You've had to read enough horror stories about my transport throughout Central America. Today the travel Gods were smiling down on me. Today everything went right. Surprise! surprise! I left my sweet hotel in San Salvador at 5:30 this morning for an 8:30 flight to Honduras. I was checked in and waiting at the gate by 7 A:M that may not sound like anything special, but trust me, it is. Anyone who has flown out of a South or Central American airport knows that when they tell you to be there 3 hours ahead of flight time, they aren't kidding. Even [View Full Entry]

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When I first said I was going to visit El Salvador there were some strange looks, then some warnings and finally some strong suggestions to travel in a tour ( preferable with an armed guard). I took the advice and signed up for a tour with a company called ' Amortours'. My contact ( this was done entirely by e-mail) was Ana Maria Chavez. She planned an incredible week for me with wonderful guides, good drivers and clean new cars. the hotels she selcted were wonderful. Here are a few of the websites for you to see for yourself. Hotel Los [View Full Entry]

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What a surprise and delight El Salvador has been! When I planned this trip I thought many times about adding El Salvador. It has a reputation for being very dangerous. what I have found is a peaceful country, lovely people, swet little villages and one of hte most beutiful hotels I've ever experienced in over 30 years of traveling. I did heed many warnings from family and friends and decided to book a tour rather than do the collectivo vans and buses by myself. ( I can be up for an adventure but I'm not crazy). Turns out I am on [View Full Entry]

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The church bells started clanging at 5:30 AM. It was Sunday morning in Leon, Nicaragua home of at least 17 churches including the largest cathedral, actually a basilica, in Central America. Construction was started in 1747. It is so large that the story told is that a bogus set of design plans were submitteed to the Spanish imperial authorities because they feared the real plans would be turned down. And, like the Santa Croce church in Florence where so many notables are buried, hereto are the tombs of the some of the most famous figures in Nicaraguan literature amongh them the [View Full Entry]

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Perhaps some of you are wondering what a 63 year old woman with bad knees is doing roaming around Central America. Having a damn good time for one thing. Learning Spanish for another and meeting lots of folks who have ´voted with their feet´after the last election and are moving out of the country permanently. For the last 4 years I have been going to wonderful cities and countries to learn Spanish. I have enough certificates that say I have completed ´Curso 1´to paper a closet. I am so happy to say that I have finally made it into ´Curso 2´and [View Full Entry]

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Perhaps some of you are wondering what a 63 year old woman with bad knees is doing roaming around 5 countries in Central America. Having a darn good time for one thing, learning Spanish for another, and to be really honest, escaping another fun New England winter. For the last 4 years I have gone to wonderful countries and cities to learn Spanish ( Oaxaca, Mexico; Seville, Spain; Cuenca, Ecucador and this year to Costa Rica). I have enough certificates that say I have completed ' Curso1' to paper a closet. Finally, I am happy to say, I am in 'Curso [View Full Entry]

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Mark Twain or Ben Franklin or Paul Theroux or Robert Louis Stevenson -all great travelers and writers said it best¨" Your trip begins the minute you leave the door of one 'home' and enter another." And so it was yesterday as I made my way on what I thought was going to be a zippy little 45 minute flight from San Jose', Costa Rica to Managua, Nicaragua. Knowing my way around a few So. Am. airports I know to give myself more than enough time since there are 2 types of time in the world: Latin and Central Am. and the [View Full Entry]

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So there I was, in the dark, in a bathing suit, trying to keep my towel dry, standing under some large palm fronds.... let me back up here. Last weekend I took a trip with some others from school to La Fortuna. It was billed as the jeep-boat-jeep tour. And that is exactly what I got. I was picked up, close to my family's house, at 7:30 a.m.. After gathering a few more students we were off on another one of 'Mr. Toad's Wild Rides'. Oh, maybe I haven't told you in detail about the roads in Monteverde. This is truly [View Full Entry]

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Hola. Finally, I had the chance to see the beautiful side of Costa Rica. The school I am at, Centro Panamericano de Idiomas ( CPI), offers many excursions to places in Costa Rica. This week I took a 'jungle cruise' to Sarapiqui. After an 1 hour and 1/2 ride on what is one of the main roads from Puerto Limon, a road that would be deemed impassable in my neck of the woods, we arrived at a swift flowing green and brown colored river. Boat safety? I think not. No life preservers were offered nor none in evidence. I felt better [View Full Entry]

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Hola Familia y amigas, I don't actually start my Spanish classes until Monday but it never hurts to start practicing. Actually, I've been getting a lot of practice this week as I've had some wonderful visits with Delta Kappa Gamma ( DKG) members here in San Jose. What is DKG you say? First, I'll tell you what it isn't. It isn't a sorority. It is a 75 year old honor society for key women educators with over 140,000 members. I was honored to be invited to join 25 years ago. It has been a very important part of my life. DKG [View Full Entry]

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