One of the most visited destinations in Central America has a lot to offer

I have always heard about Costa Rica as it seems to be where all my friends and family have been if they have traveled out of the United States. With the thick lush jungles and pristine beaches and abundance of wildlife, it is no wonder that it is on top of everyone’s list.

As we crossed the border from Nicaragua we noticed the prices were a lot more expensive than the rest of Central America. We ended up staying in Los Chile’s for the night and went on a river boat in order to see the wildlife. Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge is one of the best places to see birds, sloths, and monkeys in Costa Rica. The photos I took were beautiful with all of the wildlife right there!!! Unfortunately I only got the butt of a sloth!!!

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Unfortunately for me my fun ended there, in La Fortuna and Mont Verde I got Dengue and I stayed in for most of the time, so I was unable to go and do any excursions at all. By the time I got to Manuel Antonio National Park I was ready to hit the trail for some excursions, but unfortunately the day we were there it was closed.

I did however see some very good landscapes as well as a parade of students doing a marathon in prep for Independence Day….

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I guess I will have to go back and take a family vacation there…..

A cheap country with a lot of good food and some amazing photogenic cities and friendly people

Nicaragua was an amazing country to go to, as we crossed into the border and looked at prices of things, I knew that it would be a very cost effective country. Where else can you get a Rib Eye Steak with all the fixings in a restaurant for 10 dollars.

Our first stop was the beautiful town of Leon. This picturesque town had beautiful streets with a photo on almost every corner. As independence day was around the corner, the flags flying high near the plazas and churches brought out a sense of nationalism for this beautiful country.

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We then had a few day stop at a beautiful lake called Lake Apoyo which had volcanoes surrounding it and it was a nice stop for a few days to catch up on things.

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Along the way to various locations, the landscape and people were out and about including a parade for the political party FSLN which is a left wing party who runs the country, it was amazing to see all the people out and the mountainous landscapes

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Finally our last stop in this great country was the picturesque town of Grenada which is one of the oldest cities in Nicaragua as well as in Central America as it was established in the 1500’s. A hot walk down the beautiful streets here showed me how friendly the people were and how interested they were to see foreigners. Walking through the market area off the non tourist destinations, I got to see how people shopped and lived…..A great city to photograph!!!!

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I believe Grenada was a fitting end to a great photography trip in Nicaragua and with the great steaks and beer, it definitely ranks up there on my Latin American Countries!!!

A country with great Mayan ruins, beautiful beaches, and Islands all around with great lightning storms

Honduras was another country that has always been on my radar because of the beautiful beaches, great food and of course the Copan Ruins.

The Copan Ruins has always been high on my list of Mayan sites because of how well it was preserved, swallowed up by the jungles of time. The Plaza of the Hieroglyphic Staircase has a monumental staircase, one of the greatest structures of the Mayan culture. On the 10-meter-wide steps, there are more than 1,250 individual glyphs, which constitute the longest known Mayan inscription.

Walking around here was extremely hot, but it was not crowded at all which led to me taking my time and looking at everything. As the sun barely beamed through the canopy, it made some wondrous and mysterious photos that would be seen perhaps in an Indiana Jones movie.

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Of course another intriguing part to Copan was the Macaw’s sitting up in the trees squawking at people going by and also the rather large spiders that perched themselves in their huge webs between some of the runis that are dusted with green moss…

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The next stop after a rather interesting bush camp of a lot of rain was the town of La Ceiba. Some people decided to go to the islands, some people decided to go up to the jungle to do trekking, and I took the other option of staying about 30 minutes out of the city on a beautiful beach and accommodation for a few days and eat good food and go to Cayos Cochinos for the day in order to see some beautiful scenery…and almost ran into a few big Boa Constrictors that were in the bush…..They didn’t really have much interest in me though…

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The place I stayed which is one of the better accommodations in the world was La Delphina Bed and Breakfast. The property was amazing with its own private beach and a variety of rooms. The food and bar was great as I overdosed on shrimp cocktails, and the owner Richard was from the USA, so me and him had some great conversations and he made you feel like you were at home. The staff he has employed were great and he went out of his way to do anything for his guests. This is a place I will defiantly go back to and stay for weeks just to relax. For more information on booking and reservations you can look at Booking.com or Hotels.com or simply go to the following web address- La Delphina Bed and Breakfast

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There was also fascinating lightning storms over the ocean to be seen as I stayed out to photograph them one night as they were amazing.

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I always like to see a culture from road photos I take driving along as out in the countryside is where you see how people live and work vs. in a city environment.

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Last but not least, on our way to Nicaragua, we stopped for a few nights at a lake. While I was busy preparing for cook group, I did have a chance to go to what I deem as the most isolated microbrewery called DND Brewery

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I guess Honduras was one of my favorite places. It gave me a chance to see some great ruins as well as sit and relax on a beach and work on photos. The people were amazing as were the landscapes….and they also had a Wal-Mart!!!!

A small country in the heart of Central America that is recovering after a tumultuous history

El Salvador is a country that a lot of people do not visit in Central America due to the bad press it has gotten in the past in the news. The president has cracked down on gangs in the country in order to clean it up and it is said that he has locked up around 70,000 alleged gang members and built one of the largest prisons in the Americas in order to house them. This is what makes this country so intriguing as I feel this could be the next great destination in Central America.

Our first stop was an impromptu stop at Playa El Tunco which is in the process of building a Surf City which is a small village. The restaurants, bars, and street art here make it an intriguing destination not just for surfers, but just about everyone.

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After spending some days on the beach, we went into the capital of San Salvador. With different restaurants like Denny’s , Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell lining the streets, it looks like the country is well on its way to rebuilding itself (at least in the new part of town). I however wanted to go to the historic center in which they are rebuilding but it will take some time. A walk from the new part to the old part took the better part of a couple hours but it was beautiful down there.

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Of course driving around El Salvador I got to see some wonderful people on the streets, attending to their everyday way of life. They seemed very happy on the streets or selling their goods at the market, always waving and smiling…

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Finally on the way out of El Salvador to the border with Honduras, we got to stop at a beautiful little colonial town by the name of Suchitoto. This town is lined with beautiful cobblestone streets, old buildings, and a beautiful plaza…

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Overall, I really liked El Salvador and it was definitely a country I can come back to. It was told to me before I arrived at the borders that it is the most friendly country in Central America, and I will definitely agree with that statement.

From Tikal, to the highlands, to a beautiful waterfall and picturesque lake, to Antigua

Since I am on a mission to see most Star Wars filming sites in the world (see Tunisia) I thought that one good place to start would be Tikal which can be seen as the rebel base at the end of a New Hope. Tikal was another Mayan site I wanted to visit and dates back to before 1000 CE. What makes this site so famous is that it has very well preserved ruins which most are hidden under the thick jungle canopy, as well as great paths in which you can spend your day getting lost…

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The animals around Tikal were absolutely brilliant to photograph. From the bizarre looking Coati’s to birds, to Spider and Howler Monkeys, and Agouti’s which look like small Capybara’s. There were some cheeky spider monkeys that decided to go up into avocado trees and take a bite out of one then throw it at people passing by as the ground was littered with them.

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While I simply loved Tikal, I believe the highlight of being in Guatemala was spending a day on the bumpy but picturesque road of the highlands. Beautiful scenery as well as small rural villages dotted this landscape and the fog in the morning made it more eerie…

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Going through the highlands had its twists and turns because of the road but ultimately we arrived at a town and on the other side of the town was some beautiful waterfalls with pools you can swim in, with water that was turquoise and clear….of course the road there was great as they were doing elections as you can see locals crammed into public transport to get them to the polling stations.

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After a nice bath in the waterfalls, we made our way through some more highlands through some beautiful towns which with the small streets could not handle the size of the truck….

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After going through the beautiful highlands, we made it to Lake Atitlan which is cradled by some beautiful volcanic mountains which makes this place very picturesque…it is also one of the if not the deepest lakes in Central America.

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After leaving Lake Atitlan we went through some more scenery that was amazing to look at as well as some small towns with people wearing traditional clothes…..

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Finally we get to the cobblestone street and very picturesque town of Antigua, in which we stayed in the historic center. This is one of the top five picturesque towns in Central America and certainly did not disappoint…

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Of course no trip would be complete without a cooking class Guatemalan style as I went to La Tortilla Cooking School, and cooked six different dishes and had a lot of wine. The dishes I cooked where I learned how to cook desserts, salads, mains, and sides. I believe all of them came out pretty good with learning how to cook the traditional way with traditional ingredients…

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As we left Guatemala, I can say that I saw just about everything I wanted to see with the highlands really impressing me as it is a place I can defiantly go back too….Next Stop, the friendly country of El Salvador!!!!!

This small country has a lot to offer from hard to get ruins to the beautiful islands

The country of Belize is a small country but it packs so much into its borders. The money in this country still bears the Queen of England and is very colorful. With only five days in this tiny nation, I did a lot off stuff. Entering the border from Mexico was very interesting as it seemed to somehow get more humid (maybe not), but the first thing I noticed was how colorful and pretty the landscapes were, including the cemeteries.

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Some of the ruins that I have always wanted to go to were the Lamanai Ruins which are not easy to get to. You must take about a 45 minute boat ride on the New River in Orange Walk in order to reach this wonderful place. While it was extremely hot, seeing the birds along the way was a welcome sight…

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Of course the highlight was the Lamani ruins which I have always wanted to see, which is one of the many classical Mayan sights in this region of the world. We were first welcomed to some very lazy Monkeys up in the trees as we arrived.

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Then comes the beautiful ruins which are still being excavated to this very day…..

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The main point of going to this wonderful country was of course the islands they have off the coast. The Island I chose to go to was Caye Caulker which boasts some of the better lobster in the area. I had just missed the Lobster festival which I heard was great. The Island is small and it was a relaxing time of just going around town with one main road and no cars or trucks and relaxing…

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Finally as we were leaving the country for the border with Guatemala, we stopped by the local zoo. I am staunchly against going to any zoos and I do not even think about them these days, but this is a zoo with rescued animals from all around Belize that is a non profit organization. Belize, I will visit you again and eat more lobster

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From North to South

Early Years Mexico Click Here

Living on the border of Mexico for most of my life, I have always wanted to explore the country more in depth besides Cancun, Cd. Juarez, and Puerto Penasco!!!! On this trip I got my chance to do just that, and see Mexico by the roads through the country.

As we entered Mexico through a very small border in New Mexico, the desert scenery was just like I had grown up with. It was extremely hot, but a dry heat and not the humid heat we would run across in Southern Mexico.

Our first stop over the border was Copper Canyon, namely the sleepy but great town of Creel which is one of the last stops on the great train journey. Some people took the train and others just stayed around Creel and chilled out with all the good food they had to offer.

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The next stop after driving through some amazing road scenery was the beautiful old city of Zacatecas. While the whole city is massive, the old town where we based has beautiful old buildings, cobblestone streets, and great food!!!!

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Headed more down south, we reach out destination of Mexico City, where we would stay for a few days in the historic center in order to see everything that the city has to offer. It is one of the bigger cities in the world but being in the historic center gave us a chance to spread out and do a little of everything. The ruins of Teotihuacan, located just outside of Mexico city is one of the main draws here as it is one of the largest pyramids in the world. Being in Mexico City, gave me a chance to just sit on the corner of a street and photograph people as they carried on with their everyday lives.

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As we leave Mexico City, our next stop would be the beautiful town of Oaxaca. The views both in and out of Oaxaca were breathtaking as the mountains and valleys were filled with different Flora that we had not seen before.

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Oaxaca was a beautiful town in itself with people coming from places all over Mexico and the world in order to see the beautiful streets and the surrounding areas. A quick walk around the city center showed the relaxed lifestyle people have in this area.

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The beautiful road leaving Oaxaca was dotted with rolling hills with the famous Agave Plants on just about every corner.

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Our first stop in the state of Chiapas was the beautiful Sumidero Canyon where we had a chance to take a great boat ride through the Canyon to see Monkeys, Crocs, Birds and of course one of the most famous attractions, the waterfall…

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As we continue in the state of Chiapas made famous by the rebellions in the 1990s, the roads were absolutely wonderful both going in and out of San Cristobal de Las Casas….

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Along the way we got to see a few different ancient ruins from the Mayans, while I did not make it to all of them, I enjoyed the ones that I did go to like Palenque and Uxmal…

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Was the rest of Mexico as I expected? Yea it was with a lot of surprises and great food along the way as we headed south into Belize, I can only say that I loved my time seeing the rest of this great country (that I teach the politics of in my AP Class).

Time to visit places that are a little closer to home

As this trip continues through the United States, it was a lot of National Park jumping which are places even though living a good portion of my life in the states, I have never visited (except Grand Canyon).

As we entered Montana from Canada the drive was simply amazing!!!!

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We then got to the world famous Yellowstone National Park, and it was more impressive than the photos I have seen. Seeing Old Faithful Geyser is obviously the biggest attraction at the Park and it did not disappoint at all

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The other geysers and landscape colors were equally as impressive. From rolling hills of grass to majestic waterfalls, this land has it all!!!!!

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Lets also not forget the abundance of wildlife at Yellowstone. Although I was not able to get photos of any bears, we did see a few of them, and even one with two cubs.

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Next stop after Yellow Stone was Grand Tetons NP. This majestic park boasted some very beautiful peaks with the blue sky in the distance.

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Of course the highlight of the National Park was a small lake on a side trail with a few different Moose feeding on the grass under the water.

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We then moved down south into Utah and stayed near to the Great Salt Lake in a camping spot named Antelope Island. The views were spectacular with a few animals and birds popping up around.

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As we head south in the sweltering heat, we next reach Zion National Park and took some beautiful strolls among the massive cliffs.

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The highlight here was of course the deer coming by our camp to eat in the morning as we were leaving…

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A few hours down the road from Zion NP we got into Bryce Canyon with some of the strangest formations I have ever seen. They are awe inspiring to look at and even pictures do not do it justice with the vastness of the formations…

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Arches National Park was our next stop and has some of the most unusual formations. We went to different sites around there to see some of the most popular formations and had some amazing photos.

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As we moved down into more national parks we hit Monument Valley made famous in many old west movies as well as Antelope Canyon with some interesting formations as we moved very carefully with our Navajo guide through the canyon admiring the formations for a few hours.

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Headed down south into Arizona, we hit Horse Shoe Bend which carves a beautiful shape into Glen Canyon which would get us ready for Grand Canyon….

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Grand Canyon would be our last stop in the United States and it was the hottest Arizona has been in a long time. I remember going there as a kid to some of the same areas. The Grand Canyon again did not disappoint as the Colorado River has cut some of the most beautiful scenery as it zigzags through the Canyon…..

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Going into Mexico through Phoenix (118 degrees that day) we ran into a spectacular storm off in the distance with some beautiful rain and clouds as we bush camped a few hours before the border

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The land of beautiful scenery and wildlife on the road

Canada has always been one of those countries that is so close to the states that I have never visited it, but going through some of the most remote parts of the Yukon Territory, British Colombia, and Alberta, offers some of the best scenery that the country has to offer!!!!!!

Crossing from Alaska we drove into the beautiful Gold Rush town of Dawson City as we camped across the river, we would take a ferry over to see the beautiful Klondike town which has just as many bars and restaurants as bigger cities.

Campsite:

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Dawson City like I mentioned above is a beautiful city. Strolling around going into bars, cafes, or restaurants is pretty much what makes this a relaxing place. You can go see Can Can Girls dance or drink whiskey out of the mummified toe… The story can be found here and it is pretty much one of the most interesting things I have done: https://www.cbc.ca/shortdocs/features/the-story-of-the-sourtoe-cocktail-a-shot-of-whiskey-garnished-with-a-human .

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Dawson City buildings are quite beautiful and amazing to look at!!!

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A shipwreck on the river banks happened some years ago and crawling around inside of it was a challenge…

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Going south on the Klondike highway we ran into some beautiful landscapes and scenery that a lot of people never see as it is a very remote highway and sometimes we would go for hours without seeing another vehicle, sometimes just at makeshift bush camps…..

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In Lake Watson in Canada there is the most bizarre signpost forest that you will ever see. License Plates, Sign Posts, Town Signs and other memorabilia from around the world are hung all over. It was interesting to say the least.

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No matter if we were on the roads or in national parks we always had wildlife around us. Bears, Moose, Caribou, Reindeer, Yellow Bellied Marmots, Bison, and Birds rounded out what we saw in abundance…

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Moving down south through the Canadian Rockies we still see spectacular scenery and get into Jasper National Park and the lovely scenery around there (although it was quite rainy sometimes).

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As we head down the Parkway Highway south we run into some beautiful waterfalls and the ice fields where some people hiked up and some people like me went around and did photography!!!

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As we continue to head South, we stop at Lake Louise which is a picturesque beautiful lake with its blue turquoise waters, and into Banff National Park with its wildlife and beautiful walks. We finish off the last few days going to some beautiful lakes en route to the border of USA and Canada….

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The beginning of the Pan American Highway to Ushuaia (and then up to Rio de Janeiro)

Alaska is a state I have always wanted to visit because of the abundant wildlife and beautiful landscapes. I also like to do a lot of my traveling overland, so I decided the best trip to take is an 8 month trip that goes all the way from Alaska to Ushuaia and then back up to Rio (in time for Carnivale) which most of the trip will be done by truck (except for the Dorian Gap of Panama of course). When the trip finishes in Rio the Truck will have traveled approximately 45,000 Kilometers.

Leaving out of Anchorage on a 20 plus ton truck with strangers who I would soon come to know very well, we headed up to Prince William Sound, which came to light in the world with the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in the late eighties. As I jumped on a boat to see the glaciers and all the wildlife including otters, humpback whales, seals, and birds. The photos below do not do this wonderful place justice!!!

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The landscape photos are also worth a thousand words to write about…..

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The small town of Talkeetna was the next stop as half of the town was a throwback to times past with the buildings.

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Next stop would be the majestic Denali National Park which is one of the most famous parks not only in Alaska but also all of the United States. If the scenery was not majestic enough-

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Then the animals including bears, squirrels, Elk, Moose with babies and Reindeer definitely made it worthwhile…..

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What is unique about this trip is that it goes up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay which is one of the more productive oil fields in the United States. This desolate highway is mostly used for truckers with very few people making this trek up to the Arctic Sea. Most of the road is gravel with a few small settlements along the way. The isolation of this place made it unique and the scenery even more. A dip in the arctic sea was defiantly a highlight for me as the whole journey up.

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There are only 3 permanent settlements on the Dalton Road- Coldfoot(population 34), Wiseman(population 12), and Deadhorse (20 with more coming in depending on the oil season.

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To finish off Alaska we went to the Santa Clause house which supposedly is where all kids send their letters to Santa Clause to.

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No trip would be complete in Alaska without a stop in Chicken. This small town has a gas station, a general store, a bar and turns into a small town for the Chicken Stock Festival which we did not arrive in time for the night before. The Pictures pretty much tell it all.

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Next Stop….the Great Vastness of Western Canada….