I don’t remember how we came to the decision to take a trip to Central America. We also have a hard time remembering what we all did there, as due to circumstances I’m starting this travelogue nearly a year after we made the trip. We did always wanted to visit Costa Rica, as many friends of ours here in the US rave about the beauty of this country. So it’s not far fetched to consider a few other countries nearby, even if those countries were not high on the list of our friends.
For whatever reason, my interests have never gone out to south or central American countries. In Dutch we would say: Unknown makes unloved, which works pretty much in English too. But after our cruise to South America my opinion about Latin America was thoroughly adjusted. So we set out to discover Central America, as we had also done with South America. San José, here we come!
San José, Costa Rica
The city of San José left both positive and negative memories. Positive: it’s nice and warm, has beautiful nature, friendly people and it’s fairly close to the US, so you don’t need to spend days to get there. Negative: we got mugged there. I will elaborate. In a busy street some young guys boxed me in so I got separated from Gepke whom they subsequently tried to free from her possessions. The whole event took place in about 3 seconds, and I was not even aware of it until the thief raced off with his loot.
His loot was meager, as he had not contended with Gepke’s determination to hang on to her phone. He tried pulling hard but in the end gave up and yanked off her necklace and ran off. In the end this experience did not spoil our vacation, as the loss was minor and travel insurance covered it. But it was a poor introduction to Costa Rica.
Hotel
The rest of our stay was great. Our hotel was centrally located, we could walk to most places we wanted to go. As usual for us we walked a lot which in my opinion is the best way to discover any place. On our walks of sometimes 8 miles or more we went to the many tiny supermarkets to gather snacks followed by small parks to consume our snacks. Along the way we found the Jade Museum. I can definitely recommend that one for the impressive collection of earthenware and jade. Start on the top floor and work your way down. As to parks, La Sabana Metropolitan park is worth a visit. Not exactly a small park, but a cool place to hang out.
I cannot recommend any restaurants as they are all perfect and so affordable, so pick your own. We ate at La Criollita Restaurant, a little pricier than some others but very tasty local cuisine. All in all we spent 3 days in San Juan before meeting the members of the group with which we would be traveling the next two weeks.
Group meeting and start of tour
As usual on these tours, we meet our tour leader first and then the other group members. The tour leader starts with a talk about what will take place in the coming days and then we introduce ourselves. Every tour we’ve traveled with consists of a wide assortment of countries and characters. Usually we click with everyone and this group was no exception. It looks like we’ll get along just fine. We head out to look around San José with the others and still end up seeing things we had not seen on our own.
Rincón de la Vieja
Rincón was quite a ride from San José, so we didn’t arrive till late in the evening. Our hotel is located in a beautiful rainforest setting. We had dinner first at La Jaguar restaurant and then set out into the rainforest at night for a walk in a very dark environment. I felt unsure of my footing and it was not easy to keep up with everyone. Why we did this at night was a mystery to me. I guess our fearless leader was hoping to see some nocturnal animals, but I missed those. There is also a canopy walk possible here, but closed at night. We will have the opportunity to try this tomorrow though we are promised.
The following day was a lot better as I could actually see something. After breakfast at our hotel we went on a long drive to a volcanic area. We walked along a path through a rough area that took us to smoking fumaroles and bubbling mud pots. Sort of reminiscent of Yellowstone; all of Central America is very volcanic. We return in time to do the canopy walk that was promised the day before. In the evening we eat at the hotel restaurant, the Mirador. and then watch the sunset from the large patio at the hotel.
Nandel Beach
Next day we go the Nandel Beach Resort. It’s very windy and the palm trees are moving dramatically. Gepke and I get a room on the second floor and we have a beautiful view of the area and the sea. We go for a walk on the beach where we can watch people kite surfing. The wind is so strong that they occasionally are flying quite a distance before touching down on the water again. We return to the room and while I take a nap, Gepke goes for a swim in the hotel pool. It’s very comfortable here, too bad we only stay here one night. At least we get to enjoy drinks with the group at the bar and meal at the restaurant.
Nicaragua
In the morning the wind has died down but unfortunately we have to leave. We are going to Nicaragua. After about an hour drive we arrive at the border. José has warned us that immigration can take a very long time, but things go much faster than he expected. We carry our luggage across the border into Nicaragua where the bus driver Ariel is waiting for us. He drives us along Lake Nicaragua for about an hour allowing us to enjoy the view. Then a stop to take pictures of Concepcion and Maderas Volcanos on Ometepe Island from the beach. We continue a bit more then stop again to take pictures of the volcanos along the side of the road. The day ends in Granada at the hotel for the night: Hotel Patio del Malinche. We have a group dinner at the garden café in the evening.
Masaya Volcano
The following day we had breakfast at around seven. Our breakfast consisted of a large fruit plate that we shared between the two of us. Then each of us was given a plate with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, rice, and bread. At around 9:30 we left for Lake Managua. We took a boat tour along the shore of the lake and saw many birds and cows in the water, and we sang karaoke on the boat. We also saw monkeys: cappuccino and white face monkeys. When we got back to the hotel, Gepke and I went to the AmPm store and bought some snacks for the following days.
In the late afternoon the bus took us to the volcano. We then spend hours waiting for the sun to go down. Once it was dark enough we took pictures of the glowing crater of the Masaya volcano.
Leon
We leave the following day at 8 AM to head to Leon. Along the way, we stop to view the volcanoes located on an island in Lake Managua. One of the stops along the way, is at a rest stop under construction. The construction workers allow us to walk around there, even though the place is not finished yet. It’s the perfect place to take photos of the surroundings here.
When we arrive at our hotel in Leon (Hotel Austria), we are allowed some time to recover. Then in the afternoon we go on a CityWalk with our new guide Franklin. Leon is quite different from Granada. You can tell Granada was a very wealthy city. Leon has many more older buildings that unfortunately are almost falling apart.
The following day we have a day off. Gepke goes on boat trip to the Mangrove Reserve in Las Peñitas. Small boats are not my thing, so I stay in Leon and walk around a little. We meet again in the afternoon and spend it together.
El Salvador
Today a very early start of the day at 4 o’clock. We take the road through Honduras, as this is the only way to get to El Salvador. Nicaragua does not border El Salvador. There is a short part of Honduras that separates the two countries. Shortly before the capital city San Salvador, we turn north towards Suchitoto, where we will spend the night.
Today is a free day and we walk through the city of Suchitoto. It has a beautiful cathedral near the central Square. In the morning we make Pupusas, a local delicacy. After the lessons, we returned to the Central Plaza, where we try to find something to eat for dinner. It’s clear that the Pupusas we made did not quiet our appetite. There’s nothing to eat here, so instead we have some drinks on the terrace. We end up having dinner at our hotel, which has cozy little seating areas to have dinner or drinks. The hotel is very nice here.
Honduras
The day starts with a drive from Suchitoto to Copan in Honduras. We have a short stop in Las Palma, where we visit the crafts markets. Much time is taken up by several border crossings into Honduras and Guatemala. Late in the afternoon we arrive in Copan. It’s a nice town but only overnight stop for us. Gepke and I skip the group dinner and dine without the group.
A visit to the Copan ruins is on the schedule for today. Marvin is our guide and stops at every tree to talk about it. Some of the ruins are not more than a pile of rubble, hardly recognizable due to the trees that grow from it. However there are others that have been restored to their former glory. Afterwards we drive all the way to and through Guatemala City. Our hotel Best Western Stofella is waiting for us where we arrive after 7 pm. Dinner at the hotel is painfully slow. We wait over an hour for our drinks and food.
Guatemala
We left the hotel early to go to Lake Atitlan. After we drive through Guatemala city and are shown the major sites, we exit the city. A long drive along a winding mountain road takes us to Sana. Some hours later we arrive at Hotel Villa Santa Catharina in Santa Catharina Palopo. We immediately depart again to board a boat to Santiago Atitlán on the other side of Lake Atitlán.
In the village, we have lunch and walk around a little bit. We then go back across the lake. On the very choppy water the boat bounces around constantly. I am not a happy camper and relieved when we arrive at the next village. Here we visit a ceramics factory, where we buy a little owl. The last stop is at our hotel again where Gepke goes swimming. I settle down in a chair and recover from the boat ride. In the evening we have dinner together at the hotel.
Chichicastanango
We leave Atitlán and head towards Chichicastanango. In this village, we will visit the local market. On our way to the market we passed a small band that is playing very, very loud music. Right on front of a small house on a corner where the brotherhood of San Sebastian is located. Inside we drink something that tastes like dishwater. We are happy to leave this loud, busy place to look at the rest of the village.
There are two markets, one that occurs every day and one that is only on Thursday and Sunday. The latter has only vegetables and flowers. The other one has every object that you can imagine: masks, blankets, wood carvings, clothing, shoes, tools, and so forth. We end up buying a mask of a jaguar and a smaller mask of a skull. After that we are all loaded into the bus again and head towards Antigua. Around four in the afternoon we arrive at our hotel in Antigua where we settle in. In the evening we have dinner at the neighboring Italian restaurant: Osteria di Francesco.
Antigua
We really enjoyed Antigua and with a heavy heart we drive back to Guatemala City. We are dropped at the airport to catch a plane to Atlanta on our way to Greenville.
(More photos of Central America can be seen here)