http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/LuAnne/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from LuAnne en-us Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:07:22 +0000 Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:07:22 +0000 Hola Muchachos Sorry for the long posting delay. Internet is slow down here and Irsquom just well lazy. Susan and I are alive and well. We've picked up a pet a hungry kitty we call 'Tacuba'. She is one of the compartments in my small wallet that we 'feed' every morning with money for shared expenses buscab fare entry fees bribes etc.. Shersquos really hungry. Sometimes we hav http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/blog-412672.html June 16th From Guatemala to El SalvadorAnxious to find the road less travelled Susan and I decided to escape Guatemala and head to El Salvador. There were just too many tourists in Guatemala. So from San Marcos la Laguna we began our journey. First by boat then tiny tuk tuk then crummy shuttle van that broke down on the steep climb out of Lake Atitlan then a nice big bus from Guatemala C http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/El-Salvador/blog-409645.html This day Susan and I took a boat to San Marco looking for some peace and quiet with few gringos. San Marcos is supposed to be a place where you meditate and get massages. We found one of the oddest places Ive ever been to To get there we took a boat from Panajachel. The ride was beautiful and relaxing. Many other Pueblos and mansions dot the coastline. When we arrived two street urchins http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lago-de-Atitlan/San-Marcos/blog-409629.html Originally we were thinking of going to Antiqua but heard it was full of tourists. Hoping to bypass the tourist scene we opted to skip Antigua for Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. Bad move ... there are TONS of tourist here. If you want the market scene this is the place. Blocks and blocks and blocks of street vendors and street urchins trying to sell you stuff. And they all are selling the sa http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lago-de-Atitlan/Panajachel/blog-408477.html My girlfriend Susan and I are off on another adventure. Several years ago we went to Honduras and thought it was about time to do another adventure. We are returning again to Central America arriving in Guatamala City and leaving from Managua in about two weeks. Other than that we have no plans other than to get from one place to the other without getting ourselves thrown in jailI always http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Guatemala-City/blog-408473.html To stay an extra day in Bogata was a last minute addon. I usually have no interest in capital cities but I'm glad we did check it out. We spent our day visiting various museums including their well stocked gold museum and strolling through La Candelaria a section of the city with cobbled streets shops crafts and galleries. We ended the day with a cable car trip to the top of Cerro de Mo http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Bogota/blog-407640.html From the US State Department web site travel warning on Colombia Feb 2008 U.S. government officials and their families in Colombia are permitted to travel to major cities in the country but normally only by air. They cannot use inter or intracity bus transportation or travel by road outside of urban areas at night. All Americans in Colombia are urged to follow these precautions.So of co http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Popayan/blog-280599.html Hola AmigosOur trip in Cartagena continued with school and sight seeing. I learn more about Tony each day. He finally got grumpy one day after class when his teacher started going over irregular verb conjugations in the present tense. He wanted the rule for irregular verb conjugations. I tried to explain there was no rules you just have to memorize which ones they are that is why they are http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cali/blog-275620.html For the many friends worried about us being kidnapped dont worry We are not being held hostage We landed Friday morning in Cartagena as planned checked into our hotel in Bocagrande and got some breakfast. I had forgotten about all the different kinds of exotic juices they have in central and south america and Colombia is no different. My new favorite is mora blackberry. That morning I http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Cartagena/blog-273986.html Hello my virtual travellers I'm getting ready to take another trip To Colombia A place I wanted to check out last year while I was in Ecuador but ran out of time.This time I won't be going alone. Mi novio guapissimo my insanely handsome boyfriend Tony will be accompany me to keep me out of trouble by distracting me with salsa dancing Do you think he's up to the challenge Well ... l http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Sacramento/blog-271754.html It's been a week since my return and now that I've had time to process this adventure I thought I would share some final thoughts with you.I know my last entry ended a little sad with me crying on the plane. I sat next to a nica developer and actually started lecturing him about not ruining his beautiful country. He told me to stop crying because I was making him want to cry Nicaragua is extre http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Sacramento/blog-239545.html Well I found lobster Lot's of it Cheap Didn't starve in San Juan del SurSan Juan del Sur is a nice little beach town. However it is a bit touristy relative to the other places I've been. I finally got to do a little bit of souviner shopping although I really wasn't in the shopping mood. Had a bit of a tough time figuring out the bus schedule. I wanted to leave for Managua on Sunday aft http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/San-Juan-Del-Sur/blog-239542.html ok so i think when i left you i was on my way to ometepei received my first proposal on the taxi drive to the ferry dock in ometepe. as a white woman traveling alone the latino men circle like sharks. this is where not knowning spanish has actually come in handy. the conversation usually goes something like thishombre are you traveling aloneyo yeshombre are you marriedyo nohombre d http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/blog-239540.html buenas dias mi amigasyou wont believe the adventure ive been having ... where to startlets see monday morning my plan was to catch the executive service bus from san jose to managua and transfer to rivas along the way. i made it to the station and as soon as i walked in some guy was waving customs slips at me saying something in spanish that of course i could not understand. this is g http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/blog-239539.html Just a quick update ... made it to Rivas Nicaragua where I am now at staying at a palace with real hot water I was supposed to be in Ometepe by now but well as those of you who have traveled with me sometimes things just dont go as planned I outdid myself this time .... will write more later but just wanted to let you know Ive been able to keep myself fed and sheltered Im very tired http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/blog-239535.html hey ... sorry for the lack of punctuation. im using a weird foreign keyboard and dont want to take the time to figure it out.after an almost cancelled flight due to an ice storm in dallas i made it to warm and rainy san jose late thursday night. so far its been a fun and eventful trip yay at least the key works laura and james ceremony was one of the most beautiful and touching ones iv http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/blog-239514.html I have been back now for several weeks. I spent my first visiting my sister in Miami and in Orlando to see my mom and attend the wedding of my niece. My sister made me a fruit and cheese plate and a glass of wine the night I returned and I marveled at the variety of cheese selection triple cream brie and manchego No queso fresco which I like but gets boring when that is all there is I also http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Sacramento/blog-166847.html Well my friends Wednesday morning I got off my lazy butt and made my way to Otavalo to spend my final days in Ecuador. I'm glad I did. Otavalo is a small indigenous town smaller than Cuenca but much larger than Vilcabamba. It is well known for its artisan markets. On Saturdays it is so large tourist come by the busload to buy stuff. I certainly took advantage of it as up until now I had boug http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/North/Otavalo/blog-166714.html I just cant believe my luck. My journey just keeps getting better and better. I mean how can you top my Galapagos adventure I left you in Guayaquil right In order to search for Horse Heaven. Well I found it in Vilcabamba A friend looked up a description of Vilcabamba and sent it to me. I cant describe it any better. It is described as a small corner of paradise where the mountains hold http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/South/Vilcabamba/blog-163228.html Itinerary Day 1 Sunday Arrival on Baltra airport North Seymour Day 2 Monday Chinese Hat Bartholomew Sullivan Bay Day 3 Tuesday Genovesa Prince Philip Steps Darwin Bay Day 4 Wednesday Puerto Egas Rbida Day 5 Thursday Darwin Station Highlands of Santa Cruz Day 6 Friday Espatola Punta Surez Playa Gardner Day 7 Saturday Santa Fe South Plazas Day 8 Sunday Black Turtle Cove http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Galapagos/blog-158567.html