The travels of BBQboy

I’m pretty disgusted with my blogging on Costa Rica. On most of our trips we travel around, visiting national parks, towns, various sights. We meet interesting people and I usually have something to write about. I find Costa Rica frustrating – everything is far to get to, transport is inconvenient (and taxis really expensive). I should have rented a 4*4 but I don’t drive manual. Anyway, I’ve been told by a few frustrated tourists that all the rental agencies were rented-out. I wanted to see the Nauyaca waterfall in Dominical but I was told that you can not go privately by taxi, you have to go as part of a tour group. I was then told that the tour was sold out for the day in question. This basically sums up our experience in the first ten days of this trip – it just seems for whatever reason we get stuck at a hotel or resort. I’ve never felt that before, everything feels so isolated here.

So this post contains my notes and tripadvisor comments taken from a few days spent at different resorts along the Central Pacific coast. I read it and cringe; I never thought I’d be on of those tripadvisor regulars (you know the ones – they usually complain about not having enough towels in the room or the lack of English spoken at the front desk). In Costa Rica we’ve had lots of time in the various resorts/hotels and that means plenty of time to either appreciate how well they run things or how badly some resorts screw up on the basics that travellers want when they travel. My comments are as much for other travellers as they are for the resorts/hotels; most of which are run by nice people who are too involved in their business to have an objective view of where they’ve gone wrong or how they can improve.

Oxygen Villas – Uvita

This European owned luxury retreat is a 15 minute drive into the hills behind the town of Uvita. There isn’t much to do here except relax, which is what we wanted after Manuel Antonio.

A beautiful place; villas all glass and white furniture, very minimalistic and modern. The grounds are beautiful and decorated by imported Balinese art. Restaurant serves meals all day and at night you can have their special ‘surprise’ meal which is a 4 course meal. Ok, it all sounds snobby and a bit pretentious (compounded by the constant lounge music in the background) but the staff was nice and friendly and didn’t act snobby or pretentious. We were told that it is a popular place for honeymooners and I can see why.

We give the place a 4 out of 5. We spent two days there and quite enjoyed it, it just beautiful and very romantic in many ways. The only thing is that the longer you stay here, the more you see the practical flaws in design, the little things that start to get on your nerves.

Overall very good. We would come back if ever in the area, but I think 2 days here is sufficient for anyone.

Costa Paraiso, Dominical

Another stay on the Pacific Coast. This is the part of the vacation where were are meant to be relaxing, so we have been mostly sticking to walks around the places we are staying, sunbathing, and reading.

We stayed at this hotel, 2km down the road from the town of Dominical. The hotel is on a large, beautiful site and the owners have done a great job with the landscaping – lots of large trees, flower bushes, and potted plants. The swimming pool is nice and private. The property has lots of nice sitting areas with chairs and hammocks where you can sit and look at the waves breaking over the rocky shore. Really is quite beautiful. The Villas as also quite nice; colorfully painted and spacious. The natural beauty and physical facilities therefore are really top notch. The problem with Costa Paraiso lies in the maintenance and management of the hotel.

We booked Costa Paraiso because they had an onsite restaurant, a good one we read. 2 weeks before our trip we received an email from them letting us know the restaurant was closed for renovations. We were disappointed but as the reservation was during the Christmas/New Year period it would have been too late to change our reservations elsewhere. Luckily it was only for two nights. At least they advised us and were nice enough to change our room to one with a fully equiped kitchen.

Villas Alturas, Dominical

I’ll be truthful – after a week, nothing has impressed us in Costa Rica. No sights that have left us breathless, no place that we would say “wow, I’m sorry to be leaving”. Villas Alturas, on a high hill about 10km south of Dominical, changed that.

Firstly, the place is beautiful. The reception/restaurant/pool area is beautiful and the views over the ocean and coastline are gorgeous. It is worth getting up at 5:30 for the sunrise; absolutely amazing.

Our room was fantastic except for a few flaws (all easily fixed) which I’ll mention below. The Kitchen area was clean and modern and I almost wished that I could have done some cooking. The room had a very large living room/dining room area, everything looked clean and modern. The bedroom was also very large and clean. Immaculate.

The restaurant, where we ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, was very good. Scott and Russell, the co-owners, take obvious pride in their cooking which is Mediterranean influenced. Combined with the beautiful setting, it is a very romantic spot. We loved coming here for meals. Tiny critique; they could do better with the wine selection.

The other critiques I have have to do with the room. All are relatively minor. 1) every room except the bedroom had thin shades – we noticed that someone could see everything passing by at night. Felt a real lack of privacy. 2) room is immaculate but could use a woman’s touch, the lighting especially is cold as well as impractical. Everything is romantic about the hotel except for your actual living space. 3) We had a bed where the slip was badly fitted for the bed, it would pop off on every corner all the time. I hate when that happens. On top of that the blankets are skinny and don’t give any comfort. We found that we didn’t sleep well either night here due to a combination of these reasons. The owners should visit Oxygen in Uvita to see the perfect bed.

But I’m pointing out these things because Villas Alturas could be a 5 out of 5 (we give it a 4 1/2 for now). We loved everything else about it and we loved the two owners. We would definitely come back.

Manuel Antonio – Dec 26,2011

Urgg, what a disappointment. The town of Manuel Antonio is a dirty little beach town. The one street in and out of here is lined with the usual mix of bars, restaurants, and gift shops you see in other beach towns. Some beach towns are interesting and fun in their kitchyness – not Manuel Antonio. It is dirty, disorganized, full of traffic and angry people (more on that later), and littered with the usual douchbags who loiter the streets of beach towns looking to scam, pick up, or otherwise profit from the tourist trade.

There is of course a beach but it is also disappointing. Dirty – it looks like a commercial about the risks of Hepatitis A. There are clumps of garbage on the beach, horses tied to trees, dogs running on the sand. We were later told by a guide that the water that runs from the streams that feed into the beach is runoff from the hotels – he recommends not using this public beach.

The highlight of Manuel Antonio is supposedly the park. Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Central America known for its high concentration of animals and “rainforest-backed tropical beaches”. “It’s easy to convince yourself that you’ve died and gone to a coconut filled paradise” (Lonely Planet). We were not impressed. Maybe we just came at the wrong time of year. But if you come during the Christmas break you are setting yourself up for frustration and major disappointment. Firstly, be prepared to wait between between 1-2 hours for an entrance ticket to the National park. I showed up at 6:45 am (the park opens at 7) and I still waited an hour before getting to the ticket counter. The tickets cost $10 a person for a day pass and you have to buy them the same day; you can’t buy them for the next day – we had tried to do that the previous day when the line died down in the late afternoon. You also can’t buy them elsewhere, only at the lone ticket counter.

We took a guide, along with 5 other tourists, into the park ($20/person for a 2 hour tour). The guide was a friendly young guy and he pointed out trees and plants as we followed the ‘tourist trail’ through the park. We came upon a few beaches that were nice, much nicer than the public beach in town, but quite unspectacular. We also saw a few animals; raccoons, capuchin monkeys, an iguana, a basilisk, a few sloths. We were told that there were crocodiles and caimans in the mangroves of the park. But we didn’t see much – which was no surprise considering the tourist hordes tramping through the park: teenagers in their sandals heading to the lackluster beaches, bored snot-nosed kids wailing and crying, frustrated parents yelling and pulling their brats by the arm. Filled with visions of a tropical paradise where they could relax in nature, see animals, while also giving their kids a cultural experience, you could feel their disappointment and anger. In the 2 days here we haven’t seen many smiling faces.

We were lucky and smart to have booked a hotel right next to the park entrance (more below). But imagine; having to drive to get here through the traffic that builds up very early in the morning, finding a parking spot, waiting in line 2 hours plus to get an entrance ticket, then being shepherded like a herd of sheep through the park. We had it easy but I felt bad for the unhappy families I saw.

Note: the bus that does the 7km between Quepos – Manuel Antonio doesn’t make it into town when there is too much traffic. You get to walk the hilly, narrow road, which has almost no sidewalk (only in a few stretches) and deal with the aggressive drivers who want to get to the park. What a fu***** mess.

Manuel Antonio was a major, major disappointment and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I just don’t understand – what is so spectacular about Manuel Antonio? I just don’t get it. What am I missing? We have made the best of it though – 2 days here, we’ve walked and explored in the mornings and spent the afternoons in a bar overlooking the main road/beach drinking beer and watching people struggling to keep it together. Despite everything we are starting to get into holiday mode.

[ To our relief, we met a few people towards the end of our trip who had the same opinions about Manuel Antonio. Peak season had something to do with it, but a few regular visitors to Costa Rica also mentioned that the town has grown too much for its own good and has gotten progressively dirtier over the last few years.]

There are 2 hotels right next to the Park entrance and we got to experience both. We stayed at the Hotel San Bada the first night because we couldn’t get 3 nights in a row at the Posada Jungle. We had opposite experiences at the two hotels. I don’t usually go into much detail about where we stay, but in this case I had very strong feelings about each. You’ll see our Tripadvisor details below.

Hotel San Bada (I give this hotel a 1 star out of 5 – the worst rating I’ve ever given)

Cons
• Incredibly overpriced for what you get ($242 /night including taxes)
• No amenities like coffee machine, free wifi, or minibar (they had a mini fridge in room, but was empty and not even plugged in). Only the basics, which at that price is inexcusable.
• Room feels rundown and an odd collection of outdated furniture. Showerhead broke off and hit Lissette in the arm, bathroom floor flooded (from I don’t know where), no water pressure in toilet or shower. Don’t get room 112.
• Hotel itself feels rundown; have nice facilities which all have to be upgraded and/or finished off. Nice pool on 6th floor with bar – but nobody working at bar (except during happy hour) and you have to go to reception on ground floor for towels.
• Horrible restaurant. Overpriced and just horrible food. Also terribly slow service. The 2 for 1 Happy Hour is no deal – $20 for 4 medium sized Pina Coladas.
• Coffee – I’ve previously mentioned my disappointment with Costa Rican Coffee. San Bada’s coffee was even more watered down than other coffee we’ve had. We had it after dinner and it was insipid. Was slightly better the next morning at breakfast.
• For $242 a night there is no porter to help carry your luggage or even open up the door – they’ll stand there being useless. I don’t mind paying that kind of money for an experience, but I get very upset when everything from A-Z is wrong with a hotel.
Overall, this place was a total rip off in every way, very disappointing.

La Posada Jungle (I give this hotel a 4,5 out of 5 – one of the best ratings I’ve ever given anywhere).

Cons
• Room could use a bit of a paintjob and a little extra deep clean. But I’m being picky.
I wish every place we stayed could be as enjoyable and easy as the Posada Jungle. If it wasn’t for this place I would have really, really hated Manuel Antonio. Because of it I only detest it.

Dec 23, 2011 – Orosi is a small town in Costa Rica’s Central Valley. It was our first stop in Costa Rica – we flew into San Jose and took a taxi here. Lush, very green (receives the most rainfall in Costa Rica,) it is well known for its coffee plantations.

We stayed here 2 nights, relaxing and enjoying the scenery. We walked around town (very small) and visited the old church which is said to be the oldest in Costa Rica. We had wanted to visit Irazu volcano which is 45 minutes away but had to abandon that because of bad weather on our 2nd day.

There is not much to do here (also note that it rains more in this area than anywhere else in Costa Rica) but Orosi ended up as a relaxing pit stop before hitting the beaches of the Pacific coast.

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We stayed at the Orosi Lodge

Our kind of place, a small (8 rooms) eco-lodge run by a very nice German couple and their son.

Our Tripadvisor review:

Orosi Lodge (we give 4 stars out of 5)

Overall a very nice experience and we would come back if ever in this area.

We finished up our trip to Cuba with a relaxing 2 nights stay at a Casa in a residential neighborhood of Cienfuegos called Punta Gorda.

I can’t comment on Cienfuegos because we didn’t visit the historic center. No, I didn’t have the shits anymore (isn’t it funny how it always clears up on the last day of vacation?), we were just lazy. But we enjoyed Punta Gorda, a long peninsula on the south end of the city that juts out into the bay. It felt like a beach resort between the lovely views and the great patio of the casa (Casa Los Delfines – my trip advisor review below).

I sat on the patio most of the last day thinking of our experiences on this trip. Some things were as expected, but I had some surprises as well.

Politics

Some people will never feel comfortable with socialism (you never see the word communism here, the word plastered everywhere is socialism). But, having travelled around the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, there is no doubt to me that the average person is better off here than in any other Latin American country covered in my blog.

Cuba’s citizens are given free education (at every level) as well as free health care (including dental). Basic staples are heavily subsidized (1/20th of the market price for milk, eggs, bread, meat, bathroom products etc). Nobody will exist solely on rations but at least it is a basic safety net. You don’t see the poverty in Cuba that you see in almost every Latin country. Cubans are incredibly literate and educated. Free health care means they live longer and healthier and have lower rates of infant mortality – according to the CIA World Factbook, 1) Cuba’s rate of literacy is higher than that of Canada or the USA, 2) its rate of infant mortality lower than both Canada’s and the US. In life expectancy, both Canada (14th in World) and the USA (50th) rank ahead of Cuba (57th). There are many problems in Cuba, most economic, but if I had to chose I’d rather be an average person in Cuba than an average person in any other Latin American country.

People

We met so many nice and interesting people on this trip. Cubans are well spoken and polite – again, a product of the educational system (although there were exceptions, like the touts in Havana). Cubans also struck both of us as quite proud of their homeland and history.

Market System

One thing that surprised me was the extent to which the government has opened up the market system with the allowance of casas and paladares, I was struck by the prevalence of both everywhere we went. I was also surprised by how nice some of the casas and paladares are. I’m told many of the changes have come in the last year.

Communications

About 15 years behind the rest of the world. Email is limited to a few internet locations in town (all extremely slow). Some people have cable internet at home (mostly casa owners) but this is even slower. Internet is essential to what I do now and there is no way a business traveler can work effectively here if he/she needs internet communication. This alone would stop me from coming back for any length of time.

Banking

Also stuck in the dark ages. Very few ATMs in entire country, even if they work they only work for credit cards (not debit cards). And with every card transaction you are smacked with an 11% commission! Plus, with the whole dual currency thing (where tourists have to use convertible pesos) a whole industry has grown around screwing the tourist. It was an ordeal every time we needed to get cash (either exchanging cash or getting from credit card) and honestly we know we got screwed every time.

Food

Not as bad as everyone says as long as you are eating in a casa or paladar. In fact, I think the stomach problems we had came from eating in our government run, 5-star hotel in Havana. It was simple but good, limited to the usual (fish, lobster, shrimp, chicken, and pork with rice, potatoes, avocado on the side. Deserts usually fruit or flan). We were prepared for the worst so it was a bit better than everything we had read. Tip – go to a paladar where you see lots of people, otherwise you’ll get stale leftovers.

Outside of the tourist infrastructure (ie casas/paladars), food is seriously lacking. I didn’t see a food market on our trip – I’m sure there are food markets but where are they? You don’t see “food stores” except for the ration shops. No fast food except for the very occasional pizza shop (I saw one in Trinidad). There are tourist shops where chips and chocolate bars are sold at extremely inflated prices (apart from this, along with soft drinks, water and run, all you see are empty shelves). Unless you want to sit down in a paladar you won’t find any street food. That’s why I recommend staying in a casa where the owner provides you with food, otherwise eating will be a constant issue.

I compare this to a country like Thailand where there seems to be a market or congregation of food carts at every corner and where you’ll never go hungry.

Basically, summing it up, Cuba is a developed 1st world society within a 3rd world economy. Basic communications/banking are worse than anywhere I’ve ever been. Things are getting better according to people but there is a long way to go.

Heat

Really hot! I think the major factor is a very high level of humidity.

Lissette & the Latin thing

Its always interestingseeing how people react to Lissette in different places we go. In the Dominican Republic they knew she was Latina but not Dominican – she got a few curious questions but that’s it. In Colombia they figured her for a local and she felt that she was being judged for being with a white guy – men gave her glares and women disregarded her (she felt they flirted with me in her presence). We both loved Colombia but that was about the only aspect she didn’t feel comfortable with. In Cuba they were certain she was Cuban. She looks Cuban and on top of that, as we found out, many Cubans are named Lissette. There was no animosity towards her but there were many questions and then disbelief that she was not Cuban. At the airport, leaving, the customs officer looked up and down at her while studying her passport and then asked her a blizzard of questions – trying to figure out how it is that a Cuban looking woman can be born in the US but be a Canadian. Again, no animosity, just lots of curiosity.

We booked our flight to Cuba with Cubana – the flight from Montreal however is operated by a Canadian airline called Flair Air. It was totally no frills and the food should not be touched, but apart from that it was fine and everything was on time. It reminded me of travelling to Africa in the 1980s because the plane was a collection of weird individuals – locals, retirees going down for the winter, businessmen, a few tourists…It was actually pretty interesting.

Here is my review of the Casa Los Delfines on tripadvisor:

I rated this a 4 out of 5 because there’s no 3 1/2 and I didn’t want to be too harsh in giving it a 3.

All in all, a beautiful casa but needs a bit more maintenance. I think people should also be aware of the meal arrangements.

October 19, 2011. Trinidad was just what we needed after Havana. It is a Unesco world heritage site and is referred to as Cuba’s colonial jewel – a pretty small town of churches, mansions, and pretty colonial buildings located in a valley between the sea and mountains. Today many of the houses have been restored as casa particulares (private hotels) and paladares (private restaurants). Many of the mansions are now museums.

We stayed 5 days in Trinidad and spent most of it just relaxing, walking around, visiting the museums, or just reading on the deck of our casa (more on that later). The best museums in order: 1) Museo Nacional de la Lucha Contra Banditos – details the revolution and explains many of the motives behind it. Great views from the tower over the town and surrounding countryside. 2) Museo Romantico – a mansions owned by a rich family. Nice views from the windows overlooking the main square (Plaza Major) and interesting to see how rich families lived. 3) Museo Historico Municipal – another mansion. Not a very well laid out museum though and I would not recommend except for views from its tower.

Our highlight however was staying in our first casa particular. Hostal Dr. Suarez y Senora Addy is run by a wonderful couple, Jose (who is a local doctor) and his wife Addy. They were fantastically warm and friendly and we had interesting chats with them on Trinidad, Cuba, and Caribbean life in general. In addition to our room (complete with private bathroom, minibar, and AC) we had a deck overlooking the town where Addy would serve us breakfast and supper. We feel that staying in a casa is the absolute best way to get to know people and get insights on Cuba. I totally recommend this casa (Cost: 30 CUC night, 4 CUC breakfast, 10 CUC supper – lodging and food over 5 days came out to an average of 60 CUC a day for 2 people which is a good deal in Cuba).

There are many things to do around Trinidad including 1) going to the beach, 2) hiking in the nearby mountains which have waterfalls that you can bathe in 3) going to the nearby Valle de los ingenios (the location of the sugar mills that made Trinidad rich). Unfortunately heavy rains and our weak stomachs (I still had a bad case of the Crappuccinos) limited us to doing nothing but taking it easy.

Getting to Trinidad: 5 hour bus ride from Havana. 25 CUC each, well organized, comfortable with bathroom stops along the way.

Lissette’s Tripadvisor review of Hostal Dr. Suarez y Sra Addys:

Forget about staying anywhere else. This is it. From the moment you walk in you will be welcomed with big smiles and a great Mango drink. I wasn’t sure that I would like the concept of the casa. I thought a Cuban version of a B&B where your are forced to chat about cats and the weather and worse be fed runny eggs & stale bread. None of that here. Dr Suarez Y Sra Addys are there when you need them and they never impose. The food is great so don’t bother eating out! I really felt I was home. It’s also nice to know there’s a GP in the house.

October 13, 2011. Visiting Havana before Cuba changes has been on my list for years. The city reminds me of Venice – walking around this city is like stepping into a museum (albeit a badly maintained museum). Most of Havana is a crumbling mess of buildings from the early to mid-1900s. The most interesting area for us was Central Havana where people actually live (as opposed to Old Havana which is for the tourists). You see little streets with broken sidewalks, old cars on cement blocks, washing hanging out of balconies, electric wiring strung out in every direction, and buildings that had once been beautiful which have crumbled and faded with time. Old cars are everywhere and if you like cars or other modes of transport (like old trains – we saw a few on display dating from the 1800s) then Havana is a great place for you. I talk about how Havana is a crumbling mess -but with its Caribbean setting there is a lot of beauty in its decrepitness.

Old Havana (photos below) is probably what the authorities want you to see – it has forts, plazas, and cathedrals dating back from the 16th century. Although interesting, I found that Old Havana had been restored to such a degree that most of it seemed almost artificial (it reminded me of walking around Old Montreal).

Overall, we can’t say that we loved Havana. The touts are pushy and you can’t walk anywhere without someone wanting to give you a tour or asking for clothes or toiletries. After two days, we couldn’t walk out of the hotel without seeing the “usual suspects” making a beeline for us (usual suspects: Mr. Bicycle Taxi Man, Mr. Old Car Man, Mr. Horse Carriage Man, Mr. “Let me show you the real Cuba” Man, Mr. “Let me take you to the foreign exchange” Man). By the last day we were slipping out of the hotel’s back door because we would see Mr. Bicycle Tax Man waiting accross the street for us to come out. It became annoying because everyone wanted to stop and chat. We also found the city incredibly loud and polluted – diesel fumes were overwhelming. It didn’t help that we both got sick to our stomachs the third day (the Vindaloos, as we like to call it) and that our energy and tolerance levels weren’t the highest.

Nevertheless, Havana has to be seen. It also made us appreciate what the people who live here go through every day – the great thing about travel is that it always reminds you to be thankful for what you have.

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We stayed at the Parque Central Hotel which is a 5 star government run hotel in the middle of Central Havana overlooking the Capitolio. It is a beautiful hotel with the most fantastic views from its rooftop.

Below is what I posted on Tripadvisor – a warning for other travellers going to Havana:

We stayed in Havana Sep 29-Oct 3. Although Havana is a safe city, we were the target of a scam that implicated the hotel. I think other travellers as well as management should be made aware.

Apart from this, we found Parque Central a very nice hotel and it gets a 4/5 from us. Great view from the pool, a beautiful room, comfortable beds, and friendly staff (I’ve seen comments to the contrary – it always helps if people realize that this is a Spanish speaking country and make allowances for for that.). A great place to relax when the city starts to wear you down.

April 2011 – Isla Omepete, Nicaragua

Within Lake Nicaragua, which is the largest lake in Central America, lies Isla Omepete. It is a small island shaped like an hourglass – both sides of the hourglass are volcanoes (Conception on one side, Maderas on the other) which are joined together by a narrow isthmus.

We stayed at Totoco Ecolodge on the Maderas side of the island. It was phenomenal. The views towards Conception volcano were great in the day and spectacular at sunset. The sunsets at Totoco were one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in all my travels.

On the 2nd day I hiked up Maderas volcano with a guide (Melvin). It is about 6 hours at a fast pace and quite grueling. It was a disappointment however. The best part of the hike was seeing the howler monkeys in the first hour while still in the lowlands. After that it is a sweaty, dirty climb up poor trails towards the top – which I wouldn’t have minded if there were great views. But there were none, the trees covered everything. The best view I got was when I climbed a tree and took a picture looking down towards the lake (see the photo below the monkey). So it wasn’t a great hike – BUT, it really was a good workout! I was sore for a couple of days after.

Apart from the hike, our time was spent laying out by the swimming pool and enjoying the nature. I would recommend this place to anyone and I would come back here with Lissette for a more romantic kind of vacation. The food at Totoco was fantastic! One thing – bring earplugs! I couldn’t believe the NOISE at night from all the bugs and animals, it was unbelievable. There is one bird, a small grey bird that seems to only appear at night, that constantly hung out right next to our lodge calling out what sounded like “fuck you” all night. I’m not kidding, that’s what it sounded like. When the noise from the night animals finally starts to die down (close to dawn), then the howler monkeys start up. There is no peace and quiet in the jungle – so bring earplugs!

Below: the family-sized lodge at Totoco.

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Unfortunately we only spent a week together in Nicaragua. My mother stayed on in Granada for her Spanish courses and I had to go back to work.

It’s nice to have money and to be able to travel in Nicaragua – everything is relatively cheap. Since I was travelling with my mom I booked private transport (with Oro Travel) for all our transfers. We travelled in style. But Nicaragua is a poor country and you can’t help but feel bad at times – I saw a boy who couldn’t have been more than 10 on a horse tending to a herd of cattle. In Canada kids that age are playing nintendo and getting fat. Skinny horses pulling carts are still the principal mode of transport. You can see that most Nicaraguans, especially in the countryside, live a very basic existence on very little.

A few Nicaraguans I spoke to in the travel industry expressed their frustration that Nicaragua was portrayed as a dangerous country, especially in the US (see the Bureau of Consular affairs website). In actual fact, Nicaragua is known as the safest country in Central America, safer even than Costa Rica. I never felt in danger – the flip side of few tourists is that locals aren’t overwhelmed by foreigners and are so much friendlier because of that. And I always say; in the end, it’s the people that make a difference between liking or disliking a place. Based on that, I would definitely come back to Nicaragua.

April 2011 – Every year I plan a one week trip with my mother – this time she surprised me by announcing that she’d like to go to Nicaragua and that she planned on staying a few months to study Spanish.

I wasn’t at all familiar with Nicaragua (except that it’s very poor) and I’ve never been to Central America. But after having read up a bit, I was excited by the idea – one of the things I’ve never seen was a volcano. I was to see many in Nicaragua. I was also hopeful of seeing some of the wildlife; scorpions, monkeys, birds, even snakes.

We only had a week together, so we decided to stick to the area south of Managua; Granada, Masaya, Lake Nicaragua, Isla Omepete – a manageable area that wouldn’t require too much travelling around.

Our base was Granada, which is known as a city rich in colonial history. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1524 and was named after the city of Granada in Spain. It was chosen primarily for it’s location; on Lake Nicaragua with river access to the Caribbean as well as close proximity to the Pacific coast. Today it is the 4th largest city of Nicaragua. It is also the most touristy city in Nicaragua (“touristy” is relative – this is Nicaragua and not that many tourists come here. After having visited Europe the last few years I found it a relief to escape the tourist hordes…).

We spent three full days in Grenada. On the surface, Grenada is not that impressive; it’s not so much a city as a village, a bit of a sleepy place made up on one or two-storied pastel buildings, a few nice but weathered churches, and some modest colonial buildings. But it is when you step inside some of the buildings that you see the attraction of Granada – high ceilinged buildings with huge interior courtyards (many with fountains), tiled floors, intricate woodwork. Many of the buildings have been restored as luxury hotels with interior pools and are quite opulent. In many ways it reminded me of Cartagena – what was frustrating however in Granada is that the exterior of buildings are much more modest than in Cartagena and you would never know of the treasures inside. I know my mom discovered many interesting places after I left that we never knew existed when visiting the city together.

Laguna de Apoyo and Volcan Masaya

Within 30 minutes of Granada are the laguna de Apoyo (Apoyo Lagoon) and the Masaya volcano.

The Apoyo Lagoon (below) was created about 23,000 years ago when a huge volcanic blast left a hole measuring 6 km in diameter. With time this crater was filled up with rainwater and underground springs (Many Nicaraguans like to come here to swim)

Nicaragua is known as “The country of Lakes and Volcanoes” and has a chain of active volcanoes that run from north to south. One of the most active is Masaya volcano (below). You can drive right up to the crater of this volcano and look over the edge right into the crater, it’s pretty cool! (they have night tours as well and apparantly you can see the molten lava at the bottom of the crater). The volcano is always smoking in varying degrees (they call this “passive degassing” – the opposite of the explosive degassing I get from eating vindaloo). I was lucky to see the volcano when it wasn’t degassing too heavily, it seems that tourists are sometimes given masks and have to limit their stay at the crater to 20 minutes.

Below: Rudy from Oro Travel (I used Oro Travel for this tour of Masaya and the Laguna de Apoyo as well as for some private transport – they were great).

We stayed at the Hotel Con Corazon while in Granada and it was absolutely fabulous. The hotel is actually a foundation where all the profits are invested in local education projects. Besides being for a good cause, it is good value – very nice rooms, great breakfasts, super service, a nice swimming pool where you can enjoy a Marguarita at the end of the day. The bill came out to about $50/night. I give it a 4 ½ out of 5. We really enjoyed our stay in Granada and relaxing around the hotel was one of the highlights.

January 11, 2011 – I’m not a fan of all-inclusives, but this was just a relax-on-the-beach kind of vacation. Nice resort (NH Royal Beach), great people – I’ve always like the Dominicans (I backpacked through the DR about 6 years ago and had some really good experiences).

There’s not much to Punta Cana except for resorts lining the beach…you can walk the beach but you won’t see anything different no matter how far you go. As far as geography, Punta Cana is the most unattractive area in the whole country (flat terrain with low lying brush – going west the country becomes lush and mountainous, really beautiful).

Still, this was a really relaxing vacation – one more week here and we wouldn’t have had a pulse. Great way to spend Christmas and New Year’s!

PS. I always like the descriptions on buffet menus in resorts;
Balls of Beast (meatballs)
Punched eggs (poached eggs)
Runner beans (the ones that make you sprint for the toilet)
There’s a whole bunch more I should have written down..

We spent 2 ½ days in Florence, our last stop on this vacation. We covered the usual tourist “must see’s” and also took an interesting tour that most wouldn’t be aware of. Here is a quick recap:

The Duomo: wow, magnificent from the outside, it is the focal point in Florence. I remember seeing it from the plane window from a distance and being amazed by its size. What is most surprising however is that there is nothing noteworthy or of interest on the inside (except for the ceiling within the dome which is definitely the highlight). But it’s really not worth the line up to get in – after the incredible duomo in Sienna we were both left unamazed. I was in there and I couldn’t stop thinking that it would be a great place to play floor hockey.

The Campanile: the tower right next to the dome is really worth climbing for great views. The views are more impressive than those from the Duomo (because you can look out over the duomo from the campanile) and is also a more pleasant experience than climbing the duomo – less people, larger passageways, airier. Don’t climb the Duomo if you get claustrophobic.

I just summarized in 2 short paragraphs what took an entire afternoon to line up for and climb.

Below: Inside The Duomo

We had a tour the next day. Taste Florence (www.taste Florence.com) has a 4 hour walking tour around the center of Florence. We met up with our guide Christina at the St. Lorenzo church. Young girl, full of life, and as we were to find out (we were a total of 8 in our group) she seems to know everything about food and wine. We spent the next 2 hours exploring the St. Lorenzo market where we sampled Olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Christina explained everything; the processes involved, the various denominations of quality, the strict controls of the Italian food industry, the marketing of Italian products overseas. A lot of what was explained overlapped with what Milo had told us when doing our wine tour around the San Gimigmano area; we always knew Italians loved their food and wine, but it is amazing to what point the Italian authorities go to control quality. Let’s face it, Italians are known to have a very relaxed attitude about things; they park their cars on sidewalks (sometimes facing the opposite way from which they came), they don’t care so much about cleanliness or organization (see Italian trains for perfect examples of both these points). But not about food. They take their food as seriously as the Swiss take their banking.

Above – St. Lorenzo church and outdoor market.

After 2 hours at the St. Lorenzo market, we continued on to a Gelato shop close to the duomo where we sampled 5 different kinds of gelato. We then went for my favorite – wine tasting. The wine tasting was in a wine cellar (see photo above). Again, Christina explained the different wine making regions of Italy and the various denominations, she really knows her stuff.

Overall, a really good tour, I would recommend it to anyone. Very educational but also lots of fun.

I had saved the museums for the last full day in Florence. I don’t particularly like going to museums – too many people. I hate shuffling around with hordes of people. One of the things I constantly said in Italy was “ah shit, look, there’s hordes of people in line” or “oh no, more hordes” which always got a response from Lissette because it sounded like “whores” more than “hordes” coming out of my mouth. She was still also getting sick of me talking like an Italian which I mentioned in an earlier post – when you hear people talking a certain way you sometimes unintentionally pick up a few mannerisms. So somehow, somewhere along this trip, I ended up being the guy articulating with his hands while saying stuff like “mama mia, looka da whores, dey all ova da place. Eh!”. It wasn’t cool with Lissette.

Anyway, it was museum day – I had pre-bought tickets at both the Academia (where Michelangelo’s David is – see pic above) and the Uffizi which is one of the oldest and most famous museums in the world. As expected, there were still hordes (despite the pre-bought tickets). Tons of people. I can sum up our museum day in a couple of short lines. 1. The Academia. Statue of David is impressive, bigger in person then I imagined. The detail is very impressive, his hands and feet seem a little too large however. There were a lot of other sculptures in the museum but a lot looked like discarded heads, bodies, and arms. 2. The Uffizi. We did the express tour and managed it in less than an hour. I know it’s supposed to be famous and all, but I honestly wasn’t that impressed. I had been much more impressed in Venice seeing the huge frescos in the Doge’s palace. Even the Alte Pinakothek in Munich impressed me more. But what made it thoroughly unenjoyable for us was the layout of the Uffizi, small rooms and corridors with those hordes of people. The highlight of my day was getting out of there. Not my cup of tea as those Brits would say.

It was a beautiful day however and we took advantage to see some of the outdoor sights in Florence. Below is the Ponte Vecchio, the famous old bridge (described as “Europe’s oldest wholly-stone, closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge”).

We walked up to piazza Michelangelo for great views over the city (the first photo on this post was taken there as are some below). Lots of stairs, but the view was worth it (although Lissette doesn’t agree, she’s not as excited by viewpoints as I am – or “photo opportunities” as she likes to call them).

We did a lot of walking that last day. Florence really is quite a beautiful city.

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We splurged and stayed at the “Il Guelfo Bianco”. Beautiful hotel. I’d give it a 4 out of 5 and would stay here again just for the location.

We also broke all the rules – there’s a McDonald’s right next to the hotel and we had one night when we just wanted to veg out in front of the tv.