Central Argentina - Part 2

Next we headed west, finally arriving to the Andes Range.  After a few HOT days in and around Mendoza, we headed up into the mountains for a few cool nights of camping and a little bit of rock climbing.

Mendoza
Known for its nearby wine country, Mendoza is located directly east of Santiago, Chile on the opposite side of the mountains. Besides exploring the city via the free bike share program, we also got out of town for some wine tasting. With all the wineries in close proximity, renting a bike is the best way to get around and see the beautiful coutnryside.

Manzano Historico/Arenales
Situated at a higher elevation at the base of the mountains, the town of Manzano Historico was a much appreciated reprieve from the heat. After a couple nights with another Couch host we headed up higher to the nearby climbing area of Arenales. With a rope and draws lent to us by our host we finally got some use out of those harnesses we had been lugging around.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a couple video clips from the trip:

Central Argentina - Part 1

After passing back through Buenos Aires on our return from Uruguay, we jumped on a long bus ride north to the Central Argentine city of Cordoba. With the first of a number of Couch Surfing stays, this part of the trip is where we really started interacting with locals on a more personal level.

Cordoba and Jesus Marie
Being a college city the atmosphere in Cordoba had a certain lively energy about it. We mainly spent our time wandering the city center, collecting camping supplies we would need for our adventures ahead and hanging out with our hosts who showed us around and shared their artwork and other projects they were passionate about.

One of the highlights of our time here was the festival of folk music held in the nearby town of Jesus Maria. The festivities mainly consisted of alternating sets of live music with sessions of men riding bucking broncos, and lots of BBQed meat.

Alta Gracia
Also a short bus ride away is the town in which Che Guevara grew up. There is a museum inside one of his childhood homes which mainly focuses on his youth and young adulthood years. After a very short visit and stay with another friendly host we were on our way west.

San Luis
From Alta Gracia we began our attempt to hitch across Argentina. While getting to San Luis was relatively easy, getting out of town was a different story. With the unexpected generosity of two couples, we found ourselves staying two unplanned nights here; one camping behind a pizza restaurant near the bus terminal, the other in the home of new friends that offered up their spare bedroom after hours of unsuccessfully standing in the sun hoping for a ride toward Mendoza. Furthermore we were treated to a trip to the nearby reservoir to cool off and a good ol' Argentine BBQ.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here is a video clip from Jesus Marie:

Buenos Aires and Uruguay

Just before the New Year we made the biggest jump of our trip, flying all the way down to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The reason for such a big shift was to meet up and hanging out with our Portland friend Mariela who was back home for the holidays to spend time with family. Now that we were no longer in the northern hemisphere we were right back into the middle of summer.

Buenos Aires
Although massive in size, we both very much liked and enjoyed Buenos Aires. Besides having our personal local tour guide (Mariela) to tell us about the history and culture of the city, we also wandered a bit on our own taking in the sights and new culinary flavors. With a heavy European influence, Buenos Aires felt different than any other city we have visited on this trip.

Uruguay
Before heading north to Cordoba, we took a boat across the River Plata into Uruguay for a short trip. After exploring the cobbled streets of Colonia we jumped on a couple buses and headed up the coast to one of the many beach towns. Finally getting use out of our tent again, we hung out with Uruguayan college students on summer break, partook in the tradition of mate, and sunbathed on the beach.

After a couple of nights of camping on the beach we hitch hiked our way back to the capitol city of Montevideo. While it is clear that the city had once been an important financial center, it seems the last few decades have taken a toll with many abandoned and run down buildings. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, the city was very enjoyable to visit and explore.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

See-You-Bee-Eh

With Christmas soon approaching and still not having any plans we decided to shorten our stay in Costa Rica and hop a flight to the Caribbean for the holiday. With our country´s relations changing to soon allow US tourists to enter freely, we thought we should experience Cuba before the flood gate opens.

With only two weeks to experience the country, we limited our travels to the northern portion of the island.  Although it seems like a small country, it takes a full day to cross the island by bus. After experiencing the beautiful yet decaying capital of Havana we set off on a small circuit visiting Viñales, Trinidad, Varadero and back to Havana.

Havana
When going around the city it is apparent that the government is hard at work restoring much of the city, starting with the most historically important buildings. However, much of the beauty and draw to the city is its run down nature, the result of decades of no new development and in many cases lack of upkeep. With the addition of the '50s cars spewing diesel exhaust down the street, it truly feels like you have entered a strange time warp that blends an older era infrastructure with a people and society that in many ways remains as contemporary as the rest of Latin America and the developed world.

Viñales
To the west of Havana lies the tobacco growing region of Viñales. Set in a picturesque valley accented with limestone cliffs, the valley floor is a beautiful blend of red toned earth and lush green vegetation and tobacco plants. With only a short amount of time to spend here we rented bikes which allowed us to cross from one end of the valley to the other. One of the highlights was the Cuevas de Santo Tomas, one of the largest cave networks in the Americas as well as the hiding place for the first rural militia during the revolution.

Tinidad
Next we boarded a bus to the colonial city of Trinidad which is located near the coast southeast of Havana. With a laid back atmosphere it was nice to simply walk the cobble streets and enjoy the architecture and sights.

Varadero and Matanzas
For Christmas we stayed in the beach town of Varadero. Although it was made up mostly of hotels and resorts, it did offer amazing white sand beaches. Besides relaxing at the hotel or on the beach, the highlight of our time here was our Christmas morning skydive. After being picked up at our hotel and taken to the small airport nearby we soon found ourselves in the air high above the beach below. Following a quick free fall and gorgeous parachute flight we landed right back on the beach. 

A couple days later we had a quick layover in Matanzas before taking the train back to Havana. Situated less than an hour from the resorts, the city offers views of Cuban life many tourist never see.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a couple video clips from the trip:

Costa Rica

After Nicaragua we went to Costa Rica for a quick sampling of the amazing natural beauty this country has to offer.  With only one week to spend we definitely did not give this place justice but we hope to make it back someday for a more thorough experience.  With prices similar to the US, the country is a lot more expensive than the rest of Central America due to the high taxes. However, the trade-off to the higher costs is that there are amenities such as potable tap water, better garbage collection and protection of natural areas.

Rincon de la Vieja
Located in the north of the country lies Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja.  We again arrived with hopes of climbing a volcano but were not able to climb due to the highly active nature of the peak over the last few years. Luckily the park and surrounding areas offer great hikes with sightings of wild animals as well as hot springs and the unique geological phenomenon of boiling mud pots.

Manuel Antonio
The remainder of the week was spent on the coast exploring the Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio.  This area is full of diverse wildlife including reptiles, monkeys and the elusive sloth.  We were lucky enough to see all of these up close while hiking through the park. After the heat and humidity cooling off with a dip in the ocean is the best way to spend the afternoon. With more secluded beaches inside the park and public beaches in the town right outside the park, there were plenty of options for beach bumming.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a couple video clips from the trip:

Nicaragua

After traveling about in Guatemala we took the long, two-leg bus trip across El Salvador and Honduras to Nicaragua.  Our three weeks here were spent visiting the colonial city of Leon and the island of Ometepe, meeting up with friends from the US on vacation outside of the San Juan del Sur and studying Spanish for a week in Granada.

Leon
After being on the move for a few weeks it was nice to finally stay put in once place for a few days. After checking into our hostel we we ran into our new friend Mila from our Spanish studies in Guatemala. Besides taking self guided walking tours of the city, the week was pretty low key with lots of pool time, with the exception of Volcano Boarding. What is Volcano Boarding you ask? Well, pretty simple; climb a volcano with steep sand slopes, sit down on a piece of plywood that has been built out with a few modifications, lift your feet off the ground and see how fast you can go!  (See youtube video below for the first person view)

Ometepe
We made our way to Ometepe Island located in (massive) Lake Nicaragua. The majority of the island is made up of two volcanoes rising high above the lake. With the intension of climbing Concepcion, the higher of the two, we took the bus to the opposite side of the island. In the end we didn't climb due to Rosie getting sick so the rest of our time on the island was spent laying low.

San Juan del Sur
Located on the southern coast and known for it's surfing and party scene, our time here didn't really involve either of those things. We met up with our friend Kelsey and her cousins Shelby and Julian who had come down for the week of Thanksgiving. We stayed in an amazing house a short (4wd) out of town. With lots of pool and reading time, we had a nice relaxing week.

Granada
The last week in Nicaragua was spent in Granada studying Spanish. Located on the west shore of Lake Nicaragua, Granada is the other major colonial city in Nicaragua. With our days filled with study, school activities and hanging out with our host family, the week went by fast and before we knew it we were on a bus to the Costa Rican border. The highlight of the week was definitely the night tour of the active Masaya Volcano.

Click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

Here are a couple video clips from the trip:

Mayan Ruins

Before making the long bus rides across El Salvador and Honduras to reach Nicaragua, we visited two significant Mayan ruins. The first was Tikal which is located deep in the jungle in the north of Guatemala. Then on the way back to Guatemala City we took a quick detour across the Honduran border to visit Copan Ruins.

Although Tikal is definitely not the easiest destination to reach, it is worth the effort. Once one of the largest Mayan cities, sometime in the 10th century the city fell into decline. Surely it didn't take much time for the jungle to reclaim the stone structures. It was almost 1,000 years later that the western world would learn about it's existence. Now the city and wildlife inhabiting it can be explored with an extensive trail network of limestone roads that were used by archaeologists during excavation and restoration. The highlight of the ruins are the well restored temples rising above the tree canopy.

A day's travel to the south across the border of Honduras lies the ruins of another great ancient city. Although the temples are not as high as Tikal's, Copan has some of the best preserved stone carvings from the Mayan era. With lawns spreading between a highly concentrated layout of buildings it is hard not to try imagining what it would have been like to be in that space over a millennium ago.

To see photos of Tikal click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.

To see photos of Copan click the play button below for a slideshow which can be viewed in fullscreen. If the slideshow does not show up on your screen, click here for direct link to the photo album.