Goodbye Central America, South America here we come.....

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So, after ridding ourselves of the rain and the annoying but un-avoidable ' Latin American stomach bug' we moved from the sadly disappointing Bocas del Toro and headed across the country to a city called David. In crossing the amazing mountain ranges which boasted some of the best scenery so far we had to navigate freak storms that had been plaguing the area un-characteristically for the time of year. Yet as heavy as they were, they stopped almost as suddenly as we traversed the mountain range.

We arrived in David to the heat we were used to for the area and it was back to normality on the weather front. David itself wasn't a particularly interesting place and we stayed there for only one evening to break up our journey to the capital. Upon arriving in Panama City the difference between it and the other central american capitals is obvious. It feels far more like a European or U.S city, with massive buildings and a more hectic and business like atmosphere. We are staying in Casco Viejo ( the old town) right next to the Presidential residence so suffice to say there are plenty of heavily armed men patrolling the area, but that is nothing new to be fair.

After a wander around the old town, my appaulling sense of direction however did lead us in to the ghetto, where ordinarily tourists are escorted out of the area by police, but we did not come across any and just had the sense to realise that we were somewhere we shouldn't be. We then decided to get a taxi to the central town only to discover that our taxi driver had to make a couple of food and medicine deliveries in his neighbourhood, so back to the ghetto it was, this time further in to the depths than we had wandered. It was interesting with the benefit of hindsight, but initially his scarred face and slightly menacing laugh didn't fill us with confidence (well me, more than Ben!).

So to summarise Central America:
Guatemala - Friendly people, great landscapes, cheap Spanish courses, interesting culture and a great introduction to the region.

Honduras - People less friendly, Spanish hard to understand, Copan Ruins were cool but travelling around the country was a nightmare. Never ever go to Tegucigalpa (the capital) unlessyou enjoy fearing for your life!

Nicaragua - Amazing, friendliest and kindest people, cheapest for everything, great food, good beaches, cool towns, annoying mosquitos, even harder Spanish to understand but thoroughly recommended!!!

Costa Rica - EXPENSIVE!! Mini-America, probably has some cool places but nothing you can't see anywhere else for less.

Panama - Bocas del Toro would be a must see but good weather is required, friendly people (unless they work in the most popular hostel in Panama city, in which case they think they are too cool to remember manners) and good cheap food (more Chinese than Panamanian).

Central America on the whole has provided us with a great couple of months at a resonable price and has been a good addition to our main goal of South America. Tomorrow we are departing for Cartagena, Colombia and we're looking forward to it with much excitement, if not a little bit of trepidation. We have heard nothing but excellent things about the country and the people so if nothing else it'll be an experience. So here comes the main event.....

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