Hello! Merry Christmas. We made it to Chile! Our travels to Chile were alright... our plane was delayed at least 2 hours while we had to stay on it and wait. To top it off We had, for whatever reason, an extra small row, which for MArty does not work very well. So we arrived in Santiago 2 hours late with no way of letting my friend Belen know this. She was waiting for us when we arrived and it was so great to see her. We went out for sushi immediatly, which is Marty goal for the trip, to each seafood at least once a aday, I do not think that should be a problem. That night we went to visit my friend Dave in El Centro. He made us guacamole, pebre and bean dip ... read more

Hello all- This is a test blog after adding a few folks. Marty and I are counting the days...3 and half, till we are off on our first big adventure together. For me it is a return to a place I never wanted to leave in the first place. I will be reconnecting with friends not seen for far too long and introducing Marty to my other world. I am bursting with fruit flavor waiting for it all to begin. We need to pack. Good news is we actually don't have to pay for check- in baggage, due to the distance we are traveling. We need to finish up Christmas in the States, which has involved making cut out cookie and decorating them and spending time with good friends and will involve a special "Christmas Eve" ... read more

I am on my way back up and man does it feel good. Part of me feels like I´ve been traveling forever and to tell you the truth it is a little odd to be heading back, even though I am excited to be. I need to catch up on this blog, I am still in Panama which I left 2 weeks ago... So, From Bocas Brava I went to Boquete which is a little mountain town... I had heard some people describe it as similar to a Colorado town, but could not for the life of me see what they meant, it being a sinlge season town... but once I was there I understood. It is everything that you love about mountain towns in Colorado in the spring. I stayed here 2 days, did ... read more

This is meant to be the blog where I take a long while to bitch and moan about how incredibly awful and simply incorrect the Lonely Planet Guide book is. But I don´t have the ganas to go into it all anymore, except to say that I had let several inconsistancies slide because I thought they must be random, isolated instances, but I have now realized they are not and have written Lonely Planet and told them just a few of their flaws and explained why I would never be using their guide again, back to Rough Guide it is. So, after lovely El Valle I went, having read all about it in the guide, to Las Tables and Pedasi on the peninsula. I was hoping to be by the ocean and relax for a ... read more

I took a side trip from Panama city to Portobello and Isla Grande. Portobello is an old port town, nothing much special here expect for the forts which still remain well intack and the city itself is pretty. On down the road for about an hour you come to the place to take a boat over to Isla Grande. This place was paradise, especially after having been in the city for awhile. We got an awesome place right on the beach and went swimming right away. I love the Carribean!! So clear, so warm. I saw my first macaw in the wild, a blue and gold one here. Only spend a nite and 2 days here, but it was really great. Hiked up over the island which was really pretty. Less then a month till ... read more

I finally left San Juan Del Sur after a week of loving it there. Made my way back to Costa Rica. I spent a day and nite in Liberia, which is just a city and not all that worth it, but it was a good day of rest. From there I bused to Playa Del Coco where I was hoping to meet a friend of a good friend of mine, Valentina from Chile. I got a hotel and went straight to the beach, which wasn´t as nice as San Juan Del Sur as far as swimming and laying out goes, but it worked just fine. Then I walked around a bit looking for the resteruant Valentina told me her friend Paula owned. I couldn´t find it and I asked a few people who told me ... read more