I'm sorry for not having updated the blog in 4 weeks. But I have NOT been lazy - this program involved working for the diveshop (getting the gear ready for all the dive-students, getting the boat ready, etc), working through 3 books (had to take 8 exams, do 9 knowledge reviews, create an emergency plan), and a bunch of other stuff. I've been getting up at 6 every morning. Work starts at 6.15. Doesn't take you long to get ready though if all you need is swimming shorts and some sun-tan lotion.
So. Now I'm a divemaster. Finished yesterday. So the tradition on the island whenever someone finishes their divemaster, they have to do a snorkel-test: means that in the local "Treetanic"-bar, you instructor/mentor announces that you finished, puts you on a mask and a snorkel - with a water-bottle attached that is then being filled with some nasty alcohol mix. Then you have to drink the stuff through the snorkel, and to finish it all up they fill the mask with bear and you have to demonstrate a proper mask clearing. All went well, and the hangover is not too bad.
I don't recall exactly where the last blog ended. And I still don't have the last Mexico pictures.But here a quick synapses of the past 5 weeks: From Mexico city I took an overnight bus to Tapachula, a town on the border to Guatemala. There I got a ticket for a bus to Guatemala - which I then missed by an hour, since there is a 1-hour time difference in this place that noone had told me about. The lady at the bus terminal suggested taking a cab to the border - and maybe I could still catch the bus there. 2 minutes later I'm siting in a taxi, wondering if I should tell the cab driver to go faster. After 20 minutes we get close to the border. I have to get out and take a Tuc-Tuc - only they are allowed to go directly to the border. As we get close I see the bus - made it!!After a night in Guatemala city I took a 12hr bus to La Ceiba / Honduras, from where I took the Ferry the next morning to Utila. Since then it's all been diving, diving, and more diving.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm leaving the island, and fly to Atlanta on Monday. Actually looking forward to come back. From there I'll head to Knoxville, and then to Detroit where we'll celebrate my Dad's 60th next weekend. I really don't know yet what I'll do after that. I might go to Germany for the summer, and either I'll find a job I really like or I might go to southeast Asia for a while. We'll see.
I hope you enjoyed reading. If I'll head to Southeast Asia, there will be more to follow. Adios.
Here some pics from Utila:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05fUtilaDMApril#
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunday, 04/04/2010 Current location: Tapachula, southern Chiapas, Mx/Guat. border
Time for an update. Since the last blog, I'm been snorkeling, watching wales, and freezing.
A few days ago, I found myself catching horses at midnight on a hill - and riding one (under full moon) half an hour later - without a saddle. And five hours earlier intended to go to bed early. That's what I call an adventure! ;-)
Kate is gone. She left yesterday morning for Quite, Ecuador, from where she will return to Poland on Tuesday. We essentially spend 24/7 together for the past month. It certainly takes some time to readjust. It was great to have a travel-partner; and it taught me a lot about myself. She is a great person.
Zipolite. My last blog, I believe, was written in Huatulco - which is a travel-resort for rich Mexicans on the southern coast of the state of Oaxaca. It's, of course, no place for budget travellers - so we continued that night to Puerto Angel, the second of the three major beach towns in Oaxaca. We were quite tired when we arrived, it was dark, and the town was almost shut down. Some very friendly people that we still found on the streets pointed us to a place where we found a cheap hotel for the night. The next day we went snorkeling.
We had been trying to arrange a scuba-diving trip since Huatulco, but things just didn't seem to work out. The snorkeling trip made up for everything though. Despite getting a decent sunburn, watching dolphins swim with our boat,
and seeing a big whale no more than 30' from our boat made up for everything.
The last bay we went to I skipped the snorkeling (I'm not a big snorkeler, scuba is more my thing). Instead I went to check out the awesome hotel someone had built there, - with $400/night rooms as they told me. The guide warned me - try if you can get in. As I approached there was a big (closed) gate and two guards in a guardhouse. I put on my best 'I'm-important-even-though-I'm-in-a-bathing-suit' look and told the guards I would like to take a look around the hotel. The guard picks up the phone and calls someone. Two minutes later I'm in. Another 3 minutes later someone is with me and shows me the entire compound - which was absolutely amazing! Two-story rooms with private jacuzzi's, a sink where the water is dispensed from a big seashell etc - the whole thing was an incredible work of art. In the restaurant the supposedly "best chef of Mexico" showed me their menu. Sorry - no pictures, couldn't take the camera w/ me from the boat.
We meet some new friends on the boat - an Italian couple, who spend their last two weeks of a 3-months trip here, and a guy from Puebla, whose wife just divorced him. His friends send him down there for 3 days to have a little fun again. He'd been there for a month now. ;-) We spend the next night in the same hotel they were staying in at the beach of Zipolite - 200 pesos got us a room with private bath and a spectacular beach view.
Next day we took off to Oaxaca. On the way we had lunch in the mountains - a primitive stove, a small wooden hut, and basic ingredients can be all you need for a restaurant - and a super-friendly family:
checked out the city at night, spontaneously went dancing at a club full of mid-aged locals, and took off the next morning at noon. Arrived at 2am in the morning in San Miguel de Allende - and it felt like coming home for me again.
On Tuesday afternoon Kate and I were walking around town when we met Josh. Josh is a new-good friend of mine that I met in San Miguel in January - he's been here for 14 years. He has a house in town that he is building on, and a ranch outside town. He has 6 horses on the ranch and give horse-riding tours. So as we meet him, he tells us he just got a 6-person tour for tomorrow. And if we don't feel like coming out to the ranch with him to get the horses ready. We spontaneously say yes. But first he shows us around town some more. We "break" into a house-ruin, go out on the other side on a small path through brushes, until the path runs into a gate. We jump the fence - and are suddenly in the courtyard of some building complex. Two young women look at us from a balcony. We smile and ask if we can get to the street from their courtyard. They laugh, and show us the way. After surviving their Puddle's attack, we finally step through a metal gate back onto the street.
I don't have the pics from here on yet - so I'll pause here and continue once I get to Utila. ....
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03eOaxaca#
Here also some pictures from San Christobal, Cardenas, and the ruins of Jayha from earlier:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/SanChristobal#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/Cardenas#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03jJayhaYMonami#
A few days ago, I found myself catching horses at midnight on a hill - and riding one (under full moon) half an hour later - without a saddle. And five hours earlier intended to go to bed early. That's what I call an adventure! ;-)
Kate is gone. She left yesterday morning for Quite, Ecuador, from where she will return to Poland on Tuesday. We essentially spend 24/7 together for the past month. It certainly takes some time to readjust. It was great to have a travel-partner; and it taught me a lot about myself. She is a great person.
Zipolite. My last blog, I believe, was written in Huatulco - which is a travel-resort for rich Mexicans on the southern coast of the state of Oaxaca. It's, of course, no place for budget travellers - so we continued that night to Puerto Angel, the second of the three major beach towns in Oaxaca. We were quite tired when we arrived, it was dark, and the town was almost shut down. Some very friendly people that we still found on the streets pointed us to a place where we found a cheap hotel for the night. The next day we went snorkeling.
We had been trying to arrange a scuba-diving trip since Huatulco, but things just didn't seem to work out. The snorkeling trip made up for everything though. Despite getting a decent sunburn, watching dolphins swim with our boat,
The last bay we went to I skipped the snorkeling (I'm not a big snorkeler, scuba is more my thing). Instead I went to check out the awesome hotel someone had built there, - with $400/night rooms as they told me. The guide warned me - try if you can get in. As I approached there was a big (closed) gate and two guards in a guardhouse. I put on my best 'I'm-important-even-though-I'm-in-a-bathing-suit' look and told the guards I would like to take a look around the hotel. The guard picks up the phone and calls someone. Two minutes later I'm in. Another 3 minutes later someone is with me and shows me the entire compound - which was absolutely amazing! Two-story rooms with private jacuzzi's, a sink where the water is dispensed from a big seashell etc - the whole thing was an incredible work of art. In the restaurant the supposedly "best chef of Mexico" showed me their menu. Sorry - no pictures, couldn't take the camera w/ me from the boat.
We meet some new friends on the boat - an Italian couple, who spend their last two weeks of a 3-months trip here, and a guy from Puebla, whose wife just divorced him. His friends send him down there for 3 days to have a little fun again. He'd been there for a month now. ;-) We spend the next night in the same hotel they were staying in at the beach of Zipolite - 200 pesos got us a room with private bath and a spectacular beach view.
Next day we took off to Oaxaca. On the way we had lunch in the mountains - a primitive stove, a small wooden hut, and basic ingredients can be all you need for a restaurant - and a super-friendly family:
checked out the city at night, spontaneously went dancing at a club full of mid-aged locals, and took off the next morning at noon. Arrived at 2am in the morning in San Miguel de Allende - and it felt like coming home for me again.
On Tuesday afternoon Kate and I were walking around town when we met Josh. Josh is a new-good friend of mine that I met in San Miguel in January - he's been here for 14 years. He has a house in town that he is building on, and a ranch outside town. He has 6 horses on the ranch and give horse-riding tours. So as we meet him, he tells us he just got a 6-person tour for tomorrow. And if we don't feel like coming out to the ranch with him to get the horses ready. We spontaneously say yes. But first he shows us around town some more. We "break" into a house-ruin, go out on the other side on a small path through brushes, until the path runs into a gate. We jump the fence - and are suddenly in the courtyard of some building complex. Two young women look at us from a balcony. We smile and ask if we can get to the street from their courtyard. They laugh, and show us the way. After surviving their Puddle's attack, we finally step through a metal gate back onto the street.
I don't have the pics from here on yet - so I'll pause here and continue once I get to Utila. ....
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03eOaxaca#
Here also some pictures from San Christobal, Cardenas, and the ruins of Jayha from earlier:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/SanChristobal#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/Cardenas#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03jJayhaYMonami#
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, 03/25/2010
Quick update:
On Monday we left Guatemala with the hopes of making it to San Christobal de las Casas, a famous historic city in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. No chance. Too far. We decided to spend the night in the city of Villahermosa. After some frustrating searching we actually found a beautiful hostel with good beds and great prices. Spontaneously we decided a nearby nature reserve the next morning. My highlight: The tiger cage. After the tour was over, I went back. The big yellow-black tiger was lying about 15-20' away from me in the shade. Through the fence I started looking right at him. After about a minute, he got up and come over. He started walking along the fence, alternating left and then turning right again and so on, never moving more than 2 yards away from me. I was kneeling. So I decided to test how the tiger would react to an attack threat - and suddenly quickly stood up behind the fence right as he past by. The tiger - no noise, nothing - right away also jumped up, paws on the fence, ending up in a position slightly taller than me. Thanks fence!! ;-)
Later that day we made it to San Christobal - who I have to say is even better than San Miguel, which I consider my Mexican hometown. Slightly larger, and way more cute walking-only streets lined with shops, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. I do have to say that I believe the atmosphere is better in San Miguel, but of course I'm biased.
After spending the day yesterday exploring (during which I finally bought a hammock, so now I have a bed anywhere in the world where I can find two trees [or something similarly useful] close enough together). It was a nice relaxing day, and - we enjoyed the much better food Mexico has to offer compared to what I've seen of Central America.
This morning we took off for the Pacific Coast - and am sitting in a restaurant in Huatulco, Oaxaca now, trying to figure out what to do next. On the way down here, in some little town, we suddenly encountered a traffic jam in front of a bridge we had to cross. We were able to figure out that some demonstration and a political campaign speech were going on, and the bridge was gonna be closed for a while. A friendly guy close by gave us directions to bypass the bridge (sounded like a little detour). Following the directions, we suddenly noticed how most vehicle (that came from the same place) turned down a little dirt path. We followed. Down dusty roads/paths, the caravan slowly made it's way through the river delta. After crossing two rivers at shallow areas and some more dirt paths we got back on track after ~ 15 minutes - really cool.
Sorry - no pictures yet, have to get on that. They will follow soon.
And here some pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/ZipoliteWay#
On Monday we left Guatemala with the hopes of making it to San Christobal de las Casas, a famous historic city in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. No chance. Too far. We decided to spend the night in the city of Villahermosa. After some frustrating searching we actually found a beautiful hostel with good beds and great prices. Spontaneously we decided a nearby nature reserve the next morning. My highlight: The tiger cage. After the tour was over, I went back. The big yellow-black tiger was lying about 15-20' away from me in the shade. Through the fence I started looking right at him. After about a minute, he got up and come over. He started walking along the fence, alternating left and then turning right again and so on, never moving more than 2 yards away from me. I was kneeling. So I decided to test how the tiger would react to an attack threat - and suddenly quickly stood up behind the fence right as he past by. The tiger - no noise, nothing - right away also jumped up, paws on the fence, ending up in a position slightly taller than me. Thanks fence!! ;-)
Later that day we made it to San Christobal - who I have to say is even better than San Miguel, which I consider my Mexican hometown. Slightly larger, and way more cute walking-only streets lined with shops, cafes, bars, restaurants etc. I do have to say that I believe the atmosphere is better in San Miguel, but of course I'm biased.
After spending the day yesterday exploring (during which I finally bought a hammock, so now I have a bed anywhere in the world where I can find two trees [or something similarly useful] close enough together). It was a nice relaxing day, and - we enjoyed the much better food Mexico has to offer compared to what I've seen of Central America.
This morning we took off for the Pacific Coast - and am sitting in a restaurant in Huatulco, Oaxaca now, trying to figure out what to do next. On the way down here, in some little town, we suddenly encountered a traffic jam in front of a bridge we had to cross. We were able to figure out that some demonstration and a political campaign speech were going on, and the bridge was gonna be closed for a while. A friendly guy close by gave us directions to bypass the bridge (sounded like a little detour). Following the directions, we suddenly noticed how most vehicle (that came from the same place) turned down a little dirt path. We followed. Down dusty roads/paths, the caravan slowly made it's way through the river delta. After crossing two rivers at shallow areas and some more dirt paths we got back on track after ~ 15 minutes - really cool.
Sorry - no pictures yet, have to get on that. They will follow soon.
And here some pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/ZipoliteWay#
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Saturday, 03/20/2010
No super-spectacular news this time. But adventurous even so.
A quick follow-up on the execution we witnessed: From what I gather this could be related to two things, 1) rival drug cartel violence or 2) political (Honduras had a military coup recently that resulted in a new leader, whom many of the poor Hondurans are not happy with and are conducting propaganda against). It appears to be an extremely rare event for Honduras.
In the border region between northern Honduras and Guatemala we saw some absolutely fantastic landscapes, and I found a valley that I'd buy in a heartbeat to built a ranch on if I had the money.
We spent a day in Rio Dulce, a small town at the edge of Lake Itzabal where the river Rio Dulce flows out of the lake towards the Caribbean.Taking a boat tour through the river to Livingston (at the coast) supposedly offers spectacular wildlife views, but we decided $30 was too much for the roundtrip fare. We did have a really, really cool hotel though, right in the middle of the jungle (see pics & below):
Leaving Rio Dulce we headed East towards Semuc Champey, a place with some beautiful (even though small) waterfalls where the river has carved out something of a tunnel, providing some great pools in the rocky areas above and fantastic sceneries. The drive certainly showed why the route was NOT recommended – first we drove along Lake Itzabal, enjoying gorgeous views, before the road turned into a rather rough path, passing the occasional village. Road signs were completely absent, as were any signs indicating the names of the places we came through. Every turn we came up to we had to guess which way to go, and ask the next possible person if we were on the right track. We arrived late at night (9pm – late for a mountain area where they have no electricity).
We spent the next day enjoying Semuc Champey and stayed another night – in another hotel – also w/ no electricity. They do provide electricity (via a generator) for a few hours a day if enough guests are there.
After that we headed up to Flores, a little island in Lake Peten Itza in Northern Guatemala. It's a beautiful little island, however, tourism has take it's toll – prices are quite step and any traditional feel has been replaced by souvenir shops and hotels. Lots of Mayan Pyramids around here. We're heading out to see one now, and then we're probably off to Belize. Pictures of this to follow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03gRioDulce#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03hSemucChampey#
A quick follow-up on the execution we witnessed: From what I gather this could be related to two things, 1) rival drug cartel violence or 2) political (Honduras had a military coup recently that resulted in a new leader, whom many of the poor Hondurans are not happy with and are conducting propaganda against). It appears to be an extremely rare event for Honduras.
In the border region between northern Honduras and Guatemala we saw some absolutely fantastic landscapes, and I found a valley that I'd buy in a heartbeat to built a ranch on if I had the money.
We spent a day in Rio Dulce, a small town at the edge of Lake Itzabal where the river Rio Dulce flows out of the lake towards the Caribbean.Taking a boat tour through the river to Livingston (at the coast) supposedly offers spectacular wildlife views, but we decided $30 was too much for the roundtrip fare. We did have a really, really cool hotel though, right in the middle of the jungle (see pics & below):
Leaving Rio Dulce we headed East towards Semuc Champey, a place with some beautiful (even though small) waterfalls where the river has carved out something of a tunnel, providing some great pools in the rocky areas above and fantastic sceneries. The drive certainly showed why the route was NOT recommended – first we drove along Lake Itzabal, enjoying gorgeous views, before the road turned into a rather rough path, passing the occasional village. Road signs were completely absent, as were any signs indicating the names of the places we came through. Every turn we came up to we had to guess which way to go, and ask the next possible person if we were on the right track. We arrived late at night (9pm – late for a mountain area where they have no electricity).
We spent the next day enjoying Semuc Champey and stayed another night – in another hotel – also w/ no electricity. They do provide electricity (via a generator) for a few hours a day if enough guests are there.
After that we headed up to Flores, a little island in Lake Peten Itza in Northern Guatemala. It's a beautiful little island, however, tourism has take it's toll – prices are quite step and any traditional feel has been replaced by souvenir shops and hotels. Lots of Mayan Pyramids around here. We're heading out to see one now, and then we're probably off to Belize. Pictures of this to follow.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03gRioDulce#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/03hSemucChampey#
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, 03/15/2010 Rio Dulce, Guatemala
First off - I'm sorry I didn't update the blog for more than a week. Weak or no internet access as well as loosing my camera didn't help.
Yesterday I saw three guys get killed on the side of the road - certainly one of the less pleasant sides of the trip. More about that later.
Utila:
I finished my Advanced Open Water Diver and my Rescue Diver certification, which now enables me to start a Divemaster-intership - which I'm planning to do in 2-3 weeks. However, I don't see myself as a future scuba-diving instructor, so getting an instructor license afterwards is not on the agenda. Below - our dive boat:
Other than that there is not that much more to report. Kate and I had some cool walk-the-island excursions. We tried to go see the wreck of a drug-plane, which went down a few weeks ago. Those guys use Utila on their route from South America to the US as a refueling point at night. Apparently a few weeks ago they were blocked from landing, ran out of fuel and crashed into the jungle adjacent to the airfield. Officials found $250 million worth in cocaine, which they told us was later publicly burned. (Airport below)
We, however, despite following precise directions, could not locate it - and ended up in the middle of the jungle at nightfall came. We headed back on some mysterious route that probably no man has walked before (we at some point ended up in someone's backyard and had to jump their fence to get back out on the road), but saw some really cool wildlife while walking back.
I decided to travel for a few weeks with Kate after my courses, since it's so much more fun to travel together and it's much more economical. The day before we wanted to leave Utila, Kate walks into this restaurant (where they have a better internet connection). I follow her about an hour later, and find her talking to some guy - Art - who offered us a free sail-trip to the island of Roatan (the Honduras "Bay Islands" consist of three major islands: Utila, Roatan (the largest and prettiest), and Guanaja). Art is fairly new to sailing, and felt more comfortable taking some "extra hands" along. His buddy Dave, who's been sailing for a long time, was coming along on his own boat (a little bit of comfort for me) ;-)
I spontaneously said yes, and after clearing up some of the details we were ready to go. At 6am the next morning Art picked us up at the dock, and at about 7am we took of to Roatan. While I was steering, we suddenly ran into some hefty winds, and I almost thought the boat would capsize (not even close as I learned later).
Once there, we visited Fantasy Island (a small island right next to Roatan). There is a big dive-shop and a hotel-resort there. We saw some cool white-face monkeys (pictures to follow) and just before leaving I met Jami - who owns a Live Aboard (bigger dive-ship that goes out for multiple days and has cabins in which the divers stay), and also trains diver masters as well as scuba instructors. Long story short - now I have a second option where I could do my divemaster. And this one is more economical (free room and board) and Roatan is a much nicer place. Have to do some thinking now.
La Ceiba - Harbour-city and connection point to Utila & Roatan:
We left Roatan the following day and met "Tony" on the ferry - he's an American engineer who grew up in Honduras and heads a non-profit over here. He recommended us to "Omega Tours", a hotel in the middle of the jungle (one of the biggest cloud-jungles in Central America).
We met up with him there that night, and had a small, spontaneous party - before white water rafting the next morning.
After white water rafting the next morning, we headed off for San Pedro Sula - an ugly, and somewhat unsafe city. It is a large industrial town, and somehow all the roads of Honduras seem to converge there. After we passed the city of Tela, which is about halfway, I suddenly here something like firecrackers. The traffic slows in front of me. I notice there is no car coming at me, but there is a Nissan truck kind of parked on the side of the road about 20 yards ahead. As we pass, I suddenly realize that there is a shooting going on, - or, to be more precise, an execution. I will save you further details. After passing, I view what's going on in the rear view mirror, and stop the car ~ 100 yards behind the scene as I see the truck with the killers take off. I ask Kate to hand me my first aid kit, and tell her to stay in the car - then I run off to check if I can still help anyone. I arrive at the same time with a few women from the houses around, which cry hysterically. It is right away apparent any help is too late.
Not a bright and sunny story. And no - not a common occurrence - this morning we told the story to Steve, who has lived in Honduras for 13 years - and has never witnessed anything like this. But to witness this in brought daylight has certainly left a mark. From what I hear these kind of crimes are all drug related. It still seems surreal. Time to take a moment and be glad to be alive.
So far for now. Crossed into Guatemala today. Gonna spend some time in the northern part, then on to Belize and then Yucatan.
New pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05dUtila2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05eRoatan#
Yesterday I saw three guys get killed on the side of the road - certainly one of the less pleasant sides of the trip. More about that later.
Utila:
I finished my Advanced Open Water Diver and my Rescue Diver certification, which now enables me to start a Divemaster-intership - which I'm planning to do in 2-3 weeks. However, I don't see myself as a future scuba-diving instructor, so getting an instructor license afterwards is not on the agenda. Below - our dive boat:
Other than that there is not that much more to report. Kate and I had some cool walk-the-island excursions. We tried to go see the wreck of a drug-plane, which went down a few weeks ago. Those guys use Utila on their route from South America to the US as a refueling point at night. Apparently a few weeks ago they were blocked from landing, ran out of fuel and crashed into the jungle adjacent to the airfield. Officials found $250 million worth in cocaine, which they told us was later publicly burned. (Airport below)
We, however, despite following precise directions, could not locate it - and ended up in the middle of the jungle at nightfall came. We headed back on some mysterious route that probably no man has walked before (we at some point ended up in someone's backyard and had to jump their fence to get back out on the road), but saw some really cool wildlife while walking back.
I decided to travel for a few weeks with Kate after my courses, since it's so much more fun to travel together and it's much more economical. The day before we wanted to leave Utila, Kate walks into this restaurant (where they have a better internet connection). I follow her about an hour later, and find her talking to some guy - Art - who offered us a free sail-trip to the island of Roatan (the Honduras "Bay Islands" consist of three major islands: Utila, Roatan (the largest and prettiest), and Guanaja). Art is fairly new to sailing, and felt more comfortable taking some "extra hands" along. His buddy Dave, who's been sailing for a long time, was coming along on his own boat (a little bit of comfort for me) ;-)
I spontaneously said yes, and after clearing up some of the details we were ready to go. At 6am the next morning Art picked us up at the dock, and at about 7am we took of to Roatan. While I was steering, we suddenly ran into some hefty winds, and I almost thought the boat would capsize (not even close as I learned later).
Once there, we visited Fantasy Island (a small island right next to Roatan). There is a big dive-shop and a hotel-resort there. We saw some cool white-face monkeys (pictures to follow) and just before leaving I met Jami - who owns a Live Aboard (bigger dive-ship that goes out for multiple days and has cabins in which the divers stay), and also trains diver masters as well as scuba instructors. Long story short - now I have a second option where I could do my divemaster. And this one is more economical (free room and board) and Roatan is a much nicer place. Have to do some thinking now.
La Ceiba - Harbour-city and connection point to Utila & Roatan:
We left Roatan the following day and met "Tony" on the ferry - he's an American engineer who grew up in Honduras and heads a non-profit over here. He recommended us to "Omega Tours", a hotel in the middle of the jungle (one of the biggest cloud-jungles in Central America).
We met up with him there that night, and had a small, spontaneous party - before white water rafting the next morning.
After white water rafting the next morning, we headed off for San Pedro Sula - an ugly, and somewhat unsafe city. It is a large industrial town, and somehow all the roads of Honduras seem to converge there. After we passed the city of Tela, which is about halfway, I suddenly here something like firecrackers. The traffic slows in front of me. I notice there is no car coming at me, but there is a Nissan truck kind of parked on the side of the road about 20 yards ahead. As we pass, I suddenly realize that there is a shooting going on, - or, to be more precise, an execution. I will save you further details. After passing, I view what's going on in the rear view mirror, and stop the car ~ 100 yards behind the scene as I see the truck with the killers take off. I ask Kate to hand me my first aid kit, and tell her to stay in the car - then I run off to check if I can still help anyone. I arrive at the same time with a few women from the houses around, which cry hysterically. It is right away apparent any help is too late.
Not a bright and sunny story. And no - not a common occurrence - this morning we told the story to Steve, who has lived in Honduras for 13 years - and has never witnessed anything like this. But to witness this in brought daylight has certainly left a mark. From what I hear these kind of crimes are all drug related. It still seems surreal. Time to take a moment and be glad to be alive.
So far for now. Crossed into Guatemala today. Gonna spend some time in the northern part, then on to Belize and then Yucatan.
New pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05dUtila2#
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05eRoatan#
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Saturday, 03/06/2010 Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
I almost stole another boat yesterday. But then the owner gave us a ride.
However, I could not resist a house break-in.
So on Wednesday morning it was time to leave Lago Joyoa. I'm supposed to give Ari (an Israeli who is just finishing med school in East Tennessee) a ride to La Ceiba (from here the ferry to Utila leaves), and Dillenger and Ana (both Americans who travel all the time) a ride to Tela (city on the ocean straight north from here). Dillenger, who is (kind of) the nephew of the owner Bob (of D&D brewery, the place we are staying at), has essentially been running the place for the past 6 months. I was told he and Ana were going on vacation for 3 days in Tela, but this morning I suddenly figure out that he is leaving for good - I'm shocked - things change fast down here. So well. The drive goes very smooth - thanks to excellent directions we got. We get to see some interesting horse-transport methods -
but Ari and I arrive in La Ceiba too late to catch the last ferry. Since I've heard that prices in Utila for food (and drinks) are fairly high, and I'm - as always - a frugal bastard - I buy a 1 liter bottle of rum this evening. Ari does the same. The cool thing about traveling like this is that most 3rd world travelers are similarly price-conscious, and hardly anyone goes by that "I don't care what it costs, I'm on vacation"-mentality.
Next morning - this is our ferry:
the fact that is entirely enclosed is a little concerning. It's very rough sees - after the first three minutes I start feeling like I actually might get sick - and I usually never get seasick. But after a few minutes things calm down a little bit and I feel better again, even though it remains a bumpy ride.
Arrived in Utila I fight my way past all the guys that want to convince you that their hotel / dive center is the best. I make way way up the street along the bay to check out dive shops. Over here you typically get free accommodation if you do a course, and since I'm planning to do 2 courses there is no need for a hotel. Despite a good impression at Cross Creek I decide to go with Underwater Vision - they just have an awesome ambience in their complex.
After a refresher dive on day one, and my first two dives of my course yesterday morning, I went for lunch with Kate, a girl from Poland, yesterday. After lunch, we continued walking until we reached the other side of town. There is a lagoon on the inland that runs parallel to the bay, and we wondered if it was connected to the ocean. We saw a little motor-boat anchored, and since I now have experience in boat-stealing I was in the process of convincing Kate that we should steal the boat and go find out - as the rightful owner suddenly comes driving up in a small golf-cart. He has a body in one of these strap-ons in front of him, a 5-gallon container of water and a box of groceries with him. I ask him if the lagoon is connected, and he says yes - and invites us to come with him since this is his way. His house is right where the two meet, so we can walk back from there. We agree, and help him get the water and groceries in the boat (not the easiest tasks to do on your own if you have a baby strapped in front of you). It turns out he is from Corsica, his wife is from Quebec, Canada, and they bought a sailboat in Guatemala - which is where their son was born. They sailed down here, but now his wife is pregnant again and they decided to stay for a few years. As we arrive, I take out his water and groceries and then we say good-bye.
On our way back, we saw this really cool wood-home that was under construction, standing on steltz. I thought this was worth checking out, and made Kate into my partner in crime. After stepping on construction material that covered swampy-underground, we made it to the stairs. The door was open, and we get to check out the place.
Beautiful. I would have opted for a different layout, but other than that I loved it. To the back they had a nice view of the lagoon, and to the front of the ocean. The night ended calm – I was tired from only sleeping four hours the night before (I got up at 5am to read about my upcoming dives), so I went to bed at 9.30pm.
This morning I got up at 6am and read some more for my dives today. After a wreck dive and an underwater navigation dive this morning, it's time for a siesta now. I'll have a night-dive tonight, after which I'll be an “Advanced Open Water Diver”. I'll take the camera on the boat tonight and try to take some pictures. Adios ….
I've been battling with the damn uploading now for about 2 hours. The system is super slow, I just had all the pics in the blog that I wanted, and then the damn system gives me some html error. Whatever. Check out the pics on the picasa link. I'll put them in once I have a decent connection again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05cUtila#
However, I could not resist a house break-in.
So on Wednesday morning it was time to leave Lago Joyoa. I'm supposed to give Ari (an Israeli who is just finishing med school in East Tennessee) a ride to La Ceiba (from here the ferry to Utila leaves), and Dillenger and Ana (both Americans who travel all the time) a ride to Tela (city on the ocean straight north from here). Dillenger, who is (kind of) the nephew of the owner Bob (of D&D brewery, the place we are staying at), has essentially been running the place for the past 6 months. I was told he and Ana were going on vacation for 3 days in Tela, but this morning I suddenly figure out that he is leaving for good - I'm shocked - things change fast down here. So well. The drive goes very smooth - thanks to excellent directions we got. We get to see some interesting horse-transport methods -
but Ari and I arrive in La Ceiba too late to catch the last ferry. Since I've heard that prices in Utila for food (and drinks) are fairly high, and I'm - as always - a frugal bastard - I buy a 1 liter bottle of rum this evening. Ari does the same. The cool thing about traveling like this is that most 3rd world travelers are similarly price-conscious, and hardly anyone goes by that "I don't care what it costs, I'm on vacation"-mentality.
Next morning - this is our ferry:
the fact that is entirely enclosed is a little concerning. It's very rough sees - after the first three minutes I start feeling like I actually might get sick - and I usually never get seasick. But after a few minutes things calm down a little bit and I feel better again, even though it remains a bumpy ride.
Arrived in Utila I fight my way past all the guys that want to convince you that their hotel / dive center is the best. I make way way up the street along the bay to check out dive shops. Over here you typically get free accommodation if you do a course, and since I'm planning to do 2 courses there is no need for a hotel. Despite a good impression at Cross Creek I decide to go with Underwater Vision - they just have an awesome ambience in their complex.
After a refresher dive on day one, and my first two dives of my course yesterday morning, I went for lunch with Kate, a girl from Poland, yesterday. After lunch, we continued walking until we reached the other side of town. There is a lagoon on the inland that runs parallel to the bay, and we wondered if it was connected to the ocean. We saw a little motor-boat anchored, and since I now have experience in boat-stealing I was in the process of convincing Kate that we should steal the boat and go find out - as the rightful owner suddenly comes driving up in a small golf-cart. He has a body in one of these strap-ons in front of him, a 5-gallon container of water and a box of groceries with him. I ask him if the lagoon is connected, and he says yes - and invites us to come with him since this is his way. His house is right where the two meet, so we can walk back from there. We agree, and help him get the water and groceries in the boat (not the easiest tasks to do on your own if you have a baby strapped in front of you). It turns out he is from Corsica, his wife is from Quebec, Canada, and they bought a sailboat in Guatemala - which is where their son was born. They sailed down here, but now his wife is pregnant again and they decided to stay for a few years. As we arrive, I take out his water and groceries and then we say good-bye.
On our way back, we saw this really cool wood-home that was under construction, standing on steltz. I thought this was worth checking out, and made Kate into my partner in crime. After stepping on construction material that covered swampy-underground, we made it to the stairs. The door was open, and we get to check out the place.
Beautiful. I would have opted for a different layout, but other than that I loved it. To the back they had a nice view of the lagoon, and to the front of the ocean. The night ended calm – I was tired from only sleeping four hours the night before (I got up at 5am to read about my upcoming dives), so I went to bed at 9.30pm.
This morning I got up at 6am and read some more for my dives today. After a wreck dive and an underwater navigation dive this morning, it's time for a siesta now. I'll have a night-dive tonight, after which I'll be an “Advanced Open Water Diver”. I'll take the camera on the boat tonight and try to take some pictures. Adios ….
I've been battling with the damn uploading now for about 2 hours. The system is super slow, I just had all the pics in the blog that I wanted, and then the damn system gives me some html error. Whatever. Check out the pics on the picasa link. I'll put them in once I have a decent connection again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05cUtila#
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday, 03/02/2010 Lago Joyoa, Honduras
Two days ago I stole a boat. We did return it later. We also met the rightful owner on the lake.
So after updating the blog on Friday afternoon, I went back to the hotel and overheard how the guy from the hotel wanted to rip of three American girls that needed a ride to San Pedro Sula (1.5hrs away) that night - he wanted $150. So I told them I was heading there that evening and could give them a ride. They gave me $40 for gas, and after Lise and I checked into a hotel I took them to the airport.
The next day Lise and I headed down to Lago Joyoa and got a room in D&D Brewery. Bob, the owner, used to be a civil engineer in the US but got tired of live over there about 14 years ago - and opened his microbrewery/hotel over here. Relaxing was on schedule for the rest of the day ...
On Sunday morning we went on a little tour around the neighborhood. Fidel, a neighbor who has a huge garden, invites us in and shows us around - he grows red beans right now. But it changes frequently - they have four harvest cycles over here.
As we walk on, we come by Doug's house - an American who used to live in Belize working on boats. A few months ago he came down here, bought an overgrown property and has been cleaning it up. We got to enjoy some great fauna and flora as well as got to see some great (hanging) bird's nest afterwards.
In the afternoon two German girls arrived at the hotel - Lena and Susanne. I go for a walk w/ them to get a view of the lake. The view from shore sucks! We keep going on some little path, and end up at a small canal. There are two little boats lying around. We decided to "borrow" one - which of course is stealing, even though we are planning to bring it back.
As I'm trying to figure out the rowing, we're slowly making our way to the lake. We finally get our views - even though it's overcast today. After about 10 mins we decide to head back. Approaching the canal entrance, another boat approaches us. The guys tells us he's the owner of our boat. First we're a little in shock - how upset is he going to be?? But then he just tells us we need to change boats and return the other one soon. After we switched, we noticed why - our boat had been filling a little with water - and he brought a bucket, so he can get it out. Our new boat seems to be watertight. We eat Chinese that night - huge portions, not cheap, and poor service - common over here as we find out.
The next day the three of us head off to the waterfalls. They are 43m (140ft) high and the main attraction of the area. After taking a look around, we decide to do the ziplining before the behind-the-falls tour - no reason to be wet for ziplining. They have five lines, that last one of which takes you right across in front of the falls - awesome feeling.
Then a guide takes us behind the falls. First we have to climb quite a bit a narrow path to get to the side of the falls. Then we actually make our way through the water to get behind and check out some of the caves there. There are some smaller waterfalls on the side which we also explore. At the end, the guide and I also jump off a cliff about 20' high into the water. The girls bail on this one. They are missing out - it's great.
After a relaxing afternoon we finish the night of with some (mediocre) pizza. Back to local food next time.
Today is Tuesday. Lena and Susanne had to leave this morning to pick up a friend in the capitol. I'm planning to head north towards the beach tomorrow with Dillenger (the owners nephew who helps run the place) and Anna (his friend who worked with him in Alaska). I'll drop them off in Tela, a city on the ocean straight north of here, while I'll continue to La Ceiba, from where I'll take a ferry to the island of Utila to do some scuba diving. So far for now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05bLagoJoyoa02#
So after updating the blog on Friday afternoon, I went back to the hotel and overheard how the guy from the hotel wanted to rip of three American girls that needed a ride to San Pedro Sula (1.5hrs away) that night - he wanted $150. So I told them I was heading there that evening and could give them a ride. They gave me $40 for gas, and after Lise and I checked into a hotel I took them to the airport.
The next day Lise and I headed down to Lago Joyoa and got a room in D&D Brewery. Bob, the owner, used to be a civil engineer in the US but got tired of live over there about 14 years ago - and opened his microbrewery/hotel over here. Relaxing was on schedule for the rest of the day ...
On Sunday morning we went on a little tour around the neighborhood. Fidel, a neighbor who has a huge garden, invites us in and shows us around - he grows red beans right now. But it changes frequently - they have four harvest cycles over here.
As we walk on, we come by Doug's house - an American who used to live in Belize working on boats. A few months ago he came down here, bought an overgrown property and has been cleaning it up. We got to enjoy some great fauna and flora as well as got to see some great (hanging) bird's nest afterwards.
In the afternoon two German girls arrived at the hotel - Lena and Susanne. I go for a walk w/ them to get a view of the lake. The view from shore sucks! We keep going on some little path, and end up at a small canal. There are two little boats lying around. We decided to "borrow" one - which of course is stealing, even though we are planning to bring it back.
As I'm trying to figure out the rowing, we're slowly making our way to the lake. We finally get our views - even though it's overcast today. After about 10 mins we decide to head back. Approaching the canal entrance, another boat approaches us. The guys tells us he's the owner of our boat. First we're a little in shock - how upset is he going to be?? But then he just tells us we need to change boats and return the other one soon. After we switched, we noticed why - our boat had been filling a little with water - and he brought a bucket, so he can get it out. Our new boat seems to be watertight. We eat Chinese that night - huge portions, not cheap, and poor service - common over here as we find out.
The next day the three of us head off to the waterfalls. They are 43m (140ft) high and the main attraction of the area. After taking a look around, we decide to do the ziplining before the behind-the-falls tour - no reason to be wet for ziplining. They have five lines, that last one of which takes you right across in front of the falls - awesome feeling.
Then a guide takes us behind the falls. First we have to climb quite a bit a narrow path to get to the side of the falls. Then we actually make our way through the water to get behind and check out some of the caves there. There are some smaller waterfalls on the side which we also explore. At the end, the guide and I also jump off a cliff about 20' high into the water. The girls bail on this one. They are missing out - it's great.
After a relaxing afternoon we finish the night of with some (mediocre) pizza. Back to local food next time.
Today is Tuesday. Lena and Susanne had to leave this morning to pick up a friend in the capitol. I'm planning to head north towards the beach tomorrow with Dillenger (the owners nephew who helps run the place) and Anna (his friend who worked with him in Alaska). I'll drop them off in Tela, a city on the ocean straight north of here, while I'll continue to La Ceiba, from where I'll take a ferry to the island of Utila to do some scuba diving. So far for now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/05bLagoJoyoa02#
Friday, February 26, 2010
Friday, 02/26/2010 Copan Ruinas, Honduras
Yesterday I sat there playing with Erica - who could look into the others eyes longest w/out starting to laugh. Erica is nine years old and lives in the mountains around Copas Ruinas.
So on Wednesday at 12, after saying goodbye to Emma and Leona (the Irish girls - no women), Luise and I headed off to San Salvador. There we picked up Eddie from Ohio whom we meet the day before in the hotel. Then off to Honduras. It's a small road, we pass many villages. I often wonder if we are still going the right way, and locals assure us that we are when we stop and ask.
The we get to the border. It takes me twenty minutes with some guy from El Salvador, who just ends up making a copy of my car permit. Then we drive over to Honduras. A guy with a golden belt knuckle and golden sunglasses takes us to a room for our visas. Any other circumstance I would have sworn he is a drug-dealer. After almost an hour this is done. Then I have to head off by foot to another building to get the car imported. The guy takes 20 minutes to fill out a damn form. Then he tries to enter the same info into the computer system. Things don't seem to work as he wants them to. He starts sweating. Stares at the screen. Gets a cell phone call. This all goes on for about half an hour - so almost an hour total. I'm so pissed at this point I'm ready to shot people. Or take the authority to perform any border-immigration matters from the country of Honduras. I've waited in a lot of lines at borders, to which there are reasonable explanations. This was just dumb incompetence. The guy finally asks another, younger guy - the paperwork comes out of the printer 5 minutes later. I have to pay $35 - that's outrages. I control my temper, but do tell him that this was ridiculous. After walking with some random woman to get copies of the paperwork, we can head off - two hours later.
Later on we drive through the mountains - and encounter the worst fog/clouds I have ever driven through. For a short while I have a Texas truck in front of me that I can follow (sooo much easier), but most of the 35-min ordeal we have to master ourselves - desperately looking for the grass on the side of the road or the centerline. Finally, after many hours of driving (and some great street food in Santa Rosa de Copan) we arrive in Copan Ruinas. It's a small but beautiful town close by the Mayan Ruins of Copan. These are the 2nd most visited Mayan ruins, famous not for their size but for the excellent Mayan artwork that has survived in them.
Yesterday (Thursday) we slept long and used the rest of the day to go to some hot springs.
So on Wednesday at 12, after saying goodbye to Emma and Leona (the Irish girls - no women), Luise and I headed off to San Salvador. There we picked up Eddie from Ohio whom we meet the day before in the hotel. Then off to Honduras. It's a small road, we pass many villages. I often wonder if we are still going the right way, and locals assure us that we are when we stop and ask.
The we get to the border. It takes me twenty minutes with some guy from El Salvador, who just ends up making a copy of my car permit. Then we drive over to Honduras. A guy with a golden belt knuckle and golden sunglasses takes us to a room for our visas. Any other circumstance I would have sworn he is a drug-dealer. After almost an hour this is done. Then I have to head off by foot to another building to get the car imported. The guy takes 20 minutes to fill out a damn form. Then he tries to enter the same info into the computer system. Things don't seem to work as he wants them to. He starts sweating. Stares at the screen. Gets a cell phone call. This all goes on for about half an hour - so almost an hour total. I'm so pissed at this point I'm ready to shot people. Or take the authority to perform any border-immigration matters from the country of Honduras. I've waited in a lot of lines at borders, to which there are reasonable explanations. This was just dumb incompetence. The guy finally asks another, younger guy - the paperwork comes out of the printer 5 minutes later. I have to pay $35 - that's outrages. I control my temper, but do tell him that this was ridiculous. After walking with some random woman to get copies of the paperwork, we can head off - two hours later.
Later on we drive through the mountains - and encounter the worst fog/clouds I have ever driven through. For a short while I have a Texas truck in front of me that I can follow (sooo much easier), but most of the 35-min ordeal we have to master ourselves - desperately looking for the grass on the side of the road or the centerline. Finally, after many hours of driving (and some great street food in Santa Rosa de Copan) we arrive in Copan Ruinas. It's a small but beautiful town close by the Mayan Ruins of Copan. These are the 2nd most visited Mayan ruins, famous not for their size but for the excellent Mayan artwork that has survived in them.
Yesterday (Thursday) we slept long and used the rest of the day to go to some hot springs.
We relax for hours in tubs with different temperatures. At the end, Eddie and I go down to the river where (really) hot water comes down via a waterfall and mixes with the cold river water. We sit in a naturally formed pond that gets water from both - so it has a nice temperature. We start talking to them. They live out here. The place is about 21 kilometers (~13 miles) out of town. For the most part, that means they go to school until 5th grade and then start working. There are three young guys and two girls with us in there. The older girls is allowed to go to school longer - than typically means that all her siblings have to work as soon as they get out of 5th grade to help the family. She is taking care of the younger girl, Erica, who is nine. And will turn 10 next year in January. It amazes me how responsible those kids already are at this young age, while maintaining that spark of youthfullness and childishness. I wash myself in the river using their soap, and leave with the deepest respect for those people - who have so little, yet seem so happy. I'm sad I didn't get a picture of Erica - but I will keep her in my mind.
This morning I went to the Ruins. Very interesting - but not that much more to say - watch the pictures. We are heading out tonight (Lise and I). Eddie is leaving earlier by bus. I'm giving three American girls a ride to San Pedro - their plane leaves at 2.30am tomorrow morning. Any help with gas money is always good.
I also learned that Dr. Tom Mentzer from the Marketing & Logistics Department, and one of the most highly regarded profs at UT, has passed away this morning after a two-year long battle with cancer. I learn that until a couple of weeks ago he was still doing research - it makes me happy that he had found his passion in life and could do it until his last day. My thoughts are with his family, friends and all those that cared about him today. Joe
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04dCopanRuinas#
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, 02/23/2010 Playa del Tunco, El Salvador
Last Friday we did a pool day - a nice local hotel allows you to use their pool and facilities for $3.75 / day.
Saturday the owner of our hotel, Blanca, offers us along with some other guests to take us to some small town of the beaten path where we also can swim a little. It turns out quite interesting. The town isn't very exciting, - but the drive is. We see modern transportation methods (sorry about the picture quality),
along with idyllic landscapes close to a remote village where we go for a swim with some locals.
To see the radical differences in these countries is amazing. On one hand you find internet cafes on every corner even in the smallest towns, while on the other we pass small, one-room houses built of clay brick and ochs-wagons that make you think you are set back at least a century. Even though for the most of us are aware that most of these people are very poor, it becomes a different pictures when you find out that normal families can't afford any kind of stove/oven or a fridge. They cook over open fires in the one-room houses, and hence many of them have respiratory problems (a lot of aid organizations build stoves in countries down here to fight this problem). Most kids only go to school up to 4th grade, then most have to start working to help support the family. I can't really say that I was that surprised by this. But what really surprised me is how those kids switch between acting their age (like in the picture above) and being quite responsible employees / part-time-mothers & fathers of their siblings. Being down here also reminds me how little we actually "need". I guess in the end happiness is rarely achieved by material things - and maybe those act often as an inhibitor.
Sunday morning comes along. Lise and I intend to head off to Copan, Honduras today. Lise already mentioned last night that maybe we should head south with Emma and Leona to the beach in El Salvador. I remember that many of the border stations close early on Sunday, so possibly I won't even be able to enter Honduras today. We decide to stick around today and all head down south tomorrow.
Monday. After another relaxing pool day, we are ready to hit the road today. I get up at eight in order to get an oil change. It's 3,300 miles since I left Knoxille, so it's time. After a little bit of asking around I find a place. They want $3 for the oil change. Then he tells me that we need to go buy the oil. It's not the kind of shop that has oil on storage. And not the kind of shop where I'd get an oil change under any other kind of circumstances. Enough of the pessimism. I have to call Jason in Knoxville from an internet cafe to confirm that I can use 20W50 in the car - it never get's cold down here, they don't use 10W30 etc. They do the job and everything is fine. After breakfast and saying goodbye to our host Blanca we head down south.
The first surprise: We come by a place called Playa del Sol. For miles and miles there are walls with gates to our right - it appears El Salvador's elite has bought up the entire beach front. Cheap, decent hotels are impossible to find. We stop by a "Comfort Inn" where they let us hang out at the beach for a while, which was very nice.
The beach is beautiful. But all the locals we meet are fairly unfriendly. We notice that nobody smiles around here. The (very) few budget hotels that we encounter all have lots of little sheds between them and the beach where all the fishermen hang up their nets when they come in. Where else could they do it. Essentially the locals access to the beach has been almost completely eliminated. I'd be pissed, too.
We head up to Playa del Tunca, about 90 minutes northwest. It's a surfertown. Cheap. And - as we encounter - great seafood. We end up in a nice little hotel with pool:
A room is $25 for two people - $12.50 a person, expensive for our standards - so this is a treat. The pool is beautiful, down here it's quite warm already. (yeah, picture that while you're shoveling snow next time ;-) ).
Tomorrow it's off to Honduras, the Copan Ruins. On the way we'll pick up Eddie, who I met here this morning in the hotel, in San Salvador - fellow travelers bring down my gas costs, and it's more fun to travel together. Nos vemos ...
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04cOnTheBeach#
(also added more pictures to the Suchitoto album).
Saturday the owner of our hotel, Blanca, offers us along with some other guests to take us to some small town of the beaten path where we also can swim a little. It turns out quite interesting. The town isn't very exciting, - but the drive is. We see modern transportation methods (sorry about the picture quality),
Sunday morning comes along. Lise and I intend to head off to Copan, Honduras today. Lise already mentioned last night that maybe we should head south with Emma and Leona to the beach in El Salvador. I remember that many of the border stations close early on Sunday, so possibly I won't even be able to enter Honduras today. We decide to stick around today and all head down south tomorrow.
Monday. After another relaxing pool day, we are ready to hit the road today. I get up at eight in order to get an oil change. It's 3,300 miles since I left Knoxille, so it's time. After a little bit of asking around I find a place. They want $3 for the oil change. Then he tells me that we need to go buy the oil. It's not the kind of shop that has oil on storage. And not the kind of shop where I'd get an oil change under any other kind of circumstances. Enough of the pessimism. I have to call Jason in Knoxville from an internet cafe to confirm that I can use 20W50 in the car - it never get's cold down here, they don't use 10W30 etc. They do the job and everything is fine. After breakfast and saying goodbye to our host Blanca we head down south.
The first surprise: We come by a place called Playa del Sol. For miles and miles there are walls with gates to our right - it appears El Salvador's elite has bought up the entire beach front. Cheap, decent hotels are impossible to find. We stop by a "Comfort Inn" where they let us hang out at the beach for a while, which was very nice.
We head up to Playa del Tunca, about 90 minutes northwest. It's a surfertown. Cheap. And - as we encounter - great seafood. We end up in a nice little hotel with pool:
Tomorrow it's off to Honduras, the Copan Ruins. On the way we'll pick up Eddie, who I met here this morning in the hotel, in San Salvador - fellow travelers bring down my gas costs, and it's more fun to travel together. Nos vemos ...
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04cOnTheBeach#
(also added more pictures to the Suchitoto album).
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, 02/18/2010
Quick update:
Hung out with the two ladies in my hotel Tuesday night - getting to know those El Salvadorians a little. Nice;
My car window got fixed (but up to 4 guys) on Wednesday morning.After that I decide to head out, and figure it's time to go to the beach. Want to go up to Honduras.
I miss the proper exit by like half an hour. Who cares - it's a absolutely beautiful drive on this stretch along the Pan-American Highway. I turn around, half dinner at a nice little restaurant along the highway, and decide to head to Suchitoto, El Salvador. Old, colonial town by a lake, not touristy like San Miguel and Antigua. (Picitures to follow, camera fell into water this afternoon). I meet four girls in the hostell, two Irish girls and two Canadians. We went to some waterfalls today - with a (tourist-) police escort. Really cool. Gonna stay a few more days up here, then head on to Honduras.
Pictures will come later, ... praying the camera gets in shape again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04bSuchitotoElSalvador#
Hung out with the two ladies in my hotel Tuesday night - getting to know those El Salvadorians a little. Nice;
My car window got fixed (but up to 4 guys) on Wednesday morning.After that I decide to head out, and figure it's time to go to the beach. Want to go up to Honduras.
I miss the proper exit by like half an hour. Who cares - it's a absolutely beautiful drive on this stretch along the Pan-American Highway. I turn around, half dinner at a nice little restaurant along the highway, and decide to head to Suchitoto, El Salvador. Old, colonial town by a lake, not touristy like San Miguel and Antigua. (Picitures to follow, camera fell into water this afternoon). I meet four girls in the hostell, two Irish girls and two Canadians. We went to some waterfalls today - with a (tourist-) police escort. Really cool. Gonna stay a few more days up here, then head on to Honduras.
Pictures will come later, ... praying the camera gets in shape again.
http://picasaweb.google.com/joegrass76/04bSuchitotoElSalvador#
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