CENTRAL AMERICA
Mar./April 2007
Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador,
Guatemala & Belize.
Two close escapes.
Volcanoes and
earth quakes have shaped these small mountainous lands. Many
have coffee farms and banana plantations, stunning beaches,
volcanoes and pristine forests. Some have been harmed by
guerrilla wars and some are still recovering from hurricane
destruction. We are going to drive North West towards Mexico and
the USA.
PANAMA
We had come by plane, from Cartagena, Colombia and were glad to
find that Dipli had arrived safely (via Seaboard Marine) at the
scruffy port of Colon. Although Colombia and Panama are
joined on land, the Darien gap (150km), an area of marshy
forests and rivers, (also with guerrilla and smuggling
activities) has no through road.
The Panama
Canal.
How amazing to
see gigantic ocean-going vessels move through green fields and
to watch how the ships, as high as a 5 storey-building, rise and
fall as they pass through the huge locks. The 80km long canal,
linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific was started by the
French & completed by the Americans in 1914. It costs a liner
about $35 000 to pass though the canal. A new project has
commenced to widen the channel and to use locks recycling the
fresh water, now lost to the sea.
High tide at
Furthest South in North America.
Of course we
had to find the point furthest south on the continent of North
America! The dry cattle raising Azuero Peninsula was our
destination. GPS coordinates noted, we were contentedly parked
on the lonely beach, having driven down a river bed to get
there. At sunset we did not notice the spring tide rising into
the river and approaching us from all 4 sides… Jan drove to the
highest point on the sand bar, but then the water started
receding just as the waves were lapping around all the wheels.
Whew!
Panama for
settlers.
We met many
people who were escaping from the northern winters to settle or
run a second home in Panama. Panama seems to be becoming the
preferred option rather than Costa Rica, which was becoming too
expensive and prone to more crime.
An Orchid
garden we visited, collects and breeds the endemic Dracula
orchid species. Each one has a dragon-like tiny face in the
centre of the bloom. A cool pine forest nearby was a suitable
place for Jan to replace a broken shackle bolt.
COSTA RICA.
People from
this nation are known as “Ticos”. The country has no army and
has more money for education and conservation. The roads were
not as good as in the poorer Central American countries where
the roads and bridges have been “donated”.
Nature The
beautiful forest zones, diverse on different altitudes, are so
dense that you would be very lucky to spot a large beaked toucan
or a multi coloured parrot, never mind a puma or a jaguar. (In
spite of scores of “jungle and canopy tours”). We found a
wildlife sanctuary where we could admire some of these creatures
close-up. We enjoyed the walks around the collapsed craters of
volcan Irazu and a trail close to the active Arenal
Volcano which smokes and thunders, sending down streams of
lava. Our friends from France invited us to their beach house on
the remote Nicoya Peninsula where we enjoyed their
company, swimming, and French cuisine.
Travellers’
technology.
Although it has
no street name signs, San Jose. (the capital of CR)
actually has a campground! Long-haul travellers gather there.
Tips on overnight parking spots (from Alaska to Argentina) with
GPS coordinates were being exchanged on print outs, CDs or by
direct transfer. They were also using wireless internet to send
e-mail or to talk by PC phone from within their vehicles;
something we would migrate to in the US.
NICARAGUA.
It was hot and the queue at the border was two hours long.
Watching the contraptions extracting sugar cane and orange juice
was a welcome diversion. Fresh coconuts were chopped open with a
machete and were also on offer complete with a straw. In
contrast with CR where most people flashed cell phones and
seemed to possess cars, Nicaraguan villagers seemed to have more
bicycles, ox and horse carts, and large wooden wheelbarrows.
Alas, they all, and some big trucks too, were hauling timber
from the forests. Labelled as one of the poorest countries, it
has had to contend with guerrilla insurgency, US trade embargo,
falling price of coffee, droughts, fires and floods.
Granada
The huge Lake Nicaragua has 3m long sharks adapted to fresh
water. From its beach we could explore the charming colonial
town of Granada (founded in 1524). It has traffic-free cobbled
streets, trim churches and a palm-covered plaza. In the court
yard of an old Spanish-built restaurant we enjoyed fresh fish
from the lake with steamed plantains and yucca. Fruit drinks on
the menu were made from limes, cactus fruits or tamarind beans.
Managua
the nation’s capital was severely damaged by Hurricane Mitch in
1998 – after having been rebuilt following an earthquake 25
years before. Vacant land and earthquake damaged ruins surround
recent restorations.
We were on
anti-malaria prophylactics but did not fancy visiting the
lowland Mosquito Coast (The place where mosquitos got their name
from?). .
HONDURAS
At the frontier we met a black poodle with her own passport. We
wondered whether border officials object to the photo showing
her with the little pink tongue sticking out. (Like not being
allowed to smile on a passport photo). She was travelling in a
Unimog with her German owners. For overnight parking we always
studied the maps to try and find a spot with some elevation,
otherwise it was too hot to sleep.
After shopping
at many colourful markets, we were happy to find, near the
capital, Tegucigalpa, a rare huge air-conditioned
hypermarket. We also found an Internet café where we could see
the latest picture of our grandson (son of Liesl and André) and
where we were thrilled to read that Ingrid and Gerhard wanted to
come and join us in Mexico. Beyond the sprawling city, roadside
stalls displayed brightly coloured hammocks, baskets, cane
furniture and ceramic vessels. Bunches of bananas, heaps of
water melons and cantaloupes and some very large papayas were
also for sale.
At Lake
Yojoya the owner of the restaurant with internet and fresh
blueberry pie, told us about his South African ancestors and
invited us to park on his coffee farm overlooking the lake.
Copán
Copán was a large Mayan settlement which was inhabited for
around 2000 years. They intricately carved huge blocks of stone
depicting their rulers. Walls and a stairway are carved with
hieroglyphs. Buried underneath the main structure a red-painted
temple in perfect condition has been discovered. A full scale
replica of the 6th century temple can be seen in the site
museum.
Winding roads
twisted up and down along meandering rivers through small towns.
One village is famous for the Flor de Copán Cigar factory.
Bundles of tobacco leaves are sorted rolled and packed by hand
to be shipped in fancy boxes all over the world. 1000 people are
employed there.
Narrow
escape
On a tortuous
stretch of mountain road Dipli suddenly had no steering! Luckily
we were going slowly, as we had just taken a sharp curve at the
bottom of a hill and had started on the uphill, so Jan managed
to stop before we went over the edge. (Lost a drag link castle
nut; had a spare).
EL SALVADOR.
It is the
smallest Central American country. “Pupuserias” are the
favourite eating places in El Salvador. A “pupusa” is a maize
meal mass stuffed with cheese, beans, and meat. They are served
with cabbage and carrot pickle and a tomato “salsa”. Quite
tasty. At Lake Suchitlan the humidity was even higher but
fortunately there was a swimming pool. The Pacific coast surfing
beaches was another option for keeping cooler.
The capital,
San Salvador, has an interesting modern church with lovely
stained glass window panels and a soaring arched roof that looks
like an airline hangar. The cathedral’s façade is decorated with
colourful motifs that reminded us of Ndebele art. Some lopsided
earthquake-damaged buildings surround the area. At the main
market the women making tortillas wore short very frilly aprons
over ordinary clothes. Red and yellow cashew fruit were on sale.
Wheel barrow loads of mangoes were being pushed in. We were
warned about violent crime in the city, so were happy to find
parking next to the Sheraton Hotel. There happened to be a
theatre there where we could attend a show.
GUATEMALA
Fortunately we could safely park at family of friends, in
Guatemala City. We had to obtain visas for Mexico. The consulate
was efficient but we had to submit proof of financial resources,
which we could print off the internet. Antigua is a
lovely colonial town. The local police indicated that we should
move further from the corner and then left us to enjoy being
parked on the main square. It was noisy but the main plaza, the
illuminated cathedral and beautiful government buildings were on
our door step.
From scenic
Lake Atitlan, with surrounding volcanoes, the ascending road
went past villages where women were dressed in exquisite
hand-woven traditional outfits. At market towns like
Chichicastenango and Panachuel these weavings and
crafts from leather and wood were offered to scores of tourists
to barter for.
Heating on the
up and cooling on the down hills Dipli took us north east to
Cobán where a coffee farm claims to be a main supplier of coffee
to Starbucks. An interesting tour showed the seedlings, berries
on the trees and how they are soaked, sorted, dried, roasted and
packed. Cardamom seeds are harvested there too.
Tikal.
The tall Mayan temples were shrines to the ancestors. One high
pyramid may be climbed at sunset. The ancient sky scrapers
pushing through the tropical jungle was an awesome sight. Howler
monkeys and macaws were making quite a din at dusk.
The shore of
Lake Pedén Itza was a convenient grassy spot for some TLC for
the vehicle. The only time cool enough to do the work was at 5
in the morning. While Jan was toiling, Leone spent her time at
an internet café. There we received the good news that Ingrid
and Gerhard were going to have a little bambino but that they
would not be able to join us in Mexico as planned, due to the
risk of malaria.
BELICE
Ex British Honduras is trying to do the eco-tourism thing but,
apart from the curiosity of the English language, the only real
attraction is the blue Caribbean Sea with its barrier reef. Next
country for us will be the United-Sates-of-Mexico.
This journey up to April 2007:
Time on the road (excluding home visits): 4 years, 7 months
Kilometres driven: 194 000
Countries visited: 85
