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

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