Good-bye Central America!

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As I write this it is exactly 5 months since I arrived in Central America, and I have exactly 5 months until I return home again!

I've really enjoyed my time in Panama City, although I haven't really done very much. It is really a modern city, and I've gone to the cinema a few times and visited some big shopping malls (very dangerous places when you are on a budget!) I have kind of lost my momentum a bit recently as I've been looking forward to going to South America.

Of course I had to make a trip to see the Panama Canal, which was not the most exciting outing of my life, but it would have been silly to come to Panama and not see it. The ship that we saw go through Mirabelle locks had to pay $275,000 passage! Crazy money!

Here's a quick round-up of the best and worst of Central America (idea nicked from Catherine and Matt's India blog!)

TOP TEN CENTRAL AMERICAN EXPERIENCES

1. Seeing lava up close on Volcan Pacaya, Guatemala.

2. Swimming in the warm crater lake at Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua.

3. Ziplining through the canopy of the cloudforest in Santa Elena, Costa Rica.

4. Only cooking for myself 5 times in 5 months- that means only doing washing-up 5 times too!!!

5. Volcano boarding wearing an orange boiler suit near Leon, Nicaragua.

6. Sunbathing and swimming on the beautiful islands of the San Blas Archipielago, Panama.

7.Bumping into people again weeks or months after I first met them.

8. Finding hostels with fancy dress parties- La Iguana Perdida (Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala) and Mondo Taitu (Bocas del Toro, Panama)

9. Seeing beautiful ruins in the jungle in Palenque, Mexico and Tikal, Guatemala.

10. Seeing dozens of monkeys just a few feet away near the beaches in Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica.






TOP FIVE WORST CENTRAL AMERICAN EXPERIENCES (I tried to think of 10 but failed!)

1. Having to listen to marching bands and firecrackers that set car alarms off at all hours of the day and night in the month of December in Nicaragua.

2. Guarenteed torrential rain everytime I arrived at the Carribean coast.

3. Bites. Mosquitos and bed bugs- not fun at all!

4. When my purse was stolen on a Guatemalan chicken bus containing my memory card with my first 5 weeks of photos.

5. The plumbing in Central America- am used to throwing toilet paper in bins now rather than down the toilet, but it still is pretty gross. Not as weird as the San Blas toilets where you could see fish below you as you peed though!

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Photos

Molas being sold on the street
Molas are made by the Kuna people and are several layers of material with bits cut out sewn together.

Ship sailing through.
It takes about 45 minutes for them to get through the lock.

Comments

[Catherine]

Yey, I love round-ups! We'll have to think of other interesting lists we can put on our blogs too!

[jose]

hey i was there
hey sophie how it goin in south america. i have one of these travelblogs as well, the add is on my facebook. also did u go to san juan del sur cause i was looking at my pics and theres a girl in it that looks a little like u. the pics are on the facebook as well. its the one where we are going to maderas beach on the back of the truck. wel buh bye and have fun