Day 63

My journey with my sister, Alicia, has come to an end. Presently, she is back in Oakland, after spending her final week in Latin America with her boyfriend, Rob, in Costa Rica. Together, Alicia and I met the challenge of exploring the unknown with surety and enthusiasm. Collectively, we learned how to navigate parts of the world that were at times remote and unfriendly, we explored areas deemed unsafe by many -- often finding the opposite to be true, and we mastered the art of reaching distant locations on chicken buses -- the pervasive, substantially deteriorated, former North American school buses. Along the way, we had the fortune of seeing some of the most beautiful, historically significant, sights the world has to offer. The opportunity to explore, learn, and grow, with the company of my sister, was an opportunity that I will never forget and will always cherish. On day 52, Alicia and I parted ways in Managua, Nicaragua.

The adventure continues: allow me to fill you in on what I've skipped over, as I have until now fast forwarded through some wonderful experiences. I'll be sharing details of my travels in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

I left you last time close to the Guatemalan border with Honduras, near the Caribbean: after crossing the border into Honduras, passing by some expansive banana farms, and all the while contending with emasculating stomach illnesses, Alicia and I arrived by boat to Utila, Honduras. Utila is a member of what are known as the bay islands of Honduras. These English speaking islands -- a remnant of British colonialism -- are beautiful Caribbean getaways, extremely famous for scuba diving. Equipped with the necessary anti-malaria medication, Alicia and I enjoyed a few days on these islands Caribbean style. One of the days afforded us a great scuba/snorkeling trip to the nearby reefs. Although slightly less vibrant and spectacular when compared to the Belizean reefs to the North, the diving here was incredible nevertheless. At one point in our boat ride to the reefs, the boat came to an abrupt stop. The belligerent Scottish captain proceeded to scream commands in some creole dialect that sounded like complete rubbish to everyone on the boat save for his 12 year old deck hand; as far as we could tell, we had encountered some mechanical problems. No worries, after barking some profanities he proceeded to gather all three of the tools on the boat, donned a scuba outfit, jumped off the boat, and expediently resolved the dilemma.

A notably painful bus ride -- on buses clearly not intended to promote the comfort of its 6´-1" passengers -- brought us to El Salvador. Our apprehensions that El Salvador would be a more dangerous, less hospitable, travel location were immediately washed away. Strike that. They were ´blended´into oblivion at a juice stand at a bus station that presented us with two dozen juice blenders lined up in a row, like well mannered school children patiently awaiting a teacher's instruction. The menu of papaya, banana, watermelon, cantaloupe, granola, and chocolate, blended with milk and ice was tempting, the cost $0.60 for a fresh fruit blend made to order was outright seductive. With smiles on our faces, and delectable licuados in our bellies, we embarked on our journey in El Salvador with resolve to prove that our deprecatory predispositions toward this country were unfounded. We did, ten times over! For the next several days, we enjoyed peaceful mountain settings in the northern mountains of El Salvador. In one location, Jauyua, we took a hike to some nearby waterfalls accompanied by a local tour guide and two tourist police representatives.

In a concerted effort to promote tourism, and nullify the kinds of negative apprehensions that Alicia and I shared, the government of El Salvador is engaged in all sorts of areas to promote safe tourism. Short of emptying our pockets, a 3 hour tour to waterfalls -- with spectacular underground tunnels that propel you between different sections of the waterfall, an activity decidedly reserved for those who are goonies at heart -- cost Alicia and I a combined $5. Recall, we were all the while personally accompanied by three devoted Salvadorans. See picture above. We also enjoyed comfortable lodging with clean dorm beds, warm water showers (some of the only ones we´ve had on the trip), television, and free Internet. We made a few more stops in El Salvador: the lush forests of El Impossible National Park, the beautiful beaches near La Libertad on the Pacific where I surfed some of El Salvador's world renowned breaks, and the capital city of San Salvador. Each stop reaffirming the splendor of this glorious little county. Moving on...

...To Nicaragua. Another country of paradise. In no way a reflection of the enjoyment that this country brought me, I will TRY to be terse. First and foremost, the Sandanista's are still getting comfortable in their new seats of leadership of the country. The manifestations of this new spirit of political leadership are ubiquitous, if by nothing else, by the inspiring pictures of president Daniel Ortega with the words 'vos ganas --we won', in close proximity. The said former revolutionary leader was instrumental in ushering in the collapse of a long standing, brutal dictatorship in Nicaragua. A close ally of Chavez in Venezuela, and Morales in Bolivia, this left-of-center political leader has the potential to do some great things for the Nicaraguan poor. In fairness, the challenges created by an uneducated, poor electorate, burgeoning skepticism from abroad and among the elite within, and a struggling economy, will make his job of instituting positive change an extremely difficult one. For now, the students in rural communities walking around with new backpacks provided for by the government in a far-reaching rural education campaign are a pleasant reflection of political progress.

Getting to the point: Alicia and I explored a gorgeous coffee plantation near a tropical forest in the Nicaraguan highlands. After a rather challenging hike, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of nearby Matagalpa below. Look closely, the picture below reveals a large city amidst the mountains in the distance.

Next, we landed in Leon and saw Central America's largest and perhaps most beautiful cathedral. In this cathedral, the literary hero of Latin America, poet Ruben Dario, is buried.

Next, onto the capital, Managua. Here, Alicia and I parted ways.

On my own now, I visited Granada, Isla de Ometepe, and Playa Maderas, before crossing the border into Costa Rica. Granada is a charming town, if a bit artificially affluent. This is a lasting legacy of its former role as a conservative stronghold, countervailing its liberal counterpart of Leon. Mentioned previously, the latter city felt more like a city for the people, perhaps less tailored to tourists and other big spenders. Perhaps these views were painted by the author's rather colorful predispositions as well. That is Granada below, and Leon above.

Isla de Ometepe is an enchanting island formed by two volcanoes that protrude from the largest lake in Central America. This lake was nearly the location of a cross oceanic-canal, before the plans for the Panama Canal were finalized. Take a look at the map link below and you'll see why this would be a logical location for such a canal -- note that rivers join the lake from both oceans. The two adjoined blobs in the lake are the volcanoes, I hiked to the top the smaller of the two. For a mere two dollars a night, I slept on a firm, yet comfortable cot on the property of a coffee farm. The views, and the ambiance, were first rate! The picture below was taken from my hike up the volcano. That is the sister volcano is in the distance.

http://media.maps.com/magellan/Images/NICARA-W1.gif

I spent the next few days sleeping in a small shack on a beach called Playa Maderas, on the Pacific, near Nica's border with Costa Rica. The sounds of the crashing waves, and the myriad of stars -- including the North star and the Southern cross -- were unreal. The surf was fun, but disappointing when compared to that of El Salvador.

Alas, I crossed the border from Nica, the gem, into the more expensive, more touristy, Costa Rica. My first stop was Tamarindo; a northern Pacific beach, infamous for its ostentatiousness and divergence from the typical central American feel. While true to its reputation, Tamarindo proved to be a comfortable location to pass a few days and enjoy some conveniences that I have often foregone over the past couple of months. So there it is... I am writing from an air conditioned hostel, listening to Seinfeld re-runs playing from a big screen T.V. in the giant living room nearby.

In other news: I now have a return flight back to the states from Panama City in the middle of April. In time for the wedding of my dear friends, Nick and Elizabeth.

Wishing everyone all of the best,

Andres al Reves