gtimmermans

We had a lovely breakfast and great coffee at our hostel. While relaxing over breakfast we realized that a shuttle to Granada was leaving right from the front door at 9am and only cost $10 each. We realized at 8:55am. Thankfully we were already packed and ready to go, so off to Granada we went. On the shuttle we bumped into Brian and Dara, who were on their way to the airport. When we arrived in Granada we happily realized that the shuttle dropped us off only a few blocks away from our next Guesthouse, Hostal La Mexicana. The owner was super-friendly and though I wouldn't eat off the floor, this place was much nicer than our accommodations in León had been ... and there were two fans in the room that both worked :) Granada ... read more

Today we set out to hike to the top of Mt. Telica, an active volcano not too far from León. I'd been in contact with Quetzaltrekkers over the past few weeks and originally they weren't planning to do this trek today. Fortunately, there were another couple of Canadians who also had this specific date in mind so we met the minimum number and they decided to run with it. Quetzaltrekkers is a local agency that donates their profits to local street kids and most of the people who work there are volunteers. We met up at their extremely messy office at 6am and met our guides Mo & Eric and our fellow Canadian trekkers Brian and Dara. I'd chosen Volcán Telica as it is one of most active in Nicaragua and the fact that you can ... read more

Everything I read prior to going to Nicaragua said to skip Managua. Our original plan had us spending the night at the Hotel Casa Real and spend a few hours checking out the nearby Cathedral before heading off to León by early afternoon. Although we spent the night in San Salvador, we mostly stuck to that plan. We arrived at the airport around 9:30am and took a hotel shuttle to the Casa Real. They provided us some breakfast and had agreed to hold our bags while we explored a little bit of the area nearby. With the old cathedral of Managua destroyed in 1972, it took nearly 20 years for a new cathedral to be built. The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was built in 1991, and is often simply called the new cathedral by ... read more

Note: this will be the last entry for awhile as my trip is complete and now I'm back home to numerous hugs and kisses from my girls. I crammed as much as I could possibly get into 3 weeks and I had a great trip, but 3 weeks away is a bit too long I think (especially for Mikaela, but for me too). Ann is awesome, of course. I've put lots of other blog entries up (for which you didn't get emails). Just click on my name and scroll down and you'll see the whole list (in reverse chronological order). Or, just go to this link: www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/gtimmermans/ and scroll down. Lima In 1532 the Spanish Francisco Pizarro landed in Peru with a force of around 180 men. Conditions were favourable to conquest, for the empire was ... read more

Locals sometimes say ´when the moon separated from the earth, it forgot to take Arequipa.´ This beautiful city has grand colonial buildings, built from a light-coloured volcanic rock called sillar that is simply stunning. The modern city of Arequipa was founded on 15 August 1540, by Garcí Manuel de Carbajal, an emissary of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Today, Arequipa is the 2nd largest city in Peru with a population of approximately 750,000. Throughout history Arequipa remained relatively isolated during colonial and early republican times, but that changed in 1870 when a Southern railroad to the coastal port of Mollendo was inaugurated, opening trade via the Pacific Ocean. The building and expansion of more roads in the 1930s also led to a direct connection with the Pan-American Highway, strengthening Arequipa's links to the rest of the Americas. ... read more