Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

After finally deciding what we would do with our last week in central America, we took a long bus journey (yes another one) from Cahuita on the Caribbean coast, back to San Jose, then continued West to the Pacific Coast. All in all it wasn't a bad journey and we were very lucky with bus timings, which meant we only had a very short wait in each transit point.


Our final destination here in Costa Rica is a little coastal area called Manuel Antonio. This is about half way down the West coast of Costa Rica. We would be staying half way between the small town of Quepos and the even smaller beachfront place of Manuel Antonio. We arrived and soon found our hostel. Instantly we knew we would like it here. It was a lovely open hostel, friendly people and some amazing views. 

The view every evening from our hostel

The view from the communal area was fantastic and with the hostel being perched up high, there were amazing views down over the sea. The added bonus being that every evening at about 5pm, everyone gathered on the sofas and hammocks, beer in hand and watched another gorgeous sunset.



Unbeknown to us, we would actually spend the next week here, just chilling out and exploring the surroundings. As our hostel was situated halfway between Quepos and Manuel Antonio so we used the local buses, that shuttled between the 2. Perfect and for only 250 Colonés (about 25p) each way it was a bargain.


We checked out the local town of Quepos and we were there at the right time for the local farmer´s market. We took advatange and got lots of fresh fruit at bargain prices - nice!

Close by was a national park, which was reputed to have some great wildlife. We took a day trip there and enjoyed the sights and nature. It wasn't as good as our trip to Cahuita, but still great. As well as the forests and wildlife there were also some secluded beaches, so we made the most of it and spent the afternoon chilling out.


Each day after this was more and more relaxed. It was great and one of the first places where we have actually stopped and relaxed. Most of the time it has been a constant feeling of being on the go every day, being up very early to catch the first bus out of town, so to stay in one place was a novelty.

We spent a number of days on the local beach, about a 40 minute walk away, down steep roads/tracks. The beaches were great and the water warm and clear. We did have a try at some surfing and rented some boards for an hour. However we didn't envisage the waves being as big as they were. Kip definitely looked like she had been thrown into a washing machine and put on full spin. I on the other hand retired after only 10 minutes, the reason for this is that after a rather large wave, I surfaced to find my surf board had snapped clean in two!! That was it; with my record of breaking things, I wasn't going to chance any more. 


Whilst at our hostel we also met some great people and because we were in one place for more that a night, it was nice to have that familiarity and that social side we lacked in other places.Sadly though all good things come to and end and after a week of relaxing we had to leave our little piece of paradise. We set off and headed back to San Jose. We were heading back to a nice family hostel that we had stayed in before, so knew we would be well looked after.


And then that was that. We packed our bags for the last time in Central America, checked the passports and Cuban visas, booked our taxi for 03:30am and went to bed, reflecting on another amazing leg of our travel adventure. 7 weeks in Central America and now on to our final leg......Cuba! we have 2 flights to get to Cuba, but luckily they are both relatively short.


Now, i am not sure how good the Internet connection/availability will be from Cuba, but I will update you all when I am able to.


Until then, I'm off to enjoy some Mojitos, Cigars and Salsa !

Cahuita, Costa Rica

Cahuita National Park

After our Cuban visa success we were chuffed to pieces and set off down the coast to a quiet little seaside town of Cahuita. With our plans constantly changing we decided to head this was as we had heard good things about it being off the touristy track, having an abundance local wildlife and Natioal Parks to wander in. 

We arrived in to the sleepy town of Cahuita just before sunset and found a basic but comfy hostel. This would be our home for the next 4 days. 

A stone´s throw from the hostel was the beach and the start of really nice National Park, so we were up early and set about walking the 12Km round trip through the park. It was a lovey walk, with only a handful of other people along the way and the track was adjacent to the beach, so at various intervals, allowed us to pop out on to the beach and enjoy the view. We took our time and managed to see some brilliant wildlife. Sloth bears, monkeys, spiders, snakes, crabs, lizards and birds. All of them just there in front of us. A great walk and very rewarding. 

Jail Breaking Monkey

Baby Sloth Bear

The next day we wandered along the coastal road in the opposite direction and headed for a animal resuce sanctuary called the Tree of Life. This was a local run place to rehabilitate monkeys, sloths and other native animals that have been hurt of were previously pets. We spent a good few hours here, just observing the animals. The weirdest bit was when one of the monkeys managed to unlock the padlock from its cage and open the door....we just stood there and gave each other a look of "did that monkey just open the cage door.....". Whilst the other monkeys went mad at the prospective jail break, Kip went to get one of the guides to alert him to the cheeky monkey.

Goldie - The Howler Monkey

The sanctuary had a range of animals, but by far the best was a young howler monkey called Goldie, that we sat and watched for about 45 minutes. We had the space all to ourselves and it was just fascinating to sit and watch a lovely little monkey play, eat and do monkey things. After the Tree of Life, we wandered slowly back to town, along the coast road, stopping for a lovely little lunch on the beach. 

Cahuita is not a big or busy town, but just relaxed and tranquil; a great place to wind down, chill out and just enjoy some sunshine. 

Puerto Viejo

The last day there we took a short bus ride down the coast to the neighbouring town of Puerto Viejo, a slightly larger and more busy village, also on the coast. It was nice to see a different place along the coast and we spent the afternoon chilling on the beach watching the surfers master the large waves on the coral reef.(well i was watching the surfing, i think Kip was more focussed on the surfers....!)

After a lovely few days chilling and winding down, we changed our plans once again and instead of heading further south, through a quick round trip to Panama, we headed back to San Jose and all the way over to the opposite coast, for a place called Manuel Antonio. So cue another long day of buses and travelling. 

The Suicide Shower

Now, along side the Chicken Buses of Central America, another thing that appears common is the lack of ability towards electrics and wiring. The majority of the showers we have used in the past 8 weeks have been cold showers. Most of the time these have been a nice refreshing change, as the days are hot and sweaty.

However on the odd occassion you do get Agua Caliente (hot water), it comes with a catch. The aptly named suicide showers.

These are a simple design and a basic electric hot shower. The bit that gets me a little nervous is the wires dangling over and precareously close to the water. The switch to turn it on, is right on the top, so basically, remember to turn it on before you set the water running.

Monteverde, Costa Rica

Today would be another long day´s journey....4 Taxis.......3 buses........1 ferry. From the Island of Ometepe, back to the main land and then south, to Costa Rica. However, that said we had a very smooth journey. We had heard that the border crossing in to Costa Rica could be long and boring, but we were lucky and we sailed through, caught one bus and then another.

Our first stop in Costa Rica would be high in the hillside town of Santa Ellena, in the Monteverde Region. The main draw is a range of activities and wildlife. All in all Costa Rica is more developed and touristy, but conversely has lots more to do. 

So after our long journey, we settled in to a nice hostel in Santa Ellena. The next day we decided to bite the bullet and do a zip lining and canopy tour. Now those of you that know me, know that i have a slight aversion to heights, so this was going to be a challenge for me. So we set off for one of the newer and bigger canopy tours. There were a series of 12 zip lines, 1 rappell (abseil) and a tarzan swing......well here goes nothing. 

The place was like Go Ape on steroids, i mean seriously, the longest zip line is a kilometre long....and you do it "superman stylee". We arrived, got kitted out with more stuff than Sir Edmund Hillary ever used and set about getting our briefing. 

The briefing was short and before we knew it we were climbing the first platform and being hooked up to the zip lines. Unlike at Go Ape in the UK, the guides do all the technical stuff. This was good and bad, as before you knew it, you were hoiked up on to the zip line, legs up, ropes in hand and being pushed along the lines.

The first few zip lines were nice and easy. In the tree canopy and fairly short. You could see the end of the run about 40,50,60 metres away. Also as it was between the canopy, you couldn´t see the ground, so it didn´t really matter how high up you were.

Yep, spot the guy halfway down the line (bottom left)

Then came the next set of zip lines......chuffing hell ! The first long one; a 500+ metere run, stretching out of the valley floor. The line was about 300 metres from the ground and ran fast. It might be worth mentioning at this point that the braking mechanism is the age old "use your hand and grip as tight as you can to the steel rope above you" method. They gave you a special glove with a piece of leather sewn to it......gee thanks !

We survived the longer zip runs and it then came to a rappel. A 30m/100ft abseil straight down. However, as before you were just strapped in to the mechanism in the blink of an eye and pushed over the edge. The speed though was controlled by the guy on the ground......the screams of the people before me told me he wasn´t going to play nice. So after a gentle start the descent got very quick. We survived that, then went to the tarzan swing, a 30m swing where you are thrown off a platform and plunge down, before swinging aimlessly in to the forest. I have to say, we passed on this one..

"The Superman"

We got to the last zip line, the crowning piece, a 1Km zip line back to the start, done in the style of a "Superman". So where as the other zip lines are done by basically sitting down and letting the harness take you. You were strapped differently and in such a way that you were facing down and forward, legs starpped up and arms out, like superman. I had to dodge this option due to the harness arrangement on my shoulder (honest !), but Kip was a Superwoman, scremaing out across the valley below her.

With that survived we headed back to our hostel for a much needed cup of tea and sit down. 

The next day we were up at the crack of dawn to explore one the unique sights in the region. A Cloud Forest. This is slightly different to a Rain Forest and only exists in a few places in the world, due to the type of vegetation and nature it attracts. We took a guide and set about a 3 hour tour of the delicate eco system. We are pleased we had a guide and his scope, as he managed to pick out some amazing wildlife that was virtually hidden in the jungle. We spent the rest of the morning, after our tour, walking through the cloud forest at our own leisure. Needless to say, the sightings of wildlife were dramatically reduced without our guide, but none the less the walk was great. 

Whilst in Monteverde we had agonised over our next destination. We know that Costa Rica has a lot more to offer than the previous countries we have visited in Central America, but we also know that they are more expensive. We decided not to visit the nearby Volcano of Arenal, mainly becuase despite it being touted as active and being able to see the lava flows, it had not been flowing for a good 12 months. So with time on our hands, we headed to San Jose to resolve our Cuban visa situation. 

So in the words of Dionne Warwick.........Do you know the way to San Jose.....la la la la la 

We took an early bus and arrived in to San Jose, found our hostel and scoped out its proximity to the Cuban Embassy. All of it just perfect. We were only a stones throw from the Embassy and our hostel was a fantastic home hostel run by a great Colombian family. It was basically their house and welcomed us in with open arms. The next morning we were up and out, documents in hand and knocking on the door of the Cuban Embassy a few minutes after opening time. 

We thought that this part would go one of 2 ways, as we had heard some stories of it being very difficult to obtain a visa. What with the need for all the right documents, medical forms, insurance etc. But we were very fortunate and after a short wait we paid our money and got our visas....easy peasy ! So with Visas in hand, we rushed back to the hostel and raced across town to catch a noon bus to the Caribbean coast and a little place called Cahuita.

 Thanks San Jose, it was brief, but we will be back.

Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

Our nexst stop would be to take a trip to the Island of Ometepe. Thats right a island made up of 2 volcanoes, situated in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. It is one thing to climb a volcano, but to stay on a volcanic island.....that´s just cool (maybe i am having dellusions of it being a secret Bond villan´s lair).

Anyway, after thinking we had managed to leave all types of boat transport behind, we realised that to get to the island, we would need to take the ferry. Damn !

We took a chicken bus from Granada to Rivas and then to the ferry terminal. We didnt have to wait long until the ferry arrived and we set sail for Ometepe. So far so good, we made it to the island in one piece and set about finding some accommodation. 

The island is basically 2 volcanoes sitaued side by side, with a small strip of land in between joining them. 

We would be staying on the smaller of the 2 volcanoes in a basic hostel. The island is very quiet and a basic living, with the main occuaption in growing bananas and plantine.

There was one killer hill !

We would spend 3 days on the island just chilling out and exploring. Our first day we hired some mountain bikes and cyclyed to one of the larger towns to explore. This was a lovely bike ride, as the roads (in some parts) were relatively new, flat and smooth. 

The next day we decided that although the mountain bikes were nice, it was a bit hot to be cycling, so set about hiring a motorbike for the day. So we got up early and set off exploring the island in more detail.

What a great day, we managed to see soo much more and explore the true hidden parts of the island. After a nice breakfast in the main port town, we headed to one of the national park areas and took a lovely nature walk round a small lagoon. 

After this we went to the other island and tried to find a local waterfall. However we soon found that the road system was good, but only up until where they had got to i.e. they had only done half of the 2 islands. The roads were the original bumpy (and i mean bumpy) stone tracks. We pushed on for about an hour along these tracks, but soon gave up. We also found that the trek to the waterfall was a good few hours return and with the bike having to be back early afternoon, we decided against it.

All in all though it was a great day. Nice to be back on a motorbike again and a fab way to cruise effortlessly round the lovely, quiet and stunning island.

So after a good few days just chilling on our very own volcanic island, we were ready to leave. Our next trip would be another long one. 

This time destination: Costa Rica, the last of our 4 Central America countries.

Granada, Nicaragua

Granada´s Main Cathedral

We had a relatively easy journey from Leon to Granada. This was our usual routine of getting up early and setting off in the cool of the morning, rather than the heat of the day. We got a mini bus to Managua (the Nicaraguan Capital) and hopped straight into another mini bus bound for Granada. Both journeys took a total of 4 hours, so a breeze compared to some of the other journeys we had taken. 

We arrived in to Granada about lunch time and set about finding a hostel. We dumped our bags and set out to explore the town. Already it was clear that this was a lovely town. Compared to Leon, it was a town with more features, variety of colonial building and overall more interesting to explore. The main central sqaure, Cathedral and side streets all had a lot more charm and intrigue. We would spend the next 4 days in Granada, exploring and taking in the sights and atmosphere. 

Chocolate Making

Our first afternoon we jumped straight in to one of the activities we had researched. The Chocolate Museum. A 2 hour course on how to make your own chocolate. A great afternoon and since we had previouly been in the hills of Honduras and seen the Cocoa trees growing, it was now nice to see the process all the way through and take it from the Cocoa pod to eating a choccy bar !

The course was a small group and involved us taking the Cocoa beans and turning it in a variety of traditional drinks and a chocolate bar of our choice. The process involved roasting the beans on an open fire, de-shelling them, grinding it into a paste and then turning it in to the final product. A great afternoon and a lovely choccy bar. Of course we had to eat it very quickly, otherwise it would have melted....honest ! 

Poetry Festival, Granada

We were in Granada on a weekend and as luck would have it, the same weekend would see the town host one of its main annual festivals; the annual poetry festival in Nicaragua. Now i know that we couldn´t understand a word of the poetry, but the town has an extra buzz and side attractions because of it. This included various bands and acts performing on stages after the poetry. So for the Friday and Saturday nights we enjoyed the bands and being part of the the local event. 

Granada is situated on the northern shores of Lake Nicaragua (the largest lake in Central America and 19th Largest in the world - thanks Wikipedia). We took a mornings tour of the series of 360+ islands found on the northern end. This was a lovely trip and nice to see the layout, houses and wildlife. 

The rest of the days in Granada were spent exploring the side streets, churches and local markets. We found a nice church with access to its clock tower, which gave some great views over the city and surrounding volcanoes. On our walks we also managed to find a newer and nicer hostel, so ended up changing to nicer surrounds. 

17 Person Hammock !

We also found a shop and local project run to help kids with disabilites. Their main output was a whole variety of hammocks. The biggest was a 17 person hammock, well we couldnt resist in trying it out. Although i think it might over stretch the garden boundaries of our pettite garden at Banbury Close!

Chicken bus for our day trip to Masaya

Our last full day in Granada was spent taking a short trip to a near by town called Masaya.  Another local Nicaraguan town, with a small hub of arts and crafts stuff. A good little trip out and nice to travel around without having to lug our rucsacks.

Our next stop.......staying on a volcanic island !

Hola Nicaragua !

So after a very long few days of travellling we arrived in to Leon, Nicaragua. We found a nice hostel, in the centre of town and settled in to our dorm. We would spend the next few days here, just exploring and finding out what there is to do in Nicaragua. The hostel was a lovely open and spacious place, which was a nice surprise as it is right in the centre of town. The front face of the building is deceptive and once inside opens out in a large court yard and small pool, with lots of shade and hammocks - perfect !

Leon is a fairly large town and was once upon a time the capital of Nicaragua. It is something like the 3rd largest town in Nicaragua but doesnt have the hustle and bustle of a town its size. It is a typical Cental American town, set out on a grid system of blocks (Streets running one way and and Avenues the other). This is nice to navigate round, but then on the other hand a bit boring when walking round, as everything appears samey after a while. 

One of the main features of Leon is the abundance of Cathedrals and Churches. This seemed to have been a hub for new designs and architecture, so as a result there is a lot of them. They are now old and on the outside appear worn and faded, but the insides have been kept maintained, so a nice contrast when you walk inside.

Our first few days were spent just being and mocching round and soaking up the sights, sounds and smells.

It was whilst in Leon that we discovered that we needed to obtain a Visa for Cuba......arrgghh !

We have found out that we couldn´t have got this in the UK, as it needs to be within 3 months of entering the country. Therefore we spent a whole afternoon trawling the internet to find out what we needed to do and how to go about getting one. In short we would need to go to a Cuban Embassy, either in Managua (the Capital of Nicaragua) or San Jose (the Capital of Costa Rica). More of this later. 

After a nice few days it was time to move on from Leon. Our next stop would be a slightly larger town called Granada, situated on the shores of Lake Nicaragua.But so far, Nicaragua is a refreshing change to El Salvador and Honduras.