November 27 - Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Today will be our third day in Tamarindo

A little surf town that everybody warned us is too americanized, all dingy and only ok.

But with all the bad rap it had we couldn't help but love it and give it high regards! It's not bad at all, guys. Plenty of surfing, plenty of hotels, things to do, shopping for the ladies, pricey food though. So tamarindo is just groovy with us. There's even monkeys on the trees off the road into town!

We absolutely love this country and we have had nothing short of a fantastic experience with the people we knew here who took us in as if we were already in the family. Muchas gracias y pura vida! 

 Tomorrow: maybe a national park with bubbling mud, then maybe a volcano

November 24, 2008 San Jose Costa Rica

Wow we are doing so many things in a day here that this might be a big post! We went to Museo de Oro with mi amiga Ale her 2 yr old son Roberto and her 3 month old daughter Ana Maria - yup the kids came along too and Roberto loved it, riding on Ricardo's shoulders most of the way. The Museum is very good and we also took a brief tour of the currency display also which was very interesting. 

We had a great lunch with Ale's family on Saturday Ricardo and I could barely breathe after the delicious home cooked meal. It had been awhile since we've had home cooking and we definitely took the opportunity to over indulge! 

The next day we headed to the artisan area of Sarchi where we saw some amazing brightly painted art work on traditional ox carts, went to the workshops of the builders and had an 

amazing seafood lunch all before talking my husband into buying a beautiful wooden rocking chair?!?! How we are going to manage with it in the van remains to be seen we're thinking about strapping it to the top of the van and offering some sort of extreme adventure tour - any takers? 

Today we got to tour a coffee plantation which included a theatrical component and I got a free gift of a traditional hat for volunteering to learn how to "cup" a coffee! So far we are really enjoying Costa Rica the weather determines a lot of our plans last minute but there is no shortage of things to occupy your time with here. Our plans are to head out to the coast for a few days of sun and surf and hopefully the weather improves so we can take in a volcano and some tree top adventures in this tropical rainforest! That's it for now and a big thanks to all the people who are commenting it really is very nice to hear from you and to know someone is reading this.

21 de noviembre / San Jose, Costa Rica

Ahhhh,

After 7 days of repairs in Leon, Niaragua, Paris was finally ready for the road again and we were on it. After a mere 3 hours at the border we entered Costa Rica yesterday and drove all the way to San Jose where Kim has reunited with a dear family friend which she hadn´t seen since she was 13.
Can´t tell you how nice it is to not look for accomodations for once!
We´ll be spending the next few weeks exploring this country and are very excited to be travelling again. It´s like ¨we´re WE again¨
Pictures? ahhh be patient 'cupdates coming soon!

November 19th, 2008 Leon Nicaragua

We have been in Leon for 6 nights the longest we have stayed anywhere and we are more than ready to leave. Luckily for us Asha and Lee were here to keep us company and provide me with companionship when Ricardo was off taking care of business for Paris. We were also lucky Leon is about 30 minutes away from a surfable ocean and ventured that way twice during our stay here. This kept our mental stability in check. Leon does have much to offer and if we weren't so busy trying to get out of here we might have enjoyed it far more. Today we head for Granada to overnight before crossing the border into Costa Rica - finally. 

I have to post this picture because we actually caught these fish ourselves and got to eat the Mackerel, the one I caught, (Ricardo's is a Barracuda) ceviche style - hmmmmm! 

Leon Nicaragua November 16th, 2008

Quick update: Paris' transmission needs an overhaul again so we'll be spending the next few days here before hitting the road to Costa Rica if all goes well. It wasn't in the original plans to stay here this long but we'll hit the beach today and make the best of it:)

Leon Nicaragua November 14th, 2008

We arrived in Leon yesterday after spending 3 nights at Monty's Jiquilillo Surf camp in Jiquilillo Nicaragua. We had a good time touring the estuary with a young local guide Eddie who is a beam of environmental light in a country of garbage throwers and bush burners we wish Eddie all the best in trying to conserve a very vital part of the ecosystem in his community. We also assisted in feeding the village children lunch at the surf camp one afternoon and were totally enthralled with the two little puppies roaming around the camp. 

As for the surf well to be honest it was a bit lacking which we have accepted to be part of the surfer's journey sometimes the waves just don't want to work for you but not for lack of trying on our part....honestly I did have a really great bonding session with my

 long board Betty which we were in desperate need of and together we are looking into a more positive relationship in the future!

We also got to go fishing which Ricardo had never done and he landed a Barracuda very early in the trip which was quite a thrill and then I got to handle the rod and reeled in a Mackerel the length of my leg - and that's not even exaggerating it yet! When we got back to the camp the chef in the kitchen whipped us up some fresh Mackerel ceviche - it felt good to bring home the bacon, so to speak, and I'm sure the guests at the camp will be enjoying our fresh fish for the next few days:)

Also an honorable mention goes out to Tanya and Ann from BC and Lee and Asha from Nevada (who showed us there are actually cool Americans out there with a conscious)!!! We followed them to Leon and while they go out trekking up the side of a volcano this morning we are stuck going to the mechanic to fix a small (fingers crossed) problem with Paris....such is the life, although we are looking forward to getting to Costa Rica soon to meet up with Ale and her family and seeing some Volcanoes in that region.

November 7, 2008 La Libertad, El Salvador

After leaving Panajachel near Lago de Atitlan we headed to Antigua which with all it's beautiful inner courtyards and cafes still doesn't add up to the prices they charge you. We ended up staying in bunk beds in a hostel  - let's just say it's been awhile since I slept in a bunk bed. The next morning we got up early and hit the border to El Salvador which went way more smoothly, but way longer, than the Mexico/Guatemala border. 

Once we got through we headed for Lago de Coatepeque which turned out to be another

beautiful lake and we stayed right on the lake in a great little hostel. After about an hour of swimming and relaxing by the lake I hit the van and started to puke my guts out - it didn't last too long although I'm not sure it's all out of my system yet. Right now I'm typing to you from the shores of the Pacific near La Libertad were El Salvador goes to surf and so do we!!!

So as Kim eats her dinner which we hope will stay down for at least a couple of hours I'll take over typing. The Lake yesterday was kick ass. It was like those places you see in movies of ancient china or something little docks in all levels with different settings. this one's a dining

room, this one is a hammock, this one has fuze ball. Yes it was very enjoyable while my wife was in the van puking.  While there I chatted with some locals and they totally scribbled go-to places on our map. then today we intended to stay in the metrop

olitan capital, san salvador. we drove and drove trying to look for a hotel, any hotel when we realized do we really wanna stay in this town? we don't have to. so we didn't so we went to our next destination: the beach. the surf was big and we were on it. wife

 here got more than a few scrapes going in and out of the rocks, plus her nausea kicked back in. in truth, la punta was consistent big right break, but it lacked in the fun factor somehow. so i'm hoping tomorrow morning will be better although no doubt it will be big)

We're looking forward to the destinations we have picked out   in Nicaragua and then of course Costa Rica (greg, you should still join us) where we know some people.

All the best,

Us)

PS: who won the election in the States?

November 4, 2008 Lago Atitlan Guatemala

We made it across the border! While I sweated in the car with all the little boys around asking for money Ricardo went to various agencies and got us through. Then we left and bid farewell to Mexico jus tin time to hit a strike on the road that kept us at a standstill for soemwhere between 4-5 hours - we lost track of the time. 

Finally in the dark we made it to Lago Atital what a beautiful place. We spent the morning having a relaxing breakfast and then hopped on a boat to one of the Mayan villages on the lake, where we mostly shopped for some pretty things and bought some ice cream for one of the little girl street vendors - she was just so cute and her eyes lit up when the ice cream vendor opened the box so she could choose.

The children here are adorable and they love to play, wrestle, roll down hills of grass, and fly kites made out of garbage bags - how can you resist them. The women here laugh a lot and are always smiling and flirting with the mens it´s great. They also still wear a lot of the traditional Mayan clothing full of colour and texture. So far Guatemala has been great tomorrow after our laundry is done we will head for the big city of Antigua - maybe splurge on a hotel room!?!?!

November 2, 2008 - Tapachula Mexico

So we've landed inches away from the border into Guatemala where we will be staying tonight while we tidy things up before crossing the border. Our last fews days in Mexico have been great! Ricardo even suggested and paid for us to have a couple of hours at a spa-like place in Huatulco 2hrs full of steam baths, aromatherapy, music therapy, hydrotherapy, mud baths and finished off with a nice relaxing massage - AND check this out ladies for both Ricardo and I it cost $45 - oh yeah eat your hearts out:) Our skin felt like butter afterwards!