Central America (October to November 2015)

Eamonn and I are back in Vancouver after our amazing adventure traveling around Central America, where we managed to touch all seven countries in the Central American isthmus over a 39-day trip.

Our trip saw us traveling northbound through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize, before crossing out of Central America into Mexico for a last few days of relaxation and our flight back to Vancouver. I will write more in-depth about the many places we visited in the future, but here is a little recap!

Panama Canal, Panama

Panama
Our journey started in the southernmost country of Central America, flying into Panama City, the country’s capital city, which combines a historic colonial centre with a modern skyscraper-filled skyline that is more reminiscent of a city in Asia than one in Latin America. We found our visit to the Panama Canal quite interesting, but soon discovered that there is very little else to do in Panama City besides visiting the iconic canal.

After a couple of days in the capital, we headed to one of the beautiful islands in Bocas del Toro, a Caribbean paradise in Northern Panama with lovely beaches and a laid back atmosphere. We had a nice relaxing day swimming and enjoying the sun on the first day, and went to explore the island by bicycle on the second day. On our way to the beautiful Bluff Beach, I suffered a pretty decent accident involving a downhill dirt road and a bike with no brakes, which left me quite scratched up and with what I still suspect is a broken big toe, which turned into a bit of a challenge for the following couple of weeks!

Capuchin Monkeys in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica

Costa Rica
Our travels in Costa Rica started in San Jose, the country’s lively capital which has a lot to offer, from culture to entertainment, shopping and dining, and its fair share of nightlife. Despite having been told by many people to skip the city, both Eamonn and I loved our time there, especially our visit to the Museo de Arte Costarricense and eating at the Sodas in the central market.

After San Jose, we went out to explore the country’s natural beauty in two distinct nature havens. First, we visited the natural paradise of Manuel Antonio in the country’s west coast, with the best wildlife-spotting opportunities in Costa Rica, beautiful beaches, and a welcoming gay-friendly atmosphere. Finally, we got to explore magical forests, discover small-town life and breathe the mountain air in the pristine cloud forests of Monteverde.

Despite being one of our favourite countries of Central America, we also hit the biggest bump in our trip while in Costa Rica, as one of our bags was stolen on our way to Nicaragua, with Eamonn’s passport in it! This resulted in us having to return to San Jose for a few more days to sort things out, and having to modify our itinerary.

Granada, Nicaragua

Nicaragua
Due to the delays caused by the stolen passport, our stay in Nicaragua was massively shortened, but we still got to enjoy a bit of this beautiful country. To make up for lost time, we had to cut our visit to Ometepe Island, a two-volcano island in the Central American isthmus’ largest lake, out of our itinerary. Instead we went directly to Granada, where we got to enjoy the beautiful town as well as explore a bit of Lake Nicaragua on a fun boat tour of the nearby isles.

Afterwards, we headed to the busy city of Leon, the country’s hotbed for its revolution in the 1970s, up in northern Nicaragua. The city is known for its many beautiful churches and for its Museo de la Revolucion, which although very interesting, is highly run down. During our visit, Leon was going tough a major revitalization, which means it’s likely to be a pretty place to visit in a couple of years, but most of the centre was an eyesore during our visit.

Natalia & Eamonn in San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador
Our stay in El Salvador was only two nights long and limited to the country’s capital, San Salvador. I found most of the city to be quite run down and full of litter, and the security guards holding shotguns in every corner made the city a bit hard to digest, but our stay with a local through airbnb gave us the opportunity to connect with the country. Our host, Natalia, was kind enough to show us around her city, advise on good places to enjoy the city’s nightlife (including El Salvador’s newest gay bar), and invited us out for dinner with her friends. She also introduced us to the country’s famous comfort food, delicious pupusas!

Copan Archaeological Site, Honduras

Honduras
We almost had to make the difficult decision of cutting Honduras out of our itinerary due to the time constraints stemming from the stolen passport, but in the end we made it, and I am glad we made the trek! We only visited Copan Ruinas, a small town built at the entrance to the archaeological site of the Mayan city of Copan, a mere 15 minutes from the border to Guatemala. The locals in the pretty town of Copan Ruinas are friendly and welcoming, and the local food is yummy and cheap. The Copan ruins themselves are quite different from any other site I’ve ever seen, and I highly recommend a visit!

Antigua & Volcan de Agua, Guatemala

Guatemala
We began our stay in Guatemala in the beautiful colonial city of Antigua, often described (with reason) as the most beautiful city in Central America. The city’s beauty is only accentuated by the multiple volcanoes that surround it, including an active volcano which constantly releases small ash clouds which can be seen drifting away slowly. Surprisingly cosmopolitan, Antigua is home to great restaurants, trendy cafés, and rooftop bars with beautiful vistas. During our stay there, we also got to go on an exciting 16km hike on nearby Volcán Pacaya.

Our visit to Lanquin / Semuc Champey, a nature wonderland in the middle of Guatemala, was a definite highlight for me. We stayed in the tiny town of Lanquin, the gateway to Semuc Champey park, a designated natural monument which is best known for a series of terrace pools with turquoise waters that are perfect for a swim. Aside from swimming in the pools, we also went on an exciting caving expedition, followed by an hour of tubbing on a beautiful river.

After Lanquin, we welcomed our return to civilization in the pretty island town of Flores on Peten Itza lake in northern Guatemala. Colourful Flores has a great food and drinks scene (including many rooftop bars with gorgeous views over the lake), and is the nicest place to stay if you’re going to explore the nearby(ish) Tikal ruins, the country’s most famous Mayan archaeological site. The site of Tikal is stunning, and we were lucky to see plenty of wildlife along with the ruins!

Caye Caulker, Belize

Belize
Our last stop in Central America was its smallest nation, Belize. Our stay in Belize was again short and sweet, and consisted only of a visit to famous Caye Caulker for a couple of nights. We had a relaxing time in Caye Caulker, but the lack of beaches was disappointing (I honestly thought there were beaches in the Cayes!) Periodic rain downpours didn’t make things much better, as they made it hard to be out and about comfortably. The biggest highlight of Belize for me was the food – cheap, fresh lobster, yummy curries and jerk chicken. However, with an expensive entry fee into the country, and expensive boat transportation out into Mexico, our two-day visit proved to be quite pricey for the experience we got.

*****

Our trip in Central America was overall fantastic despite the bumps on the road, and both Eamonn and I had a great time exploring this part of the world together. Central America has places we definitely want to return to in the future, and a couple  of others we likely won’t go back to, but overall the experience is one we’ll always remember.

And on that note…

Eamonn & Me in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Mexico
Crossing out of Central America into Mexico, we spent a few nights in Playa del Carmen, a city that I’ve visited many times in the past and which I love. We spent most of our time there simply enjoying the sunshine and relaxing from the previous five weeks of travel, although we did fit in a trip to the ruins of Tulum, before flying back to Vancouver. We definitely will be exploring more of Mexico in the future; as my motherland, it is one of my favourite countries in the world, and I would love to share more of it with Eamonn.