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.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
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!
Friday, April 9, 2010
So Long South America
So, tomorrow we are taking a boat from Cartagena, Colombia to the San Blas Islands and then to mainland Panama! It´s crazy to think that we have traveled from Santiago, Chile all the way up to Cartagena in 3 months.
Cartagena is beautiful. The historic part of the city is surrounded by a large wall that is part of the Fort San Felipe. I went to the fort one day and it was pretty cool. It has a great view of the city and there are tunnels that you can go down into and get really creeped out. The old part of the city is really nice to walk around in. The buildings are Spanish colonial style and is you walk along the wall you can peek at the ocean! There are beaches around Cartagena. I didn´t go swimming at any of them...just did a walk by...and they are pretty but not breath-takingly gorgeous. That would be Playa Blanca which is only a 1 hour bus ride, 4 minute ferry ride, and 20 minute motorbike ride away! On our motorbike leg of the journey Koehler and I were put on the same bike with the driver, our bags, and no helmets on a 25 km stretch of dirt road with lots of construction but luckily no traffic lights. Some how, we both managed to make it one piece. We spent one night in Playa Blanca enjoying the white sand beaches, thatched roof cabanas, crystal blue water, and being hasseled by the ladies offering massages. If anyone of you ever goes to Colombia and finds yourself in Cartagena you MUST do at the very least a day trip to Playa Blanca. It´s a nice escape from the humidity, crazy traffic, and odors of the city.
Well, tomorrow we will be floatin on a boat...hasta Panama!
Cartagena is beautiful. The historic part of the city is surrounded by a large wall that is part of the Fort San Felipe. I went to the fort one day and it was pretty cool. It has a great view of the city and there are tunnels that you can go down into and get really creeped out. The old part of the city is really nice to walk around in. The buildings are Spanish colonial style and is you walk along the wall you can peek at the ocean! There are beaches around Cartagena. I didn´t go swimming at any of them...just did a walk by...and they are pretty but not breath-takingly gorgeous. That would be Playa Blanca which is only a 1 hour bus ride, 4 minute ferry ride, and 20 minute motorbike ride away! On our motorbike leg of the journey Koehler and I were put on the same bike with the driver, our bags, and no helmets on a 25 km stretch of dirt road with lots of construction but luckily no traffic lights. Some how, we both managed to make it one piece. We spent one night in Playa Blanca enjoying the white sand beaches, thatched roof cabanas, crystal blue water, and being hasseled by the ladies offering massages. If anyone of you ever goes to Colombia and finds yourself in Cartagena you MUST do at the very least a day trip to Playa Blanca. It´s a nice escape from the humidity, crazy traffic, and odors of the city.
Well, tomorrow we will be floatin on a boat...hasta Panama!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Colombia
We have been in Colombia for about a week now and here is brief run down of our adventures:
San Agustin: We took a bus and a very bumpy ride, and we´re not kidding we flew a foot in the air hit our heads on the roof because of it. In San Agustin, we camped at this really cool camp site that had cabins and a fire circle and one night we made smores with our new Dutch friends that were staying there. With our new friends we went horseback riding to four of the different archeological sites in the area. The whole town in filled with over 500 burial statues, we only saw 8 or 9 but they were a good 8 or 9. Some date as far back to 3000 BC and some as new as 1200 AD.
Popayan: The white city in Colombia. All the buildings are white washed which on bright days is a little blinding. We were there smack dab in the middle of holy week and were able to see two processions. The first one was kind of a nativity of the adult procession done by children. Everything was miniature. Miniature priests, monks, marching bands, police, altar pieces. It was really cute. My favorite part was when one of the miniature cardinals was walking down the street with a balloon and then he accidently let it go. The procession at night was almost identical to the kids procession in form, except it was more serious.
Armenia: Do not go to Armenia. We went to go to the Parque de Cafe which is the coffee theme park. It was really neat, but it´s outside of Armenia. We also went to the circus which was very exciting except we were two of twenty people there. They had neat acts though like a Spiderman that ran around this cage that flipped around, tight rope walkers, dogs playing soccer, the death defying motorcyclists in a cage, and a disco dancing white tiger that was really fat.
Now we are in Medellin and plan to spend the day walking around and going to a park which has obese statues of both people and inanimate objects!
Happy Easter!
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