me encanta

i'm in love with antigua. put it at the top of your list of travel destinations! it has that spanish colonial charm- cobblestone streets... , mayan indigenous culture (7 out of 8 of all of the indigenous people of central america live in guatemala)- everywhere mayan people walk the streets in their traditional clothing and carry huge loads on their heads, latin american culture- espanol, musica, salsa, ... it's so modern and developed- diverse food, cute cafes and shops everywhere... , yet at every turn there are ruins and buildings have their original architecture and structure, plus there are volcanos and lush green mountains as scenery. me encanta mucho!

yesterday was my first day of spanish class. it was intense. my mind feels like mush. because it is off season and there are not that many students i have a private tutor instead of group classes. three hours straight of non-stop spanish. i feel tonta or stupid and i get tongue tied trying to pronounce spanish words. there is so much for me to learn! plus i have mucha tarea or homework and lots of school activities and i'm taking a salsa dance class. i was exhausted yesterday. i went to sleep at 9 pm! mi horario or schedule: i have breakfast with my host family at 7 amish, class at 8 am, done with class at 11 am, today i did my homework until 1 pm, at 1 pm i have lunch with my host family, today at 2pm we hiked this hill that overlooks all of antigua, after i got helado or ice cream with my classmates and then we had an hour of salsa class, now i'm emailing and i have dinner in 10 minutes, at 8:30 there is this student outing ( that{s why i had to do my homework earlier) and then i still havemore to study and sleep... the days are so full and i love it!

my host family is so full of life. they are always cracking jokes. there are more people in the house than i originally thought. there are 4 students including me. one from belgium, one from denmark, and one from oregon. it's hard not to speak english because we all speak it and our levels of spanish are so different. there is so much to get to know about each other so we end up speaking english. (so much for immersion because it's the same deal with the other students at the school. we all speak english to each other but we're going to try to stop) anyways, mi casa... my family is actually a grandmother, her daughter, her son and their 3 kids. in addition, there is a guatemalan architecture student who lives in the house, and during the day the house doubles as a tour agency and the tour worker is practically part of the family, as is a local police officer. they are all in the house! the house, like most others, has an open patio in the middle of it. it's completely open. all the homes and stores are connected. they all share walls, so the middle of most stores and buildings are open. and antigua is cold! the altitude is so high that i have two wool blankets at night.

my classmates are fun. there is this guy from nueva york, and this girl from boston that i always hang out with at breaks. we all started classes together on monday...

i have so much more to tell you, ( salsa class, people, culture, ) but it's time for dinner. i really wish you could be here. or i could show you my pictures... i will write more soon. i'm having the time of my life!

"not all who wander are lost..."

chinita

*warning_ my keyboard isn't working properly.

i left costa rica today. i just arrived in guatemala. my real spanish adventures are just beginning. i start spanish classes tomorrow! i am staying with a host family of 5, including 3 kids. they are also hosting 3 other students in their home. i only met one girl from oregon and she has been staying with my family for one month. my family pretty much took my bags, showed me to my closet size room *this other girl's room is twice the size of mine* boo hiss* and gave me a key. sweet, but i'm on my own. they cook me meals from monday to saturday, and since today is sunday i ate at a cafe/bookstore/restaurant around the corner. it was candle lit with an outdoor patio and live musica... maravillosa.

i was nervous about guatemala because of all the danger warnings, but guatemala is more than i expected. very developed, beautiful, hilly, green, clean,... antigua is charming and colonial, so much character with every turn. i love it already... i'm going to really try and not speak english unless i absolutely have to. i've been looking up words like crazy on my electronic dictionary...

comico- i can't pronounce post office correctly. la palabra es correo. cor-rey-o... i say kor-E-o... basically korean. which must be funny for the spanish speakers since my official name in latin america is chinita! chinita, chinita, chinita.... it's okay because they call otro personas blanquita, gordita,... whitie and fatty...

love,
chinita morena

jane of the jungle

we decided to take a tour of the bribri indigenous/indian reservation near puerto viejo. the tour included a hike to this waterfall. on the way you can see the panama jungle. in order to get to the waterfall we went off-roading, crossing two rivers by car, and taking these obscure paths. we finally parked the car and our tour guides strips to his shorts, no shoes, no shirt. that should have been a hint for what was to come. we had to hike the rest of the journey. we had to cross two more rivers by foot and my hiking shoes would not do. he told me to take them off. luckily, i brought slippers with me, but those wouldn´t do either in the water. so barefoot, i hiked through the jungle! it was worth it as we got to this amazing waterfall and pool. and i hiked barefoot back through the jungle. note to self- watershoes and teva looking shoes are cool!

after, we went to an iguana farm. there were more iguanas than i´ve ever needed to see.

also, the next day we biked 14 km to punta uva. another great beach with no waves and is perfect for swimming and floating. can you ever get tired of the beach and relaxing? i´m ready for antigua... i fly out of costa rica tomorrow... pura vida!

motor-scooter diaries

we rented a motor scooter our last full day in puerto viejo. we took it to manzanillo about 30 km south of puerto viejo. it was a hilarious ride. neither of us had ever driven a scooter/motorcycle and you could tell. debbie was the driver and i was che guevara! ha ha... we had these funny helmets like the ones that mental patients need to protect their heads. we were going so slow because parts of the road are rocky and bumpy. wind in our hair, bumping helmets and bugs on our sunglasses... it was tons of fun! on the way through the jungle, we saw howler monkeys and their babies. when the road completely ended we were in manzanillo. there are beautiful beaches and coral reefs all along the carribean side of costa rica, but manzanillo felt untouched. we went snorkling and there were crazy fish everywhere! even close to the shore, in 6 inches of water, you could see schools of those yellow and black fish, these long skinny fishies ( don't know what they are called), and coral.

tico buses

the buses in costa rica have been impressive. i thought they would be like the rickety chicken buses (old us school buses) i took in nicaragua, but they are more like charter buses. the bus ride i took today from puerto viejo to san jose was crazy. it took forever... first, we were stopped by the tico policia who made us all get off the bus, had to thoroughly search the bus and our belongings and check all passenger id. an hour later, we stop the bus again because traffic isn´t moving because a semi went off the small road and was blocking traffic. we had to wait for it to be towed. finally things are going well for a few hours, until the bus emergency alarm goes off... i don´t know what happened- we either ran out of gas or over-heated. we had to wait for two other buses to take us the rest of the way to san jose. it took us 6 hours!

not malaria

it´s true what they write in the travel books about people staying longer than expected in puerto viejo. the town is very relaxing and there is so much to do. people don´t want to leave. debbie and i were suppose to see all the turtles laying their eggs in tortuguero on thursday ( it´s turtle egg-laying season!), but i got sick. so sick, i was scared i might have dengue fever or malaria... i was throwing up, on the toilet, had a fever and chills (crazy since it´s so hot here). i saw a local doctor who told me that i didn´t have malaria and probably not dengue fever. whew! he basically prescribed me pedialyte, immodium and some anti-vomiting pills. i feel better now, but sometimes food makes me a little quesy. that´s what i get for joking around about parasites being positive for helping weight loss!

puerto viejo

i met my friend debbie at the aeropuerto yesterday... it's so good to see someone familiar. she brought me gossip magazines and more insect repellent!! we traveled 5 hours to puerto viejo, on the carribean side of costa rica, really close to panama. we are having wonderful carribean food and the beach is beautiful. it's so much more colorful on this side and there are black people (there are no black people in the rest of costa rica). people speak less spanish and instead some carribean dialect, and reggae is always playing. i rented an old school bike today and have been biking all around puerto viejo today. we're going on this tour of a indigeneous reservation, iguana farm and waterfall tomorrow.

good people

here are some stories about the great people i have met so far...

some stories were left out before because i wasn´t sure if my parents were reading my blog... :)

i have met some really nice people during my travels. they have been so helpful and kind. i started my trip to centro america meeting a young woman named beth. she´s from texas but was visiting her father in managua. she was so concerned for me because we were going to be landing in managua at midnight and nobody was picking me up at the aeropuerto. she and another woman warned me that taxis are not that safe because anyone can have a taxi in nicaragua. they freaked me out with their concerns and warnings. here i was starting off my trip trying to feel confident and they confirmed some of my fears. she offered to see if her padre could drive me to a hotel for the night so i wouldn´t have to take a taxi. when we got to the airport and i met her dad he insisted i stay at their house. what? they seemed like genuinely nice people, but all the rules say not to trust strangers. but my instincts told me it was safe and probably my best option as he also offered to drive me to my bus terminal the next day... they took me to their beautiful house and i tried sleeping on their couch. i woke up the next morning to the maid who made me gallo pinto y huevos. when we parted ways beth gave me a bible. did i tell you there are a lot of missionaries that go to nicaragua?

david was my nica bus escort. who helped me not get hustled by the taxi and ferry drivers along my way from managua to ometepe. he also hiked around the island in circles with me trying to find serena´s house... my directions were- la casa de serena atras del estadio de futbol. serena´s house is near the soccar field. there is more than one field. i ended up hiking through barbed wire and corn fields to finally find her house.

jersey peeps... recently, in playa samara i was starting to get antsy. i thought samara was what i needed,rural and peaceful, but it ended up being too small of a town. i would try and go out and walk around town and i would be done in 10 minutes. playa samara is a place you go to lay out on the beach, solamente. because my travel book is a central america book covering every country, the blurb on samara was so brief. i asked this couple on the beach, that were each reading costa rica travel guide books, if i could take a look at one because i didn´t know what there was to do in this town. they felt the exact same way. they invited me to dinner with their friends that night. nicolea (nick), carla (born in venezuela), meg and carlos (born in argentina) are from jersey and are such fun. they have great stories to tell.

we all decided to stay the following day in the neighboring town called playa carillo to check out something new. we found hotel rooms, went to the beach where they taught me how to dive under waves instead of letting them crash on me, and had a fabulous dinner at this argentine couple´s restaurant. best food. we ate great meat, had dessert and coffee, drank wine and closed the place down. i took the bus to san jose with meg and carlos today.

motion sickness

i took a 4 am autobus from playa carillo to alejuela, the town the airport is in (even though the airport is called san jose). 4 am! it was better to leave early because public transportation tends to get crowded, hot and people have to stand on the bus. i had to hike with my pack to get to the main road in playa carillo to flag down the bus. the bus was actually really nice, like a charter bus, but the trip was 4 hours long and i get car sick. so even with my motion sickness wrist bands and my late attempt to take dramamine, i puked on the bus! so gross especially since i had one of the best dinners the night before- argentine ojo de bife (rib eye), papas fritas, ensalada y mucho vino. gross! but thank goodness i was prepared. i had read somewhere that ziplock baggies are the most useful things on a trip and are great for an experience like mine on the bus. so i just puked into a ziplock baggie and endured the disgusted and sympathetic stares. i felt better after and slept the rest of the bus ride.

it´s raining, it´s pouring

i was walking along the beautiful beach about a mile from my hotel (my hotel is on the beach)and then i got rained on, big time with no place to take cover... soaking wet! but it was warm and beautiful and the perfect time to go swimming. but because of the rain and the sun setting so early, i read and write a lot... i´ve finished harry potter, kite runner, and i´ll be done with the handmaid´s tale soon. i need more books! they have a book exchange program (weird traveler needs) in samara but i will be leaving soon. my old coworker debbie will be meeting up with me in costa rica and we will be traveling the carribean side of costa rica. i´m asking her for more books... read kite runner, it´s painfully good.

costa rica

i left nicaragua yesterday... i wanted to fly out the day before, but the flights to costa rica were booked. so i stayed at this nice hotel next to the airport. it was the first time i´ve taken a hot shower since leaving! and they have a nice pool. i had to justify spending 70 bucks on a hotel room which is equivalent to how much i´ve spent total before that. i´m staying on budget. i eat for like 2 dollars and drinks are like 50 cents!

now i´m in costa rica. when i first arrived i was bummed because it was gloomy and raining hard. i was a afraid my whole trip (12 days) would be like that, but i arrived in playa samara today and it barely rained. the beach is beautiful. the town is very quaint... just what i wanted. i think i´m going to pass on jaco and go to the beach next to it. i hear bad things about jaco. it´s a party town filled with what they call "wanted/unwanted" americans, prostitutes and drug dealers. who knows, maybe i´ll stay in playa samara... wandering is fun...

cumpleanos

feliz cumpleanos... to savier, a local boy who turned 9. he is so cute and sweet. we went to his birthday party. he had a pinata and as part of the game you have to dance while blindfolded between hitting the pinata. the pinata was a purple teletubbie thing. we got him this spiderman backpack, cap, notebooks, stickers and candy as a birthday gift. we also gave all the little kids sticks and candy. it was a great experience to feel like a part of the town. the woman i am staying with, serena, has been coming to ometepe for about 10 years and everyone knows her. serena, vickie, raheema and david have been great travel companions!

random... nica tacos are fried rolled tacos, sorta like san diego style but they put ketchup on them!

i´m going to try to switch my flight to costa rica for tomorrow.... adio nicaragua... (nicaraguans shorten their words, like southern drawl) yo soy triste to leave this great pais.

granada

took the 2. 5 hour trip to granada. i was really looking forward to staying the night... but when we got there i was ready to go back to ometepe. granada has a colonial city vibe and is one of or is THE oldest city in all of central america... it has this parque central and mercado and there was this festival/parade that was going to be popping, but it reminded me of a colonial revolucion in tj. too loud, too much going on... i missed ometepe... the cows, horses, chicken, ... peacefull vibe. it´s like the barrio in the pi. so we came back here and i will finish reading harry potter!

escuela

i had the best time this morning visiting the local school in our town of moyogalpa. the students are learning english and they had a singing contest that we got tho judge. it was so fun... they were singing one of olivia, johanna and my fave songs, backstreet boys- i want it that way! :) other songs included i just called to say i love you (stevie), eternal flame (bangles), right here waiting (richard marx), a guns and roses song, i´m still in love (sean paul)... the students were so cute! we helped them with their pronunciation and then WE performed for all the children. ha ha. what a sight.

i think tomorrow i will be going to granada, but there is still so much i want to do here on this island.

sleepless night

last night was a tough, roughing it kind of experience. the city girl came out : ) there are bugs, lots of them. and they would land on my face while i was trying to sleep. plus, you hear all of them wanting to mess with you... i turned on the light to find one of those huge stick/twig looking bugs on my bed, a flying cockroach and this other huge moth/bee like thing in the room... for those of you who do not like bugs, like spiders, or other animals like geckos or mice, you would freak out! i think i've been good at roughing it, but last night i had to switch rooms and i did a little shrieking when they would fly on my face. besides that, it's good times. i only have one spider bite, and i got two mosquito bites this morning. not bad, ehh? i'm going to buy a mosquito net today...

nicaragua

sorry i can't post as much as i want to. internet is sooo slow. i am having an amazing time! so many great experiences... yesterday david and i tried to go to a part of isla ometepe called playa santo domingo, known for it´s beautiful beaches... we took bikes (fyi- the last time i went biking was when i owned a yellow huffy with a banana-boat seat) and hitched (yes, hitched) a ride in the back of this old military truck full of sawdust, camoflauge in color and the cab had a tank like opening in it´s roof. post-sandinistas or contra? i know, hitch-hiking is not safe but this island is very rural and everyone is friendly and helpful. well on the hour ride through rough roads our truck ran out of gas and had to back up down the hill! david and i stayed the night where the truck broke down and we went to the beach. very warm water. i´m talking 80 degrees. and on both sides of the beach are the two volcanos on the island- concepcion y madera. concepcion erupted the day before i arrived on the island! (one reason i was warned durng my travels)

we also hiked through a field of banana trees to get to the most gorgeous spot called ojo de agua. it's this pool of fresh water hidden in the forest. so clear and warm and so refreshing after our bike ride and hike. it was magical. you can float on your back and look into the trees...

yesterday, i also rode a horse to this place called punta jesus maria. it's a tiny isthmus off the island. you can walk down it as it disappears into the water and you appear to be walking on water. the waves crash on both sides of you! i wish i could show you pictures to better explain.

randoms- i´ve seen vultures, large frogs, i watch fireflies put on a light show as the sun sets and night falls, i have fallen asleep on hammocks, read, eaten amazing comida- pescado, gallo pinto, ... the popular beers here are victoria and toña... isla ometepe is located in lake nicaragua. it's one of the largest lakes! it's one of the few places in the world that has fresh water sharks and the first lake with waves i've swam in.

arrival

hola! i am in nicaragua at isla ometepe. getting here was quite a journey. i wanted adventure, new experiences, challenges... i have some stories to tell!

my flight was delayed for a few hours in houston because of rain. during the extra time i met a few of the other people on my flight. they scared me with their concern for my well-being because i was traveling alone and we were going to be arriving into nicaragua at midnight.

but i arrived safely and have had quite the adventure getting here and getting to this island. i will fill you in soon...

ready?

i am almost finished packing... well, i'm working with just my travel backpack so there isn't much space to fill. it's just making sure i don't overpack, yet don't foget anything i will need for the next 10 weeks.
i don't think i have ever been so prepared for a trip before. compression bags to make my stuff take up less space, first aid kit, ziplock baggies and cable ties for who knows what, every type of travel lock and spanish resource.
i'm sort of taking my time because i can. not good, because i should sleep soon. usually i would pull an all-nighter because i procrastinate and so i can sleep on the plane, but i want to read my travel and spanish book during the flight.

so my flight is at 9:40 ish today and i fly from san diego to houston, have a 3 hour layover, and arrive in managua at 9pmish. i don't have a hotel booked for the night, but it shouldn't be a problem. then tomorrow i take a taxi to the mercado where i can shop and find my bus that will take me to a ferry to la isla ometepe to meet up with david and his friends. one of them owns a house on the lake. there are volcanos and ancient petroglyphs (from my book) to explore on the island. i'll be happy to just start reading a new book and eat some good comida.

FUNNY, i realized some of the random things i will miss... that new inxs rockstar show- so good. some of the performers are so talented! and tabloid gossip... i just discovered daily dish and the new vanity fair comes out after i leave and i wanted to read the interview of jennifer aniston. I'M SO BAD! :)

my itinerary

i finally have most of the details of my trip figured out. good thing, because i leave on monday! i'm nervous, stressed and excited. i took my first anti-malaria pill today...

Aug 8-16 Nicaragua- Isla Ometepe
Aug 16-28 Costa Rica- Jaco and the Caribbean Coast
Aug 28-Sep13 Guatemala- Antigua, Lake Atitlan, Tikal Ruins
Sep 13-Oct 2ish Belize- San Ignacio, Caye Caulker and Ambergis Caye
Oct 2-Oct 17 Yucatan Mexico- Cancun, Merida, Isla Mujeres

come for a visit!!