Masaya - Week 9

16th Nov

We left Granada at lunchtime and got the chicken bus to Masaya which is a little town on the shores of Lake Masaya. It is famous for its arts and crafts markets and hammock makers. We resisted a hammock as we just couldn't fit it in the bag but did buy a few lovely little local things in the markets.

The "attractive" chicken bus station in Masaya!!

Every Thursday night in Masaya there is a local fiesta around the market with dancing and food etc. We went to take a look and there was a big stage and hoardes of people. We had a typical Nicaraguan meal of tortillas, fajitas and beans (nicer than it sounds but maybe we're just getting used to it!!) while we watched some strange international dancing.

Afterwards, everyone else got up to dance and the highlight was a drunk middle aged man who got up on stage by himself to take the mickey out of the professional dancers. Everyone was laughing and encouraging him and his family were really embarrassed!!

Flor de Caña, reputed to be the world's finest rum. Easily tastier than Bacardi but that's not hard.

My new travelling companion, Burt Reynold's Moustache. The re-birth of the handlebar moustache starts here. Lets have your comments then, I can take it!!

We left Masaya town at 7am to get a bus to Volcan Masaya. It is a 5km walk to the top and we heard that there is no shade and it's a bit of a trek so we managed to invite ourselves on a school trip from the bottom! The teacher was lovely and let us share their guide (in spanish but not a problem for us any more!) and we got a lift all the way to the top.

The view was amazing and the volcano is active so letting off fumes and gases constantly (there are signs at the top to tell you to stay only 20 minutes). After an hour walk around the crater we walked ourselves down (never let it be said that we're too lazy to walk DOWN a volcano!).

Thought to be the mouth of hell, we sure as hell wouldn't want to fall down there...

Barum ching!!

Esteli, Leon & Granada - Week 9

11th to 15th October

Our first night in Nicaragua was in Esteli which was a nice little town in the west. Then on Sunday we moved on to Leon which is a colonial town. We had a wonder round the town to see all the sights (churches and the cathedral with the tomb of famous Nicaraguan poet, Ruben Dario) but there was not much to keep us there for more than a night. We could have visited beaches nearby but there are alot of beaches to come and you can't swim at the ones here so we decided not to go.

Cathedral at Leon

So on Tuesday we took two express buses via the capital, Managua, to Granada. Another very old colonial town with many churches; one with a great view from the roof:

We stayed in the Beared Monkey which is a great, very sociable hostel. On Wednesday we went with some others from the hostel to the nearby Lake Apoya which is a beautiful spot. This was the best swimming we have done so far. The water is crystal clear and a perfect temperature. We passed the day swimming, kayaking, sitting round reading books and taking in the beautiful surroundings:

Katie, Henriette, Daniela and Elin on the pick-up

Books we read: Villa Incognito, Tom Robbins - very wierd and funny

Utila to Leon (Nicaragua) - bleedin' 'ell!!

10th to 12th November

Ridiculous 3 day journey from Utila, Honduras to Leon, Nicaragua:

2pm boat from Utila to La Ceiba (Katie sick).
Taxi to wrong bus station.
Eventually get to correct bus station and get on 4pm bus to Tegus (Honduran capital) for 7 HOURS (Katie sick out the window).
Taxi to recommended hotel in Tegus that appeared not to exist.
Walk to another hostel.
Stay one night in dingy hostel.
7am - 10 min walk to wrong bus station.
15 min in taxi to correct bus station.
Bus full, hour wait for next bus.
2 hr bus trip to Danli.
1 1/2 hour chicken bus to El Paraiso (Honduras/Nicaragua border).
$20 to cross border!!!
1 hr chicken bus (at 20mph) to Ocotel.
Get off in town but should have stayed on to the bus terminal.
20 min walk to bus terminal.
1 1/2 hr bus to Esteli.
Delicious dinner in Esteli (one highlight of the 3 days) and stay in quite nice big room.
8am - walk 20 mins to wrong bus stop.
5 min taxi to correct bus stop.
45 min chicken bus to San Isidris.
45 min wait at a cross roads (that is apparently San Isidris).
2 1/2 hour chicken bus to Leon on a farm track.
5 min taxi to our preferred hostel which has no rooms free.
15 min walk to 2nd hostel which is nice and has a room for us.
Thank a duck (mother-friendly language).
No pictures, no reminders!

Utila, Bay Islands - Week 8

3rd to 10th November

We made our way up from Copan to La Ceiba on the north coast of Honduras on Friday and stayed the night in La Ceiba (the one night we decide to treat ourselves to a nice hotel with a pool and it's pouring with rain!).

On Saturday we were up early to catch the boat to Utila which is a little island off the coast famous for cheap and wonderful scuba diving!

We treated ourselves to a nice room at the 'Relax Inn' as it is really hot in Utila and the mosquitos and sandflies are really bad.

We had a brilliant time, James did his open water course and Katie did lots of fun diving until James got his certificate and we could go together for the first time. We're now both hooked so it was difficult to leave and can see this becoming and expensive hobby for the rest of the trip...

Our last dives on Thursday were absolutely brilliant. On the first dive (Don Quickset) there was a turtle swimming with us for 5 mins - they´re v cool close up and not itimidated by divers at all. Then between the two dives the boat was surrounded by a pod of dolphins so we all got in the ocean to swim with them. We saw a a group of 10 swim just a few metres underwater in front of us, two with babies swimming in tight formation and 6 others!!

Every night on Utila was party night. We met loads of people including a couple called Lucy and James who have very commendable, worthwhile careers - yes, an engineer and an accountant - spooky!!

One night, James got very drunk and told a girl that she looked like Fatima Whitbread. It started off quite innocently as she was aggressively throwing darts like a shotputter but she got very offended and James ended up telling her she looked like a man. V v funny for Katie but did think James was going to get a dart in his head.

Our last night on Thursday was drink as much you like and BBQ (150 Lempiras = 5 quid) at the dive shop which was very messy. Katie's first drunk night for a few weeks (yes, I have more or less been sticking to my no drinking rule!) and Friday on the boat back to the mainland was NOT funny!!

Books we read: Johnathon Strange and Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke - a 'tour de force' as the Daily Mail would say - really enjoyed it.
The Fencing Master, Arturo Perez-Reverte - great story, very exciting.

Copan Ruinas (Honduras) - Week 7

2nd November

After a boat ride and loads of bus changes, annoying immigration, and hassling money changers we arrived knackered in Copan for Copan Ruinas. Its another nice little colonial town just into Honduras, the main reason to go there is to visit the Mayan ruins. They´re a bit different to the Tikal ruins, not as big but much more detail. There are lot of Stelae (columns with carvings of rulers) and mask carvings compared to the massive but relatively place temples at Tikal.

It was a very peaceful, nice weather (low 20s and sunny) for a stroll around the ruins.

Most of the ruins were like this with jungle growing over the top until archaeologists unearth the temples. When the archaeologists excavated one of the temples they found that underneath was a burial tomb, shown in this drawing.

A full-size replica of the temple

A familar face to anyone who has seen katie with a hangover!!

Tigger the Tiger pre-Disney?

A little bit of info (as James is writing!) They used to play a ball based game with teams of five in a ball court. The court would have had goals at each end and the team had to get the ball into their oponents goal using just their shoulders and hips - must have looked weird. The really strange thing about the game was that the captain of the winning team had the honour of being sacrificed by the King at the end of the game. The Mayans believed that to get to heaven normally took many stages and incarnations, but by winning this game and being sacrificed they could shortcut the rules and get there in one go!! - I think i´d be a good loser.
The photo below shows were the king (the stelae is of King 18 Rabbits in his sports gear!!) would be-head the winner on the hamburger shaped thing. There is a grooved channel to catch the blood to be burnt later...

Books we read: The Kalahari Typing School for Men, Alexander McCall-Smith - nice book

Finca Ixobel & Livingstone - Week 7

30th October to 1st November

Our last week in Guatemala felt a little strange after being there for seven weeks. After leaving Flores in the north we headed south to a little eco-lodge / farm type place near Potun called Finca Ixobel (as recommended by Jane & Gerrit - ta!). Nice place to relax after a tiny bit of stress in Flores. Not too sure about its "eco" credentials as they proudly displayed a cage full of parrots in their front driveway!! Met a French couple (bloke looked like Mr Bean) and played 'round the clock' darts which took about 4 hours - very out of practise!!!! We stayed in a cool tree house, after a quick structural survey of its integrity of course...

Afterwards we continued down to Livingston, the only part of Gutemala on the Carribean coast. The place was really chilled as only negros (Garifuna) seem to live there, which disapointed James as he was no longer the tallest again. We visited a series of seven small waterfalls (Siete Altares) to cool down one afternoon, and then James played football afterwards. He was the only white amongst all the blacks, and scared for the ability to walk as it was "a bit rough..."

Waterfalls near Livingstone

On our last night in Livingstone, we went to a local bar where there was a Garifuna group playing drums, bongos, marracas etc which was very cool. After they left, their instruments were still in the bar so we had a bit of a percussion karaoke sesh! Loved it but we were crap compared to the Brazilian and the Swede we were with that have obviously had a misspent youth playing the bongos...!

After leaving Livingstone it was off to Honduras and the ruins at Copan. Bit worried about travelling on Day of the Dead (1st November) as the Guatemalans are very superstitious and told us that they would never travel on that day but all the buses were packed so no probs!

Books we read: I am Tucker Max, Tucker Max - Revolting drinking/girl stories but quite funny.