Blogs from Central America Caribbean - page 1949

I have begun to learn some of the eccentricities (sp¿) of Nica spanish. Chele and Chela is the same as Gringo and Gringa. Instead of saying De Nada for your welcome, people say A La Orden or Suya. Also, these crazy Nica´s drop s´s. I am understanding more and more even if my ability to speak still sucks. ANYWAY Just got back from Esteli. We were in Ocotal and Condega yesterday, which was pretty amazing. We talked to a TON of people about various issues: the revolution, the contra war, the upcoming election, the sandanistas in general, womens rights and issues like domestic violence, access to healthcare and education, etc. Condega was the best though. We went to the little local archaeology and culture museum. The little room was full of pottery, lithics, bone, etc from ... read more

Hello Everyone! I´m back in Quetzaltenango again. Lizzie and I are spending our last few days here with her homestay family. If you remember, four long weeks ago we arrived in Guatemala and stayed with these wonderful people, and now our trip has come full circle. The last few days we have been in Monterrico, a small island town on the Pacific coast. The dominant sound in the town was the constant crashing of the waves. We were there during the low tide, they say during high tide the waves almost hit the beachfront hotels. I loved playing in the violence of the waves. They were so powerful they would throw you around like a ragdoll, and the undertow would pull you right back in. While I was loving it, Lizzie was getting her eye ... read more

Apologies if this entry turns out to be a bit of an epic; we´re going to try and cover the entire 3 weeks we spent at MMRF in one go! Here we go................ I think the journey to reach the farm in San Pedro is going to be one of those that will only be equalled by the likes of the Inca trail!! We set out from Dangriga early in the morning by bus (what else) and being that it was rainy season the road looked a little water-logged, this soon progressed to the road being completely flooded as a river had burst its banks. As we reached the flood we saw a 4WD truck stuck in the middle of it trying to reverse out having not been able to make it all the way through, ... read more

The rafting company picked us up at 8am to head out and white-water raft down the Gerviche river. There were two rafts, and one of the guides spoke some english. The river was great fun - mostly class 2 and 3 rapids. I fell out into the river 4 times, only one of which was intentional. After rafting we got dropped off on the Carrera Interamericana (the main highway through central america) and we caught a bus to Paso Canoas on the Costa Rican border. Once we got there, there was a 15 year old who decided to guide us through the process and chat up Trish at the same time. There obviously aren't many NZers coming through the border crossing, as they had to ask around whether or not I was allowed in... From there ... read more

After Chiquimula we took several buses and a boat to get to Monterrico which is an island because it is surrounded by a swamp and the pacific ocean. Monterrico was not much more than a main street which seemed to be a continuation of the black sand beach you find at the end of it. From the moment you arrive you can hear the crashing of the waves, which follows you wherever you go along with the inescapable black sand that makes the roads. I hadn´t washed my clothes in...a while so we went to follow a sign for somewhere to get it done. We found the place and along the way i found a soccer game. A bunch of guys playing barefoot on the black sand and a few patches of grass between two goal ... read more