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Published: December 15th 2008
wow has it really been two weeks since i last updated you all. i have been away from computers or too busy to sit and write about all the fun i have been having. last time i wrote i was in las pinitas nicarauga in the mangrove tour.
12/3
so after that me and my travel buddies went back to leon and stayed in a hostel called la tortuga. they have free pancakes coffee, internet and it is only six a nite. leon is a cool town, but i have seen lots of central american towns. i did find some good mini speakers for my ipod. went to the top of the main church for a tour and great views. still unable to cash travelers checks and my reserve funds are getting low. it was nice to have a kitchen as well at the hostel so i could save money on food. tomorrow i am off to el salvador.
12/4
felling very sick today. lets just say i was on the pot alot. woke up early to get ready to travel. had more pancakes and coffee amd said my goodbyes to everyone. got in the taxi and had perfect timing to catch the bus. so tired today with like only 4 hours of sleep. not feeling good for travels. been reading a lot of good books too. had just fininshed a book called blood in the sky and xchanged it for another book by elmore leonard called detroit high noon.
so i kept travelling today and had to take a mini bus then a chicken bus, old school bus from chinedaga to gausale for the border. there was a buch of guys w bike taxis on the bus before i got off wanting to give me a ride. they were flys on shit and wouldnt lv me alone. so finally i got on with a guy named alex who said it was 3k and it was only 1k. he charged like a quarter. then he wanted a xmas tip and i said no. then he took me to a money xchange guy and i got ripped offf like 9$ on a 25$ xchange. so that really sucked, but alex got his xmas tip. got into hondurous and took another chicken bus to choluteca and it was a real crap town and i stayed in a place called the pacifica. they did have tv so i wasnt so bored and a wendys down the street so i ate some good old fast food. well i have to catch a truch to a place called the earth lodge in an hour so i will add more tonite.
love u all.
dave
12 5
up way early to get out of the crap hole chuleteca. packed and left by 630 and took bus to amatillo which is a border town to el salvador. enjoyed some bus stop food and a coke bought with the good ole mighty dollar. took bus to san miguel and another to villa el triunfo. peed behind the bus to save 35 cents. this micro took me santiago de maria then waited for another bus, but a guy w a truck took a truckload of us up to alegria for 40 cents. stayed at the hotel la palma for 10$ a night. walked to the laguna which cost 25 cents to get into. guide book said it was 2k downhill, but it was really 4k uphill. cool spot to relax and finish my book. a GUY HEADING DOWN gave me a ride for free and then i was starving and went to eat at pueblit resturaunt and had steak, jumbo shrimp, potato salad, salad, rice and coke for just 10$. a couple of gringos came in and we started chatting and they were from whistler bc, both artists and named dan and corrina. we decided to hang out and we watched a horrible movie called kush. while we were watching the movie we heard a guitar in the park and after it was done we went out and me 5 local guys and sang songs w them and learned some new dirty words in spanish. we went to bed and decided to travel together to the beach of el zonte.
12 6
woke up early and dan and corrina and i decided to hike a trail up thru the coffee finca to the rim of the volcano over the laguna. it was quite an adventure and we were soon off trail and wishing we had a machette. we found a faint trail and kept at it and finally made it up. took a bunch of pix and then found a very easy trail back. got back to town and ate lunch at el portal. i had chicken breast and rice. we packed up for the beach and were waiting on the corner for the bus and guy asked where we were heading and we told him we were going to berlin to catch a bus to san salvador. he said he could give us a ride for free to berlin. so off we went and we went thru berlin, then to the highway, then we realized he was going to take us all to san salvador for free. it was an hour and a half trip that would have been 3 on the bus. he took us all the way to the bus station and the chicken bus was waiting for us to la libertad and we only had to wait 2 minutes. got there and waited a half hour for the bus to el zonte and had lots of bus snacks from the vendors. got to el zonte right at sunset and stayed at a place called esencia nativa. in la libertad we bought avocados, onions, tomatoes, chips and torts and made guac and pico de gaillo and ate for real cheap. hung out by the pool till it got late and tried to watch a movie and fell asleep on the couch and then off to bed.
12 7
woke up to catch the sunrise and made some coffee and sat in the hammock and read. ate an omlette and sat by the pool and read. had a great smoothie, went to the beach w dan and corrina to take pix. then back to the pool for more sun and reading. then corrina made lunch and back to the beach to swim and sun bath. too hot so back to the pool for a cold shower and more reading. then i went back to the beach w a swiss couple samuel and katrina. at this point i was pretty sunburnt so i retired from the sun and then dan, corrina and i caught one of the best sunsets. back to the pool to hang w guy named guy from isreal who is learning to surf. had a cheap dinner of pupusa which a tortilla that is grilled and it had shrimp, chicken, beef or beans and cheese in the middle. they are very good and only 75 cents. was an early night and off to bed.
12 8
got woken up early by the dogs going crazy. one thing or another, but it seems like you dont sleep past 7am in central america. did the usual of coffee and reading. going to "try" and surf today before we leave. had a great strawberry, banana shake for bfast and then went surfing. after one swim and a few drinks of salt water i was done. i was punished. my elbow hurt and my xyphoid process was crushed on the surfboard. i tried to ride the whitewater and couldnt do that either. then i realized that i am a snowboarder and the only time i like the feeling of drowning is when i am out of the raft in a glacier fed river in the NW. so i gave up. too many hobbies anyway. had a good cheeseburger lunch. found out we were overcharged and not too happy. caught another chicken bus to another chicken bus and had a few pupusa for 25each. got to cool town of jujuya. very cool spot. credit card wont work at atm, but my travel buddies lent me some money and i have my travel checks. we got a bunch of food at the market for 10$ and cooked at the hostel anauac, very cool spot. coreena is a great cook. she made thai stirfry and we were all stuffed for cheap. played chess w a kiwi giuy and lost 2 x's even when i got his queen. watched a few episodes of curb your enthusiasim and crashed out for the night.
12/9
up early with dogs and rooster. same shit different day. tried to turn the light on and accidentally rang the srevice bell and woke up the owners, oops. finished reading the beach house and started reading the audacity of hope by barack. so far so good. made some strong coffee. was able to cash travel checks no problem and get the good ole american dollar. dan corrina and i did a self guided tour of some beautiful waterfalls and went skinny dipping in the pool. dan accidentally exposed himself to a 10 yo salvadorian boy, but he was more interested in corrina. went past a no tresspassing sign to get to big falls, but we didnt make it because we got busted. went back for carne and torts at the hostel and ate cheap. went out in town w a whole posse to check out the park at night and see the awesome church and xmas lites. went to a reggae bar and hung out and listened to music for a while till it was time to sleep. pretty good day in juyayua. or however it is spelled.
12/10
up early for coffee and a run to the waterfalls for a swim and pack up to go to tacuba and stay at the mom and pops hostel. corrina is really sick w a virus and can barely walk or eat. went out to a coffee finca w dan and owners son monolo and elio from italy and christina from switzerland. when we got back there was a bunch of kids who wanted their pix taken and they attacked dan and crushed the flowers. had home cooked meal from mama or carne burritto and salad. tried to watch zohan, but fell asleep and went to bed.
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Phyllis Foster
non-member comment
adventure
just so glad to hear from you! we've been "googling" the places you go and some do look a little rough but warm. We had first snow, ice and now cold artic wind. Clear and gorgeous views of snow covered mountains from home. happy trails!