And finally: The Beach!

After thousands of kilometers, many speed bumps, and only a few cases of la turista, we have finally arrived at our destination: The Beach. 3 days hanging around in hammocks, on sandy beaches and pleasantly warm ocean water. We picked the Playa Potrero, Playa Penca, Playa Azucra in Costa Rica, just North of Tamarindo. These beaches are at the borderline of major developments, good for swimming, not surfing. The coast line here is up for sale, everybody is hoping for the big investors and spenders to move in, yet the roads are still rough and dirty, empty lots are next to brand new condos. Cows and horses still make their daily trips on the beach to watering holes. Some communities have banned Quad-wheels, some resorts don't have waste water treatment. Food is bought in mom and pa shops. The good old Gold coast is still there, but changes are imminent. If you want to see parts of this unspoiled coast line, hurry!
It took us 3 months to get here and in a few days a jet will whisk us away back to law and order, steel and glass, schedules and deadlines, bread and potatoes.

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Honduras-Nicaragua Journey

We started our Honduras-Nicaragua journey with the Copan ruins. Our first impression of these Mayan ruins was from the admission booth; $7 to see the museum, US$15 to see the ruins plus another $15 if we wanted to see 2 tunnels. These are the most expensive entrance fees to visit ruins we have seen in Latin America. We chose not to pay for the tunnels; which was a good decision, we found out that one was not supervised and we visited it for free. In general, Copan ruins are impressive, but I still prefer Yaxchilan in the Chiapas (I am biased; I love the Chiapas).
We visited one National Park in Honduras, Azul Meanbar. We stayed at Los Pinos, a quiet campground with electricity and free Wi-Fi Internet. We took a 4 hour trail in an amazing rain forest with orchids, crystal clear waterfalls, giant ferns, birds, etc. It cost us less than $20 for the campground and dinner for 2 at the Park restaurant. Also included in the price was the security guard who stood at the gate all night with his shot gun. That’s the way it is in these countries, every gas station, every big store, every tourist attraction has an armed guard standing by, even the Coca Cola truck has one.
In fact, since we entered Central America, every night we sleep behind closed gates, most of the time, we can see the armed guard from our campground. We feel secure and we sleep well despite the constant barking from dogs and early roosters’ “song”.
We enjoyed the lake Yojoa area; we wished we had a canoe to go along the lake shores, which are covered with thousands of wild birds. In Honduras, we also went to 3 colonial towns recommended in the tourist brochures. Unfortunately, these towns, Comayagua, Valle de Angeles and Danli, failed to seduce us.
We are now in Granada, Nicaragua, a very charming city. We continue to experience a trip without bad luck and with relatively easy border crossings. So far, I prefer Nicaragua to Honduras and Guatemala to Nicaragua.
Today, we will enter Costa Rica. Our plan is to leave the VW in Liberia for one month. I will spend March in the Bahamas, while Thomas is flying to California and then to Germany. We will be back in Costa Rica early April and start to drive back north.

Sign at the entrance to a public swimming pool!

Infraccion!

That´s the last word you want to hear from any officer on the road, however we had to deal with it in the last couple of days. Police in Honduras and Nicuragua seemed to have developed a liking for the strange white van from Canada, or my driving style. Anyway we got pulled over three times in about 6 days so we slowly get used to it. Best story so far, driving barefoot, or driving with shoes that do not cover the angles (meaning you got to wear army boots to drive in Honduras!). All kidding aside there is actually a law against driving without a shirt, go figure! Marie has found ways to dissipate all travel stops, arguing, pleading, contesting, smiling, and other secret methods.
Adelante!

TOPE...

Mexican Driving Code
Here are the most important Mexican roadsigns, the “TOPES”. If you can’t recognize them, you car and you will become “air born”; your suspension, stirring and muffler will fly away, as well as your traveling companions. The Mexican speed bumps are the entrance gates to hell.
Never mind any other signs, such as ALTO (stop) or “DISMINUYA SU VELOCIDAD” (slow down) or “NO TIRE BASURA” (no littering) or “NO REBASER” (do not pass) or “PROHIBIDO ESTACIONARSE” (no parking), or “UTILIZA TU CINTURON DE SEGURIDAD” or “CEDA EL PASO AL PEATON” (give way to pedestrians ) which no one respects.
In Mexico, you will also see this sign: “NO MALTRATE LAS SENALES”, which seems to attract more graffiti than the other ones.
We wondered for weeks what this frequently seen sign means: “CEDA CAMBIO DE LUCES”. I will let you figure this one out.
"TOPE" is the road sign that Mexicans do not ignore for the sake of saving their cars from the nastiest speed bumps ever built. Unfortunately, half of the speed bumps are not marked…. So watch carefully and be ready to push the breaks.

Guatemala, a Mixed World.

We entered Guatemala at La Mesilla, on February 09. We found the custom and immigration offices somewhere in the middle of hundreds of street vendors, a typical Central America scene. Since then, we drove a few hours a day in the midst of gorgeous mountains and volcanoes, but we had hard time to enjoy them due to speeding and polluting buses and vans on the roads.
Guatemala is beautiful and diversified. Unfortunately, we entered the country after days of fever and antibiotics treatment due to a Salmonella infection we contracted in the Mexican jungle. As a result, the enjoyment is less spontaneous, the trip less magic, our relationship less warm, the food less attractive, etc.

We visited Lago Atitlan and Antigua, like any other tourist and we liked them. But what I enjoyed more, in Guatemala, were:
the road to aguas calientes Puentes Georginas as well as the hot springs themselves;
the Maya ruins, Mixco Viejo, specifically, our meeting with a local wood sculptor who has been restoring Mayan ruins for over 35 years. His name is Jose Alfonso Giron Mendez. Alfonso is a real artist with a broad knowledge of the Guatemala Mayan ruins and
the Biotopo del Quetzal, a national park devoted to the protection of the Quetzal bird, the Guatemala national emblem. The park is at 1700 m above sea water, in a rain forest.

Tomorrow, we will enter Honduras… to be continued…

On and off the road!

Guatemala has excellent roads, and some that need a little work... Or is it some drivers need a little refresher in their driving skills? After visiting Mixco Viejo, a beautifully reconstructed Mayan site near Rabinal, we decided to take a "shortcut" to the Quetzal Park near Coban. This smart decision turned into an adventure in dirt road driving and more...

After about 30km on a winding narrow dirt we ran into a truck, loaded with cement, that apparently had underestimated its turning radius or the stability of the non-existent road bank. Anyway, when we arrived, three women were shuffling dirt around, 4 police officers and about 50 kids were watching.

One police officer assured us that "equipment" was on the way to correct the situation. Well, we didn't count on that and used some tools that appeared, to remove mud from the road and dump it down the ravine. 2 hours later the road was clear, no equipment had arrived and the growing chaos managed itself into a temporary fix. I bet, the truck will still be there in a couple of weeks and passing the truck will be adventurous for some, impossible for others.

Along the Carretera Fronterra

We are now in San Cristobal De Las Casas, Chiapas (yes, still in Chiapas). Here, tourists, ethnic groups and other Mexicans mingle smoothly. In this trip, we are avoiding touristy cities, but San Cristobal is an exceptional place located at 2100 m above sea level.

In the past weeks, we drove parts of the Routa Maya and the Carretara Frontera (South-East part of Chiapas, along Guatamala).
For me, the highlights were:
Yaxchilan, Mayan ruins which I prefer to all the Mayan ruins I visited. This site is located on the Usumasinta River, a river splitting Guatemala and Mexico. The ruins can be reached by boat, no road.
The Lacandona rain forest with its waterfalls and rich flora.
Ethnic communities, such as the Lacanja Chansayab, the Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples. We distribute color pens and papers to kids, in exchange for their pictures. In some cases, we print their pictures. We carry a color photo printer and our VW Camper can make electricity. The kids are blown away by our little camionnetta full of magic.