http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Sheeptours/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Sheeptours en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:20:43 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:20:43 BST Day 234 Think of a journey time and then add three hoursUp at the crack of dawn I was hanging around the bus station waiting for my bus at six o'clock this morning. Having been through everyone's paperwork it was over an hour before we finally pulled out of the station heading south towards the border. We had a few scheduled stops to pick up various other people en route reaching the first pa http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/San-Jose/blog-293881.html Day 233 cont One night in ManaguaBack in Managua I found my luggage and undertook the challenging task of negotiating a fair price for a taxi to a hostel. Arriving just before dark I checked into my dingy lodgings right next to the bus terminal and went to confirm my bus for the next day. Short of cash I needed to visit the ATM two blocks away. This proved to be something of a mission as the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Managua/blog-293880.html Day 228 Taxi bus taxi plane taxi boat walkIt's been one of those exhausting days of travelling today. Starting early I got a taxi to the bus station in Leon and then picking up breakfast from a street vendor caught a bus to Managua. A long hot sticky bus ride later I found myself ditched at the side of a main road in central Managua. From here the only option was a taxi to the airpo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Corn-Islands/blog-293879.html Day 226 Plan CSo the more observent amongst you will notice that I haven't actually made it to Ometepe. In fact I think I might have completely scrapped that idea and am instead planning on meeting up with the dutch girls again on the Corn Islands. They head out there this morning and since it's meant to be really beautiful and I do need some sea and sun before I go home I've decided to join http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Leon/blog-293878.html Day 218 Beguiling GranadaI wasn't feeling so fabulous this morning but fortunately managed to wake up fifteen minutes before check in and after some speedy packing me and Chris went for a much needed breakfast. Not hugely disimilar from a traditional Costa Rican breakfast traditional Nicaraguan morning fare involves much beans rice and plantain. We skipped on the beers that the next table we http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Granada/blog-283444.html Day 217 Muchos TravellingI wasn't sure how far I'd get today. In the absence of direct buses to Granada from Monteverde apart from the uberexpensive tourist shuttles that is my journey was invariably going to involve a lot of waiting around at stops and terminals and slow transport on the public buses that would certainly pick up anyone and everyone they encountered along the way. First journ http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/San-Juan-Del-Sur/blog-283443.html Day 215 TorrentsI can't remember the last time I saw proper sunshine. Waking up early today I again found that there was a torrential thunderstorm outside but the journey had to continue and at eight o'clock I met the Israeli guys ready to get a jeep to Lake Arenal twenty minutes away down a dirt road. From here it was a forty minute boat trip and then another long and painful journey bou http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Monteverde/blog-281590.html Day 213 The long and rainy road northReaching one of San Jose's many bus stations at the very sociable hour of quarter past eight I met a few other people looking to go to La Fortuna a town in the north of the country. Having paid for our tickets we climbed aboard the ancient bus and were shortly off on our way out of the big city along winding country roads heading towards La Fortuna. I'm http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Alajuela/La-Fortuna/blog-281144.html Day 212 Bordering on chaosUp before six I knew I was in for a long journey today as I packed up my things this morning and boarded a yellow school bus for David the town near the Panamerican Highway. From David I caught a shuttle bus up to the border and after an hour and a half stopping off at every town and village in the vicinity of the highway I reached the chaotic scenes that marked t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/blog-281138.html Day 208 Panamerican passage to the hills beyondNot wanting to be searching out new lodgings in the dark I had to set off early this morning and having got up before the pervy security guard had poked his nose round the door I got a taxi to the bus terminal and caught the eight o'clock bus to David. Fairly uneventful the journey was fairly restricted to the usually tarmacked roads of the Panam http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Boquete/blog-279436.html Day 206 Traumatic flights unique bus journeys and famous waterwaysHaving had to wait until nine o'clock to check my luggage in I was told that I was 'overweight' and would have to pay extra. I didn't know there was a baggage limit but after some negotiations I loaded half of my things into my daypack. Initially this seemed to appease the airport staff but I was a bit shocked when five minu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama-City/blog-278769.html Day 204 Entering PanamaGetting up at halffive wasn't too much of a struggle since it was already light and rather warm. I packed up and was ready for the off within half an hour making my way down to the bus stop by the beach. Although the bus wasn't officially timetabled to arrive until halfpast six it's widely accepted that schedules are estimates and buses don't generally hang around wai http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Bocas-Del-Toro/Isla-Colon/blog-277644.html Day 202 Onward down the coastI had a leisurely start this morning visiting the local cafe for another rather filling breakfast beginning with a big bowl of fruit and a glass of pineapple juice with a second course of gallo pinto a traditional brekkie consisting of a mound of rice beans scrambled eggs and toast. It was then a short waddle back to my hostel to pack up my things and take them http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Limon/Puerto-Viejo-de-Talamanca/blog-277321.html Day 200 The Caribbean CoastArriving at Cahuita's brand spanking new bus terminal midafternoon I walked in the direction of the beach looking for somewhere to stay ending up at a lodge that's only about ten metres from the sea. On the downside nothing seems to work in my room. The electric cable going to the shower to provide hot water looks like it caught fire a while ago the fan is thick wi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Limon/Cahuita/blog-276366.html Day 198 Journey into the JungleHaving been prewarned about the rather limited supply of cashpoints on the Caribbean coast I thought I'd be on the safe side and get a bit more cash out before heading east. The fact that streets don't have names in Costa Rica and that all navigation needs to be done using local landmarks proved to be a bit of a problem as a newcomer with no knowledge of local lan http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Limon/Tortuguero-National-Park/blog-276365.html Day 197 The second leg of the journey and my eventual arrival in San JoseThe saying Getting there is half the fun became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines. Henry J. Tillman The plane landed in Miami at about halffive this morning and although tired I was soon actively engaged in the faff required to pass through an American airport despite just being in transit. After filling http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/San-Jose/blog-275242.html Day 194 Big City LifeAfter a very leisurely and filling breakfast I made my way back to Valparaiso bus station and caught the midday bus back to Santiago. An hour and a half of travelling across desert scenery followed I stayed awake this time before we pulled into an unfamiliar bus stop to the south of town. Fortunately there was a metro nearby and I steeled myself to brave the joys of t http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Santiago-Region/Santiago/blog-274333.html Day 192 Chile's answer to BrightonI initially woke up at two this morning and with my ipod turned up so as to drown out the incredibly loud snoring emanating from the seat behind me it was another three hours before I finally drifted off again. I didn't manage to sleep for long since at halfpast six I was haunted by one of Argentina's staple dishes as a round of ham and cheese sandwiches we http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Valparaiso-Region/Valparaiso/blog-273658.html Day 189 Puking to Pucon'You live and learn. At any rate you live'. Douglas AdamsI take almost full responsibility for the mess I was in for the journey today I woke up at quarter past eight with fifteen minutes to pack and get to the bus station. Fortunately I was still a bit drunk and the full weight of the hangover hadn't kicked in as I threw everything into my backpack and got a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Chile/Araucania/Pucon/blog-272894.html Day 185 cont Back at base I got back to Bariloche in the early evening and caught a taxi straight back to Perikos the hostel on the hill where I had stayed the previous week. After popping to the supermarket to stock up on provisions it was a nutritious pot of pasta and tomatoes a reliable staple for dinner before spending the evening chatting to the other people at the hostel one or two of http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Argentina/Rio-Negro/San-Carlos-de-Bariloche/blog-271862.html