Backroads of Central America

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COSTA RICA

Our first stop in Costa Rica is Tortuguero national park on the Caribbean coast, with abundant nature/wildlife and a very chilled vibe. It's a welcome break with plenty of time spent chilling in hammocks and admiring the beautiful colourful birds (toucans and macaws) in the trees above. We have an active day, getting up at 5am to canoe in the national park - we spot monkeys, lizards, caiman, birds, etc. In the afternoon, we embark on a nature hike and later that evening, a night walk reveals native species of frogs, sloths, snakes and spiders.

In La Fortuna, with great views of the Arenal Volcano, we try canyoning - scrambling through rivers and abseiling down waterfalls! Later we go Venado Caves spelunking, crawling through enclosed (very dark) spaces in underground caves with ancient rock formations and bats, spiders, etc. Then it's onto Monteverde cloud forest for ziplining - probably the best ziplining in the world! With 10 different lines, some up to 2km long, flying high above the canopy/tree line, by superman and Tarzan swing!



NICARAGUA

Our trip to Nicaragua begins with a homestay on Ometepe island, Lake Nicaragua - we spend 2 nights with a local family incl. a cultural evening, dancing and other festivities. We're not feeling energetic enough to hike the nearby volcano so we embark on an island tour instead which entails a short hike, visit to petroglyphs, lunch on a beach, natural springs (also known as the "lazy" tour!).

Volcano boarding near Leon, Nicaragua involves hiking up a volcano for a couple of hours, then get your suit and goggles on before speeding down the volcano on like a snowboard. After Ometepe and Granada (with a fab night for Mo's birthday at the Irish pub!) we spend our last 2 nights in Nicaragua at Surfing Turtle hostel, on a remote stretch of beach - surfing and lazing in hammocks!!



EL SALVADOR

Next stop El Salvador - beautifully authentic and virtually untouched by tourists. We visit Suchitoto and Concepcion de Ataco, quaint towns in the Route of Flowers region. We learn to make papusas (a local Salvadoran specialty) during a cooking class. Hiking El Impossible national park was my 2nd choice as opposed to waterfall jumping, but had some great views and was beautifully remote. Gem had a cultural day, swam in a lovely waterfall, riding chicken buses and tuk-tuks to get there!



HONDURAS

The main purpose of our visit to Honduras is the Mayan ruins of Copan - built almost 1500 years ago. We discover the ancient Mayan site of Copan and examine intricately carved stones, temples and a well preserved hieroglyphic stairway. It's easy to see why this place is a UNESCO world Heritage site.

Afterwards we visit Macaw Mountain, a bird park and nature reserve decidated to the rehabilitation and release of macaws, toucans and other birds.

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