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Brazil and Latin AmericaBrazil and Latin America
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Brazil and Latin America

June - July 2022
Brazil is the biggest piece of the trip but there will be stops in many other countries too Read more
  • 29footprints
  • 8countries
  • 29days
  • 382photos
  • 35videos
  • 26.2kkilometers
  • 21.7kkilometers
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  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 21

    Cuenca - Day 2

    July 19, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Slept in and excitedly made my way to my favorite restaurant ever, tiestos cafe. Ordered their famous steak and giant prawns. This is incredibly hard to beat.

    Walked around and captured some nice buildings and sat down at a few terraces along the way. The night prior I coughed a lot and had a sore throat and lost my voice too. I went to a pharmacist and got some losanges plus antibiotics. I have had this a few times with an infection in my throat. Feels similar. Otherwise i am fine.

    After a nap, i finished the day at craft beer location and met a lot of people from different countries. Peru, Colombia, China, honduras, united states, Norway and ecuador of course. Eventually this location closed and the Honduras guy told us he has a restaurant a block away and we all piled in there instead.

    I showed him why his tap lines were expelling mostly foam haha and Otherwise a hilarious night of laughs and good vibes. The Norwegian viking guy had me in stitches all night. And everyone else was lovely. Amazing unexpected night of global friendships.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 22

    Quito

    July 20, 2022 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Slept in again but this time i really needed to not do that because i missed my flight to guayaquil. Rebooked a flight for the evening and headed back to Tiesto's cafe for their amazing steaks. The waiter literally cuts it with a spoon when delivering it to demonstrate how tender it is. So good. And this time they put me at the exact same table in the atrium area that i was at 2.5 years ago. Very nostalgic.

    Got my backpack and found a nice place downtown to relax until my flight. When it was time to go, i couldn't find a taxi forever, at least 30 to 40 minutes. And when I got to the airport, they said i missed checkin by 5 minutes. Argh! Twice in one day! Rebooked my flight to the Quito airport and then a very early flight to san salvador via panama.

    Since my flight arrived at 9:30pm in quito and my departure was at 6am, i decided I would just sleep in the airport and be sure to not have any more flight issues. Found a nice comfy bench with a cushion and made it home for a number of hours.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 23

    El Cuco

    July 21, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Woke up on the airport bench around 3am surrounded by bolivians in their cute hats everywhere. My flight to panama was at 6am, so I was finally able to checkin. Had a 3.5 hour layover in Panama and sitting upright in an airport lounge chair was not cutting it, so I found a nice carpeted area in a corner to lie down for an hour or so. Soooo tired. Woke up and i started a trend with many others lying down nearby too.

    Finally arrived in San Salvador, picked up my rental car, and drove 2.5 hours to remote southwest coastal beach town El Cuco, passing by many huge volcanoes. Beautiful. The resort I booked was decent but in desperate need of a makeover. Hopped in the ocean for a bit and then drove to the tiny town area for some ceviche at a very rustic restaurant on the beach. This town is so sleepy that all the restaurants closed before 8 oclock and they kicked me out. On the short drive back to the resort, i stopped at a local outdoor cantina for a beer and in bed early... which was much needed.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 24

    Comayagua

    July 22, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    Drove down the coast to check out some of el salvador's far reaches that are much less traveled. Reached El Jaguay point and got to a vantage point of being able to see the Gulf of Fonseca and its islands that belong to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. Backtracked a bit and popped into Las Tunas which had a very unique setting of buildings on stilts on the beach and the tide creating a river between buildings and like the beach is inside to town. Hard to describe, will attach a vid.

    From here, headed to the Honduras border. Took me a very long time to get across this border. At the El Salvador exit office, i was told I needed to checkin online for honduras. I tried to do it but it didn't work and figured i would get there and sort it out at the honduras entry office.

    Then i got to a bridge and a border stop where i was given a link to another online form. Every time i submitted, I would get an error and all my info would get wiped out. I eventually did the whole thing in front of an official on my 4th attempt, and he witnessed it and gave me a piece of paper. Drove a bit further and entered a large building with a huge lineup to finally get my passport stamped. Whole thing took me 90 minutes but i admit if i knew the steps, it would have been a lot faster.

    Finally, in Honduras. Shockingly, it was a brand new 4 lane divided highway the entire drive to comayagua; which was a gorgeous drive high up in the mountains often with panoramic views all around. Arrived at my very cute downtown hotel and went off to see the town before it got dark. Very pretty colonial town in the mountains but unfortunately clouds blocked out the views.

    Grabbed some supper, and bounced around to a few different locations but was very quiet, especially for a friday. Went to a pretty beer garden and to a hotel owned craft beer place that was very ornate. Locals told me nothing really happens here until Saturday. Oh well, at least everyone was really nice and i get more much needed sleep :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 26

    Lake Yojoa - Day 1

    July 24, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Another dramatic drive through and over mountain tops to reach Lake Yojoa. Honduras is extremely mountainous and pretty. I had to circumnavigate the lake to reach my hotel, which is a jungle lodge and also a brewery/roastery. Rustic cabins in the jungle and cute outdoor eating areas and hammocks.

    Sampled some of their home brewed beers while waiting for my cabin to be ready and then rented a kayak in the nearby river and made my way to the lake. I thought i was paying for a guided kayak tour but the guy pushed me and my kayak in the river and waved goodbye to me haha. Took quite a while on the river before reaching the lake but worth the effort. Mountains surrounding the lake on all sides but also big dark clouds rolling in, so decided I better start paddling back soon. I found a small cantina on the lakeshore, so I paddled up and as i got out of the kayak, i slipped and fell into the lake with my phone in my pocket!! Uh oh.

    Then paddled back furiously to try to beat the storm. Got hit with some rain but ultimately just beat the storm because wow it rained a lot over several hours. Took a small nap and then to the restaurant area for food and beers. I was wearing a port alberni (British Columbia) brewery tshirt that i bought last october when i was there with friends, and a holland guy approached me because he was there in canada a month ago. Chatted a lot with him and his girlfriend. And i also met the general manager of the lodge and chatted with him for over an hour. Then finished the night hanging out with a really nice couple from honduras, carmine and juan carlos who kept filling my glass from their pitcher.

    As for my phone, i wasn't able to charge it because there was "moisture in the charging port" area - no kidding! I spent a few hours trying to get the water out and was getting concerned as my battery was getting low and i wouldn't have a way to communicate with the world or even navigate my way out of here haha. And the offline translator on my phone is invaluable to me. I took the fan in my room and put it up against my charging port... and thankfully 8 hours later, the moisture was gone. Phew!! The hotel GM also gave me a bag of rice for it but in the end, i didn't need it.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 26

    Lake Yojoa - Day 2

    July 24, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Started the day with a very tasty honduran breakfast called Baleada which is a tortilla stuffed with all sorts of yummy ingredients. Then drove 40 minutes on winding jungle roads to Pulhapanzak waterfalls, the biggest in honduras.

    Got pictures from all the different platforms and then found the office for waterfall excursions. I had read that the tour behind the falls and into caves was excellent so i signed up and ended up part of a huge group (20+) from north carolina. This definitely impacted the adventure.

    We hiked to the base of the falls, over rocks and into the water, then climbed into the falls and shimmied in and out of caves, hanging onto ropes as the water pounded us. The size of the group often left me under huge amounts of falling water and intense spray while i waited for the big group to move forward. There was so much water, I often couldn't see and had to follow the rope and find footings semi blindly. And we couldn't all fit in the caves so some of us always were left exposed to the intense spray.

    I took a lot of videos with my phone inside a waterproof case but it was hard to hang on to the rope with one hand and hold the phone up with the other. Anyways, easily one of the most intense experiences i have ever had. Wow.

    Then decided to also do the zipline over the falls too. Which ended up yielding some unbelievable views. The zipline course had 4 lines over the river before the big drop and another 4 lines over the falls and beyond. Took about an hour and well worth the 20 dollars. Met Nick who works at the American embassy in honduras.

    On the drive back to the hotel i passed by some sort of parade being setup, and then i stopped at the river area with all the kayaks just before the hotel and relaxed there for a while. The owner Carlos kept coming by to make sure I was comfortable and happy and eventually asked me to join his table. Left there before sundown. Hung out more with Daniel the general manager of the hotel and Polly from England. She is 22, alone and teaching in the honduras capital for 6 months. Very impressive.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 27

    Playa Las Tunas

    July 25, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Big drive today back to el salvador. About an hour into the drive, i stopped at Cave Taulabe and checked that out for about 30 minutes. Lots of different chambers and formations.

    Then drove back through the dramatic mountains to the el salvador border, which only took about 15 minutes to get past customs on the way back.

    Tried to drive to the top of Conchagua Volcano near La Union but about 90% of the way my gas gauge started blinking. It seemed wise to not run out of gas near the top of a volcano, so I turned around, very sadly. The top section of road was very similar to Guatemala's craziest highway and painful to have travelled it both directions without reaching the summit.

    Salvaged the remainder of the day driving to very pretty and very quiet Playa Las Tunas. Had a great meal of fish topped with shrimp, drowning in cheese and some sauce right on the beach in town. So good. And finished the day at a nice seaside hotel down the road a bit. Hopped in the ocean quickly before a massive storm hit the area hard. Last ocean for a    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 28

    Mexico City

    July 26, 2022 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Got up early and drove 2.5 hours through volcano land to the san salvador airport. Can't get enough of the beautiful landscapes in these countries. Off to mexico city for one day.

    Scariest landing I've ever had. The pilot literally bounced the plane off the tarmac and back up in the air and got control of it and set it back down. There was no applause on this one :) I left permanent fingernail imprints in the upholstery

    Stayed at hotel canada a block away from the cathedral. Wandered around and got some pictures of nice old buildings before sundown and then decided to see what mexico city had to offer in microbrews.

    Found a really nice cerverceria on my walk but it was poor in selection. Then ubered to tiny Roma brewery and then walked a few blocks to Falling Piano brewery. This place was the real deal with all the giant kettles on location and a great selection (and a falling piano). From there walked a few more blocks to Yeccan. Fantastic beers and hung out with the owner Francisco for quite a while. They even closed the place for a staff meeting but let me stay for quite a while to chat with local Freddie.

    Then made my way to the nearby trendy area of Condesa and bounced in and out of a few places before ending the last night of my trip. Nice way to finish it    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonBrazil and Latin America
    Day 29

    Ottawa

    July 27, 2022 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    A 4 hour flight to Toronto with a 2 hour layover and finally one last flight to Ottawa.

    7 countries with at least one night

    12 successful flights

    3 missed flights

    2 border crossings by car

    1 border crossing by foot

    Countless good times and new friends    Read more

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