Guatemala City /Antiqua

We had one hell of a bus ride from Granada/Managua in Nicaragua to Guatemala City. This 17 hour bus journey involved three border crossings (into Honduras, El Salvador, and eventually Guatamala) and a bus change. But we arrived safe and sound in our hotel in Guatamala city. Bernard and I couldn't get over how much Guatamala City look and feels like little United States, with locals speaking English with distinctly American accents. We had a quick bite to eat at an Italian restaurant, then slept soundly for 10 hours in our wonderful business class hotel – it was worth every penny for that kind of comfort.

The next morning we set off for Antigua. It rained pretty much all day – so although we explored a little of this charming town on foot, it wasn't until the next day when the clouds disappeared that Antigua showed us just how quaint and charming it really is. We bought more souvineers, and I even salivated over some of the great quality jewellery they had in stock. Last night we had a lovely evening talking to the manager of a Thai Restaurant who also played the piano for us (and other diners of course). Today we came across an awesome looking wine bar, so we're heading there for dinner and drinks tonight. Antigua is a great little town – understandable why people stay longer to learn some spanish or some other activity. The ruins are lovely and when the clouds eventually lift from the Volcanos, the views are quite something. Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Flores to see the ancient Maya Ruin of Tikal. I'm very much looking forward to that.

Isla de Ometepe

This island is pretty unique place, formed by two volcanos in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Its only just over an hour's taxi ride from Granada – and another hour by ferry. We stayed in a fabulous cabin just outside the main town on the island. The German owner was quirky, as were other guests there, but we had a lovely time. The sun was shining on our full day of activities – so much so that Bernard and I got rather burnt. (It still surprises us that despite our fantastic tans, we can still burn so easily.) We hired scooters and set off to explore the island – 16km into our ride, mine broke down, so Bernard stayed with the scooter whilst I drove back to town. An hour later problem was solved – the owner's brother was to be our guide for the day, so he took me on his motercycle and Beranrd continued on the scooter.

We saw lots of stunning birds, capuchin monkeys, howler monkeys, iguannas, lizards and butterflies. We went swimming in the “Eye of Water” water natural spring which was great fun, had a lovely lunch on the beach between the two volcanos, and finished off the day looking at a green lagoon and a sandbar that has created a natural pier with great views of both the volcanos. We enjoyed a few beers, played cards with others, and were pleased that the weather showed us a little kindness whilst we were there. Because for the four days after Isla de Omtepe it rained constantly – to such an extent that we even bought an extra half-day accommodation in Granada whilst we waited for our 3am nightbus to Guatamala City.

Granada

Couldn't help but sing the song Granada in my head whilst wondering around the streets (even though the song is about Spain, not Nicaragua). Lets be honest, Nicaragua is cheap, the countryside is lush and gorgeous, though if Bernard and I hadn't become such seasoned travellers, I can safely say that at times I would be quite unnerved by this country. There is still an edge here – the kids beg in the streets because they want to buy western food, not because they are hungry. And they are strong, if you say no, they just stand there and ask again. If you are forceful they will mock you and sometimes even swear “F**k you” to your face. You get looked at with distrust and some degree of jealousy. But, on the other hand, a smile and friendly “Buenos Dias” from us would evoke lovely big open smiles from so many locals. Where there is tourist infrastructure it is clearly influenced by the States – understandably when you see many American retirees living here. We spent a full three days in Granada – probably more than we needed given it rained a lot of the time were were there.

Our one sunny day we went to Masaya, a lovely market town about half an hour outside of Granada. We took a local (chicken) bus which took forever as it slowly ambled through the streets looking for passengers. But we did get to watch Hellboy in Spanish so it was quite a novel experience. We bought lovely hammocks and wondered around the streets soaking up everything. The one memory that will stay with me of Granada is the “family of rocking chairs”. There are no sofas/lounges in people's homes – rather every member of the family has their own rocking chair. So in every house you'd pass you'd see about five or six rocking chairs clustered around the coffee table. At night time you'd see families rocking away whilst watching a novella (soap opera) or chatting over the day's gossip.  

Monteverde

As mentioned before, the sun shone the morning we left Arenal so on the jeep-boat-jeep connection to Monteverde we got a great view of the volcano and the surrounding area. The road to Monteverde was a little bumpy and hilly, but was just wonderful when we arrived, if perhaps a little American (as is the rest of Costa Rica though). We stayed in a nice little hostel, met a lovely English couple who in so many ways were carbon copies of Bernard and I. We went on night walks in the forrest and continued to see amazing wildlife – more sloths, glowing fungus, tarantulas, vipers (snakes), amazingly bright fireflies. We went on the most amazing zip line – the distances were so long that a few times Bernard and I went together (when that happened we went incredibly fast). The highlight for me was doing the Tarzan swing – scary and exhilerating.

We also went to visit a wonderful butterfly garden – on the way there we walk through a lovely misty forrest area and saw a large family of capuchin monkeys. They were so playful and curious about us! When we arrived at the butterfly garden it started raining and my heart sank – butterflies don't tend to fly when its raining. But the lady was great – she showed us around the bug collection first (and boy are some of these bugs HUGE) and by the time we made it to the butterfly enclosures the rain had stopped, it warmed up and the butterflies were floating around so magnificently. As with all things in the cloud forrest area, by the time we finished our tour, we had a few moments to admire the hummingbirds before the rain started again. Monteverde was just lovely – we ate at a local style restaurant a lot and occasionally ate western food – though our hostel cooked delicious pancake breakfasts which can make any stay feel a tad more luxurious. When it rained we watched the spectacular lightening displays coming in from the pacific. I'd recommend this place to anyone in a heartbeat.

Volcan Arenal

We haven't really had good luck when it came to volanco climbing/watching. We've seen so many wonderful pictures of friends standing close to lava, and had hoped that Costa Rica's most active volcano would step up and show us what its all about. However, it wasn't the case. We arrived in beautiful mountains of Costa Rica and weren't entirely sure there was a volcano nearby – in actual fact, Arenal hides in clouds so much that we only saw it for a brief moment on the final day as we were checking out of our hotel. Arenal hasn't had an eruption since early October 2010 so there was no lava for us to see. And, like our time in the mountainous area of Panama, it rained pretty heavily for a lot of the day. We pottered around town buying wooden souvineers, eating in American style restaurants – I had my first proper salad for some time – quite the luxury.

On our day trip, we visited hanging bridges reserve and had a fantastic morning with mother nature. I spotted some howler monkeys (we heard them later on), we saw many species of birds, Costa Rica's famous blue jean frog (its tiny and red with bright blue legs, like its wearing jeans), snakes, Peccory (wild pigs) and sloths. After lunch the heavens erupted and it rained well into the night. So our walk on the edge of the volcano was sodden but interesting, and the luxurious hot springs were fantastic, but felt tepid as the cold rain fell. The moment the rain stopped the hot springs definetely felt hot. The springs were fantastic – they were certainly the poshest version we've ever been to - we had a drink poolside (and yes, they were pricey too) and then had a lovely dinner before returning to our hotel and then our jeep-boat-jeep connection to Monteverde the next morning.

San Jose

We flew from Bocas del Torro to San Jose because of the difficulties we had flying into Panama without a proof of onward journey. It seems to be somewhat of a catch 22, for we had the same problem trying to fly into Costa Rica – therefore we bought another flight from San Jose to Nicaragua right there at the airport so we could land in Costa Rica. These sorts of things don't seem to be as problematic at bus border crossings, that's for sure.

So we arrived safe and sound in San Jose. Not much to say about San Jose – we stayed two nights a week apart in a darling hostel owned by this adorable Nicaraguan gay guy called Frederico. The hostel was just wonderful – art deco interior and full of great people. A whole bunch of people (including Bernard) watched the final NBA match of the playoffs – thankfully Miami lost. We soaked up lots of hints from travellers who had already been further north. We didn't really do anything in San Jose but it was a convenient place to visit as part of your onward travelling.

Bocas del Torro

Ah, wonderful Bocas del Torro. After crossing over the continental divide to the Carribean coast, we had days and days of glorious weather in Bocas del Torro. We stayed in another guesthouse on the outskirts of the main town. Bocas is a bit on the pricy side so we made thorough use of our superb kitchen most days. Ham and cheese toasties with hot sauce has certainly become a favourite. Bernard was quite at home at the guest house, watching hummingbirds buzz around the feeders whilst sitting lazily in a hammock. The first few days took a little getting used to the intense sunshine and heat. One afternoon we rode for 40 minutes on the guesthouse's pushbikes to a lovely surf beach. The bike ride was magnificent, following the coast most of the way, spotting birds and listening for other wildlife. There was no surf – just dead flat – but a great afternoon regardless.

We spent two of our days snorkelling amongst the reefs and islands. We saw lots of vibrant corral one day, and the other day, swarms and swarms of fishes. Bernard was even lucky enough to see a shark and another large sting ray. We went sloth hunting and even saw one moving. We spent to Red Frog beach - saw the Red Frogs courtesy of the young boys selling viewings for a dollar. Had a beer/wine relaxing whilst the sun went down. We dined over the water a few times and the rest of our time relaxed in what was Panama's little slice of heaven. Bocas del Torro has definetely been one of the highlights of my trip thus far.