- SITE CLOSED -
I CLOSED THE SITE BECAUSE MY BOYFRIEND FILLIP NITESCU DUMPED ME. :'( I CRIED FOR SOO LONG!!!!Pura Vida
I got back from Central America last Tuesday, I had an amazing time. In this post I'll be telling you all about it.May 15 - If you read my post from that day I mentioned what the original plan was. An hour after I posted my mom re-confirmed our flights. In the Intrepid Tour our first destination was Antigua, Guatemala. The automated voice said 'Antigua, West Indies.' After some panic we found out this place we were headed to is a tiny Caribbean island near Barbados. My mom and my sister left to get new flights. My stomach was flipping the whole time they were gone, two hours later they returned. We had lost our other three flights, we were extremely lucky to get seats on such last minute. At 9:00 that night we took a small Air Canada Jazz plane to Seattle. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, a few minutes from the airport.
May 16 - Waking up at 5:00am was not enjoyable, I had got about two hours. None of us got much sleep we were all in shock from the changes. Taking off around nine we headed to our next destination, Dallas. When we arrived in Dallas we had a three hour wait to Guatemala City. I the best smoothie, strawberry kiwi breeze and some McDonald's. Since this flight was booked the day before we were in the very back row in the last four seats. Near the end of the flight there was the worst turbulence I had ever experienced for about forty minutes. It was 9:30 once we were out of the airport. We had lost our airport transfer so we had to find a taxi to Antigua. After fifty minutes we were in Antigua a little cobble stoned, alleyway place. The taxi driver said he knew where our hotel was but he got lost. It was dark out and very sketchy, he kept getting out and asking for directions. We found our hotel and met the group. There was sixteen people including my sisters and mother. Three British, one American, one French Canadian and the rest Australian. All were in their twenties and thirties. Since we were so late we missed the dinner and the hotel was full. Going to a different one we met our tour leader, my mom told him what happened and the same thing happened to someone two years before and apparently he arrived in the West Indies and was able to catch up with the group in a few days.
May 17 - We had another early start at 5:00am half an hour later we were on our private bus leaving Antigua. I had not seen much of Guatemala I would have if the travel agent hadn't messed up. We had breakfast a few hours later near the boarder. It was six hours to Copán, Honduras. I took a nice cold shower once we arrived, none of us were used to this heat. I got ready for Copán Ruinas, we took a 'taxi' there; all of us on the back of a pickup truck the breeze was refreshing. The ruins were stunning, they were also the original. The jungle and mountains made the place much nicer than any other ruin area I have been to.
May 18 - I slept in until about 11:00. I lay up on the hammocks and read my book and ate. We explored Copán and the main square. I paid two American to get on a computer for only an hour, money well spent. A nice tropical storm came down for an hour while we were out. We had a group meeting and everyone else was going out for steak. No one in my family really enjoys meat so I went with the group. The steak was fantastic and after went to the bar with the group. I got a beer, rum/coke and sprite. We headed back to the hotel around 10:30.
May 19 - Walking down a steep cobble stoned hill at 5:30am with your fifty pound backpack is not enjoyable. All seventeen of us boarded a bus with the locals, there is no air conditioning, it's noisy and people are trying to sell you things. Around noon we stopped at a bus station the change buses and eat lunch. Following that, another four hour public bus ride and a short taxi ride to the ferry terminal. At the ferry terminal our guide warned us the ocean is very rough and several people get seasick. We waited an hour then boarded the small air conditioned ferry to Roatan Island. I stayed outside the entire hour and a half ride. I was looking out at the beautiful water and enjoying the hot breeze as the ferry jumped along the waves. We took a twenty minute private bus ride to the west end where our hotel was. Roatan Island is a very beautiful place, I had been looking forward to that place for months.
May 20 - I slept in until noon then me and my family went to Rudy's for lunch. After my delicious meal I went to Roatan's most beautiful spot, the west end bay. I was in paradise, powdery white sand, clear beautiful water and palm trees. I was in the water most of the afternoon swimming and relaxing. At one time I was just facing the shore with my back in direct sunlight, the heat felt good so I stayed there a while. Getting out of the water I saw how fried I had gotten. I headed back to the hotel on my own to take a shower. I got dressed and joined my family at a different part of the island. Since it's Central America the sun starts setting very early, my sisters were smart to swim at this time. After watching the amazing sunset we headed back because I was feeling feverish. I was not thirsty or hungry I was sitting in an awkward way on my bed and did not feel like moving. My mother was very worried about my burn and made me drink some of my water. Solarcaine really saved my life during this trip, I lay on the bed and my mom covered my burning arms, shoulders and back in this freezing green gel. I started feeling better after I forced myself to eat, it hurt so much to lay down that night. I did not get much sleep I felt like I was going to be sick and I was burning up. I woke my mom up to put some solarcaine on my shoulders, it was the most painful night I have ever had.
May 21 - I was very glad we had another free day here, a day of travel would have killed me this day. I was in bed most of the morning. Someone on my tour was a nurse and told me I had to drink and she told me about heat stroke which scared me. I finally forced myself to get up, I could barely walk across the room. I took a cold shower, it was extremely painful to get dressed I was actually gasping in pain. My family was out most of the afternoon, I don't remember what I did this day I just sat in bed in such burning pain. I had not eaten all day which is very unlike me, my mom picked me up tacos which I forced myself to eat.
May 22 - We had an early start to leave Roatan Island, it was sad to say goodbye. I had not seen much up it which was upsetting as I'll never go back there again. At seven our ferry left back to the mainland. The plan today was to take a public bus across Honduras to the small town Comayagua. It was a hellish day it the non air conditioned bus. Once in Comayagua all seventeen of us explored the small place and went to the main square. I got very sick that night my burns were red hot and so itchy. I was on my bed almost screaming in pain while rubbing solarcaine into my arms and shoulders. Our room was right on the highway there was lot's of noise out, also there was a loud celebration going on somewhere with music and people cheering. I had the room to myself that night which was a nice change, I slept well that night even over the loud air conditioning.
May 23 - We left Comayagua early, our next destination was Grenada in Nicaragua. In our private bus we drove along the mountains to we drove through the Capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. It was a very sketchy place, little houses were on the hills held up by sticks. We stopped at this place for breakfast, the food was gross but I was starving. A few hours later we went to the boarder of Nicaragua, another simple boarder to cross we stayed on the bus and just gave them our passports. Once in Nicaragua we stopped for lunch at a gas station. There was another four hour ride to Grenada, everyone crashed out the whole way there. Me and my family went out for dinner once arriving in Grenada, after we explored the square and town which is a pretty nice place.
May 24 - I slept in very late then me and family walked around, they were interested in going on a bike tour but I just wanted a lazy day. I stayed in my room most of the day letting my burn breathe and I went on the hotel computer for a while as well. That night me and my mother walked around Grenada and got popsicles and souvenirs.
May 25 - I awoke to someone hammering on my door telling me to wake up, I was so tired I yelled at them I was awake and told them to go away. I then realized it was one of the Australian guys. Since I had my own room that night I was up half the night reading and packing up my stuff, also a couple storms came down which kept me up. We had a two hour drive to Lake Nicaragua to go to Ometempe Island. The water was gray and all you could see was two large volcano's on the island. It was very hot arriving there, a ride on the back of the pick up truck with the group was better than a hot taxi ride. The breeze always feels good, there were several cows and pigs on the side of the road. The place we stayed was nice it was several cabin like places right on the lake. It was very nice there Volcano Concepción was right above us, there was lot's of farmland and there were many nice flowers everywhere. That afternoon we went horse riding. The ride was very nice, my horse didn't listen to me since I don't know Spanish. Arriving back I went for a swim in Lake Nicaragua. The water was warm and it had many sharp rocks on the bottom, unlike Roatan Island this place was not a tropical island. The water was also very dirty and the waves were intense. That night it was someone's birthday in our group. We had a barbecue with lot's of food. I ate so much and the meal came with a rum and coke which I'm surprised my mom let me have it in front of her. There was a huge storm later that night and while we were packing up the power went out a few times, which blacked the place out.
May 26 - We had an early start, today we were climbing the smaller volcano on Ometemepe Island, Volcano Madera. Including myself, nine people and also the tour guide climbed this volcano. We had a power breakfast then headed up the trail. A few minutes into the climb everyone was already muddy. Half an hour later we climbed up this steep part to the beautiful viewpoint. It was a stormy day but it was still very hot out. Only an hour into it everyone was getting sweaty, I was going through my water fast. A huge rain storm soon came down the rain was so cold and the wind was freezing. Near the top we had to make our way through mud. Everyone's feet were having a nasty mud foot bath the whole day. Sometimes there was small rivers, I would always jump in. The mud on my legs was too stuck on it wouldn't come off was my shoes were dead. I was imagining the top of the volcano flat, with a great view and a big creator in the middle. All the top of the volcano was here was a break in the trees, it was also very windy and cold. Descending down a steep waterfall we got to creator. The creator looked like a big lake but you could only see some of it since the clouds blocked off the rest. Lunch consisted of food I really don't like at all ham, white bread and process cheese. I was so famished I ate three gross sandwiches in one bite. The rain was coming down like crazy and the wind was bone chilling. Everyone was already freezing as we were already drenched through. Climbing back up the waterfall we descended back down the way we came up. Coming down you really had to watch yourself, at all times you were either falling or catching yourself from slipping on all that mud. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other dreading it and wishing I could be anywhere else. Many hours later we were back at the viewpoint, sitting down everyone's knees were hurting from the steep descent. About an hour later we were back at the bus. Everyone took off their destroyed shoes and put them on the top. Our bus stank on the way back we were all very excited to get cleaned up, many were going in the lake first but I ran to my room to have a cold shower since there was no hot. I had a great sleep that night, I was so exhausted I slept around nine after I packed up. We had been been gone since 5:30am to 4:40pm it had been a very long day.
May 27 - We were up early that day, our destination was Monteverde in Costa Rica. We took the ferry, once on the mainland there was a forty-five minute drive to the Costa Rica boarder. It would take a few hours to cross first we had to stand around, after walk with our heavy backpacks to a lineup for a stamp in your passport to leave Nicaragua. The road was like a mud puddle, it was not the day to wear flip flops. It was a very sketchy boarder our leader told us to put all our stuff away and stay together. We walked twenty minutes to another huge lineup. We waited about an hour and a half for a stamp to enter Costa Rica. After wards we ate lunch at the boarder and waited for our bus. During the four hour bus ride security came on three times to check everyone's passports to make sure they had the Costa Rica stamp. After we took a private bus up in the mountains to Monteverde. The view was amazing, it was all rain forest. Arriving at the hotel was great, it was getting dark out and I had the chills. After our group meeting it was a relief to go to my room and have a steaming hot shower. Since Monteverde is a cloud forest it's very chilly and there is no sun, it kind of reminded me of home.
May 28 - At nine that morning the group went zip ling. We took a bus much higher up in the mountains to the place. After getting the harnesses on we went through safety on the zip line, since it's Costa Rica it's not as safe as the one's in Canada. It was my first time and I was full of energy and excited. There was twelve in all, I can't explain the view it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The ninth run was called 'Tarzan Swing' up at a tower we lined up for it. Basically, they push you off the tower then you go swinging in the jungle. When it came to my time I was looking down then unexpectedly the guy pushed me off. The drop was so scary I lost my breath was it was a great rush. The first swing up was great then it was back and forth a few more times. It was amazing, after that two more small lines were before the last one called 'Superman'. On the Superman instead of sitting upright while going along the line you were attached by your back so you were hanging down. It was a kilometer long and the view was the best ever. Once everyone was finished we got our harnesses off and looked around the gift shop. I bought the picture CD for that day and a shirt. It was a great day, the rest of the day I spent on the computer and relaxing.
May 29 - Today we were headed to La Fortuna a beautiful place not far from Monteverde. Once off the mountain it was a shorter ride to the small man-made lake. Taking a small boat across for forty minutes, we were in La Fortuna. We arrived at Hotel La Fortuna besides Monteverde, the best one yet. Later that day we all went to Baldi Hot Springs. The place was a complete tourist trap, it was beautiful there it was right below the volcano. The water was very hot but nice. At the top the water was forty-five degrees with a big waterfall. At seven the group met up for a buffet dinner. I was famished and filled my plate four times. There was also some great desserts including my favorite, a chocolate fountain and strawberries. I was so full by the end of it after that we headed to the hottest pool and waterfall for the night.
May 30 - I did not feel well when I awoke that morning, the plan was to go white water rafting. I did not feel like going but I knew I would regret not going so I got out of bed. It was a nice day to go rafting, I had never been so I didn't know what to expect. The river was not too rough but getting drenched was not enjoyable as I was sick that day. The tour guide through me into the river, it was freezing but refreshing. Another time I went in as well, my clothes were too heavy to move anywhere though. A few hours of rafting I was exhausted and starving. Waiting for us when we were done was pineapple. The pineapple is great in Costa Rica I ate half of a pineapple, the best one I have ever had. The way back I was so tired unknowingly I crashed onto this person I didn't know next to me. We stopped for a buffet lunch, I filled my plate many times and had a great meal. Rafting was a good experience but I did not enjoy it that much.
May 31 - That morning we got a sleep-in until nine. We left La Fortuna and headed to the capital city of Costa Rica, San José. At noon we arrived in this busy and dirty city our final destination. I felt homesick and desperate to go home that day, I was on the computer most of the day. We went for a walk around the city the pollution is horrible there, also it's very dirty and sketchy is some areas. We packed up and went to bed around eleven. I did not sleep well that night there was lot's of trucks outside and noise, the bed was very uncomfortable as well.
June 1 - At 5:30 we were headed to the airport. It was sad to leave but also I was happy as well. It was a tiny airport we shopped around then boarded for our flight to Dallas. Once in Texas I spent the rest of my American dollars on magazines, candy and McDonald's. A couple hours later we were headed back to Vancouver, I wrote my travel diary the whole time for the days I missed. My adventure was over and it was full of amazing experiences I will never, ever forget.
If you actually read all of this thank you!
Stock photos will be added within the next few days.
Questions
1. Do you like the sound of this adventure?
2. Have you ever been to a third world country?
Interview With The Site Creator
This is an automated post. I am in Central America on vacation.
As some of you may know my younger brother Thomas helped me with this site, and without him pinkcottoncandy would probably not exist. I will be interviewing him about his knowledge of programming.
When did you start learning about coding?
In August I started getting interested in PHP. One site I used, IceCaves.net was programmed in PHP and I wanted to learn how to program something similar to the member system IceCaves.net has. By mid August I had read one tutorial online and read through two PHP books. Starting in September I started coding a content management system. When I look back at that code I see many parts of the code I didn't need to add and some errors. My PHP programming knowledge has come far since August.
Are you planning on learning more programming languages in the future?
I do want to learn Javascript and Ajax. I may only get time to do this in the summer. I have sometimes wished I knew Flash so I could make games but Flash looks like a hard programming language to learn. But I'm more interested in learning Javascript and Ajax at the moment because I think I should learn those programming languages before attempting to learn any harder programming languages.
Are you good with layouts?
CSS is my weakest point at the moment. When I am working with CSS I sometimes need to consult guides on certain properties of CSS. And when it comes to making backgrounds, images for layouts, etc. I'm not the right person to do that. I actually learned CSS by looking at stylesheets from some websites and never really read a full article so that may be the reason CSS is my weakest point.
Question
1. Do you know a programming language?
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