http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Walk-Help-Roam/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Walk Help Roam en-us Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:33:43 +0000 Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:33:43 +0000 The last few weeks of our travels have been a slightly odd period. A mental battle between enjoying the last drops of our walkhelproam experience and wanting to get home and put in place our next chosen acts. So it was with a certain relief that we entered Mexico City our final stop. This fabulous journey of experiences many that we will be dissecting and analysing for some time was drawing to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Distrito-Federal/Mexico-City/blog-384508.html We didnrsquot accomplish a lot on our first day in Oaxaca as we were still feeling the effects of our turbulent mountain traverse the day before. Upon first pass the city of Oaxaca seemed a pretty decent spot. Its Zocalo the square at the centre of the city was impressive with its colonial architecture and a teaming crowd of people either enjoying a drink in one of the multitude of cafes or st http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-384506.html Apparently the best way to get to Oaxaca from Puerto Escondido was on one of the frequent express van services. These went straight over the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range rather than taking three hours longer going via the highways and avoiding the high peaks. It was a pretty straight forward choice as we had already clocked up over 25 hours on Mexicorsquos buses so unnecessary extra hours http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Oaxaca/blog-383771.html We arrived bleary eyed in Puerto Escondido after completing our thirteen hour overnight bus journey from San Cristobal. Having had a decent amount of kip between us on Mexicorsquos comfy albeit a little pricey first class bus service followed by a quick stop for breakfast and we felt ready to commence the accommodation search. Not wooed at our first stop with its brash American owner trying to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Oaxaca/Puerto-Escondido/blog-383759.html The promise that San Cristobal would be sat beneath cloudless strikingly blue skies was fulfilled. At over 2100m above sea level the air was clean and fresh with the only draw back being that once the sun went down it become fairly chill. Upon arrival to a new place wersquove enhanced our accommodation search tactics. Heading straight to look at potential hostels laden with all our stuff always http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/San-Cristobal-de-las-Casas/blog-380838.html Mexico is a country that conjures up lots of associated imagery from brightly dressed Mexicanrsquos sporting vast sombreros to its famous cuisine including tacos enchiladas burritos and quesadillas. This imagery brought with it the expectation that when we crossed from Guatemala into Mexico we would likely experience the same clear material wealth difference as Nicaragua to Costa Rica. However http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/El-Panchan/blog-380631.html Our last stop in Guatemala didnrsquot quite work out as planned. Having discovered that one of our debit cards had been cloned and so the account suspended until we return home we rather lost confidence in Guatemalarsquos sketchy looking and apparently insecure cash machines. Without wanting to risk our second and now only debit card we totted up our remaining Quetzels the local dosh. With m http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-379510.html The transport links in Guatemala got a little more complex from Xela. The options were a two day six bus combo or a long day with Guatemala City bus changeover. Whilst not ecstatic about heading back through Guatemala City Guate as the locals call it it seemed the best choice to get to Coban.Between Guatemala City and San Salvador El Salvador itrsquos a close call as to which is the most dan http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lanquin/blog-379220.html Xela shela is at around 2200m and gets very chilly at night. The big draw that brought us to Xela was to hike up the dormant volcano Santa Maria which stands at just over 3700m and peer down upon the active volcano Santiaguito 2500m to watch its hourly eruptions. Eduardo was our man to lead this compelling adventure. Apparently hersquos a famous character as he was proudly telling us of the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Quetzaltenango/Volcan-Santa-Maria/blog-377606.html Lake Atitlan once said to be the most beautiful lake on earth by Aldous Huxley offers up an array of lake side town options which you can make your base. We opted for San Pedro as the main alternative San Marcos was billed as Hippie Ville. Rik the slightly Bohemian and highly fascinating Welsh potter wersquod met a few days earlier whilst hiking up Volcano Pacaya had even given San Marcos a http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Lago-de-Atitlan/San-Pedro-La-Laguna/blog-377603.html After a brief overnight in the distinctly insalubrious Ocetepeque a Honduran border town 15 minutes from El Salvador and 30 minutes from Guatemala and a quick change of bus in Guatemala City and we arrived in Antigua. Our now much thumbed Lonely Planet describes Antigua as Guatemala if the Scandinavians took over. As this was our first stop we didnrsquot really have any references to properly http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/Antigua/blog-377598.html Utila is known for being the cheapest place on earth to gain your PADI diving qualifications. However it wasnrsquot the diving wersquod come for but to snorkel on the worldrsquos second largest reef. We had found Honduras a pretty inexpensive country with accommodation noticeably cheaper than Nicaragua. Although the Bay Islands carry their premium we found a cheap seafacing balconied hoste http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Bay-Islands/Utila/blog-374372.html Ticabus did the job. We were whisked north across the border into Honduras and onwards to our next stop. The general advice on Honduras that we had received was to avoid it. Consequently images of a sun baked treeless rubbish filled unfriendly and charmless place had been created in our minds. Instead we discovered a damp verdant cared for hospitable and endearing land.We had jumped off Tica http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Lago-de-Yojoa/blog-374371.html As strangely normal as it was to have the parents with us it felt equally so to have them leave. The two weeks had worked out well. The travelling comfort that Costa Rica offers gave us the ideal relaxed and well managed setting to have the parents looked after and provided a good blend of entertainment options. An impressive wildlife tally realised suntans achieved bit crispy in places and som http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/San-Juan-Del-Sur/blog-373321.html When planning the itinerary for the parents we had thought hard about whether to include Manuel Antonio Costa Ricarsquos most visited reserve. Reports were that although a stunning strip of sand on the Pacific coast the rush to capitalise on the tourist dollar had rendered it rather characterless and overtaken by a few too many hotels. However what we discovered on arrival after finally emerg http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Puntarenas/Manuel-Antonio/blog-373311.html Leaving La Fortuna and its cloudy volcano behind us we took to the dirt roads in our private transport well parents need comfort in search of our next stop about 1700m above sea level in Santa Elena. Like La Fortuna the once sleepy farming community of Santa Elena was now a honeypotsite for any tourist or wildlife enthusiast who ventures into Costa Rica. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Alajuela/La-Fortuna/blog-373305.html La Fortuna had apparently been a sleepy farming community until a rather spectacular eruption of its nearby volcano in 1968. Since then regular minor volcanic activity had drawn the tourists and catalysed the arrival of souvenir shops restaurants cafes hotels and spas to service the predominantly American visitors. La Fortuna was really the first clear sign on our trip that the impacts of the f http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/Alajuela/Arenal/blog-367414.html We had a day to prepare the ground in San Jose before the parents landed. They were due in late that evening so we dutifully lined up a sandwich and tropical fruits picnic for their arrival snack. Our evening at the airport proved entertaining as we lived the anguish of the taxi drivers. Those who had bookings firmly pressed their name cards against the windows of the arrivals area desperate for t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/San-Jose/blog-367410.html We had taken onboard a glowing recommendation from a Swedish couple that wersquod met in Boquete to include three nights in Panamarsquos only cloud forest on our itinerary. A great opportunity to hone our wildlife spotting abilities ahead of Costa Rica and three nights for the price of two had us sold.Hostels can attract some very awkward blends of folk but equally they have an uncanny ability http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Chiriqui/Cerro-Punta/blog-367405.html After another overnight with our purple friends in David it was onwards to Panama City. As the canal was the only thing that we knew about Panama prearrival we had it embedded in our itinerary from day one. However with the rest of the Central American capital cities that we had encountered so far leaving us less than enthused we wondered what Panamarsquos capital would offer during our five http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/blog-367397.html