At six months it was time for Astrid to get a bit of a facelift before we were to hit the road again. Since we had the weekend before going to the mechanic, we took the time to wander where the road would take us and stay where people were kind enough to let us. And at…
Family Tours in Costa Rica – Part II
Fully loaded, Astrid once again made its way over the mountains and cloud forests to reach the central Pacific coast. There we would bask in the sun, waves and sand (definitely sand), bidding farewell to the old year. Hidden under the trees in front of the beach we set up the sleeping quarters (tent and…
Family Tours in Costa Rica
It was the day before the day before Christmas and our camp was set for up for our first visitor, but due to canceled flights it was not until two days later that my dad finally arrived. None the less we had a few local visitors from the ranch who came by to hang out after dinner.…
East, West and Central Costa Rica
In preparation for our visitors who were soon to come, we continued the search for the best of Costa Rica. However, first was another short gig with a fellow couchsurfer. Not that we had much need for this, as we had a van to sleep in, but the idea of couchsurifing was such a neat concept that…
Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula
Exploration started with the Nicoya Peninsula. We covered most of the Pacific coast, staying in various formal and informal campsites, until we reached Montezuma where we spent six days perched on a beach under the trees. The grumpy lady renting the cabin in front of the beach was not happy about this. There we were, hammocks…
Nicaragua’s Rural Side
After spending almost a month in towns we finally migrated to more rural landscapes. First was the trip via a ferry over to Ometepe, a large freshwater island made up of two volcanoes. That’s kind of what our days looked like, pictures, car, food, laundry, food…we did attempt a hike but after about 15 minutes got hungry…
Nicaragua and the curve balls that kept coming
The beautiful and serene morning was certainly not a precedent for the day ahead of us. At 6 am we were on our way to Nicaragua via Honduras which was to take eleven hours (four of those spent between the two borders). The Nicaraguan one was the most chaotic with no logic to the confusion. With the help…
El Salvador’s El Tunco
El Salvador’s border crossing much like the others was two hours long but by far the cheapest with only a 5 dollar total fee. Soon after the border we were running out of daylight in a country where this is far from recommended. We booked it for El Tunco as we spent a few days there…
The Rains That Ran Us Out of Guatemala
When we first arrived to San Pedro La Laguna at Lake Atitlan, the guy at the coffee shop where we stayed was unsure if we were staying for 4 months or 4 days. Soon it became clear foreigners had a hard time leaving this place and he couldn’t believe we were only there a few…
Beautiful Winding Road Through Guatemala
Little did we know how handy the one pair of long pants we each had would come in Guatemala. In ten minutes from the Belizean town of San Ignacio we arrived at the Guatemalan border where we were warned to get ready for unhelpful and grumpy border guards. Brett’s usual border jitters seemed to have infected me…