Latin America is becoming a hot spot for green travel, but most adventure-seekers look to Honduras and Nicaragua … rather than El Salvador, with which they share a border. With the country’s civil war in the past, a destination marketing campaign has been launched, and a new web portal can give prospective travelers a place to start.
Art and anthropology museums and other cultural venues dot the country’s capital, San Salvador. If you want to get off the map, check out Izalco, which has the largest indigenous community in the area. Also stop by the ruins of Joya de Ceren, considered to be the Pompeii of the Maya world, where village remains include a fully preserved Shaman’s hut.
This is your chance to truly get off the tourist grid. Scrap your conventional plans this year and try El Salvador. Different is definitely better.
Just how cold is the water in Nicaragua, I say to myself as I scuttle up to the lapping ocean’s edge.
Mike had told me it was going to be colder than I would normally think.
I dip my toes in, and quickly realize what Mike was talking about. Despite my assumption that everything about Central America is hot, the water is chilly at best – cold to be generous.
“Aw, heck,” I shriek before running full throttle, throwing my borrowed surfboard in front of me, and paddling as quickly as possible to the lineup.
Rob, too, the owner of the Hotel Brio where I am staying for a week, jogs into the water and informs us this is the coldest it’s been in his recollection. He’s been surfing these waters for over five years, so that’s saying something Dusk is settling in, and the hot Nicaraguan sun is quickly fading, bringing with it forceful offshore winds. It’s feeding time for the frigate birds, who are scouring the sea out on the horizon. It’s just the three of us in the water, a perfect closing to my first full day in this largely misunderstood country.
For those of you who are afraid of traveling to Latin America because you think it’s too dangerous: don’t be. Having been to some of the lesser traveled countries such as Colombia, I too was afraid of hostility and violence. Like Mexico, there are clearly places you should go and places you should avoid.
I’ve now spent just 24 hours in this blessed country, which is in the middle of its dry season. I decided to come here before Nicaragua becomes an expensive travel destination and/or explodes as a surf destination. On the plane ride from Houston to Managua, I happened to sit next to Rob, who invited me to his hotel near the Tola coast in south. After many serendipitous moments like this, I’ve become a firm believer in trusting that things and people happen for a reason.
Therefore, might I suggest that you just buy the ticket you’ve been anxious about purchasing. Just go for it. Beyond that, you might want to book your first night’s stay somewhere, but let the other events just unfold before you naturally. There’s something utterly comforting about being in a third-world country and seeing it develop before your eyes.
Specifically, the people here are awfully helpful. No matter their dire financial or living situations, the locals I’ve met are particularly resilient. The hotel cook Nestor, for instance, taught himself English and taught himself how to cook the most delectable meals this side of Central America. Rob told us that previous guests at the Brio contact him specifically to rave about Nestor’s amazing dishes. Not only this, Nestor is the friendliest Nicaraguan I have yet to meet – and this is not to say that the people are not friendly because they are.
Speaking of Nestor, it’s time for dinner. An enticing plate of garlic red snapper fillet, freshly purchased from a local fisherman, awaits me. The side of mashed potatoes could feed five starving children in the beachside village just down the road. Parrots are chirping goodnight from the trees outside, and the sun is quickly turning midnight blue.
So for now, I will say buenos noches, but tell you I’ve only just begun to explore this small country packed to the brim with vibrancy and culture. You will certainly hear more from me soon, but I implore you to come and see it for yourself.
In order to come up with his definitive list, Regenold asked ten veteran divers, each of whom have extensive dive experience around the globe, to name their favorite dive spots. The results were a great mix of classic dives and hidden gems. He then compiled them into a slideshow that highlights each location, with an amazing photo, a description of where the dive spot is located, and an explanation of what makes it unique and special.
Some of the locations that make the list include Cenote Taj Maja and Santa Rosalia, both in Mexico. The former is an impressive spot for cave diving, while the latter is famous for allowing divers to get up close and personal with large Humboldt squid. The famous Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands makes the list for it’s abundance of wrecks, with literally dozens of sunken ships in the area, while Utila Island, off the coast of Honduras, is lauded for the twice yearly migration of the whale shark that passes through the surrounding waters.
The list has a little something for everyone, no matter what style of diving you prefer. Each of spots mentioned here offer specatacular waters, amazing sunken sights, and plenty of adventure.
We woke up the next morning, eager to see what Boquete looked like. We spent all day driving there from Panama City the day before, but by the time we got there it was too dark to see anything.
“Wow. It’s paradise here.”
It was. Whenever I imagine paradise, I think of a white sand beach with perfect blue water. But then when I get to such a beach, I get sick of it within hours and want to leave.
This was different. Boquete is in the Panama highlands and is bordered on two sides by mountains. The result is year round perfect temperatures (if not perfect weather), and the feeling of being nestled in some secret valley.
My first thought was of Galt Gulch from Atlas Shrugged. It was exactly how I had imagined Ayn Rand’s utopia.
If you go to Boquete, and you really should, I recommend staying at Hostel Nomba. I’m normally not much of a fan of hostels, but Nomba was really clean, everyone there was friendly, the location was perfect, and the owner, Ryan, was unbelievably helpful.
A lot of people had cars around town, but we also noticed that some people had horses instead. I’m not talking about horses for recreation, I’m talking about daily driver horses for transportation. They tied them up outside of cafes, just like a cowboy might.
Neither Todd nor I had ridden horses in ages, but we decided that we absolutely had to find some horses to ride.
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We asked Ryan if he knew where to rent horses. Sure enough, he did. He gave us directions to his rancher friend in the mountains and told us to tell him that we were his friends.
The paved road became a dirt road, which led to a rickety wooden bridge that looked as if it may not be intended for cars. The idea of a rental car plummeting into the river below was too hilarious to pass up, so we went across it.
No plummeting happened, but immediately after the bridge was an impassable (yes, we tried) incline covered in huge rocks. We parked the car and started loading our backpacks with snacks and water to continue on foot.
“Hola! Me llamo Didimo!”
I looked up to see a short Panamanian rancher’s face smiling at us. It was Didimo, Ryan’s friend. I introduced myself and explained that we wanted to rent some horses.
No problem, he said. He had to leave for an hour, but there were hot springs on his property that we could soak in while we waited. Hard to complain about that.
After a short soak and a swim in the freezing cold river nearby, Didimo galloped up on his horse. He took us to some horses nearby and explained how he loved his animals and always treated them and fed them well.
We mounted our stallions and he lead us towards the woods. I had no idea if we were going to be walking around in circles in a pasture, or if we’d actually get to have fun.
Any reservations I had were put to rest when I saw the trail we were about to climb. It was narrow, rocky, and so steep that I’d be hesitant to climb it myself. To be totally honest, I had no idea that horses could even climb rocks like that.
For two hours we climbed through mountain trails, galloped through open fields, and walked along the banks of the river. Occasionally we’d stop in a pasture to play with other animals. Of particular interest was jumping on and riding a water buffalo bareback.
Didimo was the perfect guide. You could tell that he was delighted to show us around and was really proud of his animals and his land. We hadn’t worked out a price ahead of time, but after the ride I was willing to pay just about anything. He charged us almost nothing.
To go ride horses, soak in the natural springs, or just hang out with Didimo, talk to Ryan at Hostel Nomba. Didimo doesn’t have good cell phone coverage out there. I also imagine you could just show up and he’d be happy to have you.
I could talk about Boquete all day long, but I’ll leave you with one more great off the beaten path thing to do in Boquete.
The next day we were eating lunch at the Hostel, not sure what to do with the day. Ryan offhandedly suggested going to Paradise Gardens, a wildlife rescue shelter.
Great recommendation. The awesome thing about places like Panama is that they don’t have the same problems with people suing over everything, so there are often times less regulations. This was the case with Paradise Gardens.
We made friends with one of the volunteers, and he took us around personally and let us inside a lot of the cages. We played with a giant parrot, a lemur, a two toed sloth, and even a jaguarundi. At the end, after the center had closed, we stuck around and helped take care of baby owls by feeding them and warming them with our breath.
The grounds themselves are designed by an expat stone mason and his wife. They’re covered in beautiful flowers, stone walkways, fountains, and cages full of wild birds being rehabilitated.
The whole experience was magical, and well worth the $5 donation they ask for.
If you go to Panama, you must go to Boquete. It’s my new definition of paradise, and feels like a whole new country hidden within Panama.
How many hotels give you a great shot of one of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world? Shoot down to Arenal, Costa Rica for a few days, and you’ll see it first hand from your room at the Lost Iguana Resort & Spa. This top-shelf property has only 42 rooms right in the rainforest. You’ll be surrounded by trees that have more than three centuries behind them, and the hiking trails through the jungle can’t be beat.
But, you want to see the lava, right?
The Lost Iguana Resort & Spa’s rooms face the lava-flowing side of the local volcano. Other sights include the Hanging Bridges (a short walk from the resort), La Fortuna Waterfall, and the Tabacon Hot Springs. Wildlife guides are available to help you understand the local scenery.
This unique experience is made more accessible by some steep price cuts. If you stay two nights, you get a 10 percent discount (to $166.50 a night). Three nights brings the price down to $157.25 per night, and a four-night stay brings the average down to $148 (a 20 percent discount).
Still on the fence? Don’t worry, you have until December 15, 2009 to make up your mind.