After Semana Santa I spent a week living with a Guatemalan family while attending a Spanish school. It was a good experience and I spoke only Spanish for the week. At this stage I was traveling for 7 months but other than having a flight to Mexico and a flight to Cuba I've never had to keep to a schedule before. 2 weeks in mexico turned into 2 months and 2 weeks into Guatemala was now at one month. I needed to leave Guatemala and start making my way south. Seamus had just crossed the border to Panama so I was going to have to travel fast if i was to catch him in time to sail together to Colombia.
I organised some couchsurfing for the journey south, committing to meeting people along the way was was a good to force me to keep to my schedule. My first stop was San Salvador. Getting here required an 8am bus from San Pedro to Antigua, 1 hour wait then another bus to Guatemala city, 3 hours waiting there then a bus to San Salvador. I arrived in San Salvador at 10:30pm. I dislike arriving in new cities at night time but the alternative to this was spending another night in Guatemala City and then taking a 6am bus.
As it was so late I didn't hang around, took the first taxi I saw when I got off the bus. Sarah an English student and couchsurfer from San Salvador had agreed to host me for 2 nights. It turned out the previous person she'd hosted was Mattia a guy I'd met in Belize and Guatemala who was also heading south. The next day Sarah took me to the downtown which was a really hectic place, more so than any of the cities I'd seen so far. So much traffic, noise, people, music, pollution and market stalls. Next stop was the university where I participated in their English class. As with Guatemala everyone was very curious as to what I was doing and why.
A few bus journeys later and we were at a restaurant in a town outside San Salvador to eat papusas, which I'd describe as tortillas with fillings. Options were beans, beans and cheese or beans, pork and cheese. They are accompanied by some pickled cabbage and a spicy tomato sauce.
After lunch we took a bus to see a volcano, the name of which I can't remember. The bus wouldn't take us the full way but some guys in a claro van (imagine a small Eircom van) offered us a lift and then went out of their way to take us right to the entrance.
After a couple of hours at volcano we started making our way home. This time there was transport back to the village, well turns out the bus was a pickup truck that you stand in the back off. I've seen them in Cuba, Belize and Guatemala but never traveled in one until this stage. It was an interesting way to travel down the mountain.
The pickup took us as far as the village from here we needed another bus which would take us back to san salvador. It started raining really heavy and there was a massive queue for the bus which was running late. Some cars pulled up and offered people lifts, eventually we decided we'd take the next lift that was offered as it was just too cold and wet to be waiting around for a bus that might not show. We got a lift in another pickup truck only this time we were inside and we had seats. The other passengers were very interested in talking to me but I really struggled to understand their spanish. They spoke so fast, had a different accent and also used a lot of slang that was very specific to San Salvador. It was dark by the time we got to San Salvador we took another bus and made it home in time for more papusas.
The next morning I left in a taxi at 4:30am to take a 6am bus to Tegucigalpa in Hondorus. I arrived in the afternoon then took a taxi to another part to town where I got a bus to Zambrano, a small town about one hour north of Tegucigalpa. At this stage I was really glad to have some Spanish as all of this would have been quite difficult to organise only speaking English. In Zambrano I was hosted by a couchsurfer who owned a rural hotel. It was nice to have a break from big cities and spend some time in a small village. It also helped that it was a really nice hotel that I was staying in.
2 nights in Zambrano then the 12pm bus back to Tegucigalpa. The bus stop was a kiosk which served food and had some seats outside. The sun was really strong and I didnt know when the next bus would arrive. I decided to stand under the shelter to get some shade. Just as I did a few people starting talking to me in Spanish, it was tough to understand them as they were speaking so fast and frantically but I gathered it was something to do with my head. I moved away slowly and looked up, there were some live electrical wires hanging about 2 inches from my head. These were coming from the main electrical lines and providing electricity for the kiosk. Obvioiusly they don't have too many tall people visiting Zambrano.
An hour on the bus to tegucigalpa then another taxi and then a long bus to Managua. While waiting for the bus I met a Finnish couple who were making the same journey south. We had to change buses somewhere in Hondorus, the name I can't remember. Our connection was 4 hours late, the result was we arrived in Managua at 2:30am. Managua isn't a popular tourist destination except to take a bus to somewhere else, most backpackers avoid it. Apart from there not being much to see or do there, it didn't strike me as being a particularly clean or safe city. Most of the city was ruined by an earthquake in 1972 and since then the city centre including the cathedral has not been rebuilt. That said it was an interesting place to visit and to see this side of Nicaragua.
I still spent two nights in Managua and did some sight seeing with the Finnish couple I met on the bus. We took a taxi to the old town and walked around for a bit. The area was pretty desolate, lots of rubbish scattered everywhere and there were gangs of children begging while sniffing glue at the side of the street, all fairly depressing.
The second night my Finnish friends asked what I was doing for dinner, they were going to cook in the hostel. So we went to the supermarket together but when I realised what they were having for dinner I changed my mind and decided to go to a restaurant. Their dinner consisted of 12 hard boiled eggs, 2 cans of tuna and tomato pasta sauce. They only ate the white of the eggs so at the end they had 6 egg yolks on each plate. They assured me that this isn't normal for Finland. Next stop was Granada, more tourist friendly than Managua. Here I met some people I'd met earlier in Belize and Gautemala so it was obvious that I was back on the backpacker route again.
Next I had a long bus journey to San Jose in Costa Rica. This was my first journey with Tica bus in Central America. As we approached the Costa Rican border one of the Tica bus staff came around to us individually and said if we didn't have a flight out of Costa Rica then we would need a bus ticket to enter. He would sell us a ticket for 20USD which would suffice. I explained that I was going to Panama so I would like to buy a ticket from San Jose to Panama but he said it wasn't possible to buy one of these. The ticket he was selling was to go back to Managua. I decided not to buy one as from what I could see they were fake bus tickets, either way useless to be as I couldn't use it. When we got to the border no one asked me if i had a ticket out and I had no problems entering Costa Rica.
After an uneventful 3 days exploring San Jose I took a night bus to Panama. This was a painful journey. We arrived at the border at 4:30am and had to get off the bus but the emigration office didn't open until 6am. Lots of standing around. Exiting Costa Rica was fine but entering Panama I was told that you must have a bus or flight out of Panama if you want to enter. I had neither so they told me I wasn't allowed in. I explained that I had a flight to New Zealand in September I was taking a boat to Panama. He said this was OK but he needed proof of the flight. I needed internet to get this. He told me to find internet. The bus driver was willing to sell me a special ticket from Panama to San Jose for 35USD and with this I would be allowed to enter. Most people bought these useless tickets but again I declined and decided to try the Internet cafe. The internet cafe had no internet so I couldn't print the details of my flight. As a last resort I decided to create a booking confirmation email myself saying that I had booked a boat to Colombia. I printed this off and returned to the emigration desk. This time he didn't say anything about needing proof of exiting the country, just stamped my passport and returned it to me.
I arrived in Panama city in late afternoon and met up with Seamus. I'd not seen him in about two months as he'd left Cuba a week early. I'd been following him but failing to catch him since then. We spent a few days exploring Panama, playing pool, hanging out at the hostel and also visiting the canal.
We also organised a 5 day sailing trip to Colombia. Right now I'm in a small town called Portabello on the Caribbean Coast waiting to set sail for Cartagena. Next update I'll be back in South America.
I organised some couchsurfing for the journey south, committing to meeting people along the way was was a good to force me to keep to my schedule. My first stop was San Salvador. Getting here required an 8am bus from San Pedro to Antigua, 1 hour wait then another bus to Guatemala city, 3 hours waiting there then a bus to San Salvador. I arrived in San Salvador at 10:30pm. I dislike arriving in new cities at night time but the alternative to this was spending another night in Guatemala City and then taking a 6am bus.
As it was so late I didn't hang around, took the first taxi I saw when I got off the bus. Sarah an English student and couchsurfer from San Salvador had agreed to host me for 2 nights. It turned out the previous person she'd hosted was Mattia a guy I'd met in Belize and Guatemala who was also heading south. The next day Sarah took me to the downtown which was a really hectic place, more so than any of the cities I'd seen so far. So much traffic, noise, people, music, pollution and market stalls. Next stop was the university where I participated in their English class. As with Guatemala everyone was very curious as to what I was doing and why.
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| English Class in San Salvador University |
A few bus journeys later and we were at a restaurant in a town outside San Salvador to eat papusas, which I'd describe as tortillas with fillings. Options were beans, beans and cheese or beans, pork and cheese. They are accompanied by some pickled cabbage and a spicy tomato sauce.
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| Salvadoran Papusas |
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| The Volcanio Crater |
After a couple of hours at volcano we started making our way home. This time there was transport back to the village, well turns out the bus was a pickup truck that you stand in the back off. I've seen them in Cuba, Belize and Guatemala but never traveled in one until this stage. It was an interesting way to travel down the mountain.
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| View from the back of the pickup truck bus! |
The next morning I left in a taxi at 4:30am to take a 6am bus to Tegucigalpa in Hondorus. I arrived in the afternoon then took a taxi to another part to town where I got a bus to Zambrano, a small town about one hour north of Tegucigalpa. At this stage I was really glad to have some Spanish as all of this would have been quite difficult to organise only speaking English. In Zambrano I was hosted by a couchsurfer who owned a rural hotel. It was nice to have a break from big cities and spend some time in a small village. It also helped that it was a really nice hotel that I was staying in.
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| My host Jorge and I in Zambrano |
An hour on the bus to tegucigalpa then another taxi and then a long bus to Managua. While waiting for the bus I met a Finnish couple who were making the same journey south. We had to change buses somewhere in Hondorus, the name I can't remember. Our connection was 4 hours late, the result was we arrived in Managua at 2:30am. Managua isn't a popular tourist destination except to take a bus to somewhere else, most backpackers avoid it. Apart from there not being much to see or do there, it didn't strike me as being a particularly clean or safe city. Most of the city was ruined by an earthquake in 1972 and since then the city centre including the cathedral has not been rebuilt. That said it was an interesting place to visit and to see this side of Nicaragua.
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| Catedral de Santiago in Managua |
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| Visible Earthquake damage |
I still spent two nights in Managua and did some sight seeing with the Finnish couple I met on the bus. We took a taxi to the old town and walked around for a bit. The area was pretty desolate, lots of rubbish scattered everywhere and there were gangs of children begging while sniffing glue at the side of the street, all fairly depressing.
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| Stage and Christmas tree in Managua |
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| Park in Managua |
The second night my Finnish friends asked what I was doing for dinner, they were going to cook in the hostel. So we went to the supermarket together but when I realised what they were having for dinner I changed my mind and decided to go to a restaurant. Their dinner consisted of 12 hard boiled eggs, 2 cans of tuna and tomato pasta sauce. They only ate the white of the eggs so at the end they had 6 egg yolks on each plate. They assured me that this isn't normal for Finland. Next stop was Granada, more tourist friendly than Managua. Here I met some people I'd met earlier in Belize and Gautemala so it was obvious that I was back on the backpacker route again.
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| Granada rooftops |
Next I had a long bus journey to San Jose in Costa Rica. This was my first journey with Tica bus in Central America. As we approached the Costa Rican border one of the Tica bus staff came around to us individually and said if we didn't have a flight out of Costa Rica then we would need a bus ticket to enter. He would sell us a ticket for 20USD which would suffice. I explained that I was going to Panama so I would like to buy a ticket from San Jose to Panama but he said it wasn't possible to buy one of these. The ticket he was selling was to go back to Managua. I decided not to buy one as from what I could see they were fake bus tickets, either way useless to be as I couldn't use it. When we got to the border no one asked me if i had a ticket out and I had no problems entering Costa Rica.
After an uneventful 3 days exploring San Jose I took a night bus to Panama. This was a painful journey. We arrived at the border at 4:30am and had to get off the bus but the emigration office didn't open until 6am. Lots of standing around. Exiting Costa Rica was fine but entering Panama I was told that you must have a bus or flight out of Panama if you want to enter. I had neither so they told me I wasn't allowed in. I explained that I had a flight to New Zealand in September I was taking a boat to Panama. He said this was OK but he needed proof of the flight. I needed internet to get this. He told me to find internet. The bus driver was willing to sell me a special ticket from Panama to San Jose for 35USD and with this I would be allowed to enter. Most people bought these useless tickets but again I declined and decided to try the Internet cafe. The internet cafe had no internet so I couldn't print the details of my flight. As a last resort I decided to create a booking confirmation email myself saying that I had booked a boat to Colombia. I printed this off and returned to the emigration desk. This time he didn't say anything about needing proof of exiting the country, just stamped my passport and returned it to me.
I arrived in Panama city in late afternoon and met up with Seamus. I'd not seen him in about two months as he'd left Cuba a week early. I'd been following him but failing to catch him since then. We spent a few days exploring Panama, playing pool, hanging out at the hostel and also visiting the canal.
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| Panama Skyline |
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| Panama Canal |
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| Miraflores docks at Panama Canal |
Who won in pool?
ReplyDeletei won but overall seamus is leading
ReplyDeletethe volcano sounds cool dude
ReplyDelete