2017 Travel Adventures

Una aventura de 144 días de Stacey Leer más

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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Galapagos day 5 and the boat change
1 de septiembre de 2017, Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
This morning we all got off the boat at 7am and headed to see the turtles in the highlands. They were beautiful and very slow moving.
I was then transported across the island, took a boat, then a bus to the airport. I met a new guide and group and after a long wait back in the port we boarded the Seaman. There were only eight of us on board and I didn't even know where we were going. I was quite stressed about the changes and not knowing what I was doing. The boat was very luxurious, I had my own room and the bathroom was huge.
We ate lunch then went to North Seymour Island. I saw land iguanas, frigate birds, red necks are male and white female and many baby frigates with lots of feathers. The males were trying to attract the females by blowing up their red necks. We saw some baby boobies and heard about siblingcide, where they push out a sibling from the ring of the nest and then they don't get fed by their parents, so they die. We saw a frigate steel a fish from a mother boobie feeding its young. There were sea lions walking from the rocks up onto the path. We had dinner on board before sailing through the night.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Genovesa Island
2 de septiembre de 2017, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We woke up in the bay of Genovesa Island. After a big breakfast our first stop was Prince Phillips steps. We saw many birds including: red bill tropic bird, red footed boobie, brown pelican and Galápagos swallow tail gulls (seagulls), which are nocturnal as it is best for them to hunt their food when the sun has set. We saw the Nasca boobie breeding site, Galápagos fur sea lion (bear looking lion), Galápagos warbler, Galápagos dove, Galápagos finch, Ground finches which eat seeds and are mainly vegetarian and the shore eel owl which has adapted to hunt during the day. The island had many Palo Santo trees which apparently you burn as incense. We also saw an owl eating a petro bird. This island has the largest population of red bobbies with 140,000 pairs.
After this we went back on board to get changed ready for snorkling. The snorkling was along the edges and we saw sea lions and tropical fish. The water was very clear.
We had lunch on the second level outdoor section of the boat. After three of us went kayaking along the edge as the rest of the people were tired.
The afternoon visit was to the Darwin Bay site. We walked along the coral beach and looked at some more birds. I was the only one who wanted to go snorkling so I did. It was not great visibility but I saw some sting rays, white tip reef sharks, tropical fish and the trumpet fish. Back on board we had dinner before heading off for a very bumpy night.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Galapagos Day 7
3 de septiembre de 2017, Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
This morning we started at South Plaza. It is a very small island covered in carpet weed in a bright red colour. There were land iguanas guarding each cactus tree and sea lions along the coast. The landscape was quite stunning.
We then traveled two hours on rough seas to Santa Fe. After lunch we went for a snorkel in the cold water. The sea lions were quite aggressive here with the older ones protecting their young. We saw some rays, lots of turtles and sting rays. The water was pretty clear so I jumped off the boat into the water.
After we did a land visit. There were many seals on the beaches lying around and barking. We walked along the rocks where there was very tall cactus' and land iguanas. Turtles used to be on the island but were all taken by whalers. On the boat on the way back we saw many white tip reef sharks, a baby seal just born with vultures waiting to eat the placenta and once back on board the boat, a school of golden rays. So many animals!
We had a farewell cocktail and dinner before we headed off for a bumpy ride to San Cristobel.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Last day on Galapagos and my birthday!
4 de septiembre de 2017, Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
My birthday!! Woke up, ate breakfast and packed to leave the boat. I didn't join the group to visit the turtles as I'd already seen them, so instead I had a coffee, checked the internet for birthday messages, then had a little snorkel with the sea lions. I headed to the airport and flew back to Quito and the Secret Garden hostel. I bumped into Art from my first boat on the Galápagos and had chicken tacos and chocolate cake for dinner. I spoke with mum and dad before heading to bed for an early night.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Costa Rica!!
5 de septiembre de 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
I was up early today and took a taxi to the airport. I flew to San Jose, Costa Rica via Panama. I caught a taxi to the hotel and met some of the people from my G Adventures tour. I had a relaxed arvo before we had our first meeting for the tour. We had dinner at a restaurant together and I had a yummy beef meal. We went to a local pub where there was a big soccer game on the TV between Costa Rica and Mexico. The crowd went absolutely crazy when Costa Rica scored a goal. It ended up a tied game!Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
La Fortuna and the waterfall
6 de septiembre de 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
At 7am we all piled into a bus to drive to La Fortuna. The bus was very comfortable and we had a nice stop for breakfast. We also stopped on the way to see a baby sloth that had been rescued. It was very cute!!
We arrived at La Fortuna and checked in before heading to the adventure store to look at all their tours for the next day.
We got a bus to the La Fortuna waterfall which was stunning! The water coming down was so strong it was hard to stand close to it. The water was crystal clear and beautiful. We went out in town for dinner and ate tuna burgers before going to the best hostel I've ever seen. It had a massive bar area with a pool and blow up flamingos. I had a delicious piña colada and watched a few of the people who ended up in the pool.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Canyoning and white water rafting
7 de septiembre de 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
I was up early for a 7am pick up for the Mambo Combo of canyoning and white water rafting. The canyoning was great fun, a bit of abseiling, zip lining down waterfalls, jumping into waterholes and having water hitting you on the back. Some of the drops were huge, say 35metres, but I felt safe the whole time. We then had breakfast before catching a bus to the white water rafting. The rapids were so fast and there were massive drops where you got drenched with water. It was rated a 3+ course and was so much fun!! It felt much more risky than the canyoning. We ate lunch and came back into town. I went to the pharmacy as my ear was infected and I wasn't feeling too good. We all got a bus to some public hot springs. We sat in the dark with a candles around and enjoyed drinks in the hot water. It felt quite luxurious. Back at the hotel we ate pizza around the pool in the balmy evening.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Monteverde
8 de septiembre de 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
We left early and headed a short distance by bus to a boat to head across the lake. There used to be towns here but they were destroyed by the volcano. Our boat broke down half way across the lake, so our journey took a bit longer than we thought. We drove another two hours to Monteverde. We checked in to the hotel, which was pretty basic, but we scored a good room! We all went to see a big fig tree which had wrapped itself around another tree which had died. This created a hollow climbing frame that you could crawl up to the top. It was an awesome climbing tree that felt like the magic faraway tree!
We had a chilled arvo and we got amazing fish tacos, awesome coffee and checked out the local souvenir shops. I wasn't feeling super good with my ear, so rested. We had a dinner/BBQ at a local place and after had salsa dancing lessons. We all then went to the disco and danced till quite late.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Zipling, Tarzan Swing and a Toucan
9 de septiembre de 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
We had a sleep in today before heading into town for the best coffee of the trip so far!! Delicious and so smooth!
We were picked up and taken to Zip lining. There was seven zip lines through the tree canopies. We did the longest superman zip line in the world, which was 2km long and super fun!! I got stuck at the end though. There was a second superman zip line which was a bit shorter. After was the dreaded Tarzan swing which had a three second free fall. I was terrified but somehow managed to jump off. I've never heard a more terrified scream come out of my mouth!! Was lots of fun though!
Back in town I went out for a fish burrito and delicious coffee again. We had a chilled afternoon before the night walk tour looking for animals. This was awesome, we saw a keel billed toucan, Mexican hairy porcupine, two footed sloth, red eye green frog, tarantula and a rhino spear cricket. A really worthwhile tour!Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Travel day from Monteverde to Ometepe
10 de septiembre de 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
We had an early morning departure time of 6am. There were Macaw birds in the trees at one of our coffee stops. We traveled to the border crossing into Nicaragua which took a little bit of time but we made it through. After another bus ride we arrived at the boat terminal and enjoyed a few beers whilst waiting for the boat. We traveled to Ometepe Island which is in the middle of a lake and has two volcanoes. We had a few drinks while we watched the sunset on the island. We met the family who we were were staying with for our home stay, Walter and his wife, who made us yummy chicken, rice and beans for dinner. It was quite awkward as they couldn't speak English and my Spanish was very limited. The room we slept in had a mosquito net over the bed and only cold showers but I had a great night sleep as my infected ears blocked out any noise.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Ometepe Island
11 de septiembre de 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Breakfast with the family was scrambled eggs, rice, beans and grilled banana with good strong coffee. I had a full body massage from one of the ladies in town, which was better than I expected! I'd signed up to the half day tour which went to the beach at the lake. It wasn't too great, we ate lunch and drank a beer on the beach. After we went to nearby springs which looked like a big pool. I had a coco loco (rum in a fresh coconut) and we watched the howler monkeys screaming and jumping from tree to tree. It started raining but was this wasn't a problem as we were already in the water. Dinner tonight was at the community centre with chicken, rice, beans and a guava juice.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Ometepe Island to Granada
12 de septiembre de 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Breakfast was with the family and we ate fried cheese, similar to haloumi, rice and beans. We left early to travel from Ometepe Island, by boat then bus. One of the girls found a frog in her luggage which provided much entertainment on the boat! We stopped for some delicious coffee on the way which was a highlight for me. We arrived at Granada around lunch time and our place had a nice pool. It was a very hot so a lazy afternoon for everyone. We walked into town and had dinner at a Taco Tuesday restaurant. They had $1 tacos and tequila. On the street we saw incredible locals break dancing, which was very impressive. We then all went to an Irish place for dancing and more rum drinks.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Granada full day
13 de septiembre de 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
We went to the chocolate museum for an all you can eat breakfast where I had yummy chocolate tea, omelette and crepes with chocolate sauce and cacao nibs.
Louisa and I then checked out the Cathedral and did some photo shoots in the streets with the very colourful buildings. We checked out the lake where there were cows swimming and kids riding them. It was very hot walking around town so we went back for a swim at the pool. We joined a tour to the handicraft markets which were not great as there was lots of mass produced items. We headed to the Masa Volcano which had a very odd waiting process to climb up. You were only allowed 15mins at the top where you could only see maybe a tiny glow of lava very far away, so the whole experience was very underwhelming. Back in Granada I had a chat with mum before meeting the others for a pizza dinner.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Poneloya
14 de septiembre de 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
We were up early and departed Granada in a bus. We stopped at Leon very quickly to get some food. After we traveled to Poneloya which was on the coast. We took a boat, then our bags were loaded on a horse and cart to travel 1.2km to the hostel. There was a big dorm for us all to sleep in with ocean views. We had a relaxed afternoon on the beach, swam in the warm water, started reading a new book called the Room and played a bit of volleyball. The sunset was incredible, the colours in the sky and water were so bright and beautiful!
We then had dinner, followed by tequila shots at the bar which had swings for seats, there was a bonfire and lots of mosquitoes. There was a turtle egg hatchery and some poachers came to sell turtle eggs at the hostel. They try to buy four bags of them per night. We all had fun dancing and playing ping pong.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Volcano Boarding!!
15 de septiembre de 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
I got up super early at 6am as I was leaving the group to go 'rogue' to do Volcano Boarding!! I took a boat then found my way to the Big Foot hostel in the next town along the coast. From there I got the shuttle into Leon, had breakfast, before about 25 of us piled into a big open bus all wearing new shirts. We walked up the volcano, that wasn't too hard and I carried my board up which was pretty light. Up the top we could see the smoke coming from the crater and stunning views with volcanoes dotting the skyline. There were many groups up there and most looked to be going quite slow and carefully down. I went down in what I thought was the medium speed but think it was actually fast! There were rocks flying everywhere but I kept it under control and came in with a speed of 55km/hr so very quick! There was a mix up on the scores and another Aussie girl was recorded as the fast speed so she won a t- shirt. I should have won it and she mentioned she went so slow, but once I questioned her about it she said yeah think so...not a nice person in the end. But I probably didn't need another t- shirt anyhow. I had lunch after with a lovely Canadian girl at the market in Leon. I tired a local dish which had been cooking in a pot all day of yucca, plantain, pork and tomatoes. Didn't taste great but it was good to try it!
I caught the shuttle back to the Big Foot hostel and walked along the beach to the surfing turtle resort. I had a swim in the warm water, watched the sunset and had some dinner. We all went to bed quite early for the early wake up the next day.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Big Travel Day
16 de septiembre de 2017, El Salvador ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
We were up at 5:30am, the view from my bed out to the ocean was stunning.
We caught a boat with our belongings and had to carry our bags across the mud as the tide was out very far. We traveled for a couple of hours with a stop for breakfast at a gas station. We waited two hours at the boarder from Nicaragua for a boat. The boat took two hours and I was on the side of the boat in the sun which seemed a good spot but I ended up getting splashed with salt water most of the trip so was quite wet. Another girl on the boat was drenched from it. We then arrived in El Salvador!! We put our passports in at immigration and went to a chicken shop for lunch/dinner. When our passports were returned I had to pay US$10 fee as an Aussie! It would have been a bit tricky to swap to my English passport mid way through traveling.
We then drove for four hours in torrential rain with massive lighting strikes. It was like driving through a river on the main streets. We stopped at a servo which was guarded by two people holding guns.
We arrived in Suchitoto after a long 15.5 hour travel day! We had some beers at a bar across the road listening to more Spanish tunes!Leer más
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El Salvador and torrential rain
17 de septiembre de 2017, El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
This morning we checked out the market for breakfast. I had scrambled eggs with sausage and grilled banana. I also ordered a smoothie but I was scared to drink it as it was originally made using tap water. We walked along the streets where people were sitting lining the footpaths. I found a chocolate coated frozen banana which was quite exciting. We then went to a 98 year old lady's house who rolls her own cigars with tobacco leaves. We all had a try which was quite fun. We then piled into the bus to drive to Ataco.
We stopped at lake for lunch and then arrived in town where it was raining very heavily.
We went to wine bar, ate pizza and got caught in rain.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Waterfall and Pupusas
18 de septiembre de 2017, El Salvador ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Breakfast this morning was at little cafe in town. Food was yummy scrambled eggs, rice and beans with grilled plantain. The coffee was even a little strong which was good. We had a look at shops before heading to the bus stop where we caught a local bus, then a short tuk-tuk ride to a local waterfall. The falls were beautiful and there was extra security, men with machetes and police to make sure it was safe. We then got a tuk-tuk and bus back to town. I went for a walk around town and did some shopping. We all made pupusas for dinner which is a flour batter with different fillings. I had pork, mushrooms and cheese. It comes with a pickled cabbage and tomato sauce.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Going to Honduras
19 de septiembre de 2017, Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
We left early at 6:30am and there were no hot showers. We drove for a while before stopping for an omelette for breakfast. We crossed the border into Guatemala, then the boarder to Honduras. We arrived in Copan and headed straight to a coffee shop where there was finally a good coffee. For all the coffee that is produced here you'd expect some nice coffee, but it seems hard to find. I found a frozen chocolate coated banana again which made me very happy. We all then caught Tuk-Tuk's to a chocolate and tea shop where we had delicious hot chocolate with cacao nibs. They told us about their reforestation project using their native plants which have medicinal properties. We went out for happy hour drinks, dinner of beef fajitas and then onto the pub for some Karaoke.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Copan Ruins and the hot springs
20 de septiembre de 2017, Honduras ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
I went for an early breakfast at the yummy coffee shop. We then went to the Copan Ruins. The Mayans lived there from 1,500 BC to 1,200AD, the end of their civilization. The golden time was 400-800 AD. The Mayans destroyed all the forests, so ended up with no food or water. Mayans had a culture of incest and polygamy. We saw a few cool trees including the saber tree or Tree of life which was the Avatar tree. Also saw the Maraca tree and Strangling fig tree. After looking around I had a yummy ice coffee and frozen banana with nuts. Most of us then traveled for an hour to the thermal springs. There were a range of hot pools with quite hot temperatures. One of them had a cave that was really hot to run into. We had dinner there before traveling back.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Travel day to Antigua, Guatemala
21 de septiembre de 2017, Guatemala ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Up at 6am and I headed to the coffee shop before the 7am departure. We crossed the border back into Guatemala and travelled to Antigua. It was an incredibly long travel day on a bus that was hot, cramped and stuffy. We had a few stops at gas stations but the journey took what seemed like forever.
We finally made it to Antigua and Bryan showed us around the town and took us to the markets. We looked at the pretty McDonald's, chicken bus station and an artist market.
We had a goodbye dinner at a Mexican restaurant with tiny, tiny tacos and margaritas. After we headed to two bars where it was ladies nights, so we got free drinks! We all danced till closing time at 1am.Leer más
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Rest day in Antigua
22 de septiembre de 2017, Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
After a sleep in, a group of us went for a traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans and cheese. Grette and I then had a yummy coffee at Union Cafe. I spent a few hours researching things to do in Guatemala and relaxing! It was the end of the tour so I was quite tired.
I walked around town looking at some shops and had another coffee.
Back at the hotel I met some of the others from the tour and we went out for dinner and wine at a sunset terrace restaurant. After a few drinks we headed back.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Chocolate Workshop
23 de septiembre de 2017, Guatemala ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
I was sharing a room with Grette and she had been at a cooking class the day before, so we ate stuffed peppers and potato cakes that she had made in the class for breakfast. We then met Sabine and went for a coffee.
Grette and I did a two hour bean to bar workshop at the Chocolate museum. We learnt all about how chocolate was first used and the development to how we eat it today. We made our own chocolates, cocoa tea, Mayan style hot chocolate and Spanish style hot chocolate. It was really fun.
We then met Sabine and walked up to the cross for views over Antigua.
We had a meal at the chocolate museum and I then went shopping at the market for warm clothes and bought snacks for the hike.
We went out for dinner and I had a big chicken burrito to carb load. There were still a few of us left from the old tour so we hung out dancing at a place that mainly played Spanish songs. We headed home just after midnight and said our goodbyes to everyone.Leer más
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2017 Travel Adventures Stacey Robinson
Volcano Hike and all the lava
24 de septiembre de 2017, Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
I was picked up at 7:30am from my hotel and transferred to a house where we prepared our things for the hike up Volcano Acatenango. I borrowed a hiking pack, gloves, scarf, beanie and big jacket. We headed up the volcano which was a continuous steep climb up the gravel of the volcano. It was raining most of the way but my big green poncho was keeping me and my bag quite dry. We had lunch while it poured rain. We could hear the volcano erupting as we walked along. From the campsite we could watch the volcano erupting every few minutes with lava rolling down the sides. It was truly amazingly. We had a big dinner of mashed potatoes, pasta and beans with tortillas. After there was hot chocolates and we could roast marshmallows on the fire. We stayed up watching the many eruptions and tried to capture some photos. The volcano was so noisy that it was hard to sleep at night with the loud bangs waking you up.Leer más
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Hiking to the summit of Acatenango
25 de septiembre de 2017, Guatemala ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Woke up at 3:30am and we started to hike up to the summit of Acatenango. It was raining and the path was a bit slippery. After walking about 1.5hours we made it to the top. It was very cloudy so we couldn’t see much unfortunately. We then headed back down where the scenery was quite stunning. Back at camp we had breakfast around the campfire while Volcano Fuego was still roaring.
We packed up everything including the tents and headed back down. It rained the whole way down and was very slippery in parts. Once down we were transported back to Antigua.
I took myself out for a big tofu taco lunch and turmeric, pineapple and banana smoothie. I then went to the dentist where they said I had really bad decay and needed a root canal. I got a filling instead and it was quite cheap for the procedure being less than $80.
I was so tired after and had a numb mouth so talked to Mum and then ate spaghetti bolognese for dinner with wine. Bryan the tour guide from G Adventures was at the same hostel so hung out with him a bit before going to bed very tired.Leer más
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