29/08/04- 02/09/04 Granada

Oh it is nice here, lots of colonial charm and rum. Best of all, in this heat, our hotel has a lovely swimming pool. Yummy.

Not so sure this paints the best picture of this town, most of the colonial buildings are in a slightly better condition.



Most of the colonial buildings are intact and inhabited which as a consequence means that it isn't as initially attractive as somewhere like Ariquipa in Peru but instead is a full working city. I really haven't got all that much to say about it- could do with a lick of paint, lots of high ceilings and impressive courtyards, a bit dirty and run down- most original colonial city in this continent as most others suffered earthquakes or fires or pirates and whatnot. Blah blah blah blah blah

25/07/04- 29/07/04 Ometepe, Nicaragua

After yet another horribly early morning we made it to the border in record time, mainly because we had cheated and taken a taxi as the buses were still out of action because of the strikes. After a very sweaty 30 mins of the usual border formalities we headed off for a bus to Rivas and then a short taxi ride to San Jorge for the hour boat journey over to Ometepe Island. The island is incredible, it is in the middle of Lake Nicaragua and was formed by two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas so it looks a bit like Tracy Island. It is full of tropical forest which itself is full of wildlife.

We spent 4 days here completely relaxing with a few hikes up to see petroglyphs and into the nature reserve next to the hotel to meet our neighbours- howler monkeys who were very vocal and even willing to grant us an audience. In fact the whole family came out to watch us watching them and very cute they were too. After that it was back to the beach for a quick dip in the lake and some more relaxing. I could very easily get used to this lifestyle.

Fortunately we didn't get to meet any of the snakes that live on the island or any of the fresh water sharks who reside in the lake, we did get to tuck into many of the sharks friends though, yummy.

Hey- that's Andy and me in the water! How did that get there?

Ometepe is a fantastic place and the locals were incredibly friendly, apparently due to not being involved in the Sandinista / Contra war. Recommended to anyone who happens to be in Nicaragua with a few days to kill.

22/08/04- 25/08/04 Santa Elena

Managed to make it to Santa Elena and Monteverde with most of our bones in tact. The roads here are truly awful and we will have to hope that it doesn't rain too much while we are here otherwise I am not sure that we will be able to get back out. The town itself isn't too pretty but the area surrounding it is beautiful.

Whilst we have been here we have been on a couple of walks through the cloud forest, included on the suspension bridges so that we could see the rainforest from a different perspective and not see any animals from higher up. Still it was very different and interesting. After that we went around the forest on zip slides which was really very good fun, until the heavens opened, then sliding down metal wires high up in thunder and lightening and torrential rain didn't seem like such a good idea.

The following day we took it a bit easier and had a wander up to the cheese factory and the surrounding area and then got drunk in the evening, always a wise plan when you arent feeling too well and you have to get up at 5am the next morning to get to the border before the striking truck drivers could see us.

For anyone wanting to see animals in this area don't go on the sky walk things or similar as the presence of enormous squeaking suspension bridges above the forest canopy tends to frighten the creatures away. Feeding them closeby for other tours also discourages them from being anywhere near anywhere where they need to find food for themselves- the forest was pretty dead. Aaaahh- victims of their own success and precursor to their own doom. Double aaahhh.

How brave am I, actually I am hanging on for dear life as Andy is at the other end about to start swaying the bridge



All ready for the death slides

19/08/04- 22/08/04 La Fortuna

After a relatively straight forward bus journey we arrived to a horde of very excitable touts all wanting to find us accommodation and suitable tours. After negotiating our way out of that we managed to find a very lovely hotel (with a usable swimming pool) that I got a bargain on. We then spent the rest of the evening relaxing and trying to find the volcano.

The following morning we had a wonder around and once the weather cleared realised that the volcano was just at the end of the street all the time, and a mighty big one it was too. So we took a trip up to see it and on route had a walk through some more rainforest which was really very pleasant. We even managed to get a few gimpses of lava flowing and tumbling down, all from a very safe distance.

The following day we took a bike ride to see a waterfall, the ride was awful and the dip in the river at the bottom of the waterfall was much needed. After that we headed off to the thermal baths. Providing the perfect preparation for the next days bus journey ( an estimated 8 hours for a distance of 25 kilometres as the crow flies).

See that lava flow?

and feel the love

Seriously, on that picture of the volcano at night you can vaguely make out some red on the left. Easiest way to see the lava flow is to right click on the image and select Copy, press the Start button, go to Programs then Accessories and select Paint. Select Edit and Paste. Press the pencil icon on the left and choose red ink- best one would be that on the bottom row, third from the left. Draw line about from bottom of cloud cover on the left, about 5mm from the side of the volcano following its contour. Now sit back and marvel at nature.

NB The instructions above will only apply to Microsoft OS's- Mac etc. users will have to follow their operator's manual or scrunch up their eyes really hard.

Also, that rather nasty T Shirt I am wearing is going in the bin as it bleeds.

And Relax

17/07/04- 19/08/04 Alajuela

Very nice little town, but even nicer hostel with a lovely courtyard where we spent the last few evening getting very drunk and catching up. The place was full of pets which was really lovely except that I was sitting on a rocking chair for most of both evening and was very frightened that I was going to squash the rabbit.

We also took a trip out to see the second largest crater for a volcano anywhere in the world, I think, unfortunately the weather was not our friend so instead we saw thick fog just before the heavens opened and we were thoroughly drenched.



Lovely lake.

Anyway, Alajuela has no street signs at all though they are numbered in grids with Calles running East-West and Avenidas North-South. We asked a policeman where Calle 3, Avenida Central was and he had to ask the lottery salesman who then asked a man who was selling fried things out of a bucket who was then interupted by a man leaning against a car and still none of them got it right (standard answer in this town is that the places you seek are 200m up the road)- I hope there will never be cause for any emergency service in this town to be called out for anything at all ever.

16/08/04- 17/08/04 San Jose, Costa Rica

We crossed over the border without any trouble and got to San Jose in time to meet up with Libby and Andy. Unfortunately the hotel we stayed at didn´t have the necessary organizational skills to let them know that we were already here and so our planned evening of catching up had to wait until the morning by which time none of us were really in the mood for rum and wine. We did however manage to have a very nice breakfast in a lovely cafe across from the National Theatre and check out the best of what, it appeared, San Jose had to offer in the way of sights and by 12pm we were on a bus so that we could see the countryside.

San Jose is trully awful- hotel was wretched but we did have a nice breakfast though.

08/08/04- 16/08/04 Boquete

It rains here every day, and for most of the day is covered in cloud, but when you get a chance to see it the scenery is fantastic.

We have spent a week here and in the surrounding countryside and whilst we have been here we have been very active. One of the first days we were here we did and four hour walk around the mountains surrounding the town and down to the dam, the following day we took a bus to Volcan and explored the petroglyphs. We stayed the night that night in Volcan, seriously a one horse town. The only hotel we could find was hotel California and I was very nervous about checking in there. The following day we escaped before anyone could stop us and headed for Respingo from where we intended to take a nice leisurely 6 hour stroll along the side of the mountain and through the valley back to Boquete. However in my haste to get started I didn´t see the no entry sign on the path I suggested we take and ended up climbing to the very top of the mountain. It was hideous. We worked out later that we had climbed over a 1000 metres through really thick forest during the rainy season so the ground was crap. The only thing that kept us going was that we didn't want to have to go back the same way. We ended up doing just that as there wasn't a path down the other side. So we spent the night in Respingo at the refuge without any warm clothes. Thankfully the ranger gave us a sleeping bag and a nice cup of coffee and the next day we set out on the intended walk.

The following day I could not move, partly due to the excessive exercise and partly due to the litre of wine I drank to celebrate getting back with all my limbs still attached.

Today we are planning on taking it easy again, we have a fantastic hotel with a really pretty garden full of birds and with the river running at the bottom of it so it seems rude not to sit and enjoy the view.



People are really nice here- you go on a nice long walk and people stop their vehicles and ask if you want a lift.


Moses: This is me on top of the mountain/ volcano thing we accidentally climbed. Luckily we didn't follow a white flag we found on the peak which was in the same direction as the town of Bouquete (according to crap map and my compass) as I saw that that way was more or less sheer. Note trusty stick. In the background you can see the top of another mountain which is about 50m taller and is the highest mountain in Panama. It also has lots of communication masts on top and a service road from that but unfortunately we were seperated from getting a lift back down by an enormous valley. I think we would have realised our error earlier on if we could see what we were doing but it is really cloudy there but fortunately at the top you are way above the clouds so you know that you have really screwed up, going vertically up over a kilometre.

The ranger thought it was funny. A few days later in the town a Panamanian who I had never seen before asked if we managed to get back from the ranger's station without a problem- foolishness breeds minor celebrity, so it seems. Fiona strangled him there and then- that really did bring us notoriety. Run out of town after that- fair enough I thought.

02/08/04- 08/08/04 Bocas Del Toro

When we first thought about coming here I built up a picture in my head of a Caribbean paradise island so when we first arrived and the rain was absolutely lashing down I thought that I might be very disappointed. However despite it raining nearly everyday whilst we were here this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Whilst we were here we took a couple of tours, the first around various islands to go snorkeling and to see the red frogs, all of which were really amazing, especially the snorkeling. The other trips were to the beaches around the island which were also very beautiful. We also took a trip at night to one of the beaches to see if we could find any turtles, we didn't which was a bit of a disappointment but we did get to see the sand glow because of a special kind of algae which I had never seen before so that was pretty cool.



There's a man in Bocas who silently drags a giant wooden model airline around the streets at night- it has a wingspan of about 5 or 6 feet- and only once did he demonstrate why by running which gave the plane enough lift to take off. The rest of the time he walked it like a sad dog whilst diners watched bewildered.

Snorkelling in Bocas was amazing as the coral was beautiful and the sea life in abundance- looking forward to scuba diving a lot more now. The coral needs a bit more care as it looks like it is dying out a bit as no care is asked for by the many tour companies with regard to touching it. Go to Bocas while there is still coral there (if you are in the area).

29/07/04-01/08/04 Panama City, Panama

Well the canal was vaguely interesting. Other than that I would not advise anyone to ever come here for anything. Quite simply the most dull town on the planet.

Our first hotel was nasty- there was a man with white shorts with a huge brown stain on the back and drinking beer at 9am, beating his woman away. Second hotel was clean but it had plastic covering on the bed and a permanent free adult channel. They only cleaned the rooms at night and they could be rented hourly, etc. given that there was a red light district around there. Nice. Didn't like the place- canal museum at Miraflores locks interesting. Old part of town pretty desolate- much of it destroyed by Americans in 1989 in 'Operation Just Cause'- go to your local library and find out more about it- the Panamanians are gentrifying it to attain a greater tourist pull (so your local library is going to look great but there'll be loads of people in there taking pictures).