Two Backpackers

Journal

March 6-8, 2010 Work and Rest

We have been resting in hopes that Aracely’s cold goes away so her ears clear and we can get back on a plane. We researched taking the Navimag boat to Patagonia, but it’s just way too expensive. This last day, the 8th, Aracely is finally feeling better, so we booked our flight for Wednesday night. Check out our website, we have been doing a lot of upgrades to improve navigation.

March 5, 2010 Work and Heading to Patagonia

Aracely had work for most of today.  For lunch we went to Escula Fronteras to drop of a bag of donations for the victims of the earthquake.  One our fans on facebook suggested the place as a drop off point.  We donated a sleeping bag, a jacket, a shirt and bought diapers and toothbrushes to donate as well.  Our flight of out Santiago to Punta Arenas is scheduled for 8pm tonight.  The airport has temporary tents set up while they work on fixing the damages of the earthquake in the original building.  Our route was Santiago to Puerto Mont and then onto to Punta Arenas.  We had a mishap.  Since Aracely is congested from her cold, she couldn’t equalize here ears and was in a lot of pain when the plane ascended and then again and worse when it descended into Puerto Mont.  We decided not to continue on to Punta Arenas tonight and disembarked in Puerto Mont.  We found a hostel to stay in for the night until we figure out what to do next.

March 4, 2010 Explore Santiago

Today we walked around the city a bit.  We visited Parque Metropolitano and road the cable car up to the Virgin Summit for a great view of the city.  We also went looking for a place that might be able to fix the camcorder.  The shutter doesn’t open automatically and it needs to be rigged to keep it open.  We tried three different places until we finally found the Canon repair shop that can fix it but it would take a week for us to get the camera back.  We have a flight scheduled out of Santiago for tomorrow so we can’t get the camera fixed.  Aracely is still not feeling that well, she still as a cold and doesn’t have a lot of energy so headed back to the hostel to rest.

March 3, 2010 Very Long Bus Ride

We got on the bus yesterday evening at 7:30pm and spent the entire day on the bus.  We arrived in to Santiago around 8pm today.  After settling into our room at Green House Hostel we went out for dinner, came back to the room and crashed for the night.

March 2, 2010 Work Day

Aracely has caught a cold and is not feeling well.  We are resting and doing web work until we have to catch our bus to Santiago tonight at 7:30pm.  It is scheduled to arrive at 7:30pm tomorrow night.

March 1, 2010 Tatio Geyser & Cactus Trek

Unfortunately, if we want to see interesting things we usually have to get up extremely early.  Today it was 3am.  By 4:15am we began our two hour drive to the Geo-thermal field of Tatio.  Our tour guide, Ron from Cactus Expeditions made a great breakfast for us, perhaps as a reconciliation for making us get up so early.  We had a great day and felt it was a great value especially since Ron was very knowledgeable, shared lots of information with us and kept things entertaining for us.  One of the highlights of the tour was bathing in the Puritama river.  Click here for photos.

February 28, 2010 Valle de la Luna & Valle de la Muerte Trek

Today we booked two tours.  This afternoon we took the Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) & Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley) Trek and tomorrow we will do the Geyser & Cactus Trek.  Our tour left San Pedro around 4:15pm.  During our trek witness amazing land formations and a beautiful sunset.  At Valle de la Muerte it got very windy and the desert sand was smacking Aracely’s legs.  She had t use her hat to cover her face and eyes from being engulfed in sand.  Click here for photos.

February 27, 2010 Natural Disaster in Santiago, Chile

We boarded a bus at 10pm last night from Arica to San Pedro de Atacama.  At 3am the city of Santiago experienced one of the largest earthquake recorded in history at 8.5 in magnitude.   We were well north of the epicenter and did not feel a thing.  While on the bus we did hear the news but didn’t realize how devastating the damage was until we arrived at our hostel in San Pedro at around 11am Chilean time and watched the images on TV.   We spent the day watching the news in shock.  Our sincere condolences to the people of Santiago and all of Chile who have lost a loved one in this catastrophe.

February 26, 2010 Web Work

Today we spent the day on the computer catching up on Two Backpackers work.  Our job with the website never ends and it feels like we can’t ever catch up.  Tonight we board a bus to San Pedro de Atacama and will spend a few days there before heading to Santiago for our flight to Punta Arenas on March 4th.

February 25, 2010 Rode Bikes to the Beach

Our hostel provides free use of their bikes so we took them for a 10-mile bike ride to the beach.  Arica, Chile is the driest city in the world.  We weren’t too impressed with the beaches but it was nice to take a refreshing swim in the middle of a dessert environment.  We came back and uploaded Episode 8.

February 24, 2010 Web Work and Work

Jason worked on the blog and Aracely worked on her Amex stuff.  We are staying at Surf House Hostel where ther eis free internet and a kitchen where we can cook our meals helping safe some money.

February 23, 2010 Planing the Next Week

We want to escape the high costs of Chile, but realized it is just as expensive to venture into Bolivia and then navigate down to Patagonia for our Torres del Paine.  So we will bite the bullet, spend lots of our cash, and travel down to San Pedro de Altacama and then Santiago in Chile.  From Santiago we will board a flight on March 4th to Patagonia.

February 22, 2010 Unforgettable Day in Northern Chile

When we left our hostel in Putre, this morning destined for the Salt Flats of Surire, we didn’t know exactly how we would return to Arica.  We read in  Lonely Planet  and heard there was a dirt road from the Salt Flats directly towards Arica that we could take instead of backtracking all the way back to Arica via Putre.  However, this road floods often and we were advised to ask the park rangers for some advice.  During our drive towards the Salt Flats we encountered some rangers and they told us that we should be able to make the journey to the flats if we used the 4×4 and never hit the breaks through the flooded road portions.  We continued on.  The rangers underestimated the bad conditions of the road or maybe overestimated the capability of our 4×4 vehicle, because there were a few points where we almost got stuck in 2 feet of muddy water.  Only 20 feet into the flooded obstacle, we quickly diverted off the road onto, unfortunately, park area.  There is no way we would have made it through the 50 yards of flooded roadway.  It was a scary moment.  Our arrival to the Salt Flats was rewarded with beautiful scenery including salt lakes, flamingos and vicunas.  After getting directions from other rangers we decided to take the direct road from the Salt Flats to Arica.  It was the most remote place we have ever been.   All throughout our drive we got out to take pictures of the amazing endless mountain scenery.  At one specific point Jason got down on one knee and proposed to me.  We got engaged while driving back to Arica on the 4×4 adventure in Northern Chile’s Altiplano.  We were sure to mark the GPS coordinates, otherwise we might never find that place again.  Our weekend included 450 miles of some of the most breathtaking scenery we have ever seen.

February 21, 2010 National Park Lauca

By 9am this morning we were on the road to National Park Lauca.  Just 30mins into our drive we encountered wild guanaco and vicuña (camelids) on the hills next to the highway.   We also got great views of snow capped volcanoes all throughout our drive.  Our final destination was Laguna Chungara where we were super excited to see pink flamingos.  On our drive back we spotted a huge condor flying very close to the road so we stopped to take some pictures.  It was a great day in the outdoors.

February 20, 2010 Drive to Putre, Chile

The drive to Putre was beautiful.  There are views of dessert like hills that seem to go on for miles and the weather was perfect.  We made a few fun stops along the way to take pictures and also explored the tiny village of Sorocoma.  We arrived to town around 4pm and found a descent place to stay.  Although at $28 per night we find it super expensive in comparison to the previous places we’ve stayed at.

February 19, 2010 Arica, Chile

It was a 12 hour bus ride from Nazca to Tacna, the border.  From there we had to take yet another bus to take us over the boarder into Arica, Chile, our destination.  The Chilean border has been the most sophisticated land border in all of the Latin American countries we’ve visited.  We even had to put our bags through an X-Ray machine.  Chile is also the most expensive country by a long shot.   Our decision to come to Arica was based on seeing Lauca National Park and the Salar de Surire.  We decided to rent a 4×4 pick-up truck and drive there ourselves.

February 18, 2010 Episode 7 is up! And We Head to Chile

Today we finally launched our next video.  It’s been difficult to keep up since we were so busy in January due or friends visiting and lack of good bandwidth in order to upload.  Click here to watch Episode 7.  At 8pm we boarded a bus to the Peru-Chile border.  We are expecting it to be a long bus ride.

February 17, 2010 Nazca Lines Flight

We arrived safely to the Nazca Bus Terminal at 5:30am after a smooth night on a 9 hour  “Bus Cama” (or Bed-Bus) ride.  By 8am we were on our way to the airport to board our Cessna plane and see the famous Nazca Lines.  We ended up on different planes.  As usual, Aracely got motion sickness and threw up in the plastic bag on the plane after only 5 minutes.  Luckily, there was a nice man sitting next to her who took her camera and snapped photos for the remaining part of the flight.  Jason on the other hand, couldn’t get enough and wished his flight could go longer than the scheduled 30 minutes.

February 16, 2010 Sightsee in Arequipa and Then to Nazca

We’ve been in Arequipa for a over a week but we have been working the entire time and we have only seen the 5 block radius around our hostel.  We decided to get on an open air tour bus and see the city.  Tonight we take an overnight bus north to Nazca, where we plan to book on Cessna flight over the famous Nazca Lines.

February 15, 2010 Romantic Valentine’s Dinner

Since we spent Valentine’s Day hiking out of Colca Canyon we were too tired to even have dinner that night, let alone a romantic one.  We decided to pick a restaurant with a view of The Plaza de Armas (main square) and enjoy a nice dinner together to celebrate both Valentine’s Day and our weekend accomplishment of hiking the Colca Canyon in 2 days.  Dinner was delicious and romantic.  Aracely ate seabass which really didn’t taste like seabass and Jason had alpaca in a rosemary alfredo sauce.

February 13-14, 2010 Hike Down Colca Canyon

We came to Arequipa for to hike down the Colca Canyon.  Our tour was scheduled for one night, two days.   There was an option to do it in two nights three days and we wish we would’ve taken it.  The first day involved getting picked up at 3:30am.  We hiked for 8 hours, mostly downhill, which was extremely tough on the knees.  When we arrived at Oasis, our lodging for the night, we jumped in the pool and enjoyed a few drinks to cool ourselves off.  The following day, we woke up at 4:30 am for the ascend out of the canyon which took us 2.5 hours of strenuous hiking.  Hiking down to the canyon was beautiful and we have some great pictures of our trek.

February 8-12, 2010 Work, Work and More Work

Aracely was asked to work this week and since this past month we’ve neglected the website and over spent due to our friends visiting, we took the opportunity and worked most of the week.  After spending our entire days on the computers, we managed to get out and see daylight once a day for lunch and prepared our own dinner.  We tried a few different “Almuerzos”, set lunches and found some great deals.  Delicious soup, a main dish and a drink for less than $1.50 each.  We are staying at Los Andes Bed & Breakfast which is a quiet guesthouse with a kitchen and our own private bathroom so we can concentrate and get a lot done.

February 7, 2010 Superbowl Sunday

We went out looking for a place to watch the Superbowl in English but were unsuccessful.  At least our guesthouse will be playing it on their cable T.V., but it will only be in Spanish, which means Aracely will have to translate for Jason during important plays.

February 6, 2010 Headed to Arequipa

We road the most comfortable night bus yet.  The seats were huge, reclined almost all the way back and they provided us with pillows and blankets.  This made the 9 hour overnight ride very manageable.

February 5, 2010 Work Day in Cuzco

Our friend Chuck left today and Two Backpackers are back to traveling a lone.  Aracely has to do some work for American Express and Jason is beginning to work on Episode 7.

February 4, 2010 Shopping Day in Cuzco

Today we shopped as if we are not traveling for a year.  It felt like we were true tourists and bought souvenirs and gifts for our friend Chuck to take back home.  In the evening we went to Bull Frogg’s for drinks.  The place is well decorated with great food and good music.

February 3, 2010 More Inca Ruins

There is so much more to see around Cusco than just Machu Picchu and our last two days is a testament of that.  Today we took another tour and visited two more ruins.  The first was Tipon, an archeological site that features well built canals which channel water out of the mountain behind it.  The second was a very large pre-Inca development from the Huari or Wari people called Pikillacta.

February 2, 2010 Two Cuzco Tours Lots of Inca Ruins

Our overnight bus arrived to Cuzco at 6am from Copacabana.  This was the most comfortable overnight bus we’ve had yet, which allowed us a good night sleep.   This never happens on night buses.  Since we all felt rested we wanted to take advantage of the full day in Cuzco and began to look for tours bright and early.  Hiking Peru was an agency that impressed us while we were looking for a Salkantay Trek, so we decided to pay them a visit for tours.  We decided on two tours, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Our itinerary included the archeological sites of Chincheros, Moray and Salinas de Moras in the morning and Saqsayhuaman, Q’enqo, Takapukara, Tambomachay in the afternoon.  By the end of the day everyone was exhausted.

February 1, 2010 Festival In Copacabana, Bolivia

The town of Copacabana is celebrating the Virgen de la Candelaria Festival.  The streets are adorned with flowers in shapes of hearts and unique designs.  Adult bands paraded along the main streets in very colorful costumes and performed typical local dances.  We felt lucky to have a chance to witness such a joyful event.  We boarded a 6pm bus that would put us in Cuzco, Peru at 5am.

January 31, 2010 Trekking at Isla del Sol, Bolivia

Today we trekked Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) from North to South.  It was one of the most beautiful treks of our trip.  During our hike we were amazed to see other travelers sunbathing on the beach in their bathing suits as we walked by in our sweaters and gloves.  At one point Jason noticed that someone had left a plastic water bottle along the way, he picked it up.  As we continued our walk we saw a few other bottles and began to collected them as we made our way down the island.  As we got closer and closer to the south part of the island there were just too many bottles to pick up.  We did however manage to collect about 20 bottles and properly disposed of them.

January 30, 2010 Another Adventure Canceled

We woke up at 5am today, got ready and hurried downstairs to the lobby excited about our upcoming adventure.  To our disappointment, we found a note for us saying that the tour for the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” was canceled due to local protest.  First Machu Picchu, now this.  We quickly decided to head to Copacabana the same day.  They told us that this tour has only been canceled once in the last year due to snow.

January 29, 2010 La Paz, Bolivia

Today we boarded a bus to La Paz, Bolivia.  Our plan is to bike down the “World’s Most Dangerous Road” and then head to Copacabana to visit La Isla del Sol.  Unfortunately, that means that as US Citizens we all have to pay $135 each for a visa.  The border crossing was one of the most organized we’ve been through yet.

January 28, 2010 Lake Titicaca, Peru

At 6:30am our shuttle arrived to take us to the port of Puno, where we set off in a boat for the famous Uros Islands and Island Taquile. The Uros islands are inhabited by the Uros people that speak Aymara, a pre-Inca language. The Uros are a group of 42 or so artificial islands made of floating reeds (totora, a reed that abounds in the shallows of the lake). Next we arrived at Taquile Island, which has been inhabited for thousands of years by Quechua-speaking peoples who avoid many of the modernities of the mainland and still hold on strong to patriarchal traditions. (Lonely Planet) Their greatest gift is their textile handicrafts, which are only made and sold on the island. We enjoyed lunch at a restaurant located on the top of the steep island which provided incredible landscape views. The wild trout found in Lake Titicaca was delicious!

January 27, 2010 Arrived in Puno, Peru

We arrived in Puno at 5am to find that our hostel shuttle wasn’t there to pick us up at the bus terminal. Apparently, they didn’t write down our reservation over the phone. We took a taxi to the hostel and found some beds anyway. After napping, we walked around town and enjoyed some lunch where we read about Puno in our Lonely Planet guide. We found an interesting section on Sillustani, so we quickly ran to an iPeru tourist office to book a day trip. They had no available slots. We jumped in a taxi and toured the peninsula of funerary towers on our own. A guide would have been nice, but we only had one day to explore. It was a beautiful day for pictures and walking. We also visiting a local indigenous home in Sillustani.

January 26, 2010 Work Day in Cuzco, Peru

Lorraine got up very early this morning to make her several flights back home. She still isn’t feeling well and we hope she gets home and gets all her energy back. It’s a big disappointment that she and Chuck couldn’t get to see Machu Picchu, as I am sure it was for many of the tourists stuck here in Cuzco. Since we won’t be able to do the trek to Machu Picchu we have extra time and decided to head south to Lake Titicaca, which sits 3,812 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it one of the highest commercially navigable lakes in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake in South America. We plan to head out tonight on an overnight bus. Aracely has not had much time to get her work done lately so today she spent it catching up on her Amex duties. Jason is working on networking with our blog. Chuck is napping and playing pool. Seems like we all caught a cold.

January 25, 2010 They Closed Machu Picchu?

Aracely and Lorraine were on their way to Ollantaytambo train station at their scheduled time of 3am. Unfortunately, when they arrived to the train station they saw over 50 people waiting outside a dark and empty station. No trains were running. The rain has flooded nearby rivers and caused a few landslides along the train tracks. Later that evening we learned of Machu Picchu closing and thousands of tourists being airlifted out of Aguas Caliente. Hmmm… maybe they were lucky. It’s still very sad that none of us will be able to hike Machu Picchu at this time. The Tourism Department of Peru has closed Machu Picchu indefinitely.

January 24, 2010 Aracely and Lorraine Fail to See Machu Picchu

Aracely and Lorraine are planning to visit Machu Picchu for the day since Lorraine doesn’t have enough time to do the Salkantay Trek. Thankfully she is feeling better from the altitude. The original plan was to spend the night in Aguas Caliente and head up to Machu Picchu in the wee hours of the morning to beat the crowd to climb Wayna Picchu. Unfortunately, they are having a difficult time getting information on the best way to get to Aguas Caliente. Our hostel, Pariwana Hostel, was not very helpful. Finally they were able to make it to the correct train station, but there were no tickets available for today. They will have to get up at 2am to catch the first train out of Ollantaytambo which is 1.5hrs away. Tonight we enjoyed a tasty dinner at Hierba Buena Restaurant in the San Blas neighborhood.

January 23, 2010 Research Outfitters for the Salkantay Trek

We did a lot of research on-line concerning booking treks to Machu Picchu and unfortunately, you have to do some haggling, negotiating with multiple agencies. It disappointing to have to work so hard to ensure you receive a quality trek with a quality guide. Oh, and it’s raining again.

January 22, 2010 Fly to Cusco, Peru

We arrived to Cusco and are staying at Pariwana Hostel. The square in the center of town, Plaza de Armas is beautiful. It’s very interesting to see the integration of Inca stones into the modern architecture. The altitude is really having an impact on Lorraine. She has had a constant headache and she got sick just as we were about to sit down and have dinner. It’s also raining and very cold at night. It takes a while to get used to the slippery cobblestone and pebble lined streets.

January 21, 2010

Lima is one of the greatest cities we have come across during our travels, so today we wanted to continue to explore it’s riches. We visited the Museo de La Nacion and learned about the many indigenous cultures of Peru. In the evening we traveled to old town Lima again to watch the water and laser shows at the Circuito Magico del Agua.

January 20, 2010 Explore Lima and Celebrate Lorraine’s Birthday

Happy Birthday Lorraine!  It’s Aracely’s girlfriend’s birthday today and she is traveling with us for 2 weeks.  There will be celebrations tonight!  Today Aracely and I took a long walk to the cliffs of Miraflores to enjoy an awesome lunch buffet.  We spent the most we have on the entire trip, but it was worth it.  In the afternoon all 4 of us took a tour ride on a double decker bus through Lima.  We have come to like these types of tours.  They allow us to see parts of the city we probably would never get to on foot or in taxis.  The human bones piled up in the San Francisco Catacombs were very interesting and creepy.  We moved up our flight to Cuzco, Peru to Friday.

January 19, 2010 Lima Rescues Jason’s Video Camera

We actually found a place that can fix Jason’s camera.  Honestly, after visiting many major cities in Central and South America, we never thought this was possible.  Lima seems like the best option for electronics.  We should have the camera back on Thursday.  We did some walking around during the gloomy day and worked out some room foul-ups with our hostel Pariwana in Miraflores.  This hostel is very cool, with lots of activities, a bar, games etc.  Once we got past the fact that they tried to turn us away even with a Hostelbookers.com reservation, we have become quite fond of this place.

January 18, 2010 Trying to get to Lima, Peru

We went to the travel agency that promised us 4 plane tickets leaving to Lima at 2pm out of Piura.  When we got there to pay for them, they told us that they just sold the last tickets and that they only had availability on the 6pm flight.  We were really annoyed by this since we didn’t want to get to Lima, Peru after dark.

January 17, 2010 Mancora Beach, Peru

Last night we enjoyed the party scene of Mancora Beach.  We usually categorize beaches by either a beautiful nature beach, or a bustling, party beach.  Mancora is for surfing and partying.  We danced and drank until 3am, something Aracely and I haven’t done since Andy and Paulina were with us back in Guatemala.  It’s always great to have friends around.  After waking up late, we made our way to the beach for a perfect sun filled day.  Aracely ended up getting a rash or hives all over her body and had to get a shot from the local pharmacy.  It was most likely due to the seafood we have been eating.  You can’t avoid the cerviche here, it’s delicious.  The shot helped get rid of the rash, but it seems to be coming back now that it’s time for bed.  Hopefully it will be all gone tomorrow.  We had originally planned to be in Mancora for several days, but plans have changed.  Supposedly there is going to be a country protest beginning tomorrow night in opposition to an expected increase in oil prices.  When Peruvians protest, they typically block major roadways around the country.  This means buses either don’t travel, or potentially drop you off in the middle of nowhere when they approach an angry mob.  We already have flights booked for Saturday from Lima to Cuzco, so we have to get to Lima.  In order to avoid getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, we are planning to take a flight tomorrow afternoon to Lima.  It’s an unforeseen expense, but a necessary one.

January 16, 2010 Ecuador to Peru Border Crossing

We heard that this particular border crossing was uneventful and different from the usual bridge crossing.  A typical border crossing involves a bus dropping you off just before you enter another country in order to sign out of the current country.  Next you cross a bridge to arrive at the new country’s customs office.  After getting your stamp you board a bus to your destination.  Today, we had to hire several taxis on both sides of the border in order to complete the sign out and sign in process.  We were told that it wasn’t safe enough to walk the 2km between customs buildings, so unfortunately we drove.  All ended up okay, and we arrived in Mancora beach before sunset.

January 15, 2010 Cajas National Park

Located an hour outside of Cuenca, Cajas National Park offers both rolling hills and sharp rock facades amongst small rivers and waterfalls.  After picking up a map at one of the information centers, we set out on a 5 hour hike.  The hike was quicker and easier than anticipated, so we set our sights on some nearby rock formations that spiked into the air on top of a nearby mountain.  We took some great pictures of a chilly lake and then returned to the highway to catch a passing bus back to Cuenca.

January 14, 2010 Exploring Cuenca, Ecuador

In the morning we took a walk to the Thursday food market and were very impressed with how clean and well organized it was.  Then we headed over to buy some hand made sweaters for Lorraine and Aracely.   After shopping, we visited The Banco Central Museum of Pumapungo.  It was great to have a guide take us through all the exhibitions and explain to us all the different cultures in Ecuador.  In back of the museum there is an archeological Inca site that brought it all together.  We then took a tourist bus around the city that allowed us to see all the important sectors of Cuenca.  We are planning to head to The National Park Cajas tomorrow morning.

January 13, 2010 Making Our Way South to Cuenca, Ecuador

We woke up and took our time to have breakfast before heading to the bus terminal to hop on a bus to Cuenca.  Since there is four of us now, we had to take two cabs.  Lorraine and Aracely went in one cab and Jason and Chuck got in another.   We had a minor scare because we were dropped off at two different entrances and couldn’t find each other.  Everything worked out OK and headed to Cuenca.  We arrived in the early afternoon and are staying at El Cafecito Hostel.  We enjoyed a great dinner and had drinks over a card game for a relaxed night.

January 12, 2010 Back to Guayaquil

Today we made our way back to Guayaquil to pick up Aracely’s high school friend Lorraine who will be joining us for 2-weeks.

January 11, 2010 Work day in Baños, Ecuador

Today is another workday for Aracely.  Jason spent some time catching up on some work.  Later in the evening we enjoyed the famous hot baths of Baños.

January 10, 2010 Bike Ride and Active Volcano Tungurahua

Finally a clear day and some sun!  We decided to take a bike ride on the main road to Puyo.  Along the way we stopped at various waterfalls and rode two cable cars that allowed us to get closer to the waterfall.  We didn’t make it all the way to Puyo. We had already been riding for 4 hours and it would been another 2 hours to Puyo from El Pailon del Diablo, which is the largest waterfall on the route.  There were plenty of pick-up trucks to choose from so we hired one and headed back to Baños.  Just as we were arriving into town, our driver told us to look up at Volcano Tungurahua.   We could clearly see the volcano spewing ash and plumes of smoke into the air.  After arriving in town,  we decided to immediately rent ATVs again and head up to the same lookout point from yesterday to have a closer look.  Within the hour we were back at “La Casa del Arbol.”  Again, we could hear the roaring volcano but this time we could see it too.  The ATV rental was for 2 hours only and it wouldn’t be dark out before we returned the ATVs.  This was disappointing considering we wanted to see the volcano peak at night.  After showering, we hired a ride back up to La Casa del Arbol for a night view.  We watched something incredible.  You will have to wait for the volcanic video.

January 9, 2010 Renting ATVs

We had originally planned to take a bike ride to Puyo, but the weather has been chilly and rainy.   We decided to rent ATVs and go riding up to “La Casa del Arbol”.  This is a lookout point for Volcano Tungurahua.   Unfortunately, it was too foggy and cloudy to see anything, but we could hear the volcano roaring loudly.  It was amazing to hear it’s power.

January 8, 2010 Work day in Baños, Ecuador

Aracely had to work today and Jason took the time to edit some pictures to get them ready for uploading.  Unfortunately, the internet service at the hostel is not very reliable.  It seems to have a problem with Mac computers and it’s very intermittent making it very difficult to get work done.  We are doing our best.

January 7, 2010 Visit Volcano Cotopaxi

At 6:30a.m. we exited our hostel and headed to Volcano Cotopaxi.  We hired the same driver that drove us from Quilotoa to Latacunga for the morning.  He drove us all the way up to the parking lot just short of, El Refugio (the refuge.)  This is the highest point a vehicle can drive up the volcano.  When we stepped out of the car, we experienced the strongest wind we have ever felt in our entire lives.  We were at an altitude of 14,800 feet. Jason and Chuck began to hike up and reached 15,000 feet.  They were freezing and sand blasted.

January 6, 2010 Lake Quilotoa, Ecuador

Amazing!  We arrived in the village of Quilotoa at 5:30am and made our way through town to the edge of Crater Lake Quilotoa.  It was such a surprise to have walked up to what seemed to be a normal mountain top only too look down at this magnificent lake.  We snapped pictures until we were frozen from the wind and cold weather, and then walked back into town to find some warm coffee and tea.  After warming up for a few hours, we decided to return back to the volcano to make the trek down to the lake, 400M or 1300ft.  The hike up was much more difficult, and after the previous day’s workout, we were struggling.  After our hike, we hired a pick-up truck to take us back to Latacunga.  That night we enjoyed dinner with a few friends we met in Isinlivi.

January 5, 2010 Hike to Chugchilan

Details weren’t provided to us about how difficult the hike from Isinlivi to Chugchilan would be.  We ventured out confidently, hoping we wouldn’t kill Chuck on his first hike.  The hike ended up being fairly strenuous.  Add the element of being lost and you can add even more hours to your trip.  The hike takes you through continuous mountains farmed by the indigenous.  If Aracely didn’t speak Spanish we might not have made it.  The locals on many occasions provided us directions.  Toward the end of the trek, we encountered switchbacks that would take us out of the valley, but only after an hour of tough marching.  Chuck shuffled into Chugchilan right behind us, spent from the days challenging hike.  We took shelter in Cloud Forest Hostel, a place we were pleased with.  Tonight we decided to skip the hike to Quilotoa and take a 4am bus instead.  This would allow us to see the sunrise over the Crater Lake of Quilotoa and give Chuck a rest.

January 4, 2010 Drive to Isinlivi

Step 1 of our 2-day trek is to take transportation to Isinlivi, a small indeginous town on the western edge of the Quilota Loop.  We are staying at Llullu Llama hostel, a small farm house with eco-toilets.  It didn’t seem like there were many choices in town, so they absolutely over charge you.  Jason would always exclaim, “I am going to give back to nature, see you soon.”  He enjoyed the eco-toilets.

January 3, 2010 Travel Day: Latacunga, Ecuador

After a late night at the airport waiting for Chuck, we woke up bright and early to begin our journey to Latacunga located in the Central Highlands of Ecuador.  After 7 hours and two bus rides we arrived at Tiana Hostel.  We talked to the hostel staff and decided to change our plans and not climb Cotopaxi, since we won´t have the proper time to acclimate to the altitude.   Now we are doing a 2-day trek on the Quilotoa Loop in the Andes.

January 2, 2010 Walk Around El Malecon 2000 In Guayaquil, Ecuador

Today we took a walk down the beautiful Malecon 2000.  We also did a little bit of shopping in La Bahia market and realized that we have really improved our barganing skills.  Tonight we are visiting the neighborhood of Las Peñas before picking up Chuck, Jason´s college friend, from the airport who will be joining us for the next month. We love visitors!

January 1, 2010 A Day of Rest And Some Travel

Today is for relaxing! You need those kind of days every now and then.  Tonight we will ride a 5 hour bus to Guayaquil.

December 31, 2009 Happy New Year And Feliz Año Nuevo!

Today Jason experienced a whole new way to celebrate the New Year.  At midnight the neighborhood lit up with burning lifesize home made dolls and hundreds of fireworks that were ignited by each individual home.  In Ecuador this signifies burning all the bad that the outgoing year brought and invites all the good of the new year to come.  This was followed by a huge midnight meal lots of dancing and drinking.

December 30, 2009 Work Day In Chone, Ecuador

This morning we had a great breakfast that included our favorite bread “pan de almidon” (bread made with yuca yeast.) We haven´t had a good internet connection and have a lot of work to catch up on, so we spent the day at a local internet cafe. The connection was slow but we were able to accomplish what we needed.

December 29, 2009 Back to Chone For New Years With Family

Aracely´s mom and uncle arrived in the morning to drive us back to Chone.  Before leaving we visited Montecristi, where Aracely´s mom bought locally made souveniers to take back to the US (lots of hammocks). We also had yet another seafood meal before getting on the road. Along the way we stopped at a few local places off the side of the road to savor some local food specialties such as a fresh chilled coconut. Cut it open and drink the cold coconut juice.

December 28, 2009 Manta, Ecuador

Aracely´s two cousins live in Manta and invited us to visit them.  We arrived around noon and Veronica met us at the bus terminal.  Manta is located on the coast and is a popular fishing port for hundreds of boats. Veronica drove us to Parque del Marisco, where we climbed in a partially built fishing boat and enjoyed a seafood lunch. The boats are built on the beach and they allow you to stroll into them at any time. Unfortunately, they aren’t made for tall gringos. Watch your head! Next we visited the Eloy Alfaro museum, one of Ecuador´s most respected leaders.  Later that evening we all went out and enjoyed a traditional “parrillada” (grilled meat dinner) and drinks.

December 27, 2009 Isla de la Plata

Today we took a tour to Isla de la Plata.  Our tour began in Puerto Lopez where we took a 1 hour boat ride to the island.  Once everyone was off the boat and settled we began our 2 hour hike through the Machete trail.  Along the way we spotted many Blue Footed Boobie nesting.  Our guide Limberg explained different characteristics of the beautiful birds.  After our hike we went snorkling just a few meeters off the ilsand where we saw many tropical fish.  Later that night we enjoyed our last meal with our travel friend Peter.  We did find a restaurant with 1 lobster and Jason ordered it.  However, it was $20 double the listed price in our Lonely Planet Guide.

December 26, 2009 Back to the Beach

We awoke up at 8am to catch our bus out of Chone.  Scott is headed to the highlands and Peter is joining Aracely and Jason to Puerto Lopez, where we plan to take a tour to Isla de La Plata (aka Poor Man´s Galapagos.)  After having a great traditional Chonero breakfast Aracely´s Mom and Uncled dropped us all off at the terminal.  We plan to be back in Chone to celebrate the New Year.  Our Lonely Planet Guide stated that we can find $10 lobster in Puerto Lopez so we went searching around town without any luck.  Every restaurant we checked ran out of lobster.  We plan to try again tomorrow night.

December 25, 2009 Christmas Day, A Lot Of Eating

We were all exhausted and woke up at 11am to a great breakfast with Tio Limbert´s family.  We had also been invited to have a late lunch at Tio Wilmer´s family farm.  By 3pm Jason, Scott, Peter and Aracely had eaten enough food to last us a week.  After our meal, Tio Wilmer gave us a tour around his farm explaining to us each plant he grows.  We then headed back home and celebrated the rest of the evening with drinks, dancing and more food before we all passed out at 3am.

December 24, 2009 Christmas Eve At The  Beach

Jason, Scott  (Wales),  Peter (Holland) and Aracely arrived in Chone at 6am with barely any sleep.  It was a rough and bumpy 6 hour ride from Quito.  It was really great for Aracely to see her mother and brother again.  Once we showered and settled into Aracely´s uncles house (Tio Limbert) we headed to the beach.  We spent the day enjoying the sun, swimming and having drinks with family.   That night we celebrated and had Christmas dinner with yet another uncle (Tio Wilmer).  It was interesting for Jason, Scott and Peter to experience how an Ecuadorian family celebrates Christmas.  Before heading back we stopped at another uncles house (Tio Jofre) to wish them a Merry Christmas.

December 23, 2009 Visited The President’s House And The Metropolitan Museum

Today we had a day full of history and culture.  We visited El Palacio del Govierno (the president’s palace) and the Metropolitan Museum of Quito.  Now we are headed to Chone, Ecuador on the night bus to meet up with Aracely’s family for the holidays.

December 22, 209 Climbed Our Highest Peak Ever On Volcano Pichincha

Today we took the Teleferico (Quito’s cable car) up to an elevation of 4,100 meters where we began our trek up to the summit of Volcano Ruco Pichincah.  At 4,710 meters, it was the highest any of us had ever hiked.  The trek rewarded us with beautiful views of Quito, a diverse and challenging trail and very cold weather when we arrived at the top of the mountain.  We all felt very accomplished.  That night we met up with Troy and Lucy again for drinks at the lively neighborhood of Plaza Fosch.

December 21, 2009 Visited the Middle of the Earth And Dinner With Troy And Lucy

Today we visited both the official and unofficial Middle of the Earth sites.  We had a great time learning about the scientific differences between the northern and southern hemispheres and seeing live demonstrations.  Later that night we were invited to a great home cooked dinner by Troy Floyd from FoggOdyssey.com. Both Troy and his girlfriend Lucy were great hosts.  We had a great time. Click here to read Troy’s blog about the evening.

December 20, 2009 Long Bus Ride To Quito, Ecuador

The overnight bus ride from Cali, Colombia to Quito, Ecuador was everything but boring.  After 20 hours on the road which included three security check points, one road accident that caused a 45min delay, and one bus malfunction we finally made it to Quito.  We arrived at 1pm to the Secret Garden Hostel in the San Blas neighborhood of Old Town.  We are expected to meet up with Scott and Peter whom we met on the sailboat from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia.  They are planning to join us for Christmas dinner in Chone with Aracely’s family.  It was great to see them again.  We enjoyed a great pizza dinner at the restaurant on the terrace of our hostel and had a few drinks to celebrate our reunion.

December 19, 2009 Online Work And Night Bus To Ecuador

We spent the day catching up on computer stuff and took the night bus to the Ecuador border.  We hope to be in Quito by tomorrow afternoon.

December 18, 2009 Experiencing Tear Gas and Salsa Dancing in Cali, Colombia

We went to explore the city and noticed that it felt a bit chaotic. There was tons of traffic everywhere and then realized that there was a street demonstration in the center of the city.  As we walked we saw a group of buses parked all along the main corridor blocking all traffic.  We noticed riot police on one side and a group of people on the other.  We stuck around to watch.  It was a peaceful demonstration until all of the sudden we heard loud pops and saw green and gray gasses in the air.  Everyone scattered to avoid breathing the tear gas.  We went back to our hostel to try and get rid of the headache.  That night we had a great dinner at El Solar and went salsa dancing at a local disco.

December 17, 2009 Cali, Colombia

We are making our way south; our next stop is Cali, Colombia where we hope to enjoy some great salsa.

December 16, 2009 Valle de Cocora Park

Today we took a very crowded Willy Jeep to Valle de Cocora.  There were 14 people on this tiny vehicle, hanging off all sides and even sitting on the roof.  Valle de Cocora is home of the wax palm tress, the tallest palm trees in the world.  We took a 5 hour hike through beautiful green scenery and shared great fun with our new friends who we met in Casona de Lili

December 15, 2009 Salento, Colombia

In an attempt to take a break from the busy cities, we headed to the small town of Salento, Colombia.  It’s located in the heart of the coffee region.  We arrived in the late afternoon, walked around in search of a hostel.  We are staying at Hostal La Casona de Lili.

December 14, 2009 Exploring Manizales, Colombia

Since we did not go on our planned tour, we decided to take a walk around Manizales.  We were glad we did because we discovered a different, more charming part of the city during our 3 hour walk.  The center part of Manizales has a lot of character, much more than the area where our hostal was located.  It is definitely worth it to take the time to explore what the city has to offer.

December 13, 2009 Shopping in Medellin and Traveling to Manizales, Colombia

We recently broke our headphones which we use for Skype calls, so we set out to find a new pair. After finding what we needed we headed to the terminal to catch a bus to Manizales, Colombia where we planned to do a hike to Parque los Nebados.  Unfortunately, we got bad feedback from everyone who had taken the tour and decided not to do it.

December 12, 2009 Paragliding and Touring Medellin With Claudia

Today we went paragliding.  It took the entire day and even made us late for our meeting with Claudia, our new couchsurfing friend.  Luckily, she was patient and waited for us.  We had a great time with her while visiting the river front where they set up extensive Holiday decorations.  It was spectacular.  Later, Claudia invited us to her home where we met her family and had great political conversations about Colombia.

December 11, 2009 Explored Medellin Points of Interest

Today we dedicated the day to exploring many of Medellin’s points of interest.  We road a Metro Cable car, visited many different plazas, and a lookout point.  We even witnessed a public demonstration in the city center.

December 10, 2009 Lazy Day in Medellin and Couchsurfing Meet-Up

During the day we felt like doing nothing, so we did nothing.  We laid in bed and watched TV the entire day.  That evening we attended a couchsurfing.org meet-up and met some great people from Medellin.  One of them, Claudia, offered to take us around town on Saturday.  We happily agreed.

December 9, 2009 Walk around Medellin

We took a short walk around Medellin today and went out for drinks late in the evening around Poblado which provides lots of options of restaurants and bars.

December 8, 2009 Work day in Medellin

It was a work day for us in Medellin.  We are staying at Casa Kiwi in the Poblado neighborhood.

December 7, 2009 It’s Alex’s (Aracely’s little brother) Birthday & bus to Medellin

Today Aracely’s brother, Alex turns 14.  She misses him and wish she could be there with him to celebrate.  We are taking an overnight 14 hour bus ride from Santa Marta to Medellin tonight.  We board the bus at 5pm.

December 6, 2009 Tayron Park

We arrived at Tayrona National Park around noon and walked for two hours through beautiful beaches and junble to El Cabo beach where we spent the night on hammocks.

December 5, 2009 Taganga, Colombia

We decided to leave Brisa Loca due to our experience last night. It’s definitely too much of a party hostal for us.  We took a taxi to Taganga a small fishing village just 15 minutes away.  We are staying at Pelican Hostal.  Once we settled in we took a walk to Playa Grande and spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach.

December 4, 2009 Work Day in Santa Marta, Colombia

We are staying at Brisa Loca Hostal. They did not have any private rooms available so we are staying in a dorm room for a couple of days.  Aracely had to work today and Jason worked on the website.  That night, two of our dorm mates started snorting cocaine right in front of us with the lights on and the door open.  This was the first time either of us had experienced that.  We shared one single bed that night because the thought of two drugged up people walking in our room in the middle of the night made both of us uneasy.   Then we were woken up at 4am by a group of people getting home from a night out.  The hostal bar began to play loud music and people were smoking weed right outside our door.

December 3, 2009 Altercation with Santa Marta Shuttle Bus Driver

Today we left Cartagena and headed to Santa Marta, Colombia. We were told that our shuttle would pick us up at 12pm.  At 11:25am the hostel attendant told us that the shuttle was here.  Jason and I were not fully packed yet, so we rushed to finish gathering our things.  We needed another 5-7 minutes before we could be ready to go.  As we are in our room packing the last of our things, we hear the bus driver honking his horn.  Then the hotel attendant comes to our room to tell us to hurry up.  “We were told 12pm,” I snapped at her.  Both Jason and I began to feel stressed about the situation.   As we are walking out of the hostel to get on the shuttle, we see the driver driving down the street.  We were both very upset by this.  I began asking the driver why he was pulling away and then ended up getting in a shouting match with him.  This was horrible customer service.  I realized then that I had not felt that level of stress since I was lost in a volcano.  We finally arrived to Santa Marta after a 4 hour drive.  That night we had a great Casuela de Marisco at New Welcome Restaurant.

December 2, 2009 Islas Rosarios and Playa Blanca

We purchased boat tickets to the Rosario Islands and Playa Blanca.  It was a long slow journey getting there since we signed up on a tour that required us to go to a different island before actually getting to the beach.  We finally arrived at beautiful Playa Blanca around 1pm in time for a delicious lunch. That evening we went to Café del Mar, a posh bar located on the fort wall of Cartagena with a great view of the city.

December 1, 2009 Explore Cartagena and Volcano Tutomo Mud Bath

During the morning we took a walk around the Center of Cartagena. We were impressed with the beautifully decorated balconies, restored streets, flower filled parks and breezy plazas.  In the afternoon we road a shuttle bus to Volcano Tutomo for a completely new experience; a hot mud bath.

November 30, 2009 Arrive in Cartagena, Colombia

We all woke up excited to see land again!  As the skyline of Cartagena began to reveal it self across the horizon our faces lit up.  We had arrived.  It was a great sight to navigate around the peninsula into the city’s port.  The group strategically began to get ourselves and our stuff off the boat by making multiple trips to shore by way of a dingy.  After everyone was on land we took some taxis to Casa Viena Hostal in the old town.

November 29, 2009 Second Day in Open Seas

Aracely continues to just lie in bed trying to avoid getting sick again. The wind died down during the day so we had to turn on the motor this keeps the boat at a much better angle than when the sails are up. We can actually move around the cabin a bit. There’s not much to do on the boat beside stare at the open sea. The group tries to keep themselves entertained with the occasional card game.

November 28, 2009 More Snorkeling and First Day in Open Seas

We can’t get enough of the snorkeling. Captain David took us to Warseiladeup Island where we experienced the best snorkeling so far this trip.  At approximately 2pm, the sails went up and we began our open sea sailing to Cartagena, Colombia.  That night several got sick and no one slept due to the boat’s rocking.

November 27, 2009 Officially Exit Panama and Visit Kuna Tribe

After breakfast we sailed to the island of Porbenir where Captain David disembarked our sailboat to process our exit out of Panama.  Then, we headed to Wichiwala Island, a Kuna settlement. We eagerly explored the small populous village and restocked on our rum supply.  We moved on to the island of Niadep, a shipwreck site where we snorkeled some more and anchored for the night.

November 26, 2009 Set Sail to San Blas Islands

Today we set off to the San Blas Islands. Aracely began her day by taking her sea sickness pills. Our first stop was the Island of Chichime, which was 8 hours from Puerto Lindo.  Both Jason and Aracely felt queasy and spent most of the trip lying down in the cabin.  Our captain, David, turned out to be a great chef.  He cooked up a fresh fish we caught by trailing a lure. We arrived to the island at around 3pm and were greeted by the native Kuna tribe offering their hand made crafts. We put on our snorkeling gear and jumped in the water to explore.

November 25, 2009 Travel to Puerto Lindo, Panama

Today we headed to Puerto Lindo, Panama where we boarded a sailboat to Cartagena, Colombia.  The journey took about 8 hours. We arrived at Wunderbar Hostal at 1pm.  Puerto Lindo is a tiny fishing village in the Caribbean.  There are two tiny convenient stores and two “restaurants” that typically serve the same dish, catch of the day.  They are located in the restaurant owner’s house.  There isn’t anything to do in Puerto Lindo, so we just hung out at our hostel with others that were sailing with us.  We watched the movie Cast Away, which we thought was appropriate for our journey the next day

November 24, 2009 More Shopping in Panama City

We still needed to find a few more items for our up coming sail trip so we spent the day shopping at the MultiCentro and MultipPlaza in center city.  We also had a nice meal in El Cangrejo neighborhood.

Today we took a walk around Avenida Central (Central Avenue) and then headed to the Albrook Mall to buy some essentials.  Jason has already wore through his bathing suit and his flip-flops and I was hoping to find a stronger camera lens, but still no luck.  I also “need” a new sun dress. We were able to find great products at good prices.

We had such a great time yesterday and were very happy with Boquete Outdoor Adventures that we (Rolf, Mario, Mark, Jason and Aracely) booked another one of their tours, this time to one of the Islands in the Golf of Chiquiri in the Pacific Ocean. Great decision. The island of Gamez was absolutely post-card perfect.  For 6 hours we had a gorgeous island all to ourselves.  We hiked, snorkeled, swam and relaxed in our private paradise.  Our guides set up hammocks and provided snacks and lunch for us.

We woke up at 5:30am, got ready and headed out to breakfast before staring our rafting adventure. There were six of us taking the tour.  Dona from New Zealand and Mark from Australia joined Rolf, Mario, Jason and Aracely.   A shuttle drove us 45 minutes to a drop off point where a pick-up was waiting to take us over some difficult terrain to the edge of Chiquiri Viejo River.  The rapids are rated 3+, but the entire ride was non-stop action.  After about an hour of rafting we beached the raft on the edge of the river and our guides prepared us an amazing lunch.  We continued for another hour and half of more rapids and more fun.  After the rafting trip the group of six decided to visit local hot springs.

Today we woke up and it was still raining in Bocas Del Toro. We made a game time decision to leave the Caribbean coast and head to Boquete, Panama.  We quickly packed up our bags rushed to catch the next boat off the Island of Colon to Admirante, a town in mainland Panama.  Once on the mainland, we boarded a bus to the town of David and then to Boquete.  The entire journey included one boat ride, one taxi ride, two bus rides and totaled 7 hours.  On the bus ride from Admirante to David we met two German travelers, Rolf and Mario.  Once we all arrived in Boquete, we went looking for a hostel with them.  After walking around town for about 45 minutes we finally decided to stay at Numba Hostel.  Rolf and Mario had the same idea as Jason and Aracely and wanted to go rafting in Boquete.  We made arrangements that evening for an early morning trip with Boquete Outdoor Adventures.

November 17, 2009 Rain Day in Bocas del Toro, Panama

Guess what, another rainy day.  Jason worked on video Episode #6 and I put some consulting hours in.  Not our ideal day on the Caribbean coast.

November 16, 2009 Snorkeling and Swimming in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Finally a sunny day!  We scheduled a shuttle from Rocking J’s Hostel to Bocas del Toro, Panama at 2pm that afternoon.  Since it was clear and sunny we got out of bed (tent) early and rented snorkeling.  After an hour of poking around at some fish, we walked south on the beach and found a great swimming area for body surfing.  The ride to Panama was hassle free. We did get to walk over a wooden plank bridge during the border crossing.  We are staying at Gran Kahuna hostel.

November 15, 2009 Bike Ride to Mazanillo Beach, Costa Rica

It’s not raining today but it’s overcast, so we decided to rent bikes and ride to Manzanillo Beach.  The hour and half bike ride is on a long bumpy road that runs parallel to the coastline.  We were surprised to see many hotels and restaurants along the journey.  The road cuts through thick forest, we even spotted a family of monkeys playing in the tree tops.  Once we arrived in Manzanillo, we grabbed lunch at the only local bar in town and headed back to Puerto Viejo in hopes to beat the rain from the looming clouds.

November 14, 2009 Rain Day at Puerto Viejo Beach, Costa Rica

We boarded a bus to Puerto Viejo and arrived at Rocking J’s Hostel in the middle of yet another torrential rainy day.  Again, we grabbed our computers, took advantage of the WiFi access and worked most of the day.

November 13, 2009 Rain Day at Cahuita Beach, Costa Rica

We had planned to go on a snorkeling trip with one of the outfitters in Cahuita Beach, but we woke up to torrential rain. We gathered our computers and headed to the Internet Café to work. That evening we splurged and had a delicious meal at a local restaurant.

November 12, 2009 Cahuita Beach

We left San Jose and took the 3.5 hour drive to Cahuita Beach.  When we got to the bus terminal in San Jose we ran into a couple from San Francisco who we originally met back in Semuc Champey, Guatemala about two months ago.  This was the second time we ran into them, about 4 weeks back we also ran into them in Granada, Nicaragua.  They were also headed to Cahuita.  Just fifteen kilometers before getting to our destinaltion the bus breaks down.  Everyone on board (about 55 people) got off the bus and stood on the side of the road waiting for a new bus.  Jason and Aracely decided to share a cab with the couple from San Francisco to Cahuita.  After finally settling into our beautiful beach front hostel, we took a walk on the beach and through the Cahuita National Reverse.  Later that night we met up with our friends from San Francisco for dinner.

November 11, 2009 Shopping in San Jose

We made our way to San Jose just for one night.  Jason needed to get new hiking boots, new rain jacket, a mono pod and polarized lenses for the video camera.  The boots that he bought for the trip were not wide enough for his feet and they would give him a lot of pain during every hike.  He also lost his rain jacket so he needed to replace it.  Aracely tried looking for a new lens for her SLR camera, the one she uses now doesn’t have enough zoom but unfortunately she was not as lucky as Jason was in finding what she needed.

November 10, 2009 Begin Work on Episode #5

We are taking advantage of the $15 for a double room rate with a great breakfast at Casa Tranquilo to get work done while in Costa Rica.  We probably won’t find a better deal in San Jose or Cahuita, our next two destinations in this country.

November 9, 2009 Work & Episode # 4

Aracely had work and Jason uploaded Episode #4.  Click here to see VIDEO

November 8, 2009 Hanging Bridges and Night Tour of the Forest

Activities in Monteverde are expensive.   Today we walked the hanging bridges with Selvatura Adventures.  At $25 per person it’s definitely something we could have skipped.  We did get great pictures on the bridges though.  At night, we took a 2-hour walking tour through the cloud forest where we saw two sloths, a kinkajou and many of insects.

November 7, 2009 Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

The day began with some bad news.  The room next to us got broken into last night while the guests were sleeping.  They took their money, documents, and cameras.  The hostel owner called the cops and the wallets were found further up the street on the side of the road.  It was a scary thought that it could’ve been us.  On a lighter note, yesterday we booked an early morning guided walk in the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve.  The reserve was beautiful and our naturalist guide took us on a trail rich with wild life.  We learned about the different plants, trees and animals in the reserve and in Costa Rica.  We also saw lots of hummingbirds that were flying around us much of the time.  It rained most of the day so we stayed indoors after that and Jason worked on Episode 4.

November 6, 2009 Headed to the cloud forest of Monteverde/Santa Elena

Today we made our way to Monteverde/Santa Elena.  The night before we asked the hotel attendant what was the best route for us.  He explained and we planned to do just as he said.  But, as always, traveling from town to town was an adventure.  Seven hours, three buses and one unplanned and expensive taxi cab later we arrived at Casa Tranquilo hostel.  We were very pleased to find out that rooms were only $15/night total.

November 5, 2009 Boat ride with local fishermen & work

We scheduled to meet local fishermen for a boat ride at 7am today. Like most Costa Ricans they were 30mins late. We went out looking for dolphins but didn’t see any. We did see a large sea turtle and a stingray launch itself out of the water. We didn’t realize they could do that. After we got back at around 11am we began catching up on work and website stuff.

November 4, 2009 Long Walk on the Beach, Swim & Surfing

Today we took a long walk on Samara Beach. This place is very peaceful. We walked for about three hours along the shoreline; we swam and practiced some surfing in the afternoon. The waves were very strong and Aracely only stayed in the water for about 20mins while Jason was enjoying himself and getting better and better with every wave.

November 3, 2009 On to Costa Rica: 4^th Border Crossing

Crossing the Nicaraguan/Costa Rican border at Peñas Blancas was our most difficult walk yet. The process was confusing and unorganized, other borders were much easier than this. There were multiple buildings and no direct road leading you through the process. We arrived at our final destination in Playa Samara after dark and in the rain. We asked around how to find Las Olas hostel where we planned to stay for the night. After walking through dark muddy road we found the place but they didn’t have any rooms available. It was pouring rain by this time. They pointed us toward town; we finally arrived at Cabinas Playa Samara where we found available room that looked more like a dungeon. We took it since we didn’t want to go back out in the rain.

November 2, 2009 Canopy Tour & Game 5 of World Series

Today we did a canopy tour with zip lines.  We choose San Jaun del Sur since it’s incredibly cheap compared to Costa Rica.  For $30 USD each we got ride 17 zip lines with one of them 400m long the forest canopy with views of the beach.  We head out to Costa Rica tomorrow. Click here for PHOTOS

November 1, 2009 Surfing Lessons & Game 4 of World Series

Today was our first surfing lessons with Fredo who works with Casa Oro in San Juan del Sur. He was great and Jason and Aracely both did surprisingly well, unlike the Phillies.  Things aren’t looking good in Philadelphia.

October 31, 2009 Headed to the beach & Game 3 of World Series

We are ready to continue with our travels and headed to San Juan del Sur where we plan to take surfing lessons.  We are staying at Rebecca’s Inn and booked our surfing lessons for tomorrow morning at Casa Oro hostel. Unfortunately, watching the game was not very fun, since the Phillies didn’t do very well.  Let’s hope tomorrow turns out better.

October 30, 2009 Boat tour around “Las Isletas de Granada”

Jason is feeling better! We took a walk around town and the pier to take some pictures. We were approached by a local fisherman that offered us a boat ride around the islands just off the coast of Granada called Las Isletas de Granada. There are a group of about 300 Islands; we got to see about 60 of them. Many of them housed beautiful homes of foreigners and Nicaraguan nationals. Click here for PHOTOS

October 29, 2009 Feeling much better & Game 2 of World Series

All symptoms indicate that Jason has Dengue Fever. Thankfully, he no longer has a fever but is still feeling aches in his muscles and the back of his eyes. We spent the day resting and watched the 2^nd Game of the World Series, this time at a local restaurant. Phillies didn’t have as good of a day, but we hope that things will turn around when they play at Phillies Stadium.

October 28, 2009 Rest Day

We are still recuperating.

October 27, 2009 Sick Day

Jason is not feeling well.  We took the day off from travels.  Aracely took the opportunity to catch up on work while taking care of Jason.

October 26, 2009 Laguna de Apoyo

We took a very relaxing day trip to Laguna de Apoyo.  The water is crystal clear but there’s not much to do besides swim and just chill.  It was nice to just lay around on the hammocks and chat.

October 25, 2009 Uploaded Episode 3!

We spent the day looking for strong internet, seems that it’s a scarce item in Nicaragua.  There are plenty of internet cafes but their internet is intermittent and we can’t get a solid two hours of connection.  Finally, we found one at the Euro Café and we were able to publish Episode 3!  Click here to see video

October 24, 2009 Headed to Granada

You live and learn.  We over packed for this trip big time, so we decided to shipped 18 lbs (yes, 18) worth of stuff back to the US.  DHL is sending the package to Aracely’s mom’s house in Miami.  It should arrive on Tuesday.  Feeling a bit lighter, we hopped on local transportation and headed to the terminal to catch a minivan to Managua.  After an hour and twenty minutes we arrived to yet another bus terminal and caught yet another minivan to Granada.  We are staying at The Bearded Monkey Hostel.

October 23, 2009 El Hoyo Trek Day Two

The group was up by 4:30am to get ready for another day of hiking in the remote mountains.  First, we headed to the summit for a look at the other two craters of Volcano El Hoyo.  After breakfast we began our descent and headed to Laguna de Asososca for a refreshing swim and lunch.

October 22, 2009 El Hoyo Trek Day One

The alarm sounded at 3:30am and we walked around the corner to meet our guides at the QuetzalTrekkers office.  They gave us each six 1.5 liter bottles of water each and a bag of food to add into our backpacks.  To say our backpacks were heavy would be an understatement.  We rode a local bus towards Cerro Negro Volcano, but got dropped off on a farm still where we spot Cerro Negro in the distance.  Two hours later we arrived at Cerro Negro, walked into its crater and ran down to the bottom again.  After a 30-minute break we began the hardest part of our hike.  It was an hour of steep incline on loose sandy soil.  When we got to the top we were drenched in sweat and hungry for lunch.  Later that afternoon, we arrived at our campsite inside the crater of Volcano El Hoyo.  It has an amazing view of surrounding volcanoes, lakes and grazing cattle.  We set up our tents, made dinner and laid our tired bodies to rest. Click here for PHOTOS

October 21, 2009 Volcano Boarding in Leon, Nicaragua

Eight of us hopped in the back of a pickup truck for a bumpy ride to the foot of Volcano Cerro Negro.  Our guide handed us an over sized skateboard sans the wheels and led us up the black mountain of volcanic rock.  Once we arrived at the top, he gave us instructions on how to make it to the bottom fast or safely.  In groups of 2 we began to volcano board our way down.  Many of us flipped, tumbled and crashed; all of us had either scratches or  bruises and an exciting story to tell. Click here for PHOTOS

October 20, 2009 Leon Nicaragua

Internet in Leon is not very consistent; it cuts in and out, making it impossible to upload a 300MB video.  We had no luck yesterday or today on uploading Episode 3 but we keep trying.  Maybe we will have better luck in Granada

October 19, 2009 Work day

We haven’t had many internet options the last few days so we needed to catch up on the website, work and finally try to upload episode 3!

October 18, 2009 Headed for Nicaragua

We missed the first bus out of Alegria in the morning and had to hitch a ride in the back of a pick-up truck. This was the beginning of a long travel day.  It took 9 hours, 1 pick-up truck ride, 6 different buses, and 2 border crossings to get to Leon, Nicaragua.  Our original destination for the day was Esteli, Nicaragua but when we learned that buses to Esteli did not run on Sundays we decided to head for Leon instead.  The first thing we noticed is that for the first time there are backpackers everywhere.

October 17, 2009 Lagoon Inside the Crater of Volcano Tecapa

Today we decided to take the short cut and finally see the lagoon.  Luckily, it was a clear and beautiful day, perfect for a swim in the sulfur water. Click here for PHOTOS

October 16, 2009 Lost in the Mountains

We booked a guided tour to hike Volcano Tecapa and visit Alegria’s lagoon which lies inside the volcano’s crater.  The estimated time for the entire tour was 3.5 to 4 hours.  The first hour of the hike was enjoyable with great views of Alegria and it’s surrounding areas.  We spent the following 6 hours completely lost in the dense vegetation of the mountain trying to find our way home.  We never did make it to the lagoon.  Click here for the blog

October 15, 2009 Drive to Alegria, El Salvador

Traveling is the worse part of traveling.  We are each carrying a large, heavy backpack and day packs.  When we move from town to town, unfortunately we usually have to take 2, 3, or even 4 different buses.  It’s a pain to travel with this much stuff in an already crowded sweaty bus.  We departed from Santa Ana at 8am and arrived in Alegria at 1pm, a total of 6 hours traveling.  If we would’ve been able to take a direct bus and route, it would’ve taken us only 3 hours. Click here for accompanying blog

October 14, 2009 Climbing Volcano Santa Ana

It’s Jason’s birthday! We woke up early to catch the 8 o’clock bus to Volcano National Park (Cerro Verde).  It was a 2-hour bus drive to the park.  The hike up volcano Santa Ana was beautiful and challenging, but the reward was more than worth it.  From the top of the volcano you can see its massive 300 meter deep crater and at the bottom rests a neon green sulfur lake.  After 4 hours of hiking we returned back to Santa Ana city for a pupusa dinner and some fresh local deserts to finish celebrating Jason’s birthday. Click here for accompanying blog or photos

October 13, 2009 Exploring Santa Ana

Santa Ana is the second larges city in El Salvador and it definitely has a different feel than Juayúa.  Small towns feel cozier, more friendly, and safer than the city.  We did venture out to walk around Santa Ana’s main square.  The main square, Plaza Libertad is the nicest part of town and it’s surrounded by two impressive buildings: the Santa Ana Theater and The Cathedral.  We also browsed through The Market which was also impressive in size. It’s also a great place to observe the local culture. Click here for photos

October 12, 2009 Waiting for Bus to Santa Ana

We planned to catch the bus to Santa Ana at noon today but for some reason this bus route does not have a very reliable schedule. We waited to 1pm and nothing; 2pm no luck; 3pm still no bus. Finally it arrived at 4pm and we hopped on for the 45mins drive to Santa Ana.  We arrived safely at our hostel before dark.

October 11, 2009 More Food

The food fair continues and we continue to eat. We love the “chorizo” and “longaniza” it’s very tasty sausage loaded with flavor.  Jason continues to work on the next video.

October 10, 2009 Food Fair in Juayúah

They quiet town of Juayúah turns into a busy town on the weekends.  It is nationally and internationally known for its weekly food fair.  Jason and Pedro were very eager to try Armadillo, which we all heard they would have at the fair.  But we were told that they only have it on special occasions.  Today, there was also a school band competition, which they take very seriously.  It was great to experience such and important piece of the Salvadorian culture. Click here for photos

October 9, 2009 Still Working

Yet another day of work.  At least we are in a beautiful location.  Jason is making good progress with the videos but still has a long way to go.

October 8, 2009 Computer Heads

Both Jason and Aracely are still glued to their computers.  Aracely is working and Jason for video editing. There are more visitors coming to the hostel for the weekend food fair.  We went to dinner with Maritza and Pedro (a couple from Norway) to Cadejo Café, which is owned by the same people that own Hotel Anahuac, where we are currently staying.

October 7, 2009 Back to Work

Aracely will be spending these next few days working and Jason will upload and edit video clips for our next episode about Semuc Champey.  Jason ate what he thought was a hot dog originally, but it wasn’t.  It seemed like chopped pork with mayonnaise, ketchup and salsa on a toasted hot dog bun.  Either way it tasted good to him.

October 6, 2009 7 Waterfalls Hike in Juayua, El Salvador

Another great hike through the jungle to witness the beauty of 7 waterfalls in Juayua, El Salvador.  We were lucky enough to repel down one of them.  Mario and his brother William taught us about coffee trees, the national flower of El Salvador and encouraged Jason to jump off a cliff into a cool waterfall pool below.  We did some food shopping since our hostel has a kitchen.  This is the most modern grocery store we have seen since leaving the states.  And El Salvador uses the US dollar, so prices are easy to understand.  Oh, and Jason’s veneer fell off his front tooth, but no worries, we found some super glue! Click here for accompanying blog or photos

October 5, 2009 First Land Border Crossing Guatemala to El Salvador

We woke up at 4:30 am to begin our trek out of Guatemala and into El Salvador. This was our journey: we walked 10 minutes to a boat dock and took a 20 minute wooden boat ride through mangroves swamp to the town of Avellana. We then hopped on a local bus with a very speedy driver to Taxisco, where we picked up yet another local bus that dropped us off at the Guatemalan border.  After walking through and clearing Guatemalan immigration we continued to walk another 10 minutes over a bridge to the Salvadorian immigration, which consisted of two officers standing at the other side of the bridge. They looked at our passports and wished us a save trip. We asked them how to get to Juayua, our first planned destination in El Salvador and were instructed to take a local bus to  Sonsonate (a 2hr ride) and catch the bus to Juayuah. We finally arrived at our very nice and comfortable hotel by 2pm.

October 4, 2009 Beautiful Sunset on the Pacific Coast

Today we researched our options for traveling to El Salvador and mapped out our route. We also watched a beautiful sunset and 75 baby turtle be released into the sea.

October 3, 2009 Arrived at Monterrico Beach

We took a 2 hour shuttle ride to Monterrico Beach and arrived at Johnny’s Place. The hotel sits on the beach and includes a dinning area/outdoor bar, a lounge area which turns into a disco at night. The town is small but with a lot of restaurants on the one main street where you can get authentic food. During the late afternoon we enjoyed watching the locals play soccer and volleyball on the sand. Click here for accompanying blog or photos

October 2, 2009 Last day in Antigua

Today is our last day in Antigua and Spanish class. We had to run a few errands such as find a shuttle to Monterrico for tomorrow morning, buy more malaria pills and get some cash to last us for the weekend since there are not cash machines in Monterrico. We will miss our friends at Base Camp Hostel and our teachers. We hope to keep in touch with everyone.

October 1, 2009 Tripfilms Video of the Day

Honestly, we are ecstatic about this. It’s great when friends and family tell you they enjoyed your video, but it is solidified when a non-biased party recognizes your work. We earned Tripfilm’s video of the day and received a nice review by Kyle read here. Jason spends a lot of time on these videos hoping that one day he can get paid to do what he loves. We have the hostel house to ourselves tonight… PARTY! Just kidding. Oh and by the way, our tattoos are almost healed.

September 30, 2009 Uploaded Videos to Social Video Sites

In an effort to promote our videos and website as much as possible, Aracely spent several hours uploading our episodes on Tripfilms and Vimeo. We still need to upload on YouTube. Class is becoming challenging for Jason as he tries to learn different tenses of verbs in Spanish.

September 29, 2009 Introduced Jason’s Spanish Teacher to Grilled Ham & Cheese

Everyday Jason explains to his teacher what he has been eating. For lunch we always make grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, the same way you would make a grilled cheese sandwich in the US using a skillet. Instead of talking about it with him, Jason made Carlos one, and he seemed to really enjoy it. And we also bought some more fresh chorizo from the grocery store. Our favorite.

September 28, 2009 Back to School and Work

We both returned to school and Aracely to work . For more exciting news, we got our second video up! Click here to watch Climbing San Pedro Episode 2.

September 27, 2009 Cerro de la Cruz and House Party

We went up to a look out point that sits up on a hill where one can see great views of Antigua.  Cerro de la Cruz is just a short walk from our hostel.  We took Xela (the hostel’s dog) with us, she is a great dog and made our walk even more enjoyable.  Everyone staying at the hostel was invited to Sophie’s (guide for O.X.)  house for a party that night.   We all had a fun time enjoying drinks and pizza.

September 26, 2009 Tattoo’s and Market

Jason got a tattoo and I got my old tattoo touched up because after almost 10 years it was looking dull.   We will post pictures when they are all healed.  After we were all inked up, we took a walk through the local market where you can get amazing deals.  We bought fruits, vegetables and a pair of shoes.

September 25, 2009 Game Night

First, Happy Birthday to Aracely’s sister Priscilla!  OK, now for Antigua news: there are new people staying in the hostel and we all had a fun games and drinks night in.  We played an intense game of four player Chess and Jason learned how to play Backgammon.

September 24, 2009 Jason’s Design

Jason has been working on a drawing that he plans to use for a special project.  We will keep this a mystery for now and give you more details later.

September 23, 2009 Bar Night

After Aracely had another rough work day and Jason filling up his brain with Spanish we were both ready for a night out.  It’s also Victor’s last night here.  He is taking a two month trip to do some expansion research in South America for OX Excursions.  All the staff and the hostel guests went out for drinks to wish him a safe trip.  That night Jason and I tried a Don Julio 25 year old shot.  It was very smooth and expensive.

September 22, 2009 Studying & Working Day

Aracely had to work today to take care of things that came up with the group she supports at American Express.  Jason is continuing to dedicate a lot of time to his Spanish classes, 5 hours of one on one instruction and 2 hours of studying.  He’s really come a long way after just one week.  We plan to extend our Antigua stay until the end of next week (October 3) so that Jason can get another full week of school.

Setember 21, 2009 Watching the Sun Rise on Pacaya

Our day began very early at 4:30am; the group got ready and headed out to watch the sun rise.  We hiked further up the mountain to the top of the ridge for a better view.  After taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful sights that surround the area we descended back to our campsite to have breakfast and ultimately back home for showers.  We both had Spanish class to attend that afternoon.   Aracely is taking Spanish classes to improve her writing and reading skills.

September 20, 2009 Volcano Pacaya Camping Trip

We got up and began preparing for our camping trip to Volcano Pacaya.  The tour headed out at 2pm from our hostel.  After an hour and half drive from Antigua we arrived at the park entrance.  Our tour guide Sophie led our group of four up a great trail that had some challenging parts, but overall was very manageable and enjoyable.  As we ascended up the mountain we walked through clouds of mist that would build up in our hair making it a bit wet.  We arrived at our campsite after an hour and half of hiking.  We set up camp and headed to the lava just as the sun was setting, allowing the lava to glow in the darkness.  We found a long stick to roast hot dogs and melt marshmallows with the heat of the lava. See Pacaya Pictures Here.

September 19, 2009 Learning to Play Chess

We are staying at Base Camp Hostel for the next two weeks.  We really feel comfortable here and our enjoying the company of Sophie and Victor who both work for OX Excursions, the company that runs the hostel.  Victor is also a student of the game of Chess and likes to share his passion with the guests that come to the hostel.  He gave Jason a private lesson and we even played four person chess which is an exciting way to learn different techniques of the game.

September 18, 2009 First Video is up!

Jason feels much better about Spanish language lessons 3 days in. And has decided to switch to the afternoons only, 1pm – 6pm, beginning Monday.  It will give us some time to go sight seeing in the mornings.  We posted our video on our website! Click Here For Video. We are heading in to Guatemala City tonight for bowling with some hostal friends.

September 17, 2009 Tested First Video

After Spanish class Aracely and I spent a great deal of time in the Internet Cafe uploading our first HD video of our trip.  The wifi in the hostal is not strong enough to upload large amounts of data.  We also weren’t able to play the video at the Internet Cafe or hostel due to the bandwidth needed.  I got on Twitter asking for some feedback and sure enough in a few minutes several people had confirmed it was streaming well.  It was exciting. Even better news, Aracely is all better now.

September 16, 2009 Reactions to Antibiotics

Aracely can’t get a break!  It seems as if she is having a reaction to the Cipro and she has a full body rash that won’t stop itching.  She didn’t get to sleep last night at all.  We stopped the Cipro and put her on Benadryl.  I started my first day of Spanish Language school at La Union in Antigua.  When you haven’t studied or learned anything for 12 years your brain pretty much goes dormant.  This won’t be easy.

September 15, 2009 Guatemala Independence Day!

Most of the partying seemed to be done the night before, unfortunately we were both still recuperating.  Independence Day, however did bring lots of school bands parading around town, eventually meeting in the town square.  Aracely and I were able to catch some incredible footage of the day’s events.  Check out the pictures! We have come to the conclusion that school marching bands are a big thing in Antigua.  That’s an understatement.  Oh, and Aracely is now getting a rash all over her body.

September 14, 2009 No More Fever

By the morning her fever was gone.  Their best guess was possibly salmonella.  We picked up the additional prescribed Cipro and headed back to our comfortable hostel.  The hostel we are staying at is an excellent atmosphere to relax and socialize in a house setting.  The hostel also runs their own adventure tours through OX outfitters.  We both napped most of the day since our hospital stay kept us awake throughout the night.  The hospital was very clean and the staff was extremely courteous.

September 13, 2009 Overnight Hospital Stay

After 4 days of fevers and chills, we were glad to be back in Antigua to get Aracely some care.  We called World Nomads travel insurance to recommend a place to visit for some medical care.  They referred us to a private hospital in Antigua.  Aracely did register a fever over a 101 and her white blood cells were abnormally low.  They tested for all common illness (malaria, deng), but weren’t able to determine what it exactly was.  We stayed overnight while she received fluids and doses of antibiotics.

September 12, 2009 Drive from Rio Dulce Back to Antigua

Since Aracely was still feeling ill, we splurged on our transportation back to Antigua.  The 6.5 hour trip was in an air conditioned full size bus.  It was cool, but Aracely still almost got sick on the bus.  We arrived at Base Camp Hostel in Antigua that evening.

September 11, 2009 Finca del Paraiso (Paradise Farm)

After 4 days of work and a sick day we were craving some physical activity.  Aracely, still not feeling well, made the trek to Finca del Paraiso (Paradise Farm).  It is a beautiful place to spend a few hours at while staying in Rio Dulce, Guatemala.  A hot spring river feeds a waterfall that intersects with another cool water river.  It was a great feeling to rest in the cool water with the steaming water falling from above.  There were many locals utilizing the river for bathing, fishing and clothes washing.  We took a great picture of some of the local children selling us food.

September 10, 2009 Sick Day

The plan was to go to Finca del Paraiso (Paradise Farm) but Aracely didn’t feel well.  She had a high fever that kept us in bed all day.

September 9, 2009 Yet Another Work Day

Aracely did more consulting work for American Express today, it’s nice to be earning some money while on the road.  We went into town for a quick lunch and were amazed at the large 18-wheeler trucks that drive through such narrow busy street.  Jason is getting closer and closer to finishing up the fist video.

September 8, 2009 Yet Another Work Day

Aracely did consulting work for American Express today while Jason was working feverishly to learn video editing.  We sat in front of our computers all day long but at least the view is great.  In the evening we took the long walk across the bridge and into town for some pizza.  The meal was delicious but it was a little pricey.  We followed with a few drinks sitting next to the river and playing games on our iTouch.

September 7, 2009 More Work on twobackpackers.com

Jason was having a little bit of a stomach problem so we had to lay low.  He was able to make tons of progress on our first video which we hope to put on the website very soon.  I laid on the dock next to the river and also did some writing.  I made some small updates to the website and added a map function.  We had a great dinner at the Backpacker Restaurant adjacent to our hostel.  The view here is amazing specially at sunset.  We watched sailboats pass by as we sipped on a few drinks.

September 6, 2009 Drive to Rio Dulce

The drive to Rio Dulce, Guatemala was a 5-hour bus ride. It was very hot and very crowded.  Seemed like a Greyhound bus from the 80’s. All of the large buses have been old buses from the US.  It was funny reading the sign that states, “Federal Law prohibits standing on the bus.”  The entire middle isle was packed with standing people and the bus operators stood next to the door with the door open.  Our hostel is Hotel Backpackers, a quaint little boathouse next to the river.

September 5, 2009 Enjoyed Down Time

We woke up a bit late relative to other days after our night of celebration and relocated from our hostel to the one across the street in hopes to scape some ants.  This gave us a chance to experience a beautiful thunderstorm on the balcony that faced the water of Lake Peten.  Taking advantage of some down time, we worked on editing and uploading pictures and wrote a blog about climbing Volcano San Pedro.

September 4, 2009 Visit Tikal

Our day began at 3:30am. We were scheduled to be picked up at 4:50am and be in Tikal by 6am.  There were options to take later tours but had we done that, we would’ve missed the chance to see Tucans and monkeys, which we did see!  We needed enough time to pick up our breakfast at Los Peches Restaurant.  Today we also said good-bye to our friends from London, they are heading north and we are heading south.  To celebrate the past 9 days we had a few drinks (that’s an understatement) on the terrace of our hostel.

September 3, 2009 Explore The Island of Flores

Today we walked around the Island of Flores. We found delicious and cheap food and booked our tour to Tikal for tomorrow morning.  The vendors on “Parque Central” have delicious tacos and burritos for 5 quetzales each (or 60 cents each.)  Also, Restaurant Lost Peches has a simple but delicious menu and the owner, Don Domingo (Mingo) is all smiles and dedicated to customer service. When we told him about our tour to Tikal in the morning, he offered to cook us breakfast at 4:30 am. He usually doesn’t open until 6:30am.

September 2, 2009 Drive to the Island of Flores

Our drive out of Semuc Champey was a struggle, since it rained most of the night.  We held on tightly to the rails of the pickup truck as the driver made up to five attempts in some cases to overcome each hill.  Once out of the deepest regions of the jungle surrounding Semuc Champey, we transferred onto a small Kia minivan for our eight hour drive to the Island of Flores.  The ride was not as enjoyable as the previous one from Panajachel, due to the skills of our driver, the lack of an air conditioner and road conditions.

September 1, 2009 Semuc Champey and Las Marias Caves

Our tour for Semuc Champey began at 9am, it began with a climbed even further into the jungle made of steep includes and loose wet rocks.  Half and hour later we reached a look out point which gave us a great view of  Guatemala’s third wonder.  We descended to the edge of the river to see the entrance tunnel of strong waterfalls that fills the 300 meters of pools.  We swam our way to the exit tunnel to repel down a waterfall into the exit tunnel cave.  Jason jumped 12 meters into the river, Aracely was too scared.  We headed back to our hostel for lunch and a short rest before heading to Cuevas Las Marias, water caves.

August 31st, 2009 10-Hour Bus Drive to Semuc Champey

Another early morning, we got picked up by our bus at 6am for the long ride to Semuc Champey.  Our drive was very bumpy but with beautiful scenery.  We arrived in Lanquin without any reservations but we quickly hopped in the back of a pickup truck and drove deeper into the jungle to find a beautiful hostel next to the river, El Portal.

August 30th, 2009 Climbed Volcano San Pedro

We woke up at 5:45am, got ready, picked up breakfast at a nearby bakery and met our guide at 7am in time to catch the first boat to San Pedro.  By 8 am we began one of our hardest hikes ever, Volcano San Pedro.   It took us three torturous hours to make it to the top and two slippery hours to make it to the bottom.

August 29, 2009 Panajachel Guatemala

We woke up early to catch a 8am shuttle bus to Panajachel Guatemala, two and half hours later we got dropped off in Panajachel’s main streets.  We all put on our backpacks and began heading towards our hostel.  Later we walked around the town and found a tour company to book our transportation for the next few days.  During the sunset hours we went to the docks of Lake Atitlan and enjoyed dinner with volcanoes as the backdrop.

August 28, 2009 Planning Trek Around Guatemala

Our original plan was to immediately look for Spanish language schools for Jason, but that was derailed during breakfast. Andy and Paulina from London were planning a 10-day journey all around Guatemala’s major sites. We have decided to join them for 8 days and part ways after Tikal when they head to Belize.

August 27, 2009     Arrival to Guatemala

We arrived in Guatemala City via American Airlines from Miami, Florida.  After being offered many rides to Antigua, we hired a shuttle bus with another couple from London, England.  An hour later we arrived at El Hostel in Antigua.  That evening we ate popusas from a street vendor and had a few beers with our new friends from London.