Aymi’s Adventures

View of Perth from Kings Park – okay so my panoramic skills need a little practice! 

My first stop in Australia was Perth, where I had 4 days of soltitude and detox – much needed after all the partying on the KIWI Experience bus!!  Loved the city and it was so nice to be somewhere warm again (even if it did rain on the first 2 days), did all the main sights, Perth Mint, Kings Park, Freemantle & the prison, Nightsbridge (okay so the detox only lasted 3 days) etc etc.  For a big city it had a very chilled out atmosphere to it and plently of things to see and do without everything being in your face. I also liked the free buses around the CBD which made life nice and easy for me – especially playing dumb and managing to get them free all the way from Billabong Resort which was actually out of the free zone – I think being blonde helped!!

Freemantle Prison, Monument in Kings Park

Flew up to Broome still with the cold that i’d had for about the past 2 weeks thinking I would have another 3 days of relaxation, but oh no, the 3 girls from Perth in my dorm made sure that wasn’t the case and I have to say I was a little scared of them (and their lesbian stories), so ended up trashed everynight and sleeping by the pool everyday, although I dont think there was that much more to Broome to be honest, and I was happy to top up my tan a little which is now non existent after New Zealand!

Cable Beach Backpackers, The Girls, Sunset at Cable Beach

Sydney, again did all the usual sights, the compulsary piccies of harbour bridge & opera house, but to be honest I wasnt really that bothered about it.  Bondi Beach was just like any other beach, but it was nice to meet up with Jo there (who I met in South America) and spy on some rather cute bodies and laugh at all the Japanese people taking pictures with people they didnt even know! Stayed with Ben (who I met in Rio) which was cool, he picked me up from the airport, showed me around on his Vespa, taking me to all the best places – he even provided me with slippers to wear in his house!!  The first day I went to a BBQ picnic in Centennial Park with all his friends which was really cool as I didnt feel like a tourist at all – and I got chance to practice some Spanish with the Argentinians who were there. We ate out every night in really nice places – my favourite is still the $7 steak though, washed down by a $3 beer (thats about 4 quid in total) – sometimes the best things in life are the cheapest.

Ben my local Vespa tour guide, Jo & I on Bondi Beach, Picnic in Centennial Park.

My favourite day was when I got up early and went to work with Ben on the Vespa, the view from his office is pretty amazing overlooking the Harbour, the bridge and the Opera house – not a bad office to work in to say the least. Then I took the 8am ferry over to Manly for a few hours which ended up being the whole day. Such a beautiful area with a much more relaxed feel to it than Sydney itself. The day was spent walking around, shopping (well I didnt have a bikini with me and the beach was calling – okay so the dress wasnt all that necessary, but I love it all the same), lazing on the beach and eating fish & chips (still not as good as back home though – I mean where are the mushy peas?!). The ferry back to Sydney was equally impressive, watching the sunset behind the Opera House and Harbour bridge. After 5 nights and my short time-frame though it was time to move on, so I booked onto the OZ Exp bus up the coast to Cairns.

View from Ben’s office, view from the ferry coming back into Sydney from Manly.

Dinner in Aukland’s Skytower 

The long flight to Aukland from LA was exhausting and I was very upset at completely loosing a day after crossing the international date line. I have no record of 13th Aug, I set off from LA on 12th and arrived here on 14th and am feeling very cheated. Oh well Shit happens I guess!

The first thing I have to say about New Zealand is how spectacular the scenery is, from the beaches and volcanoes in the North Island to the mountains and glaciers in the South Island.  Before coming to New Zealand I was not really that interested in it and only going to spend 3 weeks quickly skipping through it as I didnt think I would like it.  As it turned out I loved it, spent just over a month there which was still not nearly enough and would love to go back one day – maybe in summer next time to see the North Island at it’s best.  The main highlight for me of course was meeting up with my parents there.

Some of the beautiful scenerary, Ma n Pa enjoying sunset on the beach.

The first thing I did after arriving into Aukland at 5am was to change into my trainers.  Flip flops and New Zealand in winter just dont go together.  After hanging around for a few hours I finally got a bus up to Keri Keri in the Northlands area arriving about 2pm.  It was kinda surreal seeing Mum and Dad there waiting for me at the bus stop, but after the journey to their friends house where we were staying it was just like old times, almost like I hadn’t been away at all. 

I saw most of the North Island with Mum and Dad, staying in Keri Keri was the base for exploring the Northlands including 90 mile beach, its sand-dunes, sand-boarders and quicksand leading up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point and meeting place of the Pacific Ocean & Tasman Sea. Then there was the boat trip around the Bay of Islands taking in Russell, Cape Brett, the Hole in the rock, with a few dolphins racing the boat and two killer whales thrown in for good measure. There was Waipoua forest with New Zealand’s largest kauri tree, Tane Mahuta. We also saw the widest trunked Kauri tree and the seven sister trees before heading to gum diggers museum.

Dolphin racing our boat.

Soon it was time to leave Keri Keri so we headed South and ended up in Tauranga it was a really nice small town atmosphere, with some decent nightlife. Mount Mounganui nearby was a nice short climb and had a great view over the seaside town. Then it was back up to Aukland for my last night with my parents. We had dinner in the sky tower which was amazing, not sure Mum really appreciated the views as she was too busy concentrating on the height! 

Auklands Skytower surrounded in the mysterious night mist.

After my parents had left I spent another couple of nights in Aukland and then headed down to Lake Taupo which was absolutely stunning.  I managed to do a skydive here which was such an amazing feeling and stunning views over the lake.  Then there was horseriding around the highlands with the sulphur seemingly steaming from the ground finishing up with a traditional Mauri show and Hangi dinner.  From there it was down to Wellington and the Te Papa museum where I decided to stay one night only as the hostel was not nice and go over to the South Island a day early. 

Skydiving, horseriding, Mauri Show

The South Island was amazing, from my first night in Picton, the smallest town ever, maybe even smaller than Pott Shrigley to my last night in Christchurch, I loved it.  The Kiwi Experience bus was great fun, although it did annoy me a little been told when to eat, when to pee, when to sleep, kinda takes the fun out of independant travelling, but also makes it a lot easier to meet loads of people and just get drunk all the time, as everything else is done for you! 

The Kiwi bus and some of the friends I made on it.

The main highlights were the glacier walk at Franz Joseph, learning to ski (and the apres ski where teapots were the order of the day) in queenstown, jet boat riding, fancy dress party at poo pub, and the great people I travelled with.

Franz Joseph Glacier walk, My fancy dress creation at the Poo Pub – Jordan you look fab!!

 More stunning scenic views of New Zealand

The best thing about California was obviously meeting up with Vix & Morph, although the convertible car was also pretty cool.

San Francisco was a beautiful city if very windy. We went on a boat trip under Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz, unfortunately we didnt get chance to actually land on Alcatraz and explore properly. Visited the lonely cypress tree – yess Vix it really is just a tree!  Also saw the painted (or pink if your names Vix) ladies!

Yosemite National Park is one of the most spectacular places scenerary wise, although I can now compare it suprisingly to New Zealand. The highlight for me was floating down the river Merced in a raft whilst eating squashed tuna and cheese sandwiches with cherry tomatoes on the side.  The weather was beautiful, soo hot, suprised we didnt get burnt whilst riding around on bikes!

Monterey was a cool town, really liked it here, apart from the hostel having a 2am (I think, cant remember now) curfew, which felt very weird.  Having to get home for a certain time was not what I came away for, and it was always just as the night was getting good.  Monterrey really didnt want us to leave when somehow the keys got locked in the boot of the car – which blonde bimbo could have done that!!  Oops!  So a couple os hours later we were finally on our way! 

We headed for Santa Barbara but after driving round every motel & hostel in the place realised we were never gonna get somewhere to stay here, it was a Saturday night and the town was heaving, looked like it would have been a really good night out too.  I did suggest sleeping in the car but it wasnt really an appealing idea after being sat in it for most of the day anyway!  We eventually found a motel in a town called Ventura which actually worked out really well as there was a fair on the next day which was pretty cool.

Hollywood was as expected, a bit of a dump, so after doing the obligatory sights we left and spent extra time in San Diego – definately a wise move, although I did like the hostel there (USA Hostel again) and the comedy show was ace. The obligatory sight for Martha consisted of the Beverly Wiltshire Hotel (I had no idea why this was famous until she explained it was in Pretty Woman?!), we also saw Rodeo Drive, the walk of fame, and of course the Hollywood sign.

San Diego was a great place, we started by staying at Banana Bungalow in Pacific Beach, then moved into the Gaslamp area and had a great night out around the area and met up with Sean who I met in Vegas and then stayed with Bailor who I met in Nicaragua.  All in all we had a fab time there, saw nearly all the beaches and parks around the area.  Sailed a hobby cat which was ace, although I wasnt very good at it.  Went to the Gilderport!!! and got the gigles lots, think we had a bad case of sleep deprivation!

After Martha and Vix left I drove round for a while, took the car back, tried to pay our parking fine – unsuccessfully and spent 8 hours in LA airport – nice!  just what you need before a 12 hour flight.

Adios to California – Rock on, alright, awesome, tomato, moo!!

Thanks for a fab time girls, theres probably loads I have forgotten since rewriting it, but it was definately the best 2 weeks x

So my first shock was arriving at Dallas airport and not finding a bin to put my toilet paper in – of course not, you can actually flush it here!!!  Various other shocks faced me, like drinking ice cold tapwater, streets with not only names but also maps and easy grid reference system so maps are not even needed.

It amazes me the differences between two countries so close to each other. How can one have so much and the other so little. Whilst Central America cant even flush paper down the toilet, North America not only flushes paper but also flushes automatically when you stand up and the taps start on their own.  It’s a horrible contrast.

Much as I liked all the cities I visited here, I couldnt help but to despise the ways and attitudes of people who live here.  How much they take for granted – as did I before travelling.

There is so much to talk about but to cut it short I will list the highlights (which is all I can remember now after the stupid website crashed – and why there’s no pictures!!):

Philadelphia 17 – 20 July

Visiting Liberty Bell, Congress Hall & Penns landing.  Finding out how badly we treated the Americans during their revolution and feeling so belittled I didnt want to open my mouth during the tours in case people realised I was English.  Meeting an amazing Jahovas Witness on the street whilst eating fruit salsd – I know a bit healthy for me!!  Visited the African American Museum which was supposed to show how Africans integrated into the American society, when in actual fact it was just an African Museum! 

New York 20 – 23 July

Visited the Empire State building and soon found out that it is highly over rated and the Rockerfella Center is way better value for money.  Spent my birthday at a comedy show with some people from the hostel.  Bought myself some billabong boardshorts as my birthday present to myself whilst dodging one of the many downpours at Times Square.  Enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the underground system and was glad when the time came to fly to Chicago for a more relaxed pace of life.

Chicago 23 – 26 July 

After the initial confusion and trying to meet up with Ryan with no mobile contact, ending in me booking into a hostel that I spent a grand total of 10 minutes in, Chicago remains to be my favourite city in North America.  Ryan and his family were the perfect hosts and I got to see so much more than I would have done alone.  I was happy just cruising around in Ryans car in the sun as opposed to taking the hot and sweaty underground in New York to be rewarded with cold rain when surfacing again!  Southport street carnival was a great first night, which as usual with reunions, ended messily.  Taking vodka out in a water bottle to add to coke is always a good start for that – and getting henna tattoo’s proves it, along with not remembering getting home!  Although from what I do remember it was a great night.  The next day we got a great Curry – the best hangover cure!  Went up Sears tower, visited the King Tut exhibition at the museum, met up with some of Ryan’s friends – more crazy people!!  Went to the Martini lounge and tried real Chicago town Pizza.  Thanks for a great stay in Chicago Ryan.

Las Vegas 29 – 29 July

Las vegas was all about the bright lights, casinos, gambling and relaxing.  The hostel was amazing, I can definately recommend the USA hostel chain in the states, it way beats the Hostelling International places.  The swimming pool was definately needed in the 40degree daytime heat, and that was where I spent most of my time.  Dave, Heidi and Sean made up the pool volleyball team during the day and great drinking and pool partners during the evenings.  After the adrenaline rush of being shot straight up into the air at 4G force power we headed to mini Paris & the New York New York roller coaster, The Venetian, Bellaggio, Treasure Island & the pirate show, MGM, Ceasars Palace, and many others.  The main gambling took place in Freemont Street though, where Vegas all began before it got bigger and better.  The roulette tables there was only minimum bet of $2 instead of $10 at all the big name places.  My favourite though was the free drinking as you gambled and the 99cent hot dogs!

At the lava field of Volcan Pacaya 

Another amazing country.  Antigua, the first stop was as amazing as I had expected it to be.  It was similar to Copan but on a larger scale with a great mix of locals and tourists.  The day we arrived was Independance day and as I was travelling with 3 Americans it would have been rude not to celebrate with them!!  The next day was spent chillin & feeling rough!

Views of Antigua.

Volcan Pacaya was something else.  Nowhere else in the world would allow you to actually walk on the red hot glowing lava field below the huge active crater of Pacaya.  It was certainly an experience to cherish forever.

Lava at volcan Pacaya

After saying goodbye to Stephen, Travis & Casey I headed up to Tikal with an Irish Girl, Mary. The Mayan ruins were huge, way more impressive than Copan Ruins & Flores where we stayed was also beautiful. A real small laid back island where everyone was super friendly. Visited a Mayan museum on Santa Barbara island which was actually a tiny island owned by one family with nothing but the museum there. They were really friendly though and ended up staying drinking beer and practicing my Spanish with them, taking away my present of 3 limes which actually came in handy for our tuna sandwich picniks over the next few days.

Tikal Ruins

On the tiny Island of Santa Barbara 

Stayed in Coban & visited Semuc Champay which is a beautiful river with various waterfalls and swimming holes – freezing cold but amazing all the same. It would have been a really nice place to stay at and chill out for a while if I had more time.

Semuc Champay

Missed the 2am bus down to Xeyla (good intentions never work out for me!) so ended up leaving at 11am & not getting there til late where we met a mad American ex marine, retired NYC cop who told us that the world was ending because we dont identify the enemy and kill them all – weird or what!

Views of Xeyla.

Cave walking – yes I am covered in bat poo! Views of Chichi market.

Lake Atitlan was one of my favourite parts of Guatemala – although I loved it all. Panajachel was very touristy so only spent one night there where the highlight was sharing my dinner with a 10 year old girl who was selling jewelary on the street after school. She was an amazing, intelligent girl who could go so far in life if only she got the chance – so sad. Then it was off to Santa Cruz, a little further west along the lake than Panajachel & stayed at La Iguana Perdida – the best hostel in the world. Fell in love with the laid back chilled out atmosphere of the place and could quite happily live here in the future. Spent most of my time here chilling out, diving in Lake Atitlan, drinking and wearign fancy dress. Walked – well scrambled actually – to San Marcos (known for its massages and relaxation retreats) and had an hour of relaxing Reiki before taking the water taxi back to Santa Cruz.

Lake Atitlan, sunset at the lake, my dinner partner, cross dressing!

Home to Antigua for a night before heading to Guatemala city for my flight out of Central America and up to the United States of America. So sad to be leaving Central America, especially Guatemala, this place really feels like home to me now, its going to be so weird being in a western country again, and I really dont know if i’m going to like it.

So for those of you who may have noticed that all of my recent travel blog entries – including pictures has vanished – well done – you would be right!

Boots n all had a server error loosing anything that had been updated since beginning of August so I am VERY P*ssed off to say the least!

I will try and update this website as much as possible, but think I am gonna have to giva the pictures a miss from now on, they just take too long and too much effort to get them done in time.

Hopefully the same thing wont happen again!

**UPDATE**

I have updated all my previous entries and added pictures in where I can, the next countries are on the way! (26th Oct).

Me Overcoming one of my greatest fears and learning to dive!

So when I finally arrived in Utila and looked around for a hostel I soon realised that there was not a lot to do here if you dont dive.  So I decided to just go for it and fully conquer my fear of the sea.  I had no intention of doing it before I got here, then all of a sudden it sounded like a good idea.  I wasnt so sure at some points, like the first night, after being shattered after a full day of travelling and then having to go watch PADI diving videos and complete knowledge reviews – needless to say I fell asleep after the first unit!!  And having to get up at 6am to be at the dive shop for 6.30 was not my favorite, but what I did discover was that diving is a great cure for hangovers – fantastic!!  I also found that I really liked being under the water and able to see everything thats going on around you.  Its so peaceful and relaxing and also educational.  I never though I would be the kinda person who would enjoy identifying different species of fish and coral, but its actually really cool!

So my days on Utila consisted of lots of diving, lots of theory, rushing around a lot and generally having fun.  Utila watersports became my little family, we dived together, ate together and drank together for 9 nights – almost resulting in me missing my 6.20am ferry back over to La Ceiba on the mainland!!

The boat, me diving, my instructors & dive buddy’s

The I went over to Roatan  – the largest Bay Island to meet up with Dave who I met in Costa Rica.  Roatan was a lot more beautiful than Utila, there was more to do here, like laze on the beach (Utila didnt really have a beach) but also a lot more expensive than Utila.  The first 2 nights I stayed in a well posh place for $25 per night as I thought I should treat myself, the last 2 nights I stayed in Daves house which was really cool, actually on stilts over the water and a cat there had just had kittens which were great fun to play with.

The gang in Roatan & Mummy & kitties.

Back to La Ceiba on the 1pm ferry meaning I missed England’s penalty shootout, although when finding out the score I was actually glad I wasnt subjected to watching it!! 

So we decided to Spend the night in La Ceiba and take the direct bus to Copan tomorrow.  Although I had heard bad things about Ceiba, I actually quite liked it.  Everyone seemed really friendly and we had a good night out in a bar called Expatriots!

The only piccie I have of Travis & Casey – my travel buddies from the Bay Islands all the way through to Antigua in Guatemala – havent forgotten about you Stephen but the stupid computer has lost all my other piccies!

After the long bus ride to Copan we all knew we were going to like the place.  It was kind of like Grenada in Nigaragua, but smaller and quainter.  We spent 2 nights in Manzana Verde, part of Via Via which was a really cool hostel, went round the Maya ruins which were pretty impressive, very different to the Inca ruins in South America – much smaller stones, but much more intricate heiroglyphics.  Spent the afternoon moving from happy hour to happy hour – needless to say the bus journey up to Antigua, Guatemala the next day was not the most pleasant.

That lovely border crossing sign – AGAIN!!! 

So after leaving Tamarindo and feeling alone I soon met up with 4 others all heading for Nicaragua, so I managed not to do the border crossing alone – although at this point I am an expert at the Costa Rica Nicaragua border anyway!! We split up at the border as they were heading to San Juan Del Sur (fab memories there) and I knew I had to get to Managua to get my ticket changed. So after arranging a taxi all the way to Managua for $45 the bus turns up, so decide to save myself some money and take the bus instead. Everything went smoothly if uncomfortably crammed into the chicken bus, they were really helpful and advised where to get off and told the cab driver where I was heading to. So Managua was not as bad as it seemed.

2 minutes later I ask the taxi driver how much, the reply 65 instantly made me think he meant Cordobas, it was only when I realised he meant dollars that I realised I was in trouble. It was my own fault for getting in without agreeing a price, but still annoying knowing I could have got a cab all the way from the border for $45. Anyway, by this point he´s threatening to throw me out (were in some dodgy area by now) with all my stuff and just take the 100 cordoba note I had pulled out. Evil Robbing bastard. I ended up giving him just over $30 to get there as it was pretty scary especially when he pulled over another taxi driver and they had me completely blocked in the car. At least I didnt get any stuff robbed though & was not hurt, it could have been much worse!

So when I arrived at the Casa Blanca hostel (after shouting a string of obscene language at the taxi driver) it was an absolute dive, bugs on the bed, blood on the floor and a group of 5 big black guys getting drunk in the reception area. I didnt care, I just needed a bed for the night. I couldnt get any food as nothing was open and it was to unsafe to walk anywhere so decided (& I wasnt about to get another taxi) to befriend the group of guys who turned out to be from various parts of Africa. Went well and they gave me free beer all night (it´s becoming my usual diet – who needs food!!!) only to proceed by trying it on with me. Nothing happened and I didnt feel threatened by them, I just wanted to get out of that hell hole!!! The nights sleep was also pretty bad – to be expected!

Took me an hour and a half to get my ticket changed in the morning and then left with a French guy on a minibus to Leon. I am now staying longer in Central America and cutting out some of the United States. So for those of you i’ve forgotten to tell I now fly from Guatemala City on 17th July straight to Philadelphia, then train to New York on 20th July and the rest of my itin as planned. Met an American guy when we got off in leon who had been robbed of everything he owned apart from his passport and 100 Cordobas by his taxi man and was punched in the face and held at knife point – made me feel a lot better about my situation and realise how lucky I actually was!

Leon was another beautiful town in Nicaragua, I had a great two days there with some more great people.  Spent the day at a beach about an hour away from Leon which was great after the night of drinking before.  The beach was perfect even though the strong current made it difficult to swim.  The weather was fantastic until around 4pm when the heavens opened and there was an amazing storm.  You could see the clouds moving over the beach, it was so weird to watch, Ive never seen anything like it, it was exactly how I would expect a hurricane to be.

I then set off for the Bay Islands with an English guy.  We started at 8am and after 4 busses only made it as far as Tegucigalpa (the capital of Honduras).  The hotel we stayed at (Hospedaje Familiar) was even worse than the one in Managua, it was basically a knocking shop.  I couldnt even bring myself to use the toilet there, let alone the shower.  Neither of us had any local currency and only a few dollars between us, so we set of in search of a cash machine, an hour later after 3 cash machines all of which didnt work we gave up and had half a chicken in the only place we could find that was open.  The woman let us pay in dollars and gave us our change in Limps, which came in handy for the next full day of travelling.  I was so glad I had a travel companion for this journey, it would have been horrible if I was alone, but it turned out to be quite a funny adventure!

We set of again at 5.30am and 2 long bus journeys, a ferry crossing and some more money issues we finally arrived in Utila around 6pm and boy did I enjoy a nice long shower!

The Girls in Nicaragua

So after setting off from Monteverde at 4.30 am and being dropped off on a street at around 6am to await the tika bus picking us up at 8.30, we eventually arrived at the border only to be kept waiting for aprox 3 hours. Suppose we should have realised that every man, woman and child would be trying to get to Nicaragua because it was mothers day the next day?! Although most of the wait was due to all the other busses jumping in front of ours because they were bribing the police & officials there! We arrived in Grenada at around 6pm and checked into the Oasis hostel, heading straight for the pool to cool down and get rid of the sweaty day of travelling (well it´s better than a shower!). Soon realising we hadnt eaten properly all day we headed out to check out Grenada & get food – you know what im like when I get hungry!! We found an amazing place where everything was off the grill – my chicken kebab was devoured in seconds, along with a couple of beers of course. It was a really posh place, candlelit dinner and all that (i´m not used to those luxuries anymore) and it only cost total $20 for the two of us, bargain or what. Back home it would have been around 40Quid.

After 4 nights there I fell in love with Grenada. There is so much to do nearby and the town itself is so small, picturesque and friendly, with a great mix or travellers and locals, but not so many travellers that you miss the culture. Mesayah is an unbelievable market town, hustle bustle and yet still safe and friendly. Although I think I would have felt safe walking through a war zone after Riley purchased 3 (yes 3) machete´s – apart from when the sheath fell off the largest of the three and the blade was swinging past my legs along the street – thanks Riley!!

Riley & Lesley – the best travel buddies, All the old school busses lined up in Mesayah!

Laguna de Apoyo was a great day. Swimming in the cleanest water in Nicaragua (yeah Lake Nicaragua is pretty grim) in a huge crater lake, snorkelling, kayaking, swimming, drinking and of course playing asshole. Our group by this point had expanded to 7 people, 4 ozzy´s, 2 Americans & me, you guys made Nicaragua for me.

Laguna de Apoyo – the piccies dont quite line up, but you get the idea!

So we all set off together heading for Omotepe, the island itself turned out to be not what I was expecting at all, but as there was the 7 of us with 5 (pretty much adjoining) private rooms & private bathrooms with little balconies with table, chairs & hammocks for like $5 each per night, we had a fab time. We hiked to San Ramon waterfall (about a third or the way up Volcan Mederas) that I believe was actually the highest shower in the world – not too impressive really, but after the hike there the water felt fab. The picnic we had there was my highlight, especially considering most of the ingredients were bought off the back of a stopped truck on the road (I dont believe there are any shops or supermarkets of any kind in Altagracia! The whole intention of going there was to hike one of the Volcanoes, either Maderas or Concepcion, after the San Ramon hike we never made it – probably a good job as there was a huge storm that night, and we would have had to get up at 4am to do it, which would not have been pleasant! Instead we went to check out the beach at Charco Verde where it appeared to be washing day for horses, cows and people alike!

Waiting for the ferry to omotepe, Volcan Concepcion & maderas, local haunt in Omotepe (or was it the only haunt!!)

Volcan Maderas – we had to climb halfway to get to that rubbishy waterfall!, Picnic at the waterfall, wash day at Charco Verde.

From there we all decided to head to San Juan Del Sur where we hired a boat for the day between the 8 of us we got through the largest bottle of Flor De Cana (gorgeous local white rum) and 5 people were seasick and not drinking – you can imagine how drunk myself Leslie & Renee were!! We continued drinking for the rest of the day which resulted in many drunken antics and lots of DRI´s on my part (drink related injuries – come on get with it!). Breakfast the next day was a pretty abismal effort. Some thought that a bike ride would be a good idea – not I. The three sensible ones of us took cabs and met up with the rest of the group at a beach just South of San Juan. We got caught in a huge downpour and figured the only way to conquer a hangover was to get drunk again. Well the uneven clay roads didnt hold well after the rain and it became impossible to even push the bikes back – boy was I glad I didnt have one, even though we had not arranged a cab to come back to pick us up and the only other option was walking – I was still a lot happier with this. We did eventually get a lift with two french guys in a converted Canadian bus – the highlight of the day was driving past Leslie & Riley in the bus as they were pushing the bikes along the road, what they shouted at us I cant possibly repeat!! We also met two more great American guys, Ryan & Tim (AKA Bill & Ted) they added even more humor and fun to the group (including late night skinny dipping – or was it early morning?) and kept our numbers up after Renee & Jane left us to go back to Costa Rica, wasnt the same without you girls though.

The drunken boat trip, Ryan & Tim (AKA Bill & Ted), getting drunk, view from our balcony at night.

So eventually the time came for Leslie & I to leave to head for the Bay Islands, after another drunken night & missing our 9am bus (we didnt even try to make it in all fairness) we decided we couldnt split up the family just yet so back to Costa Rica it was!

Im glad I decided to go back, Tamarindo was fab. We were sad to say goodbye to Jahdi & Ra after 4 nights, but the partying continued for Leslie & I for another 2 nights. The main memories being the Monkey Bar & the 1st world cup match Costa Rica V Germany – they lost but hey the atmosphere was fab and what an excuse for morning drinking! If only we had stopped at morning drinking instead of all day & night drinking too, it may not have got quite so messy eh!! The sunset in Tamarindo was also on a par with the one seen earlier in Santa Teresa, I cant decide which is the best, they were equally spectacular and both enjoyed with fantastic people. Leslie you are my sunset companion forever!

Monkey Bar, how cool do we look – wish we could actually use the damn surf board!, Sunset in Tamarindo, Lesley & I

Back to travelling alone seems like quite a depressing thought after the fab couple of weeks we all had together, but im sure another new adventure will be awaiting on my journey back up through Nicaragua and to Honduras.

Sunset in Santa Teresa – and the photo doesnt do it justice! 

I cant believe how different every country I visit is.  I thought South and Central America would be similar, but they are completely different, and indead each country within South and Central America is so very different from the next.

Costa Rica is like one huge tropical Jungle, at least thats what I first thought when in Puerto Viejo and on the way to San Jose, but on arriving in San Jose I realised this capital city is much like any other, big, unfriendly, everybody just going about their daily business.  I wasnt bothered about staying in San Jose so just used it as a pit stop to go to the bank and post office (finally my backpack is a little lighter now I have got rid of the shoes and some more books)!!  I was happily suprised at how easy it was to post my stuff home though, the easiest place yet, but I think Costa Rica is lot more used to tourists than many of the places I have been to so far.  In fact I think Central America is a lot more travelled by backpackers than South America which makes it very easy to travel alone as you are never actually alone! Also because it is much smaller than South America, so you bump intyo the same travellers time and time again.

Puerto Viejo was even better than Bocas De Toro, it had a very Jamaican feel to it, full of rastas and bikes.  I think the bikes actually outnumbered the cars in the town and it was definately the way to get around and see the area.  So apart from bike rides to nearby beaches and sunset snorkelling most of my time here was spent drinking with the locals until rediculous hours in the morning and sleeping on the beaches in the day.  I didnt really need to pay for my room here as I hardly ever used it, but Rockin J’s was definately the place to stay, I have never seen so many hammocks in one place before – and they were definately put to use.  And the kitchen with the twisty pan provided me with nightly entertainment!!

Hanging out with the locals at Playa Coclees

After the pit stop in San Jose I tried to get to Santa Teresa with another English girl, but with the real helpful information we were given in San jose we ended up at the wrong bus stop, with no map to explain where we wanted to get to, so we took the first bus to anywhere which took us to Montezuma.  On this journey we met with a couple from Hawaii and three English guys who we then ended up travelling with for the next week or so.  The highlight of Montezuma was the three level waterfalls just a short walk out of the town.  When I say walk I actually mean scramble, the steepness, mud, trees and humidity didnt make it easy – especially in flip flops (thongs / slippers for you guys who dont speak proper English!) but it was worth it when we got there.  We arrived at the top waterfall first – dont ask how we managed that one, I think everyone who goes there ends up taking a different route up.  It was beautiful, and there was only us there to enjoy it.  After playing on the rope swing, swimming and sunbathing for a while more people had arrived there and it was time for jumping from the top waterfall to the middle one which was about 60 feet down.  I wish I could say I did it, but I actually chickened out of that one. Eric said it was fun, but his arms looked pretty sore to me from the way he had landed! 

Hanah, Leslie & I chillin at the waterfall, playin around on the ropeswing at the waterfall.

If anyone is thinking of visiting Cabo Blanco National park, just a short ride from Montezuma then dont be fooled into thinking like us that it will be a nice 2 hour nature trail to get to a spectacular beach at the other side and then another nice 2 hour walk back.  It was pretty hard going, (in Peru it would have been called Peruvian flat) again flip flops not making it easy, we did see lots of monkeys, crabs, bats and a snake on the way but getting to the beach was a bit dissapointing, I think we deserved a tropical white sand beach with beautiful water for swimming in, not the brown pebbly beach that was so shallow you couldnt even swim, and you couldnt walk out any further because of all the rocks!  Oh well at least the cheese, tomato and advocado sandwiches were well deserved and enjoyed by all, even if the bread did stick to the roof of our mouths cos it was so warm!

Hot and sweaty on the nature trail, finally we see the path leading to the beach, and there it was, the pebbly sandy beach, oh well, time for a picnic!

Then we met up with three Canadians and the 10 of us headed to Santa Teresa (so we did manage to get to our ultimate destination in the end!) and took over a dorm in the cool Casa Del Mar Hostel.  The beach was fab, it seemed to go on forever and the sunset on the first night was the best I have ever seen.  Santa Teresa is all about surfing, smoking and beaches, kinda on a par with the rest of Costa Rica really.

Santa Teresa beach by day, Rob, Rob, Ben & Eric – wanabe surfers!, Eric & board in the sunset, and the sunset just getting better & better. 

After Santa Teresa I had to split up from our little family to go back to San Jose to pick up my big backpack (which I’d had to leave behind for a while due to drunken back injuries!) ended up getting stuck there for 2 nights trying to change my flight ticket (unsucessfully), but did enjoy going to see Mission Impossible 3 at the cinema – the one plus point to San Jose, feels like years ago since I last went to the cinema!!  Eventually made my way to La Fortuna to see Volcan Arenal which was pretty impressive, to actually see lava rocks crashing down the side of a volcano felt pretty awesome even though they were quite distant – im sure with Adobe Photoshop I can make it look WELL impressive!  The hot springs were amazing too, much better than any other hot springs I have been to so far.  The hot pools are definately the best way to enjoy a VERY cold beer (or three)!!  From there I changed my plans and instead of going to Nicaragua alone I got talked into going to Monteverde, originally for 1 night which quickly turned into three as we had the worlds best shithead and asshole team going, well hey it would have fallen apart without me!!! I also tried my first ever Falloffel here (no idea how that is spelt) and think I will be having a lot more of those in the future – thanks Dor!  Along with some more canopy swings – zip wires basically – the longes and the highest in the world – Wowowo!

Eventually leaving Costa Rica with my border crossing buddy Riley, after a 12 hour journey beginning at 4.30am, we eventually arrived into Grenada, Nicaragua, ready for our next adventure.