A Fiery Welcome in South America

Posted by: Laura

While traveling through Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua we actually went three weeks without having a hot shower. Most of the hostels that do have hot water have a white plastic contraption on the shower head that electrically heats the water as it passes through. The drawback to this system is that the more water pressure you use, the less warm your shower is. Most of these heaters get the water luke warm at best. The larger problem is that you are using ELECTRICITY NEAR WATER. I was wary of this system at first, but when faced with the dilemma of a cold shower or electrically heated water, I took the second option.

We finally got a break from busses and flew from Panama City to Lima, Peru. Our first night in Lima, I was taking a shower in our hostel when the hot water machine sparked, then made a popping sound. I looked up to see flames. I couldn´t move for a second as I felt electric current running through my body. Yes, the damn thing actually electricuted me. With soap still in my hair, I grabbed a towel and ran out of the bathroom followed by a trail of black smoke. Chris was talking on the phone to his brother who heard “Uh, dude, I gotta go, the shower is on fire.” We weren´t sure what to do since we couldn´t pour water on it. I was ready to grab my bags and let the hostel go down in flames, but luckily, the fire went out on its own. We later got a text message from John Michael who said, “I´m pretty sure I gave Lucy a book for her birthday about not putting electricity near water.”

And the Winner Is…

Posted by: Chris and Laura

We have decided to put our Central America (and Mexico) highlights in one list. We have just spent 3 months researching your next vacation.  Central America is actually much easier to get to than you think (If you´re one of our readers in the South, it took us 3.5 hours of flying to get from Mississippi to Mexico and it´s cheaper than flying to California).

THE BEST OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO

Best Beach: Tulum, Mexico. Beautiful white sand, turquoise water, Mayan ruins, what more could you want.

Best City: Antigua, Guatemala. Maybe we´re biased because we spent four weeks here, but it´s a beautiful colonial city with cobblestone streets, great restaurants, and a volcano.

Best Coffee: Fernando´s Café in Antigua, Guatemala. Best coffee period.

Best Local Food: Ceviche in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Alissa, you have to go there.

Best Meal: Casa Vecchia in Antigua, Guatemala. An Italian restaurant with the most amazing Gnocchi and Tirimisu we have ever eaten.

Friendliest Country: El Salvador. You make friends every time you get lost.

Best Journey: Corcovado, Costa Rica. Butterflies the size of birds, spiders as big as your hand, and dragonflies as big as your head. Not to mention Monkeys, Anteaters, Mccaws, Tapirs, Coatis. I didn´t even know what a tapir or coati was until I saw them in the jungle.

Best Market: San Cristobal, Mexico. In this mountain town you can find spices, jewelry, leather goods, and other textiles.

Best Museum: Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, Mexico. Everything Mel Gibson should have studied before he made the movie Apocolypto and had the Mayans meeting the Spanish.

Best Mayan Ruins: Palenque, Mexico. Spend the night in a bungalow in the jungle, then hike to Temple of Inscriptions.

Best Place You´ve Never Heard Of: Playa Zonte, El Salvador. Due to the lack of tourism to the country you get your own private black sand beaches, and good surfing.

And, these wouldn´t be the best if there also weren´t the worst of…

Worst Beach: Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Go to Florida.

Worst Boarder Crossing: Northern Belize. One day a year they have tax free shopping. Don´t try to cross on that day. You´ll stand in a mob of people for 2 hours with a heavy backpack.

Worst Town: Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Our guidebook described it as a quaint town nestled in the mountains. They lied.