| 8º 37.356' N | 83º 9.06' W | Isleña | Gulfito, Costa Rica | almost 6 years ago | Show
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| 14º 38.064' N | 90º 30.81' W | Isleña | February 13, 2016 Tikal proved to be everything the tour books promise. The structures were definately much taller than Pelingue and Copan. We didn't get to see the sunrise because of the clouds but just listening to the animals waken was quite an experience. We took a bus from Flores, Guatemala to San Ignacio, Belize for three days. It was cold and rainy so we passed on all the wonderful water adventures and stayed dry. Our visa was about to expire so this trip satisfied the powers to be and we returned all set for another 90 days. We enjoyed a few more days in Flores and decided that a visit to Samuc Champey would have to wait for warmer weather. On to Guatemala city. We have visited some museums where relics from Tikal and other ruins are safely displayed. We have mastered the excellent metro system and the friendly and helpful Guatemalans make sure we get to our destinations. We will be here for a few more days and then make our way back to the boat. | about 9 years ago | Show
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| 16º 55.8' N | 89º 53.424' W | Isleña | February 2, 2016 We left Copan Ruinas, Honduras after 3 wonderful weeks. En route we stopped at one of our favorite places in Rio Dulce, Guatemala, the Kangaroo hostel for just one night then off to Flores. Our hotel room over looks lake Petén Itza. Tomorrow our guide picks us up at 3am and we drive for 1.5 hours to Tikal. Once in the park we will hike for half an hour and settle in for the sunrise spectular. More on that in the next update. | about 9 years ago | Show
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| 14º 50.292' N | 89º 9.408' W | Isleña | January 29, 2014 Copan Ruinas is a wonderful place to visit. Our three weeks have been busy with Spanish lessons, 16 canopy zip lines, Macaw rescue center, ruins and museums not to mention great food and wonderful people. The highlight of the trip are the ruins by far. The site is not a grand as Pelinque, nor are the structures as tall as Tikal but the relief carvings can not be matched any where. We were again very fortunate to have a wonderful guide without whom we would have missed so much. We will be moving on to another adventure but this one will surely remain at the top of our list.
| about 9 years ago | Show
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| 13º 18.174' N | 88º 53.484' W | Isleña | January 26, 2016 Sorry we didn't keep up with posts for our Peru trip. We kept a pretty hectic schedule and made the most of our time. We got back to the boat on November 17 after 35 wonderful days. I am making this post using the coordinates of the mooring in El Salvador. We spent a number of weeks aboard getting all sorts of work done. We fell victim to the zeca virous and thought we were having an allergic reaction because of the full body rash. Should have known something was up when the rash continued for more than a week. We didn't know anyone who had had it. We have now taken off for another treck around central america and met up with friends in Suchototo, El Salvador who had just got Zica. Then we realized that we had been lucky and we had just had a mild case. You couldn't have convinced me that it was mild while we were going through it! So all is well and we will report on our current adventures soon. | about 9 years ago | Show
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| 16º 23.628' S | 71º 32.196' W | Isleña | October 17, 2015. To Arequipa from Lima
Arequipa is a city of 1 million people and congested with traffic. We stayed in a lovely little hostal called Bubamara (Ladybug) that had been recommended by Claire and Mike on s/v Sega Sega. We were just 3 blocks from the Plaza de Armas which had great restaurants, the main Cathederal and every tourist/travel office you would ever need. We hooked up with a walking tour (free) which did some cursory tours of cathedrals mostly pointing out the meaning and history of the intricate carvings on facades. These were built by the Spaniards often on Inkan foundations, but the Inkas were not permitted to enter the church. Inka carvers got he last laugh by infusing the facade's decorative stonework with Inkan mythological references. Pictured are snake, condor, jaguar and other key aspects of indigenous spiritual life. Not allowed inside the church, Inkans gathered outside church doors during masses only glimpsing the glories inside. The Church added a radiating golden image to altar iconography clearly seen by sun worshipping Inkans outside and drawing them closer to Christianity.
Our tour continued to a drink tasting. A few of us sampled local beer, red and aromatic (about two to three percent alcohol) and a bit more potent shot of anise flavored Peruvian liquor. The last rather more than three percent. Our guide asked for volunteers, male and female. David sidled up, always ready to help out. The shot went down with a shiver and a twitch and the beer was passed around for sips. Nice.
On to the mercado and samples of unfamiliar fruits. Stories interspersed about volcanoes, indigenous runners climbing Misti, the local smoker. The practice of occasional modern day human sacrifices to elicit richer veins of gold for miners in the world's highest town on an Andean peak. All these stories and more on a free walking tour in Arequipa, the White City.
Another day we visited the Santa Catalina Monestary actually a convent. A city block square complex of almost 20,000 square meters. Along with religious life remembered, structures within the walls exemplify Arequipaños resilient spirit. Newer stonework blends with ancient marking constant rebuilding in the face of earthquakes, eruptions, and floods.
El Misti is one of three volcanoes overlooking Arequipa. It's active, note the smoke, and a source of concern for the locals. A popular trekker challenge is to summit the mountain. Tour companies offer a two day package. Day one includes a FWD vehicle trip from town ascending 1800 meters to the climb's start. At one PM climbers begin a four hour trek to base camp where they spend a night. At four AM climbers begin a four hour ascent to the summit. After pictures and scenery soaking it's a one hour slip sliding descent to base camp. Everybody grabs their gear and rides back to Arequipa for Pisco sours and sharing the adventure.
There's a bit more to the story. I'm sure you know people have adapted to extreme conditions all over the world. Inuits and other arctic inhabitants subsist on a very high fat diet. You wouldn't find much in the way of arugula and vine ripe heritage tomatoes on the shores of the Bering Sea. Yet they remain heart healthy. Andeans, the indigenous of Peru, possess larger lungs and hearts than their lowland cousins elsewhere. Our tour guide mentioned this when she said an Andean runner held a record for the Misti ascent. From Arequipa to El Misti summit and back to town in five hours. That's thirty-eight kilometers round trip and ascending 3425 meters or 11,236.88 feet.
We had a great time in Arequipa, sampling the culture, food, and drink while planning our trip to Chivay. Canyon country, condors and more.
SaM and Dave
S/V Isleña patiently waiting in El Salvador | over 9 years ago | Show
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| 12º 5.388' S | 77º 1.056' W | Isleña | Oct 14, 2015 flew out of San Salvador to Cali Columbia where we had a 18 hour layover. Free with a budget priced ticket. On the 15th we then flew on to Lima. Both of these flights were on Avianca, great service, meals and a free glass of wine....what more do you want.
Lima is a city of 8 million and we stayed in a lovely area called Milaflores. A park like, tree lined divider down the middle of the boulevard with pedestrian and bike paths were a treat. The architecture makes for wonderful sight seeing. We spent very little time here before moving on but we will be back at the end of the trip and we now have a list of things we want to do. We have already bought our pass for the Metropolitano which is a large articulated bus operated on a dedicated traffic lane for speedy travel through a car congested city.
| over 9 years ago | Show
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| 13º 53.532' N | 89º 55.482' W | Isleña | 2015 Sept 4-9 Road trip to Festival de los Farolitos
We headed off with Dan and Kathy from s/v Lungta and didn’t get very far when we found Olocuilta, pupusas central. A pupusa you may recall is stuffed masa, rice or corn, formed into discs like thick tortillas and cooked on a griddle or plancha. Stuffings are usually bean (frijol), bean and cheese (frijol con queso), pork (chicharon), or a mixture of the three (revueltos). That’s the same word in Mexico for scrambled eggs. Pupusarias in Olocuilta are numerous and create a variety of stuffings including shrimp, eggs, chicken, tuna, spinach and more. They are competitive and seemingly numerous enough to feed all of El Salvador.
Our next stop was Joya de Ceren which is called the Pompeii of America. This was a small Maya settlement buried under volcanic ash when Laguna Caldera Volcano erupted in AD 595. The inhabitants had just enough warning to escape. There are no bodies here, just a perfectly preserved site. So much so, archaeologists were able to determine that farmers had come in from the fields at the end of the day and eaten dinner, but had not gone to bed. The time of the year was determined by the maturity of flowers, crops and fruits. Although month and time of day could be determined, carbon dating could only place the event within a few years. Below is a view of the complex and David emerging from a recreated sweat lodge. The original is seen in the background of the photo on the left. Note the striated layers of ash in the background and left side of the photo. The view is looking down from present grade level.
We had the luxury of being able to stop where we wanted because Dan and Kathy bought a car here in El Salvador. We so enjoyed the convenience. We drove on to Ataco where we stayed with Ernesto, tour guide on our last trip and his wife Alajandra an electrical engineer and administrator of a local college. Because of the “Festival de los Farolitos” all rooms were taken and we were lucky our hosts hadn’t rented their two extra rooms. Plus it was fun to stay with them.
Through broken English and Spanish we shared our few days and nights. We prepared an evening meal of stir fried veggies, rice, grilled pineapple and salad. Outside, visitors streamed. Hundreds, maybe thousands flowed through the streets like summer rain water. Free busses shuttled poor families to town from outlying pueblitos and farms. In the park and everywhere food vendors, curio sellers, and musicians strained for dollars to sustain their households. Fireworks burst and the stage blared blocks away. A couple sold crafts from a van with Argentina license plates to sustain their trek to Mexico. We were the only Norte Americanos in town and breathed the culture with relish. Everywhere were ephemeral candle lit lamps of varied shapes and sizes. Electric lights twined through trellises and wrought iron railings. A bamboo tower was erected on one street supporting a lit cross three stories above the bricks. Festival de Farolitos was loud and joyous, raucous and reverent. It is Salvadoran. Bands blared. Vendors fed the revelers. Below right, David helps string candle lanterns at our friend Doni’s stall while he skewers more meat for the grill. Doni is an animated guy with a wide smile and happy eyes. We can’t get by him without an embrace. He teaches early elementary school and caters on the side. His mom Laticia presides over her pupusaria one of our favorite breakfast spots.
By the time Monday rolled around we agreed two days of festival would have been enough. Salvadorians know how to party. They must have worked all night because next morning (Tuesday 8th) there was no evidence of the big celebration. Somehow, between one AM and around six or seven the carriage became the pumpkin. Stages were gone. The cross topped bamboo tower vanished. Grotto shrouded madonas, candle lit floats, lantern hung altars all gone. Spirited away like cherished dreams consigned to a happy memory.
We drove with Dan and Kathy to Tacuba ( at 3281') a small town on the edge of the Parque National Imposible. We started to catch a cold in Ataco and by the time we arrived it was in full force. Better to retreat and recuperate. So we caught a bus back to the boat the following day. Hiking in the parque would have been wonderful but not in our condition. We will save that adventure for another time. Our friends from s/v Lungta continued their adventure on to Guatemala and Mexico.
| over 9 years ago | Show
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| 15º 38.442' N | 88º 59.478' W | Isleña | 7/26:
Flagged down a passing panga and left the great folks at the Round House and headed back down the Rio Dulce to Livingston. We spent 5 days in a lovely 4 bedroom house on the beach taking Spanish lessons. Not much time to relax. We had 4 hours of classes daily. Just the two of us and Wendy our bilingual teacher. Outside of class we enjoyed the company of our hosts who were from England and South Africa and another couple from Hungary. Our host Chris was developing a new business and the Hungarians had been working on web design for him for the last 5 months. It was quite a lovely environment to work and study.
15°50.346'N x 88°45.869'W
8/1:
Enjoyed coffee and internet at another hostel in Livingston before catching another boat up river to the town of Rio Dulce. We found the Kangaroo... Yes Kangaroo Hostel run by an Aussie and his Mexican wife. All of this small hostel is perched on piers over a flooded river bank. Main building, deck with jacuzzi, bungalows and boat house and connecting wooden walkways seem suspended over the shallow water. Trees and palms rose everywhere shading us with a green canopy and screening us from river businesses and neighbors. Flowers and orchids countered intense green with purples, whites and fushias. Gazing through the water I saw the muddy bottom littered with fallen leaves and branches, occasional darting fish. Refocusing on the surface I saw mosses gathered at tree trunks, drifting in the slow current. Patches of lily pads and the reflected green canopy and snatches of blue sky. Our cabin was set back in the jungle up on stilts beside the raised pool. We shared a lovely dinner of grilled fish and sautéed vegetables in this quiet refuge.
15°38.442'N x 88°59.480'W
8/2:
We caught the Fuerte del Norte bus back to San Salvador and only had one 10 minute breakdown in the 8 hour trip. Back in San Salvador violence was in the news. Gangs had forced a bus strike and shot nine drivers who hadn't complied. This, the week before a week long traditional holiday in August. We were quite concerned about the next 2 legs of bus travel back to Isleña, but everyone assured us trouble was over and everything was back to normal. One third of El Salvador's population live in the capitol San Salvador. Estimates place gang membership at 60,000 of a national population of 8 million.
8/3:
We took a mall break. Had a latte and café mocha at our favorite coffee shop. Got our hair cut at a nice salon, $5.50 and $3.50 respectively. Picked up groceries at Super Selectos and lunched in the food court before catching a taxi to the bus station. The bus trip was just fine and Isleña was in great shape. Neighbors invited us over for dinner and that was such a treat. Especially after a day of busses and unpacking still to do.
SaM and Dave
S/V Isleña
Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
| over 9 years ago | Show
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| 15º 46.944' N | 88º 47.508' W | Isleña |
July 20-26
7/20 left Placencia, Belize via a ferry launch called the "Hokey Pokey" boat and took a bus heading to Punta Gorda, Belize. We stopped part way to take a tour of a spice farm 16° 20.723'N 88° 47.947W and that is a wonderful story in itself. Then onto Punta Gorda and a lovely seafood dinner at Asha's. Did I say that David is on a quest for seafood?
The next morning we checked out of Belize, $20.00 each and headed across the bay to Livingston, Guatemala. Ricardo picked us up in a "Cayuco" (very narrow panga) for our next adventure to the Round House hostel located in the jungle, part way up the Rio Dulce. Position 15° 46.941N X 88° 47.505'W. The Round House is a three tier palapa. The first floor is all open with a bar in the center surrounded by a kitchen, dining area, hammocks and sofas. Second floor is half used with 4 private bedrooms with mesh netting tented over the bed. The third level is an open loft dorm with 8 beds. This is all surrounded by thick vegetation, flowers, trees with stone paths and steps. All is perched on a steep bank of the Rio Dulce. River access is by a pier and dock sporting a thatch roofed lounging area with hammocks and chairs. The river has a good current so it is great exercise swimming just to stay close to the dock. You can also just laze in an inner tube streamed out on a line from the dock. We stayed 5 days here and one of those days we kayaked up to the hot springs where we steamed and soaked. We lunched on Tapaldo, a coconut broth based soup created by the Garifuna people of the region. It's a large fragrant bowl of golden broth with crab, shrimp and plantain accompanied by a whole simmered fish...more than enough for two. Another day we kayaked 2 1/2 hours up to the head waters of the Rio Lampara and then hiked about 20 minutes to some lovely falls at 15° 45.091' N 88° 46.819' W.
SaM and David
Isleña waiting for us in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
| over 9 years ago | Show
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| 16º 30.87' N | 88º 22.002' W | Isleña | July 15-20, 2015 The sun sets over land, confusing.
Well David took me on another adventure starting with two days of travel. First a fellow cruiser drove us to San Salvador then cabs, busses, a Tuktuk, 2 lanchas and finally bicycles. No horses this time. We crossed the Bahia de Amatique (1 1/4hr) just off the Gulf of Honduras in a lancha (an overgrown panga) to get from Gautemala to Belize. Stayed in beautiful Plancencia, ate seafood plus local Creole and Garifuna dishes at Omar's and enjoyed some flicks at the Belize International Film Festival. We will be heading back on the first leg this morning via "Hokey Pokey" lancha.
SaM and David
16° 30.869'N 88°22'W
Plancencia, Belize
s/v Isleña back in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador | over 9 years ago | Show
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| 13º 18.078' N | 88º 53.538' W | Isleña | June 18th heading back to the boat. We left Ataco, spend a couple of days again in Juayua then to San Salvador. Spent a night at our favorite Tazumal Hostal and then left the next morning after picking up provisions for the boat. We took a $6.00 taxi ride to the bus terminal with all our loot. Got on the usual #139 bus and off we went. At some point we recognized that we had never seen some of this area. We were on the wrong #139 bus. This one goes to the airport. Who would ever know that there are two #139 but we do now! So they dropped us off and told us to walk up the road a bit, then up a ramp to the next road. We did and it wasn't very far.That bus took us to El Arco the spot that we usually transfer to the final bus that takes us back to the boat. Turns out that this was the last bus of the evening so the driver let us sit there for 1/2 hour so he made sure that he got all the folks from other connecting buses. That will teach us to not wait till the end of the day. HA!
June 20th we were back on the boat and relieved again that the fridge was in good condition and no rain leaks. Always a relief. Now we have a list of 7 items that we have to get done on the boat. It is almost like we have to earn another vacation. Evenings we spend time on the internet looking at places we would like to go. Again we find ourselves having a hard time narrowing down the options. Stay tuned! | over 9 years ago | Show
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| 13º 52.11' N | 89º 51.6' W | Isleña | ATACO from June 13 thru June 18th. Altitude 3281'
Yes, we just settled into this little town. We had a mission to figure out which coffee shop had the best coffee. We are in the heart of coffee country and there are a number of great cafes in town. We had the Hotel Villa Santo Domingo to ourselves once the weekend guests checked out on Sunday.
http://wn.com/concepción_de_ataco,_ahuachapán,_el_salvador_villa_santo_domingo_el_arky
The first room shown with the fire place was our little get away for $25.00 per night.
Each day we would have afternoon rain showers and some of those left rivers of water to wade through on the streets. One day we had our wet cloths spread out on the railings and bushes in the middle courtyard. We even had use of the kitchen and we would invite the help to have tea with us. Great on cooler evenings. We met up with a great guide Ernesto of Sabe Tours 503-7578-6508 ErnestoCarcamos@gmail.com. We first went to the hot springs at Termales de Alicante. We started with an easy hike up to the origin of the springs. We saw spots where the steam vented out of the ground and Ernesto warned us that this is not a place to go wandering off the path. These springs were so hot you could only stick a finger in them for a second. After our little hike we enjoyed a rest in the springs where there is a choice of various temperatures. One of the attendants brought over a small bag of mud that we all applied to our faces...a mud facial in the mountains just east of Ahuachapán. We visited Laguna El Espino and no we didn't need to rent a boat for a tour- this one could be skipped. Off we went for a coffee tour of Entre Nubius. Ernesto translated all the information was we took this tour. It was a lovely location and we learned a lot. The lunch here was not anything I would go back to and we should have gone to Jardin de Celeste just down the street. We had a little inside information on Entre Nubius. A few days previous we had met Daniel the owners son who had done all the development of the plantation and so we got the inside story before we went. Daniel is off developing his own coffee distributing company now and we both expect great things from him. He was a treasure to meet and talk to. We took a horseback ride through another coffee plantation and got a high stepping demonstration by an impressive Spanish bred horse. Sorry I can't give the actual breed. These folks had had 70 of this breed and had to give them up and move to the mountains during the revolution so they are just starting to breed again. What a beautiful sight to watch. We often meet wonderful and interesting people on our travels. We were having coffee at The House of Coffee and had the good fortune to talk to a lovely Salvadorian lady and her mother. This lady was a retired professional diver so she and David connected. She wants to take us on dives in some of the volcanos and insists that we notify her when we go to San Salvador (the capital) where she lives and she will give us a tour. She had asked what we had seen and where we had been. One of the items we mentioned was the Guzman Anthropological museum. Oh they call that MUNA. We both want to go back and see it again because we didn't have enough time. She offered to have the curator (a friend of hers) give us a tour. Turns out that she has a house and a boat here on the estuary where we are. Oh boy...more fun to come! The restaurant experience in this town was at La Raclette which was the first restaurant we had been to two weeks earlier. The raclette is a two tiered electric grill. You place meat and vegetables on the top and bread topped with cheese on the lower level (broiler). The food was great but a lot of work. They also have fondues that would have been fun to try. Another coffee couple we met had a guide with them and they were flying back to Los Angeles the following day. They have a RV stored in LA and another in Europe but first they have to fly home to New Zealand to see family.They will then fly to Europe after New Zealand. Those folks were a little out of our league! | over 9 years ago | Show
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| 13º 52.194' N | 89º 51.102' W | Isleña | June 12, 2015 Friday in Juayua. We had hoped to get a tour guide to the waterfalls or the the coffee tour but it did not work out. Our luck changed when we decided to go to Restaurante R & R. We were treated to the best meal we have ever had. Carlos is an artesian with food. The steaks were cooked to perfection and there is not enough room here to describe the side dishes nor the stories we heard and the history we learned. Two wonderful meals and a bottle of Chilian wine and the bill came to $36.90 which included the tip. We have since emailed the folks we know in Bahia del Sol and Nirvana emailed back with raving reviews. We also heard from Heavy Metal who took our recommendation, ate there on Saturday and are in full agreement. So now how does David top this one!
June 13, 2015 Saturday. We walked around some of the many stalls in Juayua and confirmed we don't have enough time and will have to come back. We caught a bus to Ataco and toured the square that we had only briefly visited with David's family a month ago. We stopped at the Museum which is really a lovely shop owned by Beatrice who sells very upscale Salvadorian textiles and crafts. Then there is this wonderful artist gallery on the next side of the square. We got to talk to both artists Jose Retana and his wife Maira Handal ( www.arteinedito.net) who are working on arrangements for a showing in San Francisco. We settled into Hostal Villa Santo Domingo owned by Fitalina and her husband Dario. This property have been in his family for over 100 years. This is just a block and a half off the square and so very convenient. While walking around the streets we ran into Rigo, Deborah and their boys (s/v Heavy Metal) and they were enroute to Juayua so we had to recommend Restaurante R & R and some places to stay.
Ataco also has a food festival on weekends although more sedate and more selective. We have been noshing our way through the weekend reserving the many lovely restaurants for week days. This town is full of lovely coffee shops quite the opposite of Juayua that only had one and their expresso machine was broken. That was when David decided we had to leave town.
June 14, 2015 Today while having coffee at The House of Coffee we met a lovely lady from San Salvador and her mother. Turns out this lovely lady was a professional diver and has offered to take us diving in one of the volcanos. She also has a house and boat at Costa del Sol so agaIn we are invited there. She insisted that we call her when we will be in San Salvador next and she will show us her city. She will even arrange for the curator at the Guzman Anthropological to give us a tour. Now how is David going to top this!!!
This afternoon we caught a bus for a short ride down the road to Jadrin Celeste which has a restaurant and cabins. This is Sunday and the place was very crowded. We walked the many paths surrounded by luscious plantings and cute cabins. We toured the little green house and gave up on getting a table when we saw the line. This will be a place to visit during the week. | over 9 years ago | Show
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| 13º 52.194' N | 89º 44.862' W | Isleña | June 11, 2015 On the road again. This time we took chicken buses. Started yesterday morning and got as far as San Salvador and stayed in our favorite little hostal Tazumal Casa. This morning we headed out on some business then caught the bus at Terminal Occidente (that is West) heading to Sonsonate. One and a half hour later and $2.60 for two we arrived and met our next bus. Another 1.25 hours for $1.80 total we arrived in Juayua (Why ooh ah). We had rain enroute then light drizzle as we walked around checking out places to stay. We came here because they have a "Feria Gastronomical" on Saturday and Sunday. Say food and we are there! Lonely Planet reports that iguana, guinea pigs and frogs are served. I won't be trying those but we will take pictures for sure. This is off season so we are the only ones in this little hostal of 5 rooms (Hostal Anahuac). They are expecting folks to start arriving for the weekend tomorrow. We are at 1040m above sea level. It seemed just a little cool walking around but most pleasant. We are showing 73 degrees in the room down at least 10-15 degrees from our little v-birth. We enjoyed dinner at a little bohemian spot called El Cadejo. Great tortilla soup and Chili con Carne....what a treat. | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 13º 53.592' N | 89º 31.464' W | Isleña | May 8, 2015 Lago de Coatepeque. Yes we did swim in a volcano! It is a huge lake with fishing (Telapia), boating and jet skiing. The lake is surrounded with residences and hotels that all have extremely high walls so access for us was through a public park. We expected that the water could be really warm because of the volcano or very cold....neither. It was actually just a little cool enough to be a little refreshing. We stayed two nights in a hostel and it rained for a couple of hours each evening. This IS the beginning of the rainy season. The second night we experienced lightening very close and bangs that had us jumping and this is just the start of the season! | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 14º 18.942' N | 89º 10.104' W | Isleña | May 7, 2015 La Palma
Drove the winding mountain roads up to La Palma. It is a town with many colorful murals on the walls. This will be a short stay and then on the road for a drive south to one of El Salvador's 25 volcanoes. I can't find the name right now but it has a lake in the middle which we hope to swim in. Stay tuned for more news | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 13º 59.532' N | 89º 33.666' W | Isleña | May 4, 2015 Santa Ana
We left Suchitoto following our host Roberto (Hostel el Gringo) his wife and fellow cruisers David and Marge through countryside we could have never figured out. We made three stops and Roberto gave us a walking tour and historical information at each stop.
South east is the small town of Cinquera surrounded by a National Forest. Roberto told us the history of the area which included information on the FMLN who are the revolutionists and who recently won the presidential election.
Ilobasco is famous for its pottery and justly so. Roberto took us to a local academy where we spoke to ladies who were studying the art of pottery. The creations that were for sale in the shop were definitely high quality art at a very reasonable price. Some of the tour group are fortunate enough to be taking home some lovely examples of the local creations.
San Cristobal is well known for the fabrics that are woven on old looms. We visited three different shops full of table cloths, bed spreads, hammocks to name just a few. At each location we were welcomed to go behind the scenes where men operated the large manual looms producing intricate patterns. We again saw a flurry of buying activity by our group.
After leaving Roberto, his wife and fellow cruisers Marge and David we headed west skirting the north end of busy San Salvador and up to the city of Santa Ana. We stopped at a Hostel Verde which came with high recommendations from Roberto and we have to agree this was a find. Our host Carlos has created a lovely atmosphere. Barbara and Chris are ensconced is the luxury of air conditioning. We have enjoyed lazing in the pool and talking to young folks traveling from far and wide. David and Christopher have taken advantage of one of the two lovely shared well stocked kitchens. All for $25.00 a night. | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 13º 56.25' N | 89º 1.74' W | Isleña | May 1, 2015
Drove from San Salvador to Suchitoto. Didn't record the time it took but yes, there were a number of wrong turns getting out of the capital city. Lago de Suchitlan can be viewed from numerous restaurants and hotels or hostels. Quite stunning. We have enjoyed walking around the cobblestone streets and sitting in the zocolo in the evenings. Barbara and I had our hair done today. I got a hair cut, a manicure and pedicure for a total of $12.00. We have rooms in a hostel for $16.00 each. We had communicated via email so the owner Roberto was surprised when we turned up. He was expecting 20 year olds. It is clean, shared bath, fans in the rooms and just a couple of blocks from the center of town. There is a kitchen with stove, fridge, plates etc. Cold beer and water paid on an honor system. Tomorrow we will take a walking tour of town for $10.00 each. Looking forward to that because we have become a little familiar with the hood. They have a boat tour that would be fun for a total of $30.00 per party but we will have to come back another time to do that. Monday we will be driving the Rutas des Artesanias. Roberto who owns our hostel will be driving down in a car with some other cruisers and we will follow. It will be an impromptu tour and work out perfectly for us because Christopher wanted to do this same route on Monday. So now we have a tour guide. | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 13º 43.212' N | 89º 12.456' W | Isleña | April 29, 2015
David’s brother and his wife arrived in San Salvador late last night and we drove up from Bahia del Sol to meet them. The driving is insane. We have missed more turns than we would like to admit to and there are so many American businesses here. We will be in the capital city for only two days and we probably will not have enough time here to see everything we all want to see.
| almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 13º 18.078' N | 88º 53.538' W | Isleña | April 23, 2015
From Bahia del Sol, El Salvador. We left Chiapas, Mexico on Monday 20th along with Dan and Kathy s/v Lungta and their crew Wayne and Keith and Greg and Mariana s/v Irie. We motored more than we would normally like to make it in time for David brother and sister-in-law who arrive on the 28th and we need time to get the boat settled and organized before we meet them in San Salvador for a two week road trip. Lungta’s timing was critical because they have a 10’ draft and yesterday was the optimum high tide. The next will be sometime in May. We were the first to cross the bar. We were told to pull up behind the pilot in his panga and follow him in. We then received a call on the VHF that we had successfully crossed the bar and we were welcomed to El Salvador. All we have ever seen are pictures of hugh swells and boats riding high on top. Wait!! What did I miss? Totally uneventful. No I am not complaining. We had more than enough help tying up to the dock and we were greeted with Rum Punch and smiling faces of old and new friends. The Port Captain walked us up to his office and we completed the check in and then walked to the other side of the room and got our visas. How civilized! We are going to get so very spoiled here. We are sitting at the bar getting our internet and David says he really likes it here. Tomorrow we will start to inquire about car rental, laundry, moorings, bus schedules and of course groceries. We are hoping to have friends who are interested in traveling Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua join us on our adventure. So get your passport updated and check your calendar.
| almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 14º 42.102' N | 92º 23.772' W | Isleña | April 18, 2015. We arrived back at Marina Chapas just outside Tapachula. This is the last port in Mexico. We are at the marina office getting the exit documents done. Now we have to go to immigration, port captain and API then back to the marine where the Navy will board us with a dog and check for drugs and weapons. They will then issue us our Zarpe which is the document we need to enter the next country which will be El Salvador. We will not stop in Guatamala because there is not any good place to stop. We will visit Guatemala by land from El Salvador. We expect to take 3-4 days but the weather forecast is for light winds so it might be longer. David's brother and sister-in-law will be arriving on the 28th so we might have to start the engine. We will then take two week inland travel with them. We get a four country visa. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. So if you are interested in land travel in this area do let us know and we will be there! The next time you will hear from us will be from Central America! | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 16º 51.24' N | 92º 8.28' W | Isleña | April 16, 2015 arrived in Comitan after a long day of driving from the Frontier through beautiful mountains. We pass a lake region but didn't have time to stop. We have to have the car back in Tapachula on the 18th. So we just have one night here and then another long drive back to the boat tomorrow. Comitan is a lovely city and if we were staying in Mexico we would surely take the bus here and spend a week. No car...narrow streets and serious parking problems. One of the streets on the zocalo (town square) is closed and we enjoyed the evening festivities. The cathedral and surrounding buildings were lite up very tastefully. A 10 piece marimba city orchestra was playing as local folks took advantage of the great music and danced. And danced they did. Some were unbelievable and the women in their 3"+ heels! We are so sorry that we don't have the time to stay longer in Comitan and the lake region. So many wonderful places to visit and things to see, | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 16º 45.282' N | 91º 7.548' W | Isleña | April 14 and 15, 2015
Drove to Lacanja Chansayab and checked into our cabana called Top Che. That is a Mayan word. Folks here speak Mayan and then learn Spanish in school. As in all the Maya areas we have visited the folks have their own style of dress. We headed off for a tour of Bonampak which is known for colorful artwork in their temples. After all that exercise we headed back to our cabana, changed into bathing suits for a cool dip in the creek just below a small waterfall. The next day we drove to the Frontier and rented a boat which took us downstream to a remote set of ruins. We motored for about 45 minutes along the winding river that is the border between Mexico and Guatemala. We spotted a few crocodiles along the way. We had another guide who spoke some English and the information we get from each of these guides is a little different. This might be that the traditions are different from tribe to tribe or it might be that the interpretations of the glyphs are different.
| almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 17º 30.558' N | 91º 59.298' W | Isleña | Palenque April 12-14, 2015. Great Mayan ruins and museum. Back today for a jungle tour with the same guide. We are getting our step aerobics for sure! Tomorrow we will drive the car south to the river that is the border between Mexico and Guatemala for some very remote and well preserved ruins and a river boat ride. | almost 10 years ago | Show
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| 16º 43.866' N | 92º 38.022' W | Isleña | San Cristobal 04/10/15. First inland travel! Seeing Mayan culture and much more with fellow cruisers Wayne and Judy s/v Curiositas. Isleña is at Marina Chiapas waiting our return. We'll continue south to Bahia del Sol, El Salvador soon. | almost 10 years ago | Show
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