Around the World (2014-2016)
Jan 22, 2015, 4:40 pm
#61
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #29, Santa Ana, Chalchuapa & Volcan Izalco, El Salvador
22/01/2015 I will probably have no internet tomorrow since I am going to climb Volcán Concepción on Ometepe in Nicaragua tonight starting at 4AM and afterwards will make my way to Tamarindo in Costa Rica to hopefully see some Leatherback Sea Turtles! Changing countries is also the theme of this live update, reporting “live” from El Salvador from the first time. Roughly a week before Christmas, I started my trip in Santa Ana, climbed Volcán Izalco and stayed with a pretty cool Couchsurfing host and radio moderator in Chalchuapa!
El Salvador is one of those countries that does not receive a lot of tourists compared to Central American standards. Maybe that was one of the reasons why I liked it! Especially getting into the El Imposible National Park was a great experience, but more on that in the upcoming updates
Since I only had limited time in the country, I decided to concentrate on the west part and started in Santa Ana. Crossing the border took a while since I was part of a big bus (120Q) and had to wait until everyone was done with immigration. Arriving late in the night and with a two hour delay, I got dropped off with only one other passenger while the rest continued onwards to the capital. The guy told me that I should not walk alone in this part of the town late in the evening. I knew El Salvador had some areas you better avoid, so I was happy to hear him offer his companionship – at least to the point when he suddenly turned right and told me that I have to keep on going straight
One of the things I wanted to do was climbing Volcan Santa Ana and luckily, my Couchsurfing host Alexis joined me for that! The way it works is that you show up at the entry point and get a local police escort there, otherwise you are not allowed to get in. When we arrived, there was a big group already but all of them wanted to climb Volcan Izalco, located just next to Volcan Santa Ana. No police men were left and we were “forced” to join them as well, since no one else wanted to join us.
In the end, I actually enjoyed Volcan Izalco quiet a lot! It is steaming all over the place and has some really hot spots, also hiking up in the black lava stone field was pretty cool too. We enjoyed the nice view on Volcan Santa Ana and other peaks around us and only had a hard time walking up to the entrance again. Unfortunately, I was not able to compare it to Santa Ana (which has a lagoon in the crater) now but maybe you have the chance to do both when you are around
After the hike, we drove back to Alexis’ hometown of Chalchuapa. I really enjoyed this place and its very quiet atmosphere, it even has a small set of Maya ruins in the middle of the town! We had some great local food and beer in the evening and thanks to Alexis, I had a perfect start in El Salvador!
>> Pictures
22/01/2015 I will probably have no internet tomorrow since I am going to climb Volcán Concepción on Ometepe in Nicaragua tonight starting at 4AM and afterwards will make my way to Tamarindo in Costa Rica to hopefully see some Leatherback Sea Turtles! Changing countries is also the theme of this live update, reporting “live” from El Salvador from the first time. Roughly a week before Christmas, I started my trip in Santa Ana, climbed Volcán Izalco and stayed with a pretty cool Couchsurfing host and radio moderator in Chalchuapa!
El Salvador is one of those countries that does not receive a lot of tourists compared to Central American standards. Maybe that was one of the reasons why I liked it! Especially getting into the El Imposible National Park was a great experience, but more on that in the upcoming updates
Since I only had limited time in the country, I decided to concentrate on the west part and started in Santa Ana. Crossing the border took a while since I was part of a big bus (120Q) and had to wait until everyone was done with immigration. Arriving late in the night and with a two hour delay, I got dropped off with only one other passenger while the rest continued onwards to the capital. The guy told me that I should not walk alone in this part of the town late in the evening. I knew El Salvador had some areas you better avoid, so I was happy to hear him offer his companionship – at least to the point when he suddenly turned right and told me that I have to keep on going straight One of the things I wanted to do was climbing Volcan Santa Ana and luckily, my Couchsurfing host Alexis joined me for that! The way it works is that you show up at the entry point and get a local police escort there, otherwise you are not allowed to get in. When we arrived, there was a big group already but all of them wanted to climb Volcan Izalco, located just next to Volcan Santa Ana. No police men were left and we were “forced” to join them as well, since no one else wanted to join us.
In the end, I actually enjoyed Volcan Izalco quiet a lot! It is steaming all over the place and has some really hot spots, also hiking up in the black lava stone field was pretty cool too. We enjoyed the nice view on Volcan Santa Ana and other peaks around us and only had a hard time walking up to the entrance again. Unfortunately, I was not able to compare it to Santa Ana (which has a lagoon in the crater) now but maybe you have the chance to do both when you are around
After the hike, we drove back to Alexis’ hometown of Chalchuapa. I really enjoyed this place and its very quiet atmosphere, it even has a small set of Maya ruins in the middle of the town! We had some great local food and beer in the evening and thanks to Alexis, I had a perfect start in El Salvador!
>> Pictures
Jan 25, 2015, 10:24 am
#62
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #30, Juayua, El Salvador
25/01/2015 I am in Costa Rica now and had an amazing time watching turtles lay their eggs at a bear near Tamarindo last night. Sadly, we didn’t see any babies hatching or a giant leatherback crawling by! Heading towards Monteverde now, I quickly want to get out another update for you guys from Juayua, El Salvador, one of the prettiest village I have encountered so far with a beautiful set of waterfalls just 20 minutes walking away.
The Ruta de la Flores was not as impressive as people on the Internet said it was but nevertheless, a nice path to enter Juayua for sure. I stayed in Hosteal Meceza and it has been one of the or maybe even THE nicest place I have ever stayed it. The british owner is a great guy and he put so much love and detail into his place, you can spend hours just looking at the different things he placed in his house and garden. The village didn’t feel touristic at all and the people there seemed to be even a bit more friendlier than elsewhere.
A must do activity is hiking the very close by Las Chorros Waterfalls. Just 20 minutes out, you will find yourself in a series of three waterfalls with nice clear and fresh water to swim in. In the upper one, I was even alone for a while before a group of locals arrived. Tourists were nowhere to be seen when I visited this place. A creepy looking guy prevented me to take a swim in the biggest waterfall, constantly looking and me and my camera in a way I was not comfortable leaving it alone. Back at the hostel, I prepared three huge sandwiches, which after just turning away for ten seconds, two of them were instantly consumed by the dog there, so be careful with your food if you should go there too!
>> Pictures
25/01/2015 I am in Costa Rica now and had an amazing time watching turtles lay their eggs at a bear near Tamarindo last night. Sadly, we didn’t see any babies hatching or a giant leatherback crawling by! Heading towards Monteverde now, I quickly want to get out another update for you guys from Juayua, El Salvador, one of the prettiest village I have encountered so far with a beautiful set of waterfalls just 20 minutes walking away.
The Ruta de la Flores was not as impressive as people on the Internet said it was but nevertheless, a nice path to enter Juayua for sure. I stayed in Hosteal Meceza and it has been one of the or maybe even THE nicest place I have ever stayed it. The british owner is a great guy and he put so much love and detail into his place, you can spend hours just looking at the different things he placed in his house and garden. The village didn’t feel touristic at all and the people there seemed to be even a bit more friendlier than elsewhere.
A must do activity is hiking the very close by Las Chorros Waterfalls. Just 20 minutes out, you will find yourself in a series of three waterfalls with nice clear and fresh water to swim in. In the upper one, I was even alone for a while before a group of locals arrived. Tourists were nowhere to be seen when I visited this place. A creepy looking guy prevented me to take a swim in the biggest waterfall, constantly looking and me and my camera in a way I was not comfortable leaving it alone. Back at the hostel, I prepared three huge sandwiches, which after just turning away for ten seconds, two of them were instantly consumed by the dog there, so be careful with your food if you should go there too!
>> Pictures
Jan 28, 2015, 1:14 pm
#63
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
The Stone Man Alberto Gutierrez in Estelí, Nicaragua
28/01/2015 The 15th of January has been a very special day for me. I met 75 year old Alberto Gutierrez, also known as the Stone Man, in his beautiful home deep in the Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve. He has been carving stones there for almost half of his life and will proudly present his work, should you make the effort of paying him a visit. It is not the easiest place to find and certainly off the beaten path, but if you ever get near Estelí on your Nicaragua trip, I would highly recommend to make this experience on your own. If not, just check out my report, pictures and the video here
About three months ago, I started to research Nicaragua and stumbled upon Nomadic Matt’s post about Alberto. What I have read was so fascinating that I had no other choice than putting it on my list. Now I can proudly say that I am yet another person privileged enough to meet this character. To be more precise, I am number 61 in his most recent visitor book. Only about 1000 people have met him ever since he received his first guest in 2006. Fellow bloggers have documented their time with Alberto, providing great information on how to reach him (such as yet another Matt right here) and thereby making it easier for all of us to get there. In my case, it was really easy thanks to my Couchsurfing host Jhon. This is my story of meeting Alberto…
I arrived in Estelí in the pouring rain and while I had no intentions of doing any sightseeing here, I couldn’t wait to get out to Tisey, hunting down the Stone Man Alberto Gutierrez. Getting deeper into the Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve, my Couchsurfing Host and I got both more excited the closer we got. One of his friends knew Alberto, so we had a good idea how to get there. You first drive into La Garnacha and follow a dirt road until you see a sign saying “Bienvenidos. Finca: El J Lacate, Dist 1Km”. You then cross the gate and keep on walking down the hill for about twenty minutes until you reach his home with a sign saying “Bienvenidos A Galeria Esculturas en Piedras”. Just go in and call out for him!
Alberto is growing all kinds of fruits on his property and will probably give you some of it too, we got some lemons. If you are lucky you might also get a pineapple For the next hour, he showed us around all his stone carvings. It starts off with bits and pieces until you eventually get to the top of a hill with a nice viewpoint, featuring the highlights such as an huge Elephant! He started his work 38 years ago on October 17th, 1977 and since then is carving different landscapes, animals and historical moments into all kinds of stones. I was surprised by seeing the World Trade Center as one of his sculptures!
All of his work has been done with the same tools: two metal chisels and a hammer. He also has a fixed schedule, only working between 6AM – 9AM, enabling him to greet visitors coming during the day. He was also featured in a documentary, which resulted in his bigger popularity, but visiting him still feels like a very unique and special thing to do! I have read that he would be too proud to accept money from his guests, this apparently has changed now since he gladly accepted ours I also gave him some sunglasses from Ray Ban, which he really seemed to like and they suited him much better than me
>> Pictures and Video (If vimeo is not causing troubles again!)
28/01/2015 The 15th of January has been a very special day for me. I met 75 year old Alberto Gutierrez, also known as the Stone Man, in his beautiful home deep in the Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve. He has been carving stones there for almost half of his life and will proudly present his work, should you make the effort of paying him a visit. It is not the easiest place to find and certainly off the beaten path, but if you ever get near Estelí on your Nicaragua trip, I would highly recommend to make this experience on your own. If not, just check out my report, pictures and the video here
About three months ago, I started to research Nicaragua and stumbled upon Nomadic Matt’s post about Alberto. What I have read was so fascinating that I had no other choice than putting it on my list. Now I can proudly say that I am yet another person privileged enough to meet this character. To be more precise, I am number 61 in his most recent visitor book. Only about 1000 people have met him ever since he received his first guest in 2006. Fellow bloggers have documented their time with Alberto, providing great information on how to reach him (such as yet another Matt right here) and thereby making it easier for all of us to get there. In my case, it was really easy thanks to my Couchsurfing host Jhon. This is my story of meeting Alberto…
I arrived in Estelí in the pouring rain and while I had no intentions of doing any sightseeing here, I couldn’t wait to get out to Tisey, hunting down the Stone Man Alberto Gutierrez. Getting deeper into the Tisey Estanzuela Natural Reserve, my Couchsurfing Host and I got both more excited the closer we got. One of his friends knew Alberto, so we had a good idea how to get there. You first drive into La Garnacha and follow a dirt road until you see a sign saying “Bienvenidos. Finca: El J Lacate, Dist 1Km”. You then cross the gate and keep on walking down the hill for about twenty minutes until you reach his home with a sign saying “Bienvenidos A Galeria Esculturas en Piedras”. Just go in and call out for him!
Alberto is growing all kinds of fruits on his property and will probably give you some of it too, we got some lemons. If you are lucky you might also get a pineapple
For the next hour, he showed us around all his stone carvings. It starts off with bits and pieces until you eventually get to the top of a hill with a nice viewpoint, featuring the highlights such as an huge Elephant! He started his work 38 years ago on October 17th, 1977 and since then is carving different landscapes, animals and historical moments into all kinds of stones. I was surprised by seeing the World Trade Center as one of his sculptures!All of his work has been done with the same tools: two metal chisels and a hammer. He also has a fixed schedule, only working between 6AM – 9AM, enabling him to greet visitors coming during the day. He was also featured in a documentary, which resulted in his bigger popularity, but visiting him still feels like a very unique and special thing to do! I have read that he would be too proud to accept money from his guests, this apparently has changed now since he gladly accepted ours
I also gave him some sunglasses from Ray Ban, which he really seemed to like and they suited him much better than me >> Pictures and Video (If vimeo is not causing troubles again!)
Jan 28, 2015, 1:56 pm
#64
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: DFW/STL
Programs: AA EXP, AA Admirals Club, Marriott PLT Premier, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 762
Having just gotten back from hiking Fuego/Acatenango in Guatemala, really enjoying your adventures. Keep it up! Giving me lots of ideas for my next adventure.
Jan 30, 2015, 4:46 pm
#66
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Thanks guys! Glad to hear some people are actually reading it since i have no feedback on the blog at all haha 
Live #31, El Imposible National Park, El Salvador
30/01/2015 I nearly blacked out in a packed train in Costa Rica’s Capital San José yesterday; guess my immune system was down after the small fever I had the day before. But now I feel much better after 2 days of resting in Casa Mariposa, just next to the Chirripó National Park. I actually feel so good again that I will attempt what promises to be one of the hardest hikes so far: 40km to 3727m high Cerro Chirripó in a single day, starting this midnight! But before I try this (the guides might send me back as I have no permit), please enjoy the last live update from my short visit of El Salvador. Visiting the El Imposible National Park was the main reason for my visit and trekking through the jungle and seven waterfalls was simply amazing!
The transfer to Tacuba in two Chicken Buses was nothing special for me anymore, having used so many of the legendary buses in Guatemala already. It kind of became a habit for me, even though they are not the safest moving vehicle around. There are not many options in terms of companies that would take you into El Imposible, actually there is only one and it is also one of the few options to stay the night: Hostal Mama Y Papa. A friendly old couple with an energetic son, who runs must of the tour business now, will provide basic rooms and food. Together with another girl and her private driver, two guides got us into the National Park in a 4×4 jeep. We booked the seven waterfalls day tour for 30$ and even though it’s not cheap, it is certainly worth doing the tour unless you have your own 4×4 vehicle.
We were hiking deep into the jungle until eventually reaching the first waterfall. One of the guides would always take our cameras and use an alternative route along the water, while the other guided us through the various jumps from the waterfalls. We jumped from five of those, skipping two others which required a three meter forward-jump and seemed to be a little bit too dangerous on the slippery rocks. Instead, the other two were repelled down the waterfall while I decided to climb, which was pretty fun. The tour ended by walking down a huge waterfall, which should be even more impressive in the rainy season, although I am not sure if the tour can be done then at all. I certainly had a lot of fun with our group and could also play around a bit with the machete’s
Live #31, El Imposible National Park, El Salvador
30/01/2015 I nearly blacked out in a packed train in Costa Rica’s Capital San José yesterday; guess my immune system was down after the small fever I had the day before. But now I feel much better after 2 days of resting in Casa Mariposa, just next to the Chirripó National Park. I actually feel so good again that I will attempt what promises to be one of the hardest hikes so far: 40km to 3727m high Cerro Chirripó in a single day, starting this midnight! But before I try this (the guides might send me back as I have no permit), please enjoy the last live update from my short visit of El Salvador. Visiting the El Imposible National Park was the main reason for my visit and trekking through the jungle and seven waterfalls was simply amazing!
The transfer to Tacuba in two Chicken Buses was nothing special for me anymore, having used so many of the legendary buses in Guatemala already. It kind of became a habit for me, even though they are not the safest moving vehicle around. There are not many options in terms of companies that would take you into El Imposible, actually there is only one and it is also one of the few options to stay the night: Hostal Mama Y Papa. A friendly old couple with an energetic son, who runs must of the tour business now, will provide basic rooms and food. Together with another girl and her private driver, two guides got us into the National Park in a 4×4 jeep. We booked the seven waterfalls day tour for 30$ and even though it’s not cheap, it is certainly worth doing the tour unless you have your own 4×4 vehicle.
We were hiking deep into the jungle until eventually reaching the first waterfall. One of the guides would always take our cameras and use an alternative route along the water, while the other guided us through the various jumps from the waterfalls. We jumped from five of those, skipping two others which required a three meter forward-jump and seemed to be a little bit too dangerous on the slippery rocks. Instead, the other two were repelled down the waterfall while I decided to climb, which was pretty fun. The tour ended by walking down a huge waterfall, which should be even more impressive in the rainy season, although I am not sure if the tour can be done then at all. I certainly had a lot of fun with our group and could also play around a bit with the machete’s
Feb 2, 2015, 9:22 am
#67
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #32, Macaw Mountain, Copan Ruinas, Honduras
02/02/2015 I am just about to head into Corcovado National Park to our Lodge in the jungle. Since their website states that they don’t even electricity over there, I figured to give you guys another update while I am waiting for the bus in Puerto Jimenez. Actually it’s the very first one from Honduras! Coming in from Guatemala, the first town on my route was beautiful Copan Ruinas, named after the very close by Maya ruins. On my first day there, I started off with a really cool activity: visiting the Macaw Mountain with their amazing display of Parrots, Tucans, Macaws and other birds
Copan Ruinas is covered in cobblestone streets and ranks in the top 3 of my favorite villages visited on this trip so far. Juayua is still no.1 on that list, partly also because Copan Ruinas draws in many more tourists. I came without any reservations and the only hostel I had gathered some information before was fully booked. I ended up staying in Don Moises for the first night, located very close to the center. It has a really cheap restaurant for food just in front, providing excellent value for the money spent.
After checking in, I stopped a Tuc Tuc in front of the Hostel and told him to bring me to Macaw Mountain. I would walk the way down again because getting there is all up hill! Not long after, I find myself in my bathing shorts talking to the receptionist, only to be told that the swimming hole there is closed! Well, it’s down to “only” watch the birds then. As time passed by, I was more and more amazed by those birds actually. They put up a circuit for everyone to follow and you see all kinds of Parrots and Macaws before heading into the Tucan cage. Having them so close was really nice as I only saw them inside a cage so far. One of them even landed on my hand, apparently being very interested in my plastic bag – or maybe the marsmallows inside? Other people got jealous and wanted a picture of them and the Tucan though, so my plastic bag was passed on to everyone but he would never sit on anyone elses arm
I walked the Sendero National Trail afterwards but other than walking through a lot of spider webs, nothing else really happened there. I would say you could skip that trail and head straight to the end point of the standard route instead. If you come to the right time, somebody will be there to place a Macaw on your head. I was there at the right time just before they would go to sleep and my Macaw friend was really active, screaming at me so we ended up in a little battle haha. Back in town, I naturally had to check out a German bar called “Sol de Copan”. The German owner imported everything he needs to brew his own beer there according to the German purity law. He served me a Christmas beer, which tasted like a normal lager though. Nothing special but it was nice to talk to an authentic German “Gastwirt” again
>> Pictures
02/02/2015 I am just about to head into Corcovado National Park to our Lodge in the jungle. Since their website states that they don’t even electricity over there, I figured to give you guys another update while I am waiting for the bus in Puerto Jimenez. Actually it’s the very first one from Honduras! Coming in from Guatemala, the first town on my route was beautiful Copan Ruinas, named after the very close by Maya ruins. On my first day there, I started off with a really cool activity: visiting the Macaw Mountain with their amazing display of Parrots, Tucans, Macaws and other birds
Copan Ruinas is covered in cobblestone streets and ranks in the top 3 of my favorite villages visited on this trip so far. Juayua is still no.1 on that list, partly also because Copan Ruinas draws in many more tourists. I came without any reservations and the only hostel I had gathered some information before was fully booked. I ended up staying in Don Moises for the first night, located very close to the center. It has a really cheap restaurant for food just in front, providing excellent value for the money spent.
After checking in, I stopped a Tuc Tuc in front of the Hostel and told him to bring me to Macaw Mountain. I would walk the way down again because getting there is all up hill! Not long after, I find myself in my bathing shorts talking to the receptionist, only to be told that the swimming hole there is closed! Well, it’s down to “only” watch the birds then. As time passed by, I was more and more amazed by those birds actually. They put up a circuit for everyone to follow and you see all kinds of Parrots and Macaws before heading into the Tucan cage. Having them so close was really nice as I only saw them inside a cage so far. One of them even landed on my hand, apparently being very interested in my plastic bag – or maybe the marsmallows inside? Other people got jealous and wanted a picture of them and the Tucan though, so my plastic bag was passed on to everyone but he would never sit on anyone elses arm
I walked the Sendero National Trail afterwards but other than walking through a lot of spider webs, nothing else really happened there. I would say you could skip that trail and head straight to the end point of the standard route instead. If you come to the right time, somebody will be there to place a Macaw on your head. I was there at the right time just before they would go to sleep and my Macaw friend was really active, screaming at me so we ended up in a little battle haha. Back in town, I naturally had to check out a German bar called “Sol de Copan”. The German owner imported everything he needs to brew his own beer there according to the German purity law. He served me a Christmas beer, which tasted like a normal lager though. Nothing special but it was nice to talk to an authentic German “Gastwirt” again
>> Pictures
Feb 4, 2015, 6:52 am
#68
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #33, Copan Ruinas, Honduras
04/02/2015 Seems like I was one of the first people to ever walk the brand new El Tigre Trek into Corcovado National Park, due to open this Thursday! We saw a lot of animals, including a Coral Snake, and didn’t even had to pay the 15$ entrance fee because of the fact that the trail is not open yet. This is the 2nd part of my Copan Ruinas Update, now actually reporting from the Maya ruins giving the town it’s name. Oh, and you will also see a lot of Scarlet Macaws again Have to keep it short though because I got a boat to catch in a few minutes!
Walking into the Copan Ruins was really nice as you will spend a good half hour to capture all the Scarlet Macaws on Photos and/or Video first. Entering the main square and heading towards the right, I quickly spotted to the first artifacts and sculptures. The site is known for having a lot of those and it actually gives it a special touch after all the other Maya ruins I visited before. The ruins itself in Copan were not as impressive as the ones of Calakmul, Tikal or Becan, but still rank upon my personal top 5 for sure. They also have some tunnels there to explore, however it was charged extra and due to the fact that those tunnels were dug by archaeologists and not the Maya themselves, it did not seem to terribly interesting to me.
After the ruins, I had another nice walk in the nature path just before the exit. It’s basically a big loop that will take you into the thicker forest close to the ruins. I saw a lot of cool trees, including the biggest Ceiba tree that I have seen so far, and a leaf that appeared to be hovering over the ground. No matter how close I was looking, I could not spot the spiderweb or whatever hold the leave up in the air. They also did a good job putting up a few signs every now and then to explain a bit about the Maya culture in this particular area. After saying good bye to the Macaws, I headed back to town and enjoyed a quiet night in the new place on the outskirts of town. Don Moises was nice for the first night, but unfortunately it is also located right next to the main bars in town, making it a bit harder to sleep.
>> Pictures
04/02/2015 Seems like I was one of the first people to ever walk the brand new El Tigre Trek into Corcovado National Park, due to open this Thursday! We saw a lot of animals, including a Coral Snake, and didn’t even had to pay the 15$ entrance fee because of the fact that the trail is not open yet. This is the 2nd part of my Copan Ruinas Update, now actually reporting from the Maya ruins giving the town it’s name. Oh, and you will also see a lot of Scarlet Macaws again
Have to keep it short though because I got a boat to catch in a few minutes!Walking into the Copan Ruins was really nice as you will spend a good half hour to capture all the Scarlet Macaws on Photos and/or Video first. Entering the main square and heading towards the right, I quickly spotted to the first artifacts and sculptures. The site is known for having a lot of those and it actually gives it a special touch after all the other Maya ruins I visited before. The ruins itself in Copan were not as impressive as the ones of Calakmul, Tikal or Becan, but still rank upon my personal top 5 for sure. They also have some tunnels there to explore, however it was charged extra and due to the fact that those tunnels were dug by archaeologists and not the Maya themselves, it did not seem to terribly interesting to me.
After the ruins, I had another nice walk in the nature path just before the exit. It’s basically a big loop that will take you into the thicker forest close to the ruins. I saw a lot of cool trees, including the biggest Ceiba tree that I have seen so far, and a leaf that appeared to be hovering over the ground. No matter how close I was looking, I could not spot the spiderweb or whatever hold the leave up in the air. They also did a good job putting up a few signs every now and then to explain a bit about the Maya culture in this particular area. After saying good bye to the Macaws, I headed back to town and enjoyed a quiet night in the new place on the outskirts of town. Don Moises was nice for the first night, but unfortunately it is also located right next to the main bars in town, making it a bit harder to sleep.
>> Pictures
Feb 6, 2015, 6:03 am
#69
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
ive #34, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
06/02/2015 This morning I was woken up by the rain penetrating my tent here in Boquete, Panama. Maybe I need to find another place after all The following update will propably be the shortest ever, I just didn’t want to mix it up with the next one covering Utila. So even if it’s just a few pictures, I hope you will still enjoy the views from San Pedro Sula’s very own “Hollywood Hill”; or in this case “Coca Cola Hill”
You should avoid certain areas in San Pedro Sula, which is, according to Wikitravel, “the most dangerous place on earth, with an average of more than three homicides per day”. Luckily I was staying with a cool Couchsurfer and together with his other long time traveler friend, we spent most of the time inside drinking rum anyway! At some point I think I heard a gunshot actually, but it could have been something else as well
We also got active once actually, hiking up the local “Coca Cola Hill”, named by the huge Coca Cola sign which looks very much like the Hollywood sign. The walk up the hill is pretty safe during the day as it passes a lot of rich people’s houses; by the time it got darker though, we wasted no time getting down again. After another night of rum I was headed to the airport to catch my flight to the Island of Utila. Being very hungry, I could only find one specific sandwich there, which would play a bigger role in Utila in a few days…
>> Pictures
06/02/2015 This morning I was woken up by the rain penetrating my tent here in Boquete, Panama. Maybe I need to find another place after all
The following update will propably be the shortest ever, I just didn’t want to mix it up with the next one covering Utila. So even if it’s just a few pictures, I hope you will still enjoy the views from San Pedro Sula’s very own “Hollywood Hill”; or in this case “Coca Cola Hill” You should avoid certain areas in San Pedro Sula, which is, according to Wikitravel, “the most dangerous place on earth, with an average of more than three homicides per day”. Luckily I was staying with a cool Couchsurfer and together with his other long time traveler friend, we spent most of the time inside drinking rum anyway! At some point I think I heard a gunshot actually, but it could have been something else as well
We also got active once actually, hiking up the local “Coca Cola Hill”, named by the huge Coca Cola sign which looks very much like the Hollywood sign. The walk up the hill is pretty safe during the day as it passes a lot of rich people’s houses; by the time it got darker though, we wasted no time getting down again. After another night of rum I was headed to the airport to catch my flight to the Island of Utila. Being very hungry, I could only find one specific sandwich there, which would play a bigger role in Utila in a few days…
>> Pictures
Feb 7, 2015, 12:13 pm
#70
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Video from Guatemala (Part 1): Tikal, Flores, Semuc Champey & Guatemala City
The first out of two Videos from Guatemala features Tikal, Flores, Semuc Champey & Guatemala City. All the volcano action from Antigua and Xela will be featured in the next one Hope you like this one for now though, I will soon start working on the second part!
https://vimeo.com/118997745
The first out of two Videos from Guatemala features Tikal, Flores, Semuc Champey & Guatemala City. All the volcano action from Antigua and Xela will be featured in the next one
Hope you like this one for now though, I will soon start working on the second part!https://vimeo.com/118997745
Feb 9, 2015, 7:06 am
#71
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #35, Utila, Honduras
09/02/2015 I just came back from the Cangilones de Gualaca, close to David in Panama, and am so happy to finally use my climbing shoes again! You should check out that place, it’s a mini canyon just perfect for deep water bouldering. This update has a relation to water as well, featuring Utila and my PADI Open Water Course there. I even saw a little shipwreck on the second fun dive, pretty cool
Heading to the airport in San Pedro Sula, I wanted to get out of the car and explore the nature, which gets nicer the further you get out of town. Unfortunately, the area also seems to be pretty unsafe according to my Taxi driver, so staying in the car to catch my flight seemed the better idea I missed to buy food in the morning, forcing me to look out for some at the airport. The only thing I could find was a bad looking sandwich which tasted even worse, but I was so hungry and nothing else was available, so I decided to eat it anyway. A big mistake as I would learn a few days later.
While the first flight was in a medium sized propeller machine, the second one was certainly the tightest aircraft I have ever been. Just getting into my seat required to climb over the it from the back since there was no aisle or space on the sides. The ride was short and upon arriving on Utila, I had to wait half an hour until my dive center (Parrots) sent someone to pick me up. I arrived at the main part of town and Utila seemed to be like a bigger, uglier version of Caye Caulker. It is still kind of nice, but if you are looking for a more relaxed vacation, Caye Caulker should be your choice.
The Parrot Dive center is located close to a nice bar at the beach and has two options to dine just meters away. A cheap fast food like bistro and a more expensive Chinese restaurant. I decided to treat myself with the second option on my first night and had a nice 12$ dinner. I actually could not finish the portion and was a bit confused first, but the reason for that was not the size of the portion but rather the fact that I got myself in a nice diarrhea situation thanks to the delicious sandwich at the airport. The following four days were really unpleasant for me, having to use the toilet all the time and not eating anything at all for four full days. (This is the reason why I am now looking like a skeleton!) The timing could not have been any better as well, on my first sick day it was New Years Eve and I was not really able to enjoy it. The parties on Utila seemed to be a bit less wild than I thought they would be as well, so I think I didn’t miss out on too much.
The room I was staying in the first nights did not have a fan for my bed, but thankfully I could be transferred to a different room on the third day. The heat and humidity on Utila really made me struggle with my sleep, ending up not just not eating for four days, but also barely getting any sleep at all. All that aside, I had one task to finish here: my PADI Open Water Course! Utila is one of the cheapest places on earth to get the certification and i paid 269$ for my course with the Parrots. This also included four nights for free in their dorm room. We were a group of six people and had a great teacher called Daniel.
There were five chapters of theory, all pretty easy with a final exam in the end, two confined water sessions followed by two open water sessions. After those, you would complete the course and then receive two free fun dives as well. By the time we hit the water for the confined sessions, I slowly started to feel a bit better and was really happy about it. Getting under water for about one and a half meters, it was a strange feeling breathing air under water for the first time. We practiced skills like removing water from a filled mask and other tasks that Daniel explained to us before hand. Since you can’t hear, you need to observe and follow the hand signs of your guide. This worked out very well since Daniel was really good and we always got what he wanted us to do.
On the evening before the open water dives, I was getting out to the dock to take some shots of the sunset. Just when I wanted to return to the bar, I dropped my camera and barely got hold of it before dropping down further into the ocean. Still, the lens and battery caps were broken and it really pissed me off, begin unable to take any more photos or videos!! I found a guy on the island who was good repairing notebooks but we failed to repair the lens after breaking it down to its pieces. Anyway, my GoPro fake would be the camera from now on and I have to use it anyway for the dives, but I would need to find a replacement lens very soon after leaving Utila again since the Picture Quality of the GoPro is really bad.
Back to the dives! The two open water dives on 12 and 18 meters were really nice, we could get down to our depth limit but still would have to practice all of the skills like removing water from the mask and others. One of them was navigating with a compass. My dive buddy received one at the surface and under water we had to switch them, something Daniel did not tell us before sadly. I could not check the compass and it turned out that the metal clip was defective, eventually leading to the fact that I lost the compass at some point without realizing it because I was focused on the tasks we had. In the end, I had to pay 50% of the price for a new compass, combined with the fact that I would need to get a new lens as well it kind of dropped my mood a little bit.
Last but not least, we all passed our final exam and were ready to get down for our 18 meter fun dives! Those were certainly the highlight on Utila. We saw much more fish and had nicer landscapes compared to the dives before and for the first time ever, we could actually concentrate on the stuff around us rather than doing all the exercises! On the second fun dive, we even came across a little ship wreck, which was really cool because in the beginning it just looked like a black dot in the back but the closer we got, the more you could see until finally realizing that it is actually a sunken ship!
Walking back to the airport was interesting as well, having two roads to choose from, I apparently picked the wrong. It was pitch black since my flight left at 5AM and the road I picked was more like a muddy cow field. I slipped a lot and had to make sure that I wont fall down with my stuff. Eventually, I made it to the airport, my shoes being completely dirty. I washed them quickly and enjoyed the sun rise at the airport before heading back to San Pedro Sula again, this time sitting right next to the pilot in the tiny propeller machine
>> Pictures
09/02/2015 I just came back from the Cangilones de Gualaca, close to David in Panama, and am so happy to finally use my climbing shoes again! You should check out that place, it’s a mini canyon just perfect for deep water bouldering. This update has a relation to water as well, featuring Utila and my PADI Open Water Course there. I even saw a little shipwreck on the second fun dive, pretty cool
Heading to the airport in San Pedro Sula, I wanted to get out of the car and explore the nature, which gets nicer the further you get out of town. Unfortunately, the area also seems to be pretty unsafe according to my Taxi driver, so staying in the car to catch my flight seemed the better idea
I missed to buy food in the morning, forcing me to look out for some at the airport. The only thing I could find was a bad looking sandwich which tasted even worse, but I was so hungry and nothing else was available, so I decided to eat it anyway. A big mistake as I would learn a few days later.While the first flight was in a medium sized propeller machine, the second one was certainly the tightest aircraft I have ever been. Just getting into my seat required to climb over the it from the back since there was no aisle or space on the sides. The ride was short and upon arriving on Utila, I had to wait half an hour until my dive center (Parrots) sent someone to pick me up. I arrived at the main part of town and Utila seemed to be like a bigger, uglier version of Caye Caulker. It is still kind of nice, but if you are looking for a more relaxed vacation, Caye Caulker should be your choice.
The Parrot Dive center is located close to a nice bar at the beach and has two options to dine just meters away. A cheap fast food like bistro and a more expensive Chinese restaurant. I decided to treat myself with the second option on my first night and had a nice 12$ dinner. I actually could not finish the portion and was a bit confused first, but the reason for that was not the size of the portion but rather the fact that I got myself in a nice diarrhea situation thanks to the delicious sandwich at the airport. The following four days were really unpleasant for me, having to use the toilet all the time and not eating anything at all for four full days. (This is the reason why I am now looking like a skeleton!) The timing could not have been any better as well, on my first sick day it was New Years Eve and I was not really able to enjoy it. The parties on Utila seemed to be a bit less wild than I thought they would be as well, so I think I didn’t miss out on too much.
The room I was staying in the first nights did not have a fan for my bed, but thankfully I could be transferred to a different room on the third day. The heat and humidity on Utila really made me struggle with my sleep, ending up not just not eating for four days, but also barely getting any sleep at all. All that aside, I had one task to finish here: my PADI Open Water Course! Utila is one of the cheapest places on earth to get the certification and i paid 269$ for my course with the Parrots. This also included four nights for free in their dorm room. We were a group of six people and had a great teacher called Daniel.
There were five chapters of theory, all pretty easy with a final exam in the end, two confined water sessions followed by two open water sessions. After those, you would complete the course and then receive two free fun dives as well. By the time we hit the water for the confined sessions, I slowly started to feel a bit better and was really happy about it. Getting under water for about one and a half meters, it was a strange feeling breathing air under water for the first time. We practiced skills like removing water from a filled mask and other tasks that Daniel explained to us before hand. Since you can’t hear, you need to observe and follow the hand signs of your guide. This worked out very well since Daniel was really good and we always got what he wanted us to do.
On the evening before the open water dives, I was getting out to the dock to take some shots of the sunset. Just when I wanted to return to the bar, I dropped my camera and barely got hold of it before dropping down further into the ocean. Still, the lens and battery caps were broken and it really pissed me off, begin unable to take any more photos or videos!! I found a guy on the island who was good repairing notebooks but we failed to repair the lens after breaking it down to its pieces. Anyway, my GoPro fake would be the camera from now on and I have to use it anyway for the dives, but I would need to find a replacement lens very soon after leaving Utila again since the Picture Quality of the GoPro is really bad.
Back to the dives! The two open water dives on 12 and 18 meters were really nice, we could get down to our depth limit but still would have to practice all of the skills like removing water from the mask and others. One of them was navigating with a compass. My dive buddy received one at the surface and under water we had to switch them, something Daniel did not tell us before sadly. I could not check the compass and it turned out that the metal clip was defective, eventually leading to the fact that I lost the compass at some point without realizing it because I was focused on the tasks we had. In the end, I had to pay 50% of the price for a new compass, combined with the fact that I would need to get a new lens as well it kind of dropped my mood a little bit.
Last but not least, we all passed our final exam and were ready to get down for our 18 meter fun dives! Those were certainly the highlight on Utila. We saw much more fish and had nicer landscapes compared to the dives before and for the first time ever, we could actually concentrate on the stuff around us rather than doing all the exercises! On the second fun dive, we even came across a little ship wreck, which was really cool because in the beginning it just looked like a black dot in the back but the closer we got, the more you could see until finally realizing that it is actually a sunken ship!
Walking back to the airport was interesting as well, having two roads to choose from, I apparently picked the wrong. It was pitch black since my flight left at 5AM and the road I picked was more like a muddy cow field. I slipped a lot and had to make sure that I wont fall down with my stuff. Eventually, I made it to the airport, my shoes being completely dirty. I washed them quickly and enjoyed the sun rise at the airport before heading back to San Pedro Sula again, this time sitting right next to the pilot in the tiny propeller machine
>> Pictures
Feb 13, 2015, 5:13 am
#72
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #36, Lake Yojoa, Honduras
13/02/2015 Panama City has been a pleasant surprise so far after checking out Casco Viejo, the Miraflores locks and Amador Causeway, all of which I can only recommend! Today marks the beginning of the carnival season here in Panama and I will head town to the Las Tablas area to celebrate it. This update features Lake Yojoa in Honduras. I still can’t pronounce the name correctly, but can certainly summarize that I had a great time exploring the area without a guide.
Lake Yojoa was a must see for me since I really like nature and the lake provides some great spots to see both wild life and amazing landscapes. My first stop coming from San Pedro Sula was the Pulhapanzak Waterfall. Using the direct shuttle for 35 Lempiras, I arrived around 3:30 PM and had enough time to see the falls before heading onward to the D&D Brewery, located closer to the lake. The waterfalls were really nice and it was the first time to use the “new” used lens that I bought the day before. Not the best, but certainly better than my phone or GoPro camera!
The D&D Brewery offers all sorts of beers from around the globe, as well as a few self brewed. The Raspberry beer was nice but nothing spectacular. The normal lager tasted like other lagers as well, but I think I just don’t have a good enough taste to tell big differences between all the lagers, they just taste pretty much the same to me anyway The D&D also has a pool, which was pretty dirty sadly and no one really used it. During dinner I was consulting the local guide for some advice on getting to the lake on my own. He told me that it is not possible without a guide in this part of the lake, giving me even more motivation to head out on my own the next morning.
Getting up around 7AM, I decided that it would be time for another run, the last one being in Cancun, Mexico months ago! The run was pretty nice actually, crossing the village to reach the river and then from there making my way towards the lake. Eventually though, the ground became pretty muddy and it was not possible to reach the shore from that end, so I decided to cross the river and make my way up the mountain to get a good view from the top and then make my way down to the shore. Some locals pointed me in the right direction.
Even though the direction was right, it was pretty hard to get to the top of the mountain though. Obviously, I was not on any sort of path but still tried to make my way through the thick forest. This must have been the third time I’ve done that on my trip so far actually! In the end, I made it to the top but could not find a good spot for a view, so I decided to head down again. Getting out of the jungle after roughly twenty minutes, I found myself in a beautiful spot that must be used by locals, judged by the boats that I could spot along the shore.
The scenery there was just amazing and I was completely alone, giving me a nice happy end for the tough hike before. I made my way along the shore to reach yet another great spot that was even good for swimming in the cold, refreshing water. At some point I had to force myself to stop taking pictures though, trying to catch the next bus to the east part of the lake. My hostel there was called El Cortijo del Lago and I liked it much more than the D&D Brewery. There were only three other guests around, I had the dorm room completely for myself and could even watch some birds before the sunset. The food there was much better as well and having a parrot around always adds some value I made friends with a couple from Argentina and we decided to explore the PANCAM parque together in the next morning. More on that in the next update!
>> Pictures
13/02/2015 Panama City has been a pleasant surprise so far after checking out Casco Viejo, the Miraflores locks and Amador Causeway, all of which I can only recommend! Today marks the beginning of the carnival season here in Panama and I will head town to the Las Tablas area to celebrate it. This update features Lake Yojoa in Honduras. I still can’t pronounce the name correctly, but can certainly summarize that I had a great time exploring the area without a guide.
Lake Yojoa was a must see for me since I really like nature and the lake provides some great spots to see both wild life and amazing landscapes. My first stop coming from San Pedro Sula was the Pulhapanzak Waterfall. Using the direct shuttle for 35 Lempiras, I arrived around 3:30 PM and had enough time to see the falls before heading onward to the D&D Brewery, located closer to the lake. The waterfalls were really nice and it was the first time to use the “new” used lens that I bought the day before. Not the best, but certainly better than my phone or GoPro camera!
The D&D Brewery offers all sorts of beers from around the globe, as well as a few self brewed. The Raspberry beer was nice but nothing spectacular. The normal lager tasted like other lagers as well, but I think I just don’t have a good enough taste to tell big differences between all the lagers, they just taste pretty much the same to me anyway
The D&D also has a pool, which was pretty dirty sadly and no one really used it. During dinner I was consulting the local guide for some advice on getting to the lake on my own. He told me that it is not possible without a guide in this part of the lake, giving me even more motivation to head out on my own the next morning.Getting up around 7AM, I decided that it would be time for another run, the last one being in Cancun, Mexico months ago! The run was pretty nice actually, crossing the village to reach the river and then from there making my way towards the lake. Eventually though, the ground became pretty muddy and it was not possible to reach the shore from that end, so I decided to cross the river and make my way up the mountain to get a good view from the top and then make my way down to the shore. Some locals pointed me in the right direction.
Even though the direction was right, it was pretty hard to get to the top of the mountain though. Obviously, I was not on any sort of path but still tried to make my way through the thick forest. This must have been the third time I’ve done that on my trip so far actually! In the end, I made it to the top but could not find a good spot for a view, so I decided to head down again. Getting out of the jungle after roughly twenty minutes, I found myself in a beautiful spot that must be used by locals, judged by the boats that I could spot along the shore.
The scenery there was just amazing and I was completely alone, giving me a nice happy end for the tough hike before. I made my way along the shore to reach yet another great spot that was even good for swimming in the cold, refreshing water. At some point I had to force myself to stop taking pictures though, trying to catch the next bus to the east part of the lake. My hostel there was called El Cortijo del Lago and I liked it much more than the D&D Brewery. There were only three other guests around, I had the dorm room completely for myself and could even watch some birds before the sunset. The food there was much better as well and having a parrot around always adds some value
I made friends with a couple from Argentina and we decided to explore the PANCAM parque together in the next morning. More on that in the next update!>> Pictures
Feb 13, 2015, 9:14 am
#73
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: DFW/STL
Programs: AA EXP, AA Admirals Club, Marriott PLT Premier, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 762
Hey Chris - continuing to enjoy the enjoy the pics/stories from places that I have been to & those I have yet to make it to. Keep it up & safe journeys.
Feb 16, 2015, 2:35 am
#75
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Live #37, PANACAM, Honduras
16/02/2015 After coming back from the carnival in Pedasí, I had a great last night in Panama City yesterday thanks to the company of amazing people. It is 4AM in the morning now and I will be heading towards Carti shortly to start the four day cruise through the San Blas Islands, eventually getting me to Sapzurro in Colombia. Thankfully the next update is a short one, featuring PANACAM Lake Yojoa in Honduras.
After exploring Lake Yojoa, it just took a quick tuk-tuk ride up the mountains to reach the PANACAM park, short for Parque Nacional Cerro Azul Meambar. You are supposed to see a lot of birds there, however I did not see a single one actually! The trails we were hiking provided some nice sceneries though, including some waterfalls.
If you only have limited time in Honduras and wonder if it would be worth going to PANACAM, I would say you could skip it in case you have other trips into similar parks on your agenda. This update is very short, but I gotta catch my boat to the San Blas Islands now! The next four days will certainly be without Internet, so please be patient with the next update
>> Pictures
16/02/2015 After coming back from the carnival in Pedasí, I had a great last night in Panama City yesterday thanks to the company of amazing people. It is 4AM in the morning now and I will be heading towards Carti shortly to start the four day cruise through the San Blas Islands, eventually getting me to Sapzurro in Colombia. Thankfully the next update is a short one, featuring PANACAM Lake Yojoa in Honduras.
After exploring Lake Yojoa, it just took a quick tuk-tuk ride up the mountains to reach the PANACAM park, short for Parque Nacional Cerro Azul Meambar. You are supposed to see a lot of birds there, however I did not see a single one actually! The trails we were hiking provided some nice sceneries though, including some waterfalls.
If you only have limited time in Honduras and wonder if it would be worth going to PANACAM, I would say you could skip it in case you have other trips into similar parks on your agenda. This update is very short, but I gotta catch my boat to the San Blas Islands now! The next four days will certainly be without Internet, so please be patient with the next update
>> Pictures