San Ignacio: Navigating Sacred Maya Caves

We greeted our arrival in Belize with a wave of relief.  The journey from Flores proved to be quicker, easier and less bumpy than expected (they had paved large chunks of the 25km stretch of gravel road).  The border guards welcomed us in perfect English, inquiring after our plans, wishing us a quick return to health and offering friendly advice. The hostel we checked into in San Ignacio was run by an elderly gentleman with 21 grandchildren, a fascination with birds, and a willingness to take us to any of the numerous Maya ruins in the vicinity, to arrange any other excursions we may wish and even to offer American bought Tums for any indigestion problems we may have.

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Guatemala: Cost Breakdown

Guatemala is one of the cheapest countries in Central America, whether it’d be food, accommodation or even the various sights and tours. Yes, you will pay $20US to get into Tikal, but places like this often cost a lot more to get into. If on a budget, this is definitively a great destination.

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Tikal: An Ancient Maya City

Located deep in the Guatemalan rainforest and spread over nearly 500 square kilometers, Tikal is an impressive sight to see.  It used to be one of the main Maya city states, with a population of over 100,000.  Today, only a small portion has been excavated with the majority of the complex still consisting of green, tree-covered mounds.  It is by far the most impressive Maya site I have seen so far and seemed a bit reminiscent of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, simply based on its size and the fact that it’s spread out throughout the jungle.  However, Maya construction stops a long way short of what the Cambodian did in Angkor Wat.

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Semuc Champey: Cascading Pools

Hard to reach, but incredibly rewarding when you get there, Semuc Champey is a magical place.  It is a 300 meter stretch of a river where a natural limestone bridge consisting of numerous pools has been formed.  Most of the water flows below this bridge, but a decent bit of it fills the pools and offers an amazing place for swimming and chilling.  It was very reminiscent of Plitvice Lake National Park in Croatia, just on a smaller scale and more enjoyable since you could take a dunk in these fantastic pools.

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Bikinis with Legs: Yet Another Random Theft

I guess generally when you think of bikinis you also think of legs – nice long straight legs protruding from them. Yet that is not what I’m referring to here.  Instead I think that the bikini bottoms grew legs and walked away while illuminating their path with my favorite headlamp.

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Los Tumulos: the Obsession with Sleeping Policemen

They come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are fat, others have really protruding bellies.  Some have decayed a bit with age and are crumbling around the edges.  Still others are double-breasted.  A few are quite bright but most tend to be quite grey and blend in with the surrounding.  Central America, and Guatemala especially, seems to be obsessed with sleeping policemen. They appear everywhere, whether it’s on a dirt road or on a highway.  Sometimes they appear from nowhere, other times they prefer to stay in groups and slow your progress every 100 meters.  Their most common characteristic is that they are insanely annoying.

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Chichicastenango: Market Day

Chichi, as this town is affectionately called, turns into a chaotic mass of stalls, goods and people two times per week.  The main square disappears and if you climb onto the stairs of the church, all you will see are the endless tarp or tin roofs of all the stalls.  We were warned that this market, famed as being one of the largest in Central America, is very much a tourist affair.  However, depending on what you want from such an experience, you do not have to leave disappointed.

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Volcano San Pedro

The 3020m high summit of this extinct volcano was our goal on our second day in San Pedro.  The ascent was to start at 6am with a hike up to the entrance to the National Reserve.  However, as Antonio, our elderly guide showed up to pick us up, he recommended taking a tuk-tuk these 4km so that we would at least have some nice views before the rising sun disappeared behind the prevailing clouds.

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Volcano-Ringed Lago de Atitlan

A number of weeks back I described Isla de Ometepe in Nicaragua as a fairytale setting that could easily have played host to either Shrek or Lord of the Rings.  Lago de Atitlan, although completely different in appearance, could easily compete with Ometepe for that distinction.  It is a beautiful lake set amongst gorgeous green mountains and ringed by what seems like an endless number of volcanoes.  Little towns and villages dot its shores, coffee plantations climb the sides of the mountains whose peaks are often covered by clouds.  It is a truly magical setting.

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Antigua: The Chaos of Municipal Markets

One of my favorite activities to do when traveling is to visit the municipal markets.  Not the tourist stands, but rather the place where all the locals go to buy their vegetables, meat, fish, clothes, toiletries and anything else that they might need.  The chaos of these spots is unforgettable.

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Antigua: One of the most picturesque cities of Central America

Antigua is by far one of, if not the, prettiest city I have visited in Central America.  It, like Granada, is a colonial jewel.  However, Granada lacks the setting and the culture that is so abundant in Antigua.  Cobblestoned streets lined with multi-colored colonial buildings are juxtaposed against the gigantic conical shape of Volcano Agua and the traditionally dressed Maya women.  Yes, Antigua is an incredibly touristy city with travel agencies, hostels, and tourist catering restaurants on every street and around every corner.  Yet if you make the effort and take your time you will be able to see past all the gringo stuff and truly appreciate the city for all of its own beauty. 

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Antigua: Roasting marshmallows on Volcano Pacaya

Pacaya used to be a spectacular active volcano with numerous lava flows coming down from its perfect conical crater.  However, since a major eruption in May of 2010 it has lost out on some of its glory.  Not only has the crater lost its idyllic shape, having been blown open on one side, but the lava has also stopped flowing.  That however, does not mean that it is any less deserving of a visit.

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Price Wars: Make Sure you Shop Around

Antigua is probably one of the touristiest places in all of Central America and as a result is chockfull of tourist agencies offering an every kind of possible service.  However, do not assume that two places right next to one another will be offering those services at the same prices.

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Honduras: Cost Breakdown

The daily total in respect to Honduras is quite deceptive and not very accurate if you are planning to visit this country and not dive. Honduras was in fact one of the cheapest countries I've been to in Central America.

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Copan Ruins: Remains of Mayan Grandeur

Once again travel in Honduras proved to be quite the expedition.  I left Utila by the 6:20am ferry and didn’t get into Copan Ruinas until around 6pm.  This included a 1 hour hold up between La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula supposedly because of a teacher’s strike.   With no breakfast and not much for a lunch, I must admit that my first priority upon arriving in Copan was to look for food.

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Utila: Kayaking is painful, in more ways than one

As planned, I decided to hang up my scuba diving gear and swap it out for the kayak and some paddles.  Utila is a relatively small island with two main streets, one intersection and roads only on a small part of the island. Its eastern end has two lagoons, with the second and larger one marking the end of the paved road that leads out of Utila Town. From this lagoon, a narrow canal leads all the way to the northern shore of the island.  This is the destination that I set myself for my little kayaking excursion.

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Utila: Where the Whale Sharks are to Abound

Utila, one of the three Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras, is a scuba diver’s paradise.   The reefs are spectacular and seemingly endless.  The added bonus is supposed to be the nearly daily sightings of whale sharks. 

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Transit Woes

One would think that getting from point A to point B in Central America should not take long.  The distances are short and the bus services are quite regular.  So the logical conclusion is that times should also be short. Unfortunately, this would be a grave misconception. 

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Gracias: The Cobblestoned Town with No Cobblestones

After my bad experiences in El Salvador I needed a change of pace and a small and hassle-free town where I could simply recuperate for a few days.  Gracias seemed to fit this bill perfectly.  The Lonely Planet book describes it as a small, tranquile, cobblestone town that used to be the capital of all Spanish-conquered Central America and where the pace of life along its cobblestone streets rarely moves much faster than walking.  They were right on the last point.  Not much moved faster than walking.  However, the town in no way resembled a former capital, nor were any (?) of its streets cobblestoned (well, maybe two).

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El Salvador: Cost Breakdown

Surprisingly El Salvador was the cheapest destination to date. We did not expect this since our first perusal of accommodations in San Salvador seemed to indicate prices of $75-95 for a triple room. However, if you were to add my two robberies into the calculations, it might prove to be less affordable.

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Snatch-and-Grab: My iPhone Woes

So I traveled with Julita and Paulina for a month without any incidents. They left and within a few hours I was attacked by a machete wielding bandit.  Then I met Colin and Dave; traveled with them for 4.5 days without any further problems; I left them and within 1.5 hours I found myself once again heading to a police station.  Apparently I should not be traveling on my own.

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Lago Coatepeque and Santa Ana: Volcanoes from High and Low

Like Laguna de Apoyo, Lago Coatepeque is an insanely picturesque yet not easily accessible lake.  It is a volcanic caldera and was formed during a series of major explosive eruptions between about 57,000 and 72,000 years ago.  The crater lake now found within this caldera is one of the largest in El Salvador and offers fantastic opportunities for swimming, kayaking and paragliding.

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Tacuba and the Impossible Park

We left Juayua with the intention of spending the night in a neighboring town but Ataco proved not to live up to expectations.  The guys had checked into their hotel and then offered to drive me to my hostel.  What seemed like 20 loops and circles later, in a miserable attempt of following the various Spanish directions we were receiving, we managed to track it down.  However, it turned out that the cheap and highly recommended

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Chicken Buses #2

Were you late getting up and did not have time to have any breakfast?  Did you forget about your nephew’s birthday and are now rushing there empty-handed?  Are you feeling a bit under the weather?  Did you have to stay at work late and now need to head home in the dark? Or maybe you missed your Sunday service?  Well, no worries.  All that you might desire will be provided for you.  Whether it is a cold Fanta, a breakfast snack, a meal comprised of chicken with rice, a kid’s toy, a flashlight, some vitamins and even a 20 minute sermon, all of this can be found on your local chicken bus.

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Juayua: A Gastronomic Highlight

As I’ve mentioned in the earlier post, every weekend Juayua plays hosts to countless visitors, both local and foreign, as it celebrates its acclaimed Fiesta Gastronomica.  It is amazing that something like this would take place all year long, weekend after weekend, as opposed to just for a month or two in high season.  Yet it does, the food seems to be endless, the quality fantastic and the prices super cheap.

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Juayua: A quiet friendly town where you might be able to negotiate with robbers

Juayua is a little peaceful town about 80km out of San Salvador famed for its rambunctious weekend food fair.  It is one of a set of villages on the Ruta de las Floras – a touristic 36km stretch of road dotted with picturesque little towns, beautiful flowers, coffee plantations and fantastic views.  However, because of the food fair, it is popular not only with the foreign tourists but on Saturday’s also becomes a draw for more local visitors. 

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La Libertad and the Beaches of El Salvador

With nothing to do in the city and the stifling heat, we decided to spend Julita’s and Paulina’s last day in a more relaxed setting.  3 buses and 2.5 hours later we made it to Playa El Tunco, a highly acclaimed surf beach in El Salvador.

Whether it deserved this highly acclaimed status I do not know since I do not surf.  Overall the beach was nothing exceptional but it did serve our purpose. We swam in the warm Pacific Ocean, avoided the massive waves as much as possible, sprinted across the scalding sand to our sun chairs, and had strawberry smoothies and lobsters.

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San Salvador: People Packing Heat

A few weeks ago upon finding out that my friend’s boyfriend was from El Salvador, I asked for recommendations of places to see and things to do in this country.  The response I received was a recommendation not to go there.  This seems to be the prevailing sentiment and many of the backpackers I had met along the way had opted to skip El Salvador.  I tend not to be deterred by such options and consider that with a bit of caution, awareness and with the avoidance of any unnecessary risks a country that is not at war or under revolt should not be skipped simply because people claim it not to be safe.

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Nicaragua: Cost Breakdown

Nicaragua proved to be incredibly inexpensive. Transportation cost next to nothing, as did accommodations. The food was also relatively cheap even though we ate out virtually every one of our meals.

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Off to El Salvador. No Scratch that. Off to Tegucigalpa, Honduras

When you realize that you have a choice between 10 – 14 hours spent in transit on 6 – 8 different buses/taxis, or 4 – 5 hours spent on 3 – 5 buses/taxis, the decision becomes much easier.  Our original plans were to head from Somoto to the border with Honduras ½ hour’s drive from town.  From there we wanted to catch a bus

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Somoto: A pleasant swim through a Canyon

Our main motive for visiting Somoto was to explore the newly discovered (2003) and renowned Nicaraguan canyon.  We hired a guide for the day and with an early start endeavoured to explore the entire length of the canyon from water level as well as from up above.

Julita decided that wading and swimming down the Rio Coco was not her thing and chose to stay behind.  So Paulina and I, along with another French backpacker set out at 7am and began

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