Completely skipping some things again. I have a few posts started but I haven't actually posted anything in forever so I'm just writing a quick update. We crossed the border from El Salvador to Honduras yesterday morning. We were trying to get to a town called Copan Ruinas, but long story short, ended up in Santa Rosa de Copan. By the time we got to the next town to try to get the bus to where we wanted to go, they had stopped running for the day. Being that we were in a town known for its narcotics trafficking, we decided to cut our loses and pay the $50 for a cab ride to the city we wanted to be in, thinking that at least we would be there to go see the ruins in the morning when we woke up.
That didn't happen. We got to Copan Ruinas just fine (well, minus the crazy car ride) but when we woke up this morning, both Steph and I were feeling absolutely horrible. It's now almost 7pm and we have done nothing but sleep in bed all day. Hopefully we will both wake up feeling better in the morning, especially since it is her birthday. And hopefully then I can catch up with some more posts!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Volcan Pacaya
While riding on the back of a horse, looking up at the peak of the active volcano we were getting closer and closer to, I suddenly felt that all of the 70+ hour workweeks, the multiple jobs, the missed parties and get-togethers were worth it. Even though it was not the best year of my life, making those sacrifices to now be able to be doing this was necessary. And if I hadn't done it then, I would not have been able to say I roasted marshmallows at the top of a volcano.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Falls, of the Water and Slipping Varieties
Before the trip, Steph and I did just a bit of planning, finding general ideas or guidelines for different countries but not going too much in depth. For this, Guatemala was the country I felt most prepared for thanks to Humberto. However in our research, neither of us had come across Semuc Champey, on of Guatemala's national parks. As we made our way through Mexico, Belize and into Guatemala, multiple people said that it was something we just could NOT miss. After hearing this from 4 different people, we decided to make a point to stop in Lanquin, the closest city to the park.
A brief sidenote about our trip from Flores to Lanquin. It was definitely one of the least enjoyable rides I've had in quite a while. The very beginning wasn't so bad, just a lot of bad 80s music. But before we left Flores, we stopped to pick up who we are assuming was the driver's girlfriend/wife and kid. For the rest of the trip, she proceeded to kiss him and hit the baby whenever it cried, both of these things causing the driver to drive pretty recklessly. Additionally, we had to stop for them to have food and for the driver to take a nap. After about 7 hours, they piled in three more people with only one available seat, and we rode packed like sardines down the worst part of the drive. It was only 11 km, but took nearly 2 hours because it was through mountains, downhill on a one way, unpaved road.
So we finally arrived in Lanquin and got posted at El Retiro, a relaxing hostel (minus the Frederico incident. Something came into our loft the first night and took our bread. We assumed it was an opossum because Steph saw one close to our building, but it's just a guess. Either way, we switched to a room with a door the next day). We spent the first day just lounging about since we got our third night at the hostel free, and booked a tour based solely on the fact that it was the cheapest and that we thought it included everything we wanted to see.
We had no idea just how much we would be doing. To start the day, after waiting for an hour we piled into the back of a pickup truck to make our way 10 more kilometers down in the mountains on that same bumpy road from before, only this time while standing. Once we got to the park, we did a hike to the top at the lookout point. This is where I had my first mishap and slipped on the wet wood, cutting my hand as I tried to catch myself. But it was minor enough, and after some quick photos we were heading down to the river.
It was during this time that the big spill happened, again thanks to the slippery, wet, wooden steps. I could tell that my shoes did not have very good traction, so I was already going slowly, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Before I even realized what happened, I had somehow grabbed one of the posts with my elbow and was hanging by that and nothing else. The drop wasn't extremely far, but it still would not have been fun...not that this was ideal either, as immediately following the fall my arm was numb and limp, but it beat the alternative.
Luckily there were no more falls after that, though my legs were wobbly for the rest of the day. And even though it was painful to get through, thinking back now on what we did, it was totally worth it. After descending from the viewpoint, we swam through various pools of water. Then where the pools ended, we scaled the rocks near the waterfall to get down to cave area where the river spout back out after going underground for a bit of a distance.
Once we were done seeing the caves, we looked around to see a way out and failed to see anyway but how we came, which is exactly what we ended up doing, climbing back up the ropes and swimming back through the pools (for some people, this was after they cliff jumped one more level down, though I thought best not to risk it after my previous misfortunes). We did a bit more hiking and then went "tubbing" at a different spot on the river before breaking for lunch.
We finished our day with what was the highlight for me, as we went on a guided tour through a water cave system using only candlelight to see. As we swam with one hand, climbed ladders, bumped into rocks and each other, we could only see the very bit of the cave we were in at that moment. Once all of us had moved ahead just a bit, where we had just come from vanished into the darkness completely. This gave the entire tour a mystical feeling, sort of eerie but crazy fun at the same time.
After having this experience, it was completely clear why everyone we met had told us not to miss it, and it will definitely be a piece of advice we continue to pass on to other travelers.
A brief sidenote about our trip from Flores to Lanquin. It was definitely one of the least enjoyable rides I've had in quite a while. The very beginning wasn't so bad, just a lot of bad 80s music. But before we left Flores, we stopped to pick up who we are assuming was the driver's girlfriend/wife and kid. For the rest of the trip, she proceeded to kiss him and hit the baby whenever it cried, both of these things causing the driver to drive pretty recklessly. Additionally, we had to stop for them to have food and for the driver to take a nap. After about 7 hours, they piled in three more people with only one available seat, and we rode packed like sardines down the worst part of the drive. It was only 11 km, but took nearly 2 hours because it was through mountains, downhill on a one way, unpaved road.
So we finally arrived in Lanquin and got posted at El Retiro, a relaxing hostel (minus the Frederico incident. Something came into our loft the first night and took our bread. We assumed it was an opossum because Steph saw one close to our building, but it's just a guess. Either way, we switched to a room with a door the next day). We spent the first day just lounging about since we got our third night at the hostel free, and booked a tour based solely on the fact that it was the cheapest and that we thought it included everything we wanted to see.
We had no idea just how much we would be doing. To start the day, after waiting for an hour we piled into the back of a pickup truck to make our way 10 more kilometers down in the mountains on that same bumpy road from before, only this time while standing. Once we got to the park, we did a hike to the top at the lookout point. This is where I had my first mishap and slipped on the wet wood, cutting my hand as I tried to catch myself. But it was minor enough, and after some quick photos we were heading down to the river.
It was during this time that the big spill happened, again thanks to the slippery, wet, wooden steps. I could tell that my shoes did not have very good traction, so I was already going slowly, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Before I even realized what happened, I had somehow grabbed one of the posts with my elbow and was hanging by that and nothing else. The drop wasn't extremely far, but it still would not have been fun...not that this was ideal either, as immediately following the fall my arm was numb and limp, but it beat the alternative.
Luckily there were no more falls after that, though my legs were wobbly for the rest of the day. And even though it was painful to get through, thinking back now on what we did, it was totally worth it. After descending from the viewpoint, we swam through various pools of water. Then where the pools ended, we scaled the rocks near the waterfall to get down to cave area where the river spout back out after going underground for a bit of a distance.
Most of the group with the pools behind us.
Once we were done seeing the caves, we looked around to see a way out and failed to see anyway but how we came, which is exactly what we ended up doing, climbing back up the ropes and swimming back through the pools (for some people, this was after they cliff jumped one more level down, though I thought best not to risk it after my previous misfortunes). We did a bit more hiking and then went "tubbing" at a different spot on the river before breaking for lunch.
We finished our day with what was the highlight for me, as we went on a guided tour through a water cave system using only candlelight to see. As we swam with one hand, climbed ladders, bumped into rocks and each other, we could only see the very bit of the cave we were in at that moment. Once all of us had moved ahead just a bit, where we had just come from vanished into the darkness completely. This gave the entire tour a mystical feeling, sort of eerie but crazy fun at the same time.
Inside the caves!
After having this experience, it was completely clear why everyone we met had told us not to miss it, and it will definitely be a piece of advice we continue to pass on to other travelers.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
So a dogwalker, a devil and a Mexican walk in to a bar....
Actually it was a bunch of Mexicans walking in with us. Eric was the paseador de perros, I was la diabla, and Steph went as a Mexican. We were dressed up for a Halloween party that we had been invited to earlier that day by some locals who were friends with the guy working at the hostel we were staying in, Mezkalito. When we insisted that we did not have costumes, we were told to put something together quickly and that it wasn't a big deal.
We ravaged the markets for anything we could find. I came across some light-up devil horns and paired that with a red dress, Steph had just bought the poncho she had been wanting and added a hat from the hostel, and Eric bought two blowup dogs off the street. We thought our outfits were pretty creative, but when we got to the bar, those already in attendance were not too impressed. Granted, they had gone all out, full face paint, wigs, props and costumes, but we were getting proper dirty looks.
However after a bit of Mezcal got flowing, that changed quickly and everyone was super friendly, offering us nonstop drinks and food. It would have gone all night, but around 3:30 we decided to head back to the hostel because some of the guys were feeling the Mezcal a little too much. When we got back to the hostel, I was very confused about the time. As it turned out, Mexico's daylight savings started that night, a week before the rest of North America set the clocks back.
On top of that, Steph woke up with one of Eric's blow-up dogs in bed with her, which had actually been left at the bar. I discovered why when I woke up and was startled to find that the guys from the party the night before were actually staying in the same dorm as us. Later that morning we were able to get more information from them about advice for the rest of our trip, including into Belize since the main guy was actually Belizian, and swapped information so that we could share photos and in case we had any more questions.
We ravaged the markets for anything we could find. I came across some light-up devil horns and paired that with a red dress, Steph had just bought the poncho she had been wanting and added a hat from the hostel, and Eric bought two blowup dogs off the street. We thought our outfits were pretty creative, but when we got to the bar, those already in attendance were not too impressed. Granted, they had gone all out, full face paint, wigs, props and costumes, but we were getting proper dirty looks.
All dressed up with somewhere to go.
However after a bit of Mezcal got flowing, that changed quickly and everyone was super friendly, offering us nonstop drinks and food. It would have gone all night, but around 3:30 we decided to head back to the hostel because some of the guys were feeling the Mezcal a little too much. When we got back to the hostel, I was very confused about the time. As it turned out, Mexico's daylight savings started that night, a week before the rest of North America set the clocks back.
On top of that, Steph woke up with one of Eric's blow-up dogs in bed with her, which had actually been left at the bar. I discovered why when I woke up and was startled to find that the guys from the party the night before were actually staying in the same dorm as us. Later that morning we were able to get more information from them about advice for the rest of our trip, including into Belize since the main guy was actually Belizian, and swapped information so that we could share photos and in case we had any more questions.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Trusting Tony in Mexico City
So it turns out that after all this time, watching Anthony Bourdain has finally done me some good.
Well, not really, because I actually never saw the Mexico City episode. But someone else did, and tried one of the restaurants he visited. And then she told us about it on the plane. And then we went there, and got free stuff.
We had spent the earlier part of the day visiting the ruins at Teotihuacan, just outside of the city. In the native language, it means "City of the Gods" and the two main structures there have been known as the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, although recently the Pyramid of the Sun has been thought to actually be a Pyramid for the Water God. The civilization was thought to have begun around 600 B.C. and the earliest of the ruins were believed to have been built in 100 A.D. We were able to climb up and around most of the ruins, and did that for a few hours before heading back into the city for our much anticipated dinner.
The place is called La Mascota, but all we had to go on was that it might be located at 20 Mesones street. After consulting with Google and a few different maps, we figured out the best route to take using the efficient and extremely cheap Metro system. After walking a bit, we came across what we thought might be the place. While we weren't completely sure about it, we heard live music coming from inside and there was a decent crowd, so we figured either way it couldn't be bad.
After a few of the staff members debated amongst themselves for awhile about who would help us, we were told to pick any table and decided on one towards the back but not far from the band. We saw that almost the entire menu was alcohol. There was a small corner listing a few different sandwich options and a daily specials menu over the door, which we couldn't see. We ordered a round of drinks and then finally someone came over and gave us a copy of the daily menu, which listed 7 different options. After asking for assistance from someone in translating, the server explained that we could get as much of anything off the menu that we wanted. Without really knowing what she was ordering, Steph chose a couple of options and we waited to see what we would get.
A short time later we had two orders of steak and one of chicken on the table. Soon to follow, we ordered a quesadilla and some soup, which ended up being something with cactus in it. All of the food, especially the bistec mexicana, was really good, and, as we were told, when the bill came the only thing on it was our drinks. We spent more than we probably should have on margaritas, but justified it with our free meal for the night. This tidbit of advice we stumbled upon means that I am going to try to watch the "No Reservations" episodes available for any city we visit on this trip.
Well, not really, because I actually never saw the Mexico City episode. But someone else did, and tried one of the restaurants he visited. And then she told us about it on the plane. And then we went there, and got free stuff.
We had spent the earlier part of the day visiting the ruins at Teotihuacan, just outside of the city. In the native language, it means "City of the Gods" and the two main structures there have been known as the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, although recently the Pyramid of the Sun has been thought to actually be a Pyramid for the Water God. The civilization was thought to have begun around 600 B.C. and the earliest of the ruins were believed to have been built in 100 A.D. We were able to climb up and around most of the ruins, and did that for a few hours before heading back into the city for our much anticipated dinner.
The place is called La Mascota, but all we had to go on was that it might be located at 20 Mesones street. After consulting with Google and a few different maps, we figured out the best route to take using the efficient and extremely cheap Metro system. After walking a bit, we came across what we thought might be the place. While we weren't completely sure about it, we heard live music coming from inside and there was a decent crowd, so we figured either way it couldn't be bad.
After a few of the staff members debated amongst themselves for awhile about who would help us, we were told to pick any table and decided on one towards the back but not far from the band. We saw that almost the entire menu was alcohol. There was a small corner listing a few different sandwich options and a daily specials menu over the door, which we couldn't see. We ordered a round of drinks and then finally someone came over and gave us a copy of the daily menu, which listed 7 different options. After asking for assistance from someone in translating, the server explained that we could get as much of anything off the menu that we wanted. Without really knowing what she was ordering, Steph chose a couple of options and we waited to see what we would get.
A short time later we had two orders of steak and one of chicken on the table. Soon to follow, we ordered a quesadilla and some soup, which ended up being something with cactus in it. All of the food, especially the bistec mexicana, was really good, and, as we were told, when the bill came the only thing on it was our drinks. We spent more than we probably should have on margaritas, but justified it with our free meal for the night. This tidbit of advice we stumbled upon means that I am going to try to watch the "No Reservations" episodes available for any city we visit on this trip.
Wonderful Land of Disney
Although we started our LA trip with a night in this gorgeous room overlooking Disneyland
we didn't actually get to spend time in the magical place itself until the end of our stop in Cali.
As someone who had never been to any Disney Park, I was very much looking forward to this new experience. And as Steph put it, the best way to experience Disney is with people who can really appreciate it for what it is, and I definitely had that.
There is not much to be said about Disneyland that does not seem to be too cliche. We met characters, went on Splash Mountain, ate junk food. Jon's mom was so nice and gave us many fast passes so we didn't have to wait in line for most rides, and felt it was worth it when we had to queue for over an hour to meet three of the princesses.
We also went over to California Adventure to try out some of the bigger rides. I was completely amazed by the California Screamin' rollercoaster and both impressed and stunned when I finally got to experience the Tower of Terror I had heard so so much about.
The only let down of the day was that the "Small World" attraction was closed. Looks like I will be making my way down to the Disney on the other coast once I return from this trip.
we didn't actually get to spend time in the magical place itself until the end of our stop in Cali.
As someone who had never been to any Disney Park, I was very much looking forward to this new experience. And as Steph put it, the best way to experience Disney is with people who can really appreciate it for what it is, and I definitely had that.
There is not much to be said about Disneyland that does not seem to be too cliche. We met characters, went on Splash Mountain, ate junk food. Jon's mom was so nice and gave us many fast passes so we didn't have to wait in line for most rides, and felt it was worth it when we had to queue for over an hour to meet three of the princesses.
With the Big Mouse himself.
We also went over to California Adventure to try out some of the bigger rides. I was completely amazed by the California Screamin' rollercoaster and both impressed and stunned when I finally got to experience the Tower of Terror I had heard so so much about.
The only let down of the day was that the "Small World" attraction was closed. Looks like I will be making my way down to the Disney on the other coast once I return from this trip.
Physically in LA, Mentally in BKK
For being my first time in California, when I think back on it now, what it really does is evoke memories of Thailand.
First, our primary reason for stopping off in Los Angeles was to visit Jon, who had lived next door to Steph and worked at her school for the summer semester. Simply having the three of us together again was so reminiscent of the long weekend we spent camping in Khao Yai National Park. Seeing Steph again just seemed normal since we had stayed in constant contact since I left Thailand, but having someone else from our life there with us in North America was just surreal.
To add to that, our first night in LA we had planned to also meet up with Tony, who we had met because he worked at the same school as will in Nakhon Pathom. On of Jon's friends from home who had also lived in Thailand joined us as well and we all went to L5 to enjoy some Thai food.
But we didn't just get the food, which was some of the best I have had since coming back from Thailand. We also got the entire Thai experience. From Karaoke to disco lights, Sangsom to a Chang Beer tower, the only thing missing was a bucket.
Thai poses, Chang/Singha Beer and all.
Because that just wasn't enough, the next night we had another treat. We were out in Hollywood celebrating on of Jon's friend's birthdays and had the pleasure of seeing Meaghan, who happened to be 'home' from Thailand for a few weeks in Santa Barbara.
Reunited and it feels so good.
Having this time to relive and rehash all of our amazing Thailand memories was a great way to get us going with our next trip.
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