Sunday, January 27, 2008

Ruins and Birds, but little meat

It has been a good weekend for sightseeing, although the weather has been bad, rained often and cloudy most of the time. I thought it suppose to be dry season in CA this time of the year, maybe it is "mountain" weather.

I spent all day Saturday in Copan Ruins (8 to 4.30), must have walked 10 or 12 km. The site itself is not very big, but it known for one of the finest stone stelas carving in Mayan world. Also there are not many tourists around, so one can find a quiet spot or two in the park. The ruin also has the longest hieroglyphic carving (stairs) in the Mayan world. It is now covered with a canopy to prevent further deterioration. More photos from Copan can be found Here.

Today I walk to the nearby bird park. This park houses a collection of Honduran and Central American macaws, toucans, and parrots that have been recovered from the captivity. The setting of the park is nice, next to a creek and in the mountain. It rained pretty much the whole time I am there, from drizzle and heavy. Luckily I had rain jackets for myself, my backpack, and camera. BTW, I was attacked by a scarlet macaw, and got small cut near my ankle. More photos from Parque de Aves can be found Here.

Meat must be expensive here, because so far my host family has not cooked a meal with meat. And couple lunches I ate out (ordered meat meal), I shelled out $9 for a lunch meal with beef and chicken kabobs, it has only 5 or 6 small pieces of meat. I guess it still better than in China, you can't even see the meat. Can't wait to try some other food than refried beans, tortillas. Thank you Lynn for the beef jerky! I also supplement my meals with family with bars.

The internet connection is very slow here, so I have to resize my pictures so that I can upload fast - from 2-3 MB to 100-300kB

Friday, January 25, 2008

Mucho Espanol

Hace calor y Yo tomo mucho agua!

The first couple days of Spanish classes have been pretty good. The one on one class starts at 8AM and ends at 12PM, with 30min recess in between. My teacher is Nelly de Espinoza and she is doing a good job with me, avoid any English unless I don't understand the meaning of a specific word (after she tried other similar Spanish words). There other students here as well, from Israel, Bermuda, etc

There is no class on weekend, but there is homework after every class, so I'll be studying while visiting the nearby Mayan Ruin of Copan. Reading/Study among the ruin and under a tree, sounds really good.....

Although the room I am stay in is nothing to write home about, but the host family is really nice. The couple has three sons (working or going to trade school). There is another guy David (married with two sons - one is under 18)) from Oxford England who is also staying here, he is teaching English at a local school as well as learning Spanish. He sold his software company and now just tries to figure out what he wants to do next. Oto, David, One of family's son, and I played rummy 500 last night.

Mama Cory, cooked very good soup and pancakes, as well as spaghetti. Only one meal so far that I don't quite like, a pre-package cold and hard toasts, it cut up the roof of my mouth up pretty good. The tortilla bread is very blend, not sure if that is the way it is, but I just add hot sauce. I have not tried other food yet, since the school/home stay includes all meals. But I'll try local food on Saturday when I visit the Copan ruin.

So far I have not done much sightseeing, tours here require min of 2 people. This weekend, I'll visit the famous Mayan ruin Copan as well as a bird park, all within walking distance of the town (2km).

A little more about the town of Copan Ruinas, it is a town of cobbled streets among the hills and growing. I think tourists are started to discover the charm of this little town. Of course eventually it might become a victim of its own success. There are muchos perros (dogs) in the street, and as well as many chickens. At night there will be rosters, dogs, and over amor cats, making noise at all time of the night!

I'll probably post some pictures next week.

BTW, I went to sleep around 7:15PM local time the first day and I did not get up until 6AM. I made up the extra sleep by going for a morning run this morning, about 20 mins, and one of the hill was tough, my legs got weak half way up! So far the rain has mainly happening at night, and daytime rain was short.

Almost time for another afternoon walk around the time.

More photos from town Copan Ruinas

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Long and tired, but smooth first day

Waiting for the 2:45AM flight from Dulles to Guatemala City was difficult. The airport was virtually deserted. I was the only one at the security line! The airplane (airbus 319) may be one sixth full. Even on arrival at 6:20AM, there was no other international plane. I got to the bus station around 7AM and met couple Canadians Melody and Kevin from Toronto on their way to Copan as well; they are on a 2.5 month tour like me, except they are going from Mexico to Argentina!! The bus ride from Guatemala was through winding mountain roads, I lost my appetite as result of motion sickness, they gave us burger king egg and sausage. At the border we stopped for passport inspection and apparent there is exit fee ($2) for Guatemala and entrance fee for Honduras ($3), it wasn’t listed in my guide book, so I went to the border control myself (not trusting our bus attendant). Anyway, shortly after we left the border check point, we arrived in Copan Ruinas. Interesting little town, where you got your parque central and church as well as many souvenir shops. The price seems to be expensive. I got some local money even though US$ is widely used here. My first class will be 8AM tomorrow miring. And I am staying with Mama Cory and Papa Oto for 2 weeks during my Spanish classes. Food will be cooked up by Mama Cory, and I´ll let you know how it is like. Ok, I am tired (it is only 4:30PM), I think I´ll retire early today soon after dinner at 6:30..... O, it is very warm here :)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Why Central America & Beyond

I knew I always wanted to visit Central America, just don't know when and for how long. I like the history, culture, and nature of the area. Also $US dollar can get you pretty far in this region (if you avoid the resorts).

I decided to go sometime in Nov after a tough stretch in my life. I debated how long and if want to do volunteer work in additional to taking a local Spanish class. I settled with 2.5 months because of holiday and tax deadline constraints. With that, there is not enough time for volunteer work or visiting Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. To do all that I probably needed another 2 month! May be I'll hit these 3 countries in late Fall this year, but with a family trip instead.

After reading the guide books and online reports on Central America, I realized that it will be the most dangerous area I have ever visited. I don't mind petty crimes, which one can avoid with common sense and being careful. But in Central America (especially Guatemala), people have guns, and they stop bus/car in broad daylight on the highway, and rob everyone on board - there is nothing you can do! And they will kill in a heart beat if you resist.

You can say I am a bit apprehensive about the trip - with being robbed the most concerned me. Luckily through my mom's home insurance, my camera/lens will be covered with $500 deductible. In additional to the normal precaution of fake wallet, money waist band, I got a "real" money belt to hide emergency cash.

Compare to preparation of this trip to Asia trip, I did much less planing for this trip. Partly because I have less time, but also because the transport logistic is less daunting than in Asia. Distance is shorter, no ocean to cross, excellent intra-country/international bus system, and single dominant language (except Belize - English).

After Central America, I think Southern parts of Africa, parts of South America, and left over Asian countries will be my next great and hopefully relatively cheap trip. Of course if opportunity (in term of discounted tour) presents itself, smaller trips to Turkey, Middle East, far Eastern Europe, might be possible as well. And there are still some nice road trips I can do in US: Western Canada/Northern Cascades, New England, and mid/southern California. It is alway good to look ahead :)

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Trip Cost Estimate

Country/Category

Visa

Tax

daily expense
(room, meal)

sightseeing &
transportation

Safety Margin

Misc

Total

RT Airplane Ticket

 

 

 

$417.03

 

 

$417.03

Honduras

 

 

$230.00

$725.30

$50.00

$150.00

$1,205.30

El Salvador

 

 

$180.00

$154.00

$50.00

$75.00

$459.00

Guatemala

 

 

$391.00

$350.00

$50.00

$200.00

$1,041.00

Belize

 

$19.00

$315.00

$240.00

$50.00

$50.00

$724.00

Mexico

 

 

$810.00

$446.00

$50.00

$200.00

$1,556.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$5,402.33


Red Indicates paid for already

Visa and Exchange Rate

Country

Visa Info

Cost

Processing Fee/Bribe

Length

Type

Photo Requirement

C-4

Arrival - Guatemala Airport

 

 

90-day

single entry

 

Belize

Departure Tax

$19

 

 

 

 

Mexico

get tourist card

 

 

max 180-day

single entry

 

 

US $

Currency Name

Exchange Rate

General Money Info

$1

Honduras Lempira

19.132

10% tip, traveler check and ATM

 

El Salvador Colon

8.75

10% tip; US$ is the default currency, ATM

 

Guatemala Quetzal

7.6315

10% tip; bargin; travel check, ATM, some credit card

 

Belize Dollar

1.985

Tip - 10% may be; $US, ATM, cash & traveler check better rate

 

Mexican Peso

10.819

tip - 10% may be; atm, cash (better rate than TC), TC

 

Rough Trip Itinerary

Rough General Itinerary >>

Country/City

Departure Date

Days

Lodging/food
cost per day

Washington DC

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

1

 

Honduras

Friday, February 15, 2008

23

$23

El Salvador

Thursday, February 21, 2008

6

$30

Guatemala

Sunday, March 09, 2008

17

$23

Belize

Sunday, March 16, 2008

7

$45

Mexico

Thursday, April 03, 2008

18

$45

Sum

 

72

 


Rough Detailed Itinerary >>

Country (days)

Desination/Sight (days)

Transport Options/Activity/Sight

Cost

Washington (1)

Guatemala City

UA 4330 2:45AM - 6:05AM

 

Guatemala City

Copan Ruins

Hedman Atlas 9AM bus in Zona 10, 5 hours

$46.00

Honduras (23)

Copan Ruins (16)

Two-week Spanish Class

$360.00

 

 

Copan

$15.00

 

 

Macaw Mountain

$10.00

 

 

Horseback Riding, Bird Watching, Village Visit,
Planation, Workshops, Biking, Caving, Hotspring

$140.00

 

 

Butterflyhouse

$5.50

 

 

Transportes Casaola to San Pedro Sula
3 hours $5.5, 6, 7AM;
Tela Express - Tela: 1.5 hr $3

$8.50

 

Tela (3)

Small beach town; garden, park, villages

 

 

 

Lancetilla Botanical Garden & Research Center

$6.00

 

 

Laguna de los Micos

$29.00

 

 

Garifuna Villages

 

 

 

Tela Express to SanPedro Sula
2 hr $3; 6AM-5PM; 8 per day
Transportes Diaz - Comayagua: 2hr $2.7

$5.70

 

Comayagua (1)

Old Colonial Capital

 

 

 

Transportes El Rey 1.5hr

$1.70

 

Tegucigalpa (3)

Valle De Angeles: 30 min every 45min

$1.50

 

 

Parque Nacional La Tigra

$1.40

 

 

King Quality - San Salvador 6AM & 2PM 6.5hr $25
Villa El Triunfo - Santiago de Maria $.3 15min
Santiago de Maria - Alergia .6 45min

$35.00

 

 

Honduras Sum

$725.30

El Salvador (6)

Alegría (1)

flower town

 

 

 

Catch Bus to Villa El Triunfo $1; to San Salvador $2.4 2.5hr
From East to West Bus station;
Santa Ana $.8 1.25hr

$4.20

 

Santa Ana (2)

Parque Nacional Los Volcanes;11AM Guided tour

$2.80

 

 

Bus to Ahuachapan .45 1.25hr
Bus to Tacuba .6 40min

$1.00

 

Tacuba (3)

El Imposible Park with Imposible Tour

$120.00

 

 

May be Ruta de las Flores

 

 

 

back to Santa Ana?
Santa Ana to Guatemala City?
Guatemala City to Antigua?

$26.00

 

 

El Salvador Sum

$154.00

Guatemala (17)

Antigua (3)

Colonial town; volcanos

 

 

 

Panajachel - 7AM 2.5 hr

$5.00

 

Panajachel (2)

Lago De Atitlan

 

 

 

Boat ride to the villages

$8.00

 

 

Chichicastenango -Mountain town; Sunday Market
1.5 hr 8 buses between 7-4 $1.5

$3.00

 

 

Xela: 2.5 hr 6 buses 5-4

$2.00

 

Quetzaltenango (Xela) (4)

Climb Volcan Tajumulco

$65.00

 

 

day tours

$20.00

 

 

Antigua; Adrenalina Tour Shuttle

$10.00

 

Antigua (1)

 

 

 

Monterrico (2)

coastal village, park, and mangrove swamps

 

 

Antigua (1)

Rio Dulce 6hr??

$14.00

 

Semuc Champey

limestone pool, caves

 

 

Rio Dulce (3)

Boat tour

$65.00

 

 

Quiriguá -small Mayan site with stellars

$65.00

 

 

Flores: 7AM 4hr

$6.50

 

Flores/ El Remate/Tikal (4)

Tikal 2 nights at Tikal then goto El Remante
Go straight to park from Flores shuttle $4

$13.00

 

 

Uaxactun: 8-1 tour via Jungle Lodge in Tikal

$60.00

 

 

El Remanate: bus at 2PM from Tikal

$2.50

 

 

Biotopo Cerro Cahui

$2.50

 

 

Melchor de Mencos: 2hr $3.5
Taxi to Bus station @ Benque Viejo del Carmen $5
Sab Ignacio: bus??

$8.50

 

Sayaxché Area

minor Mayan ruins along the river soutwest of Flores

 

 

El Mirador

5-day Jungle trek to Mayan ruin

 

 

Yaxhá

Mayan Ruin east of Tikal

 

 

 

 

 

Guatemala Sum

$350.00

Belize (7)

San Ignacio (5)

Caracol

$75.00

 

 

Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave

$80.00

 

 

Xunantunich

$5.00

 

 

Cahal Pech & El Pilar

$10.00

 

 

Orange Walk: Amigo's Bus to Chetumal 3hr

$20.00

 

Orange Walk (2)

Lamanai

$45.00

 

 

Chetumal: 2.5hr

$5.00

 

 

Belize Sum

$240.00

Mexico (18)

Chetumal

Tulum: 8/day 4hr

$13.00

 

Tulum (3)

Tulum

$7.50

 

 

Coba: 7-6 4 per day 30 min $2.8
Option: make 2 day in Tulum and goto Valladolid from Coba

$10.00

 

 

Valladolid: 2 hr 7 a day

$5.00

 

Valladolid (1)

Chichen Itza: $3 45min
Option leaving for Merida from Chichen Itza (with luggage store) - Merida: $7

$16.00

 

 

Merida: 2hr

$10.00

 

Merida (4)

Uxmal: 1.5 hr

$21.50

 

 

Dzibilchaltun: 45min $1.4

$7.70

 

 

Izamal 90min

$6.00

 

 

cenote tour

$29.00

 

 

Palenque: 9 hr 3-4 daily

$32.00

 

Palenque (3)

Palenque: Colectivos $1

$6.50

 

 

Bonampak and Yaxchilan tour

$50.00

 

 

Villahermosa to see Museo La Venta $2 (closed Mon)
2nd Class bus 6/day from 5AM 2.5hr $6.5 coming back?

$13.00

 

 

San Cristobal: 4.5hr

$7.50

 

San Cristobal
De Las Casas (3)

day tours?

$15.00

 

 

Mayan towns

$14.00

 

 

19 hrs to Mexico City  - $77-91, 10 daily
Or 1440 peso flight from Tuxtla Gutierrez or from scdlc

$140.00

 

Mexico City (4)

Teotihuacán" from North Terminal $2 45min

$7.50

 

 

Colonial Center

 

 

 

Poza Rica from Terminal Orientev(TAPO)

$16.00

 

Poza Rica

El Tajin (Ruined Veracruz)

$2.80

 

 

Mexico City: 5hr, every 30min

$16.00

 

 

Mexico Sum

$446.00

 

Washington

UA 0822 9:05AM - 3:25PM

 


Red Indicates may be destination