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Latin America

février - août 2017
  • Elly Blake
Une aventure de 189 jours par Elly En savoir plus
  • Elly Blake
+6

Liste des pays

  • Mexique Mexique
  • Belize Belize
  • Guatemala Guatemala
  • Nicaragua Nicaragua
  • Costa Rica Costa Rica
  • Panama Panama
  • Colombie Colombie
  • Afficher tout (13)
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  • 19,5kmiles parcourus
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  • 58empreintes
  • 189jours
  • 236photos
  • 40j’aime
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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Bocas del Toro

    20 juin 2017, Panama ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    One 4x4 jeep, two taxis, two dominos, two buses and two boats later (and 12 hours) we finally arrived in Bocas Del Toro.

    The first place we were staying was Bambuda Lodge on Isla Solarte which has a slide into the sea. It was a really cool place and we spent the first day just chilling by the pool.

    The second and third day it rained for two days straight torrentially and we were stuck at the lodge (ironic because it was the hottest day of the year in London). We just played jenga and scrabble and drank. On the third day when it eventually stopped raining we moved over to Isla Colon which is the main island to Selina's. We went out for food and had the BEST tacos ever and a beer or two.

    That night Iz and I made dinner and just had a few drinks but nothing big because it was filthy Fridays the next day (and also Izzy's last day in Panama 😭).

    Filthy Fridays is a big bar crawl which basically every backpacker in Bocas goes to. You go to three bars which are on different islands. I won't go into too much detail but it was very messy. It was also really sad because half way through Iz and I had to say goodbye to each other because she had to go and get her flight to Panama City.

    I had such a nice time travelling with her, we really did have the holiday of a lifetime in the San Blas islands, and loads of fun in Bocas even despite the weather.

    The next day I was barely human so moved into a private room in an apartment on the other side of the island and watched Netflix and had no human interaction all day (much needed).

    The day after I met Tom and we got the shuttle to across the border into Costa Rica. I did Panama pretty quickly (two weeks in total) but it was time to leave because I had spent a sickening amount of money in 14 days (especially seeing as we did barely anything for a lot of it).

    I had an amazing time in Panama - especially in the San Blas which was a highlight of my life - but I'm going to have to be pretty frugal going forwards to try and balance myself out again financially.    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Puerto Viejo

    25 juin 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    And so now I find myself in Costa Rica, having taken the most lax border crossing in the world. The border has local people riding bicycles up and down and families taking their children across. The only people who go into the immigration offices are the tourists.

    But anyway, finding myself in Costa Rica is pretty good because I've always wanted to come here.

    First stop on the map is Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean coast. The town has a Jamaican/ Caribbean vibe to it and is on the beach but also in the jungle. In a way it reminds me a lot of Thailand.

    Tom and I arrived at around 3pm and had a total mind fuck seeing as we had gained another hour (now 7 hours behind the U.K.). We are staying at the Selina's here which I like a lot less than the one we stayed at in Bocas. We chilled for a bit and I got into a political debate with this American guy by the poor for about an hour or so. Them Tom and I walked into town and had a big faff over trying to get money out of the cash machine. We went to the supermarket and nearly had a heart attack when we spent $14 on literally not much food at all. CR is expensive!

    I ended going to bed quite early because gaining the hour had really played with my body clock (so help me for when I come back to England). On a separate side note to all my loyal, avid readers - I've finally booked my flight back to London on 13th September from Varadero in Cuba. 🙌🏼

    The next day we got up early for yoga which I really enjoyed. We then rented bikes with no brakes - to make them stop you had to cycle backwards which was not that fun to get used to. We cycled to Punta Uva which is one of the nicest beaches in the area. We sunbathed until it became overcast and then slept until it started to rain and then we had to cycle back to the hostel. It then continued to rain pretty much all afternoon and I had to walk 1km in the rain with my big backpack to my new hostel which I prefer a lot more. The rainy season here is pretty full on and stops everything!

    In my new hostel I spent the next day just chilling until around midday when it was time to speak to Josh. We've barely spoken since he left Colombia just due to being busy and having no wifi in the San Blas.

    In the afternoon I went on a run to Playa Cocles. I haven't put on a pair of running shoes in an embarrassingly long time (since March) but have thought it's time to have a bit of a detox and get back on the fitness wagon. I ran 8.45km and it was okay until it was time to turn back and then it was a bit of a struggle. I stopped along the way to get water and OJ and also to take some photos of the beaches - cus they were so pretty and the sun was shining.

    When I finished I went and lay on the beach for a bit and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon sun. I then went to the supermarket and got some food for dinner. I made a healthy dinner of quinoa and brown rice with parsley, pepper, onion, sweet corn and chickpeas which was really delicious. I had a pretty quiet evening because I've got to get up at around 6am tomorrow to get the bus to San José and then onto Manuel Antonio.    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Manuel Antonio

    30 juin 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Another day, another bus. Or two in fact. 10 hours of travelling later I arrived in Manuel Antonio which is on the Pacific coast, the other side of Costa Rica. It sure does rain a lot in CR and arriving in Manuel Antonio was no exception!

    I was lucky to meet a nice English couple on my journey over, Georgia and Dan, and we got to Selina's hostel together. We had a 10 person room to ourselves which was luxury. The first night I think we all went to bed before 9 o'clock, just worn out from the day's travel.

    The next day we went down to the beach in the morning because it was sunny. It didn't take too long for the overcast to come though, and after we headed back and chilled. I went on another run - this time shorter than the last but there were lots of hills and some very yappy dogs.

    The day after we went to Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio which was the reason for coming all the way down here. We were so lucky as we saw lots of monkeys, some sloths, snakes, frogs, raccoons, humming birds and loads of other wildlife! On the way out we saw a giant sloth with its baby in a tree, really close up. It was a really hot day and finally - sun - so we went back to the pool and sunbathed. In the evening we had some drinks and played cards. I had a bit too much to drink and ended up puking on my bed (oops - but I blame the disgusting mixer we were drinking).

    The next day I got up real early to be on the bus for San Jose. So excited to see my mum and sister and travel with them for two weeks!    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Tortuguero

    3 juillet 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We were picked up early at 6am to begin our two week tour of Costa Rica. Tortuguero, in the north on the Caribbean coast up first. This place is famous for green turtles nesting on the beach.

    We were lucky one night to see them! Although it was the beginning of the season so we only saw one, we saw a massive turtle laying its eggs and then covering them up with the sand. I was surprised at how big and powerful the turtle was, as when we were standing behind it the turtle would hurl sand at you. It was a really cool experience though.

    The place we were staying in was called Evergreen Lodge and was right in the middle of the rainforest. We had monkeys and other wildlife right on our doorstep and saw them up close. Mum and Rosy were freaking out because I saw a big frog in our room.

    We went on a boat tour of the national park one day and were lucky to see all sorts of other wildlife including snakes, cayman, lizards (one known as the 'Jesus Christ' lizard because it can walk on water for about 6-7 metres), sloths, birds and loads more.

    We also went on a kayak tour of the lake around our lodge which was fun but my arms started to hurt after a while and it was difficult to row completely straight! We had a few days of rain but also a good day of hot sun so chilled by the pool and read my book.

    It's been a great start to the holiday, with lots of wildlife. Next stop is the Arenal Volcano in the middle of Costa Rica.    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Arenal

    7 juillet 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Arenal (La Fortuna - but we were way out of town) was loads of fun. For starters we were staying in a spa hotel that was really nice.

    The first day we went to see the hanging bridges in the rainforest. The suspension bridges themselves were cool (very high and moved around a lot) and the wildlife was more of the same we've seen elsewhere in CR - sloths, monkeys, snakes, etc which is always good to see!

    We also did a walk around the volcano which was good. The first time it erupted was in 1968 and last time in 2010, making it pretty active! You aren't allowed to climb the volcano but you can walk around it.

    After a lot of walking we then went to Tabacon hot springs which are the nicest hot springs I think I've ever been to. We also had a buffet dinner which was to die for, but I filled my plate to the brim and ended up having four different types of meat and lots of the little desserts. I went to bed at 8.30pm with the biggest food coma.

    The next day we had a chilled day of no activities so spent the day by the pool and also at the gym. It was nice to have a day where we just enjoyed the hotel because it's so fancy and even has a pool bar where you can eat sushi in the swimming pool.

    We're off on a boat to Monteverde tomorrow. Already halfway through Mum and Rosy's holiday, and two weeks into my time in Costa Rica - time goes way too quickly but it's been great so far and we've got more good stuff to look forward to including the cloud rainforest and five days on the beach in Guancaste.    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Monteverde

    8 juillet 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Arriving in Monteverde via boat the first thing we wanted to do was the longest zip line in South/ Central America. At first I didn't think it was as good as the ziplining that I did in Peru, because there they let you go upside down and they wouldn't here, but actually after doing a few it was really cool! You zip line right over the canopy of the cloudforest and for much longer than in Peru. The views are amazing and totally worth it.

    The next day we did two more walking tours of cloud forests and we saw more wildlife but it is starting to feel a bit samey and I'm getting to the end of them. We did however see a quetzal which is a rare bird and the symbol of Guatemala which was pretty cool! And lots of hummingbirds and an owl.

    The hotel we were staying in was another really nice one, although once again a bit far out of town. They had the nicest food ever, amazing views over the Pacific and a jacuzzi!

    Now we're off for five days at the beach on the Pacific coast in Guancaste. I'm really looking forward to it. It's cold and rainy in Monteverde and I'm starting to lose my tan. Next up is Potrero before heading crossing los frontieres en Nicaragua! Pura vida!    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Potrero

    12 juillet 2017, Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After a pounding ear infection, a flat tyre, an amazing chocolate chip muffin 🤤 and SIX hours of driving only 100km we f i n a l l y made it to Playa Potrero which is on the Pacific coast in Guancaste.

    Guancaste is the province in the north at the border with Nicaragua and is known for having the best beaches in Costa Rica.

    One of first our full day we walked to Playa Flamingo - called that because of the 'pink' sand on the beach. This was a huge anticlimax. The sand might have had a pink tinge to it but I'm not even sure if I really did or I was pretending it did to justify the 45min walk there. We ate at Coco Loco which is right on the beach and does amazing coconut cocktails. Gracias.

    In the evening there was an amazing sunset on the beach with a glass of wine. The sky turned purple it was incredible.

    The second day was a pool/ food/ watching orange is the new black in the room, waiting for the rain to pass day and then another sunset - which all in all was pretty nice. I'm enjoying the chilled vibe here.

    We also did a catamaran sunset cruise where you could go snorkelling. The snorkelling wasn't amazing but we did see two turtles in the wild and we had a really nice day.

    On the last day we went to Playa Conchal which was the nicest beach by far. It was our last day together and we had a nice lunch and afternoon on the beach. In the evening we watched the final sunset and then had dinner at the sailing club on the beach. It was a really nice way to end another amazing holiday.

    We got up early the next day and I was dropped off in Liberia to catch the bus to the border town of Penas Blancas. It was really sad to say goodbye to mum and Rosy as we couldn't have had a better holiday in a nicer plan, but today essentially marks two months until I'm back in England so I've got to the make the most of my time left.    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    San Juan Del Sur

    17 juillet 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    As I write this I am sitting on a wind-chilled boat across Lake Nicaragua - but that's for the next blog post.

    So having crossed a fair few land borders now, I was naively underprepared for the shitstorm that they call the Costa Rica-Nicaragua border.

    After taking a public bus to Penas Blancas (border town in Costa Rica) I got to the border and had to pay $8 for the privilege of leaving the country, waiting two hours in a queue just to get my passport stamped to leave 🙄, a 1km walk over the border in the midday heat, another $12 to enter Nicaragua and then the swarm of taxi drivers and most likely being completely ripped off. Anyways, I made it to San Juan in the end and I couldn't of been happier.

    The hostel I was staying in (Surfing Donkey) was really social and I met some really cool people. That night we played beer pong and cards but it was relatively chilled because of the next day - Sunday fun day.

    Like Filthy Fridays, Sunday fun day is a bar crawl/ pool party and it was a big one. Very hungover the next day which was just a big slob day of eating too much and watching Netflix.

    The day after, my final day in San Juan, I went surfing with these two really lovely Dutch gals I met. I've never been surfing before and it was hard but SO much fun.

    The waves were quite brutal but with some practice I improved over the 2-hour surf lesson. I managed to stand up a fair few times for more than a couple of seconds, so I was pretty proud of myself (although I did accidentally kick the instructor in the head which was sort of hilarious but FML at the same time) definitely do it again in Central America.

    After we got some lunch and headed back to the town to catch a chicken bus (the first of many, I'm sure) to Rivas to get the ferry to Ometepe.    En savoir plus

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  • Elly BlakeElly BlakeLatin America

    Isla de Ometepe

    20 juillet 2017, Nicaragua ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    So here I am, on a wind-swept boat heading across Lake Nicaragua towards two volcanoes. Bienvenidos a Isla de Ometepe.

    Even though we left at around 3pm, it took us until probably around 9.30pm to reach our hostel - only a short distance away from San Juan del Sur. First lesson for Nicaraguan travel is that nothing moves fast here. Nada se mueve rápido aquí.

    Sofie and I had some dinner and headed to Little Morgan's - a party hostel on the island. We fell asleep in the taxi and really weren't feeling it when we arrived but lots of familiar faces from Surfing Donkey were there to greet us. We had some drinks but weren't sleep for ages because our room was right above the bar and the music was very loud.

    The next day after a bit of a lie-in (badly needed) we moved hostels to the Lazy Crab which is a lot more of a chilled out vibe.

    In the day we rented a scooter and drove around the island. This was so cool! We went to a natural springs pool which was really relaxing, then went for lunch and got some food from the supermarket.

    When we left the supermarket it started torrentially raining and we waited for ages for it to stop. When we thought it had stopped we got on the scooter to head back only for it to start raining again even harder which was an adventure. We were lucky enough though to see the top of Concepción (one of the two volcanoes) whilst driving past.

    In the evening we played pool (we were both terrible but this made it funny) and made dinner. I didn't sleep very well because I kept getting bitten and also roosters woke me up really early. I had to get to León the next day but there had been a power cut and so my phone had no charge.

    In the morning I got up early to catch a shuttle, boat, chicken bus, collectivo, and then tuk tuk to León. It took 7 hours but only cost £6.80 for the whole journey 😱 es muy muy muy barato.

    I'm now heading on a 16-hour shuttle to Antigua in Guatemala so I can get to Flores in time for me mates to come out. I've yet to decide whether I'm going to come back to Nicaragua yet but I'll keep you posted 😉 🇳🇮 hasta la próxima!    En savoir plus

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