Making tracks through Central America

  CENTRAL AMERICA, Guatemala
Monday, March 30, 2009

Final push northward
Eighteen buses in one week
Where are we again?

With 4 weeks and 4 countries to go before reaching our final destination of sunny Mexico, we embarked on our hightailing adventure through Central America. Our tight schedule allowed us only to hit some highlights, and hit them we did. First on our list was the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, which we crossed into from Panama with our Swedish friend Emmanuel along for the ride. We started in Puerto Jimenez, a hub for travel into Corcovado National Park. Intrigued by a flyer we saw in an internet cafe, we decided to spend our time here at Bolita, a rustic little backpackers' retreat in the jungle alongside the park. It was a grueling uphill hike with our packs to the site, but totally worth it. We spent a wonderful day trekking through the jungle, spotting howler monkeys, irridescent lizards, and wild macaws in the trees and dipping into a natural swimming hole. We passed the evening in the open air cabin chatting with other adventurers and trying to avoid (unsuccessfully it turned out) the infamous, though harmless, Corcovado ticks. 


Our next Costa Rican stop was the capital of San Jose, where Eli spent his final year of college studying abroad. It was a trip down memory lane, as we visited his former house, the University campus, the court where he used to play hoops with the boys, the hole in the wall bakery where he used to buy cinnamon buns, etc. etc. We even managed to take in a pro basketball game while we were there. Bron enjoyed tales of the good old days and a new exploration of this funky city. 


It was time to move onto Nicaragua, a beautiful country filled with friendly, laid back people. We spent our first night in San Juan del Sur, a sandy little beach town geared towards vacationers. The next day we caught the ferry to Ometepe, an impressive volcanic island rising out of Lake Nicaragua. Despite a run-in with a scorpion in our sink, we enjoyed a relaxing two days of stunning views and Flor de Caņa rum (Nicaragua's specialty). An added bonus was discovering that Ometepe is the sister island to Bainbridge Island in Seattle! Small world!! Next we hit Granada, a sweet colonial town on the edge of the lake. Beautiful architecture and a lively beachfront scene made this city a favorite.  We explored the market, watched some neighborhood sports games in the park, and enjoyed the sun setting pink over the serene lake.


All too quickly the time came to leave this lovely country and start the trek to Honduras. Five buses, two taxis, one bicycle rickshaw and a rough border crossing later we arrived in Tegucigalpa, where we were immediately warned by 3 neighborhood policemen not to walk around at night. We hightailed it out of there early the next morning and headed for the coast. By the afternoon we were in paradise: the Bay Island of Utila, known for tropical waters and amazing scuba diving. We spent 3 glorious days on Jewel Cay (a tiny island off of Utila), where the good folks of Captain Morgan's Dive Shop guided us through some amazing reef dives and an awesome night dive (jellyfish!).  The whole of Jewel Cay is about a 5 minute walk end to end on the town's only footpath, which made for a relaxing small community atmosphere (but not a good place to go for a run, as Bron discovered on a hilarious back and forth, back and forth attempt).


After our brief love affair with Honduras it was time to move along to Guatemala. Our main destination was Tikal, although it took us a few days to get there. We had a lovely stopover in Rio Dulce, a bustling little port town on a wide picturesque river. We lucked into an upbeat riverside Eco Lodge hostel where we spent a fun night chatting with the Australian owner and Belgian guests. After another round of buses we finally reached Flores, the main point of entry for Tikal visitors. Tikal itself was impressive and surprising - since Eli visited the site in the 90's they have unearthed several more enormous temples and the work is ongoing. We climbed the temples and marveled at the Mayan craftmanship. It was a beautiful end to our rapid crossing through Central America. Next we make a final push into Mexico on our way to rest and relaxation with Eli's parents in Mazatlan!



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