Cuba Libre

Well, finally here fully financed and raring to go. And just so excited to be here that I keep breaking into a huge grin when i am walking around, much to the apparent amusement of the locals! Am staying in a casa particualar (a private home where rooms are rented to tourists) and really struck lucky. The couple I am staying with are so lovely and happy to chat with me, the woman is a great cook (had heard the food was terrible here but so far have eaten well) and have pretty much my own apartment with lounge and kitchen.

Have also been throwing myself into sightseeing and have spent hours wandering around old havana and the bit called central havana, thats still pretty old. The old bit which has been restored is really pretty and has some lovely, interesting squares, but I actually like the slightly more lived in bits with all the collapsing houses, shops selling about 3 things and people everywhere..... in doorways, fixing old american cars, playing baseball with drain pipes balls of paper. I know it is a huge cliche, but there is a real vibrancy in the air and I love it. Its wierd becuase i know its a communist country and there is a lot of state repression, but it feels way less restrictive than Vietnam, and all the people seem pretty happy, and most have been incredibly friendly with me (and no, i'm not just talking about the hoards of guys "hey lady where you from, you want a coffee with me"....er, no, thanks)

I was really lucky and met a German guy at the airport who has been to cuba 5 times so he showed me around a bit and in particular showed me where to get cuban pesos (25 to the tourist peso) and where to spend them. This is the currency most of the locals use and is used in cheap resturants and for snacks. So have been throwing myself into this in a bid to save money. For lunch today decided to brave a cajetin, which is someone selling boxes of lunch from their front room. So I came across a line (one of many, felt quite proud i figured out what this line was for....often i cant figure it out for the life of me....theres one near my house thats always miles long and only seems to be heading for a lottery stand or a lighter refill stand, neither of which i would have thought deserved such a long line. Might ask one of these days!) established that it was for food and joined the end. And for the bargin price of $1 got a huge box full of rice and salad, pork and chick peas which i ate in a park and felt very adventurous

God, loads more to say, but only have 3 mins left. And internet is v v expensive here so dont be expecting regular updates from here on in.

Hurrah

At last, i have money, I have an assurance from Thomas Cook that I will have money waiting for me in Cuba, and i have my tourist visa. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah. Feeling positively organised for once! SPeaking of Thomas Cook, I now seem to have got myself onto a blacklist of angry customers as I think I was put through to a supervisor this morning when I phoned...hee hee! Quite glad really as at least I am finally managing to talk to someone who can do things.....well, I say that but we will have to wait until Havana to check that there is money there for me!

So after so efficiently sorting that out before 10am, I now find myself with a fun day to kill in David. But what to do.....shop in second hand shops, go to macdonalds, sit in the plaza.....as you can probably tell, David is not the most exciting place in the world! Half of me thinks I should go to the hot springs but when I am this hot and sweaty already, it seems somewhat foolish to go and make myself hotter and wetter and pay for the priviledge!

But anyway, small boredoms aside, am unbelievably excited about Cuba (leave on Tuesday) despite Fidel's seemingly growing desire to make my life difficult (damn him and his ideologies!!!) First I cant bring in dollars, then he tells cubans they cant have unneccessary contact with foreigners (hopefully that doesn't exclude salsa although i suspect i may have to satisfy my salsa craving with other tourists - urgh) and now as of 9th April, he has altered the exchange rate so money is worth 8% less (or something, got a bit lost after reading posts on the lonely planet thorn tree). But these minor details aside, I am gearing up for what hopefully will be my best adventure yet......if only for the 20hr bus journey I am going to have to take at somepoint....may yet decide to chance it with the trains which only theoretically leave!!!

Easter in Panama

So, due to poor planning on my part and some idiocy by DHL Panama, I have ended up not flying to Panama City today but am patiently waiting in Boquete in the mountains until DHL opens on MOnday and I can collect my Cuban visa (helpfully stolen a while ago in Costa Rica!) There are worse places to be stranded though and its been quite fun chilling in the mountains for a few days. Unfortunately this means that I wont be able to see much of Panama City (well, none) but am definately coming back to Panama one day soon so figure i can see it then.

Consequently I have been experiencing Easter in small town Panama and its ok but nowhere near as much fun as everyone makes out, mostly as its illegal to sell alcohol from midnight wed to noon saturday (today!). Have been meaning to do lots of walks but we both just end up chilling out all day. Yesterday was Good Friday so we were promised a procession, and at 8.30 it showed up! Liz and I though are going straight to hell as we couldnt stop laughing! It was a bit pitiful with one thing with Jesus in a coffin, but his arm was less than steady and looked a bit creepy bumping around. There was also a huge green light in the shape of a cross which I kept thinking came from a pharmacy and another big virgin mary pulled by a tractor! And all to the accompanyment of an old lady singing through a loud speaker! And to crown the festivities, the passion of the christ was playing on an outside screen in the town square!

HOpefully tonight will be better. There is a big orchid fair on with apparently an xtreme (no first e thank you very much!) party night tonight....the mind boggles. But before then Liz is going on a horse ride and after my previous attempts I am giving it a miss and going for tea and lemon pie instead! far more me!

And finally, just to continue the saga of Thomas Cook incompetance. Despite asking 5 days for them to arrange to get some of MY money to me, I have still yet to receive it. A nasty phone call is now in order!

Feeling pious

Had another wonderful day in Guadelupe with a walk around a national park to a waterfall followed by an $10 massage at the spa at our hotel (told you it was amazing, and all for $13 a night). Then decided we were so relaxed we deserved some wine, so had a lovely meal of trout in the resturant with some wine before retiring to the reading room to finish off the bottle and chat. really was delightful! Also found out the owner wants an english speaking receptionist and was very tempted to volunteer my services. Could have stayed there for ever!

But this morning Liz and I tore ourselves away and undertook a v long day walk to Boquete through the Park Volcan Baru which turned out to be stunning. So hence the title - feeling very pious! Decided to walk back to Boquete from teh trail head afterwards as the sign said it was only 3km. Turned out to be 2 hours long though and when we found that out (after walking for 30 mins and at the bottom of a very big hill!) we nearly cried. Luckily someone out there was looking out for us and as we were collapsing on a rock, a bus came by and rescued us! So now in Boquete which is nowhere near as beautiful, but is pretty cool and there are loads of day walks and stuff to keep us busy so that should be nice.

Came across a lovely Panamanian thing today though....have arranged for some money to be here to pick up from Western Union only to get here and find the office doesnt open for another month! dont you just love it!!!

The hills are alive...

So have moved out of David today to the mountains in Panama and they are gorgeous, feels so relaxing just being here. We are staying in this tiny village called Guadalupe in a fantastic hotel where to make things even better, they grow strawberries here so had strawberries and cream and strawberry bread for lunch! Its also really nice to be slightly on the chilly side (never thought i would say that) Planning on doing some walking tommorrow and hopefully spot a Quetzal but have a hectic night lined up tonight in the reading and games room!!!!

Another day another country

Sorry to my many legions of friends out there demanding my imminent return to the blog (well, mostly my mum, but hey, you have to start somewhere). Am now back in 21st century with lots to say (let that be a warning)

So big event of last week was obviously my birthday, which many people managed to remember but unfortunately I did not!!! This was mostly on account of me never knowing what day/date/time it is over here. So had a perfectly lovely day going to a waterfall and swimming in this lovely swimming hole and then swimming in the aforementioned river (lots more swimming since, am feeling a bit waterlogged now!) and it was only when we moved on to Uvita in the evening and had to sign into the new hostel that I realised! So burst into fits of laughter and then had food, drink and pool paid for all eve and treated myself to an airconditioned dorm!!!

This last week has been lots of fun though as we have been prettty much 5 people with a couple of personnel changes! The five of us from Dominical all went to Uvita together and had a fab time hanging out at a great hostel and then spending a v hot and sweaty day on one of the most perfect beaches I have seen with lots of playing in the waves, snorkelling and running away from tiny but ferocious looking lizards.

Was then talked into going to the Osa Penninsula with Liz and Alex by a girl I had met in Monteverde and then ran into (not, surprisingly enough for me, literally!) in Uvita and am really glad I went. It was sad saying bye to Ali and Johanna and was a bit wary of travelling for such a long way with 4 others (picked up a 5th guy, Adam waiting for the bus!) but makes it cheaper. decided to splash out a whole $10 each on a taxi all the way to Sierpe cutting about 2 hours off our travel time and it was one of my best journeys yet (for me at least). Alex and I grabbed the back and so lay there in the sun watching all this amazing coast and jungle scenery fly past knowing that we could have been sweating ourselves to death on a slow as hell bus. Then after a near fist fight between us on how to knock a $ or 2 (the joys of big group travel) of the price finally got ourselves onto a boat, and one hour along river and sea and much gorgeous scenery later we had ourselves a beach landing onto a perfect, deserted beach and found out that the hostel we wanted to stay at couldn´t get much better!

So have just had the best 3 days. We stayed in this great cabina all to ourselves in the middle of the jungle yet only 2 mins walk to the beach and with coconuts, pineapples and starfruit growing all around and scarlet macaws flying overhead. Plus the guy looking after the place treated us like family, we all cooked together and generally all had a fab time. Sorry to make you all sick, but as Liz and I floated in the sea together as the sun set (we are both real waterbabies) we agreed that this was pretty much heaven

Best day for me though was on Saturday i managed to organise a trip to Cano Island with a posh hotel about 20mins walk away and it was just amazing. The island itself was used in Jurassic Park apparently but it is also a marine park and the snorkelling was out of this world. Saw sharks, lobster, starfish and a jumping devil ray as well as huge sea turtles and loads of different fish, but the best bit was turning around and suddenly seeing a huge ball of snapper (must have been 300 fish easily) being circled by 6 or 7 big blue fish. It was just like you would see on a documentary and I was just mesmerised watching them all swim together and evade the big fish. After watching that for about 10mins all of a sudden this shark comes out of nowhere and grabs a fish. Pretty spectacular! even our guide was impressed.

Left the penninsula today though and had to say bye to Alex (sad) and Linete (not so sad!!) but Liz and Adam decided to come to Panama with me and we have had a pretty fun day! Had been stormy all night and this morning so the boat ride back to Sierpe was a little on the fun side (to say the least, as I clutched my seat hoping the boat wouldn´t fall apart). Then at the border, the Panamanian woman obviously took a dislike to us and decided to make our lives hell. She insisted that Liz and Adam have return bus tickets to San Jose (an entry requirement is that you have a ticket to leave an I luckily had my plane ticket to Cuba)) but the bus office was closed and there appeared to be no way of buying a ticket! But after begging and pleading various people, a handy man turned up and sold them a ticked so that was sorted....but then on our return to the lady she now decided that they needed a tourist card and so off we went to the tourist card place.....grrrr Tempers were wearing a little thin at this point and I was so glad when we were hustled onto a bus Nica style and off we went. Hurrah...finally in Panama and off to the mountains tomorrow.

No surfing for me

So am now in a place called Dominical whose raison d'etre appears to be all about the surfing...which would be great with my new found passion, but the rip tides and currents are really strong here so have decided i am too scared to go in the water! Have been playing around in the waves in the shallow bits but thats enough for me! Alas, my surfing career is over before it started properly

Having fun though. Have managed to meet up with a couple of english people, a swede and a girl from canada so we are hanging out and having a good time. Today has been particularly productive with a short hike and then an extended period of time lazing in this amazing river that is just behind dominical. Its the end of the river where it meets the sea, but at low tide it is cut off so really calm, and as its a bit salty its so easy to float. Had the most relaxing time floating and swimming and playing around.....now just have to wait for the horrible disease i am almost certain to get! Off to walk to a waterfall tomorrow and then moving to another beach town called Uvita which is meant to be nicer for swimming in the sea.

Escape to the beach

Well, as the Monteverde bank hold up has made the UK press, its safe to write about it here now (parents-was trying to save you the worry!). Spent Wednesday in limbo waiting on the streets, watching the bank/police/red cross/tv reporters, and hoping it would all end soon and with the minimum amount of bloodshed. At about midday the police tried to storm the bank and the ended up killing one robber and releasing some hostages but by the afternoon, there was still one robber and a hostage left. But thankfully, finally at about 9pm one of our new friends/guardians came and told us that he had just given himself up and it was all over. The relief we felt was just amazing and after about half an hour Daniel (one of our Tica guardians!) was able to convince the police to let us back to our hostel so we could get our stuff, and i could finally take my contact lenses out!

All seems a bit surreal now (well, felt surreal at the time too, but at least then I only had to open my eyes to see all the police to know it was very real) but was actually quite sad to leave Monteverde. After spending the best part of 30 hours waiting on the streets, alongside all the locals, I really felt very attached to the place. In the end 9 people have been killed as a result of the raid, 5 of whom were locals and i can only imagine the saddness in such a small community. I ended up getting to know a couple of the locals quite well (lots of people really looked after Stephanie and me) and it was quite horrible knowing that I was going to leave as soon as I got my stuff and the only real effect on me was a great addition to my travel story catalogue whereas they lost friends and have to carry on living in the same place.

But enough of such sad things.....unfortunately I couldn't make my Tortuguero tour as I was stuck in Monteverde, but by the end of that I was so tired and drained, that I just wanted to hit the beach. So on Thursday spent the morning in Monteverde (really beautiful and great for the soul after the hell of Tues and Wed!) before catching an afternoon bus to Manuel Antonio. Was planning on using this just as a over night stop before heading to Dominical as had heard it was over developed and full of americans (it is!) but decided while i was here i might as well spend a day in the park and whilst much of the day was spent dodging irritating yanks, the park was really quite beautiful...rainforest backing on to tropical beaches.....plus i saw loads of monkeys (howlers and spider) and a sloth. Everyone had kept going on about wanting to see a sloth and I didn't really understand why until I saw one. They really are quite lovely creatures. So all in all a good day. Am now off to try to find some non-irritating yanks to hang out with on this lovely firday eve before heading off to Domincal and more surfing tommorrow.

Armadillos...crunchy on the outside, smooth in the middle

Am now in Monteverde which seems a bit like Disney World for wildlife (huge areas of protected cloud forest, 300 types of orchids blah blah blah and 200,000 visitors annually, all of whom seem to be here now giving me even more of a culture shock), but is pretty cool nonetheless although none of the locals seem to appreciate my spanish here and I got told off by the waiter yesterday for attempting to not speak english!

Arrived here on Sunday with Caroline and Stephanie after a rather long journey from Malpais made bareable by the fact we splashed out and got a private transfer all the way! Bargin $40 each for 6 hours of travel. Anyhow, got ourselves organised and on a dusk hike that night in a lesser known reserve that covers hundreds of kms of cloud forest and which was bought by fundraising efforts of children all over the world. Pretty cool really. Turned out to have an amzingly knowledgable guide and we saw loads of cool things, including as you have probably guessed, an armadillo (which is apparently quite rare). Also saw (amongst other things) a hummingbird in its nest, a couple of HUGE tarantulas, some click beetles that glow really brightly and a big guinea pig thing (think small dog size) whose name escapes me. So feeling suitably inspired, I then went on a nature walk this morning in Santa Elena (Dad, see I am your daughter after all!) and whilst I didnt see nearly as much wildlife, the walk itself was beautiful and there were virtually no people there, a minor miracle given the hoards of tourists here. Best bit was a research tower I found which had an amazing view from the top right over to Arenal volcano, as amazingly it was a clear day today.

Then as if that wasnt enough excitement, we then all met up for a zip line thing this afternoon where you fly over the top of the forest on wires! Not as much fun as I thought it would be as I was too worried about following instructions wrongly/falling off etc etc but did manage to kick my friend over who was in my direct line of flight as I "came in to land" taking a photo of me! We thought it was hilarious but the guides thought less so! Then managed not to break when I was meant to so nearly ended up flying off the end of another landing bit (sure this isnt technically possible but it felt like it at the time) Needless to say, I was quite relieved when it all ended and I could have a recuperative snickers (the mothers genes coming out!)

And just incase you thought after my "losing all my money incident" I might be more sensible, how wrong you were. Managed to lose both my glasses and prescription sunglasses yesterday. Luckily though after a phone call this afternoon, discovered that my lovely taxi driver has them and they are going to be delivered to me tommorrow! Do wonder what else I can possibly lose on this trip....and still with 2 months to go

Just call me surfer girl

Well yesterday I had my first go on a surfboard ever and i think it is fair to say that I have neither the agility, balance nor strength to actually be any good, but did manage to sort of stand up once and had a fab time in the process. Definately want to get some more in while I am over here...new aims for the holiday now are to be able to stand up on a board, and be able to carry one whilst looking cool, rather than like I am about either whack myself or drop it. Do need to get stronger though as my muscles are killing me today. Was planning on going back out today but there is now way I could even lift a board right now let alone paddle one (cant even reach up to put sun tan lotion on my shoulders at the moment)

Hurrah

Have just got my lovely shiny new credit card, and Thomas Cook have oh so kindly agreed to give me my money, so I am ready to got back on the road again!

Did have a slight revertion back to my previous planning ways and tried to plan the rest of my month in central america yesterday but it got way too stressful trying to co-ordinate reservations today, especially when people dont seem to want to answer phones/take reservations/answer e-mails....so have decided to go back to just seeing what happens each day! A much more relaxing way to see the world....and do have one reservation for one place so i can definately go there.

yo espero y espero

For the non-bilingual amongst you, that means I wait and I wait!

After a hellish morning yesterday trying to co-ordinate places where I could photocopy stuff, get my claim form up off e-mail, print said form, and finally find a place with a working international fax (this took 3 hours!) I finally managed to get all the pieces of paper sent off to the travellers cheque people and now I wait with baited breath to see if they will be nice! Never dreamt it would be this much hassle. Has meant that I am going to have to be slightly more organised with the remaining month I have in central america if I am to see anything at all!

Its wierd being in costa rica actually after 2 months of honduras and nicaragua, countries not know for their wealth. CR has a really different feel, the roads are well made, the people all drive cars that dont look like they are about to fall apart, no-one wears clothes that are second hand from America and there are loads of shops of expensive white/electrical goods and noce clothes. Not used to actually seeing things in shops that I might consider buying and it is all very strange! almost like culture shock!

Not much else to say really - just lounging, watching movies and engaging anyone who comes within a 10m radius of me in fractured spanish. Yesterday I made friends with my waiter (we had an "interesting" conversation about Titanic) and a security guard at a supermarket (I was queueing for my western union money - hurrah, have money again!