West to north west, destination Guatemala

We are on the surfing trail not out of choice but because the beaches along our route are great surfing destinations. El Tunco is a small surfing village in El Salvador where we spent a little time en-route to Guatemala, from there we will eventually wind our way up to Mexico’s west coast. In the traditional language El Tunco means The Pig after a strange shaped rock that juts out of the shallows, but its shape has changed since it was named and it’s now open to interpretation, above is how the surfer dudes must see it, but below is how it looked when we saw it. Read more

A week in the lives of Nick and Malene

We left the monkeys in the trees and headed for “culture” and “big” city life; our next stop would be Leon, a two hour drive north of Managua. To get to Leon we had to change minivans in the town of Granada which is considered to be one of the most attractive colonial era Spanish cities in Latin America. However we are going to give this jewel the flick and instead head straight for Leon which is a city of about 200,000 also renowned for its style and with enough churches to put you to sleep if you tried to count them all. Read more

Continuing on the lake and volcano trail

Our next stop was INSIDE a volcano. One that had been extinct for a long time of course… Laguna Apoyo is a large lake which was created when the Apoyo volcano imploded about 20,000 years ago and the crater filled up with water. It’s now protected as a natural reserve and you can swim and kayak in the lake which is 200 metres deep in the middle, making it the lowest point in Central America and thermally heated to 27 degrees. The best news of all – no bull sharks! Read more

The twin peaks of Ometepe

The island of Ometepe is comprised of two volcanoes in a fresh water lake and the lake is patrolled by sharks. This description alone would deter even intrepid explorers like Indiana Jones but Malene and I piled onto the ramshackled ferry to make the hour and a half crossing to Ometepe. Safety was high on the crew’s mind after another small ferry had a disaster on the east coast of Nicaragua so the authorities were clamping down. Life-jackets, cashews and pastries were on offer, I settled for the pineapple pasty which I could have used as a raft to sail all the way to India before it would dissolve, so I was ok, Malene went for the weigh-me-down life-jacket. Read more

Sand, sea and surf in San Juan del Sur

Nicaragua is called the land of volcanoes and lakes but we decided they could all wait a week or so and after Managua we headed straight for the beach… San Juan del Sur is a popular surf spot on the pacific coast, not far from the border with Costa Rica. It’s a bit of a party town for young surfers from the US / Canada and European backbackers. Throw in a few alternative travellers who perform fire dances at night and sell feather earrings on the beach during the day and there you have it.

We decided against the chicken bus (the local buses where you can bring everything including live chickens going to or from the market). We booked a shuttle instead however we feel a bit guilty for chickening out (sorry for the bad joke!). We should try one of these infamous buses while we are here. Read more

Managua is in Nicaragua, the highlights

Nicaragua is pronounced “Νιγαράγουα” by the locals and by people who can read Greek. Because in English there is no letter in the alphabet that can produce the sound of “γ” (gamma). Nuff said.

Nicaragua was somewhat a strange/ fantasy destination for us when we were doing our travel plans last year in Perth. it was loosely added to our travel list for no reason other than we found the name fascinating. We had no idea what the country was about but before leaving Woody and Pips gave us a Nicaraguan guide book and that got us thinking, hhmmmm…. Read more

Valladolid, a little town for chilling

One hundred and fifty km west of Cancun on the Yucatan peninsula is Valladolid pronounced “Vayadolid”. There is something nice about this town and that something made us come back for a second time, it’s actually the third counting a one night stop at the end of our Yucatan drive. Unbeknown we must have been lured back by the Valladolid magic but whatever the reason we are glad we did.

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Lost in Vinales

Vinales (pronounced Viniales) is in the Central-West of Cuba on a plateau surrounded by picturesque hills and valleys where tourists flock to get that authentic rural experience. The result is more like a faux-alpine apres-ski atmosphere which comes alive in the evening when the temperature dives from a beer drinking 24 celsius in the day to a cocktail guzzling 19 in the evening.  Read more

Travelling around: Trinidad de Cuba, Santa Clara and Cienfuegos

After a week in Havana we set of for a trip around the central part of Cuba. Taxis (private or shared) and busses are the main transport options. There are trains however most routes only run every 2 days and their reputation is such that we only met one traveller who had tried (unsuccessfully) to travel by train. We left on the five hour journey to Trinidad de Cuba in an old Chevy colectivo (shared taxi) with 3 Belgians and the Cuban wife of one of them. Read more

Making even less sense of Cuba

A visit to Havana would fall short without stepping back in time at “Hotel Nacional” in Vedado, the newer part of town. Money here doesn’t seem as scarce as in central Havana, it was once the playground of many wealthy Americans who came to drink Champagne and smoke cigars in the days before the revolution. Read more