Gracias and Birthday's!

 

Today is my dad's and sister-in-laws birthday! Today I woke up early and then sat around and worked on my book. I then tried to take a shower but they had turned off the water to do some repairs. I almost had to take a bucket shower but then they turned the water back on. Thank goodness! It was a cold shower but a shower none-the-less. Afterwards I went and ate breakfast and changed hostels. I went to the same place I had had dessert last night, hotel Guancascos. It is a very nice hotel that has a beautiful view of the city. Afterwards I went and walked around the town for a bit and then went to the old fort. I saw a really colorful grasshopper and then some really giant ones. The largest ones were at least as big as your hand! It was gross! Afterwards I went and had a late lunch. When I was finished it had began to rain so I went back to the hotel to wait it out. It is the rainy season so it rained a lot. I ended up taking a nap since there was nothing to do and at one point the electricity had went out. I woke up later in the evening and it was still raining! So I decided to eat dinner at the restaurant at the hotel. In the nighttime it stopped raining. I went to bed late after working on my book some more and exploring the internet.

Gracias

Today I woke up early to make my way to Gracias. Since I got up early I was able to get up and pack and catch a ride to La Ceiba. From La Ceiba I took a bus to San Pedro. From San Pedro I took a bus to Santa Rosa and then to Gracias. So basically the whole day traveling. Once in Gracias I took a motor taxi to the hostel. After I had settled in I went and found something to eat. I then went and found a restaurant and had dessert but mostly I was there to use their WiFi (my hostel doesn't have WiFi). So all in all it was not that eventful.

Rio Canregal

I thought of leaving today but decided I would stay one more day. I am staying in a dorm but there is nobody here but me. So I had the dorm to myself. Well there are 2 other ladies but I think they are friends of the owners and they are from Honduras. So there are no other foreigners but me. Honduras doesn't have to many tourist at this moment except in Roatan. I think the bad image keeps people away. So I woke up a bit early and did jungle yoga! It is a great place to do yoga. Well actually it was more a combination of stretching and yoga poses that I will now call yoga. Then I took a swim and it was beautiful because nobody was there except me and nature. Then I lazed around for a bit. Later in the afternoon I went to Pico Bonito National Park. Now let me just say that this park is beautiful but I almost died. Not really but at times I felt like it. It was so hot and humid in the jungle. Many times I didn't think I would make it. Every time I got to a point that I thought was the end I exclaimed "Oh God, please let this be it"... and lets just say I had to exclaim that a lot since it wasn't the end. Also I was the only one in the park so if I died no one would know! I finally got to the end and was rewarded by the beautiful waterfall. I then took a bath under the waterfall which was awesome. Again it was just me and nature. It was a little bit slippery and I really tried to be careful because again if I died no one would know. After I had cooled off I walked back to the entrance on a different path. I got back to the hostel around 5 something and chatted with one of the people that worked there before taking a 10-15 minute dip in the river. Afterwards I showered and ate dinner. I ended up going to bed earlier than I was going to because the powered failed. Ah life in the jungle. I wish that pictures could capture the beauty of the places I have been but they really cant. But I do try....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rio Cangrejal

 

Evil parrot

I woke up early (well fully woke up) around 5 something or another. I got up and got everything ready to go. I walked to the gas station a little before 6 am to catch a taxi. I bargained the price and then took the 20 minute drive to the ferry. It was too early to make it a collective taxi but I got a good price. I then waited for the ferry to come. A little before 7 am I got on the ferry and made the 1.5 hour trip to La Ceiba. I then took a collective taxi to the bus station and grabbed a bite to eat. I had contacted jungle river lodge yesterday and was told I could go river rafting today with 2 other people. They told me they would wait for me so I was really trying to get there. They told me the bus left at 9 am but when I got there that was not the case. The bus actually left at 10 am since it was Sunday and really we left at 10:15 am because the bus driver was chatting with one of his friends. In this time I had time to grab breakfast, which consisted of 2 donuts and a cup of juice for $1 (what?!) and wait for the bus. We finally got on our way and I got to jungle river lodge a little before 11 am. When I got there, like I had figured, the 2 people had already went rafting. I was told I could still go with 2 of the guides. I finally decided to go and I still had fun. We did a little bit of rafting and some river hiking. By river hiking I mean we walked and swam in the water and jumped from rocks (boulders really) into the water. I didn't jump from all the rocks as some were pretty high and I am afraid of heights but I did okay. After the river hiking we rafted. The rafting was okay because the river was really low because it hasn't rained. Afterwards I went back to the hostel and ate lunch. I then hung out for a bit and then later went for a walk and took some pictures. Overall I had a good day and went to bed a little earlier than usual as I was exhausted from my lack of sleeping. I also decided that this would be an excellent area for yoga. Yes jungle yoga tomorrow!

 

 

In other news...that parrot is evil. He walked up the stairs toward me just to try to bite me. :-/ And he wouldn't say anything except "Hola" for me. 

Rotan and West End Beach

So today I woke up and was suppose to leave to catch the ferry at 2 pm. I hadn't finished reading the book (the book that I can't remember the name) and really tried everything in my power to finish it. When I woke up I began to read it. I finally got up and went and ate breakfast then went to the beach and read for a bit. I left the beach after 12 pm and by that time had decided I didn't feel like leaving and would just spend the day here. I also didn't feel like leaving because there was no rafting trips I could join the next day. I went back and told them I was staying another night and paid. Then I hung out in the hammock for a bit reading. Then I went back to the beach. Today I rewarded all my hard work (of relaxing, beach, and laying in the hammock) with 3 scoops of icecream! I had a cone with cookies and cream on top, coconut in the middle, and pistachio on the bottom. I got it all over me because in the heat it melted way faster than I could eat. But it was freaking delicious! I also met a guy who had come for the night who had just come from Utila. He was telling all sorts of crazy stories. Like that they have a serious cocaine problem over there. He is a med student from England and he told me people would try to pay in cocaine when they didn't have money. And people thought the clinic was a drug store. Now some of these stories were crazy and I'm not sure how true they are but it is very possible...unfortunately. I spent the rest of the day at the beach and came back in the evening. I relaxed some more. Later in the night I hung out with a bunch of people from the hostel and some other random people. I also reminded myself why I prefer not to hangout with people most backpackers. They were the typical backpackers that wanted to drink and then go party and talk about drugs. Some had crazy stories but overall I though man am I too old and mature to hang out with some of these people. Also the girl, that had said "there are black people here and they have nice hair" when talking to someone on the phone, was there. I found out she is young so that can account for some of here -errr-umm--lets call it lack of knowledge. Later everyone went out except me (well not really but seemed like it). I went to bed and woke up like every hour because I guess I was afraid I would miss the ferry that I had to take the next day at 7 am. So I wasn't super mad when the partiers came back and turned on the light at whatever god awful hour they returned.

 

Roatan and West Bay Beach

What a lovely day I had! Today I woke up and relaxed and read my book for a bit. I then went and got breakfast. Afterwards I returned to the hostel to tell them I was staying another night and to pay. I had thought about changing hostels but then I decided against it mostly because it involved looking and moving. I relaxed for a bit before heading back out to take a boat to the West Bay. I am staying on the West End where backpackers stay and where it is cheaper. The West Bay is nicer and more expensive. It is also where the nicer beach is. I walked along the shore and found someone to take me to the beach. The guy was nice and he gave me free snorkeling. I had told him I wasn't interested in diving (thing everyone comes here to do) or snorkeling (next thing people come to do if they don't dive) as I can't swim. He told me he would take me for free (because I had to try it) and he did. Afterwards he dropped me off at West Bay and I hung out at the beach for the rest of the day. I then took a ferry back to the West End. I then hung out with some of the people that were also staying at the hostel. I met a couple but the woman was a bit strange. Nice but strange. I also chatted with Clemente (I think that's his name... lets just go with it) whom I had met the other day. He is from Germany and wants to go to Guatemala in June for classes near lake Atitlan. I will also be near the lake so I shared some of my knowledge with him. Later I went out to eat and then went to a place where they were playing music. I had tried to meet up with 2 of the girls from the hostel but couldn't find them. I ended up hanging out with some random people and chatting with the guy who worked at the restaurant I had eaten breakfast. I then walked back to the hostel very early in the morning. When I got there I used my phone to find my way to bed since I was being courteous to the people that were sleeping. I then went to bed but woke up on and off since it was hot. All in all a lovely day. Who can ask for more than an island and a beach... except a hammock... yes tomorrow lets add a hammock. Oh and tomorrow lets not have all the tourist. Too many tourist on the beach. Way to many!

Goodbye lake and hello Roatan

So I woke up early and packed up my things. I was going to walk down the road to get breakfast but time escaped me and before I knew it, it was time to go. I went and tried to find the guys from yesterday but they weren't there. I saw a guy packing a truck and I asked him what his name was and he told me Allen. So I asked him if he was going to San Pedro and if I could catch a ride. He told me yes. So I paid my bill and waited for him. We left maybe 20-30 minutes later after picking up 2 other guys. He drove me to the bus station and dropped me off. So yeah free ride. I then grabbed something to eat, as I hadn't eaten yet, then caught a bus to La Ceiba.  The bus dropped me off on the side of the road and told me to go across the street to catch a taxi. I went across the street, and with the help of a local girl, caught a taxi. They charged me a little bit more than it should have cost, I think, but I got to the ferry all the same. I got to the ferry early and then bought my overpriced ticket. I then went and got a snack to eat. I went back to the ferry station and waited for the boat to leave at 4:30 pm. But this station has air-conditioning and Wi-Fi so it was quite enjoyable. Close to 4:30 pm we boarded the boat and at 4:30 pm we were off. The ferry took 1.5 hours. After I got my luggage I tried to find a taxi which is not hard as the first words you hear are "Taxi?". I took a collective taxi to the hostel I had contacted and told I was coming. But when I got there the taxi driver told me it wasn't near the ocean (which I had thought). He told me of the ones near the ocean and I decided to go to the other hostel I had looked up. He then told me I would have to pay him extra and we argued for a bit. He took me to the other hostel near the beach and I asked him how much I owed him. In the end I gave him an extra L50 because I didn't feel like arguing anymore and my backpack was in the trunk (not sure if he would have held it for ransomed as I didn't let it get that far). I then walked to the hostel and asked if they had rooms. I declined the private room because 1. It was more than I wanted to pay and 2. It was only available for one night. So I "dormed it". First night in a dorm! Check off of things to do on trip... Anyways it wasn't that bad. The only thing I didn't like about the dorm is that when one person is asleep (if your courteous) then you shouldn't make noise or turn on the light. And there was one person that went to bed early so I hung out in the lobby for a bit until I was ready to go to bed. I also had began to read a book (another thing to check off the list) as I had told myself I would read a book on this trip and have had yet to do so. I actually tried to read 2 others before I settled for the book I read. Unfortunately I do not remember the name but it was a good book as I was reluctant to go to bed.

Lago de Yajoa day 2

Today I woke up early enough and planned to head out but that didn't happen. I ended up on the phone for quite some time talking to my grandmother and talking to the nurses, social workers, and physical therapist in the hospital. My grandmother had been in the hospital for a couple of days as she had went to the ER and they had found out she had recently had a heart attack. So I spent my morning on the phone with her explaining things and talking to people to get her to understand. I also was trying to tell her that she needs to let them do their jobs. Afterwards I decided that I wouldn't be able to see 2 tourist attractions today which I probably wouldn't have been able to do anyways. I had to decide between going to the waterfall and going to see a cave. In the end I chose the waterfall as it looked good and it seemed like it was less complicated to get there. I just had to take 1 bus instead of 2 or 3 buses. I went to the restaurant down the road and ate breakfast then waited outside to catch the bus. I caught the bus toward San Pedro Sula and got off at San Buena. I walked up to the entrance of the town and to the entrance of the park where the waterfall is. The town is called Pulhapanzak and the tour information called it the Pulhapanzak waterfall. There was no one at the entrance so I walked in. After I had walked in some guy came running toward me and asked if I had paid. I said no as there was no one there to pay. He told me he was the guy that works at the entrance so I paid him. I was then approached by another guy asking me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to do the tour where you walk behind the waterfall. So I paid for the ticket and he took me. It was amazing! I got drenched. Afterwards I hung out at the park and relaxed before heading back to the main road to catch the bus. Overall I had a good day. I was lucky because as I got to the main road the bus was passing and I was able to get on the bus and go back to Los Naranjos without waiting. When I got back I relaxed for a bit before going back out to eat. I came back and relaxed for a bit then went out and socialized a little bit. I ended up talking to this guy from America and the 2 Honduran guys that worked at the hostel. I was told that that Allen (a guy that also works there) is going to San Pedro Sula and maybe I could catch a ride tomorrow. Great! After 11 pm I said my goodbyes and went to my room. I played on the computer a bit, packed up most of my things, and went to bed.

Honduras....I made it!

So I woke up at 5 am (well officially got up) and waited for the bus to come at 6:30 am. I caught the bus to Pena Blanca and was told to wait on the opposite side of the road for the bus to Los Naranjos (town I will be staying in). I waited for a while and then a guy came by and I asked him if he was a bus going to Los Naranjos. He told me yes. After I got in I asked the cost and found out he was a taxi. He told me L25 to take me to the entrance of D & D brewery which I declined. I asked him the cost to just drop me off on the road leading to the hostel and he said L8. I chose the later. When I was dropped off I walked less than 10 minutes to the entrance. I am happy I chose not to pay his overexaturated prices. When I got to the entrance no one seemed to be awake so I sat downto wait for quite sometime until I saw someone waking around. I found out where the entrance was and went to see if there was a room available. Because it was breakfast time the people working there weren't able to show me the room for over an hour so I ended up ordering breakfast. I was very hungry since I had only eaten one true meal yesterday and nothing yet for the day. After I ate I waited some more until they could show me the rooms. Afterwards I told them I would take it and they let me check-in early. It was around 10 am and check-in is at 2 pm. I am happy that they did because I was very exhausted. I went and took a shower (with hot water) and then laid in bed. I called my mom to tell her I was still alive and then checked my email and FB. Around 11 am or a little after I fell asleep. I woke up 3 hours later at 2 pm. I must have been very exhausted becaue I slept well for 3 hours. I then tried to decide what I would do. I decided to go to the ecoforest (Parque Eco-Arqueologico Los Naranjos) nearby. I ended up playing on the internet for a bit and didn't end up leaving until after 3 pm. I got a reusable map and found the Forest after walking past the bridge to the entrance. When I got there I saw a sign saying it was forbidden to enter without a ticket. Now I am a law abiding citizen so I stood there until I could ask someone where I could buy a ticket. A boy came by and told me to go over the bridge to the entrance. I did. When I got there I asked the police officer where the entrance was. He told me to the right for the entrance and to the left for the archeological zone. So I walked to the right and looked for the place to purchase the ticket. After awhile I came to the conclusion that there was no place to purchase the ticket in the park and I had gotten lucky and wouldn't have to pay. I think the park closes at 4 pm although the guy at the hotel told me 5:30 pm. I had arrived close to 4 and I think I missed paying the entrance fee. Either way the place is beautiful and I really enjoyed it. When I first came to Honduras I was dissappointed. It may have had something to do wih my terrible travel day but let's try and put that behind us. But now walking in the Forest and seeing the beautiful river I was falling in love. Up to now I had fallen in love with Nicargua but now Honduras was really starting to tug at my heart strings. I really enjoyed the walk and the beautiful mountain and river views. Afterwards I walked back to town and found out prices of food at one restaurant. I then went back to my hostel and took a shower and rested for a bit. Around 6:30 pm I walked back to the restaurant. I had compared the prices at the hostel and the restaurant and the restaurant won for cheaper prices. The hostel has cheap prices also but the restaurant is a lot cheaper. After I ate I walked back to the hostel. I didn't really feel like socializing and just laid in bed for the night and watched shows or playing on the internet.

Travel Day From Hell...Worser Than Other Day

So lets just say that I didn't wake up early. I mean I woke up early but not early enough. I woke up sometime after 5 am and started getting ready. Oh... did I say I packed yesterday? Well not really. I started to pack and didn't quite finish as I had handwashed and my clothes were on the line drying. When I got up I checked my clothes most of them were not completely dry. So I decided to cook and get ready and see if they would dry by then. I showered first and then ate. I then checked my clothes again and decided to pack them up even though some were still a bit damp. I then packed up the rest of my stuff, paid my bill, and said goodbye to Guillermo and his mom. I then walked up the street to hail a cab. I walked to one of the main roads and hailed a cab. The cab took me to the main bus terminal. I waited for maybe 20 minutes before catching a bus to Esteli. Along the ride the guy that collects the cash called out for the bus to Ocotal so I got off and got on the bus to Ocotal. So basically I got lucky as now I didn't have to go to the Esteli bus terminal and catch a bus to Ocotal. When I got to the Ocotal bus station I had to wait for the bus to come in. It was not around 10:20 am and I had to wait about 20 minutes to catch the bus. During that time I walked around the bus terminal which had a market and bought some fruit and chips. When the bus to the Las Manos (the border) came I got on. The bus ride was a little more than 1 hour. When we got to the border they let us off the bus so that we could make our fun trek across the ooh so fun border. Like all the other borders it was confusing. Now they call it immigration instead of customs. I had to wait in a line to get through immigration. It was a bit confusing as this was the first border where you could enter and leave the country at the same window. Also they were moving extra slow. I mean extra slow. And when I got to the window I had to pay yet again. And then the guy didn't have change or something so I had to wait on the side until the other officer could give me change. I then got my passport stamped and off I went. I walked past some police officers but no one shouted out anything at me until I walked past the next office I needed to go to. I went to the Honduran border and again had to pay even though Lonely Planet doesn't have any mention of paying any money. I then walked toward another officer who checked my passport and then let me go. I then walked up to a office on the side of the road that said customs and asked if there was a bus straight to Tegucigalpa (the capital) and was told yes. There was a guy on a bus and he told me that I could take this bus to some town and then catch a bus to Tegucigalpa. I was reluctant until he said the bus to Tegucigalpa doesn't come until 2 pm and it was only almost 1 pm. So I decided to take this bus and then go to Tegucigalpa. I got to the other town and then was able to buy a ticket to Tegucigalpa. This bus was a minibus and to get by people you had to brush by people. Basically some part of your body is touching theirs as you walk by. Along the way to Tegucigalpa the bus broke down. We had to wait for maybe 1 hour until the another bus came to take us on our way. When we finally got to Tegucigalpa the bus dropped us off on the side of the road. I then had to take an overpriced taxi to the bus office to go to La Gauma to get to my final destination. When I got to the bus office I found out that it didn't stop in La Gauma and that it only went directly to San Pedro Sula. I was told there was another bus down the street that stopped in La Guama so I went in search of it. When I found it I was told there weren't anymore buses tonight and I could take one at 6 am. So I decided to go look for a hotel. I had heard that Tegucigalpa isn't the safest city so I was not looking forward to staying here. I walked to 3 hotels and was about to walk to a 4th when a guy stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told him I was looking for a hotel since I couldn't go to La Guama tonight and he told me I could. He took me to a bus office (which he works for) and I bought my ticket. We then had to wait on the bus because they didn't want to leave until the bus filled up. Again we were in a minibus. When the bus finally filled up we were off. We took a rest break maybe 2 hours into the ride. Now here comes the part from hell... So by now it was quite dark. We had left after 5 pm and the bus ride is suppose to take about 3 hours. So when we got to La Guama, my stop, it was dark. Now I was expecting to be dropped off at a bus terminal where I would be able to catch the next bus. Nope. Basically they dropped me off on the side of the road. Literally the side of the road. I asked before I got off if there was any buses to Pena Blanca and they told me no not til the morning. So when I got off I stood for a minute and looked around. I then walked down the street to look at a sign to see where the hotel (on the sign was). I thought it was .6 km but it said 6 km, I later found out. So I walked across to the police station. I asked the police if there were any buses. He said no. I then asked if there were any taxi's. I was told no. I then asked if there was any hotels. I was told no. So I asked what should I do and the police officer kind of just looked at me. The whole time I talked to the police he kind of looked at me with a kind of indifference or not at all as he was watching TV. I don't think that he even cared that I was stranded. Welcome to Honduras!!! So I kind of walked around a bit and tried to figure out what to do. At one point I thought of walking down the road -the dark no lit road-to find the hotel until the police office told me that it was 6 km away. I then thought of hitching a ride but didn't really want to. Eventually I just sat down on the bench and decided I would just sleep there. I mean what else could I do? I didn't ask the police officer I just kind of sat down and took naps. I was taking a nap when a truck full of police officers came and woke me up. They brought in a prisoner who was handcuffed and a lady whom I believed was his wife. I moved over so they could sit on the bench next to me as there was only one bench. They said some stuff, asked some questions, then removed his handcuffs so I guess he was harmless. The police officer whom I had talked to (name is Garcia) took him in the back while his wife waited on the bench with me. Maybe 30 or so minutes later Garcia brought him back out and the other police officers came and got him. During my stay there was a young girl walking around talking to the police officer. I dozed back off until I was awoken by something flying into my shoulder. I screamed and a lady officer came out of the back room to see what was wrong. Apparently they had changed shifts. So I told her something had flew into my shoulder. She didn't even seem concerned and went back in the back room. I thought it was a bat so I was extra scared but found out it was just a bird when I moved the bench. The bird then flew off into the back room. The lady came back and gave me a chair so I could be more comfortable. She came back a little bit later with a baby. I then dozed on and off throughout the night. During the remainder of the night other police officers would come in and some other random people that talked to the police officer. Basically they had no regard that I was trying to sleep. Throughout the night I woke up several times and finally got up at 5 am to begin waiting for the bus. All in all a terrible day for traveling. I started to blame myself for leaving 2 hours later but at this point I really don't think it matters. I don't think it would have made much of a difference since the buses stopped running around 6 pm (or so they said).


Police Station where I spent a night

Okay...just one more day in Matagalpa

Today was a lazy day. I know I have been saying that more lately but that's how I am feeling. A bit lazy. Today I caught up on my blog (more or less), hand washed, helped Guillermo with his website, cooked, ate, and packed. The plan was to get up early and catch the bus. Yeah....

Matagalpa

Today I woke up early to go on a tour with Guillermo. He had a group of 3 people going and I wanted to tag along since I wasn't doing anything. I also told him he could give me the tour, La Pita, for free as my payment for all the work on his website. I got up and cooked myself breakfast and then got ready to go. He left a little before 8 am to go meet the people. He gave them a tour of the town and then came back for me. The group consisted of Guillermo, 3 people from Switzerland (2 girls and a guy), and me. So we walked down to the market area and took a cab. The market was closed due to Semana de Santa. We were dropped off in the town of San Ramon near a gravel road that led to the farm. We walked  up toward the farm and along the way Guillermo talked to us about the plants and trees. We got to see an interesting tree that when you cut it bleeds. This tree actually helps with anemia and sickle cell anemia but sadly they don't sell it as medicine.  We also learned about a tree that can help with cancer. We met up with another guide named Daniel. He showed us the farm and many of the plants. We learned about coco (for chocolate) and coffee plants. We also got to try some local passion fruit. The guides were all very knowledgeable and the farmer was also. Also it is an organic farm. Next we took a break and ate fruit and had coffee. We actually had a lot of different fruit: 2 types of mango, apple, coconut, oranges, banana's, and some local fruit that I didn't like at all. Afterwards we continued our walk up the hills of the farm. At the end of the tour we walked back to the village and waited for the guy to come and pick us up. When we got back into town we hung out for a bit and then Guillermo and I went back to his home. I went back to working on his website and he left saying that he would be back (right....). I worked on the website for some hours. I get stuck on things when I can't figure them out and this was one of them as the website was giving me some difficulties. Around 7:30 pm I cooked myself dinner and then got ready to go out. Guillermo still hadn't come back but he called to tell me to walk down the street to the hostel. So I walked to meet him and then we ended up hanging out with a guy and girl for a bit and then just the girl. She is from Spain and has been traveling for a couple months. We then went to find the bar/restaurant. We ended up hanging with some of Guillermo's friends for the night. All in all we had a good time and stayed up way past my bed time.

Matagalpa Finally!!!

So like I said before I didn't sleep that much. I got up at 5:00 am and waited for the buses to start coming in. The buses started coming in at 5:30 am. I said goodbye to my friend and I got on a bus to Matagalpa and waited. It didn't leave by 6:00 am so I got off to take the express bus that leaves at 6:30 am.  I said goodbye to my friend again and got on the express bus. I got to Matagalpa about 2 to 2.5 hours later. I then took a cab to Nativos Tours. I had taken a tour here before and had decided to come hang out in Matagalpa with Guillermo (the guide). I figured I could chill and maybe take a tour. More importantly Matagalpa is cool (temperature wise) as compared to the rest of Nicaragua. I took a cab to Guillermo's house. He also has a guest house that I had decided to stay in as it was cheaper than the place I had stayed at the first time I had come to Matagalpa. When I arrived no one answered the door. Then an elderly couple next door asked me who I was looking for. I told them Guillermo. They asked me if he knew I was coming and I said yes. So they let me in their house to sit and wait. Then the elderly woman called Guillermo and he finally woke up to come open the door. It turns out that the elderly couple next door are his grandparents. The elderly woman had even offered to let me sleep upstairs in one of their beds. They were very nice. I went next door and put my stuff in the room Guillermo showed me was for me. At this point I was pretty exhausted and running on lack of sleep. So I pretty much lazed around for a bit and watched some shows because my body didn't want to go to sleep although my mind did. Later I walked to the store with a guy that was also staying at the guesthouse. We walked to 3 supermarkets but they were all closed due to Semana Santa. So we separated and I went to see if I could find a Pulperia (a corner store basically). As I was walking I stopped to buy fruit and asked where I could find a pulperia. I was told there was a supermarket open near the other park. I walked to the other park and found the supermarket and bought things to cook. I had decided I would cook while I was here instead of going out to eat. I had planned to stay 2 days in total and leave on Saturday to head to Honduras. I then walked back and bought mango for my walk back. I hadn't really ate anything yesterday as I had been on a bus all day and I didn't want to eat terminal food. I had eaten a little bit this morning from food Guillermo had given me but at this point I was close to starving. When I got back I cooked Johnnycakes and tuna to eat. I then rested for a bit. Later Guillermo came back and I helped him make a FB page for his business. I then was trying to explain to him about making a website but he didn't understand so I looked up free websites for him. We found one and I decided I would help him make a website. The last time I was here I had told him that he should make a website for his business. Like I said before I think it is important that native business thrive as there are so many foreign businesses in these countries and in the end, sadly, the native people don't make much. Nicaragua is a very poor country. So I spent a good part of the late afternoon and evening working on his website. I kind of think he was pretending he didn't know how to do it so that I would do it for him. But then again sometimes men just can't figure things out. 

Travel Day from Hell...Well Not that bad but still...

Today I woke up early enough and finished braiding my hair. I had started last night so I had been up late. I watched a movie as I finished the task. Then I packed up my stuff and got ready for my trip. I ate breakfast and then went back to the room to relax until around 12 pm when I planned to take the bus. I left the hotel a little before 12 pm and walked to the bus station. When I got there I found out the bus didn't come until 1:00 pm (not what the schedule says) so I waited. The bus came before 1 pm but didn't let us board until close to 1 pm. The bus took about 1.5 to 2 hours to get to the border. At the border I got off the bus and walked to an office on the Costa Rican side. There I was told I had to pay a $7 leaving tax. I didn't believe the guy that told me that because Costa Rica doesn't have a tax to enter or leave. Unfortunately, I found out that it was a new tax so I had to pay it. I then had to walk to the Costa Rican custom office and wait in a line as there was only one person manning the desk. I went through the Costa Rican customs easily. I then walked down the road to the Nicaraguan border to enter the country. Along the way they checked my bag... and by checked I mean they asked me what I had in it. I then walked to the customs office and I had to pay $12 (again) even though I had a tourist card from before. Apparently it not valid once you leave the country. Then I went and found the bus. I had decided that I would take the bus to Managua (the capital) and from there I would catch a bus to Matagalpa. I didn't really want to go to Managua as it is a bit dangerous and because they were having trembles from a possible to come earthquake. The bus ride was over 2 hours. I arrived around 6 pm. I then tried to get a cab. One of the guys from the bus talked to a cab driver and vouched for him. The cab driver tried to charge me C150 for the taxi ride. I had already asked the other guy on the bus and he told me it should be around C70 to get to the other bus station. So I told him it was expensive. He told me I had to hurry as to not miss the bus as the last bus leaves at 6 pm while another guy standing on the street chimed in that the last bus leaves at 6:30 pm (Also please note that it was already 6 pm). I asked someone else what time the last bus left and they said 7 pm. Even still I wasn't deterred on my quest not to be swindled so a little boy asked if I was looking for a cab and I asked him how much. As he was leading me to another cab the first cab driver said he would take me for C120. I walked to the other cab driver and asked him how much. He told me C80 and to this I agreed. He drove me to the other bus terminal so I could catch the bus. At this point it was dark outside. I went through the gate of the bus terminal which had guards and then asked about the buses. Unfortunately for me, I was told that the last bus just left 40 minutes ago. When I asked someone else they told me there wasn't any buses to Matagalpa today and when I asked another person they said the last bus was at 4 pm. So really I didn't know what to do. I decided to wait. I waited til late and verified that the buses weren't coming. The bus schedule is messed up due to Semana Santa. I then asked if there was a bus to Masaya (neighboring village) as I know someone there and had stayed at a hostel there before. I was told there was no more buses for the night. Period. So then I asked if there was wi-fi so maybe I could figure something out. I was told there was nothing. I was also told that it is dangerous outside of the terminal and to go anywhere I need to take a cab. I was told if I leave the terminal I could get robbed. So I didn't know what to do. I had also met another young boy who was in the same predicament. He wanted to go to Esteli and didn't know anyone in Managua. So we kind of just looked at each other and didn't know what to do. In the end I ended up sleeping in the terminal, I and about 20 or so other people that didn't know the buses stopped running early. We all got to enjoy a movie about King David and then Water World. I ended up going to bed around 2 am and got up again around 5 am. My comfort was knowing that the other guy was there. We kind of had silent conversations with each other... you know the one where you look at someone and smile... yeah those. We did talk on and off throughout the night. He also let me use his phone to get on Facebook. Thanks Hernando. I hope you made it to your destination!

Liberia

I woke up early today and packed up my stuff and took a shower. I talked with my Aunt and she told me that I should put all the stuff I had wore into a separate bag so I did. She also told me if they were bed bugs they could live for a very long time. I then went downstairs to ask if they had a different room. The only other room they had was a bigger more expensive room which I didn't want to pay for. So I told them I didn't want to stay in the room because of the bugs and I would go look for another hotel. The guy that works at the hostel said they hadn't had any problems with bugs and maybe the last person, an Asian guy, had brought them. I told him I had shown them to the guy last night and he said he would check the room. I went down the street, literally, and looked at another hotel. The guy also had another room but I wouldn't be able to see the room til later so I told him I would come back. I went back to my hotel and the hotel guy told me he would give me the other room for the same price I was currently paying. He also said they would fumigate the room I had slept in. And he told me they would wash my clothes without charge. Great! So I ate breakfast or should I say brunch since its almost lunch time. I then left to try to go to the beach. I walked around and with some help found the bus station. I asked about tickets and was told the next bus leaves at 3:30 pm and it was 1:30 pm. So I walked back to the hotel to relax for about 1 hour. I then walked back to the bus station and bought my ticket and waited for the bus. The bus came late. We took the bus for over 1 hour and I was dropped off at the road that leads to the beach. I walked down to the beach and spent a couple hours at the beach. I mostly sat around and watched some guys trying to surf. It was an overcast day... not the best day for going to the beach and there was way to many people at the beach because of Easter week or Semana Santa. At around 6:00 pm I prepared to go as the bus comes at 7:00pm. I stopped and grabbed food to go so I wouldn't miss the bus as it was getting close to 7 pm. I ate some of  my food as I waited for the bus. The bus came around 7:20 pm and I took the bus back to Liberia. I finished the rest of my food at the hotel then talked with my sister. I relaxed the rest of the night. I also kept looking at the bed to make sure there was no bugs as I was a little paranoid. Luckily there was none. I also got my clothes back nice, clean, smelling good and folded.

 

Panama to Costa Rica

Today I woke up around 5:30 am to get ready for my trip. I got ready and packed up all my stuff. I had breakfast and then checked out to catch the bus. I walked around the corner to the bus stop and got on the bus. The bus ride to David is about 1.5 hours. When I got to the bus station I tried to find the ticket office to buy a ticket to San Jose, Costa Rica. I ended up walking around for at least 15 minutes before I was able to find the ticket office. I was told to just put my information down and I would pay later. So I did and then went to wait in line for the bus. I also met an American guy who was from NYC. He had been traveling for a couple of weeks and was heading back. He told me that he slept outside mostly in his hammock which I suppose is one way to save money but definitely not for me. After maybe 15 or so minutes of waiting we were allowed to board the bus. I took a nap on and off until we got to the border. We all had to get off the bus and take our luggage. We put the luggage in a line and then a dog walked by and sniffed our luggage. We were told to get our luggage and put it back on the bus and then get into a line to leave Panama. While we were in the line some random guy came by and sold us stamps for $1. If you don't have this stamp you can't leave Panama I guess. Afterwards I went through customs without any trouble on the Panama side... I think I had to pay some fees. Then I walked down the street to go to the Costa Rican border to enter customs. I got into a line and went through customs with ease. We then had to take our luggage off the bus, again, and have it checked by customs. When I say checked by customs I mean lay it on the table and then pick it back up again. They didn't even make me open my bag. I then put my bag back on the bus and paid the driver and got back on the bus. After everyone boarded we continued our trip. We arrived into San Jose around 4:00 p.m. I then decided I would walk to the next bus terminal because I believed it was near. I stopped 2 guys and asked them and discovered it was across town. A taxi driver also saw me and tried to solicit his services but I didn't go with him. The 2 guys stopped a cab driver and talked with him and told me the taxi driver would give me a good price. I took the taxi to the other bus terminal and got in line to buy a ticket to Liberia. When I finally got to the ticket window all the 5 pm tickets were sold out so I bought a ticket for the 6 pm bus. When the bus came, a little before 6:00 pm, I was able to board the bus. I slept on and off during the bus ride and we arrived into Liberia after 10 pm. I then took a taxi to a hostel that I had saw in Lonely Planet. I was able to get the last room. So I took a shower and then was laying down to rest when I noticed bugs on the bed. I saw 1 bug then about 15 minutes later I would see another bug. So I flicked one off and then a little bit later another one would come. So now I started getting worried because I thought they were bed bugs but wasn't sure. I googled bedbugs and thought it could be them. I had also squished one and it was full of blood. At this point it was like 2 in the morning and I didn't know what to do. I went and talked to the guy who works in the hostel and he only had a dorm room. I didn't want to wake the people up and wasn't sure if it would make a difference or if they were bed bugs or just a couple of random bugs so I asked the guy to just change the sheets. I also showed him a bug. What was weird is that I had checked the bed and there was no signs of bugs in the mattress.  I slept part of the night with the lights on with as much clothes on as I could tolerate and the sheet wrapped tightly around me. A couple hours later I turned off the light and went to bed. Let me tell you that was not the best night of sleep. It was hot and I only had a fan and I was tightly wrapped in a blanket with to many clothes on. Terrible long day!

Bouquete Day 3

Today is my last day in Bouquete... and I am going to do a tour if it kills me!! I had decided last night and kind of this morning that I would try horseback riding. Now I am a little bit afraid of horses so I have never tried it as I know that horses sense fear. However, I decided that I would be trying it on this trip at some point. I got up and made breakfast and then got ready to go. I first walked to the hostel to ask them if they were offering the tours. The guy called the guy that does the tours but he didn't answered so he told me to wait. I ended up waiting too long so I missed my opportunity to go on the tour with the other companies (they also had horseback riding tours at 9:00 am but it was more expensive). However, the guy at the hostel finally got in touch with the guy who does the tours and they told me he would come at 9:30 am. So I waited until 9:30 am until I got picked up. He drove me to a farm and helped me mount the horse. We then went on a ride for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Now my horse didn't listen very well. It kind of did its own thing. It didn't like when I tried to lead it. It was also greedy. It kept trying to stop to eat. At times it would stop walking to eat. But overall it was good. It was just me and the guide and the landscape was beautiful. I enjoyed riding the horse but at times it was a little scary going up and down hills... especially since the horse didn't listen that well. We returned to town and I went to my hostel and took a nap. The rest of the day I spent lazing around, packing, and watching shows. Later in the afternoon I went to a café to work on my blog. I worked on my blog for a couple hours and had a hot chocolate and cake. I left close to 8 pm and went back and fixed myself dinner. Then I relaxed for the rest of the night and played on the internet before going to bed. Tomorrow I make my trip from Costa Rica to Nicaragua. Tomorrow will be no fun!!!

Bouquete day 2

So...like I said I decide to use these couple of day for R & R and some work. Let's just say I got more R & R than anything. Did I mention that the climate is cool. This is one of the few times I am not dripping sweat standing outside. It's a great feeling. Anyways I didn't do much today. I laid in bed a good part of the morning. Then after my exhausting day of laying in bed I took a nap. I woke up after 2 pm so I couldn't do any tours today. I left the hostel close to 3pm to walk back up to La Exploradora. Again it was a beautiful walk. I paid the entrance fee of $5 and I believe it was well worth it. This is a weird garden that had plants and random junk that the owners turned into a lovely garden. I took way to many pictures not only for me but for my mom as I thought this garden was a neat idea. They also had the tallest swings I had ever seen in a park. And the swings are on a slight hill and when you swing it's a little bit of a rush since you seem really high up (due to the hill). Also you have the beautiful view of the mountains. Just georgeous. Absolutely georgeous. I spent a good bit of time exploring the garden, swinging on the swing, and laying in the hammock. I then walked back toward the main road and decided to take the other path to see what views it had. I ended up walking a lot. Apparently the road never ends. I ended up taking a loop around town and didn't get back til after dark. It was a beautiful scenic walk but my legs were killing me at the end. When I got back I went and checked on the tours for tomorrow. I still hadn't decided what tour I wanted to do as I was feeling a bit lazy. I also didn't want to pay crazy money for a tour like they were charging. I went back to the hostel and cooked. I spent the night catching up in my blog and watching some shows. Mostly watching shows.

Boquete

I arrived in David around 7 something in the morning. The trip was suppose to take 6 hours per the people in the bus station but Lonely Planet said 7-8 hours so I guess it got something right. Then I found the bus stop to Bouquete and waited for maybe 30 minutes before boarding the bus. Now this was an old recycled school bus with 3 on one side and 2 on the other. I got into Bouquete around 8:30 am and then went to look for a place to stay. The place I wanted to stay was booked so I kept looking. I found one place but couldn't check in until after 12 pm. So I left my backpack and went to find something to do. I went and asked about tours. I had initially come to Bouquete to hike the volcano. However around march 31st 2 girls from Holland had gone missing when they went on a hike, so people think, and still hadn't been found. Therefore I was told they were restricting people from going up without a guide. The cost for a jeep ride up was around $150 and then other hikes (you were driven up part of the way) were about $90. So at this point I was thinking this may or may not happen. I then went and ate. Afterwards it was around 11 am so I decided I would go back to the hostel and wait. When I got back to the hostel the room was ready so I was able to check in early. After checking in I promptly got into bed and took a nap. I woke up a bit later and went back to the tour office to see if they had any tours going out later or in the morning. I then walked to a garden called La Explordora. When I got there it was close to 5 pm and the garden closed at 6 pm. I decided I would come back tomorrow earlier. I had really enjoyed the walk as Bouquete is beautiful. They have very green trees, flowers, and mountains with lush green foliage as well as streams. When I first came I didn't know how long I would stay but after seeing it I decided I would stay 3 days and get some R & R and catch up on my blog and work on my book. On the way back I stopped at a supermarket and bought food to cook. I went back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit before cooking dinner. After dinner I got ready for bed then watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds before going to bed. Also they were having some type of festival so they had music playing until late at night.

Last day in Panama City

Needless to say I am very tired. Very, very, very tired. And to make matters worse the racket started back up around 6 am. Apparently it's okay to get up early and make a lot of noise. Today I am going to the Panama Canal and to Panama Viejo. I had thought about doing the hop on hop off bus tour but was told it wasn't that great by a guy that worked at the first hostel I stayed at. I had done the hop on hop off bus rides before and they were pretty good. But I now had a metro card, thanks to Marcos, with money on it so I decided to try my luck and take the bus to Miraflores. I didn't leave til after 12 pm because I was waiting for Mariella to tell me if we were will going to Colon Saturday. Someone from Couchsurfing was coming this weekend and she wanted to see if I could go Sunday instead. I didn't plan to stay til Sunday so I was waiting for her to confirm the plans. In the end she said her friend hadn't gotten back to her and I should just continue with my plans. So after I checked out I went to find the bus station. I already knew where it was as I had walked by it on my journey to find the red devil buses. I took the metro to the bus station. I then tried to find the bus to Miraflores. This was a little bit of a challenge as they didn't have a sign for it. Finally I got into a long line to wait. I asked a couple people in the line and a lady told me that the bus would come at 2 pm at this same spot. So I got out of the line, after waiting in it for a good while, and waited for the bus. I waited over an hour at the bus stop and the bus came late. I even got worried that the bus wouldn't come but then it finally did. I took the bus to the last stop and it let us off at the canal. I walked around the canal and to me it's not that great but I guess it's something you have to say you did if you go to Panama. Kind of like going to NYC without seeing the Statue of Liberty which I still have yet to see. I watched the movie on the canal and got to see a couple of ships pass. Afterwards I went and waited for the bus. I waited over half an hour for the bus and then it finally came. I took it back to the bus station and decided that I would try to make it to Panama Viejo. I got in the line for Panama Viejo and didn't have to wait long for the bus. I'm not sure how long I took to get to Panama Viejo but by the time we got there it was starting to get late. It was almost 6 pm. I went to the multicultural center where they sells crafts an other things but they were closing at 6. I asked if it was far to walk to the ruins and they told me yes. But I didn't think it was far so I decided to walk. I started to walk along the road and then saw a low part in the fence that i stepped over. I am pretty sure it's free so I wasn't doing anything illegal. Also there were other people there walking, siting, playing soccer, etc.. I walked as fast as I could and took pictures. I then asked someone where to catch the bus back to the center and was told to go to the other side of the street. I did. And when a bus came by that said Mariscos I got on it as I believed it was going to the fish market near me. But really I wasn't to sure. I got worried on part of the bus ride because  it was dark and I didn't recognize anything but really that's not saying much because again I am bad with directions. We finally came toward the center of town and I began to feel at ease. I got off the bus at the fish market and walked back to my hostel to grab my things. I then took a cab to the bus terminal. I was going to take the metro but I wanted to see a movie so i wouldn't have to just sit and wait for the bus. When I got to the terminal it was 7:40 pm and the movie started at 7:45 pm and there was a very long line. I went and asked the restaurant, Crepes and Waffles, what time they closed and was told 10 pm and all places close by 10. So now I had a dilemma....to eat or not to eat...that is the question. In the end decided to eat. I love Crepes and Waffles. Sadly, they don't have any in the US, that I know of. And they have wifi. One of the people that work there even let me charge my phone as I ate. I ended up hanging out in the restaurant for some time using my tablet and then I sat outside the restaurant and watched some shows. A little before 10:30 pm I packed it up and walked to the bus terminal. The bus terminal is adjacent to the mall. I found out which bus stop to go to and got in line for the bus. We were able to board shortly after 10:30 pm. I got on the bus and had a good bus ride that I slept on and off. Oh and today is my brother Khalil's birthday!!!!