map, Honduras

Estelí

I had some difficulties related to traveling during Holy Week, but saw a procession for Good Friday. In Estelí, I visited a small one room museum about the Nicaraguan revolution and the Sandinistas.

I had been warned that the country slows down for Holy Week and that Thursday and Friday are particularly slow. On the advice of La Selva Negra staff, I took a taxi to Matagalpa (rather the the bus) . I planned to take the bus from Matagalpa to Estelí. However, all the buses had stopped running. I hired the driver to take us to Estilí. On the way, I saw tons and tons of coffee in bags waiting to be exported. I also saw an entire valley of rice.

In Estelí, I could only find one open restaurant. Everyone was in

La Selva Negra

When I first hear about La Selva Negra, I did not think I wanted to go there. How improbable--a German resort in the middle of Nicaragua. But after several positive reports, I went. As anticipated, there were German tourists, but most of the guests were Nicaraguan. They take great pride in the resort and consider it a national destination.

La Selva Negra is a coffee plantation settled by German immigrants in the nineteenth century. The area reminded them of the Black Forest in their homeland. It now has a hotel, restaurant and resort accommodations. It is high in the mountains and encased in clouds. At 65 degrees, I felt chilly after living for weeks at 85 to 95 degrees.

Matagalpa

 The Museo de Cafe is interesting and the town has an authentic feeling untouched by tourism. Ruben Dario, a famous poet, was born here.

I took a taxi to Moyagalpa on the north end of the Island of Ometepe, took a ferry to San Jorge, a taxi to Rivas, a local bus to the capitol, Managua, and an express bus to Matagalpa. Matagalpa is about 2,000 feet in altitude and considerably cooler than the coast. The town is nestled in the mountains and is a center for coffee shipments.

I stayed in the Hotel Alvarado. My hosts are very friendly. The family is a family of physicians. Both Noe Garcia and his wife are physicians as well as a father, mother, aunt, uncle, son and grandson. There is variability in the rooms; we got the one under construction.

Isla de Ometepe

I am floating on my back in Lake Nicaragua. I slowly tread water with my arms and legs. My nose, mouth and eyes are above water. The cool water feels good after the hot humid afternoon. I open my eyes and see the new moon shining above in the clear, blue sky. I turn my head to the right and see the older volcano. I turn my head to the left and see the newer volcano. This is Isla de Ometepe.

I took a ferry from Granda to the Isla de Ometepe. The ferry left almost two hours late and took about four hours

Granada

After being away from home for a month, Grenada was a good time to catch up. I stayed at the hotel Patio del Malineche in the colonial area. The city was built by the Spanish in the 1500s. The hotel claims the foundation stones for the first courtyard are original. They are basalt and certain look like the could be that old. An American, William Walker, seized power in Nicaragua during the late 1800s and ordered the city burned in his hasty retreat.

They have good Internet access and the operating system supports AJAX, so I could access the website I needed. It was fun to walk around and look at the old buildings and churches.

San Jose

 From Tortuguero, I took a 5 a.m. boat ride to connect with a bus to take a bus to take a bus to San Jose. I didn't see much of San Jose because I took a 5 a.m. international bus in the morning to Granada, Nicaragua.

Scam? When I first arrived in San Jose, a taxi driver immediately latched on to us and said the international bus terminal had moved and the hotel we planned to stay at would put us too far away for a morning departure. He recommended another hotel that would be closer to the new terminal.

I had read in the guide book and been warned

Tortuguero

Tortuguero is in the middle of nowhere on the Costa Rican Caribbbean coast. You can only get there by boat or plane. There are lots of tourists here--more tourists than turtles.

I rented a canoe and went on an aquatic trail early in the morning in the Parque Nacional Tortuguero. Part of the trail is closed to motors, so I left the tourists behind. The channel narrows and finally ends. In places, I had to squeeze the canoe under

Moin to Tortuguero

 I took the four-and-a-half hour boat ride from Moin to Tortuguero. It is a long ride but very interesting. It follows a combination of rivers and banana canals. There are lost of birds and crocodiles. I paid $35.

Playa Bonita

I passed through Puerto Limon and stayed at Playa Bonita. There is a pretty beach there (of course) and I had a nice swim. I stayed at Hotel Cococi; it had a great view of the beach and surfers. The restaurant was good with comidas tipicas.

Manzanillo

I awakened in the Cabina in Manzanillo to the sound of a male monkey asserting his domain. I could hear the surf pounding against the shore and the birds singing. Manzanillo is a sleep, quiet town at the end of a dusty, bumpy road.  No banks or Internet. It has one restaurant and a snorkel shop. A perfect place to chill, relax and take in the tropical breezes.

Beyond Manzanillo, I hiked into the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Gandoca-Manzanillo. It was wet, hot and humid--a swampy, tropical jungle. It was full of

map, Costa Rica

I entered Costa Rica in the southeast from Bocas del Toro. I went east of Puerto Viejo to Manzanillo, then north to Playa Bonita. After that, north to Tortuguero on the northern coast and on to San Jose.

leaving Panama, arriving Costa Rica

I took an exciting boat ride along a banana canal from Bocas to Changinola. From there, I took a micro-bus to the border and walked across the railroad trestle across the river that marks the frontier between the two countries. A couple of bus rides later, I was at the end of the road in Manzanillo, the most southeastern point in Costa Rica.

Bastimentos

I went to Bastimentos because Bocas Town has a reputation as being loud and noisy, especially at night. The Island was tropical delight, but evening music followed me.

The Island has a small town of the same name. A sidewalk runs the length of the town. There are no cars. People don't seem to do much of anything--except party at night. Originally they were banana workers that moved from Jamaica but after the Panamanian banana blight, they were out of work. In any event, there are private parties at night with large loudspeakers broadcasting music across the Island. Unfortunately, it's not reggae, just bass, techno drums and yelling (regga?). I stayed at Beverly's Hill in their "premier" accommodation--a two-story hut at the very top of a long hill. It had a hammock on the balcony with a great view.

People on the Bus

I spent a long day taking buses and water taxis to Bastimentos. On the way, I saw a family of indigenous people moving their household.

I had a long travel day from the cloud-forest cabin to the tree-house hut on the Island. I awoke early and hiked through the jungle and spotted  a pair of quetzales. I saw a total of six in several days. At 10 a.m., I put my luggage in the four-wheel drive and slowly made it down the volcano. I hiked to the bus stop and took a three-hour bus ride to David. From there, I took another bus back over the Highlands to Almirante near Changuinola. In David, I noticed the roof of the bus was piled high with burlap bags. It turned out a family was moving. My guess is they had been picking coffee beans and were returning to their homes. They even had a dog tied to the roof.

Cerro Punto

Above Cerro Punto and Guadalupe is a charming international park. The jungle is dense, dark and exotic. Birds, including the quetzales, live in abundance. The air is cool. It's called a cloud-forest (rather than a rain-forest).

I liked the coolness of Boquete, but not the widespread tourist development, so I headed to Guadalupe, a small settlement above Cerro Punto on the north side of Volcan Baru. I rented a cabin in the mountains at 7,000 feet in altitude, located inside Parque International La Amistad. The park spans both Panama and Costa Rica, hence its name.

Boquete

Boquete is a small town in a picturesque setting. Volcan Baru hovers over the town while Rio Caldera sweeps through it. The coffee tastes great. The large construction projects, gated communities and large tourism industry take away some of the charm.
After baking in the tropical sun of Panama City, Boquete was a genuine relief. Because of its altitude and frequent clouds and mist, Boquete is cool, particularly in the evening.

We toured the Cafe Ruiz coffee operations for half-a-day and became coffee snobs.

Sunday, March 9, Costa Rica

I am now in San Jose, Costa Rica and am going to Grenada, Nicaragua tomorrow. I spent several days in Manzanillo and then went to Playa Bonita and Tortoguero.

In Panama, I

• spent two weeks studying Spanish in Panama City,


• went to the highlands near Volcan Baru to visit coffee planations and spot tropical birds, and


• went to an island near Bocas del Toro to walk isolated beaches.

Note, to edit my sidebar, I need a computer that can handle AJAX and Web 2.0. Maybe someday soon.

the Bus and the economy

We took an eight-hour bus ride from Panama City to David. It was a double decker, air-conditioned and comfortable. They played movies, El Perro Bombero and some remake of Dracula Meets Frankenstein (?¡). We stopped in David for the night and took the "school" bus to Boquete. It was packed with people with luggage hanging out the back. I was disappointed there were no chickens.

Riding the bus game me time to observe:

• Panama is about the size and population of West Virginia

Casco Viejo

Also known locally as San Felipe, this is the second "old city." After Panama Viejo was ransacked by the English, the Spanish movd their settlement here. Much of the neighborhood is still in ruins. The tourist police have set up a protected tourist area. Several restaurants, art galleries and redevlopment projects are underway. Also, the next James Bond movie is being filmed here, so a portion of the neighborhod was reconstructed (to look like Quito??). The Presidential Palance is also here with its characteristic herons.

Homestay with Paella

Part of learning Spanish is interacting with people outside of school. The immersion program includes living with a family. We stayed with Angeles, an 84 year-old woman. She told us the story of her life "her destiny." She was born in Valencia, Spain. I calculate in 1923. When she got married, she and her husband wanted to see the "Americas" and took a honeymoon in Buenos Aires. They didn´t go back. After living there for many years, they moved to Peru. After 15 year sin Peru, the political situation changed and they moved to Panama in 1986.