http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/EileenCarter/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from EileenCarter en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:40:31 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 23:40:31 +0000 Saturday I woke early to catch the 715 am bus to Chichen Itza. I was looking forward to a nice hot shower but was upset to discover that the water wasn't working. I got ready without it and tried out my spanish by complaining at the front desk and trying to get some of my money back after all I had paid for a room with a bathroom..... No luck though the guy firgured that since the entire http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Baja-California-Sur/blog-361580.html Well I am back in North America Mexico anyways December 31st turned out to be a beautiful day and I really enjoyed spending it with Megan. We had lunch at a cute cafe south of the hostel enjoying the twoforone special on the pina coladas After we got our errands done and had lunch we headed off in search of the Cake Lady.The Cake Lady is this marvellous woman who bakes cakes in the m http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Valladolid/blog-359469.html The water taxi to Belize took about an hour. Leaving from a dock in Belize City it eased through a tight canal with boats of all sorts on both sides and passed shops that cater to the many cruiseships that arrive in the area before taking to more open water at a higher speed.The water was not to rough and the sun was out so it was a pleasant trip in the 75 foot passenger only motor boat. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Belize-Barrier-Reef/Caye-Caulker/blog-358817.html My day started early Friday morning with a 5 am wakeup to try and race Fabien for the shower. I got there first and soaked in the warm water. You never know when you'll get a hot shower in Central America I'm not such a princess that I need hot water....but it sure is more pleasantThe shuttle arrived right at 6am and Charlotte Fabien and I climbed in. We picked up an Italian named Michael http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-358557.html Merry Christmas from HondurasAs it turns out this town doesnt sleep on Christmas day Almost everything seems to be open and Ive already been offered to go on a horse riding trip at least 4 timesI had forgetten to include a few details in yesterdays blog so after I am done here Im going to go back and fill those in....nothing major but I am writing this mostly so I later reread this and http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Copan/blog-357172.html Hi everyoneFirst Ill wish everyone a Merry Christmas just in case 1 I have no internet access tomorrow and 2 some people dont read all the way to the end of my blogs So Merry Christmasfeliz navidad to you and your familiesOn Saturday I tried to stay up all night but without any luck I was dozing in a hammock so I laid down for a few minutes sleep. I woke at about 245 and shower http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/La-Palma/blog-356887.html HolaSan Juan del Sur was nice and warm and realxing I spent another night there and all though I had ambitious intentions of things to do and see I ended up reading napping and hanging out with Joanne and EricOn Monday after I updated my blog I walked around trying to find the post office. Por favor donde esta el correo Everyone told me different directions and I got so muddled. I http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Merida/blog-355865.html Hello from the rainforestEric Joanne and I left Pangea Hostel in San Jose early on Saturday morning and caught a cab to the bus station. Arriving just before 6am we bought the 3 tickets to Monteverde and found a nearby store selling breads and drinks. In the cool of the morning we waited about 45 minutes for the bus. We also met another traveller Andrew from Washington DC who was going http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Monteverde/blog-354772.html Tonight I am in San Jose Costa Rica after a long bus ride from Bocas del Toro.On Thursday the sun brok through the clouds around noon and 6 of us haggled for a boat and snorkling gear to take us out to the other islands. For about 13 each we got a boat and a guide and snorkel gear for 5 hours. We crossed a wide area of water and zipped in between some small island of brush along some canals. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Bocas-Del-Toro/Isla-Colon/blog-353753.html HolaThis morning I am in Bocas Town on Isla Colon in the province of Bocas del Toro Panama. Since I last wrote Ive had a lot of adventuresTuesday morning I finished writing my blog just as Rachel woke and after she showered we walked a few blocks to the main street. I popped into Habla Ya a local spanish school and was able to arrange for an hour long private lesson. Rachel was inter http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Bocas-Del-Toro/Isla-Colon/blog-353380.html Monday morning was already warm by the time I woke at 7am. I got up and had a chat with Mike who was leaving shortly and worked on my blog for a while. After another pancake for breakfast I packed my bag returned my sheets and checked out. It was pretty sad to leave Mamallenas is a very comfortable and friendly placeI was going to include photos of Hostel Mamallenas but the card that was http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Chiriqui/Boquete/blog-352732.html I woke early on Sunday into the relative cool of the morning. I slept incredibly well considering the noise of the city and the 10 or so other people in the dorm room. After making myself a pancake breakfast which is included free in the 11 a night fee which I topped with some Guava jam that I inherited from a girl heading home to New York I made myself a cup of tea and settled down to rea http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama/Panama-City/blog-352416.html What a long and interesting 24 hours I have hadI was running late on Friday morning as I did the last of my preparations for the trip running around getting everything for the princesses ready shoving the rest of my stuff in my pack etc. Sheila was kind enough to drive me to the greyhound station at the last minute and I arrived with about 5 minutes to spare. I took the bus from Courtenay http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama/Panama-City/blog-351976.html Neither of us slept well at Cactus Jack's the bed was terrible and the place was noisy. We checked out and had breakfast at a nearby cafe before driving back to WaiOTapu Thermal Wonderland. We stopped to see the nearby mudpools bubbling away from the underground steam. Inside the park we were treated to pools of boiling chemicals of every colour silicate terraces more mud pools smelly http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Rotorua/blog-57037.html The morning dawned brilliant and sunny and we made plans to do a horse trek in the Taupo area. After a quick breakfast in the hostel kitchen we followed the Huka Falls Loop road and stopped along the way to view the sights.Our first stop was Huka pronounced 'hook ah' Falls. Here water follows a pretty regular stream and then is forced into a narrow deep opening speeding up and churning u http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taupo/blog-57034.html Up early we checked in at the ferry at 7am. I slept well and our small room was quiet though you had to go outside to get to the bathroomThe weather was no clearer for this trip between the islands but we were able to watch some movies and warm up with coffee and tea. This trip we tried the Bluebridge ferry which was different than the last crossing. The ocean was relatively calm and the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Taupo/blog-57033.html I slept right through the alarm at 6am yuck This is a vacation right but I was in the shower by about 620am. After some yoghurt and reheated pizza for breakfast hey it all the food groups right we packed up and headed out the door just before 7am. Outside we were greeted by a pair of Keas mountain parrots. I took some pictures but it was too dark for anything to turn out except th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Picton/blog-57032.html Off to an early start this morning. Eric was up and showering just after 6am. It took me until 630 am to get up but we ate breakfast by 715 and were ready to go. Breakfast is free at The Villa several types of breads and jams cold cereal and milk.On the road we headed south on highway 1 through Blenheim stopping for coffee and a snack at 830 at a place called The Store. With high http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Arthur-s-Pass-National-Park/blog-56323.html I slept well and was up around 8am. Eric and I had a quick cup of tea instand coffee for Eric with Simon and confirmed the plan for the day. Eric and I were on the road around 9am and drove into the city. We navigated to the three buildings in the downtown area which serve as the seat of the NZ Parliament. Building began in 1969 on the Beehive a very strange parliament building of glass an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-55922.html Eric and I were out the door by 730 am and made a quick stop in town to pick up some coffee and snacks. Then we drove south following the highway around the curve of the coastline past the cloud covered peak of Mount Taranaki which some people will know as the mountain that filled in as Mount Fuji in the Tom Cruise movie The Last Samurai. The weather improved steadily over the morning an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-55921.html