Central and South America- and so it begins....
In and around World
So the time has finally come. One year of saving, planning, eating ramen noodles, and living way below our incomes has finally paid off. As we embark on this journey, even the first two months that we had "planned out", have changed no more than 2 days into the vacation- and we couldn´t be having more fun. Lyndi and I will be trading off writing blogs for our travels, so as lyndi sits behind me, studying for her rescue diver certification, I have the honor of writing the first blog for our travels, from a tiny room in an internet cafe on the small dive island of Utila, Honduras....
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler texas nomads
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1
Murphy´s Law
So for those of you not familiar with Murphy´s Law, it basically states that "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong". This seemed to be the theme... Continue reading » -
2
Utila, Part II, The Diving
So in the last episode, lyndi filled you in on the quaint little town of Utila, Honduras, with it's numerous dive shops, fun locals, and good place... Continue reading »
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3
Utila Part I, The Island
Lyndi: I'm not sure what changed, but I'm sure glad it did. Aaron and I had fully planned on beginning our trip on the big island off Hondura... Continue reading »
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4
Mayans and Machetes
After a marathon day of ferries, buses, and taxis, Aaron and I finally made it to Copan Ruinas near the Honduran border with Guatemala. The m... Continue reading »
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5
Thank God the Bus Ride is Over
If you are following this blog in order, you´ll know that when we last left our heroes - one quite sick and one a bit more wealthy - they were... Continue reading »
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6
Lakes, Hammocks, and Microbrews
So unlike Lyndi's horror story about the buses to Gracias, Honduras (which were true, BTW), we lucked out and had a very pleasant bus ride to Lake... Continue reading »
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7
Welcome to Guatemala
After an 11 hour busride from Lago de Yojoa, Honduras to Guatemala, Aaron and I got off the bus in Antigua a bit disoriented. This was not th... Continue reading »
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8
Rio Dulce and Oasis Chiyu...
So after spending 11 days in Antigua, Guatemala (about 7 more than we wanted, but hey, I needed my check card!), Lyndi and I took a chicken bus to... Continue reading »
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9
Center of the Mayan Kingdom
Tikal was on the top of my "Top 10 Things To Do While Wandering Aimlessly in Central America" list, so after over a month in Latin America, it was... Continue reading »
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10
Semuc Champey- Awesomely awesome.
So after lyndi and I got to see the ruins in Tikal, we finally got to start heading South for our journey. It had been kind of confusing telling pe... Continue reading »
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11
4 Weeks, 3 Hurricanes, 2 Spanish Students, and 1 Birthday
When Aaron and I first thought up our hair-brained scheme to quit our jobs and go traveling, learning Spanish was a must-do. After traveling... Continue reading »
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12
Lago de Atitlan: I just may move here
After a long, sad goodbye to Ronnie, Lily and the rest of our live-in family in Xela; Ronnie, Mario, and Sophie gave Lyndi and I a ride to Terminal... Continue reading »
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13
Taking Care of Business
Entering El Salvador, Aaron and I really didn't know what to expect. We had talked to a few people whose brother's uncle's twice removed's be... Continue reading »
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14
Northeast El Salvador: Santa Ana, Tacuba, Juayua, and Nahuizalco
So gaining valuable knowledge from some of the long timers in San Salvador (the peace corps people), we found out that for just 0.50 more, we could... Continue reading »
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15
Not As Easy As It Looks
The surfing in El Salvador is legendary, so Aaron and I figured - when in Rome, right?
After spending a week in eastern El Salvador hiking, j... Continue reading »
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16
Border Crossing and Indigenous Living
So after a great time in El Salvador, it was time to head to Nicaragua. Lyndi and I decided to head to Eastern El Salvador to San Miguel, and stay... Continue reading »
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17
Volcano Climbing the Nica Way
Aaron and I arrived into Leon to find the real Nicaragua. All the lovely, cool weather in Miraflor and Esteli was just a fluke. Nicarag... Continue reading »
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18
Granada, Gringos, and more Gringos
So Lyndi and I arrived in Granada, which is a short trip down South from Leon, making just one layover at the Uca bus terminal in Managua. We arriv... Continue reading »
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19
Not So Sure About San Juan del Sur...
At the urging of nearly every single backpacker we've met in Nicaragua, Aaron and I pulled into San Juan del Sur in southern Nicaragua expecting be... Continue reading »
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20
Little Corn Island: SHARK ATTACK!!!!
So upon leaving San Juan del Sur, we decided to head to the Corn Islands, which consists of Big Corn and Little Corn- both about 6 hours off the ea... Continue reading »
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21
Nicaragua Comes to an End
For our final days in Nicaragua, Aaron and I headed to Isla de Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. The island is really unique in the fact that it is... Continue reading »
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22
Santa Elena, Costa Rica- Cables, Canopies, and Mullets
So Lyndi and I were able to catch the 5:30am ferry off of Isla de Ometepe, and as I sat in the upstairs area watching the t.v. they had on, I start... Continue reading »
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23
A Day in San Jose
This entry may go down as the shortest blog I've ever written, but that's okay considering we were only in San Jose for probably one and a half days c... Continue reading » -
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Royal Decameron: Mai Thai's, Music, and Men in Tights
There comes a time in every man's life, where he must look deep inside himself, be introspective, and ponder the lifelong questions that have piled... Continue reading »
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25
Adios Central America!!
Not 4 hours after leaving our beautiful, comfortable, air-conditioned, beachfront room at the Royal Decameron, Aaron and I found ourselves staring... Continue reading »
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26
Panama to Colombia: via San Blas and the Stahlratte
So after saying a not so sentimental goodbye to Panama City, Lyndi and I along with 13 others, took a shuttle at 6am to San Blas. The 4 hour journe... Continue reading »
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27
The Land of Pirates and Mud
After 5 days aboard the Stahlratte in the Caribbean Sea, Aaron and I were ready to set foot upon solid ground. And we probably couldn't have... Continue reading »
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28
Medellin: Cable Cars, Midgets and New Year's Eve???
So our impression of Colombia, and how friendly and helpful the people are, was only solidified more when we met Nelson, a Colombian who was taking... Continue reading »
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29
Colombia's Other Crop...
No trip to Colombia would be complete without touring and sampling their most famous export (ahem - legal e... Continue reading »
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30
Bogota: Awesometown, South America
So after spending the night in the sketch hotel in Manizales, where teenagers show up at 3am to get their "heavy petting" on and hope to score, Lyn... Continue reading »
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31
Angry Bums
My butt is angry at me. And after what I put it through the past three days, I really can't blame it.
It all started with our departure... Continue reading »
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32
Las Lajas: Bordertown, Colombia
So it was kind of bittersweet pulling up to the small town of Las Lajas, Colombia. On one hand, we were going to see one of the most beautiful Cath... Continue reading »
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33
A Week in Quito
Aaron and I were sad to say goodbye to Colombia, seeing as how it had made it's way up to "Favorite Country Visited" status quite easily, but we we... Continue reading »
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34
The Biking Dutchman: Cotopaxi and Quilotoa
So it would seem that Lyndi and I have the unique ability to harness the power of bad weather, and take it with us wherever we go. I think back to... Continue reading »
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35
Waterfalls and Guinea Pigs in Baños
You would think that after a trip to Cotopaxi and Quilatoa riding through the Andes mountains that our next stop would be a bit of a let down, but... Continue reading »
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36
Gateway to the Galapagos
This will probably be the quickest post yet.
Neither Aaron nor I wanted to visit Guayaquil - it's just a big, bustling city with lots of traf... Continue reading »
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37
THE LORD OF THE GALAPAGOS: PART 1- The Fellowship of the Tortoise
Like two kids the night before Christmas, little sleep was accomplished throughout the night as Lyndi and I were high on excitement and anticipatio... Continue reading »
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38
LORD OF THE GALAPAGOS PART 2 - The Two Somethings
I've been told I had to name my blog after the second film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, even though I don't know if I've even seen it. ... Continue reading »
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THE LORD OF THE GALAPAGOS: PART III- THE RETURN OF THE SHARK
So after our boat ride from Isabella, Lyndi and I found ourselves back in Santa Cruz and wondering how best to spend our last week on the Galapagos... Continue reading »
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40
Life Lessons
I remember when I was about 7 years old, my mom sat me down to teach me some very important life lessons. Now, I won't go into those here - b... Continue reading »
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