Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Costa Rica Trip

Hellooo again all! I hope you all enjoy the photos from our Costa Rica trip me and my wife Chastity  were able to take recently. It was one of the shortest trips we have taken in distance but somehow managed to take the longest because of how much there was to explore.

 We begin our trip on the coast near the city of Limon and we are heading cross country to La Cruz, Provincia de Guanacaste, to the Santa Rosa National Park on the opposite Coast. That’s right we are going from the Atlantic Ocean( actually the Caribbean Sea)  to the South Pacific Ocean. We could just take a boat through the Panama Canal which is just south of us but what fun would that be! Besides I’m sure Chastity would rather have me driving her through the Jungle in a four wheel drive vehicle than laying around on a big luxurious boat……
 One of the Elements of Danger, live Volcanoes….. We explored one on our last trip and it was fun but I think we will check these ones out from a distance to stay on schedule(AND UN-TOASTED)

As we began to drive I noticed how many different types of “forest “ can be in one area. As a biologist I found it really interesting , Chastity was more interested in telling me which part of the road to drive on….. This is what we would call “cloud forest” cause it is of course very moist but it also has enough cool air blowing in off the ocean to create constant low lying clouds. It is pretty cool.
This is a picture I got a little farther up the road , more in the central costa Rica area and the clouds are gone
 so I just call this rain forest.

It was really neat to see the local wildlife, this sloth was kinda sleepy and this is the best picture I could get             One thing about this area is that there is a lot of rivers to cross and this bridge was a little scary to cross over….



 Chastity  didn’t like these fellows at all but I thought they were cute


I thought these were so neat, we had to walk a ways to get these shots and the pictures dont do them justice!

 I know… I know… everything looks the same, and I agree.  This trip was all about jungle, or Rain Forest however you want to view it. I like to say Jungle cause it sounds more dangerous.

So I got to this part of the road and Chastity was sure we were lost and going to die in the Jungle and I was glad to have 4-W-D

 

We did get to were we were going , it is a snake ”farm”. They had a ton of cool snakes 

They were alive and dead, Chastity liked the dead ones!

 We eventually found pavement again !.


                      and lunch!!!       


 So we made it all the way across the country and what do we find…… more volcano!!….Great! At least this one was not smoking!! (as much)

 Once we reached the State Park and the coast it turned out our 4 hour drive took more like 8 hours!!
                                     
                          
And so our trip is done ….till next time…….






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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Guatemala Trip

Well the wife and I are off for yet another grand adventure, this time we are headed to Guatemala.  This time our trip won’t be as long distance wise as we have a full agenda this time around but we are leaving plenty of time for site seeing.  We are going to play golf, tour a few of the awesome lakes, and visit an active volcano…… no really!

Frist stop of course ……the airport!



Its only about 20 minutes or so to the Mayan Golf Resort, this was so much fun, even though I’m terrible at golf and Chastity kicked my buttYou can see the volcano we are going to visit in the back ground!


This is a HUGE lake that consists of a northern and southern section with a narrow center section, we decided to expoler the northern section before heading further south towards the coast. I wanted to go all the way around but was out voted by my wife, apparently she gets 2 votes to my 1!




There were a lot of neat things to see as we made our way around the lake, this church was one of my favorites!




Once we rounded the lake we found a Day Spa, and Chastity talked me into stopping. I agreed so that when it came time to go fishing she couldn’t refuse( of course the massage I got was no too bad, but don’t tell her that)

After we left the spa we entered into the national Park that was on this side of the Lake…..

We could see the “landmark” of the volcano we were going to visit so we headed that direction

Along the way we found another cool church. this one was really close to the lake and had an awesome view.



Well we made it about half way around the lake so we took a trip across the bridge that connects the two sides of the lake at its narrowest point and took a break at the terrace.


Now it was time for some grub……

After lunch we headed off again and stopped at a much smaller lake. Even though it was smaller it was no less beautiful, and I got to do some fishing. This was called Laguna Caleras
I didn’t have the guts to try fishing from a “local” type of boat… 
I didn’t trust the straw, so I went in a regular ole aluminum boat!


Now we reached the main attraction Volcano Pacaya, it was a pretty good hike up the mountain but it was so cool. This was as close as really wanted to get, you could feel the heat, and it was kind of an eerie feeling




After our volcano adventure we headed to the coast for the night’s stay, this was our resort we stayed at. Then we enjoyed some local wine and ended our day in style as we watched the sunset. 
See you all tomorrow!!!

















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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mexico!!!


Seeing as how the weather is turning cold Chastity and I decided to complete the hat trick of our travels abroad and take a trip down the Mexico coast line.  We called Chastity’s old high school friend Pablo that lives in Cabo and asked him for advice.  He and his wife Rosia offered to come give us a personal guided tour down Interstate 1(they thought it would be safer than having a couple American yahoos driving through Mexico alone!). We rented a SUV and headed out.  They flew into General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport and  we picked them up and began our trip to get them home!! 


Of course as usual before we jumped on the interstate I had to grab a bite to eat  and I saw a familiar site….THE TACO WAGON!!! Yes please….

I let Pablo drive so I could take pictures, he made such a great tour guide I suggested he get a job doing it full time.  He disagreed!  We drove past the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, UABCS and I snapped a couple photos of their wonderful campus.
   I love the architecture!!
                                                                            
                                            We went past a few of the cool statues in town.  I can’t believe how many statues Mexico has and we have like zero back home!
          .....................Cruzin Down  Interstate  1………….
I see Ocean..............
.Yep that’s definitely Ocean!!!!

Stopped for a driving break, and get our feet wet.
I had to stop and check out the pyramid

Rosia headed us on a detour to check out an old church she had gone to a few times    
.


    















This was a cool little house sitting all alone on the beach.
This was our last shot of the coast just before heading inland a way to get a room for the night (and some enchiladas and Tecate…) this was also shortly before we entered San Quinton at sunset and I broke out into my best Johnny Cash voice. Pablo joined in but the girls were not amused.




  One of the bonus’ of have couple of good friends that are from Mexico take you on a guided trip is they know stuff….and people…. Rosia cousin is the owner and operator of the Hotel Jardines Baja in San Quintin and we got awesome rooms with ocean views, at low, low rates. Plus dinner was free, and sooooo good!!

Street Tacos what……


Day two and we should be heading into Cabo today
I had to get a picture of some of the cool plants in Mexico, they don’t grow anywhere else. Chas and Rosia think I’m a dork.



I told them I’m not a dork I’m a scientist….
        They said that what a dork was…..


I wanted to follow the coast the whole way to Cabo but Pablo said it was way faster to stick to the interstate and head inland for a time, 
but it would meet back up with the coast in a bit.

Such stark contrast in landscape from the coast.
 That’s a big freagin Cactus.
Mirage?? There must be water close buy!!!!
Almost there, snapped a couple photos of some nice old churches.
This one’s my fav…

Finally!!! Its back!!! I love the ocean…..and all the yummy food in it!!!
Another cool Statue



Finally We Arrive… CABO!!
I’ll let the girls get their shopping outta the way, while me and Pablo go Fishing!
and of course lunch…….




My first catch of the trip, thanks for the hand Pablo!!!


Mexico Viajes Virtuales trip disclaimer: This Trip is purely fictitious, my wife's name(Chastity) and my friend (Pablo) are the only truthful parts of this blog. Do Not Travel to this part of Mexico unless Heavily Armed.
 From the U. S. State Department:
Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day for study, tourism or business and at least one million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico. The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major trafficking routes. Nevertheless, crime and violence are serious problems and can occur anywhere. While most victims of violence are Mexican citizens associated with criminal activity, the security situation poses serious risks for U.S. citizens as well.
Due to ongoing violence and persistent security concerns, you are urged to defer non-essential travel to the states of Tamaulipas and Michoacán, and to parts of the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi and Jalisco. Details on these locations, and other areas in which travelers should exercise caution, are below.
You should be especially aware of safety and security concerns when visiting the northern border states of Northern Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. Much of the country's narcotics-related violence has occurred in the border region.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelAdvisory-k54-Security_Situation.html




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