Mexico DF

Mexico City Zocolo
A one day whirlwind tour of Mexico City which is the last stop on my Central American tour. My connection back to Vancouver didn't work perfectly so I ended up having 20 hours to kill. I didn't have much idea of Mexico City when I got there, but was able to book a hostel from the airport. I left my big bag in a locker and headed through the subway system to my hostel located one block from the historic Zocolo. It turned out to be a great location as I was able to walk around to all the sights. A Mexican woman staying in the hostel pointed out to me all the places worth seeing in the downtown, so I headed out for the afternoon. The streets were packed with people and the street vendors were out in force.

Costa Rica

Hola amigos. Only one more day in Central America left so I better make the most of it. I will spend my last day in the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose and then leave very early Monday morning for Mexico City. It has been a nice week so far in Costa Rica. I spent most of the time visiting the Pacific Coast since I only had a few days. Costa Rica is definately more touristy than the rest of Central America and hence more expensive, but on the plus side there is a lot less garbage by the side of the road and the buses are nicer but still pretty cheap and easy to get around. One thing I noticed while in Nicaragua (and Honduras and Guatemala) is that almost everyone throws their garbage out the bus window. So the sides of the roads, ditches and so on are filled with junk. Of course they keep the touristy areas cleaner, but it is such a shame. As soon as I arrived in Costa Rica I noticed there was hardly any garbage and that everything seemed greener. Perhaps they fertilzed the side of the roads near the border because soon enough the bus was travelling through dry ranch country.

The city of San Jose is nice and cool compared to the steamy Pacific coast and it is a nice change. The beaches were really nice though and it was great to spend my last few days relaxing on the sand.

Nicaragua

I'm losing track of time, but I think it's been a week in Nicaragua and I have seen a lot so far. After leaving San Pedro Sula I spent one day in the capital of Honduras Tegucigalpa. It seemed a lot safer than Guatemala City, but since I really only saw the central section I can't be sure. The hostel I stayed in was run by a friendly American guy who was quite helpful. There was a water shortage here too, so the shower I had was more of getting slightly damp experience.

I stopped in Esteli in northern Nicaragua for one night. I had a hard time finding a hotel there for some reason, and when I did find one it was a lot more expensive than Guatemala or Honduras. On to Managua where I stayed with my cousin Michael and his family. They had a beautiful big house and it was nice to relax in a hammock by the pool for a few days and visit with the kids whom I haven't seen in over five years. While there I went on a school field trip with Nicolas sixth grade class to the Masaya volcano. They needed another adult on the trip, so I volunteered to go along. I thought I was finished with volcanoes, but this one was a lot easier to get up, since the bus drove right to the crater edge. The crater was a lot larger than I expected. Being with a group of 12 year olds was quite tiring as they seemed to be pumped up full of sugar the whole time, but I escaped unscathed.

I also visited the city of Leon and stayed with a local family. It was an interesting experience. It seems like everyone in that neighborhood had a rooster, and they were all out in full force before dawn, so no sleeping in there! Had a side trip to the Pacific coast and the beach there was a lot nicer than the one I went to in Guatemala. Now I'm in Granada near Lake Nicaragua and will visit Laguna Apoyo, Isla Ometepe, and San Juan del Sur before moving on to Costa Rica.
Adios