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!
Monday, May 31, 2010
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.
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