LaurenL

So...here it goes. I missed the ferry over to Utila. Decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to head back into town, spend the night, and leave early the next morning. Little did I know that it was the local Carnaval. The biggest party in Central America. And I happened to be there for the last weekend of this huge festival. That meant that there were absolutely no open hotel rooms. I went around to about 7 of them, was near tears, frustrated, and couldn't believe my bad timing. I finally found this crappy hotel that would sell me a double room for close to 40 dollars (they usually cost about 4 dollars). I held back tears, and figured I had to do it. They needed cash straight up...so I had to ... read more

As i left off in my last blog, we made it to Antigua in one piece. What a journey that was! Antigua is an absolutely beautiful city. It's got loads of ruined churches and old buildings with tons of character (earthquakes have their way with the city occasionally). We spent a couple days getting lost among the cracked facades, crazy markets and cobbled streets. Alison, Jade, Cara and myself got along really well. We partied it up a few nights, and were all great roomates - despite the fact that we were in the smallest room EVER. There were 4 bunk beds (8 people) with only the floor space in the middle for backpacks and whatnot - tight squeeze! Aside from the city of Antigua itself, the volcano Pacaya - about an hour and a ... read more

Nicaragua en Photos... Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » San Juan Del Sur By LaurenL May 11th 2007 Lauren LaBrosseHere's a bunch of photos...enjoy - and comment away! These are from San Juan del Sur...Isla Ometepe...and Grenada... More stories and more photos to come!... read more

I finished up my travels through Costa Rica with a stop in La Fortuna - near the Arenal volcano. It was a nice place to hang out (met a cool chick from North Van and a dude from Amsterdam) and play some cards, swim in swimming holes, hike to waterfalls and also relax in the Hot Springs! And relax we did! There were 16 pools with 16 different temperatures of water - all lit up beautifully (we went in the evening) and a swim up bar in a couple of the pools also - along with little waterfalls everywhere! I felt like i was in a 7 star resort for a few hours. What a nice change! I left Arenal and planned to make it to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua in a day. Unfortunately ... read more

Let me start off by saying --- Bocas is amazing, Panama is redeemed, and all is well. And i'll follow that with another apology...it's so hard to keep this updated!! Either I am having too much fun, internet is crappy, or internet is tooo expensive to spend an hour or two doing photos and whatnot!! And besides...all the best stories have to be told..not read! In this blog you will hear me rant and rave about the wonderful and incredible and beautiful and funnest place in central america (so far...and well...i guess it´s really the only place i've been since panama city...so..hmm...maybe not the best parameters...ANYWAY) Bocas del Toro. Caribbean coast of Panama. Stunning! I was supposed to be there for the weekend..and ended up there for almost two and a half weeks! Talk about ... read more

I left Cuenca and took a night bus to Baños. A simple 7 hour ride, however, turned into a 13 hour nightmare!!! The bus left at 10pm..and it all started out perfectly - the man across the aisle from me is a professor at the university in Cuenca, and so his spanish was sooo easy to understand and it was really enjoyable to chit chat with him - because i could almost understand everything! Things took a turn for the worst as soon as I sort of fell asleep. The bus stopped...and at first I thought it was a regular check point, or bathroom stop...or something like that. Unfortunately no...there was a land slide! And we ended up stuck there from midnight until 6am!! And to top it all off, teh professor was the loudest ... read more