Glama llamas, soccer uniforms, and raw meat

Day 67:
Arrived in Nazca for a fairly uneventful night, we did however have a private room with a television, and the real excitement was to come tomorrow.

Day 68:

We woke up at 10am thinking that we would be flying over the Nazca Lines by 11am, however, due to poor communitcation, we ended up waiting around until 3pm and almost missed our other tour for the day. But needless to say, it was well worth the wait! They were maybe the coolest things that either of us had seen, and learning about the history of the Incans and why they made the lines made them that much more impressive. Though we both got a bit woozy flying over the lines in a 4 passanger plane seeing the lines from that height made it obvious why they thought the gods would think them a good offering.

    We returned to our hostel after the Nazca lines to get picked up for a tour of a cementary which houses mummies that date back to 500 AD. At the tombs, our guide told us the history of how the ancient Nazcans would sacrifice a variety of civilians (i.e. servents, wives, children) to go along with the death of a warrior. This was in the hopes of creating a more substantial afterlife and to create an offering to the gods in hopes for bringing water to Nazca, where we learned there´s an average rainfall of 5mm per year. After a long , but very interesting day, we returned to our hostel to prepare for our night bus to Cusco.

Day 69:

We arrived in Cusco feeling groggy after the long bus journey, but pushed through our tiredness for a day of sightseeing and shopping, thanks to the extra strong coffee our hostel offered us. After a full day we treated ourselves to a fine dining experience at a restaurant that overlooked the main plaza, Plaza de Armas. Our dinner consisted of two bottles of red wine, a pizza, and an entire roasted guinea pig, i.e. cuy. Delicious! Though it was rather hard to eat around those tiny little bones...

Day 70:
We spent another day touring Cusco, but the city was surprisingly dead due to some random holiday. It wasn´t too much of a concern though because we had to prepare ourselves for our early morning journey to Aguas Calientes the next day.

Day 71:
Thanks to Molly´s dad, we were picked up for our luxury tour of Machu Picchu at 6:30am. First stop, Aguas Calientes, the base city to Machu Picchu. Upon our arrival, after 2 hours in a shuttle and 2 hours on a train, we feasted on a buffett lunch that was included in the package. After digesting our lunch, we went up to the thermal baths for which Aguas Calientes (¨Hot Waters¨) is known for. We made it an early night because we had to be at the bus stop for a 30 minute bus ride up to Machu Picchu at 5am the next morning, and the bed & breakfast that we were staying at insisted that we make time for a 4:30am breakfast.

Day 72:

We got to Machu Picchu around 6am, got our 10am reservation stamp to hike Wayna Picchu, the neighboring mountain to Machu Picchu, and began our 2.5 hour tour. Our tour was very informative because our Peruvian tour guide spoke great english; we learned all about the Inkan´s rituals, and their strategies when the Spanish invaded. Our giggles only interupted the tour once, when we saw a picture of a guinea pig dressed in a sparkling top hot, suit, and tie. While we thought this was hilarious, our tour guide thought it was perfectly normal, and said that they always dress up the guinea pigs before they slaughter them to dine on.         After the tour, we had just enough time for a quick snack before getting in line to hike Wayna Picchu. Of course, at that very moment, the flood gates decided to open and pour down on us. However, despite the rain, we made it up Wayna Picchu in record time, though we refrained from going to the tippy top because it looked over-crowded, wet, slippery, and steep... no thanks!

   We got back to Aguas Calientes around 1pm and were exhausted from a full day because it had started so early, but our train wasn´t scheduled to leave until 7:30pm, so we did our best to occupy our time in the small town.
   We finally made it back to Cusco, uttery exhausted, around 11:30pm, yet we were unable to get a wink of sleep due to the durnkards sharing a room with us who kept forgetting we were there, one of them actually sat on Kristin during the middle of the night because they didn´t see her on the bottom bunk.

Day 73:
Took an early morning bus to Puno. We were hoping to make it to Bolivia, but due to border hours it turned out not to be plausible. So we spent the night relaxing and prepared for our early morning bus to Bolivia.

Day 74:

We arrived at the border in the afternoon scared that border patrol would find a reason not to give us our tourist Visas, but as it turns out all they wanted were our US$. It cost us US$135 and proof of a yellow fever shot to get in, but other than that it was a breeze. Our Visas are valid for 90 days a year for the next 5 years, so we´ll be planning another trip to Bolivia.

   From the border, Copacabana was only a short ways away, and there we took a boat to the pleasant yet beautiful Isla del Sol. Though the island didn´t seem like much at first, we quickly discovered that a little path would serve as the gateway to heaven. About 30 minutes into the trail and about 100 yards from the top, 3 little local kids beckoned us over, it was there that we witnessed the cutest thing we have seen yet, about 7 little piglets nursing on their mother. We stayed there for 45 minutes, while letting the kiddies entertain themselves with our cameras, before making it to the top and then heading back down just in time to avoid the rain. That night we caught up on some much needed sleep on some very hard and lumpy beds.

Day 75:
We took the first boat back to Copacabana in the morning and then hopped on a bus to La Paz, the highest capital in the world. Though our hostel was rather shabby, we were immediately enthralled by the city. Shockingly, within 30 minutes of being in the city we ran into a friend from Panama, and after saying our hellos, we made plans to meet for drinks at her hostel later that night. Meanwhile, we walked around the city a bit and had delicious Morocon food for dinner.

Day 76:

After sleeping in, we were ready to thoroughly explore the compact yet energentic city. We started our day with a surprise lunch of llama, it was unexpectedly not bad. From there we got lost in the city and ended up at destinations such as the Museo de Coca and the Museo del Instrumentales Musicales. It was easy to get around the city on foot and it became one of our favorite cities from the trip, not to mention the weather was beautiful. That night we indulged in good old fashioned american food, cheesebugers and onion rings. Though not the best burger we´ve ever had, it definitely satisfied the craving.

Day 77:
Little did we know, this would turn into one of the longest days ever. We left in the morning for Cochabamba, a supposedly young and vibrant town, only to discover that we held a different opinion. After just 2 hours of walking around, we knew this wasn´t a place we could spend a lot of time. We would have been willing to at least spend the night, however, there were only night buses to our next intended destination. So we made up our minds to hop on a bus that evening to Sucre, because 28 more hours in Cochabamba would be too many.
   We arrived at the bus terminal 15 minutes before the bus we wanted was scheduled to leave, thinking that it wouldn´t be a big deal. However, the bus was sold out and we were forced to buy our tickets through scalpers. This turned into a rather interesting experience and we´re just glad we made it on a bus, and we plan to never buy scalper tickets again.

Day 78:
Made it to Sucre around 8 this morning. We had a rather relaxing morning and then walked around the street markets in the afternoon. Tomorrow we´re off to see dinosaur fooprints!

Churrascos and Cheese

Day 53
Finally we were able to get away from the cold rain and made it to Canoa on an overnight bus. Although the weather may not have been ideal it was a def pick me up from Quito's dreary mountain climate. We were happy to be in a pleasant little non-touristy beach town where we were able to relax in hammocks and cruise through our novels. We had the company of Ned's friend, Hans, and his travel companions, Alex and Rob.

Day 54

This morning the 5 of us went on an adventure to some cove side caves. The sun came out that afternoon so we spent the majority of that day watching the waves and lying on the beach. That night at a local surfer bar we heard about this shot known as "la uña de la granbestia" (the fingernail of the beast) which only one person in the entire world makes, it consists of coca leaves, marijuana, centipeds, and scorpians, and is soaked in a sugar cane liquor. The men who told us about it spoke so highly of it and said that they would take a shot of it everyday. Obviously we needed to try this local concoction, but the bar was closed that night, so the 5 of us made a pact to try it the next morning.

Day 55
We quickly learned that a) it is not an everyday thing, and b) it is not ideal for breakfast. But live and learn, right? We had plans of spending Thanksgiving in Baños, but had to make, what we thought would be quick stop, in Quito. That night we bid farewell to our new friends and took the night bus back to Quito.

Day 56
Arrived in Quito at 5am with no place to go besides a 24 hour coffee shop, and unfortunately, Kristin was sick as a dog. We revised our plans to stay the night in Quito so Kristin could get some much needed rest. Thanksgiving was completely uneventful but at least we got to skype with our families.

Day 57

 Arrived in Baños that afternoon wanting a light lunch because Kristin was still not 100% and Molly was beginning to get a bit of a bug too, so the idea of some soup and rice sounded perfect. However, the serving of chicken soup was complete with chicken beak, chicken feet, and black hair which really didn´t help our stomach situation. Horrified and still feeling icky, we went back to our hostal to rest. That evening we were able to get our share of relaxation in at the thermal baths for which baños gets its name.

Day 58

We woke feeling better and ready for a day of adventure. Although we didnt get to bungee jump and zip line as we had planned, we were able to have a tour of many of the local waterfalls and got a 1.5 hour massage and facial for $20! So by the end of the day we were feeling good, but things were unknowingly about to get even better. To our fortune, we got to see Volcan Tungurahua erupt with lots of smoke and molten hot red magmay lava!! It was so glorious and def a highlight of the trip, especially after the let down of the daily erupting Volcan Arenal (volcano in costa rica) failed to show us lava. This one was way better anyway because it only erupts once every 10 months, so in your face volcan arenal!



Day 59
We were legally locked inside the hostal all day due to it being Ecuador´s census day where they go around to every house in Ecuador and physically count the residents, besides us. So, we sat inside, played lots of cards, and slowly became infected with cabin fever. Once we were free, we went for a walk and ate a delicious dinner. We were scheduled to leave early the next monring for Cuenca.

Day 60
Arrived in the late afternoon with a couple hours of daylight left to explore the neighborhood around our hostal. Then got to sleep early to prepare for a full day of exploring Ecuador´s 3rd largest city.

Day 61
Spent the day wandering around the majestic streets, exploring squares, churches, and markets. We really enjoyed Cuenca because even though it has a population of 400,000, everything seemed to be very close.

Day 62

We embarked on our 4th border crossing today into Peru. While that part was relatively easy, 13 hours of sitting on a bus was not. We arrived in Piura, a crowded city with very little tourism, famished. The only restaruant we could find was Chinese (which seems to be relatively popular in Peru) and almost as bad as the chicken soup meal. We had no intention of spending more time in Piura than necessary so we booked a midnight bus to Trujillo.

Day 63

 Arrived that morning, checked into a hostal, where we got our own room equipped with a tv and private bathroom, and napped for a bit. Then we took the bus to the beach town of Huanchaco, where we laid in the sand and felt the sun. Here we had an amazing lunch overlooking the beach of ceviche and beer. That night back in Trujillo, we wandered around the quaint little city and stumbled upon a John Lennon tribute band. Then we got onto another bus that would take us to Peru's capital, Lima, the next morning.

Day 64
Got to Lima around 10am feeling surprisingly very well rested. We checked into a hostal in the Miraflores district of the city, the new european-like part of town, and wandered around the area for the day stopping at cafes to sip coffee and people watch. That night we went to see the new Harry Potter movie and were bribed by the doorman of a restaurant with free drinks if we ate dinner there (actually a very common thing). It was an easy choice.

Day 65
Had plans of exploring the center of Lima where many historic sites are, unfortunately these plans were spolied due to bank robbers in that area with lots of guns, big guns. So our day turned out to be similar to the previous. This night turned into one of our most interesting and definitely memorable nights. We were serenated by a man who would only sing Mexican ballots and songs by America, because he said Peruvian songs were ugly. Then we went to Barranco, another district of Lima, where after walking into a bar, were immediately hustled on stage for an apple eating contest. Molly and her partner won the great prize of a bucket of beer. Kristin was then entered into the next competition, but wasnt as willing as the other young ladies were to, shall we say, get dirrty with her dance partner. Then, overwhelmed, we left that bar and were standing outside trying to figure out our next move when two men approached us. Unknowingly, we both chose the same tactic of pretending to not to understand a word of spanish, and that we were lovers. Though it may have not have been the fastest working tactic it was hilarious for us.

Day 66
Kristin got her yellow fever shot, again, but this time she has an international card to prove it, so that she can enter Bolivia. Leaving on a bus for Nazca in 1 hour.

Women, men who ride horses, and kids

Day 38
We woke up early after dancing into the wee hours of the night to bumping techno beats with flashing green lasers, only to get on the coldest bus ride ever to Bogota. In Bogota, we stayed at a quaint homely hostel where not only did we get hot showers, free breakfast, and free internet, but we were also  taken care of by the cleaning women, who was the closest resemblance to a mother figured we´d had since we left home.

Day 39
Today was a Sunday and we´d heard about a nearby flea market so we went on a mission to go find it. We never made it to the actual flea market we were looking for, but there were numerous other ones that we ran into to compensate. So we spent the day walking around, trying different foods, and denying merchants left and right, who were trying to sell us everything from used cell phone chargers, remote controls, tattered wigs, blenders, all the way to typewriters. After a day of walking, the cold Kristin had been fighting began to creep up on her, so we headed back towards the hostel to relax. Her cold was likely due to a disgusting hoodlum we were trapped with on the gondola in Medellin, who was hacking with his mouth open while trying to sell us a ring that he´d obviously stolen and polluted with germs. Needless to say, we took it easy for the rest of the day.

Day 40
Monday turned into quite the scavenger hunt for Massive Attack tickets. Our English friends from the Darien Gapster informed us of their arrival so we fetched them from their hostel in the morning and the rest of the day turned into a wild goose chase around Bogota. What we thought would be an hour and half round trip to a mall where we cold buy our tickets turned into an hour and a half one way trip across the city. Then on the way back, we learned a very important lesson. We were staying in the La Candaleria district, so without thinking the 5 of us jumped on a bus that said Candaleria and assumed that we´d be arriving safely back at our hostels in about 1.5 hours. However, after being on the bus for a good 2 hours and not recognizing anything around us, we decided to ask a fellow passenger if we were near our destination. We learned that we most definitely were not when the entire bus erupted in laughter and told us that we should get off immediately. After this experience we gave up on public transportation and hopped in a taxi that got us safely to our hostel in roughly 30 minutes. We spent that night gathered around a table telling our new friends what life is like in America.

Day 41
We woke up to the rainiest day we have ever experienced. We needed to take a quick trip to the store, when just to our luck, the sky opened up to torrential downpour and hail. In the 20 minutes we were outside, we managed to get more soaked then we´d ever been. Needless to say, that was our only trip out for the day. We did however get to know some of the people we were trapped in the hostel with.

Day 42

We decided to take a day trip to Zipaquira where we visited Colombia´s most impressive man-made wonder, an underground salt cathedral. It took about 2 hours by bus to get there and we stopped for a quick meal before entering the cathedral. During brunch, we were greeted by about 15 school children who thought that we were the bee’s knees and excitedly practiced their English with us.
We took a 2 hour tour of the underground salt mines where we learned there are 16,000 things you can do with the salt they extract, except eat it. Some highlights were mining salt, blowing dynamite, and most importantly wearing hard hats. SAFETY FIRST! At the Englishmen´s hostel that evening there was a free salsa class so they came and fetched us when it began. Obviously we were at the top of class, aside from our teacher who was probably the best dancer we´d ever seen in our entire lives. He honestly had the ability to shake his booty and move his hips faster than Shakira.

Day 43
We both weren´t feeling well and we had Massive Attack the next day so we took day relatively easy, though we can proudly say that we conquered the bus system! Our main event for the day was to go to the mall so that Kristin could find an outfit to wear for Massive Attack. The mission was a success, but other then that it was a pretty uneventful day.

Day 44

Anxiously awaiting the show to start!

We awoke on Friday ecstatic that the day had finally come for us to see Massive Attack in Bogota. During the afternoon we went to the Museo del Oro, a gold museum, that is known to have the largest collection of gold in South America. After touring it thoroughly, we went back to the hostel to get dressed and prepare ourselves for the night ahead of us. Once dressed, we hopped in a taxi, sat through a traffic jam worse then any one we´ve been in ever in LA, and after an emergency bathroom stop we made the taxi driver take, we eventually made it to the show and met up with our friends. The show was absolutely AMAZING and shockingly uncrowded!
Afterwards we recappedand wound down with our friends and then headed back to our hostel toget ready for a day of travel to day to San Agustin, a small little hippie village.

Day 45 through 47

San Agustin was beautiful though our hostel was rather unwelcoming. Here we took a ¨jeep¨ tour of the Parque Arqeologico, where we saw hundreds of tombs and statues and ate a delicious meal. After the tour
we prepared to depart the next day to Popayan



Day 48

Ewwwww.

We arrived in Popayan early in the afternoon to a very accomadating hostel in the historic district, aka ¨la ciudad blanca,¨ that provided us with a map of all the sites we could see within walking distance.On our walking tour we saw beautiful churches, viewpoints, and wound up at a museum with stuffed animals of every imaginable species. The most disturbing being beetles with horns as big as your face. As we left the museum we ran into a friend from Seattle that we´d met at a previous hostel and made plans to reunite in Quito. Popayan quickly became our favorite small town, though we weren´t sad to leave because one day was sufficient to see all and we were excited to be moving onto Ecuador.

Day 49

¡¡¡ECUADOR!!!

We left Popayan early to ensure that we´d be crossing the border with plenty of daylight hours remaining, because we´d been worried that this border would be troublesome. It turned out to be a breeze. Our only complication was when we couldn´t find the window where they would stamp us out of Colombia, but it turned out that it was because our taxi driver had already driven us across the border into Ecuador, so we just had to walk back across the bridge, and all was solved. We then hopped onto a 5 hour bus to Quito and arrived in the early evening with plans of going out that night. However, altitude sickness quickly became a problem, being that we were in the second highest capital in the world, and we wound up playing cards and going to bed early instead.

Day 50
Our first day in Quito we spent exploring the La Mariscal neighborhood, the neighborhood we´re staying in, and wondered down to an artesian market. We were pleased to find that not only did Ecuador have awesome things, they were also affordable. We kept spending to a minimum here though because we had plans to go to the biggest artesian market in South America the following day, in a city about 2 hours away called Otavalo.
Later that day we met up with some of Ned´s friends for coffee, and we found out they were taking off that night for a beach town called Canoa so we wouldn´t get a chance to hang out with them. But since they were heading towards the sunshine, so we made plans to meet them there. After weeks of rain we are ready for summer sunshine again!

Day 51
Today was a fabulous day! We went out to Otavalo early in the morning, although we were feeling under the weather and it took a lot of motivation to get out of bed, but it was absolutely 100% worth it. Not only was the market cheap, it had some of the coolest things we´d ever seen. We allowed ourselves to splurge a bit, but we ended up with some very very cool memorabilia, the most exciting being the most amazing
pair of overalls ever made.

Day 52
Rain struck Quito with a vengeance once again. Our plans of wandering around Old Town were shot so we spent the day huddled inside a coffee shop trying to stay warm and reading our books. We plan to leave Quito for Canoa tonight where we´re hoping for sunshine.

"Hey Dad, I´m in Colombia!"

Day 25-27

 Though Panama City was quoted as being the "Miami" of Central America, and though neither of us have been to Miami, we cant imagine that Will Smith would have written a song about it if it were anything like Panama City. The hostel, Lunas Castel, was really nice, we picked up more reading material, and got to see the Panama Canal, but other than that, it was uneventful. Public transportation was confusing, to say the least, and people stared at you blankly even when you were speaking perfectly understandable spanish. As a result we mistakenly took a hot, sweaty, icky, bus around the entire city, and though it was a nice tour, it turned out our intended destination was only 6 blocks from our hostel.

We knew we wouldnt be able to cross the boarder into Colombia overland so we made plans to take a boat. We needed to get to Portobelo because thats where our boat, the Darien Gapster, would be waiting for us. We had to take 2 buses to get there, the second of which was unbearably overcrowded, sweaty, moist, and theft-ridden (good thing our thefts were only after an ipod charger, a cell phone charger, and a headlamp). Portabelo was interesting as it used to be one of the richest cities in Panama and is now made up of beach side ruins.

Day 28
Our ocean adventure started that morning on a 20 passenger speed boat, with bench seating, and shade to protect us from the elements. We opted for this trip over the common 4 day sailing trip because this way would get a cultural experience by visiting many different islands in the San Blas chain. The first day at sea was the easiest with only an hour of travel to Nalunege. Here we got to interact with the island native, the Kunas. We played volleyball with the kids while the adults generously prepared our dinner. And spent the rest of the evening hanging out with our fellow travelers.

Staying warm in the ocean during the storm with new friends

Day 29
The second day at sea was a bit rougher leading to our new friend Lisa getting violently sea sick. But we eventually made it to Iguana, a practically deserted island populated by just a few fishermen. Here we lazed in the sun for a while until a pounding, terrential, thunderous storm rolled through. But dont worry, being the wilderness survivors that we are, we were able to erect our tent in under 90 seconds and were able to keep all of our stuff dry. Well almost all of it. That night was spent gathered around a camp fire with burning plastic and lobster spewage.


Day 30
We woke up in the morning to hear the other travelers complain about almost drowning in their tents during the night. Thank goodness for our perfectly awesome tent, because we stayed relatively dry. The last day at sea started out like the 2 previous days. We left from Iguana Island and docked at Piños for lunch. Piños was a beautiful completely deserted island but we didnt stay for long because we still had a couple hours on the boat before arriving to Colombia...so we thought. However, in 2 hours instead of being in Colombia we had docked at a beach that was supposedly 10 minutes from Colombia. We were told we were staying the night here but everyone on the boat opposed this idea as we were all anxious to arrive in Colombia. At that time we had no way of knowing that this would lead to a chain of events that would delay our arrival to Colombia by 4 hours. At around 5:00 we were rushed to leave the beach by our french-canadian captain, Marco, the worlds most interesting man who constantly had us in stitches. After getting on the boat we were told we had to back track to go get our passports checked by the "officials" farther north. We arrived there at 5:40 and were told that if they didnt have all 21 of our passports checked by 6 then we would have to stay at the broken down, water logged, military invaded city, that is Puerto Obalido. Needless to say none of us were thrilled about that idea, so we stood over the 2 men checking our passports with flashlights, encouraging them to hurry up. Luckily we made it by the hair of our chiny chin chins. (we learned in the end that they were just looking for a bribe and that we already had the stamps they were looking for) We finally pulled into Sapzuro, Colombia, exhausted, soaked, and coughing from the fumes of the boat around 7.

Day 31
First thing in the morning we had to offically get checked into Colombia and then we just hung out for the rest of the day because we couldnt catch a boat out of the area until 7:30 the next morning. That night we celebrated our friend Lisas birthday was the next day and we wouldnt be together the following evening to celebrate with them. Marco arranged for us to have a dance party on a small covered dock with a mini bar.

Turbo

Day 32
We had to wake up at 6am and a night full of drinking did not leave us feeling well. This day was full of punishment. It began with a 3 hour turbulent boat ride to Turbo, the most terrifying place in the world. Luckily we were with a small group who made the arrangments for us to get to Medellin from Turbo on one of the worst roads we have traveled. We got to Medellin halloween night, thought we would be able to rest up to celebrate, but ended up getting delivery and going to bed. Happy Halloween.






Day 33-37
We LOVE Medellin. Its our favorite place so far. It has everything, its beautiful, has the best public transportation complete with gondolas, and a great night life. Here we learned all about Pablo Escobar and his influence in Medellin and Colombia, actually the whole world. We mistakenly went to a museum that is made for 3rd graders to take field trips to where we learned about static electricity, and the 3 phases of matter. We saw amazing views of the city aboard the 2 gondola lines and visited the national park thats at the top of one of them. We also went to the largest mall in Colombia where we cursed ourselves for walking into a store where we fell in love with everything in it but couldnt justify buying anything. Tonight will be our last night here so we intend to go out with a real bang, though we will probably be cursing ourselves on the 8 hour bus to Bogota tomorrow morning.

WE LOVE YOU, GOOD NIGHT!

-Kristin and Molly

Muddy poop, mangroves, and a 17 mile hike

Day 19:
Woke up to disappointment when we found our catamaran trip was postponed. We later learned that a private party that consisted of one Colombian drug lord and his five Colombian hoes,who reportedly got completely naked on the boat, had chartered. So we had been pushed aside to the next day, (since we were paying student prices for a school that we weren't enrolled in...) but the weather was nicer for us anyway.

So we abrutly decided to catch a water taxi to Isla Bastimientos to go to the lush Wizard Beach. We were dropped off in what looked to be the slums of the small city on the island, and were told to simply walk along the trail and go to the right. So we went straight and on the trail to the left, which we immediately realized was wrong because it lead us to a graveyard. We were thankfully pointed in the right direction by a German couple, who were quick to laugh at our choice in shoes, sandals, and told us that the path we were on was known as the "flip flop graveyard". We soon discovered for our own that what they had meant by that was hot, moist, gooey, muddy, horse poopy path. About 30 minutes into what quickly turned into a barefoot trek we heard the German man calmly state from ahead, "Hey girls, watch out for that huge poisonous spider on the right." Upon hearing this we demanded that he point out exactly were the spider was and wait for us to pass unharmed.

We soon got to the beach where Annabelle and Molly got really sunburned. We relaxed for as long as possible, only to delay the dreadful excursion back, which after hours of agonizing, didn't seem to be as bad as we remembered. We ate one of the best meals we have had at an oceanside Caribbean cafe called Roots; a delicious jerk-ish chicken with coconut beans and rice, a salad, and french fries for only $4.

Day 20:
Woke up to the most beautiful day we had seen on the island, giddey as school girls and ready to partake on ocean adventure. We met our fascinating German captain while aboard the catamaran, which the 5 of us shared with 3 other people. Our captain had a very diverse selection of music to say the least. We heard everything from Belle and Sebastian, to Xavier Rudd, to Justin Timberlake, to P. Diddy, to Sting. (his playlists contributed to his lived persona along with the fact that he had sailed across the Atlantic at least 5 times)

The first stop on our boat was a snorkel spot at what is known to be the second largest coral reef. We then continued on to a mangrove filled bay that was polluted with dozens of dolphins. (A mangrove is a type of tree that has its roots in the ocean) We snorkeled once more and saw thousands of different kinds of coral which came in the most beautiful colors we had ever seen. Oh captain, our captain, then prepared sandwiches that we washed down with a cold refreshing beer. (for the first time Molly ate mustard, but don't assume her irrational phobia has deceased.) Needless to say, it was a perfect day!

Our foul mouthed dutch friend Nard, who we had met at Rocking J's, surprised us by being in our dorm when we returned. So we all went out for a celebratory dinner on a boat called Riptide that has a 24 hour happy hour 7 days a week. There we drank $3.50 pitchers and ate yucca fries. On our way home we stopped at a party hostel only to run into our other dear friend from Rocking J's, Pike. All around a great day!

Day 21:
Off to a slow start after a night of drinking, we finally gathered ourselves and decided to venture to Red Frog Beach, a National Park on Isla Bastimientos. We were sadly  informed later that this beautiful and pristine beach will soon be littered with villas and private condos. MUY MAL! But anyway, we swam in water that is clearer than a bathtub and strolled along sand that was softer than silk. Because we were still recovering from the night before, we played cards that night and came to terms with the fact that we would be separating from the group the next morning.

Day 22:
We bid farewell to Annabelle, Anna, Kristen, and Nard, stopped at a bakery to pick up turkey and ketchup sandwiches, and let it sink in that it would just be the 2 of us from here on out. In total it took us 1 boat and 2 buses and a total of 7 hours to get to our next destination, Boquete. The first bus was interesting as we saw a young girl carrying her pet cat in a plastic potato sack and a little boy vomiting right next to us. On the second bus we were stuck directly behind a 13 year old couple in love. Gross. Enough said. We finally made it to Nomba Hostel, a quiet adventure hostel and were surprised to see an Ofersures sticker on one of the doors (our brother's friend's band from Manhattan Beach). From our arrival we took it easy and preped for the 12 hour hike we decided to partake in.

Day 23/24:

Did nothing all day on the 23rd expect dread the Volcan Baru hike that we had already signed up and paid in full for. We were informed to bring a bottel of water, a raincoat, good walking shoes, and a snack. This hardly prepared us for the unknowingly 17 mile hike we were about to venture on. Luckily we had enough sense to bring some warm clothes, because we had read that temperatures can drop to near freezing on the summit.

We were picked up at 10pm by our 51 year old guide, Eduardo, where we took a taxi to the start of the hike. There was light drizzle and a nervous swagger to our step because we were terrified, and rightfully so. One of our logical first questions was "Que tipos de animales estan aqui?" to which he replied, pumas, jaguars, snakes, and raccoons, (but not the kind that steal your lunch) however assured us of our safety. Needless to say this exponentially increased our fear because we were already walking through the dark jungle. The "trial" was rocky, uneven, muddy, and inconsistent. Our uneasiness grew as we approached hour 2, and were still very low in altitude, and wondered what the hell we were thinking. Mind games began kicking in when we realized we still had 5 hours left uphill so we could see the sunrise while standing on the summit of Panama's only volcano...and then would STILL have to turn around and repeat the hike going downhill! At least at the top of the summit we were able to see both the Caribbean and Pacific oceans, though we would NEVER EVER do this again.

Around hour 10 going downhill, Eduardo informed us that jaguars attack and eat horses and cows, but not to worry because they don't like humans....we both made a mental note to take what he says with a grain of salt. Anyway, we made, barely, and now we actually cannot move. We are paralyzed from the waist down. But don't mom, we are hoping it will pass.

We are off to Panama City tomorrow and are currently residing in the a really, really purple hostel in David.

Ciao!

Well here it is.... as promised

Day 18 of our trip... sorry for the delay. There was excitment before we even left the airport. For starters, we saw Nick Lachey at LAX, though he was trying to keep a low prof, we were quick to recognize him. But more important then that, we almost couldn´t leave the airport due to not having an exit ticket, so we just charged it. Thank god it is was fully refundable, or we would´ve been home on Oct. 10th.

San Jose was alright, not our fav. But there were some pluses, like Sarah Anne Pringle was born the day after we arrived. She´s beautiful, happy, and very very small, oh and she giggles a lot. All and all San Jose is a big city, but we were ready to leave. Although we were told that we brought the sunshine with us, because the rainy season ended the day we arrived! Well kind of...

From there we took a bus to La Fortuna on day 3 of our trip. From here we took a tour that led us to a look out point for Volcan Arenal, and we hiked to a beautiful waterfall in the pouring rain, and then shivered to wait for lava, which unfortunately we never saw. But it was still wonderful. Here, we also found our favorite food place. A local soda (small family owned restaraunt) that gave huge portions of casado, basically rice, beans, meat, fried plantains, tortillas, and potatoes all for around 4 bucks!

On day 4 we were pointed towards a local swimming hole, there were waterfalls and a rope swing and not as crowded as the rock slides. And for the first time, we were able to convince Annabelle to jump off a rock over a waterfall (though she was holding Molly´s hand).

On day 5 we traveled to Tamarindo, or Tamagringo, as the locals call it. We stayed on the beach near crocidilles, which the hostel failed to mention to us. However, we eventually learned the safe place to swim and got to surf. The next day was Annabelle´s birthday, we met up with a guy we met on our La Fortuna volcano tour who asked us to join him and his father for a fresh tuna dinner, which they had caught fishing that morning and were having prepared at a local french restaraunt. It was awesome! and probably the best meal we´ll eat in the next few months.

From there we took a private shuttle to Jaco due to poor public transportation. In Jaco we got to live like queens for a few days because of the condo Kristin´s family has there. Though she has failed to take advantage of it, college reunion trip anyone? We took a bus to Manuel Antonio, a national park, where we were able to see a SLOTH, monkeys, and mean raccoons that stole our bananas. All and all our stay in Jaco was lazy.



Day 12, we returned to San Jose to check in on Sarah. Here we pitched our tent for the first time and fell in love with it. It´s perfect for us.

SLIP N SLIDE!

Day 13 we took a bus to Rockin J´s hostel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, it was our first time on the Caribbean side. This hostel is like a crazy zoo. No walls, around 200 hammocks, 2 stories of camping space, and the place is covered in mosaics and paintings. We pitched our tent for $4.50 a night here. On day 14 we saw a lightning storm that was spectacular, the lightning struck every ten seconds right over the ocean. We made 2 good friends here, a dutch and an australian, who taught us funny words, like kongazoid, which means cancer shit. A common swear word in Holland. We had the same breakfast everyday at a local soda, for $3 we got coffee, two eggs, gallo pinto (seasoned beans and rice), and a fried plantain or tortilla. Additionally we may add that we got to do slip in slide in the rain and it was AWESOME, though are bodies have been aching from it since!


Puerto Viejo was a favorite place thus far, but we were anxious to move onto Panama where the cost of living is less. Day 17 we crossed our first border, and what an exprience. The trip was relatively easy, but the bridge that we had to walk across connecting the two countries was super sketchy.

Once we got to the other side the shuttle driver tried to tell us that they were going to put our bags in another car that would meet us at our destination, but we immediately refused and said we´d sit on our bags if we had to. Luckily he just let us sit in the taxi that was carrying them. We took a boat to Isla Colon, one of the islands in the Bocas del Toro chain, it´s beautiful and we´re excited to see more!

Sorry for the laundry list of what has happened so far, we promise our future entries will be more entertaining, we just wanted to catch everyone up! Ciao!