tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26702952897983868082024-03-12T20:31:26.330-06:00Travelling Central AmericaWe've taken 3 months off to travel through Central America. Our trip started in December 2013 in Yucatan, Mexico, and leads us to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica before ending with a blast: Carnival in Trinidad! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-7758674111261085292014-03-19T16:02:00.002-06:002014-09-23T06:36:44.363-06:00Back to reality<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We are back in the Netherlands for a week!
And things are already starting to get back to normal..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Our 3-month trip has been amazing. Travelling allowed us to experience that materialism is not the source of happiness, we experienced the warm welcome from family and friends of our friends (mi casa es
tu casa), we saw how the environment is being destroyed in rapid pace (most countries)
yet also kept clean and beautiful (Costa Rica). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">From corruption, to high crime and
poverty rates: this area of the world has a lot to suffer. Yet, you can see lots
of hope and courage in their people. Many environmentally friendly and green
energy initiatives are starting up everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We brought home better Spanish and an Open
water diving certificate, a new playlist in Spotify called “Trinidad Carnival -
Soca Music 2014” and an ambition to keep on kiteboarding... And travelling!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Last but definitely not least, we would
like to thank Alvaro, Mario and Ayisha </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">and their
families and friends </span><span style="font-size: large;">for the great hospitality</span><span style="font-size: large;">. The welcome and friendliness has been amazing in their home
countries.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the last blog of our trip. Thanks
for reading and following us!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Some
interesting figures from our 3 months:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>No. of country visited</i>: 8 (Mexico, Belize for ½ day - transit only,
Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Curacao, Trinidad&Tobago)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>No. of volcanoes climbed</i>: 3 (<a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/01/guatemalan-adventures-part-3-volcanoes.html" target="_blank">2 in Guatemala</a>
and <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/01/after-issues-at-nicaraguan-border-and.html" target="_blank">1 in Costa Rica</a>)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hottest Place: </i>Quepos in Costa Rica<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Coldest Place: </i>Monteverde in Costa Rica<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Highest Point: </i>Quetzal Trail in
Panama (2500m)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Southest Point</i>: David, Panama<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Best experience</i>: swimming
through natural pools in gorgeous <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2013/12/guatemalan-adventures-part-2.html" target="_blank">Semuc Champey, Guatemala</a> (see picture above :) ) </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The worst experience</i>: being <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/01/entry-denied.html" target="_blank">rejected to enter Nicaragua</a> while having the proper visa<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Best Hotel: </i>Quinta de Las
Flores in Antigua, Guatemala<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Biggest rip off</i>: a shitty hotel in
Puerto San Jose, Guatemala (they charged us EUR 60 during a holiday weekend,
while it normally costs EUR 10). Luckily a free <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2013/12/steve-aoki.html" target="_blank">Steve Aoki concert </a>made up for it :)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Best city</i>: <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/01/feliz-ano-nuevo.html" target="_blank">Antigua, Guatemala</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Worst city:</i> La Ceiba, Honduras</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Best Party</i>: a tie between <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/03/big-people-party-trinidad-carnival.html" target="_blank">Carnival in Trinidad</a> and the <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/01/hablo-espanol.html" target="_blank">Hardwell concert</a> in Guatemala City<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Favorite drink</i>: For Kendy – Mango Batido;
for Daniel: Angostura – rum from Trinidad.. and of course the <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/02/time-for-coffee.html" target="_blank">coffee</a>!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Best meal: </i>Grilled self-caught fish in Progreso,
Mexico<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Coolest animals we've seen: </i>hard to make a selection between... Tapir,
Agouti, Coati, Peccary, Sloth, Howler monkey, Squirrel monkey, Spider monkey, White-faced monkey, Toucan, Quetzal, Scarlet Macaw, Humming Bird, crazy colored Frogs, Crocodile, Iguana, Snake, Turtle, lots of coral fishes... Too many!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comAmsterdam, The Netherlands52.3702157 4.895167899999933152.2151142 4.5724443999999327 52.5253172 5.2178913999999335tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-9275797491428152772014-03-05T19:19:00.003-06:002014-03-05T19:23:02.252-06:00Big People Party!! @ Trinidad Carnival<span style="font-size: large;">On the last lap of our trip we celebrated one of the world's biggest festivals in Trinidad & Tobago. Carnival is a huge thing on this side of the world, celebrated on nearly every Caribbean island and in many Latin countries, and Trinidad is always listed as one of the top destinations to celebrate it. So when our friends Ayisha & Mirthe told us they would go here to celebrate it this year, we decided to take a detour from Central America and join them :) </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Colorful for sure!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After arriving on Thursday evening, we had the Friday to ourselves in a house that we shared with 5 other friends of friends: Ana from Portugal and James, Abid, Coleman and Andy from US. The house was nice with a shared pool, but we quickly learned that outside Carnival, there's not much to do in Trinidad. We were warned about safety issues, especially for women; even taking a taxi was not recommended.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Saturday, we went to a '<i>Fete</i>': an outdoor party with <i>Soca music</i>. These <i>Fetes</i> are fantastic all-inclusive parties that serve unlimited alcohol and food and are organized between January 1 and carnival, to warm up the people for what's coming. We quickly learned that two of the main Soca carnival songs of the year were <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHz3562HwOU" target="_blank">Big people party</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFZP8ZMwGeM" target="_blank">Forget about it</a></i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Sunday, we chilled at a beach (Maracas Bay) and had the local dish <i>Bake&Shark </i>which is shark meat on a piece of bread with some salad. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">MUD ME!!!!</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Then on Monday, it all started. We woke up at 3am and headed to the capital Port of Spain to attend <i>j'ouvert</i>, which is a French term for 'day opening'. This 4-hour parade is the first parade of the 2-day festival. It started at 4am till the sun rise.The tradition in this parade is to cover yourself and people around you in paint and mud and dancing with soca music. After j'ouvert, everyone goes home and wash it off and the shower is also part of the fun. A few hours later people went back to the city for the next parade :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>After </b><i style="text-align: start;"><b>j'ouvert</b></i><b> </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Coleman, James, Abid, Andy and Daniel - in full paint</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After washing ourselves at home, taking a much needed nap and a coffee, we headed back to the city. Our friends also attended the carnival parade (Trinidad term: play mas) on Monday afternoon and Tuesday full day (you better be in a very good shape when you get here) but we were happy to just chill and walk around on the streets full of partying people. It was amazing to see all the colors, dancing&wining and countless trucks with loud <i>Soca </i>music coming by! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And a video at night to show how crazy the crowd goes:</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-77828509519875120202014-03-01T08:52:00.000-06:002014-03-01T09:11:14.348-06:00From the 3rd world to the 1st world in an hour<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">On our way to Trinidad & Tobago, where we were going to celebrate Carnaval, we made a 2-night stopover in Curacao. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">What a change! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We almost got used to the chaos of giant holes in the road,
cold water showers and extremely loud traffic. But in Curacao, although only an hour from Central America, it's a completely different story: the roads
are in perfect condition; there are female bus drivers; everything in our
bathroom was working and you can flush the toilet paper; the paint
jobs on the houses are picturesque; and no more street dogs walking and barking
around. Its Dutch influence was very clear, from the blue road signs to stores that
close at 18:00 sharp. If you walk around at night, you might think you’re in a quiet Dutch town on a hot summer night.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">During our 2½ days here ,we went for a nice dive with a guy who set up a dive
shop with his twin brother, called twin divers. The bay we went diving was
called “Directors’ bay”, the name is because the queen has swim there before.
The most amazing part of the dive is we saw hundreds of blue fish swimming
around us. After the dive, we visited some beaches, walked around and had a delicious
kroket on the street </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: large;">J</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-24287468703843688312014-02-28T10:14:00.000-06:002014-03-01T08:53:00.096-06:00Corcovado Park<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Our final
stop in Central America was the Corcovado National Park on Costa Rica’s Pacific
coast. This area is much more difficult to get to as compared to other parks:
from north Panama, we had to take 4 buses (and in between pass another horrible
border), a taxi and a boat to get there, which took us 12 hours all together. This
included a “1-hour” wait for a boat ride, which turned into 2 hours and in the
end was nearly 4 hours.. (for everyone that plans on visiting central America,
here is the bus- and boat schedule for the entire continent: <i>it leaves when it
leaves.</i>) The wait wasn't that bad though - we sat in a restaurant overlooking a river
with crocodiles! The boat ride was also an adventure, first going through the
crocodile area, then a huge mangrove area to finish on the choppy ocean with
crazy surf.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Because of
its remoteness, Corcovado park is more natural and untouched, and full of
animals which are considered endangered species. We took a tour to this park,
which started at 6 in the morning so you can visit during the active period of
animals (when they wake up and catch some breakfast). The highlight of our
visit was seeing 3 tapirs*, a highly endangered specie which looks like a combination between a
small elephant, a huge pig and a horse, with the nose of an ant eater. We also
ran into a peccary family, lots of monkeys (squirrel monkeys*, howler monkeys*
and spider monkeys), a crocodile and many exotic birds (scarlet macaw, toucan, trogon, tanager, wild turkey, hawk) during our visit. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><i>*endangered species</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Apart from the tour in the park, we did the 'beach hike' which took us to many small and empty beaches, rented kayaks for a few hours and enjoyed our final moments in Costa Rica. This country has been beautiful. Although it's lacking any culture and we thought it was a bit too touristy and very expensive, it was great to see how this country - unlike its Central American neighbors - takes extremely good care of the amazing nature and environment. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">We will miss the sounds of exotic birds and monkeys everywhere around us all day!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Getting on and off the boat was a fun start.. reminded us of Wadlopen :)</b></span></span></div>
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<b>Scarlet Macaw</b></div>
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<b>Baird's Tapir</b> - this one was 2m long and more then 1m high!</div>
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<b>Just chillin', waiting for people to fall out of the boat</b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>To get anywhere, get through the mangroves!</b></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-54763419362306878112014-02-23T07:24:00.000-06:002014-02-23T07:24:25.915-06:00Time for Coffee<span style="font-size: large;">One thing Central America is famous for, is its coffee! Many coffee bars in the Western world sell coffee or beans from Guatemala, El Salvador or Costa Rica.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a coffee lover, one thing on my list was visiting a coffee farm to know where it originally comes from and how it ends up in my cup :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Antigua, Guatemala, we visited a farm, where we learned about the full process: from picking the 'fruits' on the coffee plants, to the peeling and drying and export of the beans. Thanks to the homegrown coffee, Central America is full of nice coffee shops and cheap or free coffee can be found everywhere. We wanted to visit another farm in Costa Rica but that was insanely expensive and touristy, so we skipped that option.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Yes.. our coffee comes from these plants!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hand-picked :)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WWtnF60EjM8bxNCgTbFLdusOpB2f-FfK72Ct-lLDK_jznULQ9GTmQSs39yBcMRkrj3_y6BwXCM0t1HQvr3-5_xZwcKtrJRmjh2auuDOrqQcadurVx80WJOTeNreLSj6EZCKhpDv4SSM/s1600/2-IMAG2409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4WWtnF60EjM8bxNCgTbFLdusOpB2f-FfK72Ct-lLDK_jznULQ9GTmQSs39yBcMRkrj3_y6BwXCM0t1HQvr3-5_xZwcKtrJRmjh2auuDOrqQcadurVx80WJOTeNreLSj6EZCKhpDv4SSM/s1600/2-IMAG2409.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Drying of coffee beans - I just want to jump in</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The coffee got us HYPED UP!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>In Costa Rica we found this coffee shop with coffee plants in their frontyard!</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comAntigua Guatemala, Guatemala14.553405 -90.73525514.491931 -90.815936 14.614879 -90.654574tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-1358700228382403662014-02-19T22:00:00.005-06:002014-02-19T22:03:54.616-06:00Panama<span style="font-size: large;">Last week we were so far south in Costa Rica, plus we had some time left before our flight to Curacao on 25 February, so we decided to check out Panama for a few days!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">From the border we took chicken buses and a boat to Bocas del Torro, an island group in the Caribbean. We stayed 5 nights on the main island in a Dutch-owned hotel, Casa Max, where lots of other Dutch people stayed at.. warming us up for Curacao, probably! So the only thing we could do on the first day was rent a bicycle to check out the island.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the second day we took a boat and deep-boarding/snorkeling tour to island Zapatilla, which is a small paradise:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkX35fS8YbOfeApMOzpIBoPOQcg6kCxbMWZEy6C7_qpueLkEnFqLriSOWtY2tN-ya5vFLKZVfgCx5GcEZ14GwNoChBaJZNj9y4PUJdrZ0idviW3WLHkClp_wL8k8lTgFXk-GUVJa06qjo/s1600/4-IMG_1473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkX35fS8YbOfeApMOzpIBoPOQcg6kCxbMWZEy6C7_qpueLkEnFqLriSOWtY2tN-ya5vFLKZVfgCx5GcEZ14GwNoChBaJZNj9y4PUJdrZ0idviW3WLHkClp_wL8k8lTgFXk-GUVJa06qjo/s1600/4-IMG_1473.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Deepboarding is basically snorkeling except that a boat drags you - 10 meter behind the boat, you hang on to a rope. It's a fun way to experience the sealife at a fast pace. But the main attraction was the perfect combination of gorgeous beaches, clear water and palm trees on this island... and all of that on <b><span style="color: red;">Valentine's Day</span></b> !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the third day we rented an ATV and toured around the island. This was one of Daniel's favorite things to do, and for Kendy as passenger, let's just say it was a bumpy ride!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After all these beaches we decided to go to Boquete, a mountainous area in Panama, which also appears to be the only region which is not super-hot. Boquete lies near Baru (Panama's only volcano) and has many trails. We walked the 3-waterfall trail on the first day.. through a rainy rainforest. On day 2 we walked the Quetzal trail, which was a nice but pretty tough 5-hour walk. We met a nice English couple in the bus on the way, who we shared a taxi with and ended up walking the full trail together. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Peaceful town of Boquete</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>One of the waterfalls on the 3-waterfall trail</b> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">View from the Quetzal trail</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Relieved after the long hike!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We will return to Costa Rica via the Pacific border tomorrow (we left on the Caribbean side last week) and visit one more park, Corcovado, before we have to say goodbye to Central America and fly to Curacao.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comBoquete, Panama8.774566 -82.4319990000000198.649016 -82.593360500000017 8.900116 -82.270637500000021tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-65976524136605162732014-02-12T21:45:00.000-06:002014-02-18T20:04:20.153-06:00Borders and Chicken Buses<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the most interesting and at times funny, but mostly disturbing and annoying thing that any traveler in Central America has to deal with, are borders. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Four of the 8 countries in Central America have created a <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America-4_Border_Control_Agreement" target="_blank">CA-4 agreement</a></i>, indicating that borders between these countries should be open and people can go freely from one to the other, similar to the Schengen agreement in Europe. One small issue: this is not the case at all, as we unfortunately experienced and <a href="http://centralamericastories.blogspot.nl/2014/01/entry-denied.html" target="_blank">blogged about a few weeks ago</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The borders are open - you can freely walk passed every checkpoint. However, if you don't get your passports stamped, you'll be illegal and with the police often checking passports in cars and buses, the chance of getting caught is pretty high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So in the end, you do have to go through the painful process of taking all your luggage from the car/bus, waiting in line, exiting a country (which sometimes involves paying a legal or illegal fee), walking a few hundreds meters through no-mans land, waiting in line again and entering the next country (which again sometimes involves paying a legal or illegal fee).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Here we are in no-mans land</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Travelers are doing this in 30+</span><span style="font-size: large;"> degrees Celcius with high humidity, walking with a backpack on super dirty streets occupied by people trying </span><span style="font-size: large;">to sell you all kinds of stuff, street dogs and other animals. If you're really unlucky, a group of kids will get all the luggage from your bus while it's driving slow or standing in traffic near the border, just so they can mandatory walk or bike it across no-mans for you (at a price). Or they just steal it from you and take it to the next country before you can even get there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today we crossed the <i>Sixaola </i>border from Costa Rica to Panama. From stories we read online, we learned that immigration on the Panamanian side always wants to see a flight or bus ticket <i>out of Panama</i>. If you don't have a ticket, entry will be denied, or you can buy a future bus ticket back to Costa Rica at a nearby office just so you can pass the border (which suddenly costs 5x the normal price). </span><span style="font-size: large;">Or, if you've prepared, you can be 'creative' with a digital flight ticket; they're not really checking details with the airlines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Luckily enough it went smooth for us today, and our luggage is still with us. No-mans land here was a 500 meter bridge, which is not being maintained by either country.. so it's full of holes and broken parts. Good luck walking there with your luggage :/</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Be careful!</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The borders are full of rules and notes such as the one below. One memorable one was in Honduras, where a sign literally said "<i>Entry fee: $3</i>". When we took out dollars, the border control didn't accept it.. we had to pay $3 in Honduran Lempira, which meant going outside, changing $3 (plus exchange rate) to 60 Lempira, go back inside and pay the $3 fee in Lempira's. I'm lost. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Very kind of Costa Rica to translate this note for all the tourists. Too bad it doesn't make any sense!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After passing the border, we took a 'chicken bus' to get to our destination, Bocas del Torro islands. This is a phenomenon in Central America: old American school buses get a colorful new layer of paint and are used to transport people, goods and animals. Chicken bus is actually the nickname that tourists have given it, officially it's called a Camioneta. It usually costs less then $1 per ride but people are being crammed in the bus, which doesn't have official stops: it will stop anywhere you want or wherever future passengers are waiting, even along the highways. The bus driver usually doubles as DJ, playing loud music (usually reggaeton). Quite an experience!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Chicken bus in San Pedro, Guatemala</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Panama Chicken bus (Note: these are luxury </span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">seats</span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">! Normally they come with original American schoolbus seats!)</span></b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comBocas del Toro District, Panama9.335882 -82.2545109000000149.273211 -82.335191900000012 9.398553 -82.173829900000015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-61688525608126558692014-02-09T21:11:00.001-06:002014-02-12T21:19:48.212-06:00From the cloud forest to the tropical forest - and kiteboarding!<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After enjoying the Volcano Arenal area we spent a few days in Monteverde, which is a cloud forest park in Costa Rica. This mountainous area is split between a humid side with air from the Atlantic coast, and a dry part where the air comes from the Pacific. It was amazing to see the wildlife and different climates coming together! </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14.654545783996582px; text-align: left;">red</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14.654545783996582px; text-align: left;">-</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14.654545783996582px; text-align: left;">eyed</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14.654545783996582px; text-align: left;"> tree </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 14.654545783996582px; text-align: left;">frog</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Quetzal, a long tailed bird, also the national bird of Guatemala - where it is unfortunately very difficult to find. In Costa Rica it was easier :)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tarantula</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">mini red dart frog</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Today we visited a tropical forest park called Manuel Antonio, which is more south in Costa Rica. The dry season here is only 3 months per year: January till March so our timing was perfect :) In the wet season, this park receives more than 2.000mm rainfall per year. </span><span style="font-size: large;">This forest is next to the ocean and some spectacular beaches. Great for a day visit! Although it's a small park, during 30 minutes on the beach we were visited by a </span><span style="font-size: large;">raccoon, an iguana and a</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">monkey! Even more spectacular is one of the slowest animals in the world which is moving around in the trees here: the sloth!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcJhFzPnMgc9iOiZm6D0KQQWJBAaYNG1IAFz9srU_tlw85ls2XFmRf4PL5Z00FQSKKW3BoMpdx3dYx_Chb4czSQlrA15XCOZorhf54YcYpGjkXiEMZ2p-nzoHaL-17zMvxtDzsaA_R0M/s1600/01-IMG_1359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcJhFzPnMgc9iOiZm6D0KQQWJBAaYNG1IAFz9srU_tlw85ls2XFmRf4PL5Z00FQSKKW3BoMpdx3dYx_Chb4czSQlrA15XCOZorhf54YcYpGjkXiEMZ2p-nzoHaL-17zMvxtDzsaA_R0M/s1600/01-IMG_1359.JPG" height="212" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sloth chilling in his natural upside-down position</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sloth moving full speed</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3KRPoDi8txgap7uaMdaGuEsMjfOSOMlP3bwR9NqcdgLQZ_gevlt00_XV25GnodfMgfCk-tIv0JwC9SAb7x5dS9fObIapGiinKpzFRYkAXvU7qmfSbeGdafgGpwdnqGcOcdCaug-t9WY/s1600/02-IMG_1364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz3KRPoDi8txgap7uaMdaGuEsMjfOSOMlP3bwR9NqcdgLQZ_gevlt00_XV25GnodfMgfCk-tIv0JwC9SAb7x5dS9fObIapGiinKpzFRYkAXvU7qmfSbeGdafgGpwdnqGcOcdCaug-t9WY/s1600/02-IMG_1364.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQ_ye0aS0YHGrpShaqRslmDV98-CKUEqdLzBtLtfmSV_hdOrHecFKoX__JBRWL4-BgH-_V-AYLwwVbTEmNsRmXGc0RW3zsQgHKkuJT4YK7Kyqnc6twtkLTFMfEHry60BuszU2zaRG5Bc/s1600/04-IMG_1384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQ_ye0aS0YHGrpShaqRslmDV98-CKUEqdLzBtLtfmSV_hdOrHecFKoX__JBRWL4-BgH-_V-AYLwwVbTEmNsRmXGc0RW3zsQgHKkuJT4YK7Kyqnc6twtkLTFMfEHry60BuszU2zaRG5Bc/s1600/04-IMG_1384.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Visitor #1</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZmvENgktD01FDP0mp6B7V3_XjZPvxC74-1LTwkQFEjvY9ntiVMuURFEO3v_Lytfax_BT_0OA6OOPzLN4PWu-lduJ1gUSzW5q4n3wrSJ5LXEd9MBo1id_oPW_2dsa2VRPMxMO09oCMHA/s1600/03-VIDEO0105_0000004663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBZmvENgktD01FDP0mp6B7V3_XjZPvxC74-1LTwkQFEjvY9ntiVMuURFEO3v_Lytfax_BT_0OA6OOPzLN4PWu-lduJ1gUSzW5q4n3wrSJ5LXEd9MBo1id_oPW_2dsa2VRPMxMO09oCMHA/s1600/03-VIDEO0105_0000004663.JPG" height="226" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Visitor #2</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIZSn-UNa4kaTCJ26awacVejE1l1eN7MYZxaD7g-Btbq7uDLXoZXVbqdGQSMMAGPrm8maqO5z4UhI-uu_sU2L905NqU6tzmuemAVQXAs27OsVI05-Zt025QyTvyIr3XVI3tigui6f5EE/s1600/VIDEO0106_0000002326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyIZSn-UNa4kaTCJ26awacVejE1l1eN7MYZxaD7g-Btbq7uDLXoZXVbqdGQSMMAGPrm8maqO5z4UhI-uu_sU2L905NqU6tzmuemAVQXAs27OsVI05-Zt025QyTvyIr3XVI3tigui6f5EE/s1600/VIDEO0106_0000002326.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Visitor #3</b></span></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i1.ytimg.com/s_vi/ZqrPh0XMczE/default.jpg?sqp=CLCB4ZcF&rs=AOn4CLA9jJeGuMQWHBHylSIUJkSn_t5IvA" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/ZqrPh0XMczE?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="400" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/ZqrPh0XMczE?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJgM7jJXF3sg361raw4hMtD7seSUnvaNTEIWYxYHtGM4cEoXKlvqVovV3Sf81-PLbfrFuIzjVvvdkW4bWs2TJU63333bTxpBMLRxDw2NVzlsgaTDzCjWdHmKyJX9DBwR4H8ZyALatg3w/s1600/05-P2090060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJgM7jJXF3sg361raw4hMtD7seSUnvaNTEIWYxYHtGM4cEoXKlvqVovV3Sf81-PLbfrFuIzjVvvdkW4bWs2TJU63333bTxpBMLRxDw2NVzlsgaTDzCjWdHmKyJX9DBwR4H8ZyALatg3w/s1600/05-P2090060.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Between visiting these parks we visited one of the world's best kiteboarding spots, near La Cruz in north-west Costa Rica. This place has a bay with an almost constant strong wind, making it a top destination for kiteboarding. We had a fantastic week, met many other kiteboarders (from beginners to very experienced). Our average day looked like this:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Get up around 7:30, have breakfast</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Around 9.30, leave with to the beach standing on the back of a pickup truck with about 10 other kiteboarders (the truck was full of kites and boards)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">10-17 chill on the beach, lunch would be delivered, take a few hours of kiteboarding lessons whenever the wind and current were OK</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">17-22 shower, relax at the hotel or a restaurant, have dinner with other kiteboarders</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The wind was strong but very gusty which isn't easy for starters, but after a few days we were able to get up on a board with the kite pulling us! We both loved it and hope to improve our skills back in the Netherlands!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTzuWuLH9IdcFQ-KZmp7uYOeX5QzZ3ERA1B_4hfckdgJf9GMjl5M_3DFN-kWdItBB1-pNJxa48NIQ1X46ifR3x6g_22tXJ7dflZV9tzZgb3gDheqEjae14NuNuqVHUph7Ye9rXBRLu2g/s1600/06-IMAG2708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTzuWuLH9IdcFQ-KZmp7uYOeX5QzZ3ERA1B_4hfckdgJf9GMjl5M_3DFN-kWdItBB1-pNJxa48NIQ1X46ifR3x6g_22tXJ7dflZV9tzZgb3gDheqEjae14NuNuqVHUph7Ye9rXBRLu2g/s1600/06-IMAG2708.JPG" height="361" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Apparently this is kite-surfing heaven :)</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeFqNLN8uqt-gtW5yfPVIixTOlQVLkUQttFV12BENAHZLdX7o4dOamaJ9PQxUHgP_NLVmUVfSR3xmOx3n24jnW7rgzQXN34QdOLYxt4KECMMEaYSEnyvpvVKH9d9i4EWIcH1Ze2GEAlo/s1600/07-IMG_1349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeFqNLN8uqt-gtW5yfPVIixTOlQVLkUQttFV12BENAHZLdX7o4dOamaJ9PQxUHgP_NLVmUVfSR3xmOx3n24jnW7rgzQXN34QdOLYxt4KECMMEaYSEnyvpvVKH9d9i4EWIcH1Ze2GEAlo/s1600/07-IMG_1349.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPalmuK2xiAhJYRBWRpsfP_borSD_K2PRR4sW8tclRVADNblm1NDfB4hHlVaERTRf37TuV9n4q01P3G33LuunQNKiAumX0-ebRXqyHVeHLaUCY5p4WJdEZipAm5kWsBIiZFNjR22PLDQY/s1600/08-P2020015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPalmuK2xiAhJYRBWRpsfP_borSD_K2PRR4sW8tclRVADNblm1NDfB4hHlVaERTRf37TuV9n4q01P3G33LuunQNKiAumX0-ebRXqyHVeHLaUCY5p4WJdEZipAm5kWsBIiZFNjR22PLDQY/s1600/08-P2020015.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Kendy's first kiting experience!</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXfbv3JJQMCKi7712KeNndGEMx5fH_doSC495R_yykr1uhsN4NxAwH4YRhCZURnmn-cJDS42dch14t35XhFGg3gcXO970SLGG3OZrRupvrFnIjHx2O1mxsV6ghyphenhyphenywrXcZXE86SKMzqGc/s1600/09-P2040034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXfbv3JJQMCKi7712KeNndGEMx5fH_doSC495R_yykr1uhsN4NxAwH4YRhCZURnmn-cJDS42dch14t35XhFGg3gcXO970SLGG3OZrRupvrFnIjHx2O1mxsV6ghyphenhyphenywrXcZXE86SKMzqGc/s1600/09-P2040034.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Preparing a 6m kite</span></b></div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i1.ytimg.com/s_vi/okBylK0xWYQ/default.jpg?sqp=CLCB4ZcF&rs=AOn4CLC5-H9rxDMv6sJHV_CX2KcYCTL9DA" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/okBylK0xWYQ?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/okBylK0xWYQ?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">This is Daniel trying to kiteboard</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4UkZYQcDcKTE11WSTXyeAEgBRocCWSBa0beZHW9dDWXgt4lNcQ4Mo3IiXjUk2rW0oMcfKGILThkm-fAyi1X8XbiVk9KhPooJTWjJu2O0JGXj8mj9ThKtYldD6u98psnCqofo_QLAUe4/s1600/10-IMAG2728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx4UkZYQcDcKTE11WSTXyeAEgBRocCWSBa0beZHW9dDWXgt4lNcQ4Mo3IiXjUk2rW0oMcfKGILThkm-fAyi1X8XbiVk9KhPooJTWjJu2O0JGXj8mj9ThKtYldD6u98psnCqofo_QLAUe4/s1600/10-IMAG2728.JPG" height="360" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>And great sunsets too :)</b></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comMonteverde, Costa Rica10.3 -84.816666699999985-15.2220345 -126.12526069999998 35.8220345 -43.508072699999985tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-16662385322877559702014-01-29T18:43:00.000-06:002014-02-12T21:19:41.233-06:00Pura Vida!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After the issues at the Nicaraguan border, and especially the huge amount of time we spent in cars, busses, ferries and planes, we arrived in Costa Rica hoping to have a good time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, the first days have been fantastic - or Pura Vida, as they say in Costa Rica!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We arrived in the capital San Jose on Thursday and decided to spend 2 nights there. Which was 1 too many, there is absolutely nothing to do there! On Saturday we took a bus for 4 hours to La Fortuna, a small town next to a volcano, where lots of awesome activities were waiting for us.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_A-fDh3-pyU7o8Ue4LobJErPyoi7ag3CB0qAAUGHDMNmrnl_6DCdLU3mzsChng4pCiEW0U-m2C6pQ59jO1UY5F7ffjAhoWquscEp-UcWzYmvIG82UytxNInrpiziHzv7OPWvU_gP1ucU/s1600/IMAG2668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_A-fDh3-pyU7o8Ue4LobJErPyoi7ag3CB0qAAUGHDMNmrnl_6DCdLU3mzsChng4pCiEW0U-m2C6pQ59jO1UY5F7ffjAhoWquscEp-UcWzYmvIG82UytxNInrpiziHzv7OPWvU_gP1ucU/s1600/IMAG2668.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">La Fortuna</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the first day we hiked down to a gorgeous waterfall. Daniel did a bit of swimming, but the current from the falling water is extremely strong! Kendy decided that the water was a bit too cold for her :) </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2S9MgvwqBxoKLAMImRiHq2V7FhrsX0i7xRc16muf5-oUA1M_5v2pY5po2b-LXlxwUi_yzFJ7MtoGJ2Mg9TNQiN5bqI0xCoRuVHFyOIame5dEP9XHw4Z3QPBcFTK-fElxQqHTNEAlMf8/s1600/1-IMAG2634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2S9MgvwqBxoKLAMImRiHq2V7FhrsX0i7xRc16muf5-oUA1M_5v2pY5po2b-LXlxwUi_yzFJ7MtoGJ2Mg9TNQiN5bqI0xCoRuVHFyOIame5dEP9XHw4Z3QPBcFTK-fElxQqHTNEAlMf8/s1600/1-IMAG2634.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3TFy8xUHw5a41eZMMHh2VqDyAmBnsm-ffGXRDGRQoMurjsRTSbVjONw3vEyVOkEo4soUfIzRpB7YOqxx07bmfSsAifXztTMcthjp0o2R6NIfdP0RJQv5TOjiQoOIEz2nMuspzCK3DXY/s1600/01-P1260011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3TFy8xUHw5a41eZMMHh2VqDyAmBnsm-ffGXRDGRQoMurjsRTSbVjONw3vEyVOkEo4soUfIzRpB7YOqxx07bmfSsAifXztTMcthjp0o2R6NIfdP0RJQv5TOjiQoOIEz2nMuspzCK3DXY/s1600/01-P1260011.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the way home, we saw something amazing - this toucan was just flying around us and eating the papaya from the tree!!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsnDJ5fo1NuSeOAYG3xauMpmwo52hn3Fl1BSHPkpXfahBBo3ZQXtBY5G4BPUE10XAqdIJ-QKn_slrfeUUGcwLevdP8W3d5MCGe7PtHEyP7wS6O_B7de2Eb83kM3Pi6dQ3YsYSAORe1j8/s1600/02-P1260036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNsnDJ5fo1NuSeOAYG3xauMpmwo52hn3Fl1BSHPkpXfahBBo3ZQXtBY5G4BPUE10XAqdIJ-QKn_slrfeUUGcwLevdP8W3d5MCGe7PtHEyP7wS6O_B7de2Eb83kM3Pi6dQ3YsYSAORe1j8/s1600/02-P1260036.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the evening, we went for a hiking tour on the volcano itself, walked through a lava path (created by a recent eruption) and ended the day in a nearby in a hotspring, which is a natural hot bath: the water is warmed up by heat from the earth (in this case, volcano)!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hiking the lava path</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpKbpTIpWUB5ZQF_Zl2Rq4Aa4q7y8zxR3urgThAlQiPsm0Wa42y7Y_1pvLOWbUiZW9sU2PJFDVoNHLcMWaJYGApBrNBJT9VpDAICNdttg8sNNqGWVmktEt15u1nrVuUQxduPGozcGWCQ/s1600/03-P1270045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpKbpTIpWUB5ZQF_Zl2Rq4Aa4q7y8zxR3urgThAlQiPsm0Wa42y7Y_1pvLOWbUiZW9sU2PJFDVoNHLcMWaJYGApBrNBJT9VpDAICNdttg8sNNqGWVmktEt15u1nrVuUQxduPGozcGWCQ/s1600/03-P1270045.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Nice rum-soda in a hot spring!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next day we went on a 2 hour rafting trip on a crazy river!! by far the toughest rafting we've ever done (class IV). After rafting we were taken to an ecological farm, where we had a delicious lunch, fruit and coffee, after which we learned how they grow it themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kendy getting the sugar out of the cane! We drank it later.. SWEET</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On day 3, we rented a Jeep to drive to Rio Celeste waterfall park. The Jeep ride was already fun (according to Daniel), as the final 20km were hardcore off-road, and took us to a beautiful national park. After hiking for about 2 hours, you enter an area with amazingly colored water. There are 2 rivers with different chemicals which come together (brown + white turns blue!) or see water boiling from the volcano's heat. We also saw a coati, snake and an agouti (small guinea pig)!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The 2 rivers coming together</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> The water will change with the color of your eyes! So special!<br />OK not really, it's a chemical reaction between sulfur and calcium carbonate that causes this.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The </b><b>water </b><b>boiling</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eT8gPp26i4E2fOpapjf01Dyd7b1o9aqteYq9A_fCdUig_m06HonJWNZSlgNfw96MxXonR5-Zv54_vWShoUmLhzQLzp0Mue3H4YfseeGZq1fxWE9G0wBC7TJfOE2VgkYrb2g40muIa1g/s1600/12-IMG_1149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3eT8gPp26i4E2fOpapjf01Dyd7b1o9aqteYq9A_fCdUig_m06HonJWNZSlgNfw96MxXonR5-Zv54_vWShoUmLhzQLzp0Mue3H4YfseeGZq1fxWE9G0wBC7TJfOE2VgkYrb2g40muIa1g/s1600/12-IMG_1149.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the way home we stopped by lake Arenal for a great dinner (we deserved it after hiking for 4+</span><span style="font-size: large;"> hours!) and sunset view over the lake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Can you see all the windmills? More then 90% of Costa Rica runs on green energy!</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Little parakeet was chilling in a tree, they are not shy of humans apparently. Parakeet vs Eagles is on</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On our final day, Daniel decided to rent a Mountain bike after hearing some good stories about the mountain biking trails near the volcano. He didn't know how hard it would get!!!! Uphill, more uphill, and even more uphill. On the way there was a huge group of coatis near the road! So quiet and friendly! Kendy took it a bit easier and went on a chocolate-making workshop. We are moving to Monte Verde tomorrow, a nearby mountainous area.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Cute little Coati</span></b></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comArenal Volcano, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica10.4633333 -84.7033333-15.0587012 -126.0119273 35.9853678 -43.3947393tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-53813721527149160802014-01-26T23:36:00.000-06:002014-02-12T21:25:50.367-06:00Entry Denied! :(<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">After
enjoying the dives and beaches in Honduras, we were planning to visit volcanoes
and colonial cities in Nicaragua. We were pretty excited to go to Nicaragua: we
were told that people are extremely friendly, it is super cheap, there are lots
of adventurous activities and it is the safest country in Central America.
Sounded like a perfect destination to spend a few weeks!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The trip from
Roatan (Honduras) to Leon (northern Nicaragua) takes very long. Normally,
travelers have to make an overnight stop in either Tegucigalpa or San Pedro
Sula, two cities in Honduras famous for their high murder- and crime rates. As
we really didn’t want to stay in either, we took a shuttle from La Ceiba (the
city where the ferry from Roatan goes) to Leon, which takes around 15 hours. The
first ferry from Roatan left at 7am and arrived at 8.30am, when our driver was
already waiting for us with other passengers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">The
beginning of journey was smooth, with a total of 20 people in the group – this
is more than usual so the organizer arranged for 2 extra cars next to the
minivan. We sat with 5 people in 1 car. We knew this was going to be anything
but comfortable, but we were really happy we could get there in 1 day. So we
thought… <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We stopped
a few times at gas stations and overall had a very good trip. Around 9pm, we
arrived at the ‘Guasaule’ border between Honduras and Nicaragua. First the Honduras
side: just get a stamp, very easy. The borders in Central America are full with
people (unfortunately often kids) that offer money exchange – as soon as you
get out your car or bus, many kids are around you waving with money so you can
get rid of the other currency. Next to that there are people selling food which
looks like it could really upset your stomach for a few days, and there are always
street dogs walking around (they don’t have to get a stamp apparently). Not the
nicest place to spend your time but you don’t really have a choice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">After the
Honduran side we had to cross a bridge to go to the Nicaraguan entry point.
This must be the most depressing border ever: ugly concrete buildings, dirty and
totally unclear where to go. Our drivers took very good care of us, but we
heard this is a chaotic nightmare for travelers during daytime. We were told
that stamping all the passports in Nicaragua would take about one hour, maybe longer.
Efficiency has yet to be introduced in this part of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We already
knew that borders in Central America are not familiar with the Hong Kong
passport that Kendy holds. Every time we crossed a border, it took a bit more
time than European or American passports. Usually they flip through the passport,
try to see if it is fake and ask their colleagues for the procedures for this
“rare” passport. The same happened in Nicaragua. But they examined the passport
much longer than usual… at one point they asked our driver / guide to go into their
room, and about 10 minutes later he asked us to go into the room as well. The
immigration officer told us that Kendy’s visa is not valid for Nicaragua... Which
we extensively researched before the trip: the visa requirement for Hong Kong
passports is a CA-4 visa to enter Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador <i>and Nicaragua</i>. Kendy got the CA-4 visa
from Guatemala in the Netherlands and we had no problems in Guatemala and Honduras
using this visa. However, the immigration officer said the CA-4 visa does not
apply to this case (but he didn’t explain why). He did tell us that Nicaragua
is trying to improve their relationship with China, so visitors from Hong Kong
and Taiwan cannot get into Nicaragua without a visa issued by Nicaragua (how strange
can it get). After talking to him forever, even showing internet sites which
state that the CA-4 visa is sufficient for a Hong Kong resident to enter
Nicaragua, he kept shaking his head and denied entry for us. It was around 11pm
by now and we were angry and disappointed, but there was absolutely nothing to
do. So there we were, being sent back to one of the worlds most dangerous countries
right before midnight with no idea where to go. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Despite everything, some luck
was with us: the driver could send the other tourists towards Nicaragua and
drive us back to Honduras with one car, so we weren't left to sleep on the street. On top of that, his parents had a house
in Tegucigalpa (in a safe area), where he offered to drive us (3 hours!) so that
we could figure out what to do the next day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We first
had to get back into Honduras, which could be interesting: you cannot enter
Honduras within 72 hours after exiting! Luckily their border was more flexible,
they even saw it coming - around 2 weeks ago, a group of Hong Kong visitors got
rejected while some were even holding a visa issued by Nicaragua. We got back
into Honduras and arrived in Tegucigalpa around 3am… Exhausted.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">We were very
lucky that our guide stayed with us for the whole time and was willing to drive
us back to Tegucigalpa. His
parents were very friendly and cooked breakfast for us the next morning. We
called the consulate of Nicaragua in Honduras, who told us that it takes 2 months to
process a visa (which could be done in one hour at the embassy of Guatemala in
the Netherlands) with no guarantees. So we decided to skip Nicaragua and find a
flight ticket to Costa Rica on the same day. So we are in Costa Rica now!
Nicaragua never again, we will forget about this bad experience and enjoy the
beauty in Costa Rica and Panama!</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NvutDKckEZjL3xA5eKbqWkHZXX5BZ-cdXFNJ8xxQWvjiJiDrtr9pgf0UXARtPpuDb0aLxw1LKeIBXhSaqyCRlYLjo_WBDuMM3R4ns1hUO6lY7rig3nH9OlJVY3y8MQ7bmhauSppKgq8/s1600/IMAG2608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NvutDKckEZjL3xA5eKbqWkHZXX5BZ-cdXFNJ8xxQWvjiJiDrtr9pgf0UXARtPpuDb0aLxw1LKeIBXhSaqyCRlYLjo_WBDuMM3R4ns1hUO6lY7rig3nH9OlJVY3y8MQ7bmhauSppKgq8/s1600/IMAG2608.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>At least we saw the most beautiful place in Nicaragua.. from the plane :) </b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comSan Jose, Costa Rica9.927128 -84.0820119999999639.802004 -84.243373499999961 10.052252 -83.920650499999965tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-30742626988299056602014-01-21T19:52:00.000-06:002014-02-12T21:20:13.170-06:00One week in Honduras without a plan<span style="font-size: large;">Last week Monday, we left Guatemala City to travel to Honduras. Our bus left at 5am (!) and after a quick border crossing, short stops in Copan Ruinas (an old Mayan site.. but we had seen enough Mayan sites in Mexico and Guatemala so we skipped this one) and San Pedro Sula (the murder capital of Central America- let's get out of there), the bus arrived in La Ceiba, the 3rd city of Honduras, around 7pm. The streets in La Ceiba had a very shady feeling and you definitely don't want to walk around at night. We took a taxi to our restaurant, which was closed, so we ended up at Pizza hut :)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The next morning we took a ferry to Roatan, one of the islands on the Honduran Caribbean coast. What a difference from the mainland: the atmosphere is relaxed, touristic and very safe. We settled into a nice bungalow and had a great sunset the first evening!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtCzOM5wvQvDXX2YBscRpm4cPeZ_usHHeSizHAW5_WhsQBH_KS19XBGi51wxHpifwxXVYTtPHWhZ0AAjBx1zndGquhw6rsAMG8GAeJd-Lj94ecj9b4hzaiwTJVfncLTG1fqCeYSapffg/s1600/02-IMAG2590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtCzOM5wvQvDXX2YBscRpm4cPeZ_usHHeSizHAW5_WhsQBH_KS19XBGi51wxHpifwxXVYTtPHWhZ0AAjBx1zndGquhw6rsAMG8GAeJd-Lj94ecj9b4hzaiwTJVfncLTG1fqCeYSapffg/s1600/02-IMAG2590.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A bungalow next to the sea, surrounded by palm trees and a nice hammock.. Life is good in Roatan!</span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Just like in Guatemala, many Americans and Europeans have settled in Roatan to start a hotel, restaurant, or dive shop. Because next to the 2nd biggest coral reef in the world, the main activity on this island is diving! Initially we didn't plan to dive, but we quickly realized that if we ever wanted to try diving, this would be the place to do it - cheap, nice and plenty of English speaking instructors. We started with a one day 'discover scuba diving' course and loved it so much, that we finished the full open water course! BTW - it was cloudy and raining almost every day, so being deep in the water was really the best thing to do :)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXAy7pClAtg91jZLudd8vmI9jaAmF_iAAipTwKZXg4JKO02yQxX3SWK_CGe6O5Pxy-UG3rXnlYgxQF_4ojuVoxfC8OSmmi4Tyd9XQlTOfCfBlrEWsyVH0-gU7jdic8DlDO3ZxwQ6bCwI/s1600/04-P1190044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWXAy7pClAtg91jZLudd8vmI9jaAmF_iAAipTwKZXg4JKO02yQxX3SWK_CGe6O5Pxy-UG3rXnlYgxQF_4ojuVoxfC8OSmmi4Tyd9XQlTOfCfBlrEWsyVH0-gU7jdic8DlDO3ZxwQ6bCwI/s1600/04-P1190044.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The sealife is absolutely stunning here. From turtles, to barracudas, lionfish, parrotfish, angelfish... they all can be seen between the coral reefs. Unfortunately our waterproof camera can only go 5m deep, and we went 10-20m on each dive, so we couldn't shoot underwater pictures - except these at the end of a dive :)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf9Kmyme1irpJQBrmt2xRUQCizoP7ASqB1HMAjw_DZ7sVeCl5R22_epYFcl68e-HVL0HYLkKPabb7D7CD3oQIaU6eZB_IZ09TuZNTh5W5ZZ427Svq2bMGc0M27giHcpaOx00Fjn5wow0/s1600/06-P1190053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOf9Kmyme1irpJQBrmt2xRUQCizoP7ASqB1HMAjw_DZ7sVeCl5R22_epYFcl68e-HVL0HYLkKPabb7D7CD3oQIaU6eZB_IZ09TuZNTh5W5ZZ427Svq2bMGc0M27giHcpaOx00Fjn5wow0/s1600/06-P1190053.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Besides diving, we visited a farm for Iguana's, and really enjoyed the island life for 8 days. Since Roatan is a bit more expensive compared to Central America, and it's full of mosquitoes carrying Dengue fever during the day, and Malaria once it gets dark :/ we can't stay here forever so we're heading for Nicaragua tomorrow!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> "I'm actually a small dinosaur" </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Can you find his head?</span></b></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comRoatán, Honduras16.3833333 -86.399999999999977-9.1387012 -127.70859399999998 41.9053678 -45.091405999999978tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-3979953661498518172014-01-12T21:20:00.001-06:002014-02-12T21:20:13.710-06:00Hablo Espanol!<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The past week-and-a-half, we stayed near beautiful lake Atitlan. The lake is by origin a volcano, which got its shape from a massive volcanic eruption about 85.000 years ago, and is surrounded by another 3 volcanoes forming a very picturesque view!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Panajachel</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">We arrived by bus from Antigua to Panajachel, which was pretty easy to reach. In Panajachel we went hiking in a nature reserve with lots of hanging bridges, a waterfall and monkeys!</span><br />
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<b>San Marcos</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">After two nights in 'Pana' we went to San Marcos, a small and very quiet 'hippie' town known for its meditation courses. We had a nice hotel on the lake and rented kayaks one morning (kayaking is only possible in the morning; the wind in the afternoon is too strong to kayak) and a great restaurant called 'Blind Lemons', owned by a retired American, where we watched American football while eating a burger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Funny enough the towns near the lake are full of foreigners (extranjeros or 'Gringos') who decided to retire (sometimes very early) here and often started a restaurant or cafe. We had some great Japanese and American food, and found a funny coffee bar in Panajachel called 'Cafe Loco' which is ran by a Korean who makes amazing coffees. When people want a change from tortillas with beans, foreign food is always nearby in Guatemala.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">San Pedro</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">San Pedro, another town on lake Atitlan, is known for its Spanish schools. The school where we took our lessons was la escuela Cooperativa. They offer a combination of private lessons with homestay (staying with a local family) for $200 per week, per person. We decided to take the unique experience and see where we would end up!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Sunday, we went to the school to register and we got picked up by our host family: <i>familia Alejandra</i>, who we called <i>madre</i> (mother). She lives in San Pedro with her husband and two kids, who are normally in Xela, another city in Guatemala attending university. Since it was vacation for them they also stayed in San Pedro. The son loved to talk about football - he likes Ajax :) - and the father was full of stories about his work as a doctor and the development of Guatemala. The family has had <i>estudiantes</i> from the school for over 10 years, and everyone in the town knows them! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The family was extremely friendly. Alejandra cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner for us every day - always with homemade tortillas! They get the corn themselves from the plantations in the mountains, then dry them on the roof and make tortillas out of them. In a few weeks during the dry season, they get all the corn for one full year! The homemade tortillas were DELICIOUS!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The family didn't speak any English, which was a good practice of our Spanish. At the school we had 4 hours private lesson per day, in a beautiful garden with amazing - sometimes a bit distracting - view over the lake. The lessons were in the morning (8-12) and in the afternoon we would chill by the lake, bike to a nearby town (quite a challenge in these mountains and bad roads) or just chill in a coffee place.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Alejandra</i> making tortillas the authentic way</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Mais for one year!!</b> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Our teachers.. we spent 4 hours a day talking to them in Spanish last week! </span></b></div>
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<b>Final days in Guatemala</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Our school finished on Friday, so on Saturday we took a bus to Antigua. Another typical adventure was about to happen.. after a delay (probably the busdriver overslept, he was 30 minutes late and we were the first passengers he had to pick up) and filling the bus with passengers in San Pedro and San Marcos, the bus went uphill through the curvy mountain roads towards the highway to Antigua for about 45 minutes. When we almost reached the highway, the engine overheated..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It appeared that the cover of the cooling fluid was gone, and no one had cared to put one back on - so after driving on bumpy roads there was no more cooling fluid. A mechanic came who put about 10 liters of water into the cooling system, but the engine kept denying.. after a delay of almost 2 hours in the middle of nowhere, another bus finally came and brought us to Antigua, where we had lunch with Mario and drove to Guatemala City. And because it was our final weekend in Guatemala, we wanted to end it in style.. we went to a show with Dutch DJ Hardwell this Saturday night! Guatemala knows how to party !!!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Representing the Netherlands :)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">After 4 amazing weeks in Guatemala, we will leave to Honduras to continue our travels. Guatemala has been a fantastic adventure, and we can recommend everyone to go there. People are extremely friendly, the nature is gorgeous, the climate is fantastic and the coffee is delicious! Last but definitely not least, a giant THANKS to our friend Mario and his family for their hospitality and showing us their country! </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comLago de Atitlan, Guatemala14.6906713 -91.20252070000003614.5677893 -91.363882200000035 14.8135533 -91.041159200000038tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-69116702646629932972014-01-10T13:39:00.000-06:002014-02-11T21:52:43.616-06:00How to get a hot shower<span style="font-size: large;">In Central America, many houses don't have a boiler or heating system - it simply isn't needed with year-round hot temperatures in this region. But, a warm shower every now and then is very much appreciated.. So what do you do? Simple, you heat the water inside the shower, all you need is 2 electrical wires!</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-21757363595971259022014-01-07T18:01:00.002-06:002014-02-12T21:20:26.503-06:00Guatemalan adventures part 3: Volcanoes!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Central America, lots of volcanoes can be found. In Guatemala alone there are around 36.5 volcanoes (the exact number depends on who you ask), out of which a few are still active and many continuously blow smoke. Some inactive volcanoes have beautiful lakes in the crater. Most cities are right next to one or more volcanoes - which already makes for a beautiful scene - and one of the most popular tourist attractions here is climbing volcanoes. Having never really seen a volcano before (that's Daniel), climbing a volcano was on top of our to-do list here :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first volcano we climbed was during Christmas: volcano 'Ipala' which is all the way in the south of Guatemala - next to Asuncion Mita (where we celebrated Christmas). The climb up took about 45 minutes and was do-able but pretty warm.. what a change at the top - suddenly there was a lake, and a strong wind made it very chilly! Clouds literally sheered past us right in front of us. This volcano has been inactive for a long time, which is why it's full of plantation on the slope.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Wind!!! And a big lake in the crater!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On 31 December we climbed volcano Pacaya, which is the most popular active volcano in Guatemala to climb: it's only 1 hour away from Antigua and a 1.5-hour climb, which is not a lot compared to some volcanoes that take 5-8 hours to climb. This volcano is more 'volcano-like' than Ipala: the way up is mostly a black sand (ash) path. From the start, a few men with horses walk with you to wait for the ones that don't make the climb and pay a small fee to reach the top on a horse (AKA taxi). Luckily we were both able to make it. The view from the volcano was truly amazing! Unfortunately we didn't see any lava.. But there were some "sauna" holes which you can get in and feel the heat from the volcano!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The walk up!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sauna hole!</b> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Volcano sunset, unfortunately with lots of clouds!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are currently near lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. It is the deepest lake in Central America surrounded by, guess what, 3 other volcanoes, which makes for an amazing view!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We will stay here for one more week to attend a Spanish school while we stay at a family (homestay) so we can get the full experience. Indeed, the family doesn't speak English! More about that experience in a next blog!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comPacaya, Guatemala14.3814763 -90.6031322-11.140558200000001 -131.9117262 39.9035108 -49.294538200000005tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-23205621618937416542014-01-01T22:17:00.002-06:002014-02-12T21:28:05.921-06:00Feliz año nuevo!<span style="font-size: large;">To all our followers, Happy new year, Gelukkig nieuwjaar, 新年快樂 !</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We spent the xmas and New Years holidays travelling between 3 places: Guatemala City, where we stayed with our friend Mario; <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/preview#!q=Asuncion+Mita+Guatemala&data=!1m4!1m3!1d859458!2d-89.7085404!3d14.3330828!4m15!2m14!1m13!1s0x8f62602742573e7b%3A0xd8c9e2a118517672!3m8!1m3!1d1714138!2d-90.1957666!3d14.943608!3m2!1i1366!2i667!4f13.1!4m2!3d14.3333333!4d-89.7166667" target="_blank">Asunción Mita</a>, where Mario's parents live - they were super welcoming by inviting us to spend xmas with them; and Antigua, where we spent the past few days including New Years eve.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">These towns are very close to each other and yet extremely different from each other. Asunción Mita is a small town in the South of Guatemala, very close to the El Salvador border, where we met the Guatemalan Christmas tradition: stay up till midnight on 24th, countdown for Feliz Navidad, light up fireworks (Guatemala LOVES fireworks) and exchange the xmas gifts!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">This is Kendy loving the xmas fireworks! </span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Christmas between the palm trees.. strange feeling :)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">This is where Guatemalans buy fireworks: hundreds of small shops next to busy streets. Very safe in sunny 25 degree winter weather. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there is Guatemala City, or <i>Guate</i>, which was described by Lonely Planet as follows: "Depending on who you talk to, Guate is either big, dirty, dangerous and utterly forgettable or big, dirty, dangerous and fascinating".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Indeed, Guate is known for high crime rates, and a huge difference between poor and rich. The poor live in shelters or on the street, while the rich live in separated areas, guarded 24/7 and spend most of their free time in shopping malls - also high on security. The brand-new cars (all with 100% tinted windows) drive next to 20 year old cars hold together by duct tape, and even the book stores are guarded with shotgun carrying security personnel. Not really a city we would recommend to travelers but an interesting experience for us.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Guate from a viewing point on a mountain, overlooking the city and the volcano next to it</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then there is Antigua, a beautiful old town which used to be Guatemala's capital until several earthquakes destroyed many buildings in Antigua in the 18th century - which is when Guatemala City became the capital.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Present day, Antigua is a beautiful small Spanish-looking town, popular by tourists and very safe compared to Guatemala City. It's also a Unesco site, which is why the city is clean and preserves its historical buildings. The streets are made of old big stones, which gives you a foot massage if you walk on flip-flops :) The colorful streets, many good restaurants and coffee bars, numerous activities nearby and surrounded by 3 volcanos make Antigua a perfect tourist destination, and it was a great place to spend New Years eve!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Beautiful colors in front of the volcano</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Antigua's central square (left) </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Even they have to adjust to the </b><b>color coding rules!</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sunset in between the volcanoes</span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-79575462651890395732013-12-30T22:24:00.000-06:002014-02-12T21:26:47.717-06:00Steve Aoki<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: large;">How lucky can you get.. already in the middle of a fantastic adventurous trip, we got into Guatemala city, entered a contest of a local beer brand and won tickets for a show of one of our favorite DJs: Steve Aoki! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Guatemala knows how to party!!!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Clearly sponsored by a beer brand.. smallest option = 1 liter !</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Steve Aoki's famous 'caking' was also included in the show</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The beaches in this town are black because it's volcanic sand! It gets superhot!!</span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comPort of San Jose, Guatemala13.92893 -90.82102199999997113.92893 -90.821021999999971 13.92893 -90.821021999999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-37722514920629447702013-12-28T08:03:00.002-06:002014-02-12T21:22:19.711-06:00Guatemalan adventures: part 2<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">After visiting the Tikal area we drove to Coban, a city in the mountains in the middle of Guatemala. It was surprisingly cold (14 at night).. and beautiful, it could have been Switzerland or Austria! We arrived at night in a beautiful place with huts in the middle of the nature:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">At night (PS, gotta give a shot to the amazing Canon S120 pocketcamera!)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The next day we realized that we were really in the middle of nature:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the first day, we visited the caves of Rey Marco. We were told that there was a little bit of water in the caves due to the rain from the previous days (yes, heavy rain in the dry season). We were nicely surprised by a survival tour in the caves, in which we had to walk through water which reached our hips, crawl, climb and crossing a under-cave river by only holding a rope while there was a strong current moving towards a black hole. All of that in super dark caves with a simple light on top of our helmet :)</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">DARK!!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <b>Outside the cave.. glad we made it out :)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the second day in Coban we went to one of the highlights of Guatemala: <a href="http://blog.thecheaproute.com/semuc-champey-pools-guatemala/" target="_blank">National monument Semuc Champey</a>. But before we got there, we had to take a 2 hour busride, after which we got dropped on the back of a pickup truck which drove for another 45 minutes through extremely bumpy roads. Again, we were sitting on the back of a pickup truck (without a proper seat of course). We have been in more comfy situations.. but for sure it was worth it!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Semuc is a collection of natural, beautiful turquoise colored pools in between two mountains. We first walked up to a viewing point (not an easy climb), had a quick sandwich and then checked out the pools and waterfalls, in which you can also swim and jump from pool to pool. We noticed again that safety is not really an issue in Guatemala: the tourguide led us jump from trees and rocks, dive in small caves, slide down on stones and check a 10 meter waterfall holding a rope. But we were safe, and enjoyed it to the max!!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">View from the mountain of the different pools</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Having fun at Semuc</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">From the back of the pickup truck! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">On the way there we stopped at this viewing point. Guatemala is amazing !!!!</span></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comCobán, Guatemala15.47098 -90.37153599999999215.4097655 -90.45221699999999 15.532194500000001 -90.290855tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-83825924866680426652013-12-25T14:03:00.001-06:002014-02-12T21:27:40.591-06:00Feliz Navidad! <span style="font-size: large;">We wish you all a very <strike>sunny</strike> snowy christmas holiday season!</span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-63270012999771858452013-12-23T08:59:00.002-06:002014-02-12T21:27:28.807-06:00Mayans<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">The countries Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and Mexico are known for being the ‘Maya region’. Establishing their empire from approximately 2000 BC until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16<sup>th</sup> century, the Maya civilization was known for having the only written language of the pre-colombian Americans, excellent mathematics and (thanks to the global fear of 2012 being the end of the world and the related terrible movie ‘2012’) the Mayan calendar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">They also left behind an astonishing amount of impressive architecture in this area. We visited some amazing Mayan sites during the trip. First, we visited <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_Itza" target="_blank">Chichen Itza</a> which is just an hour outside Merida in Yucatan, south Mexico. This site has been elected as one of the 7 new world wonders in 2008. The highlight is one large ‘temple’. Although very touristy (there are more salesmen walking around then visitors) the site is beautiful and it’s impressive to see what the Mayans built:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Main temple in Chichen Itza</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The original steps, made of stones on the left side vs the refurbished steps on the right.. good luck walking up :)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">In
Guatemala however, the sites are much more impressive and untouched, and less
touristy. On our first day here we visited Tikal, which is a huge area filled
with Mayan ruins. There are temples, the tallest structure (temple IV) being 70
meters high – which is on top of a hill overlooking the entire valley.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Temple I (47 meter)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9Sn1otrvDR5D7YlEzWY0ktzov8is_dI9B8y0K1OI3vlzliEcdGXVHKEBBvEaB0cMDqK2JeLEVBnPFmDba4LhlPGEL7TMpwHlSRhevzl3yVULUttMsiZaR2QuFQif37SUsoBO-fT9Adg/s1600/08-IMG_0342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9Sn1otrvDR5D7YlEzWY0ktzov8is_dI9B8y0K1OI3vlzliEcdGXVHKEBBvEaB0cMDqK2JeLEVBnPFmDba4LhlPGEL7TMpwHlSRhevzl3yVULUttMsiZaR2QuFQif37SUsoBO-fT9Adg/s400/08-IMG_0342.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">View over the valley from Temple IV (a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z690zwlaMao" target="_blank">scene of the first Star Wars movie </a>was shot here)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was raining so we hired a Guatemalan to keep us dry.. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Without joking, many thanks to Mario for being our tourguide!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Historic Mayan symbol</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">and it was STEEP !!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">On the next
day we visited nearby Yaxhá. Although not as big as Tikal, this site was even
more untouched – could have something to do with a kilometers long dirtroad
leading to the area (yes we got stuck in the dirt). But it was worth it, the
ruins in Yaxhá offer an amazing view over the nearby lake:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Some temples are completely hidden under the greens</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ougl8WnRfKG-TtAT2tiwaStU_DPl9Au2nfGaJVMYQVSVOcB821ViUZXnxDXyVble_S_JXhLyui11U7TC9FNvSiIkobTcB7tLWZIoZgTBLwRHvrKww7QHoc40GBcGBeejWvDKu2iYPT0/s1600/17-IMG_0500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ougl8WnRfKG-TtAT2tiwaStU_DPl9Au2nfGaJVMYQVSVOcB821ViUZXnxDXyVble_S_JXhLyui11U7TC9FNvSiIkobTcB7tLWZIoZgTBLwRHvrKww7QHoc40GBcGBeejWvDKu2iYPT0/s400/17-IMG_0500.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Old sports field</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then, on the way back, the fun began... Luckily Guatemalans are super friendly and helpful, so when a van full of people arrived the guys stepped out and helped us push the car out of the dirt (while the women were watching and taking pictures)</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comTikal Plaza Mayor, Tikal National Park, 3, Tikal, Guatemala17.2234368 -89.62163340000000717.208270300000002 -89.6418034 17.2386033 -89.601463400000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-86863221493724132532013-12-20T21:54:00.000-06:002014-02-12T21:50:29.596-06:00(Pre)Guatemalan adventures: part 1<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">After >1
week in Guatemala, we can already conclude that this country is full of
adventures. It even started with our trip over here: we took an overnight bus
from Cancun (Mexico) to Belize City. Thanks to a 2 ½ hour stop at a corrupt Mexican
border control agent (charging everyone a $25 ‘border-crossing fee’; receipt: not a chance) we arrived around 9:45 am
on a Monday morning in Belize City – a few hours later than scheduled. We were afraid
that we just missed the 9:30 am bus to Tikal (Guatemala) where we would meet
our friend Mario.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">After walking
to a taxi stand (the next bus was in another bus station) the driver told us
the bus would leave at 10am and we would probably still make it, so he drove us
through the bumpy roads of Belize’ capital to another bus station, where we had
1 minute to buy tickets, breakfast and go to the toilet. Wow, what a rush but
we were so relieved that we made it: the next bus would leave somewhere late
afternoon while Mario was waiting for us in Guatemala. We saw some other
passengers who were also joining this bus, 10am sharp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;">About an
hour and a half later, finally someone told us that the bus would leave.
Lesson: relax and don’t count on anything to be on time here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN-US">This was
only the start of many adventures we already had in Guatemala. Below are some
pictures and videos of the Tarzan Canopy Ziplining tour we did in a Guatemalan jungle.
It was an awesome adrenaline experience to fly from tree to tree! (as was the
ride through the jungle </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><span lang="EN-US">)</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comSanta Elena, Guatemala16.9181251 -89.892606516.857356600000003 -89.9732875 16.9788936 -89.8119255tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-13858033163862207762013-12-17T23:27:00.000-06:002014-02-12T21:22:34.320-06:00Playas de Mexico<span style="font-size: large;">We spent most of last week in some of Mexico's popular beach districts: Playa del Carmen, Cancun and the surrounding islands. Although very touristy, it was a nice way for us to relax before travelling to some more hardcore backpacking areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last Monday (9 dec), day 6 of our 95-day trip, we arrived in Playa del Carmen and relaxed on the beach and in the city. Tuesday was a beautiful (hot) day so we went to Cozumel and went snorkeling at the coral reefs - see the pictures below! On Wednesday we went snorkeling in Cenote "dos ojos" which was a very cool experience. The water was superclear in the cenote, which allows you to see the formation of the rocks under the water. You can swim from one cave to another, although it's so narrow that you may hit your head. After that, we wanted to go snorkeling with turtles in nearby beach Akumal, but due to a very heavy storm we were 'forced' to sit in a beach restaurant for a few hours :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last Friday (day 10) we went to Isla Mujeres, a small but gorgeous and less touristy island off the coast of Cancun. The island is only 7 kilometers long and 650 meters wide, but the difference between the rocky coast with heavy waves on the east (ocean side) and the quiet, beach coast on the west and north side is huge. On Isla Mujeres we also visited turtle farm <a href="http://www.isla-mujeres.com.mx/english/turtlefarm.htm" target="_blank">Tortugranja</a>, where turtles and their eggs are protected from predators with help from the government and a visitors fee. This island also offers a nice sunset and delicious food :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Saturday, we moved to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, a beach town even more popular for Americans (mainly young party crowds). The city is basically a road with a few kilometers of all-inclusive beach resorts. Beaches are nice but the ocean waves were crazy, which is superfun but don't bring any items into the sea.. lost one pair of sunglasses there :( Our friend Alvaro (jr) flew in from Amsterdam and his family was there to spend the Saturday and Sunday at the beach and pool, before starting a long, long busride via Belize into Guatemala (where we currently are). More about that on the next post!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our favorite beach was on isla de mujeres: quiet, not too touristy and amazing white sand between the palm trees! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Iguanas here are big and there are many</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Isla Mujeres' nice white sand beach.. Paradise! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Baby turtles! :)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Cancun !!!</span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comPlaya del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico20.6295586 -87.07388509999998420.5701181 -87.154566099999982 20.6889991 -86.993204099999986tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-54541527581654092712013-12-12T23:26:00.001-06:002014-02-12T21:21:34.670-06:00The beauty of Cenotes<span style="font-size: large;">As mentioned in the previous blog, the Yucatan area has thousands of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenote" target="_blank">Cenotes</a>: sinkholes that created the most beautiful underground cave-like areas and even lakes where you can swim. Many cenotes have underground rivers that connect them to the ocean. We visited the gorgeous Cenote Ik Kil last week which had lots of water fun:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This week we went snorkeling in Cenote Dos Ojos (two eyes) - a unique experience! You are basically swimming from one Cenote to another in a cave (watch your head), between the fish underneath you and bats above you :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Diving in </b><b>Cenotes is another popular activity here</b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comYucatan, Mexico20.7098786 -89.09433769999998318.8074226 -91.676124699999988 22.6123346 -86.512550699999977tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-21295015133721847732013-12-11T10:17:00.001-06:002014-02-12T21:21:56.007-06:00Los primeros dias en Mexico!<span style="font-size: large;">The first days in Mexico have been amazing! We arrived in Merida, Yucatan last Wednesday. The first day could not have been more Mexican.. Our friend Alvaro's father, also named Alvaro :) picked us up from the airport and showed us around Merida: a relaxed but big city with a population of about 1 million.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We saw the school project which Alvaro's parents have set up: escuala Yaxunah, a school for children aged 4-12 where they have plenty of opportunities to exploit their creative skills. 50% of the lessons are already in English! The teachers showed as around the school, the playground, the classrooms, the art work of the students, the tortoise garden....etc. We had a chance to talk to the students there and they speak very good English already. We are very impressed by the idea that the students are treated as the center of the school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After visiting the school, Alvaro sr took us to a local bar for 'a few drinks and snacks'. In Mexico, this means anywhere between 3-10 drinks and a table full of food, enough for a 8 person family's meal in Europe! We were happy that we learned a bit of Spanish back in Amsterdam, which allowed us to communicate a bit with the locals. (of course, Alvaro sr showed Daniel the proper way of using those "P" words). At night we had a short walk in Merida city, and went for some ice cream with special local flavor, still full from the snacks, and met some of Alvaro jr's friends for (more) drinks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Thursday we visited <a href="http://www.haciendaviva.com/" target="_blank">Sotuta de Peon</a>, an ancient style village in Yucatan, where they show a traditional way of making rope from plants - which the Mayans used to do. This place also had a Cenote, a beautiful natural underground lake caused by a sinkhole. There are thousands of Cenotes in this region, one more spectacular than the other. The water in the Cenote is so clear and you can swim there. Too bad we didn't bring our swimming suit that day. In the afternoon, we visited Grutas Lol-tun, which is a cave system with old Maya habitation. We were the only ones in the cave, so we got a private tour :) The most amazing part is to look up from the bottom of the caves and see the source of light. We wonder how amazing the art of nature is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then Friday was the big fishing trip! Our friend Alvaro jr has told us lots about the fishing in Yucatan. We went on a speedboat into the sea. Kendy quickly showed of her talent and caught lots of fish! We did both get a bit of seasick. (not sure if this was because of the heavy waves, the fact that we were catching fish in the early morning after breakfast, or a combination of these). We fished for a few hours, then moved on to another 'more relaxed boat' with music to chill and swim a bit in the warm sea (of course, swimming with a cerveza). After that we went to a local restaurant, where they put our fresh fish straight on the grill so we could eat it, with different side dishes like octopus, shrimps, sea snails.... yummy. This is the first time we enjoyed our own catch. The fish is so meaty and fresh; as a crazy seafood fan, Kendy enjoyed it so much. What an amazing day! We were exhausted at night and didn't do much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On Saturday, we visited the old Mayan pyramid <a href="http://www.chichenitza.com/" target="_blank">Chichen Itza</a>. Super impressive to see how this massive construction was build. It was a really hot day, and since we'll see more Mayan ruins in Guatemala, we didn't spend too much time walking around. In the area we visited a Cenote where you can swim: Cenote Ik Kil. Beautiful, words cannot describe how special it is in there. There is a jumping stage there which you can jump into the water from 5 metres high. Daniel and Alvaro sr had so much fun with the jumps, but Kendy was too scared to jump. At night we visited Merida's "Noche Blanca" festival with live music on the streets. It's still crazy to hear xmas songs with this weather..</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday was our last day in Merida, which we spent the local way: family and friends get together to eat, drink and enjoy the great weather. We also went to watch the semi-final Mexican football league match with them. We ended up in a bar with live rock music at 1am.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On Monday we took a 5 hour bustrip to Playa del Carmen where we'll spend some days relaxing on the beach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That's it for the first days, thanks for stopping by at our blog :) As you can read the first days have been very busy but we'll try to update the blog more often!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Kendy and Daniel</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> Street of Alvaro's casa</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> The school project</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"just a few snacks"</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nehkun440EY/UqPfP-Zui6I/AAAAAAAC6pY/ey_B3I7tMhQ/s1600/IMG_0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nehkun440EY/UqPfP-Zui6I/AAAAAAAC6pY/ey_B3I7tMhQ/s400/IMG_0056.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Merida, Yucatan</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ORwOaUGukQ/UqCExQ3Z4aI/AAAAAAAC6i4/kfN6YCbuBLc/s1600/IMG-20131205-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ORwOaUGukQ/UqCExQ3Z4aI/AAAAAAAC6i4/kfN6YCbuBLc/s400/IMG-20131205-WA0000.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">A few cerveza's with Alvaro's amigos</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Ancient style Yucatan housing</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eT8QLGhSQp8/UrjHEnToHnI/AAAAAAAC894/6GqX-z07fKU/s1600/IMG_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eT8QLGhSQp8/UrjHEnToHnI/AAAAAAAC894/6GqX-z07fKU/s400/IMG_0071.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Making rope from plants.. not easy!!</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMtFQ7JQeg4/Url-g5xT-CI/AAAAAAAC9wU/Ken8yPXLzZw/s1600/IMG_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vMtFQ7JQeg4/Url-g5xT-CI/AAAAAAAC9wU/Ken8yPXLzZw/s400/IMG_0092.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">These are the plants that the rope originates from</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Beautiful cave</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sinkholes</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Fishing master!</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hY6y-fZkr5U/UrjG6QOu_oI/AAAAAAAC88Y/veLv7_07M4c/s1600/20131206_121224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hY6y-fZkr5U/UrjG6QOu_oI/AAAAAAAC88Y/veLv7_07M4c/s400/20131206_121224.jpg" height="400" width="223" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Yummie!!!!!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Let it snow" </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjQXWu9BjYw_RpTWAMBYb7OADW8U0KhR8MLST69lUKVo3GsWOT-ARgux9A23AMiLRHsSYbk3gdb70Me4IyLcS8wqaz3T_KQ_ukzPYtMUNgqLMayZ3ZI302Kkci4-x2lSbjCLBAJq9EE8/s1600/PC070010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjQXWu9BjYw_RpTWAMBYb7OADW8U0KhR8MLST69lUKVo3GsWOT-ARgux9A23AMiLRHsSYbk3gdb70Me4IyLcS8wqaz3T_KQ_ukzPYtMUNgqLMayZ3ZI302Kkci4-x2lSbjCLBAJq9EE8/s400/PC070010.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Cenote... Amazing !! </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Sunday funday with family & friends!</span></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11112296835364731742noreply@blogger.comMerida, Yucatan, Mexico20.979721 -89.61578920.742478000000002 -89.9385125 21.216964 -89.293065500000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2670295289798386808.post-166318476215337602013-12-02T08:52:00.000-06:002013-12-02T09:23:27.590-06:00Vamos! About to leave!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We will leave tomorrow, 3 december, to Mexico City! After one night in Mexico's capital, we fly to Merida on Wednesday. Vamos!
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