After driving around in the city semi-aimlessly for a few hours we parked close to where we thought the hostel might be. Josh and Kindra got out to walk over and check out prices and whether or not we could have the dogs. It was all good so we parked the truck, unloaded our things and checked in. This place was nice after the excursion we had just been on, shower, laundry, internet etc. The only unpleasant things were the hostess was kind of snooty. It was nice to have a break and have some clean dry clothes for the second half of the trip. I don’t know if I mentioned it or not but on our way to the islands we picked up a hitchhiker who was on a 2 year long bike trip from Argentina to Alaska! This fellow was on his way into Panama City for a bike part that had broken on his bike and we gave him a lift. Well as luck should have it the morning we were leaving the hostel in Panama City to get back on the highway north, who do we see but the very same guy on his way back north to his bike, we signaled to him to hop in the back and gave him ride (small world eh?).
As we drove up the highway we noticed a lot of police speed traps going through the little towns so we were pretty carful not to exceed the marked limits. At one specific crossing though a traffic cop, w/ no speed gun mind you, waved us over to the side of the road. When he came up to the truck window he told John he was speeding and that it was illegal to drive with someone in the back of the truck. Now remember we have been picking up hitchhikers all over Central America now for the last two weeks and even going through a few police check points with these people in the back and no one has said ANYTHING up until now and we definitely were not speeding. These guys were looking for a bribe and once again Josh really saved us. John and Josh were called into a small side office where they told them we would have to pay a $200 fine, after a bit of convincing it went down to $50 then down to whatever we thought was fair. Of course once again we felt $0 was the fairest and managed to get out of there by having our hitchhiking friend get out there and not paying a cent! This is just another example of the prejudice that all tourists have money and will pay to get out of sticky situations and another example of how if you can speak enough Spanish to talk to these guys, they will get frustrated and give up (stickn it to the man!). So after this bit of excitement we were ready to find a place to camp. A few hours down the road and we saw a sign for an Evangelical Camp and thought what the heck lets check it out. Turns out it was a beautiful piece of property run by some nice Swiss folks who used the land for summer camps and things of that nature during the high season.
They were super friendly and said we could camp for free, use their, showers, bathrooms, lake for swimming and covered camping area! What a find! We still had some daylight so we had an early dinner then set up camp, Josh and John slept in hammocks over the concrete floor. The next morning, still in Panama, we drove to a nice spot with a waterfall and a roofed area to set up the tents and hammocks. It has been nice to camp because it gives us the opportunity to be outside more and the dogs love it. Wallace and hippy are such great travelers and they love being able to run free after a long day of traveling cooped up in the truck.
The next day we drove towards the border and Costa Rica. Once we crossed into Costa Rica we drove a ways until finding a cool hostel/hotel with a communal kitchen and area with hammocks. Kindra was typing on the labtop at a table at the hostal and felt something on her leg... after swating it a few times she realized it was a giant stick bug. See picture to check out the size of this thing! Since Costa Rica is rather expensive we decided to high tail it, in and out in 2 days. On the way through we stopped at a bridge where you can see 30 to 50 large Crocodiles below, pretty cool.
Some border crossings have been easier and quicker than others and by this point we have pretty much gotten the system down, but there are always annoyances and little bumps that get in the way. For instance after Kindra and John waited in an hour long line to have our passports stamped to exit Costa Rica, the official made Josh wait in the line all over again because he didn’t wait with us the first time because he was watching the truck. In Costa Rica the most commonly use phrase is “pura vida”, but due to the cost of things, over tourism of the country, and general lameness (aside from the natural beauty) we feel saying “pura mierda” is a bit more fitting! And on top of it all Kindra got stung by a bee on her foot while waiting for John to do the truck paper work.
Next, back into Nicaragua, all of us really enjoyed this country on the way down; cheap food, nice people, beautiful beaches, and clean accommodations. Our first night we stayed in quaint town called Granada and found our own little private room w/ a bathroom, shower, TV and air-conditioning (for and extra $10 a night we opted for without). Granada is a cute little town with cobblestone streets and a parque central that reminded us a little bit of Italy or France. The next day we spent lounging around in the fan aerated room until around noon. John went to the local market for some fresh cheese, fruits and veggies for the next couple of days. The markets in Nicaragua are very similar to those in Guatemala, lots of small maze like dirt alleyways where every type of fresh, dried, raw, cooked, smelly, beautiful and ugly thing can be bought or sold.
Just a little drive away in a little town called Masaya they specialize in the production of hand made cotton hammocks in all sizes. We stopped there and checked out the 20 or so hammock shops and bought a few at just under $10 a piece, now remember these are beautifully made hammocks that easily would go for at least $40 or $50 in the states. And before heading out a bit of fresh Nicaraguan street cheese and fresh tortillas for lunch.
Our last night in Nicaragua we went out on a limb and camped off a county road in a protected reserve. Just us, the sunset, mosquitoes, and a large heard of cattle sniffing around our tents all night…NICE. John and Josh were hearing some strange sounds from the front of the truck the day before and in the morning before leaving after and inspection of the front end noticed a rather essential bolt missing from the driver’s side leaf spring bushing. After jacking the truck up and resetting the bolt that had inched its way out of the leaf spring, we headed back into the closest large town to find a replacement. We had no problem finding the nut, and we were on our way to the Nicaraguan/Honduran boarder.
This was a stressful border crossing with grossly inefficient processes, down computer systems and on the Honduran side a fascist police check point where they confiscated Kindra’s bottle of pepper spray, even after we explained to them how it was important because it was forher safety and our only form of protection against thieves and animals alike. It was disappointing to have the police be unwilling to understand our position and consider our defenses a weapon, we surmised the crooked police just wanted the pepper spray and were on a power trip, we had to let it go. Kindra was teary eyed because it was the last thing her grandpa had civen her before he died, but the could care less. Plus she was getting eaten alive by the red fighter ants that we had parked right next to. Its so hard to avoid them... they are everywhere!!! We found a cheap hotel for the night and relaxed a bit by watching a movie on John’s laptop.
The next day we noticed a lot of police check points along the way and came to find out it was election week and apparently the extra security was for the possibility of an uprising. We have been in Honduras now for days, elections are over and have seen no such activity, just to put you all at ease.
We rolled into our next camping spot the next evening around dark at a place called Pulhapanzak, where there are some unexcavated ruins, possibly Mayan, and a 120ft. waterfall. Needless to say we all had some crazy dreams this night! The next day we wanted to check out the Caribbean side of the country, but after arriving we realized it was the middle of their rainy season and we had nothing but grey skies and heavy rain, to top it off the beaches in the town of Omoa were kind of crappy. Not to fear though we made the most of the detour and found a place that was selling super cheap Havaiana flip flops (Kindra’s favorite shoe of choice) and we all bought a few pairs.
With our new sandals we drove toward the northern part of Honduras and the Copan Mayan ruins site. We arrived in the little town of Copan Ruinas and found a really nice place to stay for the next three days before crossing back into Guatemala. John and Kindra visited the Ruins the next day, Josh had already been so he stayed behind with the dogs. Each of these sites is different from the next. We found that the most amazing part of the site was not the reconstructed pieces or the estelas (Mayan sculptures specific to this site), but the way the earth had taken over the deserted site, and the trees that grow up around and out of the temples and become part of the buildings. Don’t misunderstand us, the grandeur of these sites is amazing, but the nature really touched us. Also, imagining what it must have been like in it's day is impressive, but there is something very magical about the serenity and peacefulness of the overgrown earth that is now the master where man used to be. A really special once in a lifetime experience for sure. So, we are here in Copan Ruinas and will be heading towards the Guatemala boarder tomorrow. As we sit here on the roof of our hoster we can here the local supporters of the man who won the election, in addition to all the fireworks the are letting off. I guess some people are hapy with the results of the election.
