gone south

After some amazing and varied beach experiences in Mexico, we decided to reenter the US via Brownsville , TX. since it was familiar and incident free ( although all of the hype about the borders, though true in some places, was not a reality for most of the country). The north central and eastern part of Mexico did not warrant dallying for us and so we high-tailed it, across toll roads, making unbelievable time and arrived back in the states days before we expected.  The weather continued to be cloudy, coolish and despresssing and so instead of heading due north we have taken a detour to visit family in Florida.

The trip is over and reentry a struggle…but what a great ride.

Back in Mexico  March 23, 2009

Internet access has been an issue, thereby postings have suffered. Writing while not on-line makes it hard to remember where we were last when writing but I think it was Antigua, Guat.

At any rate, we pulled ourselves away from there with a bit more Spanish but lacking in salsa graces ( but was it ever fun to watch those who could!). We then passed through some hilly country where charcoal production reigned and then slipped back into Mexico at a crazy border crossing right in the middle of a busy Mercado. The necessary spraying of insecticides on the van took place by elbow pushing stalls with crying babies and produce stalls. Stayed up in the hill country, visiting San Cristobal- yet another colonial town but much less touristy than some of the others. Very nice but cold a good part of the day and so, again, we headed out through the Sierre Madres towards Tuxla. The mountains of Chiapas are impossible to describe other than elevation, switchbacks, zero idea of which direction you are heading and when conjuring the nerve to occasionally look down, it looked as if we were coming in on a plane.  This coupled with no guardrails, semi trucks passing on curves and the roads are lined with crosses commemorating those unlucky drivers was a crazy contrast to the farmers in the nearly vertical fields.Total white knuckle hours  and then we dropped down to sea level for the overnight. Next day we began a similar climb up to Oaxaca  City but this time the fields were agave ( for mescal and tequila) and the road lined with individual distilleries including the horses or burros pulling the grindstone in a circle.

On way, we stopped to see the BIG TREE in Tule. The know that it is somewhere between  2,000 and 3,000 yrs. old. T’was amazing…even took a spig.

Oaxaca was great and we managed to find ourselves in the downtown plaza having something to eat when a demonstration with hundreds of indigenous farmers from local villages converged to protest. A truly uncomfortable time as they passed our gringo table, eyeing the food and the folks.

After a couple of days we did a return route out of the Sierra’s down towards the beaches. Temperatures then returned to 100.  As I write we are cruising some of the beaches, stopping when a good site appears. Thus far, we’ve ended up on a nude beach and on several with undertows too severe to swim but we’re moving on as the calendar is now looming and we have a long way to go.

Will add to this when we get connected.

Leaving Antigua, we headed into the highlands to check out Lake Atitlan- a world reknown destination for the famous,wealthy and backpackers. The ride to the lake was an amazing array of patchwork gardens on impossibly steep hillsides. The lake, itself, is quite beautiful although the largest and most popular town where we stayed was a bit touristy for our liking, but a water taxi to the other villages surrounding the lake was rewarding(Note the colored chicks for sale in one market place.) Our intention to take spanish course there did not pan out for a variety of reasons and so we decided to retrace our steps and head back to Antigua.  We chanced to be here during an unusual cold snap. 46 degrees in the morning was not pleasant.

Presently we are back in our old stomping grounds-parked at the tourist police center in downtown-taking a spanish course and enjoying the town, the Sunday processions and the constant volcanic activity from our van.

Off to our free salsa lesson!

We’re in this colonial town for a few days, camped at the tourist police center. No, we’re not in jail! They allow campers into their facility - bathrooms, showers, electric plug in, and WiFi; all for free. The town is on some of the only flat land we’ve seen in the country, surrounded by volcanoes. Built by the Spanish, the town is loaded with churches and ruins of convents, etc. One site we saw today was built in the early 1700’s, then destroyed by an earthquake in 1793. One wall was riddled with bullet holes - a reminder that Guatemala’s civil war has only been over for 10 years or so. The ruins were impressive - then we realized the buildings were being built 1000 years after some of the Mayan sites we visited were abandoned. This is a major tourist destination with hordes of gringos getting off buses all day. However, it’s easy to see why so many folks visit - shops selling everything from crafts to coffee, 100 Spanish schools, 3 internet joints on every block; and of course the walled colonial houses, where sometimes you can see into the courtyard gardens in the middle of the block. Many of the surrounding villages are home to the local indigenous indians and each village has it’s own type of cloth or craft. In one museum we saw that villages separated by only a few miles each have their own Mayan dialect. The weaving’s are incredibly detailed and some take 3 months to complete. Of course with all the traffic they offer “best price for you” and bargaining is an art form. After spending so much time near the coast we were  a little off guard for the cold, 58 degrees in the mornings. It feels a little like October in VT - cool in the shade & hot in the sun. We’ll be off to Lake Attilan tomorrow and continuing the adventure.

posted at police center WiFi, Antigua

A few photos to go with Craig’s blog.

We have moved on from the coast and are now in the volcano/coffee highlands. Very,very beautiful as well as the ride up here. Incredibly dramatic vistas.

While stopped at a gas station yesterday, we were approached by 2 young guys on bikes, inquiring if we were, indeed, from VT. They couldn’t believe it when they saw the license plate. They are Vermonters biking from Costa Rica to Mexico. Truly  brave when you consider the road conditions and driving habits but they get to see the roadside vendors up close who are holding up parakeets, iguanas and armadillos for sale.

Slept in a bed last night!!!!!

It was bittersweet leaving Nicaragua, we had so many good times there, as well as fine coffee. When we woke up in Esteli it was 57 degrees - felt like a cool VT fall day. Crossing the border into Honduras wasn’t bad, but as we dropped out of the mountains it was brutally hot so we continued right on through to El Salvador. 2 border crossings in a day - a first for us; it was now 110 degrees.
The roads here are the best we´ve seen, there are even direction signs once in a while. However, even on the main Panamerican Highway - cows have the right of way, at least they´re bigger than we are. Cowboys on bikes heard them down the road to find something to eat. We see men on horses & women with large loads on their heads talking on their cell phones as they go about their work. Vey few houses have a landline and while many have no indoor plumbing, you can hear the TV from the street.
We´re staying along the coast for the beaches and to miss San Salvador which doesn´t have the best reputation. We´re camped at a surfer´s hostel in Sunzal in the shade, a short walk to the beach where the sun will drive you to your knees! Tried fishing from the beach - no luck yet, but I´m not done yet. Every cast is met with breakers chest high knocking me about, but at least I´m cool. Popular surf beach with a few americans, but tons of Germans, Dutch, and Canadiens.
A pretty country with more people living closer than the others that we´ve visited. According to the news media & guidebook, there are places that are dicey or unsafe, but everone whom we´ve met have been friendly and helpfull.

Just found a few more photos to post while we have the wifi connection.

Feb. 16,2009

Costa Rica Revisited

After the border crossing, we returned to Golfito for the afternoon and night but this time we spent some time in the town itself and enjoyed the area even more than the last visit. The town is one road wide encompassing a pretty harbor which leads out to some of the  best sport fishing areas in the Pacific- quite picturesque.  Camped with monkeys, toucans and learned to share the outhouse with the bats. Craig also got to carry the flag to the end of the waiting line of vehicles in a road construction site-no radios but the system works.

From here we headed out to the Oso Peninsula- a breathtaking ride along a ridge just wide enough for a road, providing expansive views; on one side the ocean and on the other sweeping mountain/valley vistas. We were forced to abandon the ride when the tarmac turned to gravel since this would have meant many hours at a very slow pace. But we were happy that we saw as much as we did. Another time in a different vehicle would be another story.

And so…we turned our sights north,  still hugging the Pacific. The southwest sector of the country is heavily populated by national parks and forest reserves. As often, by chance, we followed a narrow dirt road, hardly signed, to Playa Pinuelas in the Parque  Marino Ballena. This being a Sunday we expected to worse as far a crowds go but were pleasantly surprised to find only a few folks enjoying the water and the great shaded areas and they all left by dusk leaving us alone with the moon and the monkey. Bought some red snapper from the fisherman on Monday and found that we just were not ready to say goodbye just yet and so stayed another night.

Continuing north, we stuck to the coastal road, this one gravel, covering 20 miles in 2 hours heading to the town of Quepos, gateway to the Parque Manuel Antonio, a favorite for nature loving tourists. We checked out the town which we found nicely funky while watching the boats. Then continued on, landing on a beach just outside of Jaco for the night.

The last few days in Costa Rica we spent in the northwest corner in Santa Rosa National Park before crossing the border back into Nicaragua. Hard to believe this was the same crossing that left us shaking last time; no crowds and quite stressless. Wonderful to be back in the country. Found a new favorite place on the coast and stayed 2 days. It’s a good thing that we do have somewhat of a time constraint and still so much to see because it would be very easy to stop indefinitely in some of these places.

Golfito

We traveled the Central Highlands, Pan Am Highway, to go from San Jose to Golfito, out on the southern most coast. This entailed an all day drive up into the clouds ,and rain at times, cresting at over 10,000 ft. The van was not happy with this part of the trip and it was unfortunate that visibility was so poor because, for the most part, we were driving along a spine with potential views in many directions. Due to visibility being curtailed, the most striking scenery was the flora; car sized elephant leaves, head-high orchids, waist-high impatiens and, I swear,what  looked like wild dahlias.

Then we dropped down into a fertile agricultural valley with endless pineapple fields and then a beautiful wide river. All in all, a spectacular drive.

I have wanted to see Golfito for some time and was surprised, but not disappointed in the area. Much less touristed than the north and the town itself, now that United Fruit has left, is a working class strip backed by highlands that was intriguing.

Border crossing easy.

Las Lajas, Panama

Another place that we wanted to see last time here and were not disappointed -although luckily we arrived after the weekend. Beachtowns are often crowded on Sundays since that is the only real day off and although it’s great to see folks having such a good time, the trash that accumulates is still hard to describe. Consequently, it takes a day or two to clean up and empty out. And so…we had a lovely 2 night stay.

Next stop was Pedasi, a favorite of ours last time around and is still a wonderful spot. Similar to everywhere that we’ve been, big developments are trying hard to make a go of it. The present economic situation will determine how successful they are.

Santa Clara, Panama

This is a gem of a beach stay not too far outside of Panama City. It’s changed a bit since we were last here but during the week is still a remarkable place. There is no town, as such, only a few establishments on the water. Orientation is difficult in Panama- the sun rises over the Pacific and sets over the Atlantic.

Just on the other side of the Pan Am highway, 15 or so miles up on a corkscrew road, is a mountain valley village of El Valle. A sleepy town during the week comes alive on Sunday, market day. The air is quite cool with mist drifting off of the highest peaks and pine trees all around.

The Atlantic side of Panama

In a matter of a couple of hours, one can transverse the country following the Panama Canal. We stopped in Gamboa, once an important locale for the canal is now nearly a ghost town mostly inhabited by Smithsonian folks who do research here. The tiny town resembles a campus as all of the houses look like dorms.

We continued on to the Atlantic along a somewhat gritty road heading towards Colon but turned to the playas for a brief visit. It was raining as it often does in this area and so we spent the night and then headed back to the Pacific to dry out the van.

Just started to head north slowly. Back to CR and headed up the pacific coast insted of the mountains.

posted at Banana Bay Marina, Golfito CR.