We are home. When last seen the boat was floating peacefully on a mooring in a river in El Salvador. Hopefully it will be in the same place, safe and sound, when we go back next Spring to continue our southbound trip.
We got a great flight back from El Salvador on TACA airlines. TACA still serves free cocktails and dinner to all of its passengers, has good size seats in the economy section, and they apparently give extra points for being good looking when they hire the stewards and stewardesses. Just the way it used to be.
For now it is cold weather (actually it is 75 degrees and sunny here so not too cold), taxes, golf, and old friends for the winter months. Sounds good to us.
We had a specatacular time over the past three months sailing from Puerto Vallarta, along the southern coast of Mexico, through Guatemala and into El Salvador. We got to anchor, swim and snorkel on exotic beaches and in remote anchorages, we played with dolphins, we caught fresh tuna, we made quantities of boat drinks, we sampled at least 20 different brands of Mexican, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, and Honduran beers, we spent dollars, pesos, quetzales, and lempiras on our trip, we hung out with sailors from all over the world (though mostly Canadians and Americans), we read a LOT of books, we got tan (and a little thinner, I think), we took wild bus rides, we shopped strange marketplaces, we ate pupusas and tacos and fajitas and ceviche, and we generally "cruised". The current definition of "cruising" is "making boat repairs in exotic locations". Yep, done that. Done a lot of that. But very best of all.... we think that the best sailing and the best beaches and the best adventures are still ahead of us, and we will be back on the boat in May to find out.
January 15, 2009
January 13, 2009
Never Leave the Boat
I’ve thrown a lot of stuff into this e-mail, but the past weeks have had some strange and entertaining glimpses of Central America . Hopefully you will be entertained also.
We are still traveling by bus through Central America . The visa we received when we arrived in El Salvador covers the four original Central American countries of El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras and Nicaragua . Belize was a British territory and Panama was a part of Columbia so they were termed Central America at a later date. We will sail on to Nicaragua next spring and Belize will have to wait until we sail north from the Canal on the Caribbean side. This venture is taking us from Guatemala to Honduras to visit the large Mayan ruins at Copan . It is a long trip to Copan , but we figured if there are going to be ancient ruins anywhere they are going to be a little off the beaten path.
Almost all of the shuttle buses leave Antigua , Guatemala for the 5 hour trip to Copan , Honduras at 4 AM . Too early for Andrea who dug her heels in and insisted there must be a better schedule. So we shopped all of the travel services in town until we found a 1 PM bus. Even better… the bus was ½ the price of the other shuttles. Is that great? A promotion they said. And what do we all know about “if it seems too good to be true?”
We ended up in a beater van set up for 15 passengers (which is all we had if you didn’t need a driver, which we did), top speed 40 mph, and which finally left Antigua at 3PM (but not before all 15 passengers PLUS the driver PLUS the travel agent crammed into the van for a ride to the gas station and then right back to the office. Seems the travel agent had to load us in before she could collect the money for the gas and then she had to go with us rather than giving the money to the driver). 16 people in a van for a 5 hour trip is a very tight squeeze. Our scheduled arrival in Copan was 6 PM . We pulled in around 9:30 .
Along the way we had plenty of uncomfortable time to reflect on our choice of transportation. I was reminded of the gunner on the Mekong River gunboat in the movie "Apocalypse Now" who ventured into the jungle, got spooked by a noise, shot up the trees as he sprinted back to the boat, and then uttered the classic line “never leave the boat”.
But, no, that doesn’t tell it all. We had a reservation at a Copan hotel. We don’t usually travel with reservations, but we knew our arrival would be after dark and we were traveling during the holidays. Why not plan ahead. Of course when we were 3 hours late the hotel gave up the room. No, no other rooms available. No, all the other hotels are full. No, you should have taken the 4 AM van like everyone else.
We did find a friendly Honduran who said he knew of an inexpensive room. So we followed him out into the night, along the cobblestone streets, past the cobblestone streets, up the dirt streets and over the hill to the edge of town where he knocked on a small door set in a single story concrete wall. Inside was a very crude home of grey concrete. We walked past the living room, through the kitchen and out the back door to find four concrete rooms for rent. On the plus side the rooms were nicely decorated, had soft beds and clean bathrooms and suicide showers. By now it was 11 PM so we breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door.
The Copan ruins were worth (almost) all of the hassle. We saw the ancient Mayan temples, royal ball courts, houses and statues built by a society that occupied the Copan valley for over 2000 years and then disappeared in the 12th century leaving no clues as to why they would abandon a populous village or where they went. Three hundred years later the Spaniards wandered by and noted the works of an advanced civilization lost in the jungle, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that a real exploration began. Some of the most remarkable structures have only been uncovered in the past 30 years as they uncover layer upon layer of building. Each new royal family would simply build on top of the previous structures creating pyramids in the jungles that are now being uncovered from the top down or explored through deep tunnels.
We also had one of our more memorable meals in Copan , memorable because of the waitresses. We found a pleasant bar with a restaurant specializing in meats cooked over open fires. We ordered a couple of beers and were trying to work our way through the menu when the waitress reappeared with my beer on her head. Through the course of the evening we watched as all of the beverages were served with at least one glass balanced on someone’s head. Milkshakes, juices, beers, margaritas, even appetizers were transported throughout the room and up the stairs with perfect balance. No trays, no special head gear, just bottles and glasses picked off the bar and placed topside center. Nothing was spilled. The waitresses might carry four or five drinks for a large table, but always at least one drink for each table moved across the room at a higher level. Amazing balance and very entertaining.
We took a much more pleasant van (which we shared with three goofy ladies from Great Britain ) for another 5 hour trip out of Honduras , through Guatemala and back to San Salvador . From there we needed to catch a local bus back to the boat so we headed over to the dirt field referred to in San Salvador as “the bus terminal”. Now I know I have told some bus stories over the past two years, but I have not yet referred to the buses as “chicken buses”. No matter what others call them I do not feel you can refer to your bus as a “chicken bus” unless you have actually been seated next to a live chicken on the bus.
We took the “chicken bus” back to Bahia del Sol (most exclusive resort in El Salvador ) and what a trip it was. The total distance was only 30 miles, but the experience took over two and a half hours. First we had to find the bus terminal. No problem, we had a map. The terminal however turned out to be a large dirt field where the buses started their routes and no one had any kind of printed schedule, price list, or ticket booth. Try to find your bus, climb on, and wait. If it’s a long wait you won’t get lonely because a steady line of food vendors will walk in the front door and out the back door… and they all want to see you. The bus moved along well but the route quickly left the main highway for a circuitous visit to a large number of small villages. The bus regularly pulled over at small intersections so more food vendors could come in the front and out the back, and we even had a surprise change of buses along the route. The bus was packed and, yes, Virginia , there were live chickens on board.
Another aspect of local bus travel in El Salvador is the presence of small groups of cows in the roads and the total disdain the drivers have for the cows and that the cows have for the buses. Apparently the best grass in El Salvador is immediately adjacent to the blacktop because that’s where the cows gather. Of course it could be that this is the free grass and if you are a poor vaquero why should you have to buy land to graze your cows when there is free grass along the road. We also noted that the vaqueros all rode bicycles. You can see that it would be difficult to herd cows on a bicycle if the cows were in fields, but if keep you cows on the roads riding your bicycle is much easier.
We survived this excursion. We recharged ourselves with $1 beers at “the most exclusive resort in El Salvador ”, and we are now preparing boat and selves for our trip home for the winter months. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip through Central America . We have ignored the inconveniences and we have put it all down to “experience”. A very good experience.
We are still traveling by bus through Central America . The visa we received when we arrived in El Salvador covers the four original Central American countries of El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras and Nicaragua . Belize was a British territory and Panama was a part of Columbia so they were termed Central America at a later date. We will sail on to Nicaragua next spring and Belize will have to wait until we sail north from the Canal on the Caribbean side. This venture is taking us from Guatemala to Honduras to visit the large Mayan ruins at Copan . It is a long trip to Copan , but we figured if there are going to be ancient ruins anywhere they are going to be a little off the beaten path.
Almost all of the shuttle buses leave Antigua , Guatemala for the 5 hour trip to Copan , Honduras at 4 AM . Too early for Andrea who dug her heels in and insisted there must be a better schedule. So we shopped all of the travel services in town until we found a 1 PM bus. Even better… the bus was ½ the price of the other shuttles. Is that great? A promotion they said. And what do we all know about “if it seems too good to be true?”
We ended up in a beater van set up for 15 passengers (which is all we had if you didn’t need a driver, which we did), top speed 40 mph, and which finally left Antigua at 3PM (but not before all 15 passengers PLUS the driver PLUS the travel agent crammed into the van for a ride to the gas station and then right back to the office. Seems the travel agent had to load us in before she could collect the money for the gas and then she had to go with us rather than giving the money to the driver). 16 people in a van for a 5 hour trip is a very tight squeeze. Our scheduled arrival in Copan was 6 PM . We pulled in around 9:30 .
Along the way we had plenty of uncomfortable time to reflect on our choice of transportation. I was reminded of the gunner on the Mekong River gunboat in the movie "Apocalypse Now" who ventured into the jungle, got spooked by a noise, shot up the trees as he sprinted back to the boat, and then uttered the classic line “never leave the boat”.
But, no, that doesn’t tell it all. We had a reservation at a Copan hotel. We don’t usually travel with reservations, but we knew our arrival would be after dark and we were traveling during the holidays. Why not plan ahead. Of course when we were 3 hours late the hotel gave up the room. No, no other rooms available. No, all the other hotels are full. No, you should have taken the 4 AM van like everyone else.
We did find a friendly Honduran who said he knew of an inexpensive room. So we followed him out into the night, along the cobblestone streets, past the cobblestone streets, up the dirt streets and over the hill to the edge of town where he knocked on a small door set in a single story concrete wall. Inside was a very crude home of grey concrete. We walked past the living room, through the kitchen and out the back door to find four concrete rooms for rent. On the plus side the rooms were nicely decorated, had soft beds and clean bathrooms and suicide showers. By now it was 11 PM so we breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door.
The Copan ruins were worth (almost) all of the hassle. We saw the ancient Mayan temples, royal ball courts, houses and statues built by a society that occupied the Copan valley for over 2000 years and then disappeared in the 12th century leaving no clues as to why they would abandon a populous village or where they went. Three hundred years later the Spaniards wandered by and noted the works of an advanced civilization lost in the jungle, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that a real exploration began. Some of the most remarkable structures have only been uncovered in the past 30 years as they uncover layer upon layer of building. Each new royal family would simply build on top of the previous structures creating pyramids in the jungles that are now being uncovered from the top down or explored through deep tunnels.
We also had one of our more memorable meals in Copan , memorable because of the waitresses. We found a pleasant bar with a restaurant specializing in meats cooked over open fires. We ordered a couple of beers and were trying to work our way through the menu when the waitress reappeared with my beer on her head. Through the course of the evening we watched as all of the beverages were served with at least one glass balanced on someone’s head. Milkshakes, juices, beers, margaritas, even appetizers were transported throughout the room and up the stairs with perfect balance. No trays, no special head gear, just bottles and glasses picked off the bar and placed topside center. Nothing was spilled. The waitresses might carry four or five drinks for a large table, but always at least one drink for each table moved across the room at a higher level. Amazing balance and very entertaining.
We took a much more pleasant van (which we shared with three goofy ladies from Great Britain ) for another 5 hour trip out of Honduras , through Guatemala and back to San Salvador . From there we needed to catch a local bus back to the boat so we headed over to the dirt field referred to in San Salvador as “the bus terminal”. Now I know I have told some bus stories over the past two years, but I have not yet referred to the buses as “chicken buses”. No matter what others call them I do not feel you can refer to your bus as a “chicken bus” unless you have actually been seated next to a live chicken on the bus.
We took the “chicken bus” back to Bahia del Sol (most exclusive resort in El Salvador ) and what a trip it was. The total distance was only 30 miles, but the experience took over two and a half hours. First we had to find the bus terminal. No problem, we had a map. The terminal however turned out to be a large dirt field where the buses started their routes and no one had any kind of printed schedule, price list, or ticket booth. Try to find your bus, climb on, and wait. If it’s a long wait you won’t get lonely because a steady line of food vendors will walk in the front door and out the back door… and they all want to see you. The bus moved along well but the route quickly left the main highway for a circuitous visit to a large number of small villages. The bus regularly pulled over at small intersections so more food vendors could come in the front and out the back, and we even had a surprise change of buses along the route. The bus was packed and, yes, Virginia , there were live chickens on board.
Another aspect of local bus travel in El Salvador is the presence of small groups of cows in the roads and the total disdain the drivers have for the cows and that the cows have for the buses. Apparently the best grass in El Salvador is immediately adjacent to the blacktop because that’s where the cows gather. Of course it could be that this is the free grass and if you are a poor vaquero why should you have to buy land to graze your cows when there is free grass along the road. We also noted that the vaqueros all rode bicycles. You can see that it would be difficult to herd cows on a bicycle if the cows were in fields, but if keep you cows on the roads riding your bicycle is much easier.
We survived this excursion. We recharged ourselves with $1 beers at “the most exclusive resort in El Salvador ”, and we are now preparing boat and selves for our trip home for the winter months. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip through Central America . We have ignored the inconveniences and we have put it all down to “experience”. A very good experience.
January 3, 2009
New Year's in Guatemala
Originally we had planned to leave the boat in Barillas at the end of an extensive river estuary in El Salvador while we returned to the US to work for the winter, but we were enjoying Bahia del Sol so much that we were waffling on those plans. We did sail the 35 miles south to spend Christmas in Barillas in the company of a half dozen boats that we had met at various stops on our cruise south, and we all enjoyed a pot luck Xmas dinner in the jungle, but finally we decided to return to Bahia del Sol. We will spend some time traveling in El Salvador and Guatamala before we put the boat to bed for the winter. In El Salvador December to April is referred to as summer even though we are still in the northern hemisphere. The rainy season from May to September is referred to as winter.
While in Barillas we got to visit the town of Usulutan which was a 45 minute bus ride on unpaved roads to a fairly large town with an outdoor market that seemed to specialize in “Chicken in a Basket”. Apparently with little refrigeration available the best way to insure fresh chicken is to buy it live and squawking. As many as twenty chickens and turkeys were stuffed into large baskets with nets over the top and displayed for sale at the market. The old ladies were happy to grab a chicken by the feet and pick through the feathers to show you the plumpest parts of the poor fowl. Pick your favorite and take it home for either dinner or as a new pet.
We returned to Bahia Del Sol shortly after Christmas and then left the boat for a week of travel by bus through El Salvador , Guatamala and Honduras . I should mention that both El Salvador and Guatamala were the sites of civil wars as late as 1997 and there are many, many guns in evidence. Here at the “most exclusive resort in El Salvador ” there are armed guards at all of the gates and armed security (shotguns or automatic weapons) wandering the fenced in grounds. In the city of San Salvador EVERY modern business had armed security at the doors (read Burger King, Radio Shack, Goodyear, Ace Hardware, all restaurants, hotels, bus stations, etc.) and it is considered part of the price of doing business. With that said we have seen absolutely no evidence of crime of any kind while we have been traveling, but we do get lots of warnings in the travel guides.
We rode to San Salvador in the back of a pickup truck and spent a day exploring the city on foot and visiting the anthropology museum to get some history of the country. This is a very poor country (about the size of Maryland ) and approximately 1/3 of all Salvadorans live in the US . Fully 30% of the Gross Domestic Product is money sent back from the US to relatives in El Salvador . We see dugout canoes fishing with nets along the river and we can hire someone to work on the boat for as little as $1 per hour.
From San Salvador we caught the $15 TICA bus for the 5 hour ride across the border to Guatemala City , and then we shared a cab for another 15 mile ride to the town of Antigua , Guatemala . Antigua is the old capital of Guatemala , and they have preserved much of the colonial village with cobblestone streets, buildings opening directly onto sidewalks, a beautiful parque centrale, and the ruins of many of the 38 churches that existed when Antigua was the capital.
I am including a picture of the McDonalds in Antigua because we thought that this has to be the prettiest McDonalds in the world and it reflected the ambience of the town. No golden arches here, just a small plaque on the wall, a rustic door, and inside a tiled restaurant (that I would have loved to own as a bar/restaurant) with an open courtyard for relaxing. The picture is the courtyard with Ron McD lounging peacefully.
Antigua is a destination for all of the tourists in Guatamala and caters to the backpackers, hikers, and volcano climbers from all over the world. Antigua is also filled with many artisans markets featuring homemade Guatemalan goods. It is almost impossible to describe the vivid rainbow of colors involved in these markets as the vendors display woven goods (tablecloths, scarves, shirts, dresses), ceramics, leather goods, wood products, etc. Most of the women were of Mayan descent and dressed in the traditional colorful wraps of the country. Bargaining was de rigeur and original asking prices dropped as much as 50% just for saying “no, gracias” to any offer.
We arrived in Antigua on New Year’s Eve, and it was appropriately crowded with young international travelers and Guatemalans out for the holiday. After exploring the town for most of the afternoon and into the evening we found a beautiful restaurant with a Latin American house band (La Pena de Sol Latino) and enjoyed one of the truly romantic dinners of our entire trip. We wandered through the streets waiting for the New Year’s celebration, and as we gathered near Los Arcos (overhead nun’s walk from cloister to church) we were reminded of the crowds gathering at Times Square with little room to walk, lots of gaiety, restaurants emptying into the streets, random fireworks, etc. At midnight a “2009” lit up in bright fireworks above the arches and then fireworks exploded all around us illuminating the skies with color. On the ground two enterprising celebrants had strapped on their backs large quantities of fireworks on a wooden frame and were dancing along shooting rockets into the air (and walls, and crowds, and trees). Fireworks continued for another hour over all parts of the town and there was even a boisterous (and well organized) explosion of firecrackers and noon the following day. A great New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Bienvenidos 2009!!
While in Barillas we got to visit the town of Usulutan which was a 45 minute bus ride on unpaved roads to a fairly large town with an outdoor market that seemed to specialize in “Chicken in a Basket”. Apparently with little refrigeration available the best way to insure fresh chicken is to buy it live and squawking. As many as twenty chickens and turkeys were stuffed into large baskets with nets over the top and displayed for sale at the market. The old ladies were happy to grab a chicken by the feet and pick through the feathers to show you the plumpest parts of the poor fowl. Pick your favorite and take it home for either dinner or as a new pet.
We returned to Bahia Del Sol shortly after Christmas and then left the boat for a week of travel by bus through El Salvador , Guatamala and Honduras . I should mention that both El Salvador and Guatamala were the sites of civil wars as late as 1997 and there are many, many guns in evidence. Here at the “most exclusive resort in El Salvador ” there are armed guards at all of the gates and armed security (shotguns or automatic weapons) wandering the fenced in grounds. In the city of San Salvador EVERY modern business had armed security at the doors (read Burger King, Radio Shack, Goodyear, Ace Hardware, all restaurants, hotels, bus stations, etc.) and it is considered part of the price of doing business. With that said we have seen absolutely no evidence of crime of any kind while we have been traveling, but we do get lots of warnings in the travel guides.
We rode to San Salvador in the back of a pickup truck and spent a day exploring the city on foot and visiting the anthropology museum to get some history of the country. This is a very poor country (about the size of Maryland ) and approximately 1/3 of all Salvadorans live in the US . Fully 30% of the Gross Domestic Product is money sent back from the US to relatives in El Salvador . We see dugout canoes fishing with nets along the river and we can hire someone to work on the boat for as little as $1 per hour.
From San Salvador we caught the $15 TICA bus for the 5 hour ride across the border to Guatemala City , and then we shared a cab for another 15 mile ride to the town of Antigua , Guatemala . Antigua is the old capital of Guatemala , and they have preserved much of the colonial village with cobblestone streets, buildings opening directly onto sidewalks, a beautiful parque centrale, and the ruins of many of the 38 churches that existed when Antigua was the capital.
I am including a picture of the McDonalds in Antigua because we thought that this has to be the prettiest McDonalds in the world and it reflected the ambience of the town. No golden arches here, just a small plaque on the wall, a rustic door, and inside a tiled restaurant (that I would have loved to own as a bar/restaurant) with an open courtyard for relaxing. The picture is the courtyard with Ron McD lounging peacefully.
Antigua is a destination for all of the tourists in Guatamala and caters to the backpackers, hikers, and volcano climbers from all over the world. Antigua is also filled with many artisans markets featuring homemade Guatemalan goods. It is almost impossible to describe the vivid rainbow of colors involved in these markets as the vendors display woven goods (tablecloths, scarves, shirts, dresses), ceramics, leather goods, wood products, etc. Most of the women were of Mayan descent and dressed in the traditional colorful wraps of the country. Bargaining was de rigeur and original asking prices dropped as much as 50% just for saying “no, gracias” to any offer.
We arrived in Antigua on New Year’s Eve, and it was appropriately crowded with young international travelers and Guatemalans out for the holiday. After exploring the town for most of the afternoon and into the evening we found a beautiful restaurant with a Latin American house band (La Pena de Sol Latino) and enjoyed one of the truly romantic dinners of our entire trip. We wandered through the streets waiting for the New Year’s celebration, and as we gathered near Los Arcos (overhead nun’s walk from cloister to church) we were reminded of the crowds gathering at Times Square with little room to walk, lots of gaiety, restaurants emptying into the streets, random fireworks, etc. At midnight a “2009” lit up in bright fireworks above the arches and then fireworks exploded all around us illuminating the skies with color. On the ground two enterprising celebrants had strapped on their backs large quantities of fireworks on a wooden frame and were dancing along shooting rockets into the air (and walls, and crowds, and trees). Fireworks continued for another hour over all parts of the town and there was even a boisterous (and well organized) explosion of firecrackers and noon the following day. A great New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Bienvenidos 2009!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)