Thanks and Farewell

Sad to say my trip is coming to an end and this will be my last post.  I no longer desire to be traveling but it has been an amazing trip.  My time spent volunteering to build a house for a family was unforgettable.  I strongly suggest that anyone with any inclination to do a volunteer project whether abroad or in your community, go for it.  It is very fulfilling to help others and know you are making a positive impact.  Not to mention the friends and memories you can make along the way.

Regarding my short backpacking trip, if it is something you can manage I would say do it. Whether it is a backpacking trip or vacation in a foreign country. It was quite an adventure to step outside of my normal comfort zone and experience other cultures.  Personally it reaffirmed what is important, what I actually need and do not need to enjoy my life.  I thank God for allowing me to travel as well as keeping me safe during.  Thanks to everyone for reading, I hope you enjoyed.  If anyone plans on venturing to Central America and wants advice or just has questions email me at Barber.aa@gmail.com. Take care everyone, hope to see you around.

Central American Sampler

What would be my most extended stay in El Salvador were the 3 days in Juayua.  Pronounced ´who-why-you-uh¨, that took me awhile to get used to.  Anyways not that it was a huge adventure town, it just was a really pleasant town with wonderful people and food.  It was known for its weekend food festival and I had to check it out.  My kind of stop after a volcano trek and lake swim.  I tried to sample a variety of food with my favorites being papusas and fried yuca with chicharron served in corn husks.  The town was smaller than most I´d been to but it was not lacking anything in terms of character or things to do.  I have to say the people of this city were incredibly friendly and hospitable.  My first day in town I´d had 4 conversations over 10 minutes with strangers.  They were very patient with my broken Spanish and were generally interested in me and what I was up to, it was incredibly refreshing.  I also needed to go to the local market and buy produce for meals.  In addition to what I purchased I left with a free onion and 4 free medium sized tomatoes.  I don´t remember the last time I´d recieved anything free as a tourist in this area.  Really was a great atmosphere.

A shot of the central park fountain.

The cathedral in town.  I always take a picture of the city cathedral, it´s just habit now. 

Just an overview of a park corner, compare with a later photo.

A typical street in town, street murals like the one on the right could be found down nearly every street.











I know I came here to see the people and food festival but I´d heard of a 7 waterfalls hike and of course went for it.  It was a hot and humid 4 to 5 hour hike beginning in a coffee plantation then through a jungle forest with scattered river crossings and waterfall sightings.  Our guide was a local and with him was a pack of 4 small dogs that would dart in and out of the path.  The first few times they caught me off guard as I would hear this rustling in the bushes and be wondering what is coming at me and then of course it´s this tiny dog.  The dogs were troopers, climbing up and down rocks, hills, mud, everything we did.  This hike is relatively unknown in regards to travel destination but I think that may change due to so many great photo ops.  The trail itself isn´t more than a foot path with branches swept aside.  At two sections we climbed down using nothing more than a rope tied to a tree.  Not complaining but the lack of development was very obvious.

 One of the waterfalls seen along the trail.

 Climbing down with the rope.

Another waterfall seen along the way.  There were more than seven waterfalls actually.  It is termed that because one of the waterfalls is comprised of 7 falls to make one.

The last waterfall with pool to swim in at the base.  Also my shower for the day.
















As mentioned this place has a weekend food festival I was interested in seeing.  During the festival, tents went up on every side of the park and continued down a block or two.  People brought in grills and ovens and put on a cooking show.  Plenty of chicken, pork, beef, deer, rabbit as well as seafood.  Steaks, ribs, sausage, there was just too much to try, my mouth is watering now thinking of this place again.  Lots of local food as well. Vegetables too.  One such I tried were fried yuca dumplings, when covered with syrup they taste very close to french toast.

Tents set up around for people to cook and eat during the festival.  Compared to the previous picture.











In addition to the food, the tents were also used for people to sell good.  It would be like putting Walmart under tents and throwing in authentic crafts too.  It was quite the ordeal for two days.  My hostel owner told me it is a celebration and just weekend tradition for the town.  Coffee plantation workers come in from the countryside and this is their opportunity to buy items they might need while also enjoying a good meal.  Often the workers are treated by their boss to some home cooked meals in addition to what is offered at the festival.  Sounds like a great idea to me, quite the employment perk. I thoroughly enjoyed my time here, the food, people, and hike.  It would be sad to go but I was on my way out and headed through San Salvador to Nicaragua.  I spent one day in San Salvador visiting two interesting anthropology and modern art museums. Though my favorite sight was the Monumento Al Salvador Del Mundo.  It is located in central San Salvador in a large roundabout.

I think I´m sitting somewhat awkward.  Maybe because there are 10 police in the area and me.  Maybe because it´s a policeman taking my picture.  I was also worried about what is culturally appropriate when taking this picture.  Nevertheless got my photo and quite the monument it is.  Would be my last venture in El Salvador before taking a bus out the following morning to Nicaragua. Short but sweet week in El Salvador.  Each city and country I´m wanting more time to enjoy and explore but I have to keep moving to see everything.  As I sampled foods the day before in the festival so too I feel that I´m sampling the countries of Central America.  Definitely fun, definitely seeing some of the best things to see, yet still feels like a sampler when spending only short amounts of time.  Well time to run off home, getting late and its best not to walk around at night alone, which I do too often. Lates.

Enjoying Santa Ana, El Salvador

I departed Copan early in the morning, exchanged all my money and grabbed a shuttle to the Guatemalan border.  Even though Honduras directly borders El Salvador, it would be easier and quicker to go through Guatemala and then into El Salvador oddly.  About twenty minutes on the shuttle and I was in Guatemala.  Quickly exchanged shuttles and headed to Chiquimula, Guatemala where I switched buses again to head for the El Salvador border.  My shuttle bus from Guatemala to El Salvador was pleasant, had a nice conversation with a guy and we shared some sweet bread, which I´ve yet to find since leaving Honduras unfortunately.  At the border I took a shuttle to a city called Metapan where I caught a bus for my destination Santa Ana.
I arrived in Santa Ana without really knowing it.  A lady next to me told me we had arrived and got off the bus with me at a roundabout walked me to the taxi station.  Met my taxi driver, told him the hostel I wanted to and of course he nodded with assurance.  After about two minutes of driving we pulled over for necessary directions.  My hostel, Casa Verde, was a great stop and maybe my favorite hostel of this trip so far.  Personal fans mounted in the ceiling were a nice touch I had not seen before, very welcomed in the hot nights.  I had a few chances to walk around town and get a feel of the old colonial style buildings. 

This is the central park.  Got the  park statue center, the pavillion behind, the cathedral top left, and can you find the no gun sign? Yes, they tell people not to bring weapons to parks in Central America.

This is the well know Santa Ana Theatre.  Did not see a show, it was not on my itinerary.

The Santa Ana Cathedral.  My favorite exterior structure of a Central American cathedral so far.

A shot of the city from my hostel roof deck at sunrise. Casa Verde if you are ever in Santa Ana, El Salvador, just a great hostel and Carlos the owner is quite the host.

In addition to seeing the city I´d come to Santa Ana to hike its volcanos and enjoy the lake. You might notice the policeman behind me.  We had a police escort of 2, along with a guide, for our group of 8.  

 View of Lake Coatepeque from the top of Santa Ana Volcano.  The hike was only 2 hours up, moderate difficulty, and very well marked.  A guide was overkill but I did appreciate the two policemen.

The path along the rim of the crater. Only I and one  another ventured across for a different view of the lake.  If you look closely you can see the rest of the group back at the original viewpoint.  The path was about 2 to 3 feet wide with the slope down the volcano on one side and the cliff into the crater lagoon on the other.  My balance was a little tested.

This would be the lagoon in the crater.  No swimming here. No path exists down and we also could observe gases and bubbling water so I was not exactly dying to take a dip.

The next day I went to Lake Coatepeque to swim and relax on the water front.  The city, loosely stated, was a single dirt road running around the lake with homes and some tourism focused development scattered about.

Photo of Santa Ana Volcano from Lake Coatepque.  Not exactly breathtaking, but it´s a photo of where I was the day before.  Thought it kind of fun to have been at both extremes.

The Santa Ana bus station and idle chicken buses.  I would depart the day after the lake for Juayua.  A city known for its weekend food festival and general town hospitality.

An Underwater Experience in Honduras

So my departure from Belize was pleasant though it would be 2 days of travel to the Bay Islands in Honduras.  My first day was a bus trip to the southern port of Belize, Punta Gorda where I spent the night.  I did get to sample a piece of chocolate filled with coconut rum from a store that professed itself as the Chocolate Center of the Universe.

I made my way in the morning by boat crossing the Belize/Guatemala border.  It was an hour boat ride in a 10 person boat across the sea.  We got rather wet from the rain and waves splashing in the boat and fortunately met up with two women from Atalanta going in the same direction as me. A combination of taxi, bus, walking and a few border crossings and I was in Ceiba, Honduras.  I had one issue crossing into Honduras since I did not have 3 dollar bills to pay a border fee and they were not accepting my twenty dollar bill since they had no chance.  Fortunately I was able to borrow a dollar from my newly met travel buddies from Atalanta.  A night in Ceiba quickly passed, I'd gotten there at 8pm and went to sleep rather shortly.  In the morning it was a quick taxi ride to my ferry which would be my last transport to my destination.

Notice the two ferries. I took the one on the right, not the left.  My 100 person ferry runs to Utila, my island destination, while the 500 person ferry on the left runs to Roatan, a more developed island.

In an hour and a half I was on Utila and in my dive center.  This is the main road that ran along the island.

I'd chosen Alton's Dive Shop as it was laid back, distant from the bars so noise wasn't a problem, and I had heard good things of them.  The following day I would begin my Open Water dive class, was incredibly excited of course.  It was a 4 day course with a mixture of classroom movies, book reading, knowledge reviews, quizzes, a final test, and a good amount of skill practice underwater. Setting up our gear, clearing water from our masks, not holding our breath underwater, dropping and then finding our regulators, the breathing piece, were several we practiced consistently.  My favorite however was buoyancy control or "hovering'.  We did just that during this skill and it is quite an awesome feeling to be floating in space underwater.  Practiced this on my own without direction it was so fun.

 Each course is completed by a group, mine just so happened to include 3 other Americans, all from California.  The 4 of us would study together, dive together, and in the evenings go to dinner as well.  Basically a bunch of dive buddies learning to dive and then enjoying the island after course training.  

Of course it was not all learning and practicing.  There were fun dives and exploration to be had and we rented a camera for two of those dives.  The following are a few of the images we took.

Hard to see but we spotted an Eagle Ray, one of the more coveted creatures to spot.  Did not see the most sought after Whale Shark though, unfortunate but I had no room to complain.

Just me, flipping around underwater.  Such an incredible, truly different feel to be underwater and neutrally buoyant.

Spotted another turtle, Hawksbill Turtle this time.  Our guide Jesse, a 20 year old from Spokane oddly, had swam past it and I was able to get his attention.

A Lionfish which actually isn't welcome in the waters. People hunt these to control their population and protect other naturally found species.

I forget what this guy was called but we saw it.  I'd need to check my dive log for the technical name but it's buried in my bag.

Just a shot of coral, which I found very pleasant to look at, just fields and long stretches of coral like this.  Untouched and swaying with the current, quite a sight to see.

Unfortunately my time on Utila had to come to an end.  I had debated about doing another course and more dives but it was time to move on.  A great stay for about a week, diving, chilling, swimming in the sea.  Not to mention some delicious food.  I was introduced to the Honduran Baliada, which I would describe as a lazy burrito.  Its very similar ingredients, mix in some sauces, and then fold the tortilla in half rather than rolling it.  Very delicious none the less.  I departed Utila by morning ferry and after a 6 hour bus ride found myself in the city of Copan.  I'd come here to visit the Mayan ruins of Copan, known for the sculptures and carvings more so than the temples.

Having no guide limited my knowledge and history of the site but I could still greatly appreciate the detail in the work.

These structures, or stellas as they are called, were everywhere on the ruins site.

This would be the hieroglyphic stairway, the longest Mayan hieroglyph.  It had been damaged but archaeologists have been working together to restore it and it remains covered by a tarp and roped off to visitors.

The most famous monument of the Copan site which depicts the first 16 rulers of Copan.  Four on each side of course.  All this knowledge I pulled from the trail map at Copan, it actually came in handy.








There is so much more to the Copan site as far as sculptures go.  It wasn't like previous temple sites where each picture felt somewhat the same.  I found myself taking so many photos, basically one of each Stella and any original sculpture I may find around the ruins.  I cannot compare this with Tikal as they are two different venues and both offer different experiences.  My time in Copan city would not be as long as my stay in Utila.  Only a few days but I did get to try some chuletas, basically a barbecued piece of meat on a stick.  Also a funny small fruit, about the size of a strawberry and reddish greenish.  Imagine if hairs grew on it though, you cut it open and have a fruit a little tougher than a grape, similar taste and there is a pit the size of a cashew.  That is the fruit I had, and enjoyed as a desert.
Next stop on this journey would be El Salvador which I had passed through previously en route to Bryce in Guatemala.  I looked forward to a more authentic feel of people, food, and city life.  I had not found that in Copan or Utila.  Both great places to visit, yet very geared towards tourism.  Not to mention I had heard El Salvador has the best food, and I love food as well as trying different things. Espero que todo esta bien. Tenga cuidado.

.

Belize con Novia

The week in Belize with Bryce was very fun but can't lie, I was very excited for Nicolette's arrival to Belize.  I basically hunkered down in Belize City at a hotel awaiting her arrival.  I spent three days lounging about there.  To pass the time I helped with an ongoing project the hotel owner had going.  Nancy the owner was decorating her roof deck with metal cutouts of various sea creatures and they all needed to be filed before being hung.  It was easy, simple work and prevented me from being a complete hermit.  I also met her main employee Jones who was a chill guy and we debated at that time over who would be in the NBA Finals. Really was enjoyable except for the fact the files were square and made it interesting trying to file curves smooth, but oh well.

One of the cutouts here.  Easily the most difficult I worked on, it's a seahorse by the way.

A view from the top of the hotel.  It was one of the highest points in the city.  Fun fact, same hurricane that created the split in Caye Caulker also destroyed so much of Belize City that they relocated the country capitol to Belmopan which is near central Belize.

Lounging after some filing.  Such a hard life I know.

Arrival day didn't come soon enough even with this relaxing environment.  I met her in the airport, well more so on the street as there is no official international arrival waiting room and we were off.  I'd done my best to put together an itinerary and first stop was Cayo.

Enjoying each others company and definitely not the beer from our hotel deck.

Our first adventure was the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave.  An old Mayan sacrificial cave where sacrificial offerings ranged from pottery to people.  This was our standard getup, headlamps were far superior to the candles I had in Guatemala.  It was an intense cave with the largest cavern I've ever been in termed 'the Cathedral'.  I'd have taken more pictures but my camera stopped working within 10 to 15 minutes of entering the cave.  Believe me though it was amazing.

This is the view looking out of the cave, deep in the jungle.

We went for an afternoon to the Mayan ruins Cahal Pech.  It was a small site, fun none the less.  We played frisbee in a courtyard in front of a Mayan temple, it seemed only fitting.

Found a small playground the same day, a see-saw provided a good amount of fun and laughter.

From Cayo, the jungle adventure city, we went to Placencia.  Great beaches as you can see.  It was fun getting there, specifically the bus transfers.  Our last transfer, the bus driver actually pulled over in front of a store and told us to get off and board the bus across the road since it was the one we needed.
This photo was actually taken a few steps out of our room.

The beaches looked like this up and down the coast. It was gorgeous and very fun to lounge about.  A little frisbee occurred here, in addition to the required sun bathing.









It was a great time swimming in the water, very warm.  Only thing is we caught some bad weather and it would get a little windy in the afternoon and make the water a little rough.  Not complaining of course, it is still the Caribbean.  We stayed close to a bar called the Tipsy Tuna which one night featured a Garifuna drumming presentation.  Enjoyable to watch but it became background music to the great view of the stars at night.

Our last stop on the Belize tour was Caye Caulker.  It would be an interesting travel day to get there since we were trying to time everything perfectly to not waste time in Belize City.  We caught a bus leaving Placencia around 6 am, transferred on a highway intersection and grabbed another bus.  The driver of this bus was moving with a purpose, thoughts of rollovers came to mind.  Our deadline was 10:30am in Belize City to catch the water taxi to Caye Caulker and avoid waiting for the 1pm.  Arriving in Belize City at 10:30ish we grabbed the 1st taxi we could, rushed through buying our tickets and were the last to board.  It was such a relief to make it on time.

Our time on Caye Caulker was great.  Enjoyed the split, sunsets, food, and drink.  We were able to get on the Raggamuffin snorkel trip as well.  This time around we saw two green sea turtles, in addition to the manatee, rays, sharks, coral, and fish.  It was great, not to mention the rum punch and ceviche were delicious again.  I'd provide pictures of this but I did not take my camera, only hers.  Great overall week it was.  It seemed rushed at times, and we accomplished a lot during the week, but it wasn't stressful.  Lots of new food sampled including snapper, grouper, barracuda, conch, and fry jacks.  I recommend fry jacks to anyone, as would she.  Especially stuffed with cheese, beans, jack spiced chicken or fish, with onions and salsa.  Now I'm hungry, sigh.  This will conclude my time in Belize.  I did have to leave but not much interesting in means of exiting the country.  Next up Honduras.  Later everyone, take care.

Belize con Hermano

Departing Guatemala to Belize with Bryce was a charm.  A quick 5 hour shuttle, in a shuttle van with open seats to stretch out in.  Actually comfortable and no need to take a picture of a fold out seat, what a rarity.  The only destination for Bryce and I was Caye Caulker where we planned to do some snorkeling at the Hol Chan Reserve.  Which was great as I'll get to shortly.  Not many photos of our time there as it was more of a R&R destination.  A few days on the island to relax and make a snorkeling trip. It was a 1 hour trip by water taxi to the island from Belize City.  We had little to no difficulty talking with people as most of the inhabitants are Creole and understood our English.  Our first "hotel" was dirty, smelly, and just poorly kept.  However it cost us $7.5 each for the night.  We later upgraded to a clean room with private bath and fan for $11 each per night.  Most of our time when chilling on the island was spent at "the split".  Caye Caulker used to be a single body of land but Hurricane Hattie in 1961 tore through the middle of the island creating a channel of water.  This area would become the local hangout for swimming, sun bathing and enjoying loud reggae music played by the Lazy Lizard Bar.  A fun time definitely.

Our first night there we were able to catch a nice sunset on the west side of the island.  The island itself is about 6 blocks wide I think, but it varies in areas.  From the stairs leading to our hotel room we could watch the sun rise and set only being two stories up if that helps.

A typical shot of the island.  That sand path between the buildings is the main road.  We saw one vehicle while here, a dodge pickup which was the island's garbage truck, and that was only once during our few days there.  The rest of travel is by bicycle or golf cart.

Another view of typical shoreline.  Most of the island is lined with docks and moored boats.

The fun awkward pose on our sailboat which took us and 13 other people out for our snorkeling trip.  It was through Raggamuffin Tours and we made 3 stops, highly recommend them if ever on the island.  A stop at a coral garden, 'shark/ray alley', and the Hol Chan Reserve.  Lunch is provided between stops and on the return sail ceviche with rum punch.

Shark/Ray Alley let us swim with large stingrays and nurse sharks which are not dangerous by the way.  They swarm here since the area is used by local fisherman as a place to clean the catch of the day.

Another ray, both rays and sharks would swim underneath us in about 8 feet of water.  Was very fun.

Saw a green sea turtle as well at the Hol Chan Reserve which is more towards experiencing wildlife. We did see many other fish and creatures but I was using my camera in a water proof bag, pulling it tight over the camera lens.  The only pictures worthwhile were those of larger creatures.

Manatee! I think this was my favorite creature of the snorkeling trip.  They're so much bigger than I thought and very fun to watch.  So peaceful just hanging out underwater.

Blurry but I think it gives a good perspective on how large they are, should be noted that after Bryce got this close it swam off.  We believe he scared it off.










It was a great few days relaxing on the island.  We sampled local food, mainly from this place called 'Pirates' where we could get meals for only a few dollars.  As well as home cooked cinnamon rolls, pineapple coconut juice which is delicious, and a wonderful yet inexpensive treat: Freezies, which we termed Otter Pops on Muscle Milk.  Great time relaxing, and I'd be back within the week but we headed off to Belize City for his departure and my waiting for the arrival of a special someone.  Oh those days took awhile to pass but I have to conclude this post as I'm not the only person at my hostel and keeping a waiting line for the computer does not make friends.  Take care everyone, talk with you again at some point.