After soaking up the sun and ensuring Dani had had her fill of cheap seafood it was time to leave Belize and head to Mexico. Having done the research earlier, we knew it was going to be cheaper (and longer) to head back to Belize City and then take the bus from there to Chetumal (the first town in Mexico) rather than take the quicker but much more expensive ferry that went via San Pedro directly to Chetumal and only took 90 minutes. We jumped on the 7.30am ferry to Belize City (having had one last Jenny Special fry jack) and were soon back on the mainland and heading to the bus station. At the bus station the only person who seemed to know about buses to Mexico was the man at the ADO store who wanted to book us on the very expensive 11am bus to Chetumal and as it was only 9am this didn’t really appeal. I had read a blog that said the Chetumal bus left from the furthest gate in the station so that’s where we planted ourselves. It was lucky that I had read this because at 9.10am up pulled a bus to Chetumal (14 BZD/$7 USD/9.20 AUD) and people were stampeding to get on it, as the next bus wasn’t for another hour. Quickly seeing the stampede we used our backpacks to block people and secure our places on the bus as everyone tried to scramble in front of us (we had officially adjusted to the Latin American way of just pushing instead of the British ‘form an orderly queue’ mentality). Once on we settled into the journey that we believed should only take a few hours in total, however we didn’t even arrive at the border until just after midday. The Belizean border was quick and efficient and after paying our $20 USD (40 BZD/$26.35 AUD) exit fee we jumped back on the bus to head to the Mexican border. Upon arrival, we alighted with our bags and headed inside the building, only to discover there was only one customs officer working and an annoyingly long queue of people snaked around the room. By the time we got through immigration, nearly an hour after arriving, our bus had left. It turned out that this was not common practice as there were enough Belizeans on board, who had clearly done this journey before, were irritated as the bus is definitely supposed to wait for all of us to clear immigration and then continue on to Chetumal. After having our bags scanned (not something we are used to having to do at a land border) we were told that we would have to wait for the next bus to come through. Dreading the thought of having the wait for the bus that was scheduled for an hour later than ours and having to wait for its passengers to clear customs we were pleasantly surprised when a bus pulled up 15 minutes later to take us to our final stop for the day. Figuring we would be pulling up to a real bus station we hadn’t worried when we missed the opportunity to change money at the Belizean border nor when there were no money changers at the Mexican border. Going into a relatively developed country and a big enough city we figured ATMs would be plentiful and easily accessible. When we pulled up to a glorified car park with a snack shack in the middle of what appeared to be the middle of nowhere we started to feel mild concern regarding our lack of useful money. We asked if anyone would change money for us or if there was an ATM nearby…everyone said no and told us that the nearest ATM was a taxi-ride away but not to worry as it would be very cheap. This would have been a fine solution had the source of the need for an ATM in the first place been a total lack of appropriate money! They also said that the best chance for accommodation was about 2km away and if we couldn’t take a taxi we’d have to walk. Knowing that we had to return to the same car park in the morning to take the colectivo to Tulum we didn’t really want to end up so far away. Both of us tiring and starting to despair we made the decision that I would do a quick scout around to see if there was any accommodation near by. Only 2 minutes down the road I found what felt like a little oasis…Posada Costa Azul. It was a roadside hotel and not only did they have rooms (550MX/$37.56 AUD/28.95 USD for a double room with aircon and ensuite) they also said they’d accept American dollars (and it turned out also card). Running back to Dani with my discovery it wasn’t long before we were settled into our room and able to go out and find an ATM without bags. We set off to find the Walmart that was on my map as we had been told at the bus station that this was where the closest ATM was. Only about 100m into our walk, just past the gas station on the main road visible from the bus station was an ATM. How had no one at the bus station known about this ATM?! Knowledge of this would have prevented huge amounts of stress and a concerning spike in my wife’s blood pressure! Money swiftly procured, we continued our journey on to Walmart (as we hadn’t seen a western supermarket in months) to get some food and stock up on some of those comfort items we hadn’t seen in a while! It’s odd the things you realise you miss when you’ve been on the road for a long time. After a really good night’s sleep we got up the next morning and crossed the road back to the bus station. It was here we needed to take our first colectivo to Carillo (90 MX/$6.15 AUD/4.75 USD) and we were on our way within 10 minutes of arriving. In Carillo we were dropped off in a different location to where the colectivos to Tulum were leaving from. Once out of the minivan we were ushered into a taxi to take us to the other station. Surprisingly, it seemed that a taxi to the right station was included in the cost of the colectivo as none of us (including the Mexican passengers) paid the taxi driver when we were dropped off. It was a quick transition and we were soon on our way to Tulum (65 MX/$4.45 AUD/3.45 USD), which was to be our final destination for the next 4 days. Pulling into Tulum I’m not sure it was what either of us had been expecting. A total gringo town on the surface, but everyone was friendly and we had been travelling for 2 days so it would certainly do. Dani set off to find us somewhere to stay and came back quickly with a room for 400MX ($27.30 AUD/21.05 USD) at Hostel Riviera Maya which felt like an amazing deal considering it had a private bathroom and it was definitely peak season so there weren’t a lot of cheap deals to be had. Our first priority on arriving in Tulum was to find some good local food. We have both been looking forward to trying authentic Mexican food since we had started planning the Central American part of this trip and our time was finally here. After checking out a few places we stumbled across a BBQ chicken place that had some amazing looking food for Dani, so she ordered a plate and what arrived was huge. A massive plate of rice, beans, ¼ of a BBQ chicken, salad and the biggest stack of tortillas we’d ever seen. It all looked so good I ended up ordering a vegetarian version. This feast set us back a whole 75 MX ($5.10 AUD/3.95 USD), we were astounded! We had 2 activities that we wanted to do while we were in Tulum. One was to visit the ruins, which are the only Mayan ruins in Mexico located on a waterfront. We found out that you could catch one of the colectivos heading towards Playa del Carmen for 20 MX ($1.35 AUD/1.05 USD) and that they would drop you on the main road about 800m from the ruins, which was by far the cheapest way to get there (we decided to walk back to town but you can flag one of these down in reverse to get back and they will flash their lights at you and stop if they have space in the van). The ruins (70 MX/$4.80 AUD/3.70 USD) are gorgeous and very different to others in the area due to the beachside setting, but make sure you get there early because it becomes quite unpleasant when all the tour groups start arriving around 10.30am. Having spent a good 2 hours wandering around we decided we would walk back to town via the beach…this turned out to be a stupid move as not only was it VERY long but it also put us out in the midday sun walking back with no shade and thus very little reprieve from the heat. This meant that by the time we arrived at the supermarket (about 2.5km away from our hostel) we were knackered but they did have cold drinks and aircon, which was enough to give us the boost we needed to complete the journey back to our hotel. The second activity we had penciled in was a cooking course. Desperate to be able to take the secrets of Mexican cuisine away with us we eagerly signed up to the amazing sounding class run by Rivera Kitchen, despite it being quite expensive ($75 USD/97.20 AUD). We met at the owner’s son’s house in Tulum centre where we were picked up in a taxi and driven to her house about a 15-minute drive out of town. It definitely felt like a good home-style cooking class to begin with as we were warmly welcomed by Lily who asked us all about our previous Mexican food experiences and then told about the menu for the day. There were 4 other people doing the class that day and everyone seemed friendly. Unfortunately, we soon realised that almost all of the cooking was done by Lily and her son (throughout the duration of the 3 1/2hr class we chopped a tomato each, pressed some tortillas and rolled some flautas). Don’t get me wrong we had a really wonderful time getting to know the others in the class, drinking good beer and eventually eating the food that had been prepared but neither of us left feeling like we had a better grasp on Mexican cuisine than we had arrived with (although we do have recipes now) and for the cost of the course this was a real shame. Our last stop on this short visit to Mexico was in Cancun from where we would catch our flight to Cuba. Having checked out the ADO bus we realised it would be just as quick and cost a hell of a lot less to catch a collectivo to Playa del Carmen (40 MX/$2.75 AUD/2.10 USD) and then another colectivo to Cancun (40 MX/$2.75 AUD/2.10 USD). This was a really easy process as the Playa colectivos stop right next to the Cancun colectivos and the Cancun colectivos terminate opposite the ADO bus station. Having read that Cancun was a bit seedy and full of resorts we had decided to arrive the day before our flight and stay near the bus station, as we needed to take a really early ADO bus to the airport (78MX/$5.15AUD/$4.10USD). It turned out that we both kind of liked Cancun and outside of Zona Hotelera it really wasn’t that bad. We spent the afternoon wandering around and picking up last minute bits for Cuba (all about the preparation needed in our next blog) before stumbling upon a great food market near our hostel. This place had every Mexican street food snack you could have ever wanted and all really cheap, so knowing that we had almost 3 weeks in Cuba ahead of us we decided to gorge ourselves on tasty treats before we went. We rolled back to our hostel (Moloch Hostel: 240 MX/16.40 AUD/12.65 USD per night in an 8 bed female dorm) and into our room ready for our next adventure.
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We chugged into the pretty, colonial Antigua at around 3.30pm meaning that the whole journey had taken us around 8 hours. Considering we had waited for over an hour for a new tyre to be delivered and then changed, and we had successfully avoided Guatemala City, this meant we were feeling tired but pretty good. Unfortunately our hostel turned out to be on the other side of Antigua resulting in a pretty unwelcome 2km/45minute walk in the sun with our bags! The hostel that had been recommended by our friend Megan turned out to be absolutely perfect after such a long journey. Best of all…hot showers and a hot tub! (Hostel Matiox (75Q/$13.65 AUD/10.50 USD) in a 6 bed female only dorm per person) We dumped our bags, walked 20 meters down the road to the nearest local place for food, ate and then collapsed into bed. Day one in Antigua and we knew that we would be meeting our friends Camilla and Matt after their volcano trek in the afternoon and also that David (a friend we met on a previous trip) would be around too. We had already arranged with Camilla and Matt that we would all be leaving the next day together to go to Lake Atitlan, which gave us 1 full day to explore. Our hostel offered a free walking tour that sounded like a good option to learn about the city (in hindsight the guide was a fellow backpacker that knew nothing about Antigua and this was a complete waste of time) so we signed up and arranged to meet Camilla, Matt and David at a bar later in the afternoon. Antigua is beautiful and Guatemala has done well to preserve it the way they have but it is very heavily tourist orientated and does not really feel like Guatemala at all. After a lovely few hours wandering around we met up with the others to discuss the plan for the next day. David helpfully shared with us that when he had been to Lake Atitlan he had ended up taking 4 buses when the journey only required 2. Armed with this knowledge we also got the woman who worked at our hostel to write down where we needed to change and what we needed to look out for. In the morning we arrived at Camilla and Matt’s guesthouse and set off together to the bus station. The first stage was fairly simple. We got on to the bus that had Chimaltenango (where we needed to change) written on the front and confirmed with the driver that we wanted to transfer to Panajachel. He kindly stopped in Chimaltenango where we needed to get off and change (not the end of the line). When we got off we confirmed with a local that this is where we could catch the bus and then sure enough a bus stopped about 10 minutes later asking us where we were going. Now, it didn’t have Panajachel on the front (mistake) but the bus conductor insisted that that was where this bus was heading. It wasn’t until the four of us were unceremoniously dumped off the bus at a non descript crossroads about an hour and a half later that we realised he had completely lied. We certainly weren’t anywhere we were supposed to be (or even anywhere close for that matter) and we now had to find another bus to take us where we originally wanted to go. It turned out that now we needed another 2 to get to the port to take our ferry to San Pedro…not ideal and certainly not the plan! Luckily this whole process only took 3 1/2hrs (and cost 34Q/$6.20 AUD/4.80 USD) and we were soon happily skimming across the sparkling waters of Lake Atitlan towards our final destination (25Q/$4.60 AUD/3.55 USD). Unfortunately for Camilla and Matt this was the second journey in a row where they had been outright lied to and ended up not taking the desired route. Luckily on this journey this had not put them in any danger unlike the last one that had diverted them through Guatemala City. On arrival in San Pedro Matt and I were put in charge of finding the accommodation for the group. A tout at the port was offering a good rate on rooms at Hotel Rolando, which had the most beautiful views of the lake and really decent double rooms with hot showers (again!) for only 100Q ($18.40 AUD/14.20 USD). After settling in we headed out for some food. In San Pedro, there are an abundance of tourist restaurants down on the water but we headed up the hill to near the local market where we stumbled upon a little comida (food house) where the loveliest old woman cooked us up a feast for 20Q ($3.65 AUD/2.80 USD) each which included rice, beans, salad, chicken for the 3 meat eaters and eggs for me and an endless stream of freshly made tortillas. It only took that one meal to ensure we would be returning every day for both breakfast and dinner! Stuffed full and ready for a beer we picked up a few bottles of Brahva (12Q/$2.20 AUD/1.70 USD each for 1 litre) and utilised our stunning balcony view and hammocks. We wanted to visit 2 other villages while we were on the lake so first we decided to check out the nearby San Juan (20Q/$3.65 AUD/2.80 USD return in a small commuter boat). San Juan is smaller than San Pedro and has a more chilled out vibe. It wouldn’t be difficult to see multiple villages on the lake in one day as after about 2 hours we had explored every street and every art gallery and shop San Juan had to offer. Matt wasn’t feeling well so we decided to take it easy in the afternoon and Dani and I being creatures of habit we headed back up the hill for dinner. San Marcos was on the schedule for our last day on the lake, which is slightly further away than San Juan but no more expensive to get to. San Marcos is quite different from the other villages we saw. Definitely the least Guatemalan of the 3, but the prettiest to wander around and look at. It has a very distinct western hippy vibe (read yoga classes, silent retreats, vegan restaurants and organic health food stores) but does feel like the gringos have taken over which is quite sad. Feeling refreshed from our 3 days at the lake it was time for the 4 of us to brave the long journey to Semuc Champey. As no local would ever feel the need to go from Lake Atitlan to Semuc, the only way to get between the 2 within a single day is to book a tourist shuttle (190Q/$34.90 AUD/26.90 USD), which is supposed to take around 8hrs. There are a couple of things that we learnt about this journey that in hindsight we would like to share! At all of the tourist agencies in town it is cheaper to book the shuttle to Lanquin (160Q/$29.40/22.65 USD), which is the nearest town to Semuc rather than all the way. Regardless of your decision to book to Lanquin or Semuc, your journey will be terminated in Lanquin as the road between the two is basically impassable in anything other than a 4x4. We were told we would go all the way to Semuc (just another little lie) but that was not the case and we were all told to alight in Lanquin. Save yourself the money and just book through to Lanquin. If you (like we were) are planning on staying in Semuc then all the hotels will have sent out pick up trucks to meet the shuttles and they are free for guests (including those who don’t have a reservation like us). Also, when they stop at McDonalds on the way in Coban it’s a good idea to grab food there or at the supermarket or across the road at the snack shacks, as we didn’t end up getting in to Semuc until 8.30pm having left our hotel at 6.30am. In Semuc Champey we stayed at El Portal, right at the entrance of the park and it is incredibly good value at 50Q ($9.20 AUD/7.10 USD)pp in the 6 bed dorm. There was a driver to meet the shuttle and we were able to negotiate this rate at the station. The ecolodge don’t allow any outside food so if you don’t want to pay the expensive hotel prices there are food stalls at the entrance of the park as well as a small local restaurant on the corner about 50m to the left of the entrance to El Portal which we can highly recommend at 20Q ($3.65 AUD/2.80 USD) a plate. Semuc Champey itself is absolutely beautiful and despite the 14hour journey there it felt worth it. Most people you meet along the gringo trail in Central America will tell you the same. This area seems to hold some kind of magic and within minutes of being there the stress of the long (frustrating) journey seems to melt away. For us it was being in the back of the pickup and looking up to see the clear night sky that took me right back to my childhood. It was also waking up and walking out onto the balcony of our dorm room to see the most stunning aquamarine coloured water rushing around the limestone boulders. This was before we’d even reached the park to be treated to the impressive sight that was the limestone bridge and pools we had actually come to see. We spent a few hours diving in and out of stunning pools and taking endless pictures. We didn’t really have any interest in caving while we were there, which is the other major draw of the area for tourists. On that basis we didn’t go on a tour or visit independently (both of which are options) but all hostels and hotels in both Lanquin and Semuc can organise tours (although these seemed pretty over priced to us). We knew that the next journey to Flores for the Mayan ruins in Tikal was going to be equally as long as the one from Atitlan to Semuc, so thought it best to head to Lanquin for the night to catch a shuttle from there for our onward journey. This is also a good way to save a bit of money, as the shuttles directly from Semuc are a lot more expensive than those from Lanquin. To get from Semuc back to Lanquin we all jumped in the back of one of the many pick ups doing the back and forth journey between the two places (20Q/$3.65AUD/$2.80USD per person). In Lanquin we managed to arrange a shuttle for 90Q ($16.65 AUD/12.85 USD) leaving the next morning at 8am. The journey started off really well with a friendly driver who spoke pretty good English. He asked us if we wanted to stop at the McDonalds in Coban that we had stopped in on the way in. As Camilla was starting to have some serious withdrawals from western food we agreed to a 20minute stop. It turned out that all shuttles seem to stop here as we watched people we recognised from our hostel in Lanquin pile off others that arrived. True to form we were back at the stop in 20 minutes ready to resume the ride. We watched as all the other groups piled in to their shuttles and took off with still no sign of our van or our driver. We stood there getting increasingly worried, then frustrated and finally angry as an hour passed with no sign of our driver or our luggage that was still in the shuttle. After 1 hour and 20 minutes later our driver rocked up told us he’d be leaving us there and handed us over to a new driver in the same van. No explanation about where he had been, no apology for being late or for worrying us, nothing. Guatemala was really starting to get under my skin and not in a good way. The journey continued towards Flores at a good pace and just when it looked as though we may be making up some time we came to a halt in to road. The queue we could see snaking around the corner was for a boat across the river we had reached. There is only one ‘boat’ powered by 4 speed boat engines to push a wooden platform loaded with cars and trucks across the river and it turned out we would be waiting for about an hour to get across. Had we not had such a long and painful time up until this point this may have been amusing but tired and hungry we just wanted to get to our final destination which was still 60 km from the other side of the river. We didn’t arrive in to Flores until after dark and this time, the reputed 7hour trip had taken us 10! Dani and Matt went in search of lodgings this time and managed to find us some simple yet acceptable double rooms at a place called La Canoa for 100Q ($18.40 AUD/14.20 USD) for a double, which had lake views from the terrace and was close to everything. We had factored in a day off the next day before heading off to camp in Tikal which we spent finding a decent supermarket, eating and organising the camping trip and transport to the site. There are almost endless options in relation to the times you can go and what you want included in terms of guides and added extras. It’s definitely worth shopping around though as fundamentally they are all offering the same services and the range in prices is vast! Having discussed it as a group, we decided that we didn’t actually need a guide and as we were going to be staying by the entrance to the park we didn’t need to pay the extra for early entrance at 4am instead of 6am when the gates officially open. Dani and I had agreed we only needed a single day in Tikal but Matt and Camilla wanted two, so we arranged that they would head out in the morning the next day and we would leave on the 12.00pm shuttle and meet them at the campsite. The shuttle to Tikal was late but did finally arrive at 12.30pm and took us to the park. We were camping at Jaguar Inn for 100Q ($18.40 AUD/14.20 USD) per person, which included the tent and all the camping gear. This was the most expensive place we had stayed in all of Guatemala so when the woman placed us in the tent with holes in it and no rain cover we weren’t particularly happy and quickly christened the tent El Crapo! We asked to move but they refused, until the tent started to fill with ants, at which point we demanded a better tent. Begrudgingly the manager moved us in to one of the nicer/newer tents that had been pitched, while telling us it was our fault as we must have left the tent flaps open…never mind the gaping holes in the mosquito netting as well as the wear marks that meant the grass poked through the floor of the tent! We met Matt and Camilla once they were done and we all hung out and chatted about their experience that day before an early night ready to explore the next morning. The whole point of sleeping there was to be able to get in to Tikal early to be able to spot the wildlife and we were not disappointed. Minutes after we woke up the howler monkeys started giving you the sense that you had awoken in Jurassic Park. The thunderous boom of their calls echoed through the surroundings in a way that truly let you know you were in nature! The park opens to general public at 6am so we were there ready to go then. Tikal is a pretty magical ruins and the deep jungle setting does give it something different to other Mayan Ruins. I would recommend heading to Temple 4 first to get a sense of the scale and beauty of Tikal first because we kind of felt like we were missing something until we gazed upon the complex from above the trees and were struck by the sheer scale and beauty of the place. It is also teeming with wildlife and if you pay attention you’ll also see the spider monkeys in the trees and the toucans fly past. You can easily spend 2 days wandering around but we found 6 hours a pretty good amount of time to spend to see the main highlights (this covers about 10km of walking) and by 12pm we were ready to head back to Flores. This timing worked out perfectly as there was a shuttle at 12.30pm to take us back…or so we thought. It turns out that although we had originally been told there was a shuttle at 12.30pm and it was written on our ticket, we had booked the only company that didn’t have a shuttle at 12.30pm that day and we would have to wait until 2pm. It was a little bit of the last straw with Guatemala for me really. We had been tossing up between heading straight to Belize from Flores, as it was so easy or taking the longer route via Rio Dulce and Livingston. Until that moment I had been leaning more towards Rio Dulce as we had met a couple during our travels in the Galapagos that had made it sound so wonderful but something snapped and I could not face having to travel through a country that so often lied to you to get your money and made things more difficult when you paid more money to go the easy route (just catch the chicken buses it’s less stressful). By 2pm I’d calmed down but we had made our decision to give ourselves another day in Flores to sort out ‘house-keeping’ things and then to head straight to San Ignacio in Belize. We got back to Flores around 3.30pm, spent one final night with Matt and Camilla before they moved on to Belize the next day and then carried out our day of banal organisation. Long term travel is rarely as glamorous as it seems! Ready to bid farewell to Guatemala we packed up and grabbed a mototaxi to the bus station (5Q/$0.90 AUD/0.70 USD) to catch a bus to the border. We were already aware that this should cost us about 30Q ($5.40 AUD/$4.15 USD) and after a little haggling we were able to get this price. The border crossing here is relatively straightforward and we were through within 15 minutes, having also changed money for a really good rate with the money-changers. There was a taxi waiting outside customs to take people to the bus station and as with most things we discovered in Belize had a set price of 15BZD ($9.90 AUD/7.50 USD). Looking back on Guatemala I/we’ve realised that it had some pretty wonderful things to offer. I can’t speak for Dani but I know while we were there I found it difficult to understand having just come from El Salvador (where most travellers skip) why people got stuck in Guatemala instead of carrying on. I think this may be because we are doing the trail backwards but if you are coming from Mexico, Guatemala somehow feels more “authentic” as well as cheap and accessible in comparison. Because we were travelling up, I think we found more authentic experiences in El Salvador and Honduras which were also cheaper and easier to get around and therefore did not feel the same warmth towards Guatemala as others do. I know I certainly found the people to be a lot less friendly or helpful but in saying that it really does have some wonderful experiences to offer. The volcanos, and lakes, limestone structures and Mayan ruins are all incredible and well worth visiting. LGBT: I felt the least comfortable in Guatemala when it came to being a couple. This wasn't due to any particular incident it was more a general feeling of conservatism in Guatemala that we hadn't felt in other parts of Latin America. There are no legal protections for the LGBT community however homoxsexuality was decriminalised in 1871 which is extremely progressive for such a religous country. There is still targeted violence in Guatemala and due to no anti-discrimination protection violence towards members of the LGBT community but especially the trans community violence is not considered a hate crime. Budget Time $$$In terms of budgeting, Guatemala was one of very few places in Latin America where we actually over spent slightly. Granted it really wasn’t by very much, but it was an overspend. Looking back on it this is likely to have been for a couple of reasons. Number one being that this was one of the only countries where taking money out of an ATM was not free anywhere! Before leaving to embark on this epic trip I spent months looking at all the different cards and accounts that we could get in Australia that would be beneficial for our travels (being the budgeter and money person in this travel partnership my role involves a lot more work before we actually get on the road). Unlike the USA there isn’t a huge amount of reward based variety and being a non-resident of Australia I was unable to apply for a credit card so this limited us even further. After extensive research I discovered that Citibank AU had an account that offered almost market level exchange rates at point of sale and ATMs and no ATM fee with any of their affiliate banks of which there are literally thousands all over the world. This meant that in the first 18 months of our travels we had paid about $10USD in total for all of our bank transactions across the world.
When we arrived in Guatemala, after trying literally EVERY ATM in Antigua, I discovered that this banking network had two main players and neither of them were affiliates of Citibank. This meant that it was going to cost 30Q ($4.30USD/$5.40AUD) every time I wanted to take out money…AND, to add insult to injury, there was a limit of 2000Q ($285USD/$360AUD) per withdrawal. On a $25USDpp/day budget, this would mean a minimum of three ATM transactions while in Guatemala. This might not seem like big deal given that totals less than $15USD, but it frustrated me massively as it was for this exact reason that I spent literally DAYS in Australia trawling the internet and various banking forums trying to find the best option! What I think made it feel worse as well was that from the very beginning Guatemala felt like a country that was going to be a bit of an unnecessary but unavoidable money pit and I did not appreciate the idea that not only would we have to pay over the odds for things, but we were going to have to pay for access to the money for the privilege of doing that! Anyway, apologies, I digress, that was financial issue number one. Financial issue number two was the necessity of utilizing massively over priced tourist shuttles in order to move ‘efficiently’ between locations. Unfortunately, because Guatemala is quite a large country and all of the places of interest as a visitor a fairly spread out, getting between them either has to be done on a shuttle or needs to be done in a sequence of days. While we were there we chose the former as the preferred option, in hindsight, given the inefficiency of most of these journeys, we probably would have chosen the latter. So, in Guatemala, it cost money to spend money and long distance transport was uncomfortably expensive, not a great combination. However, in general accommodation and food were not overpriced. On average we spent about 100Q ($15USD/$19.50AUD) per night on accommodation for both of us and food came in at about 20Q ($2.85/$3.60) per person per meal. Entrance to national parks and landmarks was reasonable but we did note that a lot of the organised tours seemed shockingly overpriced. This may have been due to us travelling at that start of the peak season but we did notice that the price quoted was rarely the final offer and there was quite a lot of negotiating room in most cases. Shopping around for shuttle tickets and excursions/tours is definitely worth the time and effort as you have the power to play all of the different companies off against each other! What it actually cost:$981.25 Accommodation: $293.52 Food: $224.36 Transport: $202.24 Drinks: $96.88 Entertainment: $73.53 Miscellaneous: $62.42 Souvenirs: $28.31 This works out at $37.71 AUD per person per day We entered Honduras from Las Manos, Nicaragua. This border crossing was relatively painless if not a little bit more expensive than it should have been due to crossing on a Saturday (not actually a thing but something that they can make a thing if they feel like it…and you can’t really argue with the people with the stamps now, can you?!). It was all made easier by the fact that the extremely stern Nicaraguan customs officer totally broke his macho act when I accidently told him I was a hospital instead of a nurse…damn Spanglish!! We paid our $6 USD ($7.90 AUD) to the Honduran officials, got our stamp and wandered down the dusty road to the bus waiting on the other side. We had started our journey into the unknown and so far it was going well. The bus quickly departed for El Paraiso about 45 minutes away from the border where we were to pick up a connection to Tegucigalpa (locally known as Tegus). There was an extremely friendly older gentleman who helped us find the quicker minivans once we arrived in El Paraiso and it wasn’t long until we were on our way to the capital. Both of us were quite apprehensive about this journey but it turned out we needn’t have worried as it was simple, smooth and comfortable and by 12pm we had arrived at our hostel, Palmira (210 Lempiras/$8.90 USD/ 11.75 AUD pp/night) housed in the former Ecuadorian Embassy building. The taxi journey should have only cost us about 100L ($4.25 USD/5.60 AUD) but we were charged 150L ($6.35 USD/8.40 AUD) and felt that it was best just to get to the hostel in as quickly and easily as possible without messing around too much. The hostel was safe and secure and exactly what we needed for the night we were going to stay in Tegus. On arrival we found out that they ran a daily free walking tour of the downtown area and felt this may be the only way we would explore the city in our short time there, so we signed up. This turned out to be a great experience. It only cost us the price of the museum entrance (100 Lempiras/$6.35 USD/8.40 AUD), which included a guide for about an hour and a half. He was excellent and gave us a full run down of the history of Honduras and it’s political turmoil over the last 100 years. He had a special interest in gay rights, which of course we found the most interesting. Overall, Tegus felt a lot safer having a local with us and we’re not sure we would have gone out (other than to get food during the day) on our own. Having said that, it didn’t actually feel particularly unsafe and in hindsight I’m not sure we felt Tegus was as dangerous as it is made out to be. The following morning we had a cab (100 Lempiras/$6.35 USD/8.40 AUD) called for us to get to the bus station and we were whisked onto a bus (150 Lempiras/$6.35 USD/8.40 AUD) as soon as we got there. We had written down and explained to the bus conductor where where we wanted to go, as we were heading to Lago de Yojoa, which was not the final stop. This all seemed to be going well until we were suddenly ushered off the bus only to discover we were a full 12km from the turnoff we needed to be at to get to D&D Brewery and essentially in the middle of knowhere!! Slightly delirious from panic we managed to get directions and flagged down the next bus that came past to get us to the La Guama junction. In our panic we forgot to negotiate the cost of this short trip and ended up being charged another 100L ($6.35 USD/8.40 AUD) for the 2 of us to actually get to where we were originally supposed to get to. At the junction a bus was waiting to take us to Peña Blanca, which cost 15L ($0.65 USD/0.85 AUD). Only one leg left to go, we caved and took a mototaxi (instead of waiting for the slightly cheaper local bus) straight to D&D with the wonderful Manuel for 40L ($1.70 USD/2.25 AUD). D&D turned out to be an absolute dream and we would both say that it is definitely high on our list of ‘must-dos’ if you are visiting Honduras. It is a little complicated to get to but the location is amazing, there is loads to do, both paid for and free and everything about being there is pretty idyllic in terms of a relaxed and beautiful natural surroundings! The room we got for $15 USD ($19.75) was the best deal we had in all of Honduras. Set in a beautiful tropical garden filled with hummingbirds, we had a private room and en suite bathroom that we were sharing with only one other room. The best thing though…HOT SHOWERS!!! We were in heaven and our first decision was to extend our stay from 2 nights to 5. Having checked in and seen the prices of food in the restaurant we decided to head out and see what local food was available. We were lucky enough to be guided to the pupusa woman by Al who was staying at our hostel for the third time that year! These pupusas (a cornmeal tortilla stuffed with beans and cheese) were delicious and piled high with salad and salsa. They only cost 40L for 2 ($1.70 USD/2.25 AUD) and were enough to fill the satisfactorily fill the gap. After a great night’s sleep we decided to head down to Peña Blanca for breakfast. It was a pleasant stroll down the dusty road and a man even stopped his pickup truck to offer us a lift (we weren’t quite ready for that so we declined). Everyone we walked passed smiled and offered a friendly “Hola” and slowly our apprehensions about Honduras started to ease. It was in Peña Blanca that we got to taste what was to quickly become our favourite breakfast, baleadas. Baleadas are a large flour tortilla filled with refried beans and cheese and for meat eaters you can add chorizo or chicken. We tracked down a great little place making them fresh outside and having ordered one each we were back there minutes after finishing them for a second round. Peña Blanca didn’t have much to offer other than a market and some fried chicken shops so we headed back to D&D to chill and think about what we wanted to do while we were at the lake. It was that afternoon that we met the famous Walter we had read so much about in the reviews of D&D online. Expecting a middle-aged expat (with a name like Walter and being described as the very passionate resident ornithologist) we were stunned to find out he was a 28-year-old Honduran guy and an absolutely shameless and outrageous flirt. He spent the whole afternoon and early evening laughing and joking with us, so we swiftly booked in with him to do the birding tour on the lake the next morning ($18 USD + 10% service charge/23.80 AUD). This turned out to be a great decision because not only was Walter a lot of fun but he was an incredible wealth of knowledge on birds, and could spot even the smallest bird a mile away. We were able to see some beautiful birds skimming along the water and perched on branches near the shore of the lake and I finally had to admit…I think we really might have been becoming amateur twitchers. This was what convinced us to do Walter’s extended tour to a local private reserve as my special birthday treat from my mother in law. This would involve being guided for the day by two very experienced bird watchers and learning about what twitchers really do. We found it harder than the lake tour as we weren’t as adept at spotting, but we managed to see 81 different species that day with some major assistance from our guides, so that certainly wasn’t to be sniffed at! Other than the immense bird spotting and citing of rare treats like toucans and green jays, the best thing about this tour…we were fed three square meals, which we hadn’t had since leaving Nicaragua! It’s funny the things you really learn to appreciate when you’ve been on the road for a while. Three square meals in one day and a hot shower at the end of it and we thought all of our Christmases had come at once!! Our extended time at D&D was coming to an end but having met another long-term traveller Megan, we decided we would all head to Walter’s friends hostel in Gracias for my birthday. This would involve another complicated journey of returning to the La Guama junction, waving down a bus to La Esperanza and then getting on a bus from there to Gracias. This didn’t turn out too badly and we were there within the predicted 5 hours. Walter’s friend Angel turned out to be exactly that…when he found out about my birthday he promised to fire up his real wood-fired oven to make me one of his famous pizzas the following evening to celebrate! Another major plus was just how beautiful his hostel was. Awesome chilled out vibe and really nice rooms, with all basically brand new fixtures and fittings as he was building it up from scratch himself ($10 USD/13.20 AUD for a dorm bed and $35 USD/46.25 AUD for a double with en suite including breakfast – which was a good hearty affair). Possibly the most exciting bonus of this place which we didn’t discover until we arrived…MORE HOT SHOWERS! I’m not going to say that Gracias is the most happening place nor was it quite the ‘jewel’ the Lonely Planet made it out to be, but I had a great birthday hanging out with Dani and Megan, wandering around the colonial buildings and cobblestone streets of the town and then delighting in a fabulous margarita cocktail and a huge vegetarian pizza with a Angel and another guest from the hostel. Up early the next morning we were heading to the Copan Ruinas. This journey only involved 2 buses, one to Santa Rosa and then another to Copan. On the bus to Santa Rosa we were sat next to a highly intoxicated young man who decided that he needed to help the gringos get to Copan. Giving us updates every 5 minutes about how long we had to go (this was in between him conducting and air driving the bus from his seat in the back). Although he was really drunk he very sweetly followed us to the next bus to ensure we got on and then waved us away with a cheery “adios” before stumbling away and nearly knocking himself out on a lamppost . The next journey took 3 hours, getting us to Copan comfortably in the mid afternoon. The bus dropped us off at a small dusty layby between the ruins and Copan main town. As soon as we got off the bus we were greeted by hoards of taxi/tuktuk drivers offering to take us to the centre that was supposedly…”very far, too far!”. We had already been told that this was not true and so happily decided to go it alone on foot. This turned out to be a perfectly acceptable decision as we were a mere five minutes walk away along a flat (albeit slightly dusty) road from the entrance to Copan town. We got there without any problem but were not really up for hiking up the hill that greeted us as soon as we crossed the bridge and entered Copan. On that basis we decided to check out the first place we saw at the bottom of the hill, Hotel Patty. An initial offer of 400L ($16.80 USD/22 AUD) per night in a private double with en suite was quickly reduced to 350L ($14.70 USD/19.25 AUD) when the proprietor discovered we planned to stay for more than one night. We knew for a fact that the best deal in town was at ViaVia right in the centre, which offered a private twin/double for just $10USD a night. While there was no doubt that this was a great offer the requirement of us to schlep our bags up the hill to get there, coupled with the fact that we knew this particular location had a bit of a reputation as a party hostel meant that this guys offer at Hotel Patty was too good to pass up, so we took it! And just to sweeten the deal, once in our room we discovered that once again we had the added luxury of hot water…three locations in a row and we were starting to get used to this again!! Having dumped our bags we then hiked up the hill to the main square and found a selection of women selling wonderful looking baleadas for 10L ($0.42 USD/0.55 AUD) so we got 3 each before wandering around the charming little town that was Copan Ruinas. The plan for the next day was to get to the ruins before the 11am bird feeding when the Scarlet Macaws as well as a variety of other birds descend for their breakfast. We found it difficult to find food in the morning, which is how we stumbled across the local market and found a stall with the best 7-year-old waiter you have ever met (he was on school holidays). He was excellent and had the most amazing gappy grin. They served a great breakfast of rice, beans, avocado, eggs and tortillas fresh from the pan for 40L ($1.70 USD/2.25 AUD). After filling up, we were off to the ruins (Entrance: 345 Lempiras/$14.65 USD/19.25 AUD). It’s an easy walk from town (15-20 minutes, downhill and flat) so no need for a tuktuk or taxi. We arrived in plenty of time for the birds and it was an amazing sight seeing all the scarlet macaws out around the crumbling ancient structures. The complex is small in comparison to many other Mayan sights in Central America but what makes it so unique and subsequently unquestionably worthwhile are the intricate carvings that adorn a huge amount of the sites ruins. They really are quite spectacular! We spent a good 3 hours slowly wandering around and exploring the different areas of the excavated site. There are options to buy an additional ticket to the museum or to get an upgrade to explore a set of recently opened tunnels. Having done our research prior we decided against both of these as the museum was apparently entirely in Spanish and the tunnels were quite literally that, tunnels…not much to see and very little extra to explore. We had also chosen to explore the site without a guide as we preferred to do these kinds of things at our own pace. We did however see and hear some of the guided tours as we walked around and they seemed interesting and informative, so may be worth considering if you wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the site but by no means necessary. After a lovely time spent exploring the Copan ruins we headed back to our rather fancy abode to get along with sorting out the plans for our move out of Honduras the next day and into El Salvador! Overall Honduras had been wonderful and had pleasantly surprised us at almost every stop. Tegus had felt a little bit shady in parts, but was by no means the gang and gun filled murder centre that we had it pegged as being in our heads! It’s clear that it is a city with a high crime rate as many of the buildings have very high walls, bars on windows and barbed wire. Almost all businesses come complete with stern looking armed guards attentively standing watch outside and there is an air of tension that pervades when walking through busy streets. In the downtown area it’s a different story, it just like any other downtown in any other city, normal people doing normal things. Lago de Yojoa (in particular D&D Brewery) was idyllic! A truly beautiful location with incredibly friendly people and an almost endless stream of natural wonders to keep you entertained. Gracias, while being a little under-whelming in terms of the expectation set by it’s description in the Lonely Planet is not without it charms. Perhaps not a location worth going out of your way to visit, but if it is on your route or you have a spare day or two it certainly isn’t an unpleasant place to be. For us Copan was an absolute highlight, and not just of Honduras. A lovely little town, really friendly people, great balance of local culture and tourist convenience and some of the most beautiful and well preserved ruins either of us had seen anywhere in Latin America. So many people miss out Honduras and put it into the ‘too dangerous’ category! This is a huge mistake and a total misunderstanding. It is honestly no more dangerous as a tourist than any other country in Central America and as long as you are a smart traveller you will have no problems here at all. All you will be achieving by missing out on this country is an opportunity to explore a wonderful place with a huge amount to offer the relatively few who choose to pass through! Do it now before the word gets out! LGBT: : What surprised me the most about Honduras was the accepting attitudes and the interesting conversations we had about sexuality and gender with locals. Honduras has a terrible reputation for violence against gay men in particular but we found that at least those we discussed this with (they started the conversation) really were accepting and wanting to learn more about the LGBT community. This being said it is not the safest country to travel and be openly affectionate. I felt the most comfortable here and the least closeted which I was not expecting. Officially it is illegal to discriminate based on sexuality but there is a long history of political leaders who encouraged homophobia (and racism) so exercise caution. Budget Time $$$In terms of general spending, Honduras really isn’t a particularly expensive country. We had a $25USD/person daily budget and that was comfortably enough for the trip. Over the course of our time there we stayed in a dorm, an ex-pat run lodge, a boutique local place and a budget hotel and these averaged out at about $20USD/night. Longer distance journeys cost on average $2USD/hour and local buses cost absolutely nothing! In terms of food, local places are cheap and cheerful and tasty. Pupusas, baleadas, rice and meat are available pretty much everywhere and you’d find it hard to pay more than $3-4 for a good feed! Entrance fees to local attractions (museums, ruins, churches) are totally reasonable, ranging from $1-5USD, countrywide. We didn’t visit the islands while we were there but we do know that this is some of the cheapest diving anywhere in the world and is absolutely wonderful!
What it actually cost: $596.39 AUD Accommodation: $251.57 Transport: $87.32 Food: $78.81 Miscellaneous: $70.64 Entertainment: $49.50 Souvenirs: $39.65 Drinks: $18.91 This works out at $29.82 AUD per person per day Having already started panicking the night before about the border crossing to Costa Rica we decided to take the easy route and book a shuttle ($27 USD/34.40 AUD) to Puerto Viejo across the border. I woke up anxious and there was nothing much that could really be done to calm me down...what was I panicking about you may be wondering? The lack of onward trip anywhere. I had done a lot of research into traveling into Costa Rica and almost everything I read stated you must have a return ticket out of there or proof of onward travel elsewhere. Having decided to risk it, I was almost paralytic with anxiety (anyone who knows me knows I’m terrified of customs and border crossings at the best of times, despite having been to 51 countries and it’s completely irrational). Well, it turns out my panic was all for nothing. They were really friendly at the border, and the only question they asked me was what my occupation was. I’m not saying that you won’t get asked more questions, or be required to provide evidence of future travel arrangements, but we didn’t and I did read that the more stamps in your passport the less likely they are to question you as it is apparent you stick to visa rules. The process was really easy and the shuttle driver even stopped to let us look at a sloth on the side of the road. The process I would imagine is fairly similar independently where you take a water taxi to Almirante, a taxi to the bus station, a bus to the border go through panama customs, walk across the bridge (it’s a new bridge so the stand by me bridge you may have seen online is no longer an option), go to Costa Rican immigration, then get on another bus either to San Jose or Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo is a great place to chill and party if that’s what your into but it wasn’t really our scene. We did find a cheap room at The Lion Fish Hostel ($25 USD/31.85 AUD) which unfortunately turned out to be really noisy and resulted in two predominantly sleepless nights. However, Puerto Viejo’s saving grace was the wonderful soda (Costa Rican local restaurant) around the corner. It didn’t have a name but it was on the first street on the right past Lion Fish towards the beach. It was the second block back, next to the lavanderia and the lovely woman there serves huge plates of food for 3000c ($5.25 USD/6.70 AUD). Other than eating and wandering, Puerto Viejo served very little purpose or held any further appeal to us, so after our two restless nights, we moved on! Our next stop was Tortuguero but it turned out getting there was not going to be simple if you didn’t want to take the shuttles available. It was going to be a 5 stage journey but we decided to give it a go. We arrived at the first bus stop at 7.30am and bought our tickets from the shop opposite the bus stop. This first stage cost 1,825c ($3.20 USD/4.10 AUD) and was an easy hour and a half to Limon. Now, at Limon we needed to change bus stations which is quick and easy…provided you know where you’re going. Follow the green exit/salida signs out of the terminal you arrive into and head out onto the street. Turn right and then take the first street on your left. Follow this up until you find the big green bus terminal called Carribe Terminal on your left hand side. This is only about 500m and multiple people were willing to help show us the way when we simply informed them we were heading in the direction of Guaplies. Once here we were immediately directed to the bus to Guapiles. This cost 2,200c ($3.85 USD/4.90 AUD) and took just over and hour and a half getting us into Guapiles before the 11am bus to Cariari. The Cariari ticket window is away from the other ticket windows and is actually opposite where the bus leaves from so look for the sign over the bus parking spaces then look directly back and you’ll find the window (alternatively you can just ask for “bolito para Cariari” and you will be pointed in the right direction). This bus is only 500c ($0.85 USD/1.10 AUD) and took just over half an hour. Up to this point in our journey, all our ducks had lined up perfectly and each journey was seamless…that was until we reached Cariari! We pulled into the bus station at 11:37 and had thus just missed the 11:30 bus, which had frustratingly actually left on time! The next one wasn’t until 3pm and a 3 1/2hr wait in the middle of a long day at a dusty and uncomfortable bus station did not seem appealing! Lucky for us (and by this stage Michelle who we met in Guapiles) we were approached by Owen, a guide on Tortuguero, who was heading home. He offered us a shared taxi to the port. This ended up costing us 2500c ($4.40 USD/5.60 AUD) each, which although double what the bus would have cost, was much quicker and meant not hanging around. We know Owen was able to get local price for the taxi at 14,000c ($24.60 USD/31.35 AUD) but even then if there’s a group of you it may be worth forking out the extra for a quicker transfer (we passed the bus we missed on route). Owen was also kind enough to help us get a local boat across to Tortuguero instead of the public boat, which actually costs more. The reason this was even better was the local boats don’t charge you for your luggage. It was 2000c ($3.50 USD/4.50 AUD) per person and left again earlier than the public boat. All up our journey took us 5 hours and despite all the changes it was pretty easy (thanks to Owen!!). It was totally worth it when we arrived in what can only be described and untamed paradise. Owen had also recommended a guesthouse called Meryscar, which is towards the beach backing onto the second soccer pitch (ask at the orange tourist information centre at the arrival dock and everyone will know where you are asking about). Meryscar is run by a lovely Spanish/Nicaraguan couple, who have recently taken it over. They clearly love this place and made us feel so at home right from the beginning. They even brought out some ice-cold young coconuts to welcome us. It was $20 USD ($25.50 AUD) for a double room and had a great chill space out front with hammocks. It was through the woman at the guesthouse that we met Jungle Jon who would be our guide in the National Park during our stay. We chose to do the canoe tour early because it gives you the best chance to see wildlife. It was totally worth the 5.20am wake up as we watched capuchin, spider and howler monkeys swing through the trees and iguanas sunning themselves in the morning light. Jon was a great guide and really had a passion for what he was showing us. It really is worth the $35 USD ($44.60 AUD) it cost us including the park entrance fee ($20 for Jon and $15 for one days park entrance). The rest of the time was spent wandering around town. There are a few free walks you can do which give you some pretty good wildlife spotting opportunities. You can wander down the beach from 4-6pm before it is closed to the public without a guide. It is around this time that you may spot the baby turtles making the mad dash to the sea. We just missed this twice while we were walking, but Michelle managed to see them on her walk. You may also spot the Green Macaws that fly around town as well as some gorgeous coloured frogs in the banana trees just after dusk. All in all we absolutely loved Tortuguero and it turned out to be the Caribbean Island paradise we had been looking for in Bocas de Toro! So, it transpires that nothing about Costa Rican transport is easy. Having made the decision not to head to La Fortuna or Monteverde due to the recent hurricane that had done a lot of damage, the border town of Los Chiles seemed the closest/easiest place to cross in to Nicaragua. Well, just because something is close in Costa Rica does not mean it’s easy. I had done a lot of research into this little used border crossing and discovered that although there is a boat that will go from Los Chiles to San Carlos (Nicaragua) there is a newly opened land crossing that for all intents and purposes was supposed to be an easier and quicker option. I set about trying to find anyone else who had done the route from Tortuguero to Los Chiles in the bloggersphere and came across one guy who had done it…in 2013! He explained that it began with the reverse journey from Tortuguero to Guapiles and to give us the best chance of arriving before midnight we decided that 5am ferry to La Pavona was going to be our best bet. Here’s where the lovely woman in our guesthouse proved yet again to be amazing as she called her friend Quimi who does a private boat/shuttle transfer to Cariari all for 4000c ($7 USD/8.95 AUD). This would also mean not having to wait for the slower public bus at 7.30am as this shuttle would leave the port as soon as we arrived. We were in Cariari by 6.40am and then were on a bus to Guapiles (500c/$0.85 USD/1.10 AUD) by 6.50am. The next bus was to take us to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui and was leaving at 8am, which left us 20 minutes between arriving in Guapiles and getting on stage 4 of our journey. This Puerto Viejo is not to be confused with the town we started at in southern Costa Rica. This bus cost 1220c ($2.15 USD/2.75 AUD) each and took us just over an hour. It was here we ended up with our longest wait of the day because our connecting bus to San Carlos (know as also Ciudad Quesada - 1155c/$2 USD/2.60 AUD) was not leaving till 10.30am. One thing we can say is that despite awkwardly regular requirement for connections and round about routes, the buses are efficient. At 10.20am the bus pulled in and at 10.30am, we were pulling out of the terminal. This next leg was slightly longer and we didn’t arrive in to San Carlos until just before 1pm, at which point, we were ushered very quickly onto the final leg of the journey to Los Chiles (2500c/$4.40 USD/5.60 AUD) and it left within minutes of us jumping aboard. After nearly 12 hours on the road we pulled in to Los Chiles at 4.15pm, ready to drop, but triumphant that we had made it! Finding a guest house in Los Chiles wasn’t as easy as we had imagined in the tiny little border town but we were lucky enough to stumble upon Jabiru Villas that cost $25 USD ($31.35 AUD) a night and they upgraded our room so that it had aircon/a kitchenette and private bathroom for the same cost as their basic rooms. After an ok night’s sleep we were ready to tackle our 3rd border crossing in just over 2 weeks. This one was supposed to be simple so I didn’t have my usual pre-border meltdown. We arrived at the bus station just after breakfast and waited for the next bus to the border (“frontera”) to come through. Most of these buses are from San Carlos (Ciudad Quesada) but some are coming from San Jose. We were lucky again and only had to wait for 10 minutes for the next bus, which was just enough time to change our remaining Costa Rican colones into Nicaraguan cordoba. The bus to the border only took around 15 minutes and we were quickly lining up to pay the tourist exit tax out of Costa Rica. Everything I had read said that you could only pay this by card at the border but this is no longer the case. You can pay the $8 USD (4,500c/$10.20 AUD) fee in either currency and in cash. Being stamped out of Costa Rica was relatively easy and after a little confusion we found our way to the first Nicaraguan checkpoint. There were 2 men (one asleep) in a little shack as we crossed who asked to see our passports. After a short friendly interrogation (us answering as best we could in broken Spanish) he ushered us towards the more official looking building. We were 2 of about 6 people crossing at the time and we quickly realised that they don’t see many gringos passing through here. We had a similar, but this time more intense friendly interrogation here and both of us simultaneously became awkward when asked if we were married (we answered no as we are not legally married in Nicaragua) and finally were stamped through. The bag check was non-existent and the man behind the counter handed us a ticket to say he had checked both our bags (he hadn’t). Make sure you hold on to this ticket, as you will need it to get through the gate to the collectivos to San Carlos. It was at this gate that our passports were checked for the 3rd time and after another thorough inspection of our passports we were finally allowed into Nicaragua and onto the collectivo. Our passports were checked for a 4th time on the road out of the border zone at a police checkpoint. The whole process was difficult as our Spanish is basic but at all stages it was friendly and now we were ready to explore the next country. So that’s our journey across Costa Rica in 12 easy steps and on to Nicaragua! Just to recap if you’re going to do the independent route from Puerto Viejo to Tortuguero: Puerto Viejo to Limon Limon to Guapiles Guapiles to Cariari Cariari to La Pavona La Pavona to Tortuguero…and should cost from $14-16 USD ($17-20 AUD) From Tortuguero to Los Chiles or La Fortuna (as it is the same route until the last bus): Tortuguero to La Pavona La Pavona to Cariari Cariari to Guapiles Guapiles to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui to San Carlos (Ciudad Quesada) San Carlos to either La Fortuna or Los Chiles depending on where you are going next…should cost around $17 USD ($21.90 AUD) all up. Budget Time $$$Prior to us arriving in Costa Rica we had read a huge amount about how expensive it was as a destination and that in fact a lot of the same landscape and wildlife for which Costa Rica is famous could be seen in Nicaragua for a fraction of the cost. This resulted in us limiting our exploration of Costa Rica too intensely and meant we spent relatively little time there given it’s size. These days Costa Rica is basically a dual currency country using both the local colones and USD. In the places that we visited this duality was almost universal, from hostels to restaurants to supermarkets and even buses. It is definitely wise to carry colones as you may encounter times when spending the green back will not be an option or may result in an unfavourable exchange rate but our experience showed us that for the most part either currency can be spent anywhere and almost always was exchanged at the days rate. The rumoured hyper-expense turned out to be largely untrue in our experience. That’s not to say that it was a cheap destination, but the prices of accommodation, transportation, food and excursions were comfortably contained within our $40USD/person daily budget. This may have been partially due to the fact that we were travelling in shoulder season (October, before the peak started in November at the end of rainy season) but timing of travel is something that should always be considered, especially with longer-term travel and in more expensive destinations! One nice thing that we did notice was the fact that in a lot of the accommodations the prices offered for dorms or private rooms were per person rather than for the room itself. On that basis it would cost a solo traveller the same to stay in a private room for the night as it would for us as a couple. Like we have said, independent travel around Costa Rica is not easy (although it is surprisingly efficient). As with Panama, there are direct tourist shuttles that offer quick and easy transportation between all desirable tourist destinations but these are unbelievably expensive when compared to the local alternative and if you are willing to put up with a few changes and a bit of extra time then this is unquestionably a more financially savvy alternative! At this point we were beginning to learn that consideration needed to be given to the wether we valued time, ease and comfort or money more. At this particular stage it was certainly the latter for us, but that was not to say that at later points in the trip we would not bang for the former! What it Actually Cost: 7 Days = $495.45 USD for 2 people Accommodation: $200 Food: $145.16 Entertainment: $91.83 Transport: $86.84 Drinks: $63.74 Miscellaneous: $38.77 Souvenirs: $23.59 Daily spend: $35.60 USD per person LGBT:Again Costa Rica is an open minded country and we didn't face any problems. We even managed to meet another married lesbian couple in Puerto Veijo. As far as the law goes homosexuality is legal in Costa Rica and has been since the 70's (pretty progressive for Latin America). Unfortunately trans recognition is also non exsistent. Transpeople in Costa Rica are not able to legally change their legal gender to match their identity.
The day had finally arrived...we were catching our return flight to Panama after 5 months in Europe. After a sleepless night we jumped into a cab and set off for Heathrow. One of the things that had kept me up all night was the mild panic of now being on a one-way ticket. Technically the airline has the right to refuse you if you don’t have an exit booked and I had read that this had been an issue for some travellers coming into Panama. Luckily for us the guy at the airport didn’t seem to care and when the sign at the self check in popped up with proof of exit he just waved it through (just in case you are worried and want a cheap option for an exit the bus to Costa Rica from Bocas Del Toro is only $33 USD/42.10 AUD). Step one complete we got ready to leave the UK for the final time this year. The flight to Panama was going through Houston and the first 10-hour leg of our journey went relatively quickly. I’m not a great sleeper on planes so only managed to get two 30-minute naps in, but Dani got a few hours. Our only concern was that we only had 2 hours between flights and also knew we needed to clear customs in Houston. This, for the second time, on this trip was a breeze. There were no queues and we ‘flew’ through. Even security was pretty quick and we had over an hour to get to our next gate. Boarding the final flight felt a little like torture (getting a little old for these roundabout routes these days) but we managed to take off on time and even arrived in Panama City a little early. Turned out I had been stressing over nothing because they didn’t ask to see exit evidence either. I think we’re going soft in our old age though, because with the best intentions we headed out of the airport toward the bus stop to get to the city and the first cab that stopped had us in in seconds (to be fair we had been travelling by this stage for 20hrs and it was getting late). A handy tip though is that if you can get to the main road by following the signs to the Metro Bus, cabs will be a lot cheaper. We paid $20 USD ($25.50 AUD) from the bus stop but would have paid at least $30 USD ($38.25 AUD) from outside the airport (Uber is also a great and cheap option if you have access to the Internet). Our cab driver was wonderful and gave us a quick tour and information about the canal as we were crossing it. It was a relief to realise, despite the lack of sleep, our Spanish was still ok and I could understand almost everything he was saying to us. We were both relieved when we got to Lemon Inn ($28.35 USD/36.15 AUD) and there was someone there to let us in. We had booked a private room with shared bathroom and we were shown a room in the building next door to reception...the only problem was it had no working light. After a quick call to her manager she decided to move us to a different room which turned out to be an upgrade. We ended up in a nicer and bigger room with a private bathroom for both nights. Panama we’re liking you so far! Exhausted, we drank a cup of tea and then passed out for the night. As a major sufferer of jet lag I was pleasantly surprised that I made it through the night and woke up at a pretty acceptable 5.30am. We weren’t really sure what we wanted to do in Panama City but we felt a walking tour would be a great start. Having discovered that our adaptor had blown overnight we made it our priority to find a new one and then head to the old town for the walking tour. Getting to the old town was easy once we knew what we were doing. You can’t pay in cash on the bus so what we were advised to do was get someone to tap us on and then give them the 25c USD (30c AUD) fare. As it turned out, a really lovely gentleman swiped us both on and then refused to take our money. The bus took us to the fish market and from there it was a really easy walk to the old town. The walking tour was excellent and also turned out to be a private tour as it was down season. This meant that we had Diego all to ourselves and he was able to tailor the tour to us. We learnt a lot about Panama and about the canal and if you only have a day in this city I would recommend this tour. Diego even helped us get back to the hostel by sharing a cab with us. We were eager to get out of the city but were unsure about how long we wanted to stay in Panama. We knew that Bocas Del Toro was where we wanted to end up but weren’t sure if we wanted to add another destination. We decided that as Boquete in the mountains is a day journey away we would do that and then finish up in Bocas. This involved catching an Uber to the Albrook Bus Station and then getting on a bus to David ($15.25 USD/19.45 AUD). One thing to note is that you do have to use a metro card to exit the bus station. If you do not have one of these just explain the situation to the guard and they will help you find someone to tap you through who you can give your 25c to. The bus to David is pretty straightforward. It took us 6 hours to get there and once we arrived at the bus station, it was an easy transition to the Boquete bus (just look for the yellow American style school bus, $2 USD/2.60 AUD). We arrived into Boquete in the early evening and went about trying to find a guesthouse. After checking out a few that were way above budget we stumbled across Palacios Hostel on the main square. We were welcomed by a nice man who spoke a little English and after promising a hot shower and “goooood WiFi” we settled on the room for $10 USD ($26.25 AUD for a triple room). Given the fact that it was pretty late, he seemed a little overly-energised and in hindsight he was most likely as high as a kite, but the room was decent and the rabbits in the garden were a definite plus. Boquete has been described as a town full of expat Americans but it certainly didn’t have that feel. Other than the occasional foreign accent and a supermarket stocked full of “gringo” products it was a very authentic feeling place. There are some great hikes around and are easily got to without an expensive trip (offered by tourist agencies). We chose to do the pipeline trail and catch a collectivo to the entrance. This cost $2 USD ($2.60 AUD) and the entrance fee was $3 USD ($3.80 AUD). From here, it’s a steady climb up to a little waterfall. There are chances of seeing the rare Quezal bird but we didn’t have any luck (we heard going early in the morning is your best bet). We were ready to get going to Bocas Del Toro and had to seriously weigh up taking the $30 USD ($38.20 AUD) shuttle to get there with no hassle. After a little research though this proved to be twice the cost of the local way, so it was back on the school bus to David ($1.75 USD/2.25 AUD…and no, we’re not sure why it was cheaper this way either) then on another bus to Almirante ($11 USD/14 AUD). We were also asked on the bus if we wanted to buy water taxi vouchers to get to Bocas. This turned out to be a great deal as we were dropped at the exact port stop and only cost $5 USD ($6.35 AUD). This was another seamless transition and was all going swimmingly…until a protest was blocking the road. Now both Dani and I have functional Spanish but this did not extend to understanding what was going on or what we were expected to do. We were quickly kicked off our bus and with gestures, were shown we needed to cross the line of protesters (what all travel advice sources tell you not to do)! This actually turned out to be fine and waiting on the other side was another bus to carry on our journey. At Almirante, there was a taxi waiting to take us to our water taxi and the deal was $1 USD ($1.25 AUD) per person no matter how many people you had. Within 15 minutes we were off to Bocas Town. Bocas Town was not quite the island paradise either of us had in mind and in hindsight we should have headed out to one of the outer islands like Bastimentos…but hindsight is a wonderful thing! We headed off the main drag and found Hosteluego, which offered us a private room with air con for $25 USD ($31.85 AUD) and it turned out to have a great sunset viewing point on the rooftop deck. Back on the main drag we stumbled across a lovely cantina to eat at, that had good meals (read rice and beans) for around $2.50 USD ($3.20 AUD) a plate. Having discussed the options of what to do the next day we decided to head up to Playa Bluff where we had been told we could see quite a few monkeys. We went to the local information centre and booked a tour for the following day and went to sit at the bus stop with our timetable. It turned out to be a pretty useless venture as almost 45 minutes after the scheduled departure the bus still hadn’t arrived. Luckily for us there was an Australian couple also waiting who were willing to share a taxi ($15 USD/19.10 AUD), which only worked out mildly more expensive than the bus ($3 USD/3.80 AUD) each. The beach was beautiful, but there were no monkeys to be seen, so after a couple of hours sitting and chatting to our new friends we headed back to Bocas Town. We were lucky enough to catch the bus back to town even though we were technically 15 minutes late. The tour we had booked for our final day on Bocas cost us $30 USD ($38.20 AUD) and had a wide range of activities. It took us dolphin watching, snorkelling, and wildlife spotting on Sloth Island (guess what you see there) as well as an opportunity for a walk/swim on Islas Zapatillas, which is a stunning uninhabited tropical paradise. We felt that the trip was well worth it for the cost and we had a great day. Budget Time $$$We came into Central America in the full knowledge that our first two destination countries of Panama and Costa Rica were going to be expensive compared to the rest of the continent. In Panama, this is mainly due to the fact that their currency is the USD and this almost always means inflated prices. Having said that, it wasn’t as expensive as it could have been. Obviously, this required us to only take local transport, eat at local places (of which there were plenty in both Boquete and Bocas) and stay in pretty basic accommodation, but none of this felt in any way difficult anywhere in Panama. The average cost of accommodation for the two of us was about $20-25/night and meals cost about $3/4 per person. Local transport from city to city was a bit more expensive than we had expected, the average seemed to be about $3-4/hour for a longer distance journey, but this was significantly less expensive (if also significantly longer and more complicated) than the shuttles offered around the country! Some of the tours offered in Boquete and Bocas were pretty expensive but it definitely pays to shop around. It’s worth giving some serious consideration to what you really want to do in a particular area in terms of what you want to see and experience (especially if you are travelling extensively in Central America as a lot of the flora and fauna is pretty similar in other countries and can be explored much more extensively for significantly less money). There are also a lot of free walks/treks and unguided explorations that can be exploited in lieu of pricier day trips and tours. What it cost: 10 Days= $539 for 2 people Accommodation: $244.91 Transport: $210.83 Entertainment: $95.76 Food: $91.04 Drinks: $30.41 Miscellaneous: $20.99 Souvenirs: $13.12 Daily spend: $27.08 USD per person LGBT:We faced no problems in Panama as a couple. We had no problems getting double rooms and there were no uncomfortable conversations. Panama is even looking in to legalising same sex marriage and has gained support from not only the vice president but also the Catholic Church who have said they will not oppose changes to civil law. However on trans rights and other LGBT rights Panama is still lagging behind. There are no protections against discrimination and transpeople still require surgery to legally match their documentation to their gender.
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