Copan and Scuba Diving in Honduras

After a day in Antigua I left on a very early bus to Copan Ruins in Honduras. I got in early in the morning and saw the ruins in 2 hours. They were really amazing, very detailed in their stone carvings. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died and I did not have time to buy new ones and go back, so I have only memories and no photos.

I saw that I had no time to go back because after those two hours I grabbed a bus to La Cieba on the northern coast of Honduras. Then next morning I got on a ferry out to Utila Island and I was scuba diving by the early afternoon. I plan to stay here and dive for at least 3 or 4 more days. The Internet is slow and expensive here so I will not be posting pictures until mid next week sometime. Until then I am going to try to spend as much time underwater as possible. Ummmmm Nitrogen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had read in my guidebook about climbing this volcano and it said that it could be dangerous at times and you had to check with the locals. I figured since our guide was going, that was good enough for me. Apparently the officials felt differently. I asked our guide later as we were peering into the crater, looking at lava, and heating our hands over a plume of hot gas escaping from a large crevice, "when was the last time that this volcano shot rocks in the air?" He replied confidently that it had been about 3 months. I was not so confident. 

As usual, I did not sit around long once I got into Antigua. While I was out looking for breakfast I found a travel agency that had a last minute cancellation for a tour to an active volcano. So I called the hotel and told them that I was going to be checking in later in the day and I jumped into the tour van. This is the volcano that we climbed up, the summit is about 2500 m (about 8000ft). 

So I decided to go to Antigua Guatemala on a whim and caught an overnight bus. The trip itself would not have been bad if I had not gotten seated next to the biggest Guatemalan that I had ever seen. He was seriously about 1.6 normal Guatemalan, or 1.35 American (at the current exchange rates). That part aside, Antigua is a really beautiful city with a wonderful history. I snapped this picture on the way to my hotel at about 7am. 

One of the mysteries of Tikal is what happened to the Maya civilization. There seems to be no reason why a culture that was obviously thriving disappeared over 100 years ago. I have my own theory that they were carried off by the ravenous mosquitoes that prowl the site even to this day, still thirsty for blood. 

One of the most amazing things about Tikal is that the ruins are partially obscured by the jungle. Centuries-old trees grow out of ancient ruins and monkeys, birds, and other animals howl in the distance. 

From Belize, I went to Tikal ruins in Northern Guatemala. The place absolutely blew my mind. There was no amazing vantage like at Machu Picchu but there is something particularly stunning about giant stone pyramids rising from the floor of a tropical jungle. It also helps that most of the work done by the Maya here predates Machu Picchu by over 1000 years. 

Ok, so it is not that amazing of a picture, but I felt that I had to post something from Belize, even if I was only there for about 10 hours. Woo Hoo, first time on the Caribbean. ALSO: I want to apologize for the title on the previous post, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight is completely lame. 

Five for Flying

I leave Panama tomorrow morning really early, so I think that means a night sleeping in the airport. My flight leaves at 6am, stops in Costa Rica, change planes in El Salvador, arrive in Belize, see Belize City, then catch a bus to Flores in Guatamala. That´s 5 countries in one day, although I am not sure the two in the middle really count.

The old neighborhood in Panama is called the Casco Viejo and is very French-looking in places. While this picture is prety, most of the area is a dangerous slum, so nightfall was a definite cue to leave. 

Once I got to Panama I met up with my mom and stepdad and their Amigos tour group. I got to feel like a tourist for a few days, traveling around in a group of 20, staying in nice hotels, and having good meals. One of the things we did was to visit the Panama Canal. It was one of those things that the Engineering nerd inside me compelled me to do. Pretty impressive to see the ships move through. I guess the canal charges an average of $150,000 for a ship to cross the whole way through. 

My Camera Lives!!!

After a long day and a mix-up at the hostel involving my things being moved while I was gone, I dropped my camera hard on a concrete floor. There were no signs of life whatsoever and a terrifying thud-like rattle inside. I decided to sleep on it and worry about it the next day. This morning I performed emergency surgery with a fork, knife, coin and nail file. Somehow I managed to revive it and it appears to be working normally now. Tomorrow night I am off to Panama City by overnight bus.

At the volcano you could hear the explosions at the top and see rocks tumbling down the hillside. Later at night it was possible to see the rocks glowing as they were red hot. After the volcano I went to the nicest hot springs that I have been to in my life. There were 18 pools of different temperatures, all were made of natural rock and set in a beautifully-landscaped jungle setting.  

I went on a day trip to Volcan Arenal which is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. In Costa Rica, unlike other countries on my trip, there appears to be some concept of liability (note the sign at the entrance to the park).  

I arrived safe and sound in San Jose and spent several days exploring the city. Unfortunately it has been raining off and on every day so the sightseeing had to be done in the interludes between heavy spells of rain. San Jose has some nice places but not like many of the other cities I have been to. 

One of the things on my "to do" list for South America was to cut my way through a jungle with a machete; mission accomplished. I was glad that it was only a 2-day tour though, I have never seen som many insects in my life and it was starting to creep me out a little. Tomorow morning I leave Ba�os very early and head back to Quito. From there, I fly to Costa Rica to spend the last four and a half weeks of my trip in Central America. 

Also on the jungle tour, we stopped for a while at a waterfall to swim and cool off. I swam in my underwear, but seeing all the giant leaves was too tempting not to strip down and take a funny picture. 

After a day of canyoning, I went on a 2-day jungle trek. Shooting a blowgun was one of many "unique" jungle experiences that I had. Others included a precarious canoe ride down a river, fighting with a monkey for my dinner, and being up to my shins in gooey mud. 

One of the things that I did in Ba�os was to go canyoning. After getting dressed in a wetsuit, climbing gear, sandals, knee and elbow pads, and a helmet, we climbed a steep trail up a jungle hillside. The trail consisted of pulling yourself up by tree roots and vines and getting covered in lots of mud. Then from the top down we rappelled down 6 waterfalls. That would have been exciting on its own, but we were late because of some slow people in our group, so we statred the last one (250 ft) in almost total darkenss. By thte time I got to the bottom, I was seeing by moonlight and was happy to be done. 

Banos

I am now in the town of Baños (Ec), after a bus ride filled with way too many "look we are there already!" jokes every time we passed a roadside rest area. Tomorrow I am going mountain biking and then canyoning and then into the jungle for a two-day tour/trek. I will post pics once I am back.

I FOUND SACAGAWEA AND SHE IS HIDING IN ECUADOR!!!! The somewhat defunct dollar coin that was released with much fanfare in the US in 2001 only to be forgotten by Americans who cannot get used to the idea of dollar coins, is alive and well in Ecuador. The offical currency of Ecuador is the US Dollar. Greenbacks are the paper money of choice and the coins are an eclectic mix of US money and Ecuadorian look-alikes. 

Quito is a great city. It is a lot more touristy than most of the places I have been, which means more money but also a lot of nice things from home. One night I was there I went out to a really nice hotel-top restraurant that had great city views and it still only cost $7 for a big juicy steak.  

Now on to another question that has plagued me since I arrived in South America. "Which way does the toilet water spin on the equator?" While I was there, asked about 10 people (in spanish) if there was a toilet exactly on the equator so that I could see which way the water would swirl. Unfortunately I couldn�t find one. This one (clean water I swear) is on the southern side and flows Clockwise. Northern Hemisphere folks will have to see if their{s run the opposite way.
 

Have you ever rode the equator as if it were a horse? Well, now I can check that off my "things to do before I die" list. Just outside of Quito is the Mitad del Mundo, which is a little town dedicated to making the equator into as big a tourist trap as possible. Fun all the same. 

Quito, Ecuador

After leaving my hotel at 5:15 am Friday, I arrived in Quito at 7:30am Sunday. The process involved 4 cab rides, a flight, two busses, a minibus, and a short walk, and our bus being briefly pulled over by the police for some reason or another. Nevertheless, it was a good trip and I got to spend a few hours in Lima (Per) and Guyaquil (Ec) along the way. I am also now at 15 out of 40 in my could of nights not sleeping in a bed out of nights total. 37.5% Baby!! I will post pics and photos from around Ecuador in the next few days.

Lima Taxi

I left Cuzco very early on Friday morning to catch a plane to Lima, where I planned to continue on to the North to Ecuador. When I got to Lima I had an interesting ride with a cab driver about Texas. He said he had heard there was a town there that was full of devils and that they stole people´s souls. I told hime that I was new to the state but I hadn´t heard of anything like that and doubted that it existed. He also told me that he had 4 girlfriends in Lima and that ceviche every morning for breakfast was his secret to potency. Again, I thanked him for sharing and spent the rest of ride wondering what he would say next.

After 5 days of hiking we finaly got to the site. It was very cloudy in the morning but it burned off in the afternoon and made for some great pictures. Since we hadn�t had enought walking and climbing in the previous 4 days, we climbed both the peaks in the background as well as a third that you can�t see. Machu Picchu is an amazing site and is omething that you really have to experience in person to appreciate. 

Sunset in Aguas Calientes, the day before our summit to Machu Picchu. 

We took a truck for part of our trek. Standing in the back and hanging on was fun until we picked up the following along the way: 12 large sacks of potatos and their owners, a family of citrus pickers and their harvest, 6 other backpackers, and 2 timbermen and their stack of boards. The driver also stalled the truck about 20 times and almost drove off a cliff. It all added to the adventure. 

At the end of the second day we descended into the jungle where we spent the rest of the trip. I was the only person in my group that brought good lightweight long pants and long sleve shirts. Lucky me, the mosquitos were really thick. One guy had 46 bites from the knee down on his right leg alone. 

Hiking above the treeline.