Blogs from Central America Caribbean - page 1746

Bonjour à tous!! Après quelques petites commentaires, j'ai compris que ça ferait plaisir d'écrire également quelques lignes en français à ceux qui ne parlent pas couramment le néerlandais, Je suis donc partie en République Dominicaine pour mon stage dans une ONG, Fundacion Taiguey, qui est chargée des projets communautaires et qui est implantée à la Cienaga (petit village au sud-ouest du pays). Je vais moi-même écrire un plan d'affaires pour une petite entreprise qui sera créée dans les mois qui suivent et qui sera menée par un groupe de femmes vivant dans le village. Pour l'instant on ne sait toujours pas quels produits cette entreprise va fabriquer (à base des fruits/légumes cultivés dans la région) et c'est à cette question que je vais donner une réponse si tout va bien... Ca fait maintenant une semaine que ... read more

After leaving the Exumas we spent just a couple days in Nassau before heading out again to Spanish Wells. We were so excited to go back to this amazing island off the northern tip of Eluthera, where we had many good friends and wonderful memories from our previous visit. Our anticipation grew as we sailed past Royal Island and Meek’s Patch and the town of Spanish Wells came into view. Of course the first thing we spotted were all the fishing boats, which the local fishermen use to get crawfish. Then all the colorful houses and manicured lawns came into view on this small island, only ½ mile by 2 miles. As we pulled into the marina we were greeted on the dock by some of our friends who live on the island. We couldn’t believe ... read more

I have spent the last week or so in lovely Placencia. It's a small island with long and beautiful beaches. Between afternoon volly ball and late night rum and cokes I've a had a pretty amazing time here. Again, lots of people to meet (and more importantly travel along side for a while). Perhaps the highlight of my travels so far was visiting the jaguar reserve about an hours bus ride away from the island where I stayed for one night. I went as a group of five in total consisting of myself, Therese and Jahn (a genuinely insiring couple from Norway), Simon (Swiss) and his lovely girlfriend (Dutch) whos name I cannot pronounce and have subsequently forgotten. We arrive in our delapodated cabin to find we have a sixth roommate - and enormous spider, the ... read more

I finished up my travels through Costa Rica with a stop in La Fortuna - near the Arenal volcano. It was a nice place to hang out (met a cool chick from North Van and a dude from Amsterdam) and play some cards, swim in swimming holes, hike to waterfalls and also relax in the Hot Springs! And relax we did! There were 16 pools with 16 different temperatures of water - all lit up beautifully (we went in the evening) and a swim up bar in a couple of the pools also - along with little waterfalls everywhere! I felt like i was in a 7 star resort for a few hours. What a nice change! I left Arenal and planned to make it to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua in a day. Unfortunately ... read more

The day after I surfed, I tried my hardest to get the Monteverde, Costa Rica, to meet some friends before nightfall. I was unsuccessful and got stuck in a small town called Tilaran. Costa Rica is so different than all the Central American countries I have visited so far. Even the small towns were so modern, clean, and organized. My utensils in restaurants were in plastic bags, the taxis were identical and had meters, most people spoke english, and there were public recycling receptacles. I experienced a very drastic change because I had just left Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Central America. After one night in Tilaran, I caught a 4am bus to Monteverde. The ride there was absolutely beautiful. The land in this area was so lush with green, complete with large rolling ... read more