Serena Abbott

Joined November 2022

Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 26, 2023 Altitude: 244 m
  Costa Rica Provincia de Alajuela La Fortuna Quebrada Cristalina 10.471684, -84.64443610°28’18” N 84°38’40” W
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Day122
La Fortuna
January 26 in Costa Rica
Highlights:
- A nice, easy travel morning which involved a mini van, a boat across the lake with views of Arenal volcano, and another mini van
- Swimming in the river and watching the locals do flips and tricks from the rope swing
- Chilling in the hot springs with candles and drinks - a perfect way to spend the evening (although a raccoon stole someone in our group's bananas at the end - spooky to see eyes appear in the dark!)
- Serena enjoyed a rest/travel admin day while Josh went to a waterfall with friends

Lowlights:
- Serena still has hurt ribs from surfing (which were made worse by ziplining, oops!)

Food and drink:
- Delicious soda meal at Soda Viquez - both had casados which are the typical meal of meat or fish with rice, beans, plantain and a couple more random sides
- Made a yummy stir fry in the best hostel kitchen so far
- Tried guanabana and cas shakes which were both really niceRead more
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 24, 2023 · ⛅ 20 °C Altitude: 1,365 m
  Costa Rica Provincia de Puntarenas Monte Verde Santa Elena 10.319382, -84.82297510°19’10” N 84°49’23” W
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Day120
Monteverde
January 24 in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
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Highlights:
- An easier than expected crossing (4 buses rather than 5, and not too long at immigration!)
- Monteverde cloud forest hike was beautiful - saw birds, a tarantula, insects, and a capuchin monkey (although sadly no sloth!)
- Ziplining through the forest - expensive but worth it, especially with the superman zipline where you feel like you're flying, and the Tarzan swing at the end which was incredibly scary but so fun
- Watching the sunset from a spot on the hill

Lowlights:
- Having to wait an hour to get into the cloud forest as it was at capacity - although we killed the time watching hummingbirds at the feeders and grabbing a snack so not all bad!

Food and drink:
- Having to cook dinners to save some money, but we enjoyed the pasta and veggies!
- Eating lunch at Sodas, which are family run restaurants which offer cheaper meals - really nice food and very filling
- Serena was craving horchata from Mexico and found a packet mix at the supermarket - not as good as the real thing but still great
- Traditional cake called tamal which was made from corn flour and coconutRead more
Traveler
stunning sunset
6dReply
Traveler
Is that Serena swinging?
6dReply
Traveler
Yes it is!!
6dReply
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 21, 2023 · ☀️ 29 °C Altitude: 17 m
  Nicaragua Departamento de Rivas San Juan del Sur Río San Juan 11.253672, -85.87094911°15’13” N 85°52’15” W
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Day117
San Juan del Sur
January 21 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Highlights:
- Staying at dreamsea surf camp and hanging out with the same people all week
- Learning to surf (or at least stand up in the whitewash!)
- Having yoga sessions with views of the top of the trees and the sounds of howler monkeys
- Sunday Funday - a hostel 'pool' crawl which was fun and nice to bump into people we met before again
- The perfect hangover cure of a 6:30am surf lesson
- Watching the sunset from an infinity pool at another hostel
- Sunset picnic on the beach with dreamsea
- Seeing our first howler monkeys after many failed attempts!
- Pool party at dreamsea
- Getting some well needed haircuts!
- Getting Josh's shoes fixed by a man in the park

Lowlights:
- The bumpy shuttles to the beach - could be painful!

Food and drink:
- Fish and chips similar to the UK
- Breakfast and a three course dinner being included in our stay - luxury!
- The best nachos we've ever had (pulled pork, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, cheese)
- Incredible coconut mojitosRead more
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 13, 2023 · ☀️ 28 °C Altitude: 143 m
  Nicaragua Departamento de Rivas San José del Sur 11.498386, -85.6255411°29’54” N 85°37’32” W
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Day109
Ometepe
January 13 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
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Highlights:
- Visiting El Pital - a place where they make chocolate and serve it in the cafe overlooking the lake
- Chilling and playing monopoly deal at the hostel
- Renting scooters for two days to see the island with Gabby and Will
- Visiting Ojo de Agua, a place with pools to swim in in the jungle
- Sunset kayak trip - kayaking through mangroves and seeing turtles and birds
- Spending a few hours relaxing at Playa Mangos and swimming in the lake

Lowlights:
- Walking 30 minutes in the dark past barking guard and street dogs - never again!
- Having to throw away snacks due to ants getting into them

Food and drink:
- Cacao smoothie bowls and iced chocolate at El Pital
- Going to a curry restaurant 3 times - amazing food and a nice change!Read more
Traveler
It's a hard life, but I guess someone has to do it!
2wReply
Traveler
white throated magpie jay x
2wReply
2 likes
Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 9, 2023 · ☀️ 30 °C Altitude: 48 m
  Nicaragua Granada 11.933507, -85.95404811°56’1” N 85°57’15” W
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Day105
Granada
January 9 in Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Highlights:
- Party in the jungle at Treehouse hostel
- Seeing views of Granada and the park from the Cathedral bell tower
- Walking down the pretty, colourful streets and down to the lake front
- A chill day at Apoyo lake - a huge lake that has formed in the crater of a volcano. We chilled, played table tennis, went out on kayaks and played cards with friends we've travelled with from Leon

Lowlights:
- The journey to the jungle party was in a cattle truck standing in the back crammed with everyone going to the party from Granada - our most uncomfortable journey so far!
- There's only so much rice and beans you can eat, and Nicaragua loves rice and beans!

Food and drink:
- Fresh lemonade at the Garden Café
- Burgers from a food market which had fried plantain as the bread bun and pumpkin sauce - delicious!
- Three free rum drinks at the hostel every night
- Pancakes with banana and syrup for one breakfast at the hostel
- Cooked a curry with friends from the hostel which made a nice change from eating outRead more
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 6, 2023 · ⛅ 32 °C Altitude: 92 m
  Nicaragua León 12.434156, -86.88063912°26’3” N 86°52’50” W
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Day102
Leon
January 6 in Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
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Highlights:
- Volcano boarding at Cerro Negro - Josh went 29kph and Serena 35kph. Josh also forgot to put his protective goggles on so it's lucky he didn't go any faster!
- Party bus on the way back from volcano boarding
- Wandering around the streets of Leon
- Playing beer pong at the hostel
- Going up on the roof of the cathedral to watch the sunset

Lowlights:
- Spending ages trying to find an ATM that worked!
- Too hot at over 30 degrees

Food and drink:
- Tasty chicken coconut curry
- Free hostel breakfast (although we're getting a bit tired of scrambled egg with rice and beans!)
- Some good smoothies and fresh juices
- A 'fancy' dinner at Sua Mediterranean restaurant - lasagne for Josh and grilled chicken for Serena
- Flor de Caña seltzers - very popular in Nicaragua!Read more
Traveler
£3 well spent over that terrain Serena!
4wReply
Traveler
Why has Josh got 2 tone arms? Is it the Ash?
4wReply
Traveler
Haha it's just a shadow I think!!
4wReply
Traveler
Thank the Lord! x
4wReply
Traveler
😆
4wReply
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Jan 2, 2023 · ☀️ 27 °C Altitude: 12 m
  Honduras Bay Islands 16.096557, -86.94340216°5’48” N 86°56’36” W
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Day98
Utila
January 2 in Honduras ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Highlights:
- Completing our PADI open water diver qualification!
- Hanging out with friends eating and playing games while the rain passed
- Seeing cool things while diving including lots of tropical fish, an eel, a sea cucumber, a massive hermit crab
- Winning the pub quiz and making some money instead of spending it for once!!
- Going on floats at our dive centre to watch the sunset on New year's eve, then drinks with friends and watching fireworks from the beach
- Chilling at the beach and hotel pool after completing our diving

Lowlights:
- It rained non-stop for 3 days!
- Freezing doing diving sessions in the pool with the rain - Serena's lips went blue several times!

Food and drink:
- Baleadas, baleadas and more baleadas - cheap, filling and tasty (tortilla with beans, cheese and your choice of filling such as egg, meat, avocado)
- A whole key lime pie from a bakery which we tucked into with a fork over a few days
- Fresh fish and barbecued food
- Cheap beers and cocktails!Read more
Traveler
You'll remember that NYE for ever. Sounds lovely.
1/6/23Reply
3 likes
Serena and Josh's Travels
- Dec 25, 2022 · ☀️ 25 °C Altitude: 12 m
  Honduras Bay Islands 16.096557, -86.94340216°5’48” N 86°56’36” W
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Day90
Christmas Day in Utila
December 25, 2022 in Honduras ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Feliz Navidad from Utila, Honduras!

We arrived on Christmas Eve morning to Utila island and did a few jobs like checking into our diving school, then met with our friends for cocktails and a beach party.

Christmas day started with a swim at the beach - the weather started cloudy but turned into beautiful blue skies and we spent the day having drinks, a cheeseboard, secret santa and games, then a meal overlooking the sea and more drinks! We had an amazing time but wish we could be in two places at once and miss our families and friends at home. Sending lots of love and Christmas wishes! 🎅♥️Read more
Traveler
We missed you too, but looks like fun times in Honduras! x
12/27/22Reply
Traveler
It looks amazing. Glad that you are having a fantastic time. Was great to speak to you on Christmas Day. Enjoy your diving.XXX
12/28/22Reply
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Dec 23, 2022 · ☀️ 29 °C Altitude: 19 m
  El Salvador Departamento de La Libertad El Sunzal Río Grande 13.494835, -89.38286113°29’41” N 89°22’58” W
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Day88
El Tunco
December 23, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Highlights:
- The best sunsets of the trip so far on the beach
- Having a surf lesson where we both managed to stand up a few times
- Seeing whales breaching from the beach on the horizon
- Randomly bumping into a friend from earlier in the trip and catching up over dinner

Lowlights:
- More expensive than where we've been so far, the budget is not looking good!

Food and drinks:
- We cheated and had some 'western' food - burgers and smoothie bowls, all yummy
- More pupusas! All with cheese and a variety of flavours such as chicken, spinach, fish, shrimp, pork, beans. We also tried some sweet ones which were great - chocolate with banana or strawberries.
- Lots of barbecued meat with rice and salad
- Cheap beers!Read more
Traveler
a good Daniel Craig impression josh! sunsets look amazing x
12/24/22Reply
Traveler
Looks fantastic XXX
12/26/22Reply
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Serena and Josh's Travels
- Dec 19, 2022 · ☀️ 30 °C Altitude: 655 m
  El Salvador Santa Ana 13.994721, -89.55667913°59’41” N 89°33’24” W
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Day84
Santa Ana
December 19, 2022 in El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Highlights:
- Taking a chicken bus along the 'flower route' to see a small town that had a food market and meeting friends from earlier in our travels
- Watching the world cup final at the hostel then watching the trophy celebrations in the centre on the big screen
- Listening to bands playing Christmas music in the square

Lowlights:
- Not being able to hike the Santa Ana volcano - we couldn't do both the world cup and the hike, and Serena hadn't recovered yet from the Acatenango volcano!

Food and drinks;
- Savoury pies!! We had chicken and chicken and mushroom
- Our first (of many) pupusas - stuffed tortillas, these were with cheese and beans
- A plate of meat and a fresh pineapple juice at the food market
- Horchata - this one was made with a type of ground seed called morro and tasted a bit like chestnuts - delicious!Read more
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