Tomorrow we fly home. This huge trip has been an incredible experience and it is amazing to see how far we have come (literally). Starting in Chile, moving over into Argentina, and then constantly making our way up towards home. In order to help cope with the end I've made lists of ¨Things I've missed,¨ ¨Things I'm going to miss,¨ ¨Things I've learned,¨ and ¨Some of my favorite moments¨ (This lists are in no particular order)
THINGS I'VE MISSED
- Thick Milkshakes
- My dog
- Weaverstreet
- Saying ¨y'all¨ and being understood
- The local news with Pam Saulsby
- Blueberries
- Bagels
- Seat Belts
THINGS I WILL MISS
- Empanadas
- Being told ¨Que le vaya bien¨
- Hopefully, ¨I've got a feelin¨ by the Black Eyed Peas...unless that song is still played every night
- Beautiful Churches
- Hearing negative stereotypes of rich, fat Americans
- Bunk Beds
- The smell of the bread shops
- Looooong bus trips
- Piropos (cat calls)... not really
- Fruit markets
THINGS I'VE LEARNED
- Lots of Incan ruins are just grain storages
- 45*C = 115*F
- Israelis travel in hordes
- Green and Black olives come from the same tree
- Head cheese is not really cheese
- Walmart owns a grocery store in every country
- Koreans are born with blue butts
- Chicken buses have more reliable schedules than actual bus companies
- Yanif, Shithead, and Loba...three really addicting card games
SOME OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS
- Sitting in a van, listening to music and talking with the 20 year old driver while we waited for a ferry at 10 at night in Nicaragua.
- Leaving my important bookbag with my passport, traveler's checks, and cash in the bus and getting to yell ¨Sigue el bus¨ to the cab driver in Ecuador
- Wine and bikes tour in Mendoza
- Getting to the crater of El Altar in Ecuador
- Surprising my host family from Amigos in Honduras. They had no idea that we were coming, I felt a little uncomfortable about that, but they still welcomed us in and were overjoyed to have us and kept asking when I was going to come back.
- Traveling through Uyuni and seeing geysers, the salar, and flamingos
- Sailing trip from Cartagena to the San Blas Islands and eating shark
- Getting to meet up with friends and family in Tarija, Cusco, Huanchaco, and San Jose
Well, that's all folks...
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Viva Mexico
Well, as our time dwindles away we have been enjoying time in both Puerto Escondido and Mexico City. On the way to Puerto Escondido, we had a close to 10 hour layover at the bus station in this quasi-boarder town so we decided to see two movies!! Back to back!! Robin Hood and Remember Me. It passed the time. I don't think either will take home any Oscars though.
In Puerto Escondido we stayed at what is apparently the big surfer beach. We don't surf so I spent most of my time reading, lounging, getting up to my knees in the surf, and just walking around.
From PE we traveled up to Mexico City and spent 3 nights in the quieter and artsy neighborhood of Coyoacan. This was the home of Frida Kahlo, Diego River and, for a sort stint, Leo Trotsky. All of the homes of the former residents have been turned into museums which feature artwork, letters, photos, and daily pieces from their lives. Now we have moved ourselves closer to the center of things. Our hostel is right off the Zocolo, main plaza, which is never dull. It's pretty amazing how much history is so obviously stacked up. The Aztec Templo Mayor is behind and under the huge Spanish Cathedral which is caddy corner to the Presidential Palace which surrounds the main square where there is always some sort of demostration, celebration or protest occuring. This year, Mexico is also celebrating it's bicentennial which some how manages to neglect both the Spanish Cathedral and the Templo Mayor where the countdown clock is wedged in between.
Well, today we went to Teotihuacan which is this crazy huge ruin complex that is not Aztec. The Aztecs stumbled upon the city and were over come by its beauty and greatness that they gave it the name Teotihuacan which means birthplace of the gods. The most famous temples in the complex are the Temples of the Sun and Moon, both which you are able to climb and see great views of the entire park and the surrounding urban sprawl.
Welp, we are down to under a week left of travels. Our plan is to go to Puebla for one night and then to Cuernavaca for three or four. Hopefully I won't get lazy and not blog again!
In Puerto Escondido we stayed at what is apparently the big surfer beach. We don't surf so I spent most of my time reading, lounging, getting up to my knees in the surf, and just walking around.
From PE we traveled up to Mexico City and spent 3 nights in the quieter and artsy neighborhood of Coyoacan. This was the home of Frida Kahlo, Diego River and, for a sort stint, Leo Trotsky. All of the homes of the former residents have been turned into museums which feature artwork, letters, photos, and daily pieces from their lives. Now we have moved ourselves closer to the center of things. Our hostel is right off the Zocolo, main plaza, which is never dull. It's pretty amazing how much history is so obviously stacked up. The Aztec Templo Mayor is behind and under the huge Spanish Cathedral which is caddy corner to the Presidential Palace which surrounds the main square where there is always some sort of demostration, celebration or protest occuring. This year, Mexico is also celebrating it's bicentennial which some how manages to neglect both the Spanish Cathedral and the Templo Mayor where the countdown clock is wedged in between.
Well, today we went to Teotihuacan which is this crazy huge ruin complex that is not Aztec. The Aztecs stumbled upon the city and were over come by its beauty and greatness that they gave it the name Teotihuacan which means birthplace of the gods. The most famous temples in the complex are the Temples of the Sun and Moon, both which you are able to climb and see great views of the entire park and the surrounding urban sprawl.
Welp, we are down to under a week left of travels. Our plan is to go to Puebla for one night and then to Cuernavaca for three or four. Hopefully I won't get lazy and not blog again!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Guatty
We have now been in Guatemala for about 2 weeks and it has been amazing.
Our first stop was to see these huge Mayan monoliths near the Honduran boarder at a little site called Quirigua. From the town we walked down the highway to the ruins and passed huge Del Monte banana planations. Traffic was stopped because a conveyor belt was passing bananas from side of the road to the other. When we arrived to the ruins we had the place to ourselves, except for the landscapers. There were about a dozen huge statues that had really detailed depictions of Mayan royalty and zoomorphic creatues. It was cool. That afternoon we started towards the Lanquin caves and Semuc Champey. We took an evening tour of the caves and watched thousands of bats fly out at dusk to eat. It was cool, also a little creepy. Semuc Champey is this amazing place where there about 7 crystal clear pools of water that are very calming and relaxing. Underneath the pools is an underground cave that has river rapids rushing through it. From Semuc Champey we went to Antigua which is super-duper touristy. There are cafes on every block and half block. Lots of fast food restaurants hidden on the colonial streets. Tour agencies, hostels, and everything is twice as expensive as in other places in Guatemala. All that aside, the town is very pretty and has some really beautiful churches. Our main purpose for staying in Antigua was to do a trip to Pacaya which is an active volcano with LAVA rivers. Apparently, a week before we did our tour the volcano errupted and spouted new lava so we actually were able to see moving, molten hot lava. We brought marshmellows but it was to hot to get close enough to roast the marshmellows...so they were kind of just warmed.
From Antigua we spent one day at Lago Atitlan where we rented kayaks for a couple hours and paddled around. The lake is beautiful and it was a shame we couldn´t spend more time there.
Next, we traveled to Xela where we have not actually spent much time in Xela. Instead, we´ve used it as a launching pad for day trips. First, to the Chichicastenago market which dates back to Mayan times and is full of weavings from many of the different indigenous groups in Guatemala. Second, we also took a full day trip (4:30am till 6pm) to the highest point in Central America, Volcan Tajumulco. The trek was not strenuous but it was strange feeling the affects of altitude again. The path up to the summit was really pleasant. It was a mixture of pine forests and meadows. From the summit, we couldn´t see much because there was a blanket of clouds surround us which was in itself really cool. We were kind of anticipating being the only ones at the top but there was a group of high school students who were there on a kind of motivational retreat with their school. The students are in the year before they declare their ¨major¨ so the teacher holds this activity of climbing the volcano to show them that they can do anything if they set their minds to it. The students were really excited and giddy about seeing tourists and started taking pictures of us and then with us. It was an extremely awkward experience but was all in good fun.
Now we are about to go to Mexico. I´m really excited about getting to see Oaxaca, Mexico City and returning to Cuernavaca. I´m most excited about getting to eat al pastor, gorditas, chilaquiles, sopes, mole, corn on the cob, horchata, enchiladas, molletes, tortas, and the list continues...
Our first stop was to see these huge Mayan monoliths near the Honduran boarder at a little site called Quirigua. From the town we walked down the highway to the ruins and passed huge Del Monte banana planations. Traffic was stopped because a conveyor belt was passing bananas from side of the road to the other. When we arrived to the ruins we had the place to ourselves, except for the landscapers. There were about a dozen huge statues that had really detailed depictions of Mayan royalty and zoomorphic creatues. It was cool. That afternoon we started towards the Lanquin caves and Semuc Champey. We took an evening tour of the caves and watched thousands of bats fly out at dusk to eat. It was cool, also a little creepy. Semuc Champey is this amazing place where there about 7 crystal clear pools of water that are very calming and relaxing. Underneath the pools is an underground cave that has river rapids rushing through it. From Semuc Champey we went to Antigua which is super-duper touristy. There are cafes on every block and half block. Lots of fast food restaurants hidden on the colonial streets. Tour agencies, hostels, and everything is twice as expensive as in other places in Guatemala. All that aside, the town is very pretty and has some really beautiful churches. Our main purpose for staying in Antigua was to do a trip to Pacaya which is an active volcano with LAVA rivers. Apparently, a week before we did our tour the volcano errupted and spouted new lava so we actually were able to see moving, molten hot lava. We brought marshmellows but it was to hot to get close enough to roast the marshmellows...so they were kind of just warmed.
From Antigua we spent one day at Lago Atitlan where we rented kayaks for a couple hours and paddled around. The lake is beautiful and it was a shame we couldn´t spend more time there.
Next, we traveled to Xela where we have not actually spent much time in Xela. Instead, we´ve used it as a launching pad for day trips. First, to the Chichicastenago market which dates back to Mayan times and is full of weavings from many of the different indigenous groups in Guatemala. Second, we also took a full day trip (4:30am till 6pm) to the highest point in Central America, Volcan Tajumulco. The trek was not strenuous but it was strange feeling the affects of altitude again. The path up to the summit was really pleasant. It was a mixture of pine forests and meadows. From the summit, we couldn´t see much because there was a blanket of clouds surround us which was in itself really cool. We were kind of anticipating being the only ones at the top but there was a group of high school students who were there on a kind of motivational retreat with their school. The students are in the year before they declare their ¨major¨ so the teacher holds this activity of climbing the volcano to show them that they can do anything if they set their minds to it. The students were really excited and giddy about seeing tourists and started taking pictures of us and then with us. It was an extremely awkward experience but was all in good fun.
Now we are about to go to Mexico. I´m really excited about getting to see Oaxaca, Mexico City and returning to Cuernavaca. I´m most excited about getting to eat al pastor, gorditas, chilaquiles, sopes, mole, corn on the cob, horchata, enchiladas, molletes, tortas, and the list continues...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Lots of updates...
When I last wrote we were on these random islands in the middle of a huge lake in Nicaragua...now we are in Guatemala.
We left the Islas de Ometepe and headed for Granada via the night ferry. Granada was really pretty and full of great churches but the weather was pretty hot and humid. Koehler and I climbed another volcano called Motomba which was completely different from Maderas on Ometepe. First of all, the entire path to the top was paved and then there were 3 loops that took you around different paths. We opted for the free loop which was full of little wooden signs telling about the significance of the plant life, animal life, and clouds. After Granada we headed to another colonial city of Leon. This is known to be more authentic meaning there are less cafes offering muesli and organic foods. In Leon, we went to a volcano to attempt to volcano surf. It was pretty fun. We had a short hike up to the top of a volcano which was covered in small black pebbles. We each had a sled and got one run down the hill. My clocked speed was pretty pathetic so it will not be shared.
From Leon, we made our last stop in Esteli which is a pretty town in the mountains of Nicaragua and offered a nice relief from the heat we had been experiencing. From Esteli, we made the trip into Honduras and in one day of traveling made it only half way to our intended destination of San Pedro Sula. This was due to the fact that we had to take chicken bus after chicken bus after chicken bus until we could get a direct bus to Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. Interestingly enough we stayed in the same hotel that we were in 3 summers ago when we visited. Free cookies and coffee and I was able to watch the new episodes of the Office and 30Rock.
The next day we finally made it to Gracias, Lempira so that we could visit my host family from Amigos de las Americas. Unfortunately, we arrived late in the evening so we had to wait the next day to walk up and let them know we were here. When we were on our way up to visit them, I was pretty nervous since they had no idea that I was coming, but we ran into Edin who is the oldest son. The last time I saw him he was 14 and is now 17 and a couple inches taller than I am. He went ahead of us and was supposed to keep a secret but when we got to the house Lola, my host mom, said ¨I did´t believe Edin when he told me.¨ We were able to spend 3 nights and close to 4 days with them and it was really great to see how much the kids have grown and the meet Lola´s new son Lester. We were also there on Mother´s Day and after calling our own mothers, went to gathering at Lola´s mom´s house where we able to see other members of the family and to even meet some of their new children. The family has definitely grown in 3 years.
Now we are in Guatemala. Our plan is to see some ruins, explore caves, and eat bagels in Antigua!
We left the Islas de Ometepe and headed for Granada via the night ferry. Granada was really pretty and full of great churches but the weather was pretty hot and humid. Koehler and I climbed another volcano called Motomba which was completely different from Maderas on Ometepe. First of all, the entire path to the top was paved and then there were 3 loops that took you around different paths. We opted for the free loop which was full of little wooden signs telling about the significance of the plant life, animal life, and clouds. After Granada we headed to another colonial city of Leon. This is known to be more authentic meaning there are less cafes offering muesli and organic foods. In Leon, we went to a volcano to attempt to volcano surf. It was pretty fun. We had a short hike up to the top of a volcano which was covered in small black pebbles. We each had a sled and got one run down the hill. My clocked speed was pretty pathetic so it will not be shared.
From Leon, we made our last stop in Esteli which is a pretty town in the mountains of Nicaragua and offered a nice relief from the heat we had been experiencing. From Esteli, we made the trip into Honduras and in one day of traveling made it only half way to our intended destination of San Pedro Sula. This was due to the fact that we had to take chicken bus after chicken bus after chicken bus until we could get a direct bus to Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. Interestingly enough we stayed in the same hotel that we were in 3 summers ago when we visited. Free cookies and coffee and I was able to watch the new episodes of the Office and 30Rock.
The next day we finally made it to Gracias, Lempira so that we could visit my host family from Amigos de las Americas. Unfortunately, we arrived late in the evening so we had to wait the next day to walk up and let them know we were here. When we were on our way up to visit them, I was pretty nervous since they had no idea that I was coming, but we ran into Edin who is the oldest son. The last time I saw him he was 14 and is now 17 and a couple inches taller than I am. He went ahead of us and was supposed to keep a secret but when we got to the house Lola, my host mom, said ¨I did´t believe Edin when he told me.¨ We were able to spend 3 nights and close to 4 days with them and it was really great to see how much the kids have grown and the meet Lola´s new son Lester. We were also there on Mother´s Day and after calling our own mothers, went to gathering at Lola´s mom´s house where we able to see other members of the family and to even meet some of their new children. The family has definitely grown in 3 years.
Now we are in Guatemala. Our plan is to see some ruins, explore caves, and eat bagels in Antigua!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Isla de Ometepe
We have reached our 4 months of traveling mark as well as our 5 weeks left mark...
We have also arrived to Nicaragua and just spend 3 nights on the Isla de Ometepe. It´s this really big island in the middle of a really big lake in the southern half of Nicaragua. We spend our first night in this section called Charco Verde where there was a nature reserve where you can walk around and spot some interesting birds and hopefully see monkeys. We did not see any monkeys that day...
Our other two nights were spent in a ¨town¨ called Santa Cruz which we used as a base for our hike up the Volcan Maderas, one of the two volcanos on the island. The hike was pretty difficult but it was actually really enjoyable. We saw a lot of howler and whiteface monkeys and went through some pretty dense rainforest. Weather wise, we lucked out since it was not blazing hot. The crater of volcano now has a lake and a nice patch of grass where we sat and enjoyed our cheese sandwiches. In our hiking group we had our guide named Harold who´s family relocated to Deleware after the civil war in Nicaragua, a Brit, two Canadians, and a Dane. They were a fun group and really excited about everything.
The next day we went to this amazing water hole called Ojo de Agua which is created from the water from that volcano (Maderas) coming up through the rocks. I would except this water the like hot springs but it was actually really cold and really refreshing.
Now we are in Granada which is an old colonial town. We got in this morning at like 5 am from a night ferry across the lake...but luckily the sunrises at 5am so we saw some of the city on our walk to our hostel.
We have also arrived to Nicaragua and just spend 3 nights on the Isla de Ometepe. It´s this really big island in the middle of a really big lake in the southern half of Nicaragua. We spend our first night in this section called Charco Verde where there was a nature reserve where you can walk around and spot some interesting birds and hopefully see monkeys. We did not see any monkeys that day...
Our other two nights were spent in a ¨town¨ called Santa Cruz which we used as a base for our hike up the Volcan Maderas, one of the two volcanos on the island. The hike was pretty difficult but it was actually really enjoyable. We saw a lot of howler and whiteface monkeys and went through some pretty dense rainforest. Weather wise, we lucked out since it was not blazing hot. The crater of volcano now has a lake and a nice patch of grass where we sat and enjoyed our cheese sandwiches. In our hiking group we had our guide named Harold who´s family relocated to Deleware after the civil war in Nicaragua, a Brit, two Canadians, and a Dane. They were a fun group and really excited about everything.
The next day we went to this amazing water hole called Ojo de Agua which is created from the water from that volcano (Maderas) coming up through the rocks. I would except this water the like hot springs but it was actually really cold and really refreshing.
Now we are in Granada which is an old colonial town. We got in this morning at like 5 am from a night ferry across the lake...but luckily the sunrises at 5am so we saw some of the city on our walk to our hostel.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Costa Rica...
Is expensive...
Charlie was down this week and it was also Grace's last week traveling with us and we also got to have a little reunion with our friend Greta who is in San Jose teaching for two years!
In San Jose we all stayed in this hostel which felt kind of like being in someone's frat house. There were a lot of drinking games and welcome shots and surf videos but the owners are Carolina Panthers fans and went to UNC-W and have lived in Asheville...so it's cool .
From San Jose we went to Montezuma which is on the west coast and is absolutely fantastic. We got to take multiple modes of transportation (our favorite) to get there too!
In Montezuma we walked along the beach which also turns into straight rock and then back to beach and then back to rock. We also climbed to this waterfall which is 40 ft (maybe 35) and jumped from it. It was crazy, definitely WILL NOT do it again. It hurt and was terrifying. I hate the feeling of falling and not being able to stop and that's what it was except you were smacked by the water at the end. I would have loved to chicken out except there was too much peer pressure at the top. On another day, we decided to walk along the beach to find another waterfall that was supposed to be cool but that you couldn't jump from because it went into the ocean...you also couldn't jump from it because it was just a trickle. Charlie and I walked for nearly 2 hours to find it and it while the walk was really pretty and enjoyable the waterfall was not worth all the effort...except the view from the top was pretty cool.
One restaurant was playing the Hurt Locker which I had been wanting to see and finally did. I thought it was a great movie... a little depressing but I think that's to be expected about movies on the Iraq War.
Charlie was down this week and it was also Grace's last week traveling with us and we also got to have a little reunion with our friend Greta who is in San Jose teaching for two years!
In San Jose we all stayed in this hostel which felt kind of like being in someone's frat house. There were a lot of drinking games and welcome shots and surf videos but the owners are Carolina Panthers fans and went to UNC-W and have lived in Asheville...so it's cool .
From San Jose we went to Montezuma which is on the west coast and is absolutely fantastic. We got to take multiple modes of transportation (our favorite) to get there too!
In Montezuma we walked along the beach which also turns into straight rock and then back to beach and then back to rock. We also climbed to this waterfall which is 40 ft (maybe 35) and jumped from it. It was crazy, definitely WILL NOT do it again. It hurt and was terrifying. I hate the feeling of falling and not being able to stop and that's what it was except you were smacked by the water at the end. I would have loved to chicken out except there was too much peer pressure at the top. On another day, we decided to walk along the beach to find another waterfall that was supposed to be cool but that you couldn't jump from because it went into the ocean...you also couldn't jump from it because it was just a trickle. Charlie and I walked for nearly 2 hours to find it and it while the walk was really pretty and enjoyable the waterfall was not worth all the effort...except the view from the top was pretty cool.
One restaurant was playing the Hurt Locker which I had been wanting to see and finally did. I thought it was a great movie... a little depressing but I think that's to be expected about movies on the Iraq War.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Ahoy Mate!
We are now in Central America.
On April 10 we took Fritz-the-Cat from Cartagena to the San Blas Islands of Panama. The trip was 5 days/4 nights and it was very eventful.
Our Captain, Fritz, is this 60 year old Austrian man with a mustache that makes him kind of resemble a walrus. Our boat had 17 passengers (4 Americans, 4 Austrailians, 4 Dutchies, 2 Brits, 2 Germans, 1 Swiss), Fritz, and his first-mate Luis but Fritz called him Louie. On the first day we set sail from Cartagena and about an hour later we could not see land and people began dropping like flies. Just around sunset I looked up and saw a dolphin spring from the water heading in the direction of our boat and then we looked down and there was pod of about 15 to 20 dolphins. It was really cool to look down and see them and since the water was so clear you could make out their eyeballs and markings. That same night...our rudder broke. On big boats the rudder is probably the most important part of the boat since it is the only method of steering. Since it was dark and a little rough Fritz coudn't do anything so we all went to bed and in the morning had drifted 10 miles back towards Cartagena. To fix the rudder, Fritz tried to creat drag with buckets...fail. Then we tied two lines to either side and developed this method of sailing where he sat and looked at the GPS and shouted commands such as "to the right" "to the left" "left" "right" "fahck." Eventually, we got the hang of steering and made it to San Blas by 3 am... 13 hours behind schedule. When we made it Fritz calmly exclaimed..."I can't believed that worked." Our delay scored us an extra day on the islands!
San Blas is really pretty, it looked like a picture book with just small sand islands with a few palm trees on them. The boys got really into hunting fish with spear guns and unfortunately killed some undersized fish and parrot fish which are really beautiful. On our first night at the islands the fishing line was sitting out while we were anchored and we caught a 5 foot nurse shark. Everyone on the boat was going crazy and Fritz...being the barbarian he was killed the shark and we ate it for 2 meals. Surprisingly, shark is pretty tastey. It is a light white meat without a fishy taste.
We also were able to go snorkeling and saw some neat wild life. Really huge brain coral, bright fish, and a sting ray! At our last stop, which seemed to the be the boating hub, there was a volleyball court and we all enjoyed the chance to get to exercise a little on dry land!
On the day we left, we had quite the chaotic adventure getting to mainland. On the Carribean side the Kuna is the indigenous tribe of the area and has a deal with the Panama government that no big ports could be developed in the national park. So we had to take a small boat from our boat where we were supposed to get into SUVs and go to Panama City. Unfortunately, the rain had raised the river and the trucks could not pass so we got into a slightly smaller boat to go up the river. Unfortunately, the rain did not raise the river high enough for the boat to pass so we swapped boats to an even smaller boat which with great struggles eventually go us to the place where the SUVs were waiting. The boat up the river was like a free jungle tour since we saw a ton of tropical birds and flora.
We spent one full day in Panama City, saw the Canal and are now in San Jose, Costa Rica! In Panama City I ran into a girl, Jesse, I knew from UNC in the hostel we were staying in. I knew that eventually I was going to run into somebody...small world!
On April 10 we took Fritz-the-Cat from Cartagena to the San Blas Islands of Panama. The trip was 5 days/4 nights and it was very eventful.
Our Captain, Fritz, is this 60 year old Austrian man with a mustache that makes him kind of resemble a walrus. Our boat had 17 passengers (4 Americans, 4 Austrailians, 4 Dutchies, 2 Brits, 2 Germans, 1 Swiss), Fritz, and his first-mate Luis but Fritz called him Louie. On the first day we set sail from Cartagena and about an hour later we could not see land and people began dropping like flies. Just around sunset I looked up and saw a dolphin spring from the water heading in the direction of our boat and then we looked down and there was pod of about 15 to 20 dolphins. It was really cool to look down and see them and since the water was so clear you could make out their eyeballs and markings. That same night...our rudder broke. On big boats the rudder is probably the most important part of the boat since it is the only method of steering. Since it was dark and a little rough Fritz coudn't do anything so we all went to bed and in the morning had drifted 10 miles back towards Cartagena. To fix the rudder, Fritz tried to creat drag with buckets...fail. Then we tied two lines to either side and developed this method of sailing where he sat and looked at the GPS and shouted commands such as "to the right" "to the left" "left" "right" "fahck." Eventually, we got the hang of steering and made it to San Blas by 3 am... 13 hours behind schedule. When we made it Fritz calmly exclaimed..."I can't believed that worked." Our delay scored us an extra day on the islands!
San Blas is really pretty, it looked like a picture book with just small sand islands with a few palm trees on them. The boys got really into hunting fish with spear guns and unfortunately killed some undersized fish and parrot fish which are really beautiful. On our first night at the islands the fishing line was sitting out while we were anchored and we caught a 5 foot nurse shark. Everyone on the boat was going crazy and Fritz...being the barbarian he was killed the shark and we ate it for 2 meals. Surprisingly, shark is pretty tastey. It is a light white meat without a fishy taste.
We also were able to go snorkeling and saw some neat wild life. Really huge brain coral, bright fish, and a sting ray! At our last stop, which seemed to the be the boating hub, there was a volleyball court and we all enjoyed the chance to get to exercise a little on dry land!
On the day we left, we had quite the chaotic adventure getting to mainland. On the Carribean side the Kuna is the indigenous tribe of the area and has a deal with the Panama government that no big ports could be developed in the national park. So we had to take a small boat from our boat where we were supposed to get into SUVs and go to Panama City. Unfortunately, the rain had raised the river and the trucks could not pass so we got into a slightly smaller boat to go up the river. Unfortunately, the rain did not raise the river high enough for the boat to pass so we swapped boats to an even smaller boat which with great struggles eventually go us to the place where the SUVs were waiting. The boat up the river was like a free jungle tour since we saw a ton of tropical birds and flora.
We spent one full day in Panama City, saw the Canal and are now in San Jose, Costa Rica! In Panama City I ran into a girl, Jesse, I knew from UNC in the hostel we were staying in. I knew that eventually I was going to run into somebody...small world!
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