Friends Kingdom: [iPad] OT: So I thought i would comment in a few places we've been to in Central America.

So I thought i would comment in a few places we've stayed in during the past few months.

Caye caulker, Belize. Nice place, really small, not much to do but relax and snorkel or dive. Not a bad place to use for a launch pad for any belizean day trip. Expensive though. If you can find Mama Liz, she has the best meatballs I've ever had but you may have to order them in advance. We stayed at Ignacio's which is on the east side of the island at the very south. We paid under $12 a day but we had to squeeze him a little. It's rustic like very rustic and the old man and one brother can be annoying. But overall it wasn't bad.

Flores, Guatemala. Small tiny city that you can lap in about twenty minutes. It's an island inside a lake. We stayed at two different hostels. Can't recall the names. They were about $20 a night. I do recall liking the coffee and food at Cool Beans. Met some really cool ppl at the second hostel. I can look up the names if someone wants. Not much to do in town. But it's really picturesque. Totally gorgeous. The street benders are kinda a joke. It is an awesome place to use as a starting off point for all the Mayan sites around there. That's about the only cool thing about it.

Antigua, Guatemala. Many people absolutely love this town but we didn't. The locals didn't seem to like tourists and rarely returned a "Buenas Dias" which i found rude. if I remember correctly the eats kinda sucked and the views weren't all that great. Yes, it is colonial. But for me that was about it except for the jade museum.

Panajachel, Guatemala. I kinda dig this town. Entrenched in Mayans and on a lake a few thousand feet up with three volcanoes surround it, this place was gorgeous. Plenty of tones to explore and mountains to hike. Absolutely safe to cruise around in at any time of the day or night. We scored an apartment for $225 a month at Hospedaje Isabel with a nice array of edible plants and trees in it for your use. Cilantro, mint, parsley, rosemary, hot peppers, limes, three types of oranges; it was just loaded with food and flowers too up the yang. Full kitchen stocked with utensils. Free cable tv. No wifi. It was located right by the boat launch and whole not too far from the Main Street far enough away. There was a nice market up the hill to get your vegetables. There was a butterfly farm with suspension bridges you could walk to and a waterfall not too far away. The chicken busses could get you easily to some Mayan sites or other nearby towns and markets like chichicastenango (chichi) I wasn't really that impressed with chichi or Solalá however. In pana they love to negotiate and everything is up for negotiating. They'll start at Q200 for something and we've gotten stuff from there to Q35. Being a gringo never accept any price as first given. Negotiate low until they say no then walk away and usually you'll get the lowest price and when possible walk through the whole market before deciding upon a vender to buy from once you know the price range. We found the expats in this town to be an invaluable resource. They tended to hang out at Crossroads coffee up the hill. The temps were at the highest 85° in the day and lowest 58° at night so occasionally a long sleeve shirt was needed. We saw a rainbow and a tornado over the lake. Wonderful stuff.

León, Nicaragua. This is a cool town although not in temperatures which are blistering hot. Highest from 95-105 normally but dipping to a high of 85 occasionally or up to 110 sometimes. Be prepared. We first landed at the Lazy Turtle Hostel (not the surfing turtle!) which was great at about $25 a night, and free coffee and pancakes every morning. Not to mention a lime tree and star fruit tree with always ripe fruits for you. Great owner, Hans, truly a nice guy as was Carlos. A few hammocks in the sitting area and a grab your own beer and mark it to pay later situation which was totally cool. Pool table too. Nice kitchen. Some rooms had a shared bath others used the outside bathrooms as did the dorm beds. Would and do recommend this place. From there we found a room for rent up in the Zaragoza neighborhood for $120 a month. Such a steal. Nice guy, Carlos, was the owner. The town itself is ripe with history and architecture. Like 13 churches in the town and most are drop dead gorgeous. The main cathedral is a must see and you really can't miss it. There are three open air markets you can choose from to get your fruits and vegetables. Plus there are traveling good venders that prowl the streets hawking tortillas, plantain chips, and much much more. We would tend to get cash from the ATM and goto the coyotes to change into cordobas near the main cathedral or banks. They are generally honest and even give you a better rate than the La Union (walmart) store. The bus terminal is chaotic to say the least and the market near there is crazy with skinned iguanas and more. The bus to the beach isn't there however it's at the market in the Subtiava neighborhood to the west.

Granada, Nicaragua. This was an interesting town. More expensive than León and way more expats. The main church and in fact all the churches were nice and very picturesque. We happened across a bull run situation where bulls were let to run the streets. Way fun. It's a nice jumping off point for Laguna de opoya and masaya or mombacho volcanoes. Mombacho wasn't cheap but at about $25 a head not too expensive either. We caught the public bus there are attempted to hike up it but it ass steep, hot and did I mention steep and hot? Lol we did hitchhike up most of it and the trails at the top were wonderful. If we had more funds doing the puma trail would have been the best as it seems that trail is where all the wildlife hung out. The views of lake Nicaragua were stunning and the hike around the crater fairly easy going. The puma trail requires a guide, and therefore additional funds. Very recommended. We were able to hitchhike from the volcano back to Granada which was way cool and met other hitchhikers that cued us I to a cheaper place to stay. The first place we stayed was Hotel Cocibolca which was about $20 and had a private bathroom. The place we were told about next was right next to the stinky open air market and bus station. The name escapes me but it was about $4 cheaper but with an outside shared bathroom. We found good eats at Oreilleys Pub right off the main square and cold, as in ice, beers. The owner Greg was pretty cool and the staff nice although sometimes tended more to their friends than customers. Be warned however that the town absolutely shuts down at about 6pm so if you haven't eaten good luck.

Masaya, Nicaragua. This was an interesting town that boasted the biggest crafts market in the country but every stall was almost exactly like the next except fir price and everyone was way too eager to get you to buy from them instead of the next guy which got old fast. We did find a few gifts. When we wandered north a few blocks then east a few blocks across from the hotel California. Rooms were $8 per person so not too shabby. They had wifi and not free coffee. The rooms were ok but the cost much less than surrounding digs. We used it as a place to start our trek to Volcán Masaya. A truly wonderful sulphuric steam spewing volcano with views of the surrounding volcanoes and lagunas. We elected to walk up it instead if paying for a van ride. That wasn't too bad of a hike. The first 2/3 were fairly mellow and the last 1/3 was decently steep but not too bad. The trail to the cross on the rim was closed which sucked and we elected not to hike all the way around either cone. Still managed to get some awesome photos and peer into the mouth if an active volcano. Highly recommended. The taxi ride from Masaya was C100 although our first few quotes were 200 and 140 and had to threaten to walk away from the one we took to get a decent price. There were supposedly a cheaper bus option but we didn't find the bus station although we looked.

Las Peñitas, Nicaragua. A sleepy little beach town just west and a 48¢ bus ride from León. More people choose to goto Poneloyas to the north but Peñitas is less crowded and more laid back. Beaches can be had all to yourself even on the weekends. While walking up the beach after eating at Playa Roca we stumbled upon Rigo's Guest House. A really sleepy little place with a pool and second story deck of hammocks and shared kitchen. It's ten bucks a head but very with it. Most of the time we had the place to ourselves. Rigo Sampson, the owner, is into all sorts of community projects from saving sea turtle eggs from poachers, to replanting mangrove trees and helping children cancer survivors. He really is a genuine and nice guy. Very highly recommended. A couple hundred meters to the birth is a nice little bar with fried chicken and $2 liters of Toña, absolutely the best beer we have found in Central America.

Liberia, Costa Rica. First of all Costa Rica is the most expensive country in Central America. Maybe only tied with Belize but I think more expensive. Close either way. as far as I can tell this town doesn't have much to offer. It is a jumping off point to some waterfalls and volcanoes but nothing is cheap. $20 a person to get to some places with waterfalls and zoos can run you $35 or $65 a person!! We found a nice Hostal Pura Vida with rooms at about $24 with a private bath and shared kitchen. You can use the a/c but the cost goes up to $30. The owners are absolutely wonderful. They rescued a few lost kittens with no mother. We've gotten to help hand feed them which is quite cool. Overall I'm not impressed with the twin it's kinda boring to stay in but if you have the cash there is loads to do. Budget travelers just won't like Costa Rica in general I think.

I'm sure I missed a few details. If you have any questions just ask!

~KLM
http://www.gofundme.com/ciaz58
** Fifty $20 pledges is all it takes **