Monday, December 28, 2009

Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray, Maras, MachuPicchu

Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray, Maras, MachuPicchu

Cusco definitely grew on me as the days went by, as it was cheap, convenient and full of things to do and see, albeit full of tourists! On my second day I headed to the market for a super cheap, and super filling, lunch, followed by 4 glasses of "lucuma" juice: a great deal! On my way out of the market I noticed a lady selling strange fried balls with peppers or tomatoes inside...I was stuffed, but my curiosity got the best of me and I couldn't resist buying some and storing them in my bag for a snack later on...I went on a guided city tour in the afternoon, which definitely wasn't my thing, but it covered several ruins within and around Cusco: Saqsaywaman, Q'enqo, PukaPukara, and another one...too many tourists and too lkttle to see, if you ask me!
The next day my stomach woke me up before my alarm did, and it was not pleasant! I was bloated, with stomach cramps and shivers, and I had to visit the bathroom a few times...I knew by then that those fried "balls" had not settled well in my stomach! Just thinking about them gave me gag reflexes by then! I definitely knew right away who the culprit was...but as they say, curiosity killed the cat I guess! I tried to get my day started, since I had many plans, but everything got delayed a little bit! I eventually reached Pisac, a nice little town that's part of the Valle Sagrado, the valley surrounding Cusco...I was in pain, but I was trying my best to forget about it and make the best of my day! While in town I got to eat some "pizza flavored" empanadas cooked in their typical ovens, next to which they had Guinea pig temples, that is little catles made of mud and clay where a bunch of Guinea pigs ("cuy" is a national "delicacy" here!) were running around! I took a taxi up to the Inca ruins, which were amazing and surrounded by beautiful terraces! The whole thing was quite a hike and the altitude was kicking in, in addition to my stomach being upset, but it was worth it!
I then caught a local bus to the next ruins at Ollantaytambo, which featured the same terraces and were in a similar setting as Pisac. After a few more crowded-to-the-max local buses I got off and took an expemsive taxi to Maras and up and down a winding road amidst beautiful mountains to reach Moray, a huge "hole" made of terraced land where every "floor" has a completely distinct eco-system and different crops are grown; how all of this happens and works has been a mystery since the Incas, but it's quite an amazing sight that was used by the Incas for agricultural "experiments"...you can walk all the way down to the bottom of it, from where your voices echoes resoundingly, and I was told that the place never gets flooded even during rain season...quite amazing!
My next place was even better: the salt pools by Maras! It's another breath-taking setting for an incredible number (around 300 I think) of little pools where salty water from the mountain flows through and eventually evaporates leaving behind salt that has been used since Inca times. The most fascinating thing was seeing how the water had found ways to feed all of the different, numerous pools through little canals!
After another super crowded, standing room only, local bus I made it back to Cusco skipping Chinchero, because it was getting dark and my stomach was telling me to get to a bathroom as soon as humanly possible! By this time, my whole body was shaking and aching, I had shivers and my head was hurting...it seemed to me like a mild case of altitude sickness on top of my stomch problems! I made it back to Cusco and by then every step seemed like a daunting task, my head was spinning and I had trouble putting up with the noise, the traffic and the crowds! 
The next day was Christmas Eve and I woke up the same way as the day before...judging by my immediate trip to the bathroom, whatever had been causing this pain had not yet made it through my body, but I told myself it would be a matter of hours (boy, was I wrong?!) and boarded my minibus for MachuPicchu! The route was once again spectacular and we reached over 4500m before descending along a winding road under heavy rains...this 6-hour trip proved to be anything but boring, as we had a flat on the way up, avoided a minivan that was upside down in the middle of the road, as well as several rocks along the way! Once we descended into jungle-like territory, a local "tire shop" gave us a new one in exchange for the one that was flat (all of this was done in a primitive way, which needed 2 people and involved hammering away at the poor tires!).
We eventually reached a place from where we could walk to Aguas Calientes, but the rain was intense and I decided to pay for the extremely overpriced train thst took almost an hour to cover 9 km!!! Once into town, K, K, M and I found a cheap hostel for the night and proceeded to check out the local hot springs, a series of 6-7 natural pools filled with hot, murky water...it was pretty relaxing!!!
We went to dinner for Christmas Eve and spent the rest of the evening till midnight walking around the little touristy town, then exploded some fircrackers and went to bed!
The next day, Christmas Day as well, started at 4.30 when we woke up and wouldn't end till very late at night...it was still dark when the 3 Japanese and I headed out of town towards MachuPicchu on foot to avoid the super expensive "shuttle bus" after we had paid over 40$ just for the entrance to the MP ruins! The steep 3.5km hike took us over an hour through the deep forest under the rain, and gave us a better idea of how remote this Inca city must have been in the past! The location was definitely exceptional, high up over a rough river and amidst tall, lush mountains...so lush that when we first got to the ruins we could not see anything!!! Thick, white clouds were covering the whole place like a blanket, and the tropical rain was not helping of course!!! The disappointment was evident among us, especially after having had to pay so much money and wait so long to get there...it almost seemed like a legalized scam to me, and that's one of the things that upsets me the most when I travel! Of course it was nobody's fault, but the Christmas Day I had pictured in my mind couldn't be further away from reality! We walked around the ruins tryin to make sense of it all, and seemed quite content with taking pictures of llamas for a bit, since they were the only visible thing then! Walking for a few hours in the cold and thick rain was definitely unpleasant, but it was made even worse by the clouds and fog that prevented anyone from getting an idea of the size and majesty of the whole place, and after we had made it all the way around the whole Inca city we paused at the panoramic spot a little bit longer till it was time to trek back to Aguas Calientes...we were there waiting with other people when all of a sudden came the winds to swipe away the clouds, and little by little, within a minute or so and for no longer than a few minutes...wow, that is what MachuPicchu usually looks like from up here! It was short but amazing, and excitement was in the air as people were trying to take as many pictures as possible in such a short time! The very same way as one that is hungry becomes satisfied once he/she gets a full belly, all of us who had been longing for a decent view of MP felt so much better after just a couple of minutes of semi-clear skies! 
It was finally time to hike back down to town and hop on the train that took us back to our minibuses, all the while dreaming of a warm shower and dry clothes! The whole trip back had seemed like a minor detail when explained to me back in Cusco, as all I was focused on was getting to MP in the cheapest possible way without wasting too many days! After a quick stop in Santa Teresa for some bananas, bread and water (my staple considering my enduring stomach issues!) we were warned of a landslide further ahead in the road, which gave us just a glimpse of the long adventure that would ensue...we eventually drove to the point where the road was literally almost cut in half and we could barely walk across...by then, our "guides" had abandoned us in Santa Teresa and our driver was waiting on the other side of the hole waiting for more tourists to come his way...if there's anything worse than paying a lot of money, it is paying a lot of money and getting nothing in return...like our little "9km in 50 minutes" train, like our "tour guides" that along the 6 hour trip there didn't say a word to any of us and were so quick to disappear when a problem arose...there were many times along my journey to MP when I felt like people were ripping us off and enjoying it...and more then once I had the feeling that MP itself was not worth all the money and effort to get there...but of course I had to suck it up and just see it as a once in a lifetime thing! 
Anyway, back to the 12 abandoned tourists on the other side of the landslide...somehow all the people coming the other way had been left off by their vehicles further down the road, so that they were able to jump on our original bus, but we had no one coming to our help...till we found a minivan loaded with locals, and we bargained our way on till the next little town, Santa Maria. Once there, we found some more people stranded because of the landslide, and not many vehicles coming through to take them anywhere, also because it was the day after Christmas Eve, when people celebrate, stay up late and often drink way too much...most locals celebrate this way, including the ones who are in the tourist industry and get paid good money to drive tourists around...which would eventually impact our day and could have impacted our lives in a dramatic way...back to the 12 of us in little, sleepy Santa Maria, waiting for a miracle to happen, a minibus to appear and take us back to Cusco by nightfall...F and I started walking around and eventually ran into the offices of our little "agency" with a nice minibus with a big sticker bearing the same name...we approached them right away, td them what had happened to us, when one of them recognized F and admitted that they had heard of our little landslide problem!!!! haha They had heard of it, but they made sure to mind their own business and do anything but provide us with a solution! We pointed to the bus next to us asking them that they take all 12 of us back to Cusco...they incredibly agreed after saying that the 3 of us who had "contracted" their "agency" would ride for free, but the other ones would have to pay their way back...we agreed and ask to leave immediately...immediately is interpreted in a variety of ways here, so I jumped on the bus while F went to get everyone else ready to go...after a few calls, chats with various friends and strangers along the way we were eventually on our way...it was almost too good to be true!!!
That's right, because after a few hours we noticed that the "driver's assistant" was doing anything he could to keep the driver awake...at the top of the mountain pass he stopped to smoke a cigarette, and once we got back on the road I soon noticed that he was descending too too slowly and erraticly even considering the fog and rain...so I started paying attention and caught him swerving pretty badly a few times, after which I told him he could stop for a power nap if he wanted to...of course he denied everything, till he stopped by a house to drink some water and quickly took back to the wheel...by then, his little assistant had given up and moved to a seat where he was peacefully sleeping, while the driver's eyes and use of the brakes were anyrhing but reassuring! Some of us, the Italians, decided to take matters into our own hand as I moved upfront to be the next driver's assistant, since I was the one who spoke the most Spanish...I did my best to keep him awake, change songs, open some windows and switch to cold air...all of this would only last 20 or so minutes till the driver would inevitably get more and more sleepy...so then I would beg him to stop, take a walk with him in the freezing, dark night and make sure he was more alert before getting behind the wheel again...here I was in a dark, cold night on the Andes, trying to keep the driver from killing me and 11 other tourists, some of which, lucky them, were too asleep to even notice anything!!! What an end to our Christmas Day!
As were getting closer and closer to town, his comatose state at the wheel would get worse and worse...I tried to ask him as many questions as possible, ones that required him to think of the answer, and the more questions I asked, the scarier I became because of his non-sense replies...ones I remember were: "how many people live in Cusco?" "7...no, 5!", or "where is everyone?" "Santana" (the name of the part of town we were driving through!). We finally, eventually made it back at a quarter to 1, for a 6 hour trip had started at 15.30! Most of us were in shock, sleepy but extremely relieved to have made it back in one piece, after such a nightmarish experience on Christmas Day! 

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Ayacucho, Cusco (Peru)

Ayacucho, Cusco (Peru)
The bus ride to Ayacucho was definitely frightening at times...it started out like many others, then when I woke up I was on the edge of a huge precipice, on the other side of it was a mountain ten times taller than us, and in the middle was a fast-moving, rough river...of course the road was unpaved pretty much the whole time! And it was extremely curvy, so at least twice a minute I felt like I was over the edge, since I couldn't see the bus wheel I was sitting on, and I couldn't even see the road below me! It's a scary feeling...and it wouldn't go away, as that was how most of the ride would be...I started thinking about how my guidebook mentioned that there are a lot of fatal accidents on the roads every year, about how on the next day's paper it would say that a bus full of locals, plus an Italian and three Colombian brave tourists had fallen off the cliff and there were no remains of anything or anyone! The road was definitely that high up: had we fallen off the cliff, that would have been it for us, no second chances...I kept thinking of that the whole time I was away...no second chances in life! I was just hoping the bus driver knew that too, and I was confident that he knew what he was doing, since he must be doing it almost every single night! He was very capable, it just didn't feel like it! I felt like he was accellerating at every turn...it got worse when the river became bigger and bigger and we passed by a huge dam...right after it came the lower side of the river...much scarier!!! Then we stopped in the middle of nowhere, darkness all around...I was fearing mechanical problems, but soon found out it was so that people could go outside and pee...oh yeah, no bathroom in the bus for 10 hours!!! So I did step out to try and pee, but also to check out the night scenery...well, I couldn't do the former because I was too scared by the latter! The river was super loud, the wind was adding to the noise and the road didn't see all that dry after all...I was just trying to fall asleep and wake up in Ayacucho, rather than waking up in Heaven! When we finally reached our destination it all went away as a huge sense of relief took over, and as I was stepping off the bus I wanted to hug the driver and thank him for making it! Amidst allof this, I seemed to have forgotten how tired I was, how it was 5.30 and how I would spend the following night on yet another bus as part of a 20 hour ride to Cusco!
I befriended the only other tourists on that bus, three Colombian guys that turned out to have been as scared as me, and we proceeded to get a ticket for our next bus at 19, that same day...in the meantime we explored deserted Ayacucho at 6 on a Sunday! Nothing open, just a few people walking to church...the center was a very nice example of a colonial town, second only to Cusco...but Ayacucho seemed to be interesting if only for the fact that it's where the last battle in South America took place...as well as where the first traces of human presence were found...definitely a place whose people seemed to be vital and alive, almost rebellious...well, this is also where the Maoist movement Sendero Luminoso started in the late 70's before it tried to take over the whole country in the 80's!
We ate at the market where, just like in most places here, you could pick what part of a chicken you wanted, and yes, that included head and other delicacies, and one of the most common plates was the famous "cuy", a Guinea pig that can be prepared in a variety of ways, but that is usually seen split open on a plate with its face looking at you...I opted for a sandwich with olives, of course!
After walking all over town we decided to take a daytrip to some nearby towns that the market lady had recommended. We went to Wari, where we visited the ruins of the Wari Empire, and the Quinua, where there is a huge obelisk remembering the last battle of South America, and then we went horseback riding from that to the nearby waterfalls. The most interesting part of the day was when our minivan stopped to pick up some local woman...I was cramped next to the window (everythings seems to be made for people who are 1.60-1.65cm tall at the most here!!!), but the lady wanted to get her friends on the bus first...which consisted of a sheep and two black pigs...so her and a bystander proceeded to throw these animals that were in a net against the window, hoping it was high enough so that the driver on top of the bus could pick them up and secure them!
We eventually made it back to town and by then it was all much more lively...we got on the bus, tired and dirty, almost not thinking about what was ahead of us...soon enough we found ourselves in the same situation as the night before, except that the bus seats were much more comfy, so we were all able to sleep through most of it...what I did see was not so reassuring though...the driver seemed to be going even faster, as if trying to escape the vehicle that was following us...but then I felt like he knew what he was doing when he would stop in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason, and wait for a minute or two till a truck would show up in the opposite direction and would go through...the driver knew exactly where it was too narrow for both of us and when someone else was coming! It got a little worse when we had to get off the bus, take our bags and wait inside a bus terminal for an hour at 4!!! At least it was part of the plan, right?! Our next bus eventually showed up, we loaded up and took off...the scenery was once again super curvy and bumpy, with the only exception that since it was daylight the driver couldn't tell if and when someone was coming in the opposite direction...instead of slowing down, which is what most of us would do when the road only fits one vehicle at a time, he would just speed up and go the entire way with the horn on! haha Luckily I had earplugs, so I slept through it all like a baby!
We eventually made it to Cusco, although it felt like forever...but now, after having showered, changed and seen the. Ity center, I can say it was all worth it! The road I took was not very touristy for a reason though! And on my way back up to Lima I don't have to go through it again! haha
Now it's time to explore Cusco and its churches and markets...last night I only managed to get some night shots and of course I ended up buying those typical Peruvian beanies ...for less than 2$. The hostel is just over 3$, and my veggie dinner at veggie El Encuentro was just over 1.25$! 
I'm also going to plan the next couple of days, with visits to the Valle Sacrado and of course mighty Machu Picchu on the 24th, to be back here on Xmas Eve and leave on the 25th for Puno, on Lago Titicaca!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Lima, Huancayo (Peru)

My arrival at the airport in Lima was marked by a common scene especially at South American airports: huge crowds waiting for their loved ones coming back for the holidays, armed with signs, bells, and a lot of determination! All usually goes well as long as the people stay behind the "barriers" and patiently wait for their passenger to make it through the "funnel"...well, Lima takes the cake for the biggest airport crowd in my limited experience...all I could see was people! I almost felt like a rockstar or something, if it wasn't for the fact that nobody was there for me at all! It was even more impressive than others because I could see through the endless lines of people, since most of them were quite shorter than me...and the balcony above us was also filled with people...they all seemed to behave, till one of them crossed the fence to hug their wife only 5 meters in front if him, and of course many more followed his example! This forced all of us trying to get out to stop, because, well, nothing and no one seems to be organized and efficient here! :)
After enjoying Christmas carols in English all night long at the coffee chain inside the airport (all because of their free wi-fi!), I decided to get to the city first thing in the morning...much better than trying to wing it at midnight, in a dark, new city with a lot of cash in your pockets and millions of piranhas (taxi drivers) waiting to get a bite out of you! So the next morning I walked out of the airport on my own, instead of paying too much for a taxi, and asked some locals, and then got on a local bus for next to nothing...it was a good introduction to traffic in Lima, a South American metropolis of 8.7 million people! I was in the passenger's seat of a 12-15 seat minibus...needless to say the driver was all over the place, we saw two wrecks right before our eyes, and the "bus guy" was continuously screaming and banging on the bus for all sorts of communication with the driver! How fun!
Luckily the hostel was in a very relaxing area of Lima, between Miraflores and San Isidro...my bus left me off after over an hour at the beginning of my street, some 15blocks before my hostel...right in front of, guess what, the Doubletree Hotel! My hostel, HQ Villa, was one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed at, and that includes my house as well!
A combination of stress, lack of sleep, relaxation after a tense bus ride, and other things made me collapse on their amazing couch for a good 2-3 hours! When I woke up I was ready to hit the center of town! A couple of beautiful colonial squares, some governmental buildings and I was also able to find a vegetarian restaurant right in the middle of all that! After having checked out Miraflores and the center, I went on a ride through the coast through the beautiful Parque del Amor, onto Barranco, another area of town famous for its bars, clubs, restaurants and so on...if the city center could be compared to any colonial city in Latin America, and Miraflores could be compared to a South American version of Europe, the coastal area of Miraflores and Barranco could definitely be compared to...coastal California! Yes! You would have never guessed it!
The next day it was time for me to part ways with Lima and my amazing hostel...after taking several pictures of it, and facing the much-hated but inevitable taxi ride to the bus terminal of choice, I ended up at what I believe is the fanciest bus in all of Peru...so nice that my seat was twice as big and twice as comfy as any airplane seat, we had lunch on our 7 hour bus ride, and I slept the entire way! haha
I guess the fact that it was "so safe" implied that we each get a screenshot of our faces by a security guard who came onboard right before we left...that was a first for me too!

I got to Huancayo last night, and I could tell that our whole bus ride here was very rainy...I would wake up every now and then, and I couldn't see much outside our window...what I was able to see before it got dark though, was beautiful scenery!!!
I went from 200m a.s.l. to over 3400m in a few hours...so, as everyone repeatedly says, one should take some time off to adjust to the altitude and help the process either with pills (who likes pills anyway?!) or with mate de coca, which is pretty much hot tea made with coca leaves...after leaving my stuff at "La casa de la abuela" which was pretty much deserted, I was lucky enough to find another very vegetarian-friendly restaurant, El Pueblo, where I was able to get asparragus soup, an entree of rice, potatoes and soy meat, plus a cup of mate de coca and a dessert (mousse of maracuja...I don't know if this fruit has an English counterpart...sorry! It's a yellow tropical fruit! haha), all for an unattainable 3.5 soles, just a bit over a dollar! Guess where I am going for dinner as soon as I am done with typing this?! I already told him I would be back today!
Today I walked around a lot, visited a Salesian school and museum, checked out a local market, and hiked a good 3-4km to some reserve whose main attraction is these magnific geological formations called "Torre torre", because some of them look like towers...it was amazing, and totally unexpected considering the surrounding lush vegetation and poor neighborhoods...it was well worth the hike, and putting up with the rain and endless amount of stray dogs along the way...kinda stressful at times, since the ones who looked menacing actually proved to be harmless, and the ones who seemed friendly ended up sending their loudest barks my way. I survived though, made it back to town, chilled in the main square with all the locals, walked around a bit more to get my bus ticket for tonight...I am going to Ayacucho, hometown of the infamous Sendero Luminoso movement of the 70s...also famous for being one of the most authentic "Inca places" in the Andes together with Cusco, which is next...the book says both tonight's and the next trip, respectively 12 and 23 hour long, are not for the faint of heart!

Monday, July 06, 2009

Split, Hvar, Dubrovnik (Croatia), Mostar (Bosnia)

Life is great back on the road, traveling for a little bit...unfortunately not for as long as previously planned due to my US visa renewal...anyway, TM and I started out with a ferry from Ancona (Italy) to Split (Croatia), got a few hours to visit the old town of Split (Diocletian's Palace) before we hopped on a catamaran to the island of Hvar. We got a private room at some locals' house that included a balcony overlooking the center of the little town of Hvar.
The next day we were back in Split and while waiting for our bus we made a second trip to the local market to get some local delicacies (krafne and "spinach pie" mainly!), then we got on a bus to Dubrovnik, which left Croatia to enter Bosnia for a bit, then got back into a tiny strip of land which is part of Croatia...

Saturday, January 17, 2009

la antigua guatemala (guatemala).

The trasnfer from Copan into Guatemala to Antigua was supposed to be really nice and convenient, till our shuttle broke down on the side of the road out of Guatemala City! With cars, chicken buses and all sorts of motorcycles zooming by and the sun setting, we didn't know what the problem was...the driver said he had run out of gas, which didn't make too much sense because we had just pulled into a gas station where he had poured water onto the engine!!! So we waited for him to run back to that same gas station, get a gallon of gas and come back...the van still wouldn't start! So then he asked all the passengers to help push the van to the side so that he could drive against traffic (which was downhill) in the dark to get the minivan running and the engine starting...at that point, for some reason nobody thought it sounded a bit crazy, so we did just that...the car started, we almost got run over several times, and as soon as the engine started we jumped on and continued on our way...till about 2km later, when, the road still uphill, the engine broke down again, all of a sudden!
So then we decided we were going to hail a chicken bus down to get on and eventually make it to Antigua before nightfall...when all of a sudden a brand new, shiny minivan pulled over in front of us! Rescue had come to us!!! We proceeded to pull the broken down minivan to a gas station, where our former driver waited mfor a tow truck or something...then, 3 hours later, we finally rolled into Antigua!
Antigua is a really nice colonial town, a nice, tranquil, touristy oasis in Guatemala...many travelers end up ligering on for way longer, many others prefer to stop over here than in Guatemala City,...I met a couple whose bus from Flores got assaulted by people...
oops my shuttle is here...one hour to Guate, then seven to San Salvador, then 18 more hour on the bus to San Jose...night at the airport, then a 7-8 hour flight back to big D...it'll be long!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

roatan, copan ruinas.

Roatan was awesome...I liked it much better than I had anticipated, so I ended up staying two nights. I spent most of my time in West End, which is where most backpackers and divers stay...my hostel was a bit run-down, not too practical or well-kept, but it definitely had character...it felt very pirate-like somehow, the whole town did to me when I first got there...West End is a very short strip of hotels, bars, restaurants and dive shops, so you don't need to walk very far...the street is unpaved and muddy and full of potholes, but it's right on the water, with tons of little docks for all sorts of boats...one can hear music blaring out of a lot of bars, so the atmosphere is lively...there are a lot of tourists, but it didn't feel too touristy...most people are there to dive, since Roatan is by the second largest coral reef in the world, and it's hands down the cheapest place to dive in the whole world! The only other chap thing on the island is snorkeling...everything else is expensive! The food and the Internet being the most expensive ones...my hostel was cheap, but I never got online and brought food from the mainland to cut down on costs...it was love at first sight with West End, although I am usually never fond of a place I get to after sunset...but when I woke up the next morning I was in for a treat! I could finally see the water, 2 meters from the main drag...it was very very clear!!! I could only imagine what West Bay Beach, only 4 km from there and considered the best beach in all Roatan, could look like! I started going up and down West End taking pictures of all the colorful boats by the water, all the little docks and huts/bars...then I took a water taxi over to West Bay Beach and I was immediately blown away! It definitely looks like a Caribbean picture-perfect paradise, or at least just like how I imagine one to be...crystal-clear water, white sand beach, and corals everywhere underwater! I could not help but walk up and down the whole stretch a million times taking picture over picture of the same spot over and over again...I was in awe...I could not believe my eyes! I got there early in the morning when the sun was shining and not many tourists were out yet, so I could appreciate it better...since the beach is lined by a bunch of all-inclusive 4/5 star resorts...many of which are full of Italians, which is pretty funny! haha I even heard some ladies speak, and their accent was similar to mine, but I was too busy lying in the water to bother asking them where they were from! I heard that there are direct flights from Italy to Roatan! Crazy...I was also told that the next day, and consecutively for the following 3 days, it was cruise ship day...which means that a bunch of cruise ships arrive and hordes of tourists take over the beach...so I was lucky to have gotten there on the right day! I found my little unspoiled, deserted corner of Caribbean paradise and got in the water for 30-40 minutes at a time...then I would get out to lie on the beach for 10-15 minutes, then get back in the water for another 30 or so minutes...then I would walk over to another pretty, deserted spot and do the same...and that's how I spent my day! It was awesome!
My only hope is that I didn't get neither malaria nor dengue fever...there have been cases of both on the island, but I didn't take malaria tablets, and I don't think there's a cure for dengue fever...sand flies didn't bother me much, but I definitely got bit over and over and over again! My mosquito net at the hostel seemed to hold out well the first night, but the second night I definitely spotted some holes...oh well, I hope all goes well...if I get sick once I get home, then I know why!
I loved going back to my wooden pile of rooms called hostel, where I could sit on the patio up top for hours...and I would wake up in the middle of the night time and time again because of the very loud and intense storms...but then I would fall right back asleep!
Leaving Roatan was hard, both because I had grown to love it, even though it had been such a short time, both because my alarm went off at 4:45! I decided I needed to make the 7am boat back to La Ceiba, and I wanted to play it safe...I got a ride somehow, and was at the dock over an hour before departure! The day from Roatan to La Ceiba, and then through two buses, first to San Pedro Sula, and then to Copan Ruinas, went very very well! I needed such a smooth travel day, and I was impressed at myself for managing once in a while not to get onto any chicken buses...traveling on direct buses seemed such a luxury for once!
I got here in Copan Ruinas last night, found the hostel very easily since it's such a small town...it's got 6600 people, it's 10km from the Guatemalan border, and it's touristy because it's by the famous Mayan ruins of Copan...the hostel is nice, small and clean, and although I had to wait for water to cook and for hot water to shower, and nowhere in town did they have electricity to get online last night, I still loved it here! It's a nice little colonial village, everything is close by, I was finally able to get a good shower and cook a whole lot of pasta last night, watch CNN and sleep soundly for almost 10 hours! What else could I ask for??!
This morning I got up, ate some more, then walked over to the ruins...I visited the museum first, then the actual ruins...these are my first Mayan ruins, also known as the Paris of the Mayas for its hieroglyphs and details in general, and although I haven't seen Tikal or Palenque, I was amazed at the hieroglyphs staircase!
Once back in town, I went on a quest for vegetables and fruit, and I found the town market with all sorts of fruits and vegetables I had not seen in a long time! So my lunch was a nice melon, and I will have spaghetti with broccoli for dinner, plus a nice little salad! I also want to take time to get some good pictures of Copan before I leave tomorrow...destination: Guatemala! It will be either Guatemala City or Antigua, I haven't decided yet...Guatemala City would be only to sort out a few travel arrangements to make sure I got back to Texas on the 19th...yes, I know, not too much time left! But I have to be back on the 20th...for a new semester, and for Obama's inauguration!!!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

corn islands, managua (nicaragua), san pedro sula, la ceiba (honduras).

It's been a while but I will try my best to include everything I have seen and gone through...Bluefields was an experience, the boat ride took about 5 and a half hours, and was probably as close to a refugee boat as (I hope) I will ever get...we were packed in there like crazy...we did not have a seat, nor a place for our luggage...everything was on the dock, we were all standing and lying shoulder to shoulder...everybody was trying to push their way onto the boat, then they made everyone get off to check our tickets (makes sense, right??!), so then it was a big stampede to get back on...and then as soon as the boat left the bay, people started throwing up because of the waves...some lady not too far from us was so busy eating gallo pinto and fried chicken, that she threw up at least 3 or 4 times...kids were piled up all on top of each other trying to sleep in very strange ways...the combination of heat, breeze and waves was not good on most people's stomach...mine held up pretty well I have to say, but I had to make sure I did not catch anybody throwing up! haha When we finally made it to Big Corn we realized that adventure was definitely worth it: even the water by the dock, which is usually dirt from the boats, was very very clear! I was lucky enough to meet 3 more guys, an Aussie, an Argentinean, and a Swede, so that rooming up together ended up being pretty cheap! Big Island is pretty, we got a room and then hurried to get in the water at Picknick Center, which is a big hut by a huge, deserted beach...the next day I started thinking about how I would leave this place, and the people at the dock had no clue about boats going back...there is no schedule apparently...I asked the same woman twice, and she responded the same way: "If there's a boat at the dock, it leaves the next day...if there is no boat, then there is no departure". That was very clear, so I tried to get myself on the waiting list for a morning plane back to Managua the next day...and I had the great idea to listen to my guidebook where it says that Little Corn Island is the real paradise. So I took a panga over to the little island, and was immediately in love with it. It's as close as I've ever been to a Caribbean paradise! (OK, I've been nowhere else in the Caribbean and I'm not a big beach person, but still) There are no cars, which means no honking taxis, just a trail for people to walk around almost the whole island...the beaches are as crystal clear as I've ever seen...and almost all deserted! All you hear is the waves crashing, the wind blowing on trees, and some roosters here and there...it's so peaceful! I found an amazing beach, got in and floated for over 40 minutes...it was amazing! Then when I was walking I ran into E and CA, that I had met in Ometepe, and we had lunch together...it was a perfect spot: colorful huts with restaurants 10 meters away from the water, hammocks everywhere, white sand galore, and some breeze to keep you cool! After lunch I kept walking and tried to make it around the whole island through the beaches...I saw some amazing, deserted beaches...then I noticed I wasn't left with so much time before 4pm, which is where my panga was taking me back to the Big Island, and I was still far from the dock...so from the beach I climbed up to the island, which in that point was all lush vegetation...I then proceeded to run through the vegetation for a while, in a desperate search for the dock...I made it through some deserted huts...some of it was kinda scary...I took my flip flops off to run faster, but soon after I crossed some barbwire I got a bunch of thorns in my feet...ouch! I think it was from a series of agave plants...but I had no time, so I kept running and running...it reminded me of the movie Apocalypto! haha I finally reached some houses with locals, which was good because they told me I was not too far, but bad because each house had at least a dog, and by the time I got to the beach by the dock I had 5 barking dogs after me! haha The people on the panga, who were waiting for me, probably had a laugh! I was sweaty and exhausted but relived I had made it and didn't care so much about the dogs...and I told myself not to be so curious all the time, sometimes it's better to stick to the beaten path!
The next morning I woke up at dawn, again, made it to the airport to see if I could leave...although I had seriously thought about spending a few days on Little Corn and canceling my plans for the rest of the trip! After everybody got on the plane, the plane was full...and they let some locals who had just gotten there get on it too...but by way of a miracle the lady said if we waited 40 more minutes another plane would come for the 8 of us who were still waiting...I was super excited!!! Once the plane arrived, this seemed to be another adventure: the inside of the plane was not bigger than a minivan...the whole plane held 12 passengers, and I was sitting right behind the pilot!!! It felt more like a flying minivan with wings than a plane! Not recommended to anyone who is afraid of flying! I loved the whole ride though, the views as we left the islands were breath-taking...and I felt so comfortable that after a little bit I fell asleep! haha
Once back to Managua, I was lucky enough that my friend A, who is from there, was in town, came to pick me up and gave me a tour of the city...he told me a bunch of stuff about the current state of the country and its political situation, which reminded me of Caracas and Venezuela in general...we visited all the sights by the old cathedral, and as we were in the square, a TV troop inerviewed us! hahaha They asked me what I thought of the brand new statue of Sandino that they were about to put up, and since I had good words for it, and I was a foreigner, I think they will most likely air it...A on the contrary was not so in awe of it and of the character, so the journalist cut him off! hahaha It was funny! Then we went to check out the Volcan Masaya, a volcano not too far from there...and since Nicaragua is the land of volcanoes, I was happy to have the chance to see one from up close! As we drove to the top, the gases were so intense it was hard to get close to the edge and breathe...then we drove up some more and had a guided tour of some caves, it was really interesting! The guide also took us to the other side of the crater after sunset, from where we could see 2 red spots inside the crater! There was so much wind and sulphur that we had a hard time breathing and keeping our eyes open even with a mask on, and I was coughing every minute!
Then A took me to my hostel, from where I was supposed to take a fast bus to Tegucigalpa, in Honduras...after waking up at 4am once again, I came to find out that the bus was full! So I had to pay another taxi to take me to a local terminal, from where I took a chicken bus to Chinandega...from there I got on a super packed chicken bus to Guasaule, the border crossing into Honduras...I crossed the border on a bicycle rickshaw, which was kinda interesting, and once I got on the other side, I could finally eat and drink, since I had run out of cordobas in Nicaragua!!! Since Honduras is also known as the Banana Republic, I got 6 tasty bananas for less than hald a dollar...and got on another chicken bus to Tegucigalpa...of course they always tell you it's direct, but you can always tell from the looks of it, and from the fact that there are no tickets, you just pay the bus guy once you're aboard...well, it ended up being a much longer ride than I thought...also because we were stuck in a long line of vehicles because of a major accident...we must have been there almost two hours...when we finally got through, the scene was quite intense: there was a small pickup truck smashed into an excavator on the side of the road, and a green bus from the other side of the road smashed as well into the excavator...a bunch of people lying around watching...some people with minor wounds and in shock...a TV troop filming the whole thing...and three bodies lying on the ground covered with a sheet...I just found out now, glancing at the newspaper stands here, that 4 people died!!! Last night at 5pm we finally made it to Tegucigalpa...the last hour or so was uphill, and at times the bus felt like it was not able to make it...the driver kept switching gears...I got there and was thinking of spending the night there, when I found a bus to San Pedro Sula...so I got on it, finally ate and drank something other than bananas, and fell asleep big time, since it was the first really direct bus! We got to San Pedro Sula at 10pm, and I had to take a taxi to the hostel...the town, although the most developed and industrialized and the richest of Honduras, it's also big on crime and gangs...the driver ended up taking me to the wrong side of town, so I got to see various groups of teenagers hanging around by an impromptu fireplace on the side of the road, and stuff like that...not exactly the most welcoming sights for my first time in Honduras! They say Tegucigalpa thinks, San Pedro works, and La Ceiba has fun...I didn't see much development there in San Pedro...the hostel was nice though, I wish I had gotten there sooner...I only got 4 hours of sleep, because at 5am I was up again for another early morning bus...so tiring!!! I finally made it here to La Ceiba, on the Caribbean coast, at 9 this morning, found the hostel, left my bags there...since it's Sunday there are not many services and stores working, so without any food in my belly I came here to write this, then I will go get a bunch of food and relax for a little bit...this afternoon I am taking the boat to Roatan, a snorkeling and diving paradie by the second largest coral reef in the world, but I will only be able to stay one night...I am leaving my bag here where I will be back tomorrow night for some more blogging, some cooking, some relaxing, before another early morning bus to Copan Ruinas!

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

leon, bluefields.

OK the two cities have nothing in common, nor are close, but that's where I've been the past two days...since I couldn't post yesterday because I was exhausted, and I was traveling all day today, I will combine both places into one post.
Yesterday, since I had already seen Granada, I took a day trip to Leon, the other colonial gem of Nicaragua, which for years and years (maybe centuries?) was in conflict with Granada...there is a lot less tourism there, which I liked, and it seems much more "authentic", not contaminated by fancy "international cuisine"-type restaurants and stuff...it looks a little bit more run-down, but it has tons of churches and places to visit, like the biggest cathedral in Central America, and one of the oldest churches in Central America...it is also a Sandinista stronghold, so I visited this run-down building by the cathedral that is run by Sandinistas,...it looks like a squat from the outside, but inside are friendly men eager to tell you the whole story (from their own point of view, of course!)...they have photocopied pieces of newspapers and books hung on the walls in a big room, and they call it a museum...it was very very interesting though!
I also got the chance to sample a bunch of stuff from the local market, and on my way back to the bus terminal I got to ride one of those trucks which bed is made into benches and covered with a tarp, and people get packed in there...it was an experience! On my bus back to Managua I also finally got the true meaning of the word "chicken bus"...I thought it was because people are packed in there like chicken...but it't because people do bring chicken on the bus! The kid across the aisle from me had a chicken in a potato bag...and since it was very hot he made sure to buy a little package of water...the chicken would come out of the bag and drink water straight from the plastic bag!
Today I left Granada bright and early, apparently too early, because on my minibus to Managua, since we were packed like crazy and I was still half-asleep, I managed to lose my flashlight...bummer!!! Then I finally got on my bus to Rama, which was kinda fun, although definitely not a direct bus! I got to talk to all sorts of people, and besides two other guys, I was the only tourist on there! I got to eat all sorts of food that chunky women would come onboard to sell, and it was pretty good too! The last friend I made was this guy Juan, who lives in the middle of nowhere (La Esperanza, near Rama) and is dying to learn English...so I would translate sentences for him and help him repeat them...it was pretty cool...the guy helped me all the way to my boat, and then hung around with me till it took off!
The best part about that bus ride was talking to people about life in Nicaragua, about the Sandinistas, about their family members who made it to the US illegally and are now legal (some of them at least are)...it was very interesting...they do openly say "my brother went to the US as a wetback" (mi hermano se fue de mojado)...I found out they pay $6-7k from here all the way to their destinations in the US...the "coyotes" escort them all the way in a trip that can last up to over a month...it's incredible!!!
I love the people of Nicaragua though...I know it does sound cliche, but it's very pleasant here...my guide Naim said "Nicaragua, un pais con corazon!", which is supposed to be some tourist slogan...but it's very very true!
So the boat I caught in Rama brought me here to Bluefields, a town on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua that's the jumping point to a lot of places, among which the Corn Islands, where I am going tomorrow! It's supposed to be a true Caribbean paradise!
Bluefields is a typical port town with a Caribbean twist to it...so there are a lot of people of the West Indies, which means they're black and speak some creole of English, French and Spanish...most of them also speak Spanish like the rest of the people here, but their true identity is that patois they speak...which I am always trying to overhear, since it sounds interesting! We got off the boat and we were in the middle of all these covered alleys, it definitely looked like a labyrinth! I thought the town was all going to be like that, till we finally made it to a street, and now it does look "normal"! It's still kinda seedy though, since it's a port town, so I am staying in a room with the other two foreigners on the bus to Rama, which turned out to be an Aussie and a Swede. Tomorrow I need to wake up early to go get tickets for the boat ride into the Caribbean, which is supposed to take around 6 hours and is supposed to be the ultimate seasickness test...I hope I can stomach it!

Sunday, January 04, 2009

granada (nicaragua).

My last night on Ometepe was spent enjoying my $2 dinner which comprised of an amazing pineapple+milk smoothie and a vegetarian entree made of some sort of corn base (very similar to polenta) with sauteed onions and tomatoes on top, and the unforgettable beans all around it...it was yummy!
Today I wanted to wake up bright and early to get on an early boat, although I actually could have used some more rest...I fell asleep on the chicken buses to Granada...I had to take two, and I don't know if it was just me being tired and cranky, but it just seemed to me that the music was cranked up super loud and the ride was pretty hectic...people were getting on and off pretty much on the fly, with two doors constantly open and the bus guys screaming out the destinations, and hurrying the people that were trying to jump on and off the bus...I usually like that, except that today I was tired and half-asleep, so it proved harder than usual...
Granada is an extremely charming colonial town, everything is unfortunately a little bit more expensive, but life is very laid back, people are quite friendly, although there already is enough gringo tourism and gringo real estate businesses...I just hope it doesn't end up like Costa Rica!
I was walking down to the pier and some guy selling coconuts stopped me to strike up a conversation, first about the founder of Granada, then about foreign girls, and so on and so forth...I ended up getting a coconut from him, for $0.50, because I was really thirsty...and on my way back from the pier I stopped over again and he cut it in halves and let me eat the insides! It was pretty nice...sometimes I wanna think people are this nice for a reason (i.e. they want money or something), and that there's always a catch, but here it seems like they're just naturally friendly! There are still some beggars around, but they're not nearly persistent enough to be a nuisance...

Saturday, January 03, 2009

volcan concepcion.

It must be written somewhere that I am not to have good luck with hikes and views on this trip: after Volcan Baru' and Chirripo', Volcan Concepcion here in Ometepe was a big disappointment! It is the biggest and highest of the two, and there were no guide who would take you to the top, but I insisted and hoped to make it as far up as possible! Well, the hike was pretty steep, with big steps here and there...without the branches to pull yourself up it would have been almost impossible...then all of a sudden it started raining hard, and as the forest got smaller and smaller, the wind grew stronger and stronger...till one point where we were in the open air and it was hard to walk straight, and you had to protect your face from the heavy rain...so we sought "refuge" behind some bushes, waited out to see if it would get any better...then finally decided it wasn't going to, so we might as well go back down...as far as wildlife spotting as well, as all along this trip, another big let down: all we saw was 3-4 monkeys, and we only heard a few howler monkeys...oh well. Then there was no bus back to town so we had to walk the 4-5 kilometers here, and once we got here all I could ask for was a big bottle of water and a shower! Things are going well now that I got both, and I just need some food before calling it a day...I went over to the same spot as last night's to check out the sunset again, only this time the sky didn't get as red as last night...I was thinking of taking a tour around the island, maybe by boat or motorcycle, but several locals told me that the water is so high that most of the coast, which means all of the beaches, are submerged! Bummer...now I am going to try to figure out my next couple of days, since I did not have enough of the bumpy boat ride here, and I would love to make it to the Corn Islands out in the Caribbean.

Friday, January 02, 2009

moyogalpa (isla de ometepe) nicaragua.

My last night in Monteverde and Costa Rica was spent with M, without my brother,...but the dinner we whipped up was awesome: spaghetti with tomato sauce and green olives, salad and tortillas. We ate so much, and so relatively late, that I didn't hear my 3:30am alarm, so I opened my eyes at 4:28, hurried and ran...but I ended up missing the 4:30am bus! It wasn't too bad though, since I caught another one at 6am, which got me to the Panamericana early enough to catch my bus going into Nicaragua...I had been ripped off on the price of the ticket, but the comfort of an air-conditioned bus with big, comfy seats that doesn´t stop every 10 minutes is a luxury that reconciled myself with the world, since at that point I was sad for both having missed the bus and for continuing my trip on my own, after over 10 days with two other people.
The nice bus made the border crossing very easy, although Penas Blancas on the Costa Rican side was pretty hectic anyway! Before I realized it, since I had been sucked into watching a bad American movie dubbed into Spanish, it was time for me to get off...luckily two locals were going the same way, so we all packed into one taxi to the pier, and it was a very easy transition...the hour boat ride here was very very bumpy! The combination of early afternoon sun and big waves didn't have me feeling all that well, but the view was definitely worth it!
The island of Ometepe, where I am right now, was formed throughout time from the lava produced by the two volcanoes that eventually created an asthmus of land. The big "lago de Nicaragua", also called Cocibolca, is special because it's one of the very few places on Earth (together with Parque Corcovado) where one can find freshwater sharks! They are almost impossible to spot, but they are a variety of the bull shark, which have a special membrane that allows them to "switch" from saltwater to freshwater and vice versa!
Moyogalpa is a nice little town of a few thousand people, very relaxed, a convenient base to explore the island...tomorrow I am trying to go up the highest volcano, Volcan Concepcion, at 1610 meters...the way up is supposed to offer great wildlife spotting opportunities, as well as magnificent views...Moyogalpo being at the foothills of the volcano, no matter where one is in town, one can see the volcano overlooking everything. The view on the boat ride here was great, I got the chance to watch a spectacular sunset, and I hope tomorrow won't be too cloudy!
It's only been half a day, but I am already loving Nicaragua a lot! There are no tourist rental cars, no overpriced tourism, no hordes of people everywhere...it's a bit "rougher" but definitely much more enjoyable, I think...the prices are unbeatable! Almost every means of transportation I took today was $1 each, my dorm bed is $3, my dinner will be around $2...it's great!
Next to my guesthouse is a disco-resto-bar where music is really loud today, and bright pink balloons are hanging everywhere...I thought it might be someone's birthday, but I later realized it was a "quinceanera" (the celebration of a girl turning 15, and supposedly entering the "adult world", whatever that means) when I witnessed the parade of 15 couples go down the main street in town...I don't know if they were headed to the church, but I am sure they will end up next to my guesthouse!
I also noticed some "FSLN" (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional) flags, so I stopped to talk to two men hanging out by the street...we had a nice conversation...one of them was asking a lot of questions about Italy and so on, and told me about his experience as a garbage man in the US, where his son has been living for 25 years...he declared himself as a convinced "Sandinista" and was proud to show me the statue of the "General"!

Soundtrack of bus rides: Jack's Mannequin "The Glass Passenger"
Soundtrack of my bedtime: Copeland "You Are My Sunshine"

Thursday, January 01, 2009

monteverde.

Leaving Bahia Drake was sad, as we had grown to like it very much, but we needed to move on...the boat ride to Serpe was not long but expensive, and the guy had over 20 people plus two mountain bikes packed in a fisherman's boat! He made a whole lot of money, that's for sure! Little things like that have been bothering me about Costa Rica...some services are just ridiculously expensive like that, and if that's a sign of "organized tourism", then I don't like it so much...Panama wasn't like that, and I am looking forward to being in Nicaragua for the very same reason.
Anyway, we ended up in San Jose too late in the day to take a bus to Monteverde, so we decided to spend the night at the same hostel, check bus schedules for the following day, and take it easy...it was nice, considering we also got to eat at a vegetarian restaurant that evening!
The next day we caught a 6:30 bus to Monteverde, but I don't remember much of the 4.5 hour ride here, since I slept through most of it...the only thing to note was that the guy who sold us the tickets made sure to say that we should keep our money and passports on us at all times on the bus...I don't think I had ever heard anybody say that when selling a bus ticket!
I remember bits and pieces of the ride up here, and it was steep and winding dirt roads with all sorts of vehicles making the climb, as always...plus, add a big flow of tourists in their own cars...the result is a little town 1600m high with almost more vehicles than people! Some of them are cars rented by tourists, but the majority of the army of minivans covering all corners of town are either taxis or private companies minivans to take tourists to the various attractions/excursions...so this is the face of tourism I don't like so much...this place is very nice, beautiful setting, nice people, great places to stay, fun activities and excursion...but it seems to me that it has grown to become a big money-making machine, a black hole for our money...our first excursion, a guided twilight walk through a forest with a flashlight, was way overpriced (20$ for less than 2 hours!!!) and very disappointing...we did see some birds and 2-3 tarantulas, which are pretty interesting, but the whole thing was definitely a big let down!
The next day, yesterday, we decided to take a hike to the San Luis waterfalls...that was nearly free (although to get to the waterfalls we had to pay $8! Unbelievable!!!), but it was almost 10km there and just as many to get back...so it took us the whole day...the best part of it was these two stray dogs (that we later noticed bum around at our hostel) accompanying us the whole way!!! It was awesome, at first we weren't sure what was going on...they would run up and down the road, come back to us, follow us, then bark at the locals and get really pissed at all sorts of vehicles passying by...so we thought they were eco-friendly dogs, since they did not like engined-vehicles...it was great though! At some point we hitched a ride for about 500m and the poor dogs were running their hearts out trying to keep up with the car! They were so stinky that we kept thinking we had stepped in poop...but no, it was them! When we got to the waterfalls, which was rather narrow but about 50m high, of course they didn't get in the water...go figure! The view of the waterfalls was definitely worth the hike! We didn't hesitate to get in, although it was definitely freezing! It had to be around 12-15C...so we kept it nice and short! We made it back just in time to prepare our New Year's Eve vegan dinner at the hostel, which consisted of spaghetti with olive tomato sauce, a salad and some TVP! It was grand! After dinner we took a short nap, then headed out right before midnight when fireworks started popping up in the sky...we celebrated and then hit the sack by 1am!
This morning, the last day for my brother, we went to do zip lining, also called canopy tour...this was the only time when I can say the 30-40$ spent were definitely well-spent!!! We were gone for about 3 hours, and it was amazing! Zip lining seems big here, and it might catching up in the States too...it consists of platforms connected by cables that run between different sides of a mountain...it originated as a way for biologists to observe wildlife...it is now an adrenaline-rich activity! Wearing a helmet, a pair of gloves and a bunch of ropes tying one up to the cables, one throws himself/herself in the empty space, Tarzan-style, and eventually makes it all the way to other side of the hill...the longest was 753 meters!!! It was quite scenic, considering we always had a rainbow below us! The tour also included rappelling (descending vertically while attached to a rope) and the breathtaking Tarzan swing!!! The Tarzan swing looks like the real thing, except it's modern and made of cables and everything...the guides were really good in helping us in each and every single step...I have to say the Tarzan swing was definitely breathtaking! It almost reminded me of bungee jumping, because after the big jump in the void they let you sway back and forth for a while before stopping you...the weather was misty and windy, but the rainbows made up for it!
Right after that I had to see my brother leave, as his plane back to Italy leaves tomorrow morning...so it's just M and I for now, although I have a 4am bus to Nicaragua tomorrow morning, so this will be M and I's last supper! haha
Happy 2009 to everybody!