Comments | chrestomancy: What to do if you want to travel Central America * (what we didn't)

chrestomancy

What to do if you want to travel Central America * (what we didn't)

Mar 13, 2005 13:47

Finally in Costa Rica, last stop before NZ and OZ. Dominican Republic was fantastically expensive, which amusingly meant that for the two of us it was fantastically cheap, because we couldn't afford to do anything much. We saw whales. We windsurfed (or more accurately bounced off the board, the sail, the rocks that were always below us when we ( Read more... )

Comments 19

metame March 14 2005, 10:01:49 UTC

Damn shame the Carribean ain't worked out beautifully. Maybe I need to rehash my image of the place ( ... )

chrestomancy March 14 2005, 13:33:45 UTC

Ug. Given up on looking, most of the time. The Panama canal was cool from the air, as was New York. But otherwise, seen 5 central american cities from the air, seen em all.

I hear what you're saying about 1 horse towns. But so far, most of Central America seems to be on a beaten track. The buses all have chickens on them, but the network is in reality awe inspiringly comprehensive and regular. As the place is kinda narrow, nowhere is very out-of-the-way, or at least not until you get into that Nicaragua-Honduras bit, where the mountains are.

Perhaps the better conclusion is, there is a balance. We've had too many airports. Next time, we may overcompensate and have too many moments stuck wishing we could harness the chickens in some way to tow us.

frax March 14 2005, 12:50:08 UTC

Apart from the food poisoning and the sunburn I really liked the carribean. Got to swim in the sea with fish round my ankles and the sea was lovely and warm all good things.

But then I quite like sun.

chrestomancy March 14 2005, 13:28:29 UTC

But it rather depends what you're looking for. We stayed in Belize for two fantastic weeks, swimming with fishes in warm seas and stuff. We chilled out, it was fantastic. By the time we reached Dominican Republic,we were itching to do some stuff again, but when you can't even go on a hike without paying some goon $35 entrance fee to the park, it's a little dispiriting.

Don't get me wrong though. I mostly just enjoy complaining. I'd much rather be in the Dominican Republic than most places on Earth, especially if I don't actually have to go to work every day.

Today we have some difficult choices. Volcano? White water rafting? Boat trips through animal habitats? Got 4 days, can't catch 'em all.

frax March 14 2005, 13:32:35 UTC

True - we only spent a few days in Belize and really enjoyed it, but then we headed inland to see more ruins instead of going to places like the Dominican Republic so we never really have the $35 entrance fee.

I am not jealous and I am going to Yun Kim's for dinner in a week and a 1/2 :p

onebyone March 14 2005, 13:42:47 UTC

The thing about the Dominican Republic is that it's poor, but it's highly tourist-aware because of all the Spaniards and Americans. I got the impression that if I was there for any length of time, it would be quite easy to find someone willing to do me a much better deal. After all, the locals clearly don't pay $35 every time they want to do something on their day off.

liriselei March 14 2005, 14:49:35 UTC

We saw whales.

ooh, cool - what kind ?

24 hours on 3 planes on the 18th. That'll be fun.

one suggestion to pass the hours - write some freeforms and involve your fellow passengers ? something hijack-based could be amusing < evil grin >

Frances seems to have gone mad. I think the sun has cooked her brain.

the perils of hat-loss ! has she got a new one yet ?