Trev's Post :-)
So it's about time that I posted (trev). Torrey has been updating you all about our adventures.
The Review (summary, in case you missed it or aren't caught up):
Places: sorry if these mean nothing to you: Cancun, Belize (Caye Caulker), Guatemala (Tikal, Antigua), El Salvador (San, La Libertad), Honduras (skipped), Nicaragua (Granada, Ometepe), Costa Rica (Playa del Coco, Tamarindo, Arenal, Tortuguero, San Jose)
Activities: Snorkeled with small sharks & manatees, ziplined upside down, watched lava in Arenal, surfed Witch's Rock, took Spanish classes for 1 wk, climbed Mayan ruins
Time: Halfway, ~46 days in, 42 days left!
Places next: Corcovado (remote jungle, surfing - world's longest left), Peru (Machu Picchu, ~Amazon river), Bolivia, Galapagos Islands
Animal Watch (get it? PotterWatch):
Close to: sloth, birthing turtle, caiman, sharks, rays, fer-de-lance, eel, manatees
Far: Turtle, spider/howler monkeys, herons, macaws
San "Ho" Zoo: lion/ess, jag, ocelot, macaw, crocs, turtles, spider/white-faced monkeys, poison-dart frogs, snakes, fox, hawk, peacock, etc.
Fun with Money and Experiences
-Paid $3 for the best zoo ever (SD zoo is not as good and costs $40)
-Paid $28 for an amazing zipline (went upside-down, Superman style, and with Torrey!)
-Took a cheaper bus-boat route to Tortuguero, saved $80 and didn't lose time!
-Took the expreso bus (faster, direct) for $40, but could have taken the longer, stopping $10 bus ($20 versus $80, oh the luxury) Also: took 1 van for $30 instead of 3 buses for $5
-Had a $3 smoothie and a $4 chicken sandwich for lunch, but a $1.20 pizza for dinner
-Paid $10 to a money-changer by being tricked (calculator trick)
-Paid 30% to a pro money-changing business (London something) to change currencies ($60)
-Paid $80 to ship a 22-lbs package home
-Paid $2 for 2-pieces of chicken and a tortilla and called it macaroni (or dinner)
-Spent $8 for a hostel at a family's house in Guatemala, and $20 for a hostel (4 bunk beds) in Costa Rica
-Paid $40 for Harry Potter 7, read in 1/2 a day. Paid $3 to see Harry Potter 5 (movie). Paid $3 for the Hardback Harry Potter 6 at a bookstore (they were crazy/stupid or weird)
On a Whole: Wow Central America is crazy! The first month from Cancun to Nicaragua has been good, but hard. It's worth its weigh in experience, but we don't have much to show for it, other than pictures, which don't do the experience justice. Costa Rica, Panama & South America will be drastically different - different transport and activities too.
The experience: Cheap, long bus rides with locals, cheap food, basic hostels (private room $15), some interesting adventures, no creature comforts, poor roads, easy to get used to.
New Hates: large tour groups, tourists (notably: w/ huge backpacks, larger than their bodies), garbage (notably: plastic bottles), stray dogs, mosquitos (and bites), being called "chino" or "japones" when you are American (but don't "look" the part, or look... pale?)
New Words (Spanish): luna de miel (moon of honey), granizado (slushie with sweet milk sauce), vaya (go!), tal vez (maybe), barato (cheap), mejor (best)
When in Central America, do not panic, because:
1. You do not speak Spanish or understand people speaking quickly (like we speak - fast!)
2. You cannot divide 100 pesos by 10 to get US dollars, or (harder) 100 Guatemalan quetzals by 7 or 7.5 to get US dollars, OR think something is double what it is in US $'s
3. Your arranged bus is 40 min late, you have been harassed by 30 city buses to get in (in Spanish), and you are confused. OR your normal bus is on-time. very on-time.
4. Your feet smell
4a. You haven't showered in 5 days and you're wearing the same thing for all of those days
5. You are a tourist (believe me, everyone knows it and I would stare at someone in San Diego if I looked so silly and confused)
6. You are not in America: no lawyers, no traffic laws, no nothing (per se), be free! Get away with more!
So far, my travel tips:
1. Carry LESS. So many tourists that I have seen have bags the size of their bodies.
2. Organize: Put your stuff in small bags/compartments, i.e. a med bag, an electronics bag
3. Use at least 2-3 different wallets/pockets for $: a pocket (change), a wallet (small bills), a waist money belt (bigger bills & info) and a neck money belt (passports & credit cards/debit).
4. Bring a guide book, i.e. Lonely Planet on a Shoestring - lifesaver for hostels, info & maps! Count on hostel prices being more.
5. Do not care about what happens. Yes half of the things will not work out smoothly. That is average. Chill, you are on vacation! Brush it off... eventually.
6. Make a solid, detailed itinerary with prices & back-up days, then you can relax. I made a detailed one, we gained some days and I have not had to worry much.
Our current predicaments: Get a taxi for 4:30am to get to the airport for our 6am flight to Corcovado (the remote jungle) - our first flight since we got here 1 1/2 months ago. Spend the day wandering around the cool town, getting pizza, crepes and granizados, while (for me) trying to figure out whether to buy all-terrain shoes (only have sandals) for $60 (plain white) or $90 cool shoes (yay New Balance!) - prices seem the same as the US, maybe a little more expensive for shoes. And that's all for now. Like my post? :-)
Love, Trev
The Review (summary, in case you missed it or aren't caught up):
Places: sorry if these mean nothing to you: Cancun, Belize (Caye Caulker), Guatemala (Tikal, Antigua), El Salvador (San, La Libertad), Honduras (skipped), Nicaragua (Granada, Ometepe), Costa Rica (Playa del Coco, Tamarindo, Arenal, Tortuguero, San Jose)
Activities: Snorkeled with small sharks & manatees, ziplined upside down, watched lava in Arenal, surfed Witch's Rock, took Spanish classes for 1 wk, climbed Mayan ruins
Time: Halfway, ~46 days in, 42 days left!
Places next: Corcovado (remote jungle, surfing - world's longest left), Peru (Machu Picchu, ~Amazon river), Bolivia, Galapagos Islands
Animal Watch (get it? PotterWatch):
Close to: sloth, birthing turtle, caiman, sharks, rays, fer-de-lance, eel, manatees
Far: Turtle, spider/howler monkeys, herons, macaws
San "Ho" Zoo: lion/ess, jag, ocelot, macaw, crocs, turtles, spider/white-faced monkeys, poison-dart frogs, snakes, fox, hawk, peacock, etc.
Fun with Money and Experiences
-Paid $3 for the best zoo ever (SD zoo is not as good and costs $40)
-Paid $28 for an amazing zipline (went upside-down, Superman style, and with Torrey!)
-Took a cheaper bus-boat route to Tortuguero, saved $80 and didn't lose time!
-Took the expreso bus (faster, direct) for $40, but could have taken the longer, stopping $10 bus ($20 versus $80, oh the luxury) Also: took 1 van for $30 instead of 3 buses for $5
-Had a $3 smoothie and a $4 chicken sandwich for lunch, but a $1.20 pizza for dinner
-Paid $10 to a money-changer by being tricked (calculator trick)
-Paid 30% to a pro money-changing business (London something) to change currencies ($60)
-Paid $80 to ship a 22-lbs package home
-Paid $2 for 2-pieces of chicken and a tortilla and called it macaroni (or dinner)
-Spent $8 for a hostel at a family's house in Guatemala, and $20 for a hostel (4 bunk beds) in Costa Rica
-Paid $40 for Harry Potter 7, read in 1/2 a day. Paid $3 to see Harry Potter 5 (movie). Paid $3 for the Hardback Harry Potter 6 at a bookstore (they were crazy/stupid or weird)
On a Whole: Wow Central America is crazy! The first month from Cancun to Nicaragua has been good, but hard. It's worth its weigh in experience, but we don't have much to show for it, other than pictures, which don't do the experience justice. Costa Rica, Panama & South America will be drastically different - different transport and activities too.
The experience: Cheap, long bus rides with locals, cheap food, basic hostels (private room $15), some interesting adventures, no creature comforts, poor roads, easy to get used to.
New Hates: large tour groups, tourists (notably: w/ huge backpacks, larger than their bodies), garbage (notably: plastic bottles), stray dogs, mosquitos (and bites), being called "chino" or "japones" when you are American (but don't "look" the part, or look... pale?)
New Words (Spanish): luna de miel (moon of honey), granizado (slushie with sweet milk sauce), vaya (go!), tal vez (maybe), barato (cheap), mejor (best)
When in Central America, do not panic, because:
1. You do not speak Spanish or understand people speaking quickly (like we speak - fast!)
2. You cannot divide 100 pesos by 10 to get US dollars, or (harder) 100 Guatemalan quetzals by 7 or 7.5 to get US dollars, OR think something is double what it is in US $'s
3. Your arranged bus is 40 min late, you have been harassed by 30 city buses to get in (in Spanish), and you are confused. OR your normal bus is on-time. very on-time.
4. Your feet smell
4a. You haven't showered in 5 days and you're wearing the same thing for all of those days
5. You are a tourist (believe me, everyone knows it and I would stare at someone in San Diego if I looked so silly and confused)
6. You are not in America: no lawyers, no traffic laws, no nothing (per se), be free! Get away with more!
So far, my travel tips:
1. Carry LESS. So many tourists that I have seen have bags the size of their bodies.
2. Organize: Put your stuff in small bags/compartments, i.e. a med bag, an electronics bag
3. Use at least 2-3 different wallets/pockets for $: a pocket (change), a wallet (small bills), a waist money belt (bigger bills & info) and a neck money belt (passports & credit cards/debit).
4. Bring a guide book, i.e. Lonely Planet on a Shoestring - lifesaver for hostels, info & maps! Count on hostel prices being more.
5. Do not care about what happens. Yes half of the things will not work out smoothly. That is average. Chill, you are on vacation! Brush it off... eventually.
6. Make a solid, detailed itinerary with prices & back-up days, then you can relax. I made a detailed one, we gained some days and I have not had to worry much.
Our current predicaments: Get a taxi for 4:30am to get to the airport for our 6am flight to Corcovado (the remote jungle) - our first flight since we got here 1 1/2 months ago. Spend the day wandering around the cool town, getting pizza, crepes and granizados, while (for me) trying to figure out whether to buy all-terrain shoes (only have sandals) for $60 (plain white) or $90 cool shoes (yay New Balance!) - prices seem the same as the US, maybe a little more expensive for shoes. And that's all for now. Like my post? :-)
Love, Trev
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