Central America - Costa Rica to Cancun: 4/17/11

Greetings friends, and Happy Semana Santa!
We arrived back in Flores after spending a couple days in El Remate. It was really nice and relaxing and the place next to our hotel had the BEST pizza in Guatemala. We swam in the lake and Ill admit I spent most of my time chasing around these 4 newborn piglets. We stayed in a really great hotel, although I cant remember the name of it. Our host, Emberto, was amazing. We got there on Wednesday afternoon and booked the tour to Tikal for the next day.

Gregs up to no good

Cutest little things ever

Tikal was incredible! We took the shuttle at 5:30am which was perfect because we were in and out before it got too hot, and before the hoardes of people came. We basically had the place to ourselves, We would walk around for an hour without seeing anyone. It was incredibly beautiful. I took a tonne of photos but this computer is so slow it would literally take me days to upload them.

curious little spider monkey

the view from temple IV

My ridiculously good looking boyfriend

a Coati, equivalent to a raccoon

After Tikal we had a nap and went next door for awesome pizza. The next day we came back to Flores. It took a little while to get a minibus since it was Good Friday and everyone was on holiday, but we eventually made it. We had reserved at the hostel so they had a place for us and everything went smoothly. We met two girls from Williams lake and decided to have a little happy hour with them. About 8 daquiris later we went out for food at one of the street vendors and noticed that everyone was making carpets on the streets out of saw dust, flour, flower petals, fruit, roses, leaves, rose stems and corn. They were so beautiful and colourful. We asked what time the procession started and they said 7:30 so we hightailed it to the vendor, which made the cheapest, best food Ive had yet. It was such a pleasant suprise. We sat on the street watching everyone light the candles around their carpets until the parade started. Insense filled the streets as well as music and everyone was dressed in their best, except us of course. It was such an exciting night and a great suprise. We had figured something would be happening for easter, but it is usually celebrated in Antigua, so it was nice to be a part of it on a smaller and less crowded scale.

Today we were suuuuper lazy. We woke up late. I was the last person awake in the dorm. We showered and went to the grocery store to buy some food to cook in Belize, since it will be much more expensive if we buy it there. We had lunch at Pollo Camprero, which is like a KFC where you sit down, and what an experience it was! I had better service than Ive ever had in ANY restaurant in Canada, for about one fifth the price. We left feeling full and happy, and not nearly as greasy as we should have.

Oso, the puppy from our Hotel

We got to eat the fruit after

So beautiful, especially once the sunset

Happy Easter!!

We are leaving tomorrow at 5am for a shuttle to Belize City. We should arrive at about 11am, and our friends flight gets in at about the same time. I am so excited to see familiar faces after 2 months of travel! We have a beautiful house on Caye Caulker with a kitchen, hence the grocery shopping, an I cant wait to settle in! I am so excited to cook! Unfortunately Priya wont be joining us. She had some bad luck in Utila and her money and credit card was stolen. I feel bad for our friends because they were really looking forward to seeing her, and probably wouldnt have come to Belize otherwise. We just have to hope the weather cooperates and show them a really kickass time anyway! Less than 24 hours til paradise! I cant wait!
I wasnt going to do an update until we were in Belize, but I heard through the travellers grapevine that internet costs $6 an hour there so dont count on one until we are in Mexico. Probably about 10 days.
Anyways hope everyone is well, and enjoying easter and the spring weather! Lets hope the Canucks win tomorrow night! XO

Hola amigos!

Greetings from beautiful Flores in Guatemala! We are happy to be back in Guate after our mini-vacay in Honduras. Utila was amazing!!!

The 5 of us left Rio Dulce on the bus at 10am bound for San Pedro Sula. We arrived around 3pm at the largest (but nicest) bus depot in Central America. We ate at Pizza Hut for lunch (!) and hopped back on a bus for La Ceiba at 5. We arrived in La Ceiba at 8:30pm and took a bus to a the Hotel Amersterdam, which was basic and a little pricey but not bad. We woke up early and caught the first boat to Utila at 9:30. It was only an hour but really rough and I got a little seasick. We were welcomed by a pod of about 6 dolphins jumping all around the boat.

When we arrived we were greeted by hoardes of dive shop owners fighting over customers, but we had heard good things about everyone weve encountered about Parrots Dive Shop so we decided to check it out. Theo, a fellow from Paris, and also our dive instructor, showed us around the Island and let us pick from an array of accomodations. Since the free dorms were full, the dive shop was willing to give you $4 off per person of any room you chose. After looking at every option we decided to go with the upscale Rubi´s Inn. It was a $20 room that we got for $12 and was SO worth it. We had a kitchen, mini fridge, room service, beautiful clean bathroom, you name it. We went for our dive orientation that night and Theo told us the outline of the Open Water certification and what was expected of us, including 2 days of theory.

After class the next day we took our snorkels and headed to Blue Bayou, a bar over the reef, which you could pay a small fee to use their dock to snorkel off. Barry had never been snorkelling and it was great to share the experience as it was the best snorkelling I had ever done. The coral and sea fans were thousands of different colours, and I got to see huge Porcupinefish, the invasive and venomous Lionfish, Parrotfish, and thousands of other fish. I felt like I was in Finding Nemo. The visibility was so much better than Corn Islands, and I wished we hadn´t gone and had spent an extra week on Utila, but no regrets, right. After snorkelling we picked up Emmet who was doing the Advanced Open Water, and went to our favorite bar, Skid Row. Deb, the lady who worked there informed of us this fabulous compeition in which you do 4 shots of their homebrew moonshine rum, called Guifity, and you get a free tshirt. After that there was no turning back. We went for Indian food and danced the night away at the Tranquila bar which happened to be located right beside the dive shop. How Cruel.

The next day was our first underwater experience(!) in the harbour at about 10 feet deep, then moved on to about 15 feet deep. We started with a 200 metre swim, then a 10 minute float. We learned a lot of skills, like breathing from a freeflowing regulator, fully and partially flooded mask and how to clear them, regulator clearing, hand signals, retrieving regulators, removing cramps, swimming with no mask, buddy breathing, buddy ascents, sharing a single regulator, emergency ascents, establishing buoyancy, hovering, navigation, removing and replacing BCDs, removing and replacing weight belts, snorkel to regulator transitioning, basically everything to get you comfortable and to make you not panic when doing the real thing. We practised for a few hours, then rinsed our gear. We had a last but of theory to finish up, followed by our exam which I scored 98% and Greg scored 96%!! We ate dinner and went to bed super early.

The next day was the real thing!! First a dive to 12m, which was pretty overwhelming for me as I was having trouble equalizing my ears and the French assistant that was there to help was seemingly short on patience. It made me feel stupid and panicy but I made it through. I couldnt really enjoy the first dive cause I was too nervous and my ears were taking forever and I felt like I was slowing everyone down. I got back on the boat fighting back tears. We moved to a second location and Theo could tell I wasnt my usually smiley self and asked what was wrong, I didnt want to tell him because I was in close quarters with everyone and didnt want to make a scene so I decided to just go again. The second dive was so much better. Theo and Monica gave me some tips to help equalize my ears which helped tremendously. My buoyancy was much better, not so much up and down. I was able to just breathe and enjoy myself. We did a swim through and I even spotted a giant green moray eel. We did some more excersizes, and three angelfish came to the sandpatch we were at to play with us. They were so friendly. We also saw butterfly fish, which are always in 2 and mate for life. Also Lionfish, Parrotfish, spotted drums, and a spiny lobster. Greg got some great photos of some of these fish while we were snorkelling on his underwater camera, so keep posted for those when we get back.

I was so happy when I got on the boat the second time around I felt like a new person. When we got back we rinsed our gear and headed to the fabulous Skidrow for a Taco salad. Again I went to bed super early after such an emotional and exhausting day.

The next day we were told to be at the dock at 6:15 since we were going to the North side of the island to Spotted Bay. It was probably the best day yet. Not only was it Barrys birthday but we got to see a beautiful green sea turtle, hanging out eating things on the reef. He was so nonchalant, and seemed to be looking at us thinking, "What?" I am still on cloud 9 about it. I also got to be partners with Greg for this dive and in Theos group instead of with the impatient chainsmoking french woman, so I enjoyed it so much more. We also got to see another spotted drum, black grouper, trunkfish and trumpetfish. Obviously the second dive was no where near as eventful (how do you top seeing a turtle?) but still enjoyable nonetheless. We finished up and rinsed our gear and we´re certified!!! Yay!!!

We celebrated Barrys birthday with a big huge bucket of ice cream since cakes were scarce on the island. We also all pitched in and bought a clownfish piñata completely filled with candy. We started at our place around 4:30 (after a nap of course) with 2 bottles of Flor de Caña and 12 beers. We had dinner at Main St. Lounge before heading to the Tranquila bar to show that happy clownfish who was boss. We went to La Pirata for the celebration of their birthday at rum and cokes for 50 cents! We ended the night at the Bar in the Bush, complete with creepy crawly tarantulas, one of which was squished in the bathroom. Ew, he was huge! I could never imagine stepping on something that big and hairy. Gross. We headed home well after 4am since we had two free fun dives at 1pm that day.

We got up early to eat and had a nice conversation with Theo about Belize and Hol Chan Marine Reserve. He mentioned a fellow who has a boat and will take you there for cheap. He also showed us picture of him and his girlfriend playing with turtles and rays. I cant wait to go there!! We went back to bed for a couple hours before meeting at the dock. To my suprise everyone was up and ready to go! No one was too hungover! Yay!! I got to be partners with B for this one which was awesome because she hadnt come on any dives with Barry, Greg or I since Emmet and her were in the Advanced Open Water. We went to Airport Caves and did a swim through, and even got to see two beautiful spotted eagle rays gracefully swim by without a care in the world. We went to one other site I cant quite remember the name of, and upon arrival back at the dock, I washed my gear and went right home to bed. My stomach was going crazy. I realized after a little research I was suffering (and badly) signs of dehydration. I couldnt keep anything, even water, down and had to sleep away the last night with our friends, which was really upsetting. Luckily for me, after they had dinner they came and hung out with me while I was all sick and deathly and we all said teary goodbyes, since we had to leave the next day.

I was feeling somewhat better when we boarded the ferry back to La Ceiba. I slept the whole way and the whole bus ride to San Pedro Sula. We couldnt get as far at Guatemala that day so we said goodbye to Emmet at the Puerto Cortez ferry, since he was headed for Belize, and made it as far as Omoa. We stayed in what we thought was a really great hostel, Roli´s place, but soon found it a nightmare. As soon as my Tripadvisor review gets approved, Ill post the link and you can read it. Needless to say, we left on the first possible bus to the border where we made friends with a local Guatemalan who helped us with the border crossing (including skipping the exit and entry fees) and got us on a cheap bus to the junction where we could catch a bus to Flores. It saved us a couple hours of unecessary bussing which was so appreciated. We even offered to buy him lunch but he refused. I love the people here.

We caught the bus to Flores at the junction and it was the CRAZIEST MOST INSANELY PACKED BUS IVE EVER SEEN. I would expect it from a chicken bus but this was a second class bus that was similar to a Greyhound. They must have seriously had 200 people on the bus. Everyone was sweaty and complaining and people were packed in like sardines. To say there was standing room only would be an extreme exaggeration. We stood for the first two hours. Luckily we jumped at the opportunity to snag a seat when one came available, of course we let the women with children and elders sit before we did. We finally made it to Flores around 4pm yesterday. We checked into a great little hostel, Los Amigos. It is incredible. They run on the Tab system which I love. They take your passport and write everything you owe and you pay at the end. Not to mention this week they have Holy Moly Week, which means happy hour all day every day because of Semana Santa. Awesome!! We have had most of today at leisure which is so needed after a week of GO GO GO LEARN LEARN LEARN. Tomorrow we will move to the other side of the lake to El Remate, which is half way between here and Tikal. Thursday we will go to Tikal, then back here for a direct shuttle at 5am Friday morning to Belize City Airport to meet our amigos!! I am really excited to relax on a beach for a week. You are probably all feeling so sorry for me right now, but we´ve been cramming our days so full lately that it will be so nice to just relax. I am getting a little sad because yesterday marked the one month left in our travels day. The end is near we have about 2 weeks in Belize and 2 in Mexico before flying out May 18th. Anyways, enough about that. Keep posted for a blog update from Caye Caulker, complete with pictures from the Mayan temples of Tikal! Hope this post finds everyone well at home! Go Canucks!! XO