Day 69, Cuidad Victoria to Nuevo Laredo

Woke up to rain and fog. Was not dense so off we went.


GPS wanted us to us a side road to go around Montery. Unfortunately we could not find our way through the town of Allende. GPS would send us down dirt roads, and dead end streets. Finally gave up and braved Monterry.




Border crossing at the west crossing at Columbia, Nuevo Laredo. Hurrah made it.
No signs at the crossing, like what to bring in or not. Had a really nice guard who looked for the customs people, could not find them. So he took what I declared and sent us on our way. We get to the highway after customs and very few signs. The toll road forward says they will not take cash just some kind of card, so we turn left to go around. Road turns from pavement to dirt at 20 miles! Ugg. We back track to the mail town of Laredo, Texas and stay at Motel 6. Our Adventure is over we hope now that we are in the states. Hopefully, Ermila will update the blogg with their route and adventures. Carol

Day 68, Emerald Coast to Cuidad Victoria

Drove up the coast, this is a picture along the river, at Tampico, Mx. Day went very smoothly, but we had one section of pot holey road. Stayed at Hotel Hacienda Escondida in Cuidad Victoria. Very expensive at 200 pesos, with showers that had seen better days. Grassy spot, with water and electricity. Carol

Day 67, Emerald Coast relaxing

Spent this day watching the sun rise, reading and relaxing. Would have swam in the pools but alittle cool at 70 degrees. Carol

Day 66,Lake Catemaco to Emerald Coast

Woke up to rain at Lake Catemaco, we headed out with clouds overhead. Did not get 18 miles and there was something blocking the two lane highway in a town. Waited for almost 45 minutes before traffic flowed again. Lots of topes along the road until we got to Vera Cruz and four lanes for a ways. Road good the rest of the way. Beautiful Sun Beach RV park has two swimming pools, too bad for some reason it is only 70 degrees out! We think that is cold after the 90's. If nice tomarrow may stay here another day, otherwise off to the next spot up the road. Carol

Day 65, Catemaco

Spent a restful day at the campground not far from the lake. Walked along the malecon, and saw lots of loncheras (pongas or boats). Lots of snowy igrets, some nesting in the trees along the malacon. Very clean nice area. Another camper is from Coos Bay, Oregon! They have been coming down here several years, and have been here for 2 months. Small world. On to the Emerald Coast tomarrow.

Missed our friends this morning, got used to seeing them every day! Carol

Day 64, Mexico from Comiton to Gulf of Mexico

This is Lago de Catemaco close to the Gulf of Mexico. Today was another long day. Started at 7:30 near the Guatemalan border and worked our way across Mexico to the Gulf side. Good road all the way. At 4 Pm Jerry and I went on to this lake to camp. Got there about 6pm. We will be following the coast road up to the US. Al and Ermila choose to take the interior route up the center to Puebla near Mexico City and go north to Monterrey, then to Nuevo Laredo.
Jerry and I will leave Catemaco, on Thrusday, after a day of rest. We will go around Vera Cruz and up the emerald coast to Tuxpan, up to Cuidad Victoria, Monterrey and out at the Coumbia crossing at Nuevo Laredo. May spend an extra day on the Emerald coast. Should cross either Saturday or Monday.
Almost forgot, after we turned off the freeway leaving Al and Ermilla, we sat on the exit ramp waiting for the toll booth gate to open for almost 30 minutes. It was broke!

I no longer have my writer, so she will have to catch up this blog later with their adventures! Carol

Day 63, Guatemala to Mexico

Long day again, reached close to 10,000 feet in elevation. Up and down across the mountains. Our brakes overheated and we ended up waiting over an hour for them to cool off. Took the route to the northern most crossing, as a travel guide said it was the one they used. Curves galore, but beautiful canyons. Not much up and down thank goodness.  Look what we found at the border town. Bad enough narrow streets but kids playing on them! We arrived about 3 in the afternoon for the border crossing. Latest we have done this, but took only 1.5 hours to get through both countries borders.
Traveled until around 5:30 or 6. Found a large town with a Walmart and spent the night there. Carol

Day 62, Guatemala, Lake Atitlan and Antigua

The upper picture is looking down on this lake, formed like Oregons Crater Lake. But in this case there is a way down to the water, and several cities down there. This is our  expensive camp site at a Hotel resort. Cost us $28/night for electricity and a long walk to get to the showers and bathrooms. The night before was about $25 for a hotel room, this was $28! Location, location, location!
Earlier in the day Jerry, Ermila, and myself went into Antigua. I wish we could have spent more time there. Very preaty colonial town. Picked up a necklace for a friend (Lynn) and did a little shopping.
Long day again. Carol

Day 61, Crossed from El Salvador to Guatemala

Tunnels in El Salvador.  Highway Central America 2 does not post highway signs as they should and we ended up on a highway in the mountains headed toward Capitol-San Jose, El Salvador
Finally stopped and asked for directions and we had missed the turn-off at the Y which was not posted. Apparently everyone is knowledgeable of their highway except the tourist. Finally returned to the correct road. After all the frustration, we finally made it to the border crossing. El Salvador Crossing was fairly easy but going into Guatemala was hectic. Too many border crossings in such a short time can make one go bonkers.
La Carreterra Hotel and Restaurant near Chiquimulila, Guatemala where we are staying the night. The area is nice and quiet by CA Highway 2. We are all exhausted after a day of more then 2 1/2 hours at the border. Trying to cross from El Salvador to Gautemala and all the paperwork required. Just unbelievable that we still need triple copies of all these forms and originals when we were already in the system when we crossed into Guatemala in January. Go Figure? Al says all these people need a job so everyone has to be given a copy of the forms as you go through each department. Ermila

Day 60, Crossed from Honduras to El Salvador

Stayed at Touricento Ichanmicen state park, out of Zacatecoluca, El Salvador. Jorge, Adminstrator was so very accommodating. He wanted to make sure we had electricity and water for the campers. Let us know that there was security throughout the park. We were charged $3.00 per person to stay at this park. Can't complain about the price and everyone was so nice. Probably every amazed at our rigs and the fact that it's been many years since they've seen Americans at their park. We were told that a group of Germans had been staying at the park in their rigs last month. The park rangers were surprised that we hadn't shipped our rigs to Central America like all the Europeans. We let them know we were driving home after driving all the way to the Panama Canal. Actually the El Salvadorans were the friendliest and nicest people. The border crossing was the easiest we've had in Central America. Ermila

Day 59, Nicaragua crossing into Honduras

Nacaome-v


Crossing into Honduras and stayed Nacaome Valle at Hotel Sunset. We stayed at a hotel with A/C which really made for nice sleeping since it was 95 degrees outside. Decided we needed laundry done and asked housekeeping if they'd do our laundry since we had arrived late afternoon. No problem. The laundry was done by hand and not by machine. Just makes us wonder how they got everything so clean including the white clothes. It was so hot out the clothes were hung on the clothesline expecting that they would dry by the morning. Were we surprised when we heard the burst of rain in the middle of night. Did it ever rain and on our almost dry clothes. Carol was awaken and went out to try and close vents and windows on the camper. We ended up staying till mid-morning so that our wet clothes could sun dry and try and get the bedding in camper dried off. We finally started out to get to the El Salvador Border Crossing. Ermila

Day 58, Crossed from Costa Rica to Nicaragua

Stayed We drove from Border Crossing at Penas Blancas, Costa Rica and tried to drive to our little favorite truck stop where we had stayed previously. We ended up in Tipitata middle of the community and the roads got more narrow and more people shopping as we continued through the town. Finally made it to the main highway and made a Right Turn when we should've made a Left Turn. We drove up into the mountains and ended up at Calabaza, Nicaragua to our surprise it was so nice and cool. What a wonderful evening to sit outside and have a few toddies to end the evening and be able to sleep without humidity and heat. We could've stayed a few more days but had to keep moving forward to our destination. Ermila

Day 57, Dominical to Canas, Costa Rica-Tenorio Adventures

Day 56, border crossing into Costa Rica

Crossed the border from Panama to Costa Rica today. Got propane/butane from the distributer. Turns out very few places fill bottles for motorhomes/campers. Two locations we could find in Panama and one in Costa Rica. All others are trade the bottles. So we got propane and headed for the border. Took maybe 30 minutes and we were out of Panama. Costa Rica took longer, but again that was because of Molly. She was our only expense, and cost $15 to get her back into Costa Rica. Our car permits went fast as our permits were just re opened. We now are back at Dominical, Costa Rica. Tomorrow we will get Jerrys pickup oil changed and head for Canas, Costa Rica. No internet for a few days. Should cross into Nicaragua day after that. Carol
Everybody is happy to see us return to some of our usual camping spots. One thing for sure has been trying to find campgrounds and some places will allow to stay but we have to dry camp. Seems most tourist are backpackers traveling on public transportation. People are amazed that we are self-contained and actually can live in our small abode. Although, at times, we just don't seem to have enough room for 2 people. Ermila

Day 55, Left Panama City to Las Lajas

We got up early Sunday to leave Panama City. Carnaval was still going on in parts of the city. Preaty quiet where we were in Balboa. We decided to make a break for it before those who left the city came back or went back to work. Carnaval is serious stuff in Panama, no school until Thrusday. Carnaval officially ends Wednsday at noon.
Unfortunately, the chairs and table we left out, to make people think we were there, were not there that morning. One of the chairs and a small table were gone. The next day Al notices his license plate is gone too! Guide books warn this happens.
Drove to the beach at Las Lajas, passed preparations for a Sunday night celebration. Beach was packed. We had been there the Sunday before, and the camping area was full of day use, but they emptied out at sundown. Today there were wall to wall people on the beach and some people in tents. Worked out that we got spots as some of the people left. Carol
  We haven't had a problem crossing Central America Border without a vehicle license plate. Only problem we think we'll have is when we get to US Border. Tried notifying A-DOT by e-mail and was told they'd get back to me in 7 to 10 days. What the heck, we have time before we get to US Border. Ermila

Day 54, Panama Canal Tour

Wow what a long day. Left at 6:30 from our campers, and returned at 9 PM! A couple from Australia said they started dreaming of the canal 7 years ago and started planning 9 months ago! I thought I would cry when we actual stepped upon the deck of the ship at 7:15am. It was a very
emotional moment. Met a lot of nice people. countries. 
Above is the Panama's Bridge of the Americas across the canal. One of the ships which will share our  first two locks is ahead of us.


This above is our ship before we sailed out of port. The sun was just rising over the Pacific ocean! Weird, but Panama canal goes north/south, so the bay can show the sun rising over the Pacific.

This is the other ship that entered with us. We were both behind the large ship, and this one pulled up along side of us. This ship was from Balboa, California. This is on Al's wish list of boats. The crew had been traveling and fishing on the Pacific and were on their way to San Marteen in the Carribe. Nice way to travel as long as you don't have bad weather.


This is the ship that was going under the bridge, and now is in the locks ahead of us, waiting for us to get into position so the lock doors can close and fill it with water. An water elevator. Look how close it is to the sides, it was this way on both sides. They are in the process of building aditional locks to  acomadate larger ships.We did this 3 times to get through the first locks coming from Panama city on the Pacific Ocean. The next set a short distance away, across a small lake, with locks again to raise us up to lake level of around 200 feet. I did not realize it before, but this September the canal will be 100 years old. Wow!
After cruising many miles across the lake (whole distance from sea to sea only about 50 miles), we went into the locks at the carribean that lowered us to sea level. Then we had a sunset  cruise into the city of Colon. Which after the railroad tour, Jerry refuses ever to see again. This time we were in the safety of our bus, and were ushered through Colon in the dark. One road was blocked by the Carnaval so we detoured and head back to Panama City. Took about an hour back. Carol

Day 53, Panama City beginning of Carnaval

Today we are just hanging around. Jerry and Al are going to go with a Taxi to get the oil changed and the valve stem fixed on a tire. Carnaval starts today and goes until Monday or Tuesday. Tomarrow we travel the canal on a tour boat. Carol

Day 52, Panama City to Colon on Railroad

Spanish Fort about 30 km outside Colon. Colon was the dirtest city we have ever seen. Kinda scary too! Rode the train to Colon and took the air conditioned bus back to Panama city. Carol

View of carribean ocean at Spanish Fort. Took us an hour by train to go from the Pacific to Carribean ocean.  Carol

Day 51, Balboa Yacht Club, Panama City, Panama

Cannot believe it, we made it! Tomarrow we ride the railroad to Colon along the canal. Friday maybe go downtown for Carnival, like New Orleans. Saturday is our canal trip.

Day 50, Las Lagas to Santa Clara beach

This is the worst road we have found so far, there where some holes that a volkswagon would have disapeared in. So cracked and rough we could not believe it. Pan American Highway in all its glory. Carol
Beach at Santa Clara, guard locked us in that night and promised to be back at 6am. As it got dark, a guy came by missing his wallet from that afternoon. Then awhile later in the dark, another guy wanted us to open the gate for his cattle! We could not, no key. The next morning no guard! We waited until 8:30 before he came along. Next time no money until the next morning if they are locking the gate! Carol

Day 48,& 49 Las Lagas, Panama

Beautiful beach!

It's a rough life!

Day 47 Boquette

Campsite at Pension Togas front yard. Carol









v

Day46, Neily to Boquette, Panama

WE MADE IT TO PANAMA ALIVE!  This picture is on way to Boquete, Volcan Baru, about 1 hour after border crossing.
Easy border crossing for the people, maybe 30 minutes, for the dog a full two hours. Guide didn't seem to know which step went first, so some office backtracking. Three offices and a bank and the officials in parting told us Molly was now not US, but a Panamanian! Cost $130 to the bank, $6 to Quarantine, $10 for the actual Aduana(customs)and Veterinarian. The last "doctor" actual looked at her and completed a form also. Now in Boquete. Carol

Day 45, at Nealy in Hotel

Drove to near Panama border today. Going to get up early to cross the border into Panama. Wish us luck, it is supposed to be the hardest crossing yet. We are trying to beat the heat by going early. Has been between 90 and 100 degrees for Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Carol
Al's picture of the Crocodile from OSA penensula, evening before we left our host at Puerto Jimenez took us out just after sunset to show these "pets" to us. Carol

Day 44, Sightseeing in the Jungle

Took a tour of the jungle and saw Blue Morph Butterfly's, several birds, a sloth, and these little guys!
Great day. Carol

Day 43, Penensula Osa

The guys are off in a Lunchera ( ponga or small boat) fishing today. We are close to the world famous Crocodile Bay fishing excursions. Something like $10,000 per person to fish for a few days. Crazy!
Ermila and I walked up town to drop off laundry, and to look for a place to fill our propane bottles. Turns out that they only exchange around here, and the nearest plant to fill is in the middle of the country near San Jose. I knew there was one there, but must have missed that that was it. Should have gone out of our way for it. Al and Ermela had a back up, and are on it, but I talked Jerry out of bringing the little 2 gallon tank. Woops! We are on electric right now, so the problem is delayed awhile.
I was thinking last night we have had the most interesting noises at our campsites (not to be mistaken with campgrounds). Last night we had airplanes until like 7pm, we are at the end of a runway near the beach. This morning the Macaws are arguing like an old couples. They are in the trees everywhere.
Before this we had Mexican music until  2am, trucks crossing the highway bridge with a bang, barking dogs at one spot, Roosters that don't know its' 2:30AM, and Howler monkeys that sound like a scary jungle movie! Just  a little of everything, tis a miracle we have gotten much sleep.  Carol

Day 42, Found Pto Juamenez on OSA Penensula

Crockodile Bay, expensive fishing outfit. We are camped behind Restaurant Delfines.
Good road from Cocos to here. Carol

Day 41, Canas to Dominical, Costa Rica

Found a great site at the near the beach, El Coco Restaurant & Bar. Carol

Day 40, Trip to Arenal Volcano Tram & Butterfly's, Costa Rica

We left Canas with Norberto our driver, of Tenorio Adventure and Tenorio Adventure Zone Restaruant. We drove around Arenal Lake and it took 2 hours to arrive. Our driver gave us detail about all the thermo/wind/electricity generation for all this area. This is a very clean tropical area. We climbed to the top of the volcano and took the sky tram to the top. Our tour guide, Miguel, was very knowledgeable regarding the rain forest and plant life of this area. We truly enjoyed watching all those young crazy people take the zip (canopy) line all the way to the bottom. Although, they do give lessons and a practice platform where individuals who decided not pursue the outcome  of the total zip experience can change their mind, and some rode down with us on the tram. We're thinking how can you enjoy such an adventure when you're screaming your lungs out with your eyes shut! Ermila

Day 39, Hostel to Canas, Costa Rica

Volcanos in distance on way to Canas. We drove to Jojoba Beach which was very beautiful. There was only a few people on the playa. The sand was white and beach very inviting. Prior to arriving at this point we passed the Jojoba Police Station and we were stopped. The police very kindly asked me if we were smokers since they've had fires in the past. He kindly asked if we participated in drug use. I said of course not but we do like our beer. He stated then he wouldn't mind joining us on the beach since that's his favorite drink. Costa Rica does not have a military presence but the federal, state and municipal police are very alert to surroundings and transporting of illicit drugs from the southern countries to the northern countries. We told him we didn't mind his searching our vehilces since we had nothing to hide. He was very pleasant and told us to enjoy ourselves and he hoped we enjoyed all of Costa Rica because it's a beautiful country. Ermila

Day 38, Border crosing into Costa Rica to somewhere East of La Cruz

Fording a creek after discovering no dogs at Santa Rosa National park. We finally wandered onto a Hostel about 5pm who would let us camp. Short walk down to the beach. Too tired to check it out. Took from 10:30 am to 2 pm to get out of Nicaragua and into Costa Rica. Dog was easy this time, one stamp did it. Took 30 minutes last time. Very hot, in the 90 degree range all day. Very disappointed we could not camp at the beach with the dog in the park. Jerry said it was not that nice anyway! So there. Carol

Day 37,San Juan de Sur, Nicaragua

Sunset over cruise ship at San Juan de Sur.  Spent the day trying to find the crew filming "Survivor Nicaragua". Evidently they film near Hermosa beach south of San Juan de Sur. Took pictures of the hotel and beach. Never know, maybe we will some scene from there. Carol

Day 36, Diriamba to San Juan de Sur, Nicaragua

Left La Maquina Campground with the waterfalls this morning and drove 10 miles to the ocean. The local market was filled up with fish and the beach full of fishermen unloading the night time catch. Found these oxen unattended at the fishing village. The stick must hold them in place! We then drove onward, with a continuous wind from the east toward the ocean. Decided a ferry ride was out of the question with the wind. Drove on to San Juan de Sur. Road was really bad to the campgrounds, so we found a Hotel that had room for our rigs. Hotel El Pacifico, owned by Clemens Gormaner of Germany. Carol
  We had the campground to ourselves since we were there during the week. It was so very quiet except for the wind and the wild animals cooing at night. The stars were out and couldn't believe it but we splent in so got a late start but we were only driving a few miles further south. It was a very pleasant evening. Ermila

Day 35, San Benito to Diriamba, Nicaragua

La Maquina Waterfalls close to La Boquete, Nicaragua. The park was very well laid out and we were the only campers. We had a nice evening and splent with windows and doors open. We felt very secure since there is a security guard present. Ermila

Day 34, Danli, Honduras to San Benito, Nicaragua

Spent the night at another gas station in Danli, Honduras close to the border. The border took the longest and was noisey. The dog's paper work took 30-40 minutes. Dozens of steps to go through. Took about 3 hours to cross.
This was a small town in Nicagrua that had a parade, or rodeo,  with many small children on horses. They were so cute! Carol
  The community of Danli was very progessive. We found a Pizza Hut and Americano Espresso just like being at Starbucks. The children all attend school for 5 1/2 days so Saturday morning they're off to school. This is the Honduran System and none of the children complain. Ermila

Day 33, Lago de Yojoa to Danli, Honduras

We left D & D Brewery at Lago de Yojoa to Danli. We climbed to 4800' and were in the pines. Although it the road was windy but it we ran into fog and then rain. A beautiful drive but we at least drove by the outskirts of the Honduran capitol and made it to Danli. The drive was nice but the drivers are something else in this country. Ermila

Day 32, still at Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

Jerry and I joined a couple from Vancouver Island, Canada to go to Pulhapanzak Cascadas (waterfalls). Nice couple, retired Banker (wife) and retired Milwright. Just like Jerry! We hailed a cab and it took us to the falls. Very preaty area. Did not swim, seemed cool at 10am. On the way back we caught a small bus and it let us off in town "El Blanco" to the super mercado! We split up then to do various things. I bought a skirt in hopes it would be cooler. Staying around 80-86, with low of 67 degrees in Honduras. Even up high was warm, not as much humity, like 66 percent rather than88-95 percent. Probably could use the swim now that it is almost 3pm.
Al and Ermila still recovering from colds. Jerry and I still recovering from the crazy drivers! Carol

DAy 31, D&D Brewery at Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

One of the best little hidden places at Lago de Yojoa near Pena Blanca, Honduras. It's owned by Mr. Bobby of Virginia. He makes the best beer and you can just sit under the shaded patio area with beautiful surroundings of great vegetation which keeps the temperature very cool. There is soft music playing all day and birds chirping in the background. Just wants to keep you here for at least another week. The food is great and the staff so very nice. Ermila

Walking bridge near where we are staying at the brewery. Carol
  We really enjoyed D & D Brewery. Mr. Bobby and Staff were  the best. The brewery parking area is set at street level then you walk down about 15 feet from the parking area to the restaurant, lodge and swimming pool. The foilage and beautiful plants make the area so much cooler during the day. It rained on us and yet you could hardly feel the raindrops because of all the foilage which was just pristine. They had the best beer and since they allow you to run a tab until check-out you never realize how much you've spent until you're ready to leave. Yikes! We didn't think we could drink that much beer and mix drinks. Ermila

Day 30, Copan Ruins to Lago de Yojoa, Honduras

 Here's Al fewing the staircase to the top of the pyramid & decided it's way too high to even try and climb it. We enjoyed our tour of the Mayan Ruins and pyramids which is rather amazing that they are still standing after an earthquake and bad weather. Makes you wonder how these bricks were placed and no mortar between them and yet still standing after all these years. Ermila

Day 29 Crossing into Honduras, Copan Campsite

Macaws at Copan Ruins. We toured the Copan Ruins and saw plenty of Macaws who love the attention and entertained us. Prior to arrival at Copan Ruins we went through grueling day of crossing from Guatemala to Honduras. Although there is CA-4 countries, which include, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. It was suppose to be smooth sailing except everybody needs double & triple copies of everything. We were told that everything would go smoothly & only be there a few minutes except... 2 1/2 hours later....luckly we arrived early a.m. and got out of there before they closed for lunch because everything shuts down at noon. Just a note per Carol, Ms Molly favorite dog cost more to get into the country then it did us. Ermila

Day 28, Rio Dulce to near Honduras

Yes there are MacDonalds in Guatemala!

• Who can tell me what is missing on this camper?
• 
  Two sides look different don't they? Everyone is fine and no one is in jail. More later on how this happened. Too tired tonight. Carol
•  

Day 27, Sunday Superbowl, Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Here we are relaxing, and waiting to watch the Superbowl in the Mar Marina bar. We had a really nice time except the Super Bowl was in Spanish which was not a problem for us as we were concentrating on the game and drinking plenty of beer with really good food. Surprising there were quite a few people in the bar watching the game from other countries who understood the game because they watch soccer. They do enjoy American Football as they call it because the ball players are so big and can run so fast.

Lessons learned so far

1. I can stay in a 8' camper and not kill my husband. Thank God for outdoor chairs!
2. Nice cosy carpet gets very dirty from wet ground. Especially carpet that was carefully installed underneath everything!
3. I over packed clothes. So far only used long pants to avoid mosquito's. The lightweight pants I bought at the last minute in San Felipe, are invaluable! But Jerry and I only needed two pairs of jeans not 4. Windbreaker has been invaluable. But not our hooded sweatshirts. I really needed those light weight pedal pushers I left home, have not used the jean pedal pushers at all. Glad I brought the light weight dress, but only have wore it once. Bought a skirt, that works well in the heat.
4.Had no problem with ants until here at Rio Duice. I managed to stand in ant pile, and get bit, first hour of being here. Now they are in the plastic bag I put my box sugar in the raw in! Insect repellent works on ants!
5.Maybe I will kill my husband, he keeps interrupting me and talking while I type this!
6.If you have a tall camper, stay away from objects that will damage it.
7. When driving one person looks close in (the driver) for topes and holes, the other looks way ahead. And pull over if you need to read those signs.
8. No one has the right away here in these countries, just push in and politely move over if three cars are passing. No one here gets too concerned about that, or people/bicycles/horses/taxis on road.
9. Taxis are wonderful. Stop in a gas station, find a taxi. Research where you want to camp, come back and get your vehicle. Narrow streets are not a place to try and find camping, and that way if there are several options you can decide which you like.
10. Use a plastic pan in your sink and toss the dishwater on the plants. That way your holding tank does not fill up.
11. Don't put a what you think is a not very hot frying pan on edge in the plastic pan you do your dishes in. Makes a nice hole!
12. Probably brought too much insect repellent. 10 cans maybe was too much.
13. Pencils with erasers and small paper tablets have been useful to give out to children.
14. Speed bump signs may be labeled, maybe not, may have paint, maybe not, may really be there when signed, maybe not. They are called viparos, reductors, topes, speed bumps and tumulos.
15. Hot showers, is something camping places say, but rarely exist. We have have hot showers here, but prior to this maybe twice. Cold is standard. My water purifier pitcher with a tea pot of hot water will mix for warm water for the shower. Jerry does not do this, he is tough!
16. Camping is very primative. Still costs. Hookups are what we figure will work.
17. Hand, battery operated fan with sprayer the best cooler.
18. The fantastic fan in our camper we installed is wonderful when we have electric, and we should have put the solar panel on the top of the camper.
19. Did not need the sleeping bag but two nights, and in the way after that.


Carol

Day 26, Rio Dulce river tour to Livingston, Guatemala

Small children in dugouts approaching our boat on the Rio Duice, Guatemala.

 

Spanish fort San Felipe on Lake.

We had decided to go on a tour, but turned out on 3 of us went as Al has come down with a cold. Spent a great day on a tour in a small lonchera(ponga). Saw lots of children and people living along the river. We floated by the old spanish fort from the 1500's. The Spanish were trying to protect the gold they were stealling from South America from the pirates. Very peaceful. Not just poor people, rich people had houses along the river. Lots of gringo's sail boats tucked into the side vegetation, with small docks alongside. Pelicans on tree limbs, no beach or shore or rocks to land on. White snowy egrants seating on nests on islands. Went all the way to Livingston on the Carriabean. Within a short distance was Belize, and Honduras along the coast. Ate lunch at a local place, about half way back at Agua Caliente. There were people off a board walk in the river in really warm water swiming. I and Ermila had a 8" fish with head and tail still attached. Very flat fish, tasted really good. Jerry ended up with a seafood coconut soup by accident. It tasted really good. They call soups "creama" not "sopa". We thought it was the sauce for on the fish. Then Jerry and I went to dinner at Backpackers paradise. A restaurant almost under the bridge, and set up over the water. Watched the boats go by, so peaceful and beautiful. Lots of gringos here living on their boats, even here at the Mar Marina Yacht club where we are camping. Mostly boat storage, nice restaurant and bar. They even have movie night, in English. Carol