http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/El-Desperado-de-las-Montanas/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from El Desperado de las Montanas en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:14:45 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:14:45 +0000 We parked in the parking lot then descended past the gates of the fancy hotel. When we arrived at the river we cornered a couple lizards onto a rock near the waters edge and as we advanced closer they lept sprinting across the water's steaming surface. An amazing feat of speed and agility each step taken before the last could sink. We lower into the warm water and position ourselves behind http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Alajuela/Arenal/blog-316149.html Wandering along muddy trails through barbed wire fences past cows horses and pigs feeding in the green rolling hills speckled with banana mango and avocado trees. We finally stumble upon the farm and see the familiar pasty white back of our giant Canadian friend Liam standing under a thatched palapa against the backdrop of the lake. Liam is a good friend of ours from language school in Gua http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/blog-301968.html My worn sandal soles struggle to grip the steep muddy path. We stop to observe some petroglyphs carved into a stone by the side of the trail. A sun various geometric shapes and what sorta looks like an animal etched into the rock. Remains of a past civilization people who long ago inhabited this land fished its waters and cultivated its soil. The island still remains sparsely developed but http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/blog-301959.html We couldn't go the the Mayan Ruins at Copan because there was a large protest against the government who expropriated valuable land for tourism from poor local farmers without compensation. Hopefully there will be justice but not likely with the history of Honduras and the current governments attitude toward the poor. We instead went to a bird sanctuary in the mountains. I lost my jounal with http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Copan-Ruins/blog-300104.html Spent over two weeks at the tranquilo Horizonte Beach Resort. I lost my jounal with this entry but will eventually write something about this awsome surf spot but here are some pictures. This was one of our favorite places on the trip so far. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/El-Zonte/blog-300084.html The soothing sound of churning waves. The fresh smell of salty air carried by a cooling breeze. Powerful sunlight filtered through leaves and tree branches warms as it's absorbed into my skin. Soft grains of sand between my toes. The flat line of the horizon formed over the distant ocean as the earth curves out of sight. Soft billowing clouds float effortlessly in the blue sky constantly shi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/San-Juan-Del-Sur/blog-300107.html Perched precariously over the cliff edge I watch the clouds wisp by below as I puff on a 5 cent hand rolled cigar. Sitting on the boarder of safety and danger with hundreds of feet of air dangling beneath my feet fills me with a sense of being alive. The soothing echo of the 1000 ft water fall and the calming sound of wind rustling through the trees as it blows the shifting clouds over the r http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Gracias/Parque-Nacional-Celaque/blog-300089.html Taking the scenic HWY 2 we cruised along the El Salvadorian coast passing farms and towns scattered along the semi mountainous jungle landscape. The fresh smell of post rain fills the air. We stopped in the town of Sunzal which is said to have one of the longest point breaks in Central America and checked in to a cheap hotel with a pool and use of their kitchen. After taking a dip in the pool http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/El-Sunzal/blog-292588.html After leaving Monterico the fastest way to the El Salvador boarder was by ferry. We drove the truck onto a 40 ft rickety wooden boat and prayed it wouldn't sink. The boat ride was fun as we sat on top of the truck listening to music as we cruised through the canals toward the boarder. Safely arriving on solid ground we paid the ferry captain 75Q 10 and drove the rest of the way to El Sa http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/blog-292027.html We entered town and turned toward the beach. When we paused to gain our bearings and choose a course of action a cute little local girl ran up to the window to suggest some places to stay. She was about nine years old and a hard worker running ahead of the truck directing us to various establishments. We checked out a couple before checking into the Marlin hotel. A color changing pool ch http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Monterrico/blog-291246.html After a month of being stationary the restless urge to hit the road stirred heavily in my body and mind. We said good bye to our friends and families packed our belongings in the truck and left our temporary home but not before picking up an additional traveler to toss in the back seat. Her name is Terra and she's from Wisconsin. She asked if she could tag along with us for a few weeks hit http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lago-de-Atitlan/blog-290969.html For the past month I've been studying at Juan Sisay Spanish school in Xela Guatemala. It's been a different experience than I expected but highly enjoyable. We met a great group of students and the times we shared were reminiscent of the days of college where we studied hard and played hard going to five hours of Spanish class then usually a school arranged activity before drinking with frie http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Quetzaltenango/blog-286235.html From Tikal we drove through Flores and San Andres stopping to restock on supplies. We then headed north toward the remote Mayan ruins of El Mirador which contains the tallest Mayan temple El Tigre. The sun was setting so we pulled off onto an abandoned road that was blocked by some logs. We moved the logs and parked out of sight from the main road. In the morning we packed our backpacking b http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/El-Peten/blog-280921.html I opened my eyes to see a large hairy spider resting on top of my mosquito net a foot above my face. The sky had lightened slightly so I carefully slid out from under my bug shelter to check the time. Five forty time to go to the ruins. We bought tickets and entered with the opening of the gate at ten till six. The plan was to catch the tail end of the sun rise from he top of the tallest te http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/El-Peten/Tikal/blog-280912.html On our way toward Belize's western boarder with Guatemala we stopped at the Blue Hole National Park to check out a swimming hole cenote and a system of caves. The cenote was refreshing but not as impressive as the ones we saw in Mexico. After cooling off we took a 2.5 mile trail towards the caves. The trail was lined with information signs describing local birds. The mosquitoes were out in fo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/blog-277618.html Placencia is a relaxed beach town in south eastern Belize that is situated at the end of a long peninsula. After 20 miles of bumpy dirt road we arrived in town looking for a place to stay. An interesting aspect of the town is that its main road is actually a footpath near the beach where all the hotels are located. We parked the car at the harbor and walked to Lucia's Travel Inn which offers http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Stann-Creek-District/Placencia-Village/blog-277627.html From the highway we turned off onto a dirt road toward cockscomb wildlife sanctuary the only sanctuary established specifically for the preservation of wild jaguars. We began to descend into the lush semimountainous jungle where these impressive predators reside. Arriving at the visitors center we paid the park admissions and campsite fees reviewed the trail map then headed toward some water http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/blog-277615.html Reaching the boarder a little after six in the evening we passed through with surprising ease. We were unsure why no one wanted to stamp our passports or search the truck so we pulled over at an auto insurance booth to ask about the Belizian boarder crossing formalities. They told us to cross back over the boarder and on the other side there was a blue booth that would collect our Mexican touri http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/Belize-District/Crooked-Tree/blog-277343.html After traveling for a month through this great expanse of land we say ''Adios'' to Mexico... for now. After consuming nearly 5000 miles of road under our black treads we have become accustomed to the sights and cultures of this land. The familiar image of cinder block houses run down cars and brown skin provides a recognizable continuity from day to day as the kilometers rush past the window http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/blog-272590.html The great castillo is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and interesting structures I've ever seen. It is a physical representation of the Mayan calender. The nine levels are divided into two by a staircase representing the 18 months of the calender year. There are 91 steps on each o the 4 stair cases which when combined with the top platform makes 365 the number of days in a year. On ea http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/Chich%E9n-Itz%E1/blog-264471.html