Blogs from Central America Caribbean - page 1914

I decided I would head to the beach this weekend to get a little R&R because things are definitely getting busy again, starting in October for the “high season” in Costa Rica and I didn’t know when I would be able to get away again. The bookings just seem to rolling in now for the U.S. winter (which I’m thrilled about). So, I headed to my favorite beach area Quepos/Manuel Antonio. All was going well at first: the weather was beautiful when I arrived on Friday and my favorite hotel, “Hotel Manuel Antonio” (right on the beach near the national park), had rooms—and they always give me a good rate. Friday was a good day. Saturday was a beautiful day as well but not a good day for me and my $!#$@*^@$*!$*%^%# car! I decided I ... read more

...la bombonera - a 1902 cafeteria on Calle San Francisco in Old San Juan! You sense a real pride in Puerto Rico's history at La Bombonera - a tradition for more than a hundred years, a repository of memories and dreams about simple and inexpensive Puerto Rican dishes. Dignified waiters serve orange juice squeezed by a man behind the counter who squeezes the oranges in an equally ancient machine. Coffee is brewed from local beans in an ancient Rube Goldberg contraption, and pan de Mallorca, an eggy breakfast bun to die for, dusted with sugar and toasted with butter on the kind of griddle used in Miami to make Cubano sandwiches. You come to La Bombonera like the little old men who sidle up to the counter all day long for their regular pastries and coffees, ... read more

We had great fun on today's dives, even with dull sounding themes of buoyancy and navigation. Unfortunately our underwater camera case is leaking so we can't prove it, but we were both happily swimming through hoops and anchor chains. The heat and humidity mean we're drinking lots of water, and tapwater here is highly undrinkable. Luckily, 'Johnny's Water' is here and they refill 1 gallon bottles for 50p. This saves a bit of money and more importantly means less rubbish than just buying bottled water. The 'Johnny's Water' marketing machine has successfully sparked off a guilt trip by saying words to the effect of "Utila is a small, beautiful island, and would be ruined by landfill sites full of discarded plastic water bottles". They don't mention that a lot of urban Honduras is a de ... read more

It's the little things that make your life full and complete. Realizing this can change your life. It isn't how much money you have, the car you drive, the career you choose or even the love of your life that completes you. It’s finding joy, real pleasure in the simple things in life that make you whole. For family fun in the past our favorite activity was camping, when ever and wherever we could. We camped in Prescott, Payson, the rim of the Grand Canyon and Rocky Point, Mexico. Our family loves the outdoors. Costa Rica was a natural fit for us. Life here is like camping. We don’t always have electricity or running water. Sometimes they both go out on the same day. Yesterday was a day like that. At some point in the afternoon ... read more

Just to explain quickly, i have a load of old photo's on my camera that i want to keep and that's why they're on here!!! So, i better start right from the begining. Seems like ages ago already and we've done so much! Oh, BTW my spelling is atrocious cos i normally have spell check so apologies in advance..... Think last time i wrote we were just about to go on a walking tour of Mexico City. It lasted 4 hours and to be honest i'd had enough by the end of it. It was all history, art, architecture etc. which i can take for an hour or so but not much longer. However, did find out we were staying on the 3rd biggest square in the world and that Mexico Citr is built on water. ... read more