San Diego

We arrived at Los Angeles airport early in the morning, safe in the knowledge that Cara's family would be at the arrivals gate to pick us up.  After an awkward and lengthy journey through customs we finally made it to the other side.  After about a minute of searching for familiar faces, Ben pointed to a little lady wearing a pink dress with her back to us.... low and behold it was Cara's mum.  After tapping her on the shoulder we were greeted with a shriek of elation (we got stares).  Apparantley this was not an over reaction as not only did Cara's mum not have our flight number, she didn't even know what country that we were flying in from, in fact the only piece of information she had was that our flight was arriving at midnight, if we had known this at the time we would of probably given a little yelp for joy too.  

We made it to San Diego after a 3 hour car journey and a 4am trip to Walmart (Cara's family are very good at shopping).  The next day we went to the mall while the rest of the family sorted out errands.  We picked ourselves up a little netbook at a bargain US price.  In the evening we met up with Cara's grandparents (Very exciting for Cara as she hadn't seen them since she was 11) and we headed to an all-you-can eat oriental restaurant for dinner. This was an introduction to what was in store for the rest of the trip.  We knew that Cara's family liked to feed guests from the reception that Ben recieves everytime we visit Reading......Cara's mum isn't satisfied unless Ben either has food in his mouth or in his hand! After the next few days of attending lavish restaurants and all-you-can eat buffetts, we both left feeling like a pair of foie gras ducks!

Aside from the food tourism, we made a trip to San Diego zoo.  We all had a great time, with the highlights being an angry silverback gorrila and three horny zebras.  We spent our last day in Los Angeles where we ate lots of interesting asain foods (at least 3 different establishments), we were treated to a massage (not for the faint hearted) wondered around Orange County and Hollywood boulavard, where we rubbed shoulders with the stars.  We were amazad at how well Michael Jackson is looking these days!  We had such a great time in California, mostly thanks to the kindest of Cara's family.  We were blown away by their generosity, it was safe to say they spoiled us rotten.  We are allready looking forward to our next trip to see them, once our waste lines have recovered.   

Nicaragua - San Juan Del Sur

It is safe to say that Costa Rican / Nicaraguan border crossing was the worst we've had yet, a sign or two would've been lovely!  We only got fleeced once, $2 each as a donation to... we don't know what.  Once we crossed the gates into Nicaragua we were mobbed by hawkers, we were polite at first, but ended with the words 'don't touch me' and 'leave me alone'. Following two chicken buses and Cara nearly falling out the back doors because it forgot to stop, we safely made it San Juan Del Sur.  So far it can be noted that Nicaragua is the most authentic Central American country that we have been to, some would call it 'edgier'.

Our first day in San Juan Del Sur was spent exploring the little town.  We spotted a monument of Jesus Christ on top of the hill (a bit like a poor man's version of Christ on the hill in Rio De Janerio), so we decided to hike up there to get a view of the bay.  After many wrong turns we made it 3/4 of the way up and saw a sign indicating that we had to pay $2 each once we got there.  Discouraged by this, we decided to give it a miss.  While out for dinner that evening we bumped into some american folk (Jessie, Matt and Alena) that we had met in Bocas Del Torro.  We told them about our 'half-a-job' trek up Christ and they proceeded to inform us that we had made a mistake and that we should go again because it is absolutley stunning.......wonderful!   We managed to make it all the way up there on a day that there was no surf and when we were particuarley hungover.  The yanks were right, it was absolultley stunning.  Beautiful emerald coves as far as the eye could see, not to mention the statue of Jesus himself.  When we made it back we immediatley informed the Yanks we had 'found Jesus', much to their amusement!

Most of our days in San Juan was spent surfing, we would catch a ride via 4x4 to near by beaches; Maderas and Ramonso, where we surfed at least 3 times a day.  The shuttle service was run by a surf shop called Arena Calante, who comprised of local surfers.  Great guys and great fun, they did not batter an eyelid when we handed them back snapped leashes or broke the bus seat, although this was defiantly not our fault, I have never seen so much rust on a vehicle that can still move! The surf was great with consistant offshore winds and some really big swell on a few days.  Most days we would come back and have to nurse wounds, or tend to some pretty bad sunburn.  Following a hard day at the beach we would relax with dinner and drinks and many games of fooseball.  We also met a lovely British couple (Michael and Kylie) who hung out with us for a few days, along with the yanks it was really cool to have a big group of us.  Between us we managed to polish off a 2 litre bottle of 'Flor de cana' a high quality bottle of rum, which we got for the bargain price of $15.

We really enjoyed our time in Nicaragua, having spent a total of 10 days there, it meant that we really got to know the place and made some good friends.  Next stop, back to Costa Rica to San Jose, not our favourite place, but needs must as we had to get our flight to Los Angeles.

Costa Rica - La Fortuna

This place has it's very own active volcano (Volcan Arene), as well as all of the awesome activities that go along with it; hot rivers, hot springs and waterfalls.  We headed straight for a hostel called Gringo Pete's, which you may have guessed was run by a white guy called Pete. Our first night consisted of the standard christening of wetting the new hostel's head, where we met a lovely couple (Amber and Steve) and Sue (Mama) from Colorado.  We spent the next three days establishing a trans-atlantic friendship.  Being from Colorado it meant that Steve had himself a great collection of guns and an amazing bushy beard to boot.

Over three days we embarked on a series of activities; the 1st was spent jumping and swinging into a fresh river, followed by a hike up to a stunning waterfall, with a some what fresher dip!  The next day we pushed the boat out and spent the day zipping through the canopies under the shadow of the volcano, followed with relaxation in the resorts hot springs.  This resort also had crocodiles , turtles, butterflys and ANTS, all of which under lock and key of course.  We got chatting to Antonio, the guy who ran the canopy zip line and it turns out the next day was his day off and so he took us to the locals natural hot river and spent the day drinking cold beer and meeting the locals. Three great days, thanks to great company and  a beautiful place.

By this point we found out first hand how expensive Costa Rica was, everything in the super market was a dollar or over; even a bar of chocolate.  So an impromtu visit to Nicaragua was in store, apparently one of the cheapest countrys in Central America.  Without a guide book, we were somewhat at the mercy of friends advice and headed for San Juan Del Sur.

Costa Rica ca ca ca ca - Puerto Viejo

Crossing the border was actually easier that we thought it would be, apart from the odd queue and dodgey bridge crossing the whole journey only took us 3 hours.  

Our first destination was Puerto Veijo.  In many ways this place was very similar to the place we had just come from; with it's reggae vibe, laid back culture and stunning beaches.  There were however some noticiable differences, one of which was the cost (we were now paying bar prices for beer from supermarkets) and the temperature, which was significantley cooler than Panama.  For the first time in our trip we weren't dying of heat exhaustion and it was possible to get a good nights sleep.  Another thing we noticed was how much more developed Costa Rica was compared to Panama, roads a little bit smoother, cars a lot flashier and bigger, and everything just that little bit more organised.  This is all likely to be due to the tourist influence, and the huge amount of Americans (US) that come on vacation here every year.  

On our first day we bumped into a Canadian couple that we met at our hostel in Bastimentos, so we spent our first evening drinking and playing cards at theri hostel. The next day they took us to a different beach, which was alot nicer than the one we had been to the day before.  Matt (the Canadian guy) was some what of gymnast, so we spent the day learning how to make Cara do a back flip, which provided hours of entertainment.   After a couple of days here, we felt it was time to move on from the Caribbean coast and head inland to La Fortuna.

Panama - Bocas Del Torro

After a horrible, packed and stuffy journey through the landslide prone mountains we finally reached the Caribbean coast and the promised land of Bocas Del Torro.  Due to the fact that this area is a surfing region, made up of a cluster of islands with white beaches and crystal clear water and palm trees (think back to the aforementioned cliche) make it a popular tourist attraction for 'youths'.  We weren't quite ready to dive head first into the world of old day drinking by the pool, burgers and fry ups that is the main island of Bocas Del Torro.  So we headed for the more chilled out and authentic island of Bastimentos.  

We reached our gigantic hostel by boat.  We think it is fair to say that the majority boat drivers in Bocas seem to have a major inferiority complex, as all the engines attached to the back of their boats are powerful enough to lift a helicopter, but the boats that they are attached to a small and rickety (its like attaching a rocket to a paper airplane).

We arrived to the sound of raggae and the call of the hostel host Dixon.  A typical carribean bloke; laid back, funny, cocky and doesn't move a lot.  If you read the lonely planet for Panama and look up Hostel Bastimentos it will say " Dixon, the host couldn't be nicer", which is true, but we didn't let him know that, we just asked how much he paid them to write it.  In the high season apparantley the place is booming, but we arrived in the low season. We were in fact the only ones there, in which case Dixon had all the time to spend playing us at cards... we say play, but for him it must have been like bouncing a ball against a brick wall, because there wasn't a lot of competition from our end.  He beat us at every game we played, much to his enjoyment.

We spent a few days exploring the stunning and deserted beaches, canoeing and snorkling. Our snorkling guide was a German bloke who had been living on the island for a few years (it's very disconcerting to hear through a thick German accent the words 'yah mon'!).  As we were preparing to enter the water to snorkel near an area of mangroves, the German chap briefed us on some of the dangers we might face, one of which was the box jellyfish, supposidly one of the most dangerous jelly fish around.  He said that once he got stung by one of them and was in so much shock and pain that two guys had to pull him out of the water.  This obviously put us on the edge a little and rightly so  because either of us would be swimming and the other would give a tap on the shoulder to point out a jelly fish right by their feet.  For most activities in the water Ben would wear a t-shirt to stop him from getting sunburnt. Unfortunatley, his trusty t-shirt failed to protect his skin miserably, as one of the jelly fish got caught in it and he got stung.  Ben took it more like a man than the German chap though, the swelling had gone right down by the next day.

After a few days of chilling out on the island of Bastimentos we decided to move onto the town and island of Bocas Del Torro.  Although more developed, the island had some beautiful spots that are away from all the hustle and bustle; like star fish beach.  This place is basically a beach with lots of star fish (not just a clever name)!  The amazing thing about this place is the biodivirsity; on the way to the beach we saw; a monkey, a crocidile, a huge flock of vultures, friendly fish that tickle your feet, flying fish and of course, the inevitable star fish.  

Someone's sitting there mate

After a long day at the beach it was time to head over to the infamous bar on another island called Aqua Lounge.  We read about this place about a one and half years ago in the Guardian, it is basically a club set on the water with swimming pools cut into the decking over the sea, with swings and trampolines that youths (and Ben) jump off into the water for giggles.  Its safe to say that safety regulations would'nt allow this place to exist in the UK, with beers served all day at 1$ and free drinks for ladies (it was ladies night after all), this place as you can imagine was carnage.  We met three lovely Australians there who were actually staying there as it was also a hostel, these girls would drink most guys under the table.  We went back there to hang out over the next few days, which made us quite thankfull that we were staying on another island, as nobody ever seemed to leave this place. If they planned to do something in the day the plans would easily be thwarted to distractions; such as all day drinking games, beer pong and of course, swings and tramploines.  We had a great time in Bocas, we met some really sound people, however, Costa Rica was calling us, so on we went across the border. 

Panama - Boquete

The Local Buses (old school buses from USA)

We both really enjoyed winding down in Santa Catalina, although looking forward to our trip to the mountain region of Boquete. After another 4 bus journeys we arrived in Boquete in the afternoon, it was noticably cooler and wetter at 1800m, I guess this is to be expected. We were coaxed into staying in a cheap and cheerful hostel, well actually it was more like this guys house; you walked into his living room to him either watching football or his kids playing nintendo. This wouldn't have been so bad if the bloke didn't drag you into a 20min conversation every time you went to the loo.  Saying that he was very friendly and drew us a detailed map which we used to get up to the water fall in the mountains.

A samosa flavored pasty

It was a fair old trek to get there; up slippery mountain paths and through thick jungle and past scary dogs (Ben even offered one a banana to keep the peace, which unsurprisingly, the K9 declined) . Being at such a high altitude made the hike all the more difficult, but it was part of the experince that made the waterfall all the more beautiful. On walk we stopped for lunch overlooking mountain valleys whilst Ben got stuck into a Central American pasty (empanada), which is not a touch on the real thing...

On our way down the weather started to do it's thing and has one of it's flash down pours... when we say flash, we actually mean relentless! It started raining at 13:00 and didn't stop for the rest of our stay. This was a shame as it meant that we couldn't walk around the coffee plantations like we planned, Boquete is world renowned for its coffee; it's geisha coffee retails for mere $170 per pound. It was a relief to see the back of Boquete, not that we wouldn't recommend going there, we were just unlucky with the weather and our choice of hostel (we find the simple things can make or break a place).

Panama - Santa Catalina

We decided that for our next stop we should head to the coast for some proper R & R, so off we went to Santa Catalina, on the Pacific coast.  A hectic 10 hour journey, via 3 buses and 1 taxi saw us arrive at our destination in the evening.  We were welcomed by palm trees and coconut groves and the sound of waves lapping the shore (you know the cliche, free your minds and have a dip, the water is warm), just what the doctor ordered!

We spent a few days in Santa Catalina soaking up the sun (maybe a little too much, even with factor 50 Ben looked as though he had been cooked on a BBQ) and catching some amazing waves.  We both noticed how much easier it is to surf without a wet-suite, which essentially feels like trying to catch a wave while wearing a big rubber band.  Surfing 'sans wet-suite' gives you a lot more freedom of movement (although ladies, a word of advice from Cara, tie those bikinis on tight, as they tend to be rather difficult to keep a hold of). 

In Britain we often complain about the rain but after a few days in Panama I now believe that you haven't seen rain until you've been to this neck of the woods: this rain came like Armagedon. It pours for 30mins; creates raging tourants of water down the street, off roof tops and even through our hotel corridor. Then the sun comes out, the birds start singing and within 15mins you're non the wiser.