Back to the Caribbean!

It is official. We love the Caribbean. What could be better than warm water and tree-lined beaches!

We have not done a whole lot here yet. It was cloudy when we arrived, raining during our bonfire (which was amazing and incredible in every way!!), and rain all morning today. But alas, the sky cleared and we rented bikes and went to the beach with our Chilean, British and Scottish friends! Cristian, Nico, Pete & Barry are our new best friends. Seriously though, they are wonderful. Pete and Barry were in Santa Elena when we were, and Cristian and Nico we met last night and enjoyed and delighful dinner with. We also have been lucky enough to make some Aussie friends, Josh and Hannah, in addition to Hayley from England.

Basically we are just hanging out here on the beach, trying not to think of anything at all. We took a picture on Barrys laptop so it is posted below.

We were also happy to speak with our parents yesterday from San Jose. It was amazing and really recharged our batteries. We are so lucky to have them to support our journey!

Jardin Botanico Lankester

We had a nice, chill night at Galileo yesterday. We rose this morning feeling refreshed. Having unlimited free internet access at this place has really lifted a load from our shoulders and we were able to figure out and take care of some logistical planning. We wandered around the neighborhood of the hostel for a while, looking for this one Mediterranean place that supposedly existed. It didn't, so we ended up eating a large portion of huevos rancheros at a place we circled a few times on our search. The menu was hilariously translated from Spanish, saying things like "Meat our chicken" and a section titled "Snachs" for snacks. Every time we sit down to a meal we have a little giggle sesh, trying to be sensitive but truly appreciating the butchering.

The service industry is quite funny here, as we've experienced in most of Central America. There is little concern to move fast, take orders, or bring bills. Our breakfast ended up being way longer because of this, but we had such a great spot outside on a main thoroughfare that it was hard to actually care. Then we swung by the hostel to pick up some things and started on a rather long walk to the city center. This place was like Chinatown, but in San Jose with no Chinese people. People shouting and selling things on the street left and right - "No, I don't want your bootleg DVDs, electronic puppy dogs, or lottery tickets. But thank you for asking over and over." We walked through totally overstimulated, this being our first major city since the beginning of the trip. It was strange seeing soooo many people in such a concentrated area after coming from Monteverde where we were the only people in a cloud forest. Come on! That's a hard transition! City life is so different, we kinda forgot.

But we made it to the other side of town and after asking numerous people, found our way to the bus that was going to take us to Cartago, a smaller city about 45 minutes away. This place was like the New Jersey to San Jose. It is cleaner and quieter with lots of families and residences. It was really nice being the only Gringas around - literally, did not see one other tourist. Thank the traveling gods! Then we got on yet another bus to Paraiso that took us to the entrance (500m walk there after) to the Jardin Botanico Lankester. This place is beautiful. Mainly promoted as an orchid garden (Orquideas), there were thousands of species of trees, flowers, cacti, shrubbery, etc. It was incredible, kept very well, and was basically a pleasant stroll through various gardens. Wonderful! We obviously took tons of pictures and marveled at nature for a while. We also saw a ridiculously long and impressive line of leaf-cutter ants, who were working hard carrying small pieces of leaves from one side of the garden to the other. Literally, 30 feet long! Hundreds of them. From afar, it was a strange sight to see small blades of grass moving independently across the way..."Sooooooooophie, get over here and look at this!" It was crazy, but we just wanted to tell them to slow down and take it easy. It's Saturday!

After the gardens we went on a fruitless search for a small craft brewery that was supposed to be super close by, but ended up being nowhere and known by no one. Oh well. Maybe next trip to Costa Rica. Eh? On the way back to San Jose we stopped in downtown Cartago and went into an incredible church that was unlike anything we've even seen before. Stone and unassuming from the outside, the inside is covered in wood panels, ornate altars, and beautifully painted columns. There was a wedding wrapping up so we just went inside and helped to send them off down the aisle. They walked by probably thinking, "Who invited these two sunburnt gals here?" Then we made our way back to San Jose, again overwhelmed by the bustle that we had to comb our way through the crowds to a bus we hoped was going where we wanted it to. And it did! Who knew it was that easy, as if we've never taken public transit before! We grabbed some aguacates and tomatoes on the way back and cooked up cup o noodles and guacamole for dinner. Delightful!

Now we're internetting it up, soon to venture to the other side of the city that is supposed to have good night life and a university crowd. We'll try and catch some live music if we're lucky, and perhaps meet up with some Aussies that we met in Nicaragua. We shall see.

Over and out
Sophisticated Koala

San Jose - a bit of a mystery

So we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica around 7pm. Not knowing where exactly our hostel was we opted to grab the first cab we saw and directed them to our hostel. Little did we know it was just about 3 blocks away (if that). Woops! Whatever...parents, we were trying to be responsible and efficient. Well, just our luck this one time it was unnecessary. Regardless, we arrived to Galileo Hostel located in the safe and residential neighborhood of La Sabana just west of downtown. This place is a world/country/city/community of its own. As a matter of fact, you really don't need to leave this place if you didn't care what was outside - actually, it seems many don't. There are people from all around the world that reside here. In fact it's rather difficult to decipher who works here and who just stays here. The place is run by a guy from Boston who quit his job of 6 years on Wall St to come open this backpacker haven. It appears that San Jose serves as a hub for exploring the surrounding area of the city, so many guests don't feel the need to do much of anything here besides relax in the hostel bar which is open 24 hours. It's beautifully decorated, and for only being open for two years there are a whole lot of chachskis covering every surface and wall. Upon arrival we got an extensive tour from the owner and his trainee (apparently they just hired a lot of new staff...hmmm), which was clearly an in depth and well thought out schpiel to inaugurate new guests into the world that is Galileo.

Kat set out to gather tips from the staff about what places there are to go out and see live music around this area. He begrudgingly offered up a few suggestions, shocked that anyone would ever want or need to leave this little universe. Once again we battle with the backpacker's world and identity, confused as to why all these people are here and what they are doing? What are we doing...good question? Do we all decide that the only way we could all meet is to spend lots and lots of time in Central America? With all the Canadian backpackers that we meet, it would have just been easier to meet somewhere on our home turf...why Costa Rica?

Either way we ended up going to a place down the street where locals flock to. Little did we know it is the Costa Rican form of "Johnny Rockets." Hilarious menu with descriptions in English saying, "Now this is a sandwich! Roast beef, ham, cheese, mayo, ketchup...What more could you ask for!?" After giggling at the selection for a while, wondering why we were told by both the staff and Lonely Planet to come here, we ordered a Roast beef sandwich, a burger (also with ham!), and fries (which I swear are the same "coated fries" that we carried at Sava's!). It wasn't bad, and it was about 8 dollars total. Meh, we left full so no worries.

We also accomplished a lot of other important things today. We spent a lot of time thinking, planning, & mapping our upcoming crossover to South America. We figured out our time in Colombia (about 2-ish weeks), and kinda Ecuador, in addition to making a big plan by purchasing flights from Lima, Peru to Montevideo, Uruguay. Not ideal to fly during our trip since we wanted to be on land the whole way, but we have figured out a good route that makes sense for our rendezvous with Jeffery in Uruguay and our week in Buenos Aires. It's gonna be awesome!! Jeff, we are so pumped to hang with you down south. It is going to be so dang incredible, words cannot explain. (This is Sophie by the way, just so ya know.) We also are in the process of figuring out our trip to Huaraz, Peru where we are planning on doing a 4 day trek through the Peruvian Andes - holy canoli!!! This is supposed to be  the mother of all treks, hikes, through the most insane parts of Peru. Eek! Before that we are going to be hiking a volcano in the Zona Cafetera in Colombia. We are so outdoorsey, none of you knew! Actually, part of this trip has really brought out a huge love of the outdoors that this city gal never knew she had. We've met so many people that spend certain seasons of the year working outdoors in order to spend the rest of the year traveling in various places that either resemble or totally contrast the places where they're from. It's really awesome and inspiring. It makes me feel that I can shift my interest to include wilderness somehow, and I'd be happy. Perhaps a hunting trip up north with the cousins and uncles will be in order soon to get a good fix for it all.

For now we are just chilling at Galileo though. Tomorrow we take a bus to Cartago, a nearby town with the Lankester Gardens, which house hundreds of orchids species. We are currently waiting for an email back from a small craft brewery in Cartago which makes some of the only micro-brews in Central America. We hope to go to the brewery, hang out, talk to the guys that run it. Who knows! Then on Sunday after a chat with the parents we take a bus to Puerto Viejo for some hardcore chillen!!

Much love from Costa Rica. Viva la pura vida!!
Sophisticated Koala

A Convergence in Santa Elena/Monteverde

Through lots of conversations and attempts at processing just what exactly we are doing here, I think we've finally come up with a pretty concise way of capturing an element of this experience that can be simultaneously frustrating and wonderful. Sometimes, we're in a place where everything, big and small, seems to be somehow wrong (Isla Ometepe, for instance). Not that we had a bad time there - when we're together, strolling or swimming or exploring, we are always having fun. Its those external circumstances that can be a real bitch. On the Isla, we felt unwelcome, and we faced challenges in the form of bugs, dark rocky paths, walks on which we constantly got lost or went the wrong way, and the discomfort of not having a fitted bedsheet (or any vegetables!). In short, things were not going our way. Other times, however, circumstances fall together in our favor to such an extent that it kind of freaks us out - we can't believe our luck. (Example - our ride across the border from Guatemala to Honduras - see earlier post). In those cases, we shake out heads in disbelief and gratitude, and thank our lucky stars about a hundred more times.

So basically, as we go from place to place, a pattern emerges. Things will either diverge, in the sense that we can't get a handle on our surroundings and have a tough time falling into a grove on all kinds of levels; or, things will converge in a perfect, smooth, wonderful way to form an experience that is just too much fun. Our time in Santa Elena/Monteverde falls under the latter category - it has been a total pleasure in every way.

We got in on Wednesday evening, and were immediately able to check in to the coolest (and one of the only) hostel in Santa Elena. There's a kitchen we've made use of to cook ourselves delicious, vegetable-packed meals (there's a supermarket, and they sell veggies! eggplant! spinach! oh the joy!!) and a great indoor and outdoor common area, and the whole place just has a great vibe. Best of all, and in total contrast to the farm we stayed on at Isla Ometepe, the staff here is fabulous. They are all friendly, always present, knowledgeable on all things, and eager to help. Even better, our room was downright luxurious. When we arrived they didn't have any beds available in the dorm, so we reluctantly agreed to stay in a private room, which is obviously more expensive (although realistically, its not actually expensive, just in comparison to what we've been paying so far - which is, clearly, a skewed perspective). Then we say the room - beautiful wooden bunk beds, each of which was a double bed with soft sheets and a white comforter. Our door opened onto a balcony with a rocking chair, and steps down to a grassy courtyard. We couldn't believe out eyes. We haven't seen such accomodations since... I don't even now when. We were geeked like little kids on Christmas morning. Getting into bed has never felt so good!

Yesterday we had a wonderful, fun-packed day in the beautiful outdoors surrounding Santa Elena. In the morning we went on a hike through a tropical cloud forest. The trail was green, lush, with incredible plants all covered in dew. The mist was cool and refreshing, and we took many deep breaths to stock up on all that air, which we agreed was the freshest we'd ever taken into our lungs. We had to remind ourselves to keep walking the trail, because every few seconds one of us would call the other over to look at some strange and beautiful tree or plant. We also saw some crazy birds! There were little ones with yellow bellies, and big black turkey-like ones that had blue iridescent feathers near their beaks, and best of all, we saw a quetzal. The quetzal is a very rare bird in this area, and there are only three in the whole park where we were hiking. The males are especially exotic, and thats what we saw - he had bright turquoise feathers, a burgundy belly, white wing tips, and two really long, wispy feathers coming down from his tail. Amazing!

In the afternoon, after a lovely lunch and siesta, we went zip-lining. This is also known as a canopy tour, because basically you're connected to these steel cables that strung between tree canopies, and as you go zipping down them you get breathtaking views of the forest canopy and surrounding hills. It was so much fun! The last zip-line was a kilometer long, and we got to go down it together. We flew at breakneck speed, with the wind in our faces and giggling like idiots the whole way, and then we got to the end we were laughing so hard we were crying. Thankfully, we managed to get some video documentation on Soph's flip video, which we will share with you all as soon as we can find a computer that loads videos faster than one megabyte an hour.

The night scene has been fun here too, with lots of cool people to meet, and some good live reggae and salsa music to enjoy. This morning has been wonderfully lazy - we are both really enjoying the fact that our bus to San Jose is at 2:30pm, instead of at 6am which is the norm. Oh the joy of sleeping til 8, making breakfast, and relaxing (as opposed to waking up at the crack of dawn when its still dark, hoisting on our insanely heavy bags, and heaving them to the bus stop - and all this when we're barely awake, and have 30 seconds to snag some kind of food for the eternal and infernally hot bus ride ahead). Not that we're complaining!

Now its "on the road again" and we're heading to San Jose. Then its to the beach once more, to a little town called Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We'll be sure to keep you posted from there. We miss you all, and think about you in everything we do!

Much love, and sending warmth and sunshine through the interwebs,
Sophisticated Koala

El Zopilote en Isla Ometepe

The day of travel to Ometepe was easy and hassle free. Timing worked out and everytime we arrived somewhere it was just in time to catch the next bus/taxi/boat to where we needed to go. The approach to the island was beautiful. Being on the top deck of the ferry was so sweet - wind in your face, waves splashing, with the two volcanoes that comprise the island in the distance. We rode with other backpackers, a few of which we had previously met in Granada. There are these two guys traveling with the chillest, tiniest dog ever. His name is Pablo (or Pablito).

When we docked we got a taxi to take us to the opposite side of the island, which is two volcanoes (Concepcion y Maderas) that create to main islands connected by an isthmus. We stayed on the further one on Finca el Zopilote. We had such high hopes for this place, so that's why we can't be too mad that they fell short. The farm itself it awesome. Set up on the side of the volcano, walking distance from the main road but up a rocky path. One night we returned after watching the sunset and took the wrong path up a little ways. We won't be doing that again without a flashlight. The food here was spectacular. Delish bread, honey, homemade nutella. Our room was cool, too. The loft area of the hammock space, we had to hoist ourselves and bags up the ladder and hope for the best. The mosquito net didn't quite fit our bed but provided excellent comic relief after a day of travel.

No, where El Zopilote fell short was the only place that truly mattered - the people that work there. We have never had such a strange, awkward, negative experience with hostel/farm/hotel employees. It didn't start out total negative, just didn't get good vibes or a warm reception...at all. We constantly felt like we were a burden to the staff that seemed like they wanted to be anywhere but there. We tried not to read too much into the first night with our first encounter, but they never proved us wrong. The other guests there were super cool and we had a great time chilling with them at night, exchanging stories and cooking. Two guys we met are on an epic bike journey all the way from Maine!! Insane!

Basically, after enjoying what the island had to offer - strong sun, Ojo De Agua (the incredible natural pool), and long walks in search of vegetables that apparently do not exist anywhere on the continent, we decided we could move on early without feeling that we had missed anything. Instead of staying for 5 nights, we stayed for three. Not a huge loss but the other a-whole that works there made us pay for two additional nights that we "reserved" and were therefore causing a loss for them (although not really because everyday at least 10 people come looking for rooms and we are sure they are filled by now). That made us even happier to leave, knowing that we didn't have to deal with such issues anymore and could enjoy the rest of the trip away from Isla de Negativa.

We are looking forward to our adventures here in Santa Elena. The ride up the mountain made bus rides on incomplete roads in Greece seems like child's play. The death valley below caused minor heart attacks here and there, but you must remember - these guys drive this road at least once a day. They could do it with their eyes closed, not that we need the extra obstacle. Meanwhile, we continue to figure out what our place is currently in this world. We are in this transient place trying to discover what these other worlds are like, but find ourselves spending most of our time with others just like us. The "Gringo trail" stretches far. We stayed up late talking one night about trying to find the ideal balance of meeting all the other interesting travelers and then trying also to mix with and understand locals. This is when we came to the conclusion that we need to go work/volunteer on a farm or something somewhere for 2 weeks or so. We are open and in need of suggestions. Ecuador? Colombia? Elsewhere?

So we have a new nickname for this packaged deal that we are. It's what our names are when predictive texts decides for us what our names are. So from now on we sign our posts with it.

Love you!
"Sophisticated Koala"

Making our way down

Although it was tempting to stay on Utila for longer, we knew we had to keep moving on. We spent our last night hanging out with our fly fishing friends, joking and exchanging stories. They were so kind to share their fajitas, in order to keep us from starving while we waited for our food at Evelyn's. This local eatery is infamous for long waits...like long waits. Like, just when you think you are going to starve, you wait longer. And then, just when you are about to give up, you wait a little bit longer. Then hopefully after this point your food arrives (or your neighbors and you just eat theirs). But the company was great. Our new friend Ray from Toronto joined us, and as the place emptied out a bit we combined tables with another full of people that were on the same boat as us on the first day. Our Mahi-Mahi and Tuna kabobs were delish, set to the tunes of Bob Marley, and chatting with Evelyn about why it takes forever was hilarious - "You know, I just like to put a lot of time and effort. I add lots of 'ingremedints' and it makes it so good." She was too sweet, and gave us her sons email who lives in Brooklyn.

We left Utila on the first ferry out the next day, making sure to stop at Thompson's Bakery for a few last cinnamon rolls. With no problems, we got to La Ceiba and got on a bus heading for Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. We were able to get in touch with our couch surfing host, Darwin, a very international guy who has lived in Germany for a few years and who is really into ACDC and The Strokes. Him and his friend took us out for food and drinks to a couple of really cool places. We got back a little later than we wanted but got some shut eye before being up around 5 am to catch the 6 am bus to Nicaragua. After much debate we took the mas caro option, although there was no threat of robbery or gunpoint experiences (which seemed to be almost guaranteed on that bus at that time). Alas, this bus served us breakfast and took care of border crossing proceedings. Little kids run around barefoot at the border, trying to make some coins by climbing into the baggage area to help move bags, causing chaos instead of actually helping.

But after no time at all we were driving through Nicaragua. It is hot here! Seriously. We were warned but didn't know what to expect. Of course, usually when in transit we wear our hiking boots and jeans, so we were suffering when on the minibus from Managua to Granada. As soon as we arrived at the Bearded Monkey hostel, we hopped in the shower for a much needed refresher. We went for lunch and a stroll around the city. Colorful colonial buildings and horse and buggie streets (yes, the smell of horse poopy is everywhere. a definite downside). We climbed to the top of Iglesia de la Merced where we got a 360 degree view of the city and watched the sun set over the mountains in the distance. We walked the main thoroughfair of restaurants and bars, bought some handmade jewery from a dready guy, and met up with our new friend Rupi! (Shout out to Rupi!!) We met here at lunch and decided to meet around 7 for drinks. She is taking a year off before starting residency and working in a hospital here in Granada for a month. We had a great time talking about trips we have taken and saying "no gracias" to the countless number of kids selling candy and cigarettes to us over and over again. Finally the one selling DVDs realized after the 3rd time that we were the same people he kept coming up to, and gave us a break! We bought some cigars at a place where a nice young man gave us the abridged tour in the humidor. So sweet, we had to. Plus is was nice and cool in there, so we delayed the time by asking questions and making conversation.

Today we are going to get breakfast and a place down the street that has huge bowls of yogurt and granola. Then we get on a bus to Rivas, where we then take a taxi to a ferry to Isla de Ometepe, to Finca El Zopilote. We will stay there for about 5 days, and are looking forward to beachy days and bread baking classes.

Loves and kisses
Soph and Kat

Utila - a picture couldn't do it justice

Just when we thought things couldn't get better, that we were the most spoiled people on the face of the earth, we arrived on the tiny island called Utila off the northern coast of Honduras. Oh yea, in the Caribbean!

But let's back track because we missed a lot of great stuff. After Antigua we took a long bus ride up through the mountains of Guatemala to Semuc Champey. Our hostel called El Portal made you feel like you were the only people living in the mountains, next to a raucous river in a hut on the side of a hill. Cheap, cheap, cheap! Just down the road is the national park called Semuc Champey. Here there are natural pools atop a naturally formed limestone bridge, under which rapids run amok, but on top are cool calm pools. You relax and tred, looking up to mountains towering above you. That little speck you see all the way up at the top is the Mirador (look out). We climbed that just minutes before. Jeez. Later that same day we walk over to Las Grutas Maria Ka'nba. This was a definite highlight for us! Just the two of us led by our guia Rojo, went through this cave with head lamps and candle sticks. Seriously! We had such an amazing time, feeling like explorers climbing rocks and swimming through the cave. We walked through a waterfall and jumped off a cliff into the river that runs through the entire pathway. Amazingness! Before it was dark we returned to Portal for dinner. We ate with people from Spain, London, Australia, Guatemala...everyday we meet new people from countless places all over the world. It's the best!


From here we took a bus to the border of Honduras and Guatemala (La Frontera). And when we say bus, we actually mean 6 buses in 9 hours. Collectivos to be more specific, packing in as many people as humanly (or not humanly) possible. Uncomfortable to say the least, we finally made it to the border. You just walk across it. Funny. But of course, we arrived here and finished our passport business, only to find out that the last bus into Copan Ruinas had left fifteen minutes before. Yikes! With our new friend Jody from British Columbia, we asked around and figured out the situation. You can either hitch a ride with a tractor trailer, a tour bus (but who new when that would be), or a local. We got lucky this time, guys! Just as we were talking to an agent a family of grandparents and their 8 year old grandson we taking a stretch from their long car ride. The agent directed us to talk with them and sure enough, these amazing people squeezed our enormous back packs into their trunk, crushing all their things and not caring. Not only did they take us into town, but they brought us to our hostel and fended off more border police as we got closer to town. And get this small world anecdote: The grandfather learned English in Ann Arbor, Michigan! If that wasn't a sign from the traveling gods and don't know what is!! This was truly the nicest family we met all trip so far. Laughing and joking the whole ride (it was only 15 minutes) we felt truly blessed to have been welcomed in by this family who really helped us in a time of (near) desperation. It could've been bad! But it wasn't so no sense in worrying about it now :)

Copan Ruinas was great. Those Mayans were on to something serious. Too bad Europeans had to come in a destroy all their books and give them diseases and ruin everything. Well, in addition to droughts and other natural causes, too. Anywho - the highlight of Copan Ruinas was easily our guided tour to La Finca de Cisne (Cisne meaning swan). Carlos, the son of a multi-generational, family run farm about an hour or so from Copan. This was incredible. We met him at Via Via Cafe in town, a central hub for socializing, eating, drinking, and tourism stuff. We ate breakfast and got in the car, learning about him and the farm, and asking questions about everything we could possibly think of. When we arrived we took a stroll to the stables and got on horseback!! We took a 2 hour + ride around the grounds of the farm, walking, trotting, & galloping! Nothing has felt so good in such a long time to be on a horse running up open hills, looking at mountains of Honduras, with Guatemalan mountains in the background. Need a snack? Just shimmy up a tree and knock down some coconuts. We got our strength and energy back by drinking some coconut water and eating an older coconut underneath the shade of palm trees next to tilapia pools. For lunch Carlos' mom cooked us up a feast, all food grown and prepared on the farm - verduras, homemade cheeses, shredded taro root pancakes, yuka, beef, and of course coffee that is grown, processed, and sold from the farm. Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did we mention how lucky and unbelievably spoiled we are? After a siesta in a hammock, Carlos showed us where the coffee is washed, sorted and dried, then put into bags to be picked up in the next couple of days. We drank coffee that had gone through the process just days before. You really appreciate that cup of joe when you see the people and machines that go into the whole process. After this we went to some hot springs, yada yada yada, we rubbed hot mud on our skin, blah blah blah, sat there for about an hour and washed off the day. All boring stuff and you can imagine.

It was really hard to say bye to Carlos. He opened up a whole new world to us, and getting to know him was such an amazing experience. He is like no other person we know. Friendly, passionate, genuine, kind - he taught us so much, joked so much, and made us feel more at home that we have since we left about a week ago (ah, only a week! Good lord!). But, what was waiting for us here on Utila was worth the other 6 hour bus rides and 2 hour boat ride. Remember what a tan looks like? I didn't, but it's fantastic! The sun recharges your batteries better than any powdered drink or nap could ever do.We are lucky enough that Libby from the Deep Blue Dive Shop opens rooms every now and then to couch surfers. We are staying in a cute room with aquatic life painted on the walls, just steps from the private dock where a hammock and swings await our arrival early in the morning and late at night. Please google this place that is hear - Treetanic. Talk about a wonderland made for Kat. Mosaics, sculptures, blown glass, all in a tree and courtyard, there for your enjoyment while relaxing from a long day in the sun. Seriously? Get out! But alas, it is real. It exists, and we made some great friends there. 5/6 guys from out west, fishing guides from Colorado and Wyoming. Have we been friends our whole lives? I think so, or at least it seems. After a few beers and lots of laughs we made sure we'd hang out the next day (and I'm laying groundwork for future trips out west when we return to the states!).

Now we just ate breakfast at an amazingly delicious and muy barata cafe, and our going to go snorkeling along the beach. God I hate this life! It will be hard to leave here, but judging by what we've done so far, there can only be more wonderful things ahead, so nonsensical it's hard to write down.

Much love from Honduras! Besos!
Soph & Kat