So here it is, one final blog, with Johanne's checklist complete and available for you all to see and enjoy!!
1) Perform Bedtime Bibitte Checks on a nightly basis - Check.
2) Put up with and attempt to assuage Steph's complete and total irrational fear of cockroaches. That is, when you see one, pretend you didn't so she doesn't flip out and scream like a girl. Try to convince her that there is no cockroach in the bathroom when she is certain she just saw one peeking out of the sink (gross, by the way) - Check.
3) Vow total secrecy as to all bathroom/bodily function stories... not that there is anything good to tell... - Check.
4) Throw yourself off a cliff with only the word of some guy you met ten minutes ago to reassure you that it is, in fact, safe. - Check.
5) Somehow manage to get 100% less bug bites than Steph, even though she has been wearing the flippin bug cream every night while Johanne has not (it stinks, she says) - Check.
6) Take a quajillion photos and then proceed to veto the crap ones so that everyone at home thinks you are an excellent photographer - Check.
7) Stay away from monkeys - Check.
8) Tell the harrassing street vendors to f*** off while you are eating. Or tell them "Maybe later" when you both know that you really don't want that head scraf/ugly bracelet/doll necklace/braided pens and that the likelihood of you actually going to get one later is inexistant - Check.
9) Take stealthy photographs of things you think are funny, but would otherwise be rude to photograph. That is, creepy paintings in restaurants that look like tete-a-claques-mayans but that the owner is really proud of, the kid who was trying to pull Steph's boob out into the open while waiting for a bus (he was 5... bit old to breast feed, no?), strange hairdos (including, but not limited to, single rat-tail dreads, multiple mullets, and bizarre colours), etc. - Check.
10) Survive interminable bus routes in buses which are likely to break down at any given moment and which smell like dung. Also, drivers who get out at the gas station, stand on the tire and bounce up and down for about ten minutes while the tourists inside the bus make jokes about him jacking off - Check.
11) Create makeshift refrigerators out of a garbage can and some ice packs for your beer night - Check.
12) Spend your final nights in a super-swank hotel room paid for by the Ladner parentals (or, in this case, yourself... which kind of sucks...) - Check (double check, for swankness factor)
There are, undoubtedly, many more things that Johanne will now be able to add to her completed travel checklist, but we're out of ideas (maybe taking cold showers and liking it?) so that's all you're getting for now.
Hasta Mañana!!
Steph and Jo
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Dancing Queens? Really not...
Hi again everybody!
So... let's see where we left off... ah yes! The beach. Let us reiterate - it was amazing.
Unfortunately, we had to leave Roatan on Sunday to mov on to other things. We got on a mutlitude of smelly (and we do mean smelly - combo B.O., dirty fried chicken from the street, and other nondescript but equally revolting things) buses before arriving in Copan Ruinas, where we stayed for a few days. As the name quite clearly states, Copan is famous for its ruins. They were built by the Mayans in the year 600 (maybe... we could be pullng that number out of our asses). The ruins were really cool, lots of pyramidy-looking things and random statues for worshipping. As you can probably tell, we did not hire a guide (El Cheapo style), so we're not entirely certain of all the facts, but we got some pretty sweet photos, so we're not bothered! We should also mention that it was about 40 degrees in the blazing sun, so after about 2 hours walking up and down giant stone steps at the ruins' site, we had to retreat to our room, where we promptly threw ourselves in front of the fan in an attempt to blow dry our sweaty selves/bras. It was lovely.
That same day, we went on a horseback riding adventure through the city and up in the surrounding mountains. We only understood about 20% of what our guide was saying to us (il parlait come s'il avait une patate dans la bouche), but we visited some weird rocks shaped like frogs which were supposedly an ex-Mayan hospital... something like that.
The next day we hopped on a shuttle to Antigua (in Guatemala, not the country in the Antilles). This is a really pretty little city with cobble-stone streets, colourful buildings and volcanoes in the background. We spent most of our first day exploring the city and shopping around in the crafts market. Our bargaining strategy is for Steph to do the talking in Spanish, while Johanne plays (or not so much) at not understanding anything till Steph translates. Then Johanne says it's too expensive, Steph says so the the vendor, and we walk away, until they chase after us. It's working pretty well, if we do say so ourselves. We also wanted to go rafting (this is the second time we've tried), but it appears rafting is just not in the cards for us. It isn't the season apparently, and we would have no rapids to speak of. Oh well!
This morning, we had the worst breakfast of all time, then headed down the street for a salsa dancing lesson. We both really sucked, but our instructors were really nice and kept trying to encourage us by saying "Muy Sexy!" and "Wow". Yeah right. We danced for an hour, no one stepped on anyone else's feet, then we went back to the market to visit the stalls we never got around to yesterday.
This afternoon, we decided to attend to our dirty (literally BLACK) feet. We went to the spa and had massages and pedicures. Not exactly the adventure we were looking for in white water rafting, but a nice way to spend an afternoon anyway!
Tomorrow, we're taking yet another bus to Panajachel, on the shore of LAgo de Atitlan. There, we will be paragliding, kayaking, and attempting to deepen our tans one last time before coming home!!!
See you in a week (already!)
Steph and Jo
So... let's see where we left off... ah yes! The beach. Let us reiterate - it was amazing.
Unfortunately, we had to leave Roatan on Sunday to mov on to other things. We got on a mutlitude of smelly (and we do mean smelly - combo B.O., dirty fried chicken from the street, and other nondescript but equally revolting things) buses before arriving in Copan Ruinas, where we stayed for a few days. As the name quite clearly states, Copan is famous for its ruins. They were built by the Mayans in the year 600 (maybe... we could be pullng that number out of our asses). The ruins were really cool, lots of pyramidy-looking things and random statues for worshipping. As you can probably tell, we did not hire a guide (El Cheapo style), so we're not entirely certain of all the facts, but we got some pretty sweet photos, so we're not bothered! We should also mention that it was about 40 degrees in the blazing sun, so after about 2 hours walking up and down giant stone steps at the ruins' site, we had to retreat to our room, where we promptly threw ourselves in front of the fan in an attempt to blow dry our sweaty selves/bras. It was lovely.
That same day, we went on a horseback riding adventure through the city and up in the surrounding mountains. We only understood about 20% of what our guide was saying to us (il parlait come s'il avait une patate dans la bouche), but we visited some weird rocks shaped like frogs which were supposedly an ex-Mayan hospital... something like that.
The next day we hopped on a shuttle to Antigua (in Guatemala, not the country in the Antilles). This is a really pretty little city with cobble-stone streets, colourful buildings and volcanoes in the background. We spent most of our first day exploring the city and shopping around in the crafts market. Our bargaining strategy is for Steph to do the talking in Spanish, while Johanne plays (or not so much) at not understanding anything till Steph translates. Then Johanne says it's too expensive, Steph says so the the vendor, and we walk away, until they chase after us. It's working pretty well, if we do say so ourselves. We also wanted to go rafting (this is the second time we've tried), but it appears rafting is just not in the cards for us. It isn't the season apparently, and we would have no rapids to speak of. Oh well!
This morning, we had the worst breakfast of all time, then headed down the street for a salsa dancing lesson. We both really sucked, but our instructors were really nice and kept trying to encourage us by saying "Muy Sexy!" and "Wow". Yeah right. We danced for an hour, no one stepped on anyone else's feet, then we went back to the market to visit the stalls we never got around to yesterday.
This afternoon, we decided to attend to our dirty (literally BLACK) feet. We went to the spa and had massages and pedicures. Not exactly the adventure we were looking for in white water rafting, but a nice way to spend an afternoon anyway!
Tomorrow, we're taking yet another bus to Panajachel, on the shore of LAgo de Atitlan. There, we will be paragliding, kayaking, and attempting to deepen our tans one last time before coming home!!!
See you in a week (already!)
Steph and Jo
Friday, May 22, 2009
Braids Anyone?
Hola Faithfull Readers...
When we last wrote, we were in a lovely hotel in San Salvador. We took off from there on Monday to board a flight to Roatan Island via San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. The trip went relatively well, as long as we were willing to overlook a four hour delay at San Pedro Sula and the fact that we nearly missed our connecting flight because the forgot to announce it! They partially made up for it by putting us on a direct flight to Roatan which cut flying time from 2 hours to 35 minutes!
The Island is just amazing... we got off to a slightly rocky start since our first day and a half was mostly characterized by rain, rain, and more rain! However, by Wednesday, the weather started to clear and the weatherman was promising everything you might expect from a "resort" on the Carribean Sea! So, we rented ourselves a scooter with the intention of exploring our Island! We're (and by we, we mean Jo) pretty sure that we (again Jo) want a scooter for Christmas... Really! We loved it! Even though it is pretty scary sharing the roads with Honduran drivers who apparently have no rules other than honk at everything, pass everything, cut people off at every opportunity, and scare the shit out of unsuspecting tourist scooterers!
Although I framed the word "resort" with quotation marks, our room is pretty fantastic. It is not exactly the lap of luxury, but it has two beds, air conditioning that works really well (when there isn't a power failure, of which there have been three so far), cable TV, HOT showers, TOILET PAPER that is not sand-based, and a balcony overlooking the beach which is no more than 50 feet from our room.
About the beach... OH MY GOD! Seriously, it is freakin amazing (once you get used to being asked 85 times a day if you would like to have your hair braided or a body massage, or being offered bracelets and necklaces by the cutest little munchkins it breaks your heart to say No Gracias). We've spent the last two days basking on the beach and well, quite frankly, we are properly toasted.
Food was initially an issue for us - since this Island is on the cruise-ship circuit everything is quite expensive as the target market is the average, slightly obese, American tourist. After trying a few places with decent food at indecent prices, we discovered a pizzeria (thanks to our balcony mates from Quebec) that makes the most amazing pizza ever - it is a little off the beaten track, meaning that you have to walk about 2 kilometers up hill, down hill, and across mud using stepping stones, but well worth the trek. Turns out also, that the restaurant right next door to our hotel (which for some strange reason we never thought to check out) serves some pretty amazing quesidellas and burritos (although slightly explosive, wink, wink) and has el-cheapo prices.
Hasta la vista bitches!
Jo and Steph
When we last wrote, we were in a lovely hotel in San Salvador. We took off from there on Monday to board a flight to Roatan Island via San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. The trip went relatively well, as long as we were willing to overlook a four hour delay at San Pedro Sula and the fact that we nearly missed our connecting flight because the forgot to announce it! They partially made up for it by putting us on a direct flight to Roatan which cut flying time from 2 hours to 35 minutes!
The Island is just amazing... we got off to a slightly rocky start since our first day and a half was mostly characterized by rain, rain, and more rain! However, by Wednesday, the weather started to clear and the weatherman was promising everything you might expect from a "resort" on the Carribean Sea! So, we rented ourselves a scooter with the intention of exploring our Island! We're (and by we, we mean Jo) pretty sure that we (again Jo) want a scooter for Christmas... Really! We loved it! Even though it is pretty scary sharing the roads with Honduran drivers who apparently have no rules other than honk at everything, pass everything, cut people off at every opportunity, and scare the shit out of unsuspecting tourist scooterers!
Although I framed the word "resort" with quotation marks, our room is pretty fantastic. It is not exactly the lap of luxury, but it has two beds, air conditioning that works really well (when there isn't a power failure, of which there have been three so far), cable TV, HOT showers, TOILET PAPER that is not sand-based, and a balcony overlooking the beach which is no more than 50 feet from our room.
About the beach... OH MY GOD! Seriously, it is freakin amazing (once you get used to being asked 85 times a day if you would like to have your hair braided or a body massage, or being offered bracelets and necklaces by the cutest little munchkins it breaks your heart to say No Gracias). We've spent the last two days basking on the beach and well, quite frankly, we are properly toasted.
Food was initially an issue for us - since this Island is on the cruise-ship circuit everything is quite expensive as the target market is the average, slightly obese, American tourist. After trying a few places with decent food at indecent prices, we discovered a pizzeria (thanks to our balcony mates from Quebec) that makes the most amazing pizza ever - it is a little off the beaten track, meaning that you have to walk about 2 kilometers up hill, down hill, and across mud using stepping stones, but well worth the trek. Turns out also, that the restaurant right next door to our hotel (which for some strange reason we never thought to check out) serves some pretty amazing quesidellas and burritos (although slightly explosive, wink, wink) and has el-cheapo prices.
Hasta la vista bitches!
Jo and Steph
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Step One - Barbed Wire and Guns
Hi guys!!
Ok, so we know a lot of you have been clamoring for a blog already, but when we first got here, we had a lot of traveling to do right off the bat, and we doubted that any of you really wanted to read about planes and buses and borders (although the border swine flu checks are mildly interesting). Now, though, we have a few things under our belts (that´s what she said) so we´re ready to talk!
First things first, Steph's mission to get Johanne thoroughly out of her element has been a success. The barbed wire atop most fences and armed guards at the entrances of many buildings has really thrown her for a loop, but she seems to be adjusting well. When people get on buses with/attempt to sell us machetes, she barely even flinches anymore, which is definitely a good sign!!
As for our adventures, you'll be glad to hear that, so far, we haven't done anything stupid. On Friday, we went to Parque Nacional Cerro Verde. It's about an hour and a half away from Santa Ana, where we were staying and the drive down was interesting to say the least... people don't seem to enjoy slowing down, looking where they are driving, or avoiding major potholes - not even on a windy, uphill road. Oh well, we got there alive in the end. The park is surrounded by three volcanoes - Santa Ana, Izalco, and Cerro Verde - and we were able to get a good view of all three. Most of our day was also spent in a cloud, which was pretty cool... the cloud would drift in and out of the clearing where we were and, accordingly, the weather was either really hot (no cloud) or really cold (cloud!). As we were waiting for the bus to bring us back to Santa Ana (it was arriving in a mere 3 hours), we met Luis, a Salvadorean who now lives in the States and was home for a visit. He offered to drive us back to Santa Ana and show us some sights on the way. As he was accompanying a group of school girls, we didn't feel too threatened by him, so we agreed. On the way home, he took us to Bello Campo, a collection of "igloos" to rent. They were obivously made of brick, not ice, but whatever, they were cool.
Then, he took us to see Lago de Coatepeque... To get the best view of the lake (i.e. right next to it) we had to trespass on someone's property. Luis assured us that he knew the cousin of the sister of the caretaker and that the owners only came there on weekends, so we just went along with it. The lake was very pretty but, seeing as we were afraid of being chased out of there by gun-toting Salvadoreans, we didn't object when we left after only a short visit. On our way out, many of the school girls took the opportunity to stuff their pockets full of mangoes and coconuts which were falling off the trees...
We are now in San Salvador, where, yesterday, we got chased through the Craft Market by over-zealous shopkeepers who absolutely needed to show us every single item in their shop... of course, every shop has the same stuff, so this got really old, really fast. Today, while you all (apparently) sat around in cold weather, we went to Lago Ilopango, to sit on the beach, swim in the warm water and attempt to get some kind of base tan for our upcoming week on the beaches of Honduras! We failed, but we´re working on it...
Hope all is well at home, despite your being very cold (haha).
Steph and Jo
Ok, so we know a lot of you have been clamoring for a blog already, but when we first got here, we had a lot of traveling to do right off the bat, and we doubted that any of you really wanted to read about planes and buses and borders (although the border swine flu checks are mildly interesting). Now, though, we have a few things under our belts (that´s what she said) so we´re ready to talk!
First things first, Steph's mission to get Johanne thoroughly out of her element has been a success. The barbed wire atop most fences and armed guards at the entrances of many buildings has really thrown her for a loop, but she seems to be adjusting well. When people get on buses with/attempt to sell us machetes, she barely even flinches anymore, which is definitely a good sign!!
As for our adventures, you'll be glad to hear that, so far, we haven't done anything stupid. On Friday, we went to Parque Nacional Cerro Verde. It's about an hour and a half away from Santa Ana, where we were staying and the drive down was interesting to say the least... people don't seem to enjoy slowing down, looking where they are driving, or avoiding major potholes - not even on a windy, uphill road. Oh well, we got there alive in the end. The park is surrounded by three volcanoes - Santa Ana, Izalco, and Cerro Verde - and we were able to get a good view of all three. Most of our day was also spent in a cloud, which was pretty cool... the cloud would drift in and out of the clearing where we were and, accordingly, the weather was either really hot (no cloud) or really cold (cloud!). As we were waiting for the bus to bring us back to Santa Ana (it was arriving in a mere 3 hours), we met Luis, a Salvadorean who now lives in the States and was home for a visit. He offered to drive us back to Santa Ana and show us some sights on the way. As he was accompanying a group of school girls, we didn't feel too threatened by him, so we agreed. On the way home, he took us to Bello Campo, a collection of "igloos" to rent. They were obivously made of brick, not ice, but whatever, they were cool.
Then, he took us to see Lago de Coatepeque... To get the best view of the lake (i.e. right next to it) we had to trespass on someone's property. Luis assured us that he knew the cousin of the sister of the caretaker and that the owners only came there on weekends, so we just went along with it. The lake was very pretty but, seeing as we were afraid of being chased out of there by gun-toting Salvadoreans, we didn't object when we left after only a short visit. On our way out, many of the school girls took the opportunity to stuff their pockets full of mangoes and coconuts which were falling off the trees...
We are now in San Salvador, where, yesterday, we got chased through the Craft Market by over-zealous shopkeepers who absolutely needed to show us every single item in their shop... of course, every shop has the same stuff, so this got really old, really fast. Today, while you all (apparently) sat around in cold weather, we went to Lago Ilopango, to sit on the beach, swim in the warm water and attempt to get some kind of base tan for our upcoming week on the beaches of Honduras! We failed, but we´re working on it...
Hope all is well at home, despite your being very cold (haha).
Steph and Jo
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Can She, Will She... Should She?
Buenas!
On Wednesday, Steph and Johanne are offically hauling ass to Guatemala. Over the next three weeks, Steph will put Johanne to the test... Can she sleep in cheap, run-down hotels? Will she be able to keep up with the quintessential traveling alcoholism? Should she trust Steph's judgement blindly?
We'll soon find out and keep you posted along the way. By June 4th, we'll know for sure, and we'll be sure to post the verdict here and make it common knowledge!
In the meantime, Johanne's got a long list of adventures to check off her "backpacking must-dos" and Steph fully intends on helping her along the way. Naturally, you're all invited to follow along with us, so we'll keep you up to date as often as we can!
Hasta Luego!
Steph and Jo
On Wednesday, Steph and Johanne are offically hauling ass to Guatemala. Over the next three weeks, Steph will put Johanne to the test... Can she sleep in cheap, run-down hotels? Will she be able to keep up with the quintessential traveling alcoholism? Should she trust Steph's judgement blindly?
We'll soon find out and keep you posted along the way. By June 4th, we'll know for sure, and we'll be sure to post the verdict here and make it common knowledge!
In the meantime, Johanne's got a long list of adventures to check off her "backpacking must-dos" and Steph fully intends on helping her along the way. Naturally, you're all invited to follow along with us, so we'll keep you up to date as often as we can!
Hasta Luego!
Steph and Jo
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