Archive for June 2014

One year anniversary

June 27, 2013 was the day that we finally had everything moved out of our house in Denver and hit the road in our van. Up until last week, we had only been to four countries, not including the USA. Over the past week we’ve doubled that!

We have to admit that the frequent border crossings are getting a bit old. They all seem to take about 2 hours, and involve a fair bit of stress worrying about whether you’ve gotten all of the proper pieces of paper and still remember where they all are.

But as I write this we’re sitting at the Lake Arenal Brewery in Costa Rica enjoying the first real micro-brewed beer we’ve had since leaving San Diego 7 months ago. Yay! But I get ahead of myself; that’s the subject of a future post!

Shortly after we posted the last web update from San Miguel, El Salvador, it started to rain, hard. In no time the street in front of our hotel turned into a river about a foot deep, and we were glad we had a room on the second floor.

This guy's getting wet.

This guy’s getting wet.

Many overlanders choose to cross Honduras in a single day, because it is supposedly the most dangerous country in Central America. We choose to follow the same path, but only because our schedule for arriving at our house sitting assignment in Panama doesn’t allow for quite as much time sightseeing as we might like. We crossed from El Salvador to Honduras at about 10am, and by 3pm we were in Nicaragua.

We choose a different route through Honduras in order to use a smaller border crossing in the highlands, and doing so afforded us the opportunity to see the amazing, verdant greenery of southern Honduras.

We choose a different route through Honduras in order to use a smaller border crossing in the highlands, and doing so afforded us the opportunity to see the amazing, verdant greenery of southern Honduras.

Our first thought on entering Nicaragua was, “Muy tranquilo.” Traffic was light, and the roads that we shared with donkey carts were good. We found a spot to camp not far from the border that first night.

The next day we went to Lago Apoyo where we spent two nights relaxing at a backpackers hangout by the lake. They had good food and the lake was plenty warm enough to swim in. We spent a very relaxing couple of days there.

Witt and Quinn enjoy the floating dock on Lago Apoyo

Witt and Quinn enjoy the floating dock on Lago Apoyo

Mom gives swimming lessons. Quinn has really taken to the water lately and is becoming quite a fish.

Mom gives swimming lessons. Quinn has really taken to the water lately and is becoming quite a fish.

Looking across the lake from the hostel's restaurant

Looking across the lake from the hostel’s restaurant

A rain storm interrupted our swimming one afternoon.

A rain storm interrupted our swimming one afternoon.

After the lake we went to Granada, which is a favorite destination of travelers and expats. It’s easy to see why. The feeling of tranquility continued, with light city traffic. We had no problem finding a place to park in the center of town, and spent a rainy morning exploring the city.

The central plaza in Granada

The central plaza in Granada

The town's old railroad station featured the first steam engine we've seen since California!

The town’s old railroad station featured the first steam engine we’ve seen since California!

We hired a guide to give us a tour of the town in a horse-drawn carriage

We hired a guide to give us a tour of the town in a horse-drawn carriage

Granada has a nice pedestrian street and several beautiful churches

Granada has a nice pedestrian street and several beautiful churches

We didn’t spend the night in Granada, opting instead to go to the nearby Masaya Volcano National Park. We were able to camp in the visitor’s center parking lot where we enjoyed a very quiet evening – no barking dogs!! The next morning we drove up to the rim of an active volcano. Seriously, a few years ago this thing spat out a rock that smashed someone’s car. There are signs advising you to back in so you can make a quick getaway if needed!

Volcan Masaya

Volcan Masaya

We did some short hikes around the volcano and left around mid-morning, headed for the beach. We’d heard that it was possible to see nesting turtles near the surf town of San Juan del Sur. That made a good starting point for the Costa Rican border the next day. It was a bit of an adventure to reach the turtle sanctuary, which is located 18km south of San Juan del Sur on a slow dirt road. They let us camp in the parking lot, and we spent the afternoon playing on the beach. The surf was gentle, and Quinn had a fantastic time playing in the waves. We all enjoyed the chance to cool off in the water.

Playing in the surf

Playing in the surf

Nicaraguan beach horses

Nicaraguan beach horses

That night we went out with Quinn’s headlamp (set to red, so as not to scare off the turtles), but unfortunately it was still early season and Quinn got bored of looking for turtles, so he and Jen headed back to the van. I stayed out and eventually one of the refuge’s employees found me and showed me to where a turtle was laying her eggs in the sand.

These are the same type of turtles that Quinn had released as babies back in Sayulita in January. Now it’s the beginning of their nesting season, where the females crawl up onto the beach to lay their eggs above high tide line. Without human intervention, the eggs would hatch 45 days later and the babies would dig themselves out of the sand and crawl to the ocean.

Now the turtles are endangered, and pretty much anywhere there are eggs laid there are people who collect them to allow them to hatch in captivity. I watched as the employee pulled about 50 eggs out from under the female and put them in a plastic bag to carry back to the hatchery where they were put in a big sack of sand to hatch. I found it somewhat disappointing that humans have to be involved in this process.

With only a few days left until we’re due in Panama, so tomorrow we head to the border of Costa Rica.

Leaving Guatemala or The Limits of Maps

Quinn’s last day at school was on a Wednesday, and with a long drive to Panama to complete by early July to take up our post as house sitters there, we thought about leaving Panajachel on Friday morning. But we couldn’t turn down an invitation to our friends Tony and Aimee’s house for one last Friday night party, so we decided to head out on Saturday morning.

Jen said the graduation ceremony at Quinn's school was quite moving.

Jen said the graduation ceremony at Quinn’s school was quite moving.

After graduation we went to have cake for lunch. Yum.

After graduation we went to have cake for lunch. Yum.

We spent Friday packing up the van. It’s always amazing to us how much stuff we can pull out of the van and how it all seems to fit back in once again. No wonder it’s so heavy!

We thoroughly enjoyed the party on Friday. Tony, by his own account, squeezed about 200 limes and made a huge pitcher of margaritas. They also put on a wonderful tostada bar, and everyone left happy and full.

The next morning after a nice pancake breakfast we were all set for a 10am departure when Quinn started complaining of a tummy ache. Normally those are no big deal, but by the time we were ready to leave he was laying in bed, almost asleep. This is very uncharacteristic Quinn behavior. Jen got ahold of the same doctor who had helped him with his ear infection the week before. We took him to see her and she determined that it wasn’t his appendix, which was our biggest concern. She said he was constipated, gave us some medicine, and suggested we stick with our plans to go to Antigua since there was a good hospital there that we could visit if he didn’t improve.

So at 1pm, with the afternoon rains threatening, we headed out for what we thought was going to be about a 2-hour drive along the scenic route to Antigua.

Someone should bring a film crew to Guatemala to document "Pimp my School Bus"

Someone should bring a film crew to Guatemala to document “Pimp my School Bus”

After traversing winding mountain roads for the better part of 2 hours, we came to the end of the road. Literally. Some farmers nearby said that there was another road we could take that would get us to Antigua, and with some trepidation we set off down that road, rather than the alternative of a 2-hour drive back to Pana to try again the next day.

The end of the road. So this is what the guidebooks mean when they say that roads can become impassible during the rainy season!

The end of the road. So this is what the guidebooks mean when they say that roads can become impassible during the rainy season!

Time to turn back...

Time to turn back…

After winding up and around steep dirt roads in the rain and fog for another 45 minutes we were relieved to find ourselves back on a paved road and on our way to Antigua, where we arrived just in time to walk into town for a very yummy dinner including Pipian Chicken and a “Plato Tipico.”

The alternate route. We stopped to ask about half a dozen people whether this was the way to Antigua, and they all said it was. So on we go!

The alternate route. We stopped to ask about half a dozen people whether this was the way to Antigua, and they all said it was. So on we go!

From what little we saw of Antigua, it seemed like a Guatemalan version of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and lots of gringos!

From what little we saw of Antigua, it seemed like a Guatemalan version of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and lots of gringos!

Although we would have liked to explore Antigua the next day we decided to push on, conscious of the 1000 miles and 5 countries we had to traverse over the next ten to twelve days.

We arrived at the border with El Salvador at about 1pm, and aside from some of the usual border crossing stressors and hassles, were on our way again at 3, hoping to make it to a campground in time to catch the USA-Portugal World Cup match at 4.

We had GPS coordinates for what another group of travelers called “The best kept secret in El Salvador,” a coffee plantation where we would be able to camp. The plantation (or Finca) was about 5 km off the road, right between two paved roads, with dirt roads leading to it from both directions. Unfortunately we choose poorly on which road to approach from.

These things are never as straightforward as they seem. The road starts out paved, and very slowly gets worse and worse so that you keep thinking, well, we’ve come this far, we can’t turn back now. But by this time you’re in 4-lo and people walking up the road are passing you. Then you look up and realize that the road on the map has to climb up and over the giant mountain range in front of you and you realize that you’re never going to make it to somewhere with a beer and a TV in time for the football game. That’s when you realize that it’s time to turn back before you break something on your truck.

Turn back we did and eventually found the “official” entrance to the campground off the other paved road, but we still had a chance to catch the second half of the game and so we decided to camp at another finca that was closer to the main road.

It was very nice, and we enjoyed a well-deserved meal and a couple of beers at the restaurant. The only disappointment was Portugal scoring a last-minute goal to end the match in a tie.

The lodge on the coffee plantation

The lodge on the coffee plantation

The next day we drove 4 hours more to arrive in San Miguel, near the border with Honduras. The finca of the previous night wasn’t set up for camping, and with the climate getting quite hot and sticky, we opted to stay at a hotel with a pool and air-con. We spent a relaxing afternoon playing in the pool, writing a web post, and watching football matches.

There was a giant TV set up in the central plaza in San Miguel, El Salvador, showing the world cup soccer matches.

There was a giant TV set up in the central plaza in San Miguel, El Salvador, showing the world cup soccer matches.

The San Miguel Cathedral

The San Miguel Cathedral

Our hotel in San Miguel was in sort of a gritty part of town across from the bus station, but it was clean and the pool was nice.

Our hotel in San Miguel was in sort of a gritty part of town across from the bus station, but it was clean and the pool was nice.

Bluebird skies, the last day of school and birthday cake!

There is nothing quite as energizing as waking up to a bluebird day – when the skies are perfectly blue and the clouds have seemed to take the day off for a change. Days like this are normal in Colorado – where they get over 300 days per year of sunshine. Here in the highlands of Guatemala, they are less common now during the rainy season (during peak season – from November through April – blue skies are normal from what we hear).

The Volcanos of Lake Atitlán

The Volcanos of Lake Atitlán

Today is a genuine bluebird day in Panajachel, Guatemala. On rainy days we take a taxi (in a tuk-tuk) to school but most days it is nice enough to walk. Today Quinn decided that he wanted to race to school, so we both got our heart rates up as we ran our usual walking route to school.

This photo was from one of the days that Quinn and Jen went to school in a tuk-tuk

This photo was from one of the days that Quinn and Jen went to school in a tuk-tuk

The past week or so has been filled with events at school – a pizza party, two birthday parties, a talent show and an awards ceremony – plus another field trip to the Nature Reserve. Today is graduation for some of the kids at the school and, as it is the last day of the school year, it is a transition time for everyone to the summer break.

Quinn with Miss Cindy and his award for "Most Excited to Come to School"

Quinn with Miss Cindy and his award for “Most Excited to Come to School”

We celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday with lunch at a restaurant on the lake. The weather that day was cloudy by the time we boarded the launcha (small boat) for the ride to the restaurant. While we didn’t get the views that we were hoping for, the food was very good and we had a terrific time.

My birthday was yesterday. We spent some time yesterday reflecting on the past year and all the changes and experiences that we have had since then. It has been a truly amazing year, and we wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, but we do miss our family and friends and we do regularly get homesick.

Via the miracle of the Internet (and mostly through Facebook), I have been blessed to receive many birthday wishes. It is difficult for me to put into words just how moving it was to hear from loved ones from all over the globe. The effect was like a warm embrace that filled my heart with joy and love.

The beauty of keeping a blog is that it is an excellent way to keep folks in the loop about what were doing, seeing and experiencing. But the downside is that it tends to be mostly a one-way medium, so it is often difficult to know how those that we care about are really doing. Thus we truly appreciate those special times when we are able to reconnect with those whom we hold dear in our hearts.

Witt & Quinn gave me a delightful day here too. Witt made me a decadent breakfast and then he walked Quinn to school so I could enjoy some valuable alone time (he knows that’s a super gift for an introvert like me). After school we did some more volunteer work at Mayan Families (Witt did most of the work this time) and then Quinn and I returned to our apartment to bake my birthday cake.

Quinn ices the cake

Quinn ices the cake

Quinn actually did most of the work making the cake. While I gathered and measured the ingredients and dealt with the oven, Quinn added the ingredients to the bowl and did all the mixing for both the batter and the icing. He even iced the cake himself – for the first time ever – and decorated the icing with some candies that he had decided to save from one of his school birthday parties.

Quinn puts the candies on the cake

Quinn puts the candies on the cake

After a fun evening out for dinner at a nice restaurant, it was cake time! Witt helped Quinn with the candles – they were very kind and only put 4 candles on top. Quinn helped me blow them out so you can rest assured that every candle was extinguished promptly and efficiently. The cake was excellent!

Quinn proudly shows off his handiwork

Quinn proudly shows off his handiwork

Here is the recipe that we used for our Quinn-friendly (dairy free, egg free and nut free) chocolate cake. Some people might recognize it as a variation of Wacky Cake – it was developed when rationing was in effect during the Great Depression. Our good friend, Lorien, first introduced us to this and it is definitely a keeper. We hope that you love it as much as we do!


Chocolate Cake Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In an 8X8 square pan/dish (or in a bowl and then pour into a greased pan), mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt with a fork, making sure it is really blended together. Add the water, vanilla, oil, and vinegar, and again, mix together so that it’s really blended together. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides if necessary.

Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes (~15 minutes for cupcakes), or until a knife comes out clean. Cool on a rack completely (2 hours) before icing.

    Cake Ingredients

1-1/4 cups flour
1-cup sugar
1/3-cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-cup warm water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3-cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. distilled white or apple cider vinegar

    Chocolate Icing

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 tbsp. margarine (we use Earth Balance vegan margarine)
2 tbsp. milk (we use soy milk)
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. vanilla extract

School Activities, Storms, and Summer Plans

We have had a busy week!

For starters, Quinn’s school has had a flurry of events which has impacted the activities of whole family.

First up, was the annual school science fair and Jen volunteered to be a judge. She was asked to evaluate several 4th grade projects, which were all focused on ecology topics and were completed and presented in English. Since English is the 3rd language of many of the students at the school, it was extra impressive to see the amazing work they put together even at their young ages.

"How population growth will affect the environment" -- This girl used a computer program to draw the approximate number of additional houses projected in the Lake Atitlán area over the next 10 and 20 years (based upon data gathered on the internet).

“How population growth will affect the environment” — This girl used a computer program to draw the approximate number of additional houses projected in the Lake Atitlán area over the next 10 and 20 years (based upon data gathered on the internet).

We’ve also had a string of birthday parties in Quinn’s kindergarten class. Here the custom is to bring in a piñata along with lunch, cake and treats for the whole class. Since Quinn has so many food allergies, Jen has been busy baking him special cakes and providing alternate food and other treats so he can also participate in these school festivities.

Quinn’s class had a field trip to the local Nature Reserve, where they were able to feed bananas to some wild monkeys and see a very large selection of butterflies. They also got to take turns on the kid zip-line that they enjoyed enormously.

Quinn and his school friend Scarlet

Quinn and his school friend Scarlet

Quinn had a great time on the zip line

Quinn had a great time on the zip line

There were lots of other fun activities to keep the kids entertained.

There were lots of other fun activities to keep the kids entertained.

Tropical storm Boris paid us a visit this week as well. The heavy rains turned our streets into rivers while many locals cautiously watched the river rise. The roads into and out of town were rendered impassible and the town was closed off from the outside world for a day or so.

What’s a person to do with so much rainy weather? Witt worked, Quinn went to school (except for the one day when the schools were closed), and Jen spent 4 days in a row baking cakes and loaves of bread to pass away the rainy days.

Jen goes all Martha Stewart with some fresh baked bread.

Jen goes all Martha Stewart with some fresh baked bread.

On Saturday we got in the van for the first time in a month and drove to the Mayan Eco Homestead. Greg and Lucy Jensen along with their 4 sons are building a “model sustainable farm” where they’re implementing a variety of sustainable agriculture techniques ranging from rabbits and chickens to square foot gardening and even tilapia farming. Their goal is to serve as an example for local farmers, who are free to come to their farm and learn about ways to make a living through sustainable agriculture.

It was very exciting to see how this family is building their farm from the ground up, learning, making mistakes, and improving as they go.

Mayan Eco Homestead is making a difference for local families.

Mayan Eco Homestead is making a difference for local families.

AND… in a major shift from the way we usually roll, we actually have firm plans for the next 2 months! After school finishes later this month, we are headed to the mountains of Panama where we will be housesitting for 3 weeks in July! This means that we’ll have about 2 weeks to explore El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica en route. It’s not a lot of time, but we will have another opportunity to explore Costa Rica as we have booked a house for the month of August in the Central Valley there.

We will be centrally located among lots of popular attractions, we will have plenty of room for visitors, and we’ll even have our own pool! Want to visit? Please let us know!