whitehorse

With Semana Santa over and the buses running again we were free to travel to our next and final destination: Panama. Our first stop was on the west coast of Panama at a little-known beach called Playa Venao. A prime spot for learning to surf, we stayed in the peaceful area for one week. Playa Venao is a place that, most likely, will be filled with hotels, surf shops, restaurants and condos in a few years to come. But for now, it is just one old bar and a beach, with a wonderful beach break and empty waves. We felt fortunate to experience it in this condition, as construction is already commencing up and down the beach. We rented and shared one 8 ft long board and both managed to learn how to stand up more ... read more

After a week of diving in Hondurous it was time to move on south. On recommendation from some other travelers we decided to check out the Esteli region in the north, known for its agriculture and cowboys. We spent a night in the provincial capital of Estali before heading out to Miraflor reserve. Miraflor reserve is a large farming collective of about 5000 people. They raise cattle, grow crops (including coffee) and live a simple lifestyle sharing and trading what they have. It is all off the grid and they rely on solar power and still enjoy outhouses as their form of plumbing. We did a three night stay with two different families and enjoyed it a lot. Highlights definitely included staying with the very friendly families and getting as close as we have to living ... read more

Our entry into the land of pupusas was very relaxed; we were greeted by a man standing on a bridge who looked at our passports and...that was it. We immediately bused to a small El Salvidorian coffee town in the mountains called Jauyua (WHy-you-ah). After checking out the local waterfalls and swimming holes we had two unique experiences. The first was the weekend food festival where the main streets were packed with hundreds of stalls selling various food dishes, from chicken, beef, sausages, to shrimp cocktails, rabit and frogs. It makes you wish you could eat 10 different plates of food for lunch. This was highlighted by a fun Saturday night where we met some very friendly locals who were proud to be Salvadorians and showed us a good time. The favorite El Salvidorian food is ... read more

Every great trip has to start somewhere. After a great visit in Vancouver, we flew overnight to Belize for our first taste of Central America. Landing in Belize City, we hopped on a water taxi and headed out to Caye Caulker, the popular backpackers hangout. With “Go Slow” as the island motto, we did our best to get into the traveling groove, enjoying the island life for a few days. After a few relaxing days of trying not to get too badly sun burned, we decided to try a sailing trip down the Coast. Despite word of a “cold front” circulating around town we hopped on the “Island Lady” and sailed for three days down to Placencia . The cold front ended up being strong winds and in fact cool weather and was a bit of ... read more