Two Backpackers

Costa Rica Caribbean Beaches

| by Aracely on December 30th, 2024 | 3 Comments » | Central America, Costa Rica

Beach and Reef at Rocking J

A 3.5 hour bus ride from San Jose takes you to the southern Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica.  This is a place where pristine beaches sneak out of the jungle creating the perfect setting for those who can entertain themselves with the ocean and walks into the forest.

During our stay we first visited Cahuita beach then made our way south to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca where we stayed in Rocking J’s Hostel, a good base location to visit beaches further south. (more…)

Monteverde, Costa Rica

| by Aracely on December 19th, 2024 | 13 Comments » | Central America, Costa Rica

Cloud Forest of Monteverde

Monteverde Cloud Forest is located 1,440 meters above sea level and has a humid, misty and cloudy climate during most of the year.  It is a rain forest reserve with more than 5 species of cats, 30 species of hummingbirds, and 420 types of orchids.  The area is highly praised as one of the most outstanding wildlife refuges in the New World Tropics. (more…)

Salento, Colombia

| by Aracely on December 18th, 2024 | 3 Comments » | Colombia, South America

Wax Palms of Valle de Cocora

Located in the heart of the Colombian coffee region and tucked between Pereira and Armenia rests Salento, a small and pleasant town which offers visitors a warm relaxing setting.  If you’re making your way south to Cali from Medellin or Bogota, or traveling north on the reverse route, Salento is an ideal place to take a break from the bustling cities of Colombia.  Relax in town, or venture out to Valle de Cocora for some outdoor trekking adventure where you will see the largest palm trees in the world. (more…)

Volcano Pacaya – Episode 6

| by Jason on December 15th, 2024 | 4 Comments » | Travel Videos

Volcano Pacaya is one of the most active volcanoes in Latin America. Pacaya is located near Antigua, Guatemala, a popular tourist town west of Guatemala City. We chose to camp overnight on the volcano with O.X. Outdoor Excursions. Don’t miss the flowing lava of Pacaya or the beautiful sunrise behind surrounding volcanoes.

Read the accompanying blog or View photo gallery

What We Miss

| by Jason on December 8th, 2024 | 27 Comments » | Reflections, Travel by Numbers

Volcano El Hoyo Trek Campsite in Nicaragua

It’s been just 3 three months since we began our round the world journey and we now find ourselves ecstatic over the idea of a hot shower.  That leads me to write a follow-up to the original post of “What Will I Miss” written by Aracely before we began our trip.  This list excludes family and friends, which we always miss.

1.  Hot Showers

This is the top dog of things we miss.  Maybe we miss it so much because we are teased with 1 hot shower about once every 6 weeks.  Yes, it is very hot in Central America and most of South America, but if you spent most of your life with hot showers, you never forget them.  We are usually spoiled with hot showers when we travel to high elevations where the weather is much cooler. (more…)