Thursday June 19 - 30, 2008-DIA13
Now in Costa Rica... all to do is to enjoy the friends, places, food and life of the country.
We made a few trips to the Arenal volcano area, Cabo Blanco (Playa Tambor), zip-lining, coffee tour, Atlantic coast Limon/Puerto Viejo where we I had the best Costa Rican arroz con pollo!
San Jose/Alajuela/Heredia/Cartago/Guanacaste/Puntarenas/Limon
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Thursday June 18, 2008-DIA13
We crossed the border into Nicaragua; wow finally!...we went by the town of Leon to see the architecture on the way to the Costa Rican border.
All border crossing up to this point have been very confusing and noisy, not much time to get your thoughts together.
I highly advise hiring help on each of the border crossings. Make sure you agree on a price before committing, also; take the time to go (with the person helping you) everywhere just for your peace of mind. - DO NOT GIVE YOUR PASSPORT OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENT TO YOUR GUIDE while you wait in the car!
We arrive at San Jose Costa Rica around 5:30 PM the same day. The driving is wild in Costa Rica but after driving in Guatemala seems like an easy task.
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Monday June 16, 2008-DIA11
Antigua, Guatemala
The car has been great, not a single mechanical problem; it feels good to get to the car the next day and start the engine without an issue; not even a flat tire – way to go!
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Wednesday June 17, 2008-DIA12
Today we are leaving Antigua and we are now heading to Honduras, passing through San Salvador (no stop). Long driving day ahead… we stop around 5PM just a few kilometers short of the Nicaraguan border.
On the way to Honduras - passing through San Salvador non stop
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Saturday June 14, 2008-DIA9
Walking around Antigua
Guatemala has a developing economy, characterized by wide income disparities. Hotels and other tourist facilities in the principal tourist sites most frequented by visitors fro
m the United States are generally good to excellent. A peace accord, signed in 1996, ended a 36-year armed conflict. Violent crime, however, is a serious concern due to endemic poverty, an abundance of weapons, a legacy of societal violence, and dysfunctional law enforcement and judicial systems. Read the Department of State Background Notes on Guatemala for additional information. - SOURCE: http://travel.state.gov
Antigua, Guatemala
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Sunday June 15, 2008-DIA10
Chichicastenango, Guatemala
We took a trip to Chichicastanango market, very exiting place, lots of local people. After a few hours at the Markey we headed to Lake Atitlan.
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Friday June 13, 2008-DIA8
We drove from Villa Hermosa to the Guatemala border; unfortunately we missed the banjercito office (which is on the opposite side of the road!) and we had to drive back about 45 minutes to a small town to cancel the permit from banjercito to credit back our AMEX, again; the office to get your credit is very hidden and on the opposite way of highway! - it is very easy to missed.
By the time we got back to the border it was too late to do the crossing – we arrived around 7:30PM so we stayed at Ciudad Hidalgo – the hotel accommodations were poor, but we expected that… not too many places to choose from, the hotel was a local little place and we cannot give points to it (it just will be unfair!)… it just does not get any points. Therefore; if you can stay at Tapachula do so.
Saturday, June 14, 2008-DIA9
At 7:30 am we headed back to the border crossing, there are lots of paperwork and red tape to do on this border!; we came across a border officers who saw our frustration and he recommended a guide to help us to make our crossing less painful. Definitely was money well spent. (if you can… hire a guide).
Once the crossing was behind us we made good time to the city of Antigua Guatemala, we visited that city in 1994 and just loved the place, we were looking forward to see the place again.
We had very little trouble finding a good hotel; we stayed at the Villas Antigua resort. We planed to stay in Antigua for the next three-four days.
Border Crossing - Mexico/Guatemala
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Mexico/Guatemala Border | Preparing to border crossing | Breakfast in Guatemala | The border MX/GUATE |
Thursday June 12, 2008-DIA7
Up time: 7:30 am and out on the road by 8:30 am… not bad at all.
Today we drove from Merida back to Villahermosa to get closer to the Guatemala border.
After a few hours’ drive we stopped at Palenque – on the way to Villahermosa.
Now we are at the Best Westernd Maya hotel.
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Palenque, MX
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