New blog!

As our Central America trip is now long over, so is this blog. We're still traveling though, and have a new blog over at Rob and Rachel's Travels. This is where our travel updates will appear from now on.

Rob

Going Home

It's hard to believe it but our nine months come to an end tomorrow. Today is our very last day in Central America after an unforgettable adventure. We survived a very long journey down from Tapachula, Mexico, back to where it all began- San Jose, Costa Rica. Very kindly, my mum and dad have paid for us to have our final night back in the lovely Pura Vida Hotel (in whose gardens this photo was taken), so we're having a very relaxing last day and looking forward to a delicious meal tonight!

Obviously we've been doing a lot of reflecting on the trip recently; talking about all the amazing highlights like the El Mirador trek, Isla de Ometepe, diving in Honduras and Belize, learning Spanish in Panama and so many more! For me, the best thing has been how endlessly stimulating travel can be. Every day we've seen and experienced surprising and beautiful things and even today we have more questions about Central America than when we first began! We've also met some brilliant people and made some long-lasting friendships, I'm sure. I hope we'll bump into some of you again in some far flung corner of the world one day!!

Having said that, there are so many things we're looking forward to at home, especially our wonderful friends and families. We've missed you all so much and have both vowed to make a lot more time for for visits in the future (please feel free to hold us to this!). Of course, I will really miss my parents being at home to welcome me back (they're living in New Zealand for two years for those who don't know!), but we're looking forward to seeing them soonish. We're planning a trip to down under in September so keep an eye out for the next installment of our world travels!

We'll be back at home early on Thursday 11th and will be staying with Rob's parents in Ashby for a while. Thanks Liz and Greg for putting us up! Can't wait to see you all really soon.

Lots of love from Rachel xx

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What's there to add? Some of my highlights have been the lava on Volcán Pacaya, watching nesting turtles in Tortuguero, the beautiful colonial cities of Granada and San Cristóbal de las Casas and the natural beauty of Semuc Champey. One of the (hopefully lasting) things we'll take away is our Spanish; we'll have to find some way to keep practising!

So that our family and friends don't have to be bored by the thousands of photos we've taken on our trip, we've put together a couple of albums: one tells the story of our trip and the other is a collection of the very best photos from the entire 9 months. Enjoy!

Rob

Adventures of the spade #12

The spade also felt the heat of the jungle, and was happy to cool off at the Agua Azul waterfalls. Here he's enjoying a (slightly reckless) ride down one of the smaller falls. Don't worry though, we were on hand to make sure he didn't get washed away!

Rob

Campeche and Palenque

It's getting close to the end of the trip now! We still have time to fit a bit more in though. Moving on from Mérida, we spent a couple of nights in Campeche, a beautiful colonial city on the Yucatán coast. The architecture is reminiscent of southern Spain, especially in the leafy, open central plaza where our hostel was located. We had spectacular views of the city at night.



Campeche was fortified against pirates by the Spanish and parts of the fortifications remain, such as the city wall and several of the 'bulwarks' or 'bastions'. These are miniature forts spread along the original line of the seafront (the seafront has since been moved by filling in new land), housing cannon and lookout posts for defending the city.



It was incredibly hot though: an almost unbearable 45°C (113°F) during the mid-afternoon. After a couple of days we couldn't take any more and headed for Palenque.



Palenque was inhabited from around 100 BC and flourished around AD 600-700. It has a fantastic setting surrounded by hilly jungle, making it a very atmospheric place to visit (despite the crowds of tourists). Above is the Temple of the Inscriptions.



Palenque boasts many well-preserved bas-reliefs, depicting major events and glorifying rulers of the city. The one above, which I am imitating, may be of a decapitation, while the scene below shows a soldier (looking left) with captive prisoners from another Mayan city-state. Other carvings around the site still show some colour on them (thanks to the long-lasting pigment made from squashed beetles).




One of the best things to see is in the site museum. A reproduction of the giant sarcophagus of king K'inich Hanab Pakal (who died aged 80 in AD 683), found inside the Temple of the Inscriptions, is displayed inside a special exhibition space that shows the size, shape and interior decoration of the original tomb. As the tomb itself is now sealed inside the temple following its discovery, it's a great way to imagine what's inside.



After the heat and humidity of the steamy jungle, a visit to the nearby Agua Azul (blue water) waterfalls is highly recommended. It's a series of cool freshwater pools which make for great swimming.



Rach always loves a swim (I think she aims for at least one a day if possible), and particularly enjoyed the refreshing dip here. Perfect for relaxing after a day's sightseeing!



Rob

Uxmal

The Mayan ruins at Uxmal are just an hour and a half from Mérida. On the strength of a recommendation from our friend (and Maya fanatic) Ric, we visited the site on a day trip.

Uxmal was home to the Puuc Maya, and has a very different style to other ruins like Chichén Itzá; the Temple of the Magician (above) in particular, with its rounded corners, shows just how different.



The buildings are covered with ornate and very well-preserved decoration, such as this snake. We had the whole site almost to ourselves, which was a nice change from Chichén Itzá, where tourists and people selling souvenirs fill the site.



The ring in the photo above was part of the ball court, and was used in the Mayan ball game. No-one is quite sure exactly how the game was played, except that the ball was very heavy and could only be hit with the hip or shoulder. It's thought that points were scored by getting the ball through the ring, which was difficult - games could last all day. What is fairly certain is that the game carried great importance for the Maya. Ball courts are found in many Mayan cities, usually in prominent, central positions.



Uxmal was a fascinating and enchanting site to visit, made all the more enjoyable because it was so quiet. It's incredibly hot here at this time of year though - mid-afternoon temperatures can reach the mid 40s Celsius - so once again we scurried back to the hostel and straight into the pool!

Rob

Tulum

With the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico a few weeks ago, we thought that our plan to take in a little bit of the country at the end of our trip was going to be thwarted. However, with the situation now under control (and the Foreign Office no longer advising against all but essential travel), we're very excited about having the chance to see more of Mexico. We left Belize by road to the North, heading up to Tulum on the Yucatán coast.



Tulum (meaning 'wall' in Mayan) was a fairly significant Maya city in the Yucatán area. What makes it most attractive to tourists is its incredible location, perched on the cliffs right above the Caribbean sea. On the downside, its proximity to Cancún means it's ended up a little over-produced, and a lot of the ruins are cordoned off to visitors. We did our best to capture the stunning cliff-top location in a photo, but we couldn't escape the 'I could get a much better shot from over there if it wasn't for that rope/huge tour group' feeling.



The ruins are home also to a huge number of Green Iguanas. They lounge about the place, basking in the sun and seeming to observe the tourists. We think there's something faintly amusing about them, but can't put our finger on what that is.



We're looking forward to seeing some more of what the Yucatán has to offer, and hoping that perhaps we'll have it a bit more to ourselves as we head away from the coast.

Rob

Adventures of the spade #11

Marie Sharp's Habanero Pepper Sauce, found on every table in Belize, is the spade's new favourite table condiment. Ours too, as it happens. Marie grows most of the (all natural) ingredients herself at the factory in Dangriga. We're trying to work out now how many bottles we have space to bring home...

Rob

Honduras to Belize

After leaving the Bay Islands, we headed East along the coast to the town of Trujillo. Famously, this is where Cristopher Columbus first set foot on the American mainland, on his final voyage to the Americas in 1502. The town was initially the capital of Spain's colonial province of Honduras, and was repeatedly attacked by pirates including the notorious British pirate Henry Morgan. For such a sleepy little town, it has played a very important role in Latin American history.



After this we headed West along the coast to Omoa, another colonial small town. Nowadays it's a popular weekend resort destination for the people of nearby San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second city. The principal tourist attraction though is a Spanish fort, built in the late 18th century and also repeatedly attacked by British pirates and privateers (similar to pirates but officially supported by governments in Europe).



Feeling it was time to leave Honduras we caught a boat to take us from Puerto Cortés across the Gulf of Honduras to Placencia, Belize. This is such a different place to the rest of Central America. In the 16th century, Belize was largely ignored by its Spanish conquerors. It became a popular base for English and Scottish pirates during the 17th century and Britain became more interested and took over more control, even while the country remained officially under Spanish rule. In 1862, Britain declared the territory of British Honduras, and people from all over the British Empire settled here, accounting for the rich ethnic diversity found in Belize today, along with the language - English. In 1981, British Honduras became the independent nation of Belize.

The boat journey itself was amongst the most 'exhilarating' experiences of the whole trip! It certainly helped Rachel to face her mild fear of boats head-on. No photos are available, as moving around or holding anything while the boat careered over the extremely rough sea was to take one's life in one's own hands. We survived though, and Rach is feeling a little better about boats too (a good job, considering we've taken about 10 boat trips in the last week alone!).



Here's the view from the veranda of our cabin in Placencia, right on the beach. Worth the hellish boat journey, we think.

Rob

The Hotel Fund

When we left Reading, our former neighbours and close friends Regan, Paul, Nicky and Rich gave us a present. To help us out when we really needed it, they gave us some money to be spent on a nice place to stay; somewhere to treat ourselves to.

The money has been 'ring-fenced' the whole time, kept in reserve for the time when we thought it could make the biggest difference to us. Well, this week that time finally came.



We're on Roatán at the moment, in the Honduran Bay Islands. The diving here is cheap and fantastically beautiful, so we're thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Accommodation and eating on the islands comes a bit pricey though, especially for shoestring budget travelers like us. We did manage to find a great place to stay that wasn't too expensive, though: one half of a cabaña which shares a kitchen and bathroom with another room - which happened to be empty. This was great for a few days until some rather noisy (one might even say loutish) people moved into the other room and spoiled our peaceful bargain accommodation.



Deciding they really were too much, we asked about moving to another room with no sharing. Fortunately, a fantastic cabaña with a full kitchen, bathroom, living area, one bedroom and terrace was available - but slightly out of our normal budget. Aha, we thought: the Hotel Fund! This is what we've been waiting for!



So, thanks to our fantastic friends back in England, we have a really superb place to stay and enjoy the Caribbean life for a few days. Thanks guys!

Rob

Estelí and Reserva Natural Miraflor

Continuing our trip now that my Mum and Dad have gone back home, we're heading up back through Nicaragua towards Honduras and Belize. Last time we were here, we missed out on seeing the Northern highlands because we didn't have time. So this time we've spent a few days in Estelí and the Reserva Natural Miraflor nearby.



Along with León, Estelí has been the centre of support for the left-wing FSLN party since the revolution. This is the heartland of the socialist movement that championed the rights of the campesinos who work the agricultural land around this department. We arrived on Sunday, and just happened to see a small rally of support for the FSLN party.



We're back on the local buses now! It takes a full hour and a half to travel the 28km to Miraflor. It's incredibly dusty and very hot.



We stayed at Finca Neblina del Bosque, a small farm run by a German-Nicaraguan couple. It's totally isolated and very tranquil, as well as being genuinely eco-friendly. They draw their own well water, they have solar power, all the food is vegetarian and the only pig on the farm is a pet. Rachel fed her some mango skins, which she seemed to enjoy!



Tomorrow we head for the border, once again.

Rob

Tortuguero 2

Although we'd visited Tortuguero, Costa Rica already back in September (see blog archive), we felt that it was such an amazing place to see wildlife that my parents couldn't miss it. Fortunately they're well used to packing it in on holiday, so we squeezed a two-day-one-night tour into their itinerary.



The wildlife in Costa Rica really is abundant. Even on the journey to Tortuguero, we saw the Three-toed Sloth at the top of this post and the beautiful Blue Jeans Dart Frog above. To give you an idea of how tiny he is, I should point out that he's perched on our guide Mauricio's thumb in the photo. Watch out though! Despite his size, he's pretty poisonous.



We stopped on the way there at a banana plantation in the tropical lowlands of the Caribbean slope. Another great place to spot wildlife as it turned out; here's an amazing male Elephant Beetle. They're among the biggest beetles in the world.

Mum decided to get some refreshment in the form of a fresh coconut. The guy selling them took a bit of a shine to her, and I think she got more than her $1 worth!



The main event though is touring the Tortuguero canals. Here are Mum and Dad enjoying the ride, and a run-down of some of the wildlife we saw follows.




Caiman. Differentiated from crocodiles by the ability to lift their head. Seems like a minor difference but it means they can sit in the water with just their head poking out, while crocodiles must have their body protruding. You never see both in the same place, as they're rivals.



Tiger Heron. When young, they have yellow and black striped plumage around the neck, hence the name. This one is spreading its wings out to catch the sun.



Green Iguana. You can tell this one's a female because she has less of a 'dewlap' under her chin than the male has.



Red Brocket Deer. We didn't expect to see deer in the tropical Caribbean rainforest. Apparently they're rarely spotted.



White-faced Capuchin Monkeys. Look closely; there's a baby in there!



Anhinga. Aka Piano Bird, owing to the black and white plumage.



Pit Viper. Deadly poisonous!



We stayed at a lodge in what was basically a clearing in the forest. As a result, we saw wildlife when we weren't even trying! From the (turtle-shaped) pool, we saw toucans.



Oh, and there were, of course turtles. Last time, we saw Green Sea Turtles nesting, which was pretty amazing. This time, the Leatherback turtles were in nesting season. However, we soon realised they'd be harder to spot. In fact, we managed to arrange a tour but were told by the guide (after we'd paid) that there was a "99%" chance of being disappointed. Well, we decided a 1% chance of seeing a Leatherback was worth the effort. So, after walking up the beach in the dark for an hour, then walking back down for another hour and almost giving up, we came across a turtle digging her nest just 5 minutes away from the town of Tortuguero. At around 2m in length, they're the largest sea turtles in the world. The largest specimen ever found was in fact over 3m in length and almost 1000 kg in weight. We were incredibly lucky to see her. Normally just one turtle per night comes ashore to nest and the nesting sites are up to 20 miles apart. Tortuguero is an immensely important area for these amazingly beautiful (and critically endangered) creatures. We couldn't have hoped for better highlight to the trip.

Rob

Monteverde and Santa Elena

The cloud forests of the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde and Reserva Santa Elena, in the Western central part of Costa Rica, contain a huge range of biodiversity and some amazing plant and animal life. Most of the year the cloud forest lives up to its name and the abundance of thick cloud, along with the dense forest, makes it hard to see the wildlife. To get a better view, it's necessary to get up into the forest canopy, which is made possible by some handy aerial walkways.



There are great views from the different perspective on the high bridges. Spotting the wildlife still takes a lot of patience though!



We spent a couple of days walking the trails, staring up into the trees on the lookout for the Three-wattled Bellbird, monkeys and, of course, the famous Resplendent Quetzal. We did get a glimpse of the bellbird from one of the walkways on the distant horizon, but nowhere near close enough to get a photograph.



Part of the reserve covers the "continental divide", which runs all the way from Canada to Argentina down the 'spine' of the Americas. Water on the Western side of the divide runs to the Pacific ocean; water on the Eastern side runs to the Atlantic. In a few breaks in the cloud, we could see the Pacific ocean to the West, around the Nicoya peninsula.

The cloud forest is teeming with plant and animal life. Amongst the most beautiful are the 30 kinds of hummingbirds that live there. This one is a Violet Sabrewing.



So did we see a Resplendent Quetzal? Yes we did. We saw several! Best of all was a mating couple, spotted together in the Reserva Santa Elena. We had to wait very quietly for a rather long time (a familiar story to any birdwatchers reading this blog, I'm sure), but we were rewarded with a fantastic close-up (about 4m) view of the male who obediently posed for a good 15 minutes or so for us to photograph him. Here's the result (and our proudest wildlife shot to date):



There has also been some unexpected, though no less exciting, wildlife. This chap is a Central American Bark Scorpion, found crawling around in our bathroom. Apparently they're not venomous enough to kill, but their sting can certainly cause a lot of pain. Kudos to Mum for carefully removing him with nothing more than a wine glass and a piece of paper!



Rob