Ap's Journey into Sound

Cahuita

2009-06-29T22:54:00.000+01:00

Flying through Costa Rica due to its price level and the fact that it is absolutely filled with unfortunately loud people [OK, Americans] on 2 week holidays. Last stop Cahuita, which is on the Carribean coast and has a very mellow Rasta & Ganja vibe. It also sports a nifty national park filled to the gills with monkeys and crabs (not together). I also happened upon a lonely racoon and a timid Koati.
Whilst shuffling downtown on my final day someone taps me on the shoulder and says "Andrew". After about a second of unrecognition I finally realise it was an ex-school colleague who I hadn't seen in night on 22 years. Small world.

Santa Elena / Monteverde, Costa Rica

2009-06-28T22:40:00.000+01:00

Up in the cloud forest in the middle of Costa Rica, Monteverde is wetter than a waterpark and quite a bit of fun. Stayed in a great hostel called Pension Santa Elena, where everyone was a cool as a polar bears' toenails and liked to have a drink and chill out on the deck at night. Unfortunately Costa Rican prices induce stay at home drinking as the bars charge an extortinate 2 dollars a beer. Did the usual thing of flying through the canopy on a wire which was a lovely way of working off a mild hangover.
Also spent a couple of hours in the rain forest looking for wildlife, but other than a couple of Germans saw nada and got absolutely soaking wet.

San Juan Del Sur

2009-06-21T22:32:00.000+01:00

San Juan is the Nicaraguan riveria. Beach, surfing and cheap booze. Just about everything your average tourist needs to keep them happy.
My stay was uneventful until the last night where I was accousted by a rather forthright tranny and then had to scale the walls and roof of my hostel, where the owner had decided to lock up and not answer my knocks. Teetering on a Nicarguan rooftop whilst being completely intoxicated is a great way to get sober...

Worn out

2009-06-14T23:06:00.001+01:00

It's tough on the road.

3 dollar Mexican Flip Flops RIP.

Photies

2009-06-14T22:53:00.002+01:00

Some shots of Little Corn Island
Granada
And some fantastic ones (if I do say so myself) of Isla Ometepe

Isla Ometepe

2009-06-13T02:07:00.002+01:00

Volcanoes: Cool
Volcano in the middle of a lake: Supercool
Two volcanoes in the middle of a lake: Knock me over and call me Dr. Evil cool...

Yes, Isla Ometepe is actually two volcanoes joined by a smallish causeway in the middle of a lake. I would say the journey from Granada to Merida, Ometepe is about 70km as the crow flies, but the journey took at least 12 hours. The main reason being that the ferry over to the island chugs along like an asthmatic geriatric and the roads on the island are glorified dirt tracks. But after the long journey arriving at Hacienda Merida was priceless. Situated on the lake, with palm trees, monkeys and crocodiles I just managed to catch a sunset right in front of the volcano. Eat your heart out Mastercard.

Granada

2009-06-11T01:36:00.002+01:00

You can see the connections to Spain in Nica. Two of their biggest towns are called Leon and Granada and their currency is called a Cordoba.

Granada is as close to Europe as you are going to get in Central America. Cobblestone streets, shady parks and even cafes and bars with outside seating, something otherwise unheard of down here. Even in oh-so-touristy Antigua.

All this of course encourages masses of tourists. I don't really know why, as it is basically like any mid sized town in southern Europe. Something a group of Spanish doctors brought home to me whilst diving on little corn. They were only on holidays for two weeks in Nica and I asked them had they been to Leon or Granada. They replied with humour that if they wanted cobblestones, churches and parks then they would have stayed at home.

Nonetheless Granada is undoubtedly lovely, situated on Lago de Nicaragua, which is the largest lake in Central America and one of the 20 largest in the world. The pace is slow and it is fantastic to see as the evening breaks families sitting in chairs outside their houses, kids playing contentedly with each other till the wee small hours. Something which apparently shocks Americans.

But again the curse of tourism is evident. Prices are high and begging quite prevalent.

Oh well, nowhere is perfect.

Quirks

2009-06-09T18:35:00.002+01:00

For a small, relatively homogenous area with a common history, Central America has quite a few country specific quirks, for example:
* As opposed to most countries I know, Nicaraguan taxi drivers do not consider one passenger as a ride. They will stop and pick other people up who are going in [very] vaguely the same direction. Quite frustrating when you are going to the airport and the driver picks up a woman, does a u-turn on the airport road to drop her home with the shopping
* The supermarkets of coastal Belize & Panama are mainly owned by Chinese people. I believe they were "imported" 100 years ago to build the canal and hack down forest, but true to their industrious nature they have bought up the supermarkets. They still speak Chinese and there is Chinese music on the stereo, not to mention a great selection of noodles and exotic produce for sale in their stores. Their Spanish and English is rudimentary.
* There are indigenous people all over Central America, from Mexico down to Panama. But it is only in Guatemala where for some reason they are completely in the majority (outside the capital).
* Everyone loves their local music. From Reggaeton in Belize to Merengue in Mexico. But in El Salvador you are more likely to hear Bonnie Tyler (aside: if I hear "Total Eclipse of the Heart" one more time I will scream) and Tina Turner on the radio.
* Most of Central America, like their southern neighbours is soccer mad, but Nicaragua and Panama are more into baseball. In every dusty field in Honduras the local kids will be playing with a football. Cross the border to Nicaragua and they are all throwing baseballs at each other. Must look into the incidences of broken windows down here.
* Belize, Honduras and Guatemala are all gun toting. Every largish store and petrol station is protected by a guy with a shotgun. A lot of chaps stroll around with a pistol strapped to their side. In Nicaragua there are none or are at least invisible. Which is born out by the Bush mantra "arm 'em to ensure mutual safety" defeating homicide statistics on Wikipedia. El Salvador, Honduras & Guatemala high up, Nicaragua well down. [Mothers please do not read].
* Food is fairly standard here. Fried chicken, hamburgers, fish. But every county has their local fast food. In Mexico it is the ubiquitous Taco, filled with chicken, pork, tripe, or most commonly beef. In Honduras the national fast food is the Baleada. A bit like a large taco, covered in ground beef, fried beans, eggs and cheese. Or whatever the chef finds hanging around. Finally in El Salvador it is the ever present Pupusa. Either filled with cheese, pork rind or beans.

Little Corn Island

2009-06-08T19:17:00.000+01:00

After the stresses and strains of drinking in Leon it was time to get airborn again and head out to the Corn Islands.
Departing from Managua's domestic terminal (Total number of gates: 1) one jumps on a propeller driven island hopper which chugs up into the air and flies along at cloud level for an hour or so. Then it rapidly descends into Bluefields (an old pirate town, where they still have a maypole celebration every May, true to their English heritage) to drop off a couple of people before stuggling down the runway again to head over to Big Corn Island.
The island slowly becomes visible and is surrounded by the most beautiful turquoise waters and massive coral reefs, which are also visible from the plane as dark splotches beneath the water. A brief taxi ride and a 20 minute boat ride and final destination: Little Corn Island is reached.
Little Corn has no bank, no roads, no cars, no electricity during the day and is if not entirely off the beaten track very close to the edge of it. Accomodation is rudimentary - beach side bungalow, bed, mosquito net, plastic chair. But Carlito runs a great place and cooks up a storm in the kitchen.
I spent a week there and apart from 5 dives and lots of beer I can't really tell you what I did. But whatever it was it was damn enjoyable.

Leon, Nicaragua

2009-06-02T00:51:00.001+01:00

Another herculian effort saw me visit 3 countries in one day, leaving Alegria at 7am and reaching Leon at 5pm after passing through Honduras on the way. Only four busses, one minivan and a cycle rickshaw were needed to complete the journey.
Leon is one of Nicaragua's colonial towns and has some great nightlife. It is a student town and quite touristy, but they manage to mix extremely well, which is quite uncommon. Normally bars are either full of gringos or locals but in Leon the two coexist peacefully, the wonders of alcohol making univeral understanding a piece of cake.
The other item of note in Leon is a volcano close to town with slopes covered in fine ash/rock, which makes it quite suitable for sliding down on your ass. Cerro Negro is also a new volcano, arising out of the ground only a hundred or so years ago. The hike up is tough, but the views are amazing. With all photos taken and sights absorbed it was time to suit up in a Beastie Boys �Intergalactic� painters outfit, complete with googles and locate my arse on a piece of plywood with some metal nailed to the base. Then all I had to do was point the contraption down the 41 degree slopes of the mountain and let gravity do the rest. 54 seconds later and covered in volcano bits I arrived at the bottom and promtly crashed harmlessly into a boulder.

Photos

The El Salvador 1 Degree of Seperation Project

2009-05-31T00:52:00.001+01:00

You've all heard of the six degrees of separation theory, but in an unusual natural quirk, in El Savaldor it is actually one degree of seperation. Yes, that means everybody knows each other here. It's like when someone says "Oh, you are from Ireland, you MUST know Paddy Murphy". And you do.
It started off in San Salvador - Rudi the owner of the Irish pub El Arpa Irlandes recommended the hostal Escencia Natural in El Zonte where he often goes at the weekend. Whilst in Suchitoto, Richard the owner of the El Gringo, said to stay in Casa Frolaz in Santa Ana with Javier. While climbing Izalco, one of the tourist police used to work in Suchitoto and knew Richard and Rene, the owner of Vistaconga tours there. And Javier in Santa Ana knew everyone in the entire country. Probably on a first name basis.

Alegria

2009-05-30T02:46:00.001+01:00

Meaning happiness in Spanish, Alegria is El Salvador's highest town and a little gem. Situated on the side of a volcano (shocker), the fertile soils are perfect for growing flowers and the town is veritably in bloom. Also like most of El Salvador it is wonderfully lacking in gringos. In fact I went 2 days without seeing another tourist.
The highlight of the town is the crater lake, a leisurely walk uphill. It is a eerie green colour and as I made it there the clouds descended to create an even spookier mood. Nevertheless it is a stunning place and one of the highlights of fantastic El Salvador, which treated me to a little earthquake (well not so little when it hit 7.1 on the Richter in Honduras) on my last night, gently rocking my bed at 2am.

Time to move on to Nicaragua.

Photos of Alegria

Complete set of photos from El Salvador

Santa Ana

2009-05-23T01:34:00.000+01:00

El Salvador's second city, Santa Ana is as quiet as a second city comes. It still has many dirt roads and the market is like something out of the Congo. But on a recommendation I settled into Casa Frolaz. It's a private house turned into 3 roomed hostel and the owner - Javier, is a famous Salvadorenan artist not to mention cook, historian, story teller and general all around nice guy.

In fact most evenings we just ended up in Javier's lovely back garden, drinking beer and discussing everything from Obama to the state of El Salvador's football team to the world economy to the price of property and gang warfare in San Salvador. The only thing to spoil the fun were Javier's mammoth (and I mean mammoth) Avocados that would fall intermittently from the tree above our heads.

Killer Avocado.

On the last day I took a bus up past the lovely Lake Coatepeque to Cerro Verde. At 11am they run a tour up either Volcano Santa Ana (the highest mountain in El Salvador), which is a leisurely 1 hour stroll or up Volcano Itzalco, a 4 hour clamber up one of the world's newest volcanoes. 250 years ago Itzalco did not even exist. Then it just shot up in the geological equivalent of teenage growing pains, grumbling, scaring people and spouting lava everywhere.

It was my lucky day and it was to be Itzalco. There had been some robberies on the volcanoes a couple of years back, so myself and an American couple had 2 policemen and a guide to accompany us. Struck me as odd though why bandidos would choose people hiking on a volcano to rob. Surely people don't carry the crown jewels and a 1000 dollars in cash whilst climbing? Whatever.

We started off, rather depressingly, descending 900 steps through a rainforest only to come out and stare up agog at this picture perfect gray volcano monster. We made the top slowly, where a mixture of clouds and fumeroles covered us in cold and hot steam. We surfed the way back down, followed all the time by 2 vultures who had their eyes on the rather chubby, looking like she was going to collapse American girl. Then it was the 900 steps back up again, where I lost the couple and hung on to the lead policeman who was as fit as a ferret at 37 years of age. We made it back up ridiculously quickly, and I found out the reason why. At 2pm on the dot the heaven's broke. But I was already tucked away in the comedor having some pupusas and drinking coffee. The couple arrived half an hour later, not looking too happy.

Photos

Suchitoto

2009-05-21T01:10:00.000+01:00

More relaxed than a stoned sloth on valium, the "nothing to do with Japan" colonial village of Suchitoto is what travelling is all about. A beautiful town with extremely friendly natives, good cheap restaurants, enough things to keep you busy during the day (including the lake and the local Los Tercios waterfalls) and one single ex-rebel owned bar, replete with 54 photos of Che on the wall to meet everyone for a couple of Pilseners later on.

It has "future tourist mecca" written all over the place and I really hope for its sake it remains unfulfilled for as long as possible. The locals are happy & genuinely friendly and those tourists that make it here are rewarded with an unforgettable experience.

Photos here

San Salvador

2009-05-19T22:57:00.000+01:00

El Salvador fills many with visions of war, gangs and general chaos. But from the very first encounter with the border guards (female, she said the Spanish equivalent of "Hello Luv") onwards, El Salvador has been without doubt the friendliest place in Central America. Also in its favour it has the least amount of tourists in the region. In fact I spent Saturday afternoon moseying around San Salvador's bustling city center and did not see a single gringo. Which made me a bit of a novelty as when I chose a tiny comedor in the main plaza for a hamburger and a Pilsener (more plus points for El Salvador, the beer is great and it costs a dollar a bottle), I attracted a small, but fascinated crowd as the Matron D� clucked around me and kept providing fresh refreshments any time I looked thirsty. I left a couple of hours later, sated and inebriated and 5 dollars lighter for the pleasure.

San S. also has some lovely suburbs (where I stayed), well tended and clean, with an array of bars and restaurants. I headed to El Arfa Irlandes ("The Irish Harp" for those with translation diffuckilties) in the evening, yet again to be the only Gringo there. Well, except for the owner that was. I expected to have the red carpet rolled out, but it turns out the owner is actually German. So there I was in the suburbs of San Salvador in an Irish bar chatting in German as salsa played in the background.

As Vinney would say, the needle on the "Oddometer" was definitely in the red zone that night.

Atitlan

2009-05-17T01:07:00.000+01:00

Large lake with emerald green waters up in Guatemalan Highlands? Check.
Surrounded by 3 massive volcanos? Check.
Indigenous villages dotted in between? Check.
Virgin forest intersperses with banana trees and coffee plantations? Check.
Famous person raving about its beauty? Check. (Aldous Huxley called Lake Atitlan "the most beautiful lake in the world")

Yes, it is hard not to fall in love with Atilan. Even in the rainy season (which seemed to break out overnight on the way from Utila to Copan) Atitlan is stunning. The volcanoes playing strip tease with clouds as clothes, only fully exposing their peaks for about 2 minutes a day.

Villages are named after the saints - San Pedro, San Pablo, San Marcus, San Juan - each having their own vibe. San Marcus is as chilled out as a polar bear's toenails. With more Yoga studios than you could shake an upward facing dog at. San Pedro being one of the larger towns has a nice mix of hammocks and bars, so of course was the place I chose to sling my rucksack, climb some hills, swim around and generally relax (not that I need any more relaxing, but you know).

The place is filled with Mayans all wearing their traditional dress and it is more common to hear the vaguely arabic, gutteral sounds of Tz'utujil Mayan than Spanish. The language is so tribal that a Mayan from San Pedro can only understand a tiny amount of Sipakapense Mayan spoken in San Marcus (8km away). They lead a very traditional life and you will still see the women of the village carrying bowls of corn on their head to the miller every morning. Queuing up waiting for their corn to be turned into paste, which will be used to make their tortillas.

Really a fantastic place and somewhere I�m sure I�ll return - probably to buy this place :)

Pictures of ridiculously photogenic Atitlan

Pacaya

2009-05-14T01:06:00.003+01:00

2 hours from Antigua, Pacaya is one of Guatemala's three active volcanoes.
We started off in a beat-up Hiace van at 2pm and as soon as we neared the road up to Pacaya the heavens broke and a most unmerciful thunderstorm broke out (unsure at first if it was maybe the volcano errupting). The roads turned into rivers and I think the driver was using the force to navigate as there was nothing visible out the windscreen (windscreen wipers are optional in Guate).

Luckily by the time we reached the entrace to the national park the rain had subsided. Despite this the van was engulfed by 50 local kids all jostling to sell us rain macs for 5 Quetzales. I told them I was Irish so it was normal weather for me, but was met with unbelieving eyes and snotty noses. Once the mac kids were gone a second wave of kids homed in on us. These were the stick kids who tried to impress on me the importance of having a big stick whilst walking on a volcano. I declined, much to their indignation at neither having rain gear NOR a stick.

The hike up through the cloud forest was easy enough and after 90 minutes or so we came out of the forest and onto some scree. Traversing the side of a lower peak we rounded a corner and Pacaya stood before us, just like a child's drawing with a plume of smoke emitting from the crater at the summit. More impressive still was the lava river which was oozing from the side. Our jovial guide just hopped up onto the old lava rivers and marched across. Ever a believer in "the guide knows best" mantra I tagged along behind him and soon we were as close to the lava river as my eyebrows would allow without being singed off. The rest of the group followed very slowly behind us.

Some enterprising Aussies had actually brought along some sausages with them and ever a nation to "toss a shrimp on the barbie", they were soon attaching forks to the end of their walking sticks and fashioning extra long bbq equipment. Lava seems to be a fantastic replacement for charcol and within minutes we were all sharing some extremely tasty sausages.

Pictures of Pacaya here

Chichicastenango

2009-05-14T01:00:00.005+01:00

Famed for it's Sunday markets, Chichicastenango or "Chichi" for short (thank God) is a quick ride up the Carretera Interamericana from Antigua. The Mayans from the local villages descend en-masse from the hills to pedal their wares. Much like San Cristobal, everything from Machettes to Mops and Chickens to Courgettes is for sale. Ever colourful, the Mayans wear their traditional dress and pop into the local church for a spot of benediction between matters more materialistic.

A few pics here

Antigua

2009-05-14T00:59:00.003+01:00

Goodbye Honduras and back to Guatemala. Destination Antigua, ex-capital of Guatemala until in 1776 an earthquake flattened the place. It is a lovely spot, dominated by the Volcano Agua which is visible from every street and is extremely useful for navigating the city. The streets are cobbled and Antigua just exudes a dignified air. But of course all these features ensure that Antigua has a huge volume of tourists, so restaurants are geared towards gringos and every second shop is a travel agency. Not bad for a day or two.

Pictures here

Copan

2009-05-12T23:38:00.001+01:00

Travelling is a mixed bag and for most of the time it is amazing. A constant sensory onslaught of sights, sounds and smells (or all 3 and more in India's case). But one thing that does set in after a while is travel blaise-ness (for want of a better term).
One can drink a 1997 Romane Conti, a 1982 Chateau Lafite or even a 1945 Mouton Rothschild and still get a kick out of a nice bottle of Pinot Noir in good company. One can have a Kobe Steak in NYC or Sushi in Nobu and still enjoy a sandwich by the side of the road. But after seeing Angkor Wat, Palenque, Chichen Itza and Tikal poor old Copan was in for a hard time.

Smaller than all the others, it boasts no massive f*ckoff pyramids nor an amazing rain forest location. In fact it is by the side of the road in western Honduras. Admittedly it has some fancy carving and some macaws flying around, but will not be winning any Pyramid of the year 646 competition.

Pictures here

The world beer review, Part #5

2009-05-12T00:28:00.000+01:00

Belkin Beer: Belkin is owned by the Bowen family and have a beer monopoly in Belize. That said it's not bad.
Belkin Stout: They use the same bottles for Belkin lager and stout. In fact the only way you can distinguish them is the colour of the bottle cap. That said I had a couple of Belkin Stout one night and thought I was drinking the lager. Not going to challenge Guinness any time soon.
Belkin Lighthouse: Belkin goes Corona. Piss.
Salva Vida: Honduras's national beer. Any beer that means "Life Saver" (and has a picture of a life saving ring on the label) can only be fantastic in my books... and it is! Delicious.
Port Royal: Honduras's "posh" beer. More expensive than Salva and also delicious but it doesn't have the ring and doesn't save lives, so only a second choice. Brewed by Helmut Lutz, Brewmaster (retired)!
Barena: Honduras's Corona, only better. Well done Honduras. Quality.

Photos

2009-05-11T02:39:00.002+01:00

Some photos of Flores, Tikal and Utila

Armed to the hilt

2009-05-11T02:28:00.003+01:00

After witnessing 4 Soliders carrying assault rifles patrol the beach in Mexico you kind of become immune to the whole gun carrying thing. That is until you hit Guatemala and Honduras where civilians are allowed carry guns too. Whilst in a taxi in San Pedro Sula a moped pulled up alongside us. The driver had a rifle on his lap and his pillion passenger was embracing a shotgun. I smiled meekly at them and they waved back. I'm sure they were just off to a duck hunt. 10 minutes later a pickup truck whizzed by with 4 men in balaclavas all holding assault rifles. They were probably just the back up in case the ducks turned nasty...

How to learn English in Central America

2009-05-11T02:20:00.004+01:00

Snapped on my TV in Copan...

Utila, Honduras

2009-05-08T18:49:00.005+01:00

It was on from Livingston via San Pedro Sula to Utila, one of the Honduran bay islands. Utila is famous for one thing and that is diving, so with that in mind I set myself up in the pretty mango inn and signed up for the PADI Rescue Diver course. PADI (the world's largest diving organisation) is a bit like karate and has a hierarchy that would make your head spin. Starting off from snorkeling you progress to be an Open Water Diver, from there on to be an Advanced Open Water diver (which means you can go deeper and explore wrecks), to a Rescue Diver (saving people, finding bodies) which is the final amateur stage before becoming a Divemaster and progressing to being a Scuba Deity. Of course PADI charges for each course, so by the time you've made it to the top you've probably paid PADI well over $10,000.

The Rescue Diver course is useful as it teaches you first aid, using emergency oxygen, how to react to stressed and tired divers. hauling unconcious divers back to the boat to finaly searching for missing divers and recovering divers from underwater. To say the course was stressful is mildy understating it, as from the evening of day one, when we came out of the class room to find one divemaster lying on the dock under blocks of wood groaning whilst his Divemaster Trainee (DMT) buddy started to freak out and scream at me "Is he going to die??", "Do something, do something". As soon as I had settled that scene down there was another DMT at the end of the dock with ketchup all over his shoulder. Bandaging done, he suddenly fainted and it was on to CPR to keep him alive.

For the next 3 days these three DMTs and our instructor (Fernando a cool, tatooed up to the eyebrows, 5ft nothing Spanish bloke) made our lives hell. Every time myself and the 2 other participants turned around, one of the DMTs was in the water (or more likely, all of them were in the water) in various states of drowning, either with diving kit on or not. I must have jumped in the water at least 20 times. They would rip off your mask, push you underwater, in fact whatever - acting as panicked divers do. As soon as one was saved Fernando would tell us that there was a diver missing so we would don our gear, dive down and search for the missing body. Upon finding it, you wrap your legs around their tank and inflate their BCD, bringing the body to the surface. Once on the surface you would swim back to shore, whilst taking their gear off. All the time you are doing this you are giving them rescue breaths every 5 seconds. On arrival at shore you have to drag them onto the boat (tricky as one of our DMs was 100kg), give them emergency oxygen and CPR.

Well anyway, I passed and proceeded to find, rescue and empty copious amounts of rum and coke.