http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Donny/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Donny en-us Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:06:03 +0000 Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:06:03 +0000 Why did I find myself in Cuba Wasnrsquot the plan to live and work in Colombia Yes but I still change my mind as frequently as my undercrackers so I ended up here. The missing two months since my last blog can be summed up quickly ColombiaCiudad Perdida trek very very good.Barranquilla Carneval very very very good better than Rio in my opinion.Trying to find work an apartment a Span http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cuba/blog-395406.html I could easily have been disappointed with Venezuela because I had dreamed of going there for so long my expectations were very high. However I left Venezuela initially illegally but thatrsquos another story feeling enormously satisfied.It was a strange feeling because Irsquove been to a lot of remote and exotic places but I just could not believe I was there at Angel Falls. I canrsquo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Venezuela/blog-394054.html Due to my rule about only writing one blog per country Costa Rica is an exception because I was living there I cannot discuss or show any photos of New Year in Serbia. New Year in Belgrade was a very last minute decision I think I bought the ticket on the 29th actually to Zagreb and then I took a bus. After New Year I had a bit of trouble when I went to buy a ticket home. I didnrsquot http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/blog-366019.html I never had much of a desire to visit the US of A because I agree with descriptions like this by I canrsquot remember whoThe USA is like a big overfriendly dog that canrsquot help knocking down all the furniture as it wags its tail.Seeing as many of my best pals during my year in Costa Rica were Yanks and also thoroughly decent folk I thought it was about time I took a look for myself at the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/blog-365660.html I last blogged Costa Rica sometime near the end of the first semester beginning of June if I remember right. Well after the fabulous month off see previous two blogs about Colombia and Panama the second semester turned out to be completely different to the first.About a dozen new teachers started in August which put us old lot in a minority. This really changed the atmosphere of the school http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Heredia/blog-365363.html For a fourth and final visa run of 2008 I wanted to get a bit further away. There are wonderful places in both Nicaragua and Panama that are close and convenient but I have sampled both. Given the monotonous rainy season I also felt that the greater the distance the better between myself and Costa Rica's central valley.Having a TACA pilot as a private student has a few advantages. As well as i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/blog-342383.html The Kuna are an admirable little bunch in that they are one of the few indigenous peoples in the Americas that managed to resist European domination or as often was the case extermination. Their historical tenacity is in sharp contrast to their current peaceful and welcoming nature. But this veneer belies the fact that as recently as 1925 they kicked the Panamanian police of their islands in p http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Kuna-Yala/Archipielago-de-San-Blas/blog-315115.html I donrsquot need to start this blog claiming that Colombia is the new Peru or Costa Rica. An unexplored undiscovered tourist mecca with glorious mountains beaches rainforests and happening cities blah blah blah. All of those things are true except for the unexplored and undiscovered parts. Colombia is already discovered and is very popular. The idea of it being a terrifyingly dangerou http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/blog-315109.html The reason for deciding on Costa Rica as a destination to spend a year minimum living and working was that it had both mountains and beaches. True many other countries around the world have mountains and beaches too. In fact probably all of them. Except Holland. Costa Rica is a little country but it has an unfair wealth of natural wonders. Again Irsquom struggling to think of a country http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-281187.html Being a paid volunteer does away with the necessity of obtaining a work visa. This is in operation for English teachers around the world where having the correct work permit often involves unfathomable bureaucracy and a lot of money. One advantage of this slightly fishy scamentirely legal opportunity is visa runs. Basically every ninety days I am given some time off and a bit of extra cash http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/blog-288469.html Continuing on my vain pointless and futile quest to climb the highest mountain of every country on Earth I found myself heading to Cerro Chirrip in Costa Rica. This is not as unlikely as it sounds given that I now live in Costa Rica. In fact you could say that it was inevitable that I would end up there.Due to having to work five Saturdays on and five off for 50 of the year I get a three d http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-285495.html After spending most of 2007 travelling I wanted to settle a little bit the following year. I wanted to have the same bed for more than three nights in a row I wanted to be able to pick from more than five tshirts each morning I wanted to make more permanent friends I wanted a cupboard full of food etc etc. However I was sure that i didn't want to be in the UK. Tried that not too keen. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Heredia/blog-276262.html My plan had been to head out to some of the distant southern cayes off of Belize. However I met more and more people who had either just come from there or had tried to get there and all told similar stories. Because it is low season either the water taxi's aren't running or you can get to the islands but you'll be the only one there. Not good when most diveboats require a minimum of four t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Bay-Islands/Utila/blog-225479.html Before I went to Central America I didn't know much about the Maya. I put them in a group with the Inca's and Aztec's as a once great civilisation that were flattened by the arrival of the Europeans. Turns out I was completely wrong.I can remember thinking when in Peru that while Machu Pichu is spectacular the church in my village at home in Yorkshire is much older. This didnrsquot dampen my http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/blog-225477.html Before I went to Belize I had tried to find some definitive information about the Blue Hole. If you do a bit of diving then this place is legendary. According to guide books and tourist info websites the hole is not far off being the greatest thing on Earth. But when you read blogs on websites like this one you can come across highly conflicting views. This is what I thoughtBooking the trip http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/blog-225468.html Itrsquos strange how the most spontaneous decisions always lead to the best experiences. I think my time in Mexico was one of the most challenging but also the most fun months of my life.After my Eastern Europe jaunt during my week or so as a tourist in London I was the only English person at most of the sites I decided that I wanted to live and work abroad. There is plenty of work out t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Playa-del-Carmen/blog-225462.html There are two reasons why I came to Prague this summer. Number one is because it meant I could fly directly home to Yorkshire. Number two is because itrsquos Prague. This city really does live up to the hype. Unfortunately everybody knows it does so half of the population of the earth were here.I didnrsquot mind the crowds though. Because I was making this final leg of my trip alone I co http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-202207.html It was the third year in a row that I have passed through Budapest and the second time this trip. Therefore I really wished I liked it more. Itrsquos not that I donrsquot like it it is easy and convenient to use as a hub for further travels the old part of Buda is nice the people are friendly and itrsquos quite cheap. I really canrsquot put my finger on why I have never been taken http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Hungary/Central-Hungary/Budapest/blog-202204.html Upon arrival in Ohrid I was quite surprised by what I found. I had read a bit about this town and the lake how it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of ancient buildings and how the Cyrillic alphabet was invented here in the ninth century AD. I had also seen a lot of photographs nearly all of a little church sitting on a cliff above a deep blue lake. Well that is only half the story. Tacke http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Macedonia/Ohrid/blog-205731.html I was in Bosnia last year but only had chance to visit Mostar. This year I only had time to visit Sarajevo but unfortunately seeing as my camera was broken here are a few snaps from 2006. One thing that struck me in Sarajevo that was present in Mostar but not to the same extent are the constant reminders of the war. I appreciate that Sarajevo was under siege for three years and four months an http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bosnia-and-Herzegovina/East/Sarajevo/blog-202200.html