Things I have learned from riding on Central American Buses

A lot of this blog has to do with all the cool things that we have done on the trip...but one of things we haven´t spent a lot of time writing about, but have spent A LOT of time doing is riding on buses...here are a few of the valuable lessons I have learned on this trip.

1) Do not go out drinking the night before a 5 hour bus ride...no matter how good that 3rd glass of wines tastes at the time.

2) If you do have that 3rd glass of wine, try try try to get it out of your system BEFORE you hit the road....you do not know when the next bathroom will be!

3) If you do happen to make it to the roadside bathroom, don´t go in there in an attempt to alleviate any sort of nausea. These bathrooms tend to induce such feelings.

4) When the bus stops at a local rest area, stick with the typical truck stop foods (burgers, fries, etc). Yeah, the menu says they have a green salad, but trust me, it ain´t green and you probably can´t identify any of the vegetables.

3) Never ever say, at the end of a particularly bad bus ride, ¨Man, that was the worst bus ride ever¨...trust us, it wasn´t the worst ride ever...bus rides can always get worse.

4) Have you ever heard the quote, ¨I once felt sorry for the man who had no shoes until I met the a man who had no feet¨? Well, it applies to riding buses in Central America...except it goes like this...¨I once complained about sitting in a smelly uncomfortable seat in a rundown old school bus, until I didn´t have an actual seat but had to sit in the dirty aisle for 5 hours.¨ Yep....

Ommmmmmm-tepe...the Isla of

On our whirlwind tour of Central America we have managed to visit three islands (could that be do to the fact that Jess herself is an islander dweller?! For two nights we stayed on The Isla of Omtempe. This is an island that fairy tales are made of (although we surely weren´t staying in a castle and there were no prince charmings to speak of...only frogs in our toilet). This island is in the middle of Lake Nicaragua and has two volcanos connected by an narrow land mass. It is very rustic but so peaceful. Our plan was to do a gruling 12 hour steep hike up the tallest volcano, but unfortunely (wink, wink) it rained the night before and was too muddy to climb (bummer). One of the volcanos had a small eruption, so it was a good thing that we didn´t risk it. Instead we decided to take a kayak trip around the lake. Jess and I were a great kayaking team. We managed to stay ahead of the Isralei army girls..woo hoo. We saw lots of monkeys and birds, and we tried to find an animal called a Cayman(it is a reptile similar to an alligator). The guide did the mating call, but no such luck. We finished up the day with a nice cool Toña (Nicaragua´s national beer). It was a nice relaxing couple of days!

Tearin it up in Nicaragua!

As Jess and I are quickly discovering, Nicaragua is awesome! We have had so many adventures here that we have barely had time to keep up with the blog! Expect some posts in the near future!

We have finally made it to the coast, San Juan Del Sur (thanks to Annamarina and Mike for the suggestion)! It is so pretty here! Today we took an hour long surf lesson and then surfed all day. It was great! It was totally exhausting (and at times totally frustrating) but soo fun. We had this great instructor named Alfredo (his nationality and exact age are unknown- I am guessing French and in his mid 40s). I had trouble at first. As Alfredo said, ¨Zum peezple need zhree hourz of lezzons, you may be one of those peezles¨....but at the end of the day I was riding waves like a pro...well not like a pro, but you get the idea...I was able to paddle out and catch waves all by myself...at the end of the day Alfredo said, ¨Zhere is one more zurfer in zee world now, Christine¨....wooo hoo! Christine is a surfer...we´ll see how I do in Costa Rica... Jess on the other hand was truly tearing it up ( I guess all those early morning VB sessions with her dad helped prepare her). She was the shining star of our surf class...way to show off Jess!

Also of note to any of you who, like me, are also obsessed with E! Entertainment Television (or The News as I call it)- Jess and I hung out at the Iguana Bar, where just a few weeks ago Matthew McCounahey drank himself into a stupor, lost his flipflops, passed out on the beach, and was then robbed by the locals...don´t worry I got pictures of the place. Forget churches and important monuments, I am on the lookout for stars or at least places that they have visited!

We love Nicaragua....Granada is Great

We have been so into Nicaragua we have been neglecting our fans (sorry Mr. Kully). Granada has been enchanting vistors since 1524 and she has cast her spell on us. The city was beautiful even in the rain (it is the first full rainny day we have had and it is rainny season). We had a great time in our carriage ride and our self walking tour discovering all the amazing churches and colonial buildings. We even managed to discover the main street with all the wonderful bistros and bars that were set outside, perfect for people watching. Chris and I even got a few marriage proposals! The next day we conquered the zipline tour. We had three strong guys to help us wiz through the air upside down and supergirl style. It was amazing just Chris, me, and the howler monkeys. (Video soon to come)

MMM....street food!

At the beginning of the trip Jess and I stayed away from street food because we were listenting to the advice of our doctors. However, after a few days we couldn´t resist the delicious fruits and gave in. So far, so good in terms of not getting sick. And the fruit is so fresh and so sweet and soooo cheap. Our favorite so far has been the white pineapple in Nicaragua...mmm, mmm, good! There are vendors set up on all the streets. We have mostly stuck to fruit and popcorn, but there are soups, fried foods, and even whole pigs for sale! In Guatemala, we even saw a boy selling live chickens on the street!

After sitting at the computer for an hour Jess and I cannot figure out how to delete the sideways pic...we are tired and hungry and we can´t find the Spanish word for delete..so sorry. we´ll fix it later.

Volcano....Masaya, Nicaragua

The Spaniards described this place as the gates of hell, I think hell looks pretty cool then. Chris and I are staying in a small town called Masaya and took the tour yesterday evening. We got to see Crater Santiago smoke and steam. We got to go in the lava tunnels and you could see the roots of the above trees. The tunnels were also home of three kinds of bats. We turned off all the lights and you could feel the bats fly right past you. Chris and I even sat in front of the tunnel as the bats flew out. The last part of the tour you went back to the top of the volcano and were met with toxic gas so we got to put on our gas masks and look down in the crater to see some of the red lava. The locals used to throw the maidens off the rim...Chris and I are past our prime, so we have been spared.

Hellish Honduras!

In an earlier post, Jess talked about our hellish trip to Honduras via the ferry, the city bus, and finally the luxury bus....this video clip was taken on the local city bus in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. We had just gotten off the ferry (and I am using the word ¨ferry¨very liberally as it looked more like a Cuban refugee boat- the only two options were to sit in the covered area and smell the puke of the other passengers or sit on the outside and get drenched as giant waves splashed over the sides- 4hours of pure hell for $50.00 per person), and were looking for a bus to La Ceiba. We thought we were in heaven when we found the bus. It was empty, had airconditoning (VERY rare in Central America), had window shades to block the sun, and cost about $.50. Well, our celebration was a bit premature. The bus would not leave until it was completely full. Once all the seats were filled up we figured we´d be on our way. Oh no...there were jumper seats that filled the aisles. Once almost every nook and craney of the bus was full (we were sitting on 1 backpack and the other backpack was in our lap) we began the trip. However, a minute later the bus was stopped by the cops. Yes, Jess and I thought...they are pulling the bus over because the 15 person capacity bus now has 41 people(yes, 41!) and they are going to remove some people. Nope...it was just a weapons search. Every man (only men) on the bus had to get off (with thier luggage) and get frisked by the police...check out the video and see if you can count all 41 of us!

Roatan, Honduras.....The Diving was Amazing

We were not planning on going to Honduras, but somethings you just don´t want to go back to Guatemala City just to take a bus through El Salvador. After our great Belize experience at Caye Caulker we decided to take a "ferry" from Placencia, Belize to Puerto Cortes, Honduras. The ferry was just a 41 foot boat packed with people... refugee style ... complete with pucking people and screaming babies. The boat even broke down a few times due to the debrie, but don´t worry a boathand would then take a broom to the motor to disloge the objects. There were some packed bus rides and a night in a bad hotel (Amsterdam 2001) along with another ferry ride to get to Roatan, an island off of Honduras.
The first day we stayed on the west end and took a beautiful 3 mile walk on the beach to West Bay Beach where all the expensive hotels were located. We enjoyed a beach chair and the cool caribbean waters. The next day I went out with a great dive company (Ocean Connection) and did 3 dives. The company was great and my dives had 3 to 4 divers with me and a divemaster and a divemaster in trainning. We went down to 70 feet and I saw lots of tropical fish, sea fans, a turtle, and a nurse shark. I did two great wall dives and got to go through shoots and small caves. The next day my dive buddy who lives in Honduras gave us a ride to the capital. This was a 7 hour trip with Chris and Jess...no easy feat...thanks Micheal!!!!!!

Belize it or not....we swam with a manatee!

SO..after the steamy jungle we finally made it an island paradise...Belize!! We took the local ¨chicken bus¨, which is just an old American school bus (looks like the one we saw go over a cliff in Guatemala), and we decided that it was way more comfortable than some of the ´luxury´shuttles that we had been taking...at some of the main bus stops local kids got on the bus and sold sodas, popcorn, chips, and even homemade baked goods... (We steered clear of the homemade pizza...it looked a little sketchy).

Once we got to Belize City, it was a 45 minute boat ride to Cayes. We instantly felt happier upon the site of the Caribbean water (I guess we are truly beach girls at heart)! Caye Caulker is this adorable beach side town with only sand roads and golf carts. We booked a hotel with an ocean view and headed for a swim...ahhh paradise.

The next day we booked a tour with E-Z boyz boat tours. The lady booking the tours was named Bunny (and Michelle if you´re reading this, she totally reminded me of you)! She was bubbly and friendly and she guaranteed that we would have a great time...she was not lying. We went to three different snorkeling spots. At the first spot a swarm of nurse sharks came right up to the boat...it looked like a feeding frenzy. I was a little nervous (what´s new), but NO FEAR Jess jumped right in. Not wanting to be a wuss, I followed. We saw nurse sharks, coral, turtles, sting rays, lobsters and tons of fish...it looked like a scene out of Finding Nemo . We then stopped at San Pedro for lunch and then went to the third spot. Our guide told us that manatees sometimes visit the North Channel, but that he hadn´t seen any in a few days. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Anyone who knew me when I was little knows that I was borderline OBSESSED with manatees ( I even adopted one and got the little certificate), so getting to swim with one was high on my list. After about 10 minutes ( and me almost giving up hope) our guide pointed one out...I couldn´t get my fins on fast enough. He told us to go in on the other side of the boat so that we wouldn´t scare the manatee. I caught a glimpse of the manatee but a giant wave broke on top of us and then I couldn´t see anything but bubbles. It seemed like forever until the bubbles cleared and I thought the manatee was gone for good. But then I looked down and I was eye to eye with the manatee....IT WAS UN BELIZE-ABLE!

Relaxing on the coast...alive and getting tan!

It has been a while since our last post, so I just wanted to write that we are alive and well...we've been island hopping down the coast...we just finished up Belize and are now on Roatan...an island off the coast of Hondorus. Internet is so expensive here ($15.00 and hour), so this is just a quick post to let you know that we are doing great and having a great time! We have had so many funny adventures and as soon as we get back to the mainland we'll spend some more time on the internet and share all our stories. Hope all is well with you!

~Christine and Jess

Pictures-

top- Caye Caulker in Belize

middle- Placencia- Belize

bottom- enjoying a beer at sunset in Roatan

n

She's a beauty!

Okay....being the dog lovers that we are, you know we couldn't resist posting something about the dogs we have seen in Guatemala. They are everywhere...and I mean everywhere....I swear that there are 2 dogs per person. Most of them are street dogs and most are friendly. We were lucky to be staying wit the cutest and most friendly dog in Panajachel. Her name was Nyasa and she is Fransiska's dog (that is not the dog pictured above)...she protected us at night and followed us around during the day...on the day we left she followed us to the bus station and then when the bus drove off she chased after the bus...all the way to the edge of the city...she was fast! It is was so cute (and of course I was crying becuase it was sad to leave such a great pup)!

However, in addition to meeting Nyasa we also met the world's ugliest dog (pictured above)...we encountered this "beauty" in Santiago where (we have decided) all the ugly dogs go to live. It was hard to choose, but when we saw this pup we knew that we had found our winner~ There is a show on Animal Planet called " The World's Ugliest Dog" and we feel very stongly that this pup would make the top ten!

Tikal and Flores--We don't mess around

Our alarm went off at 4am and were met not with the familiar sound of an alarm, but the sound from a scary movie. We were sleeping in a bungalow in the jungle so the noise sounded like a very hungry large animal. Chris was sure it was a jaguar. It turned out to be only the howler monkeys. We then headed to our early morning tour of Tikal at 4:45 AM. It was a fast sprint through the forest with headlight on and up some steep steps to reach the top of the largest monument. We sat silently with all the rest of the tourist while we waited for the sun to rise on Tikal. We were above the tree canopy and saw the clouds break and the other tall monuments appeared while toucans and parrots flew by. It was amazing. We then got lucky and were in a small tour group only 7 oppose to the large 30 plus set up by our lodge. Our guide Antonio was very knowledgeable about Tikal. The monuments were built 700BC and the civilization lasted until 900AD. We went to several different sites and climbed up on another one under the direction of our guide who was such a character we gave him the nickname "Captain Ron."
After the tour we headed to Flores a beautiful small town on an island connected by a bridge. You could walk the whole town in five minutes, but it was filled with restaurants, bars, and hotels. Chris and I stayed in the bare budget $10 a night keep the lights turned off, don't touch anything, don't even think about taking a shower, and we suggest a few beers before you have to go home. We took an hour private boat tour for $12 and enjoyed a cold beer and the sunset. Yes you are right we spent more money on the boat ride than the room. Beers were $1.10. We had paid $100 to stay in the jungle the night before so we took a dramatic 90% decline. We are leaving Guatemala and heading for Belize! We are still alive on day 10!

2 American Teachers Almost Killed by Chicken Bus

This would have been the headline for CNN, followed by a picture of two cute but poorly dressed backpackers all in brown. Fortunately I am alive to give you the near death experience account.
After our great waterfall rope climbing experience and on the way to the caves our minibus was stopped. The windy road leading up the hill was blocked by two other minibuses and in front of that was a chicken bus (this is an american school bus painted that gives dirty cheap rides to the locals) who had broken down in the middle of the road. The tow truck was there and after about half an hour it seemed that the bus was going to make it around the bend and hopefully move out of our way. I decided to get a picture of the whole thing when all of a sudden the chain breaks on the tow truck sending the large chicken bus backwards down the hill. I of course am just standing there...Chris runs like everyone else. The chicken bus and driver go backwards over the side of the hill stopped finally by some trees. No one got hurt. If the bus had rolled after the chain broke it would have come right for all of us and the 3 minibuses. This gets my vote for closest near death experience in Guatemala!
Jess

Semuc Champey

Jess and I are now in full backpacker mode...we left Panajachel and hit the open rode on our way to visit Semuc Champey (sem -mook -champ -pay...trust me, I didn´t know how to pronounce it either)...as you can see by the pics, this place is absolutely georgeous, but it is hard to get to. We almost gave up on going because arranging the tour was quite difficult. However, we found a travel company that handled all the details (our bus ride, our hotels, and even our meals). So at 6 am (yep, you read it right) a bus picked us up from The Tower Hotel (more on that in another post) and we began the long and bumpy road to Semuc Champey (3 hours long)....IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH ALL THE EFFORT! This is one of the most beautiful places I´ve ever been...the blues and greens of the water were breathtaking, but the was not the best part....the best part was that our guide helped us scale down a waterfall!!! I have done some cool things in my life, but this ranks at the top of the list... literally our guide threw a rope ladder over the side of the fall and helped us climb down...his "assistant" (and I am using that term loosely) tied one end of the rope to a rock and acted as the "spotter"in case things went wrong. The climb was a vertical drop and I almost chickened out, but Jess talked me into it and I am glad she did...it was a total adreniline rush and I will never forget it. Once under the fall we could see the rush of water flowing into the river! So cool...I wish we had pictures of that part of the adventure, but we were so focused on holding onto the ladder that the camera didn´t enter into our minds. This was no Wild Water Rapids ride:)

-Christine

Panajachel

I just realized that we have not really posted any pics of what this place looks like...this is the view from the the top about 6 at night...Panjachel is one of the lakeside towns...the lake at the bottom is Lake Atitlan and there are 4 volcanoes surrounding the lake. We did not hike any of the volcanoes becuase it is the rainy season here. The weather was rainy and overcast most of the time, but it definitely didnt detract from the beauty of the place...Jess says that it reminds her alot of Alaska (but not THAT cold)!

Fransisco-Santiago´s littlest hustla....

Now that Jess is back in action we decided to take a boat over to the town of Santiago....it is a 30 minute boat ride. One of the main attractions to see there is a statue called Maximon pronounced (mo sschee mon)...he is the Mayan god of debauchery...basically this statue is revered in this town. Each year he is moved into someone else´s home and you have to ask a local Mayan to take you to the house...once you get there you are supposed to make an offering of rum and cigarettes...you can also take a picture of him (for 10 Q which is about a$1.20). Immeadiately upon reaching Santiago a little boy named Fransisco tells us he will take us to see Maximon for a ´cheap price´ ...that was his favorite saying ´cheap price´... he was cute(and a third grader, no less) so we took him up on the offer and he began to take us there...once on the way he told us that for a ´very cheap price´ (are you catching on) he would take us on the Grand Tour which included Maximon, the church, the market, AND the shopping area.. we took him up on the offer....haha, turns out that all of the things the church, the market and the shopping area DID NOT need a guide-they were in plain view! What a little hustler!!!!! But he was sweet, friendly, and we certainly needed him to find Maximon (located in a house in a back alley-surrounded by men drinking rum and smoking cigars)...ha ha.... I took a video of Fransisco and I tried to post it (his accent is so cute) but the computer is not cooperating so you will have to settle for his picture...I will definitely post the video when we get home

Top Pic Me and Fransisco

Bottom The elusive maximon

That skinny bitch!

So Jess, being the smart girl that she is, aquires some sort of parasite infection just in time for bikini season in Belize!!! Jess is always thinking ahead!! We are not sure what caused this infection, but we can be sure of what it did cause...vomiting and weight loss!!! Jess was sick all day, so we called George (our local tour guide and the principal of the English speaking school)...he gave us directions to the English speaking doctor and even rode his bike there to make sure that it was open (yesterday was some sort of holiday)...check out the pics to see the doctor´s office...although it looks a little sketchy, the doctor was great! She gave Jess a shot (in the you-know-where) and some medicine, and we are happy to report that Jess is doing great! Now that she is nursed back to health, we are leaving at 6am tomorrow for Coban for two days and then to Tikal. Once we have explored Tikal we are off to Belize...where Jess will be lookin good thanks to (what we like to call) the Guatemalan Bikini Plan...some girls have all the luck!

The top pic is the clinic

The middle pic is Jess waiting on the bench...the doc was out running an errand and a note said she would return in 15 minutes

The bottom pic is Jess getting a shot(which had to be cropped for obvious reasons)