-750 for a one way ticket.  The bus trip is about $100 one way on luxury coaches and continues on to Panama City whenever I want to go there.  I can chill for a few days reading on a bus to save $400.  Plus, I’ll spend the night in Nicaragua, so that will count as another country visited.

The only bummer is that the “windy” season is coming up, so I may not get to take a sailboat to Cartegena…  I may re-route from Panama City to Rio, and see Uncle Jimmy for Christmas in Brazil.  Then make my way thru Argentina, Chile, Peru, and bac

Last night I ended up at Twisted Tanya’s, having the backpacker special dinner – which was waaaaay too much food for one person.  Tanya is a UK citizen who spent many years backpacking and eventually opened a bar, coffee shop, and tour company  in Copan.  She’s a blast to hang out with.

When I got home, I realized a few things…  America’s Top Model is even worse in Espanol, and Jean Claude VanDam movies are slightly better.  This was the first clear night, and I can really tell that the stars are not where I’m used to seeing them.  Constellations at 45 degrees in Ohio appear very high in the sky here.  Tarus is nearly straight up, and I cannot see the big dipper.  The town was kinda loud last night.  Some really freaky animal screams and firecrackers.  I tried to go to the top floor and photograph the stars, but it got cloudy.

Tuesday, Nov 25

I woke up a little late today – sore from trekking 10 miles.

The Central Park in Copan

Went back to Tonya’s and booked a zip line tour thru the jungle for $35.  Took a 3 wheel cab about 2.5 Kilometers for $1

The zip line was a blast – especially the single 1K run over the valley.  You could see the town and the Mayan ruins while flying thru the trees.

One of the runs was 1 kilometer…

Then I went to the Macaw Mountain (www.macawmountain.com) refuge for rescued birds.  Very cool.  It was like going to a conservatory and aviary back in Ohio, except everything was out in nature.  Lots of Macaws (green, blue/yellow, and of course, scarlet), as well as toucans and parakeets.  A few hawks and owls thrown in for good measure.

This place also grows and roasts their own fresh coffee.  I’d never had a hot brew that was just  picked half an hour ago.   This beats Starbucks, McD’s, and Ducan Donuts hands down.