Old Fashioned Reflection (Posted 2/8/15)

Just got back from our latest sojourn - to Nicaragua - and decided it's time to do a blog post.  We've been back for almost two days, and news of the trip is already too old to be a subject for my first Tweet or Instagram post.  And while I did ponder posting a few pictures to Facebook during the trip, the thought of responding to comments and likes (or dwelling on the lack thereof) wasn't all that appealing to me at the time.  So it's the old fashioned blog - where I get to reflect on the trip as a whole.  

This time, for our annual vacation we sought out sunshine, warmth and new experiences in Central America.  Or, more accurately, I dragged my reluctant husband to a hot and humid climate where he knew he wasn't going to like the food.  True enough, but  like all of our travels, it was a great experience - interesting and fun, while at times also challenging and troubling. The trip was loosely planned, starting and ending in Costa Rica, with most time spent in Nicaragua.  Actually, it began with a night stopover in Houston and an early evening outing to Stetson's Nightlife, where we got to sip Lone Star beer, listen to live country music and watch couples spin around the dance floor.  The next day we landed in Liberia, Costa Rica and the day after that made our way up to San Juan Del Sur on Nicaragua's Pacific Coast.  We spent three days in SJDS, walking the beach, renting a scooter to check out the nearby scenery, and watching sunsets.  We also did a zip line canopy tour, something I've been wanting to try for a long time.  Fun!

San Juan Del Sur at sunset

Matthias on the Zipline

While we generally enjoyed relaxing and sipping ice-cold beer (way too cold for Matthias, but fine by me) on the beach, I was generally disappointed, and Matthias' low expectations were realized, by the food. SJDS is a tourist town, and the beachfront restaurants did have a lot of delicious ceviche  and fresh seafood on offer.  But beyond the ceviche, most fish dishes were fried or seafood was mixed with rice in a sauce that wasn't quite right.  Matthias is also no great fan of rice and beans (pico de gallo) and even I had to admit that the versions served were pretty tasteless. "Can't they at least add some pork or spices?" complained Matthias.  And our hotel, perched on a hill with a lovely view, did not have air conditioning or hot water, something Matthias made me promise to rectify at our next stop - Granada.

Granada

Granada was also quite touristy, but the "local flavor" started to improve.  Granada had a real market, where we found some beef stew that was pretty tasty as well as a traditional dish - Vigarón - with a variation (Choncha con Yuca) that we liked.  It consisted of yucca covered with a tart cabbage salad, topped with chicharones (Vigarón) or pieces of pork (Choncha).  Even though we're not big fans of Chicharón (fried pork skin), and the Choncha (pork pieces) were also deep-fried, we found the cabbage salad and yucca combo to be delish.  Aside from the food, we enjoyed a boat tour on Lake Nicaragua around Las Isletas - more than 300 small volcanic islands, most of which are privately owned.  We were psyched to see some monkeys up close, but then somewhat disappointed that they were brought to one of the islands and fed by tour boat operators for tourists' benefit.  Still, the tour was nice, Granada was quite beautiful and fun, and the next day's excursion to Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua's smaller, less dramatic version of Crater Lake (where we saw some monkeys actually living in the trees) was fun and relaxing.

Monkey (marooned) on la Isleta

At Laguna de Apoyo

Our next stop was Leon, which I liked even more than Granada.  It was less touristy and seemed more sophisticated.  We even had a tasty meal at the market for lunch.  But it was HOT and sticky, and Matthias was starting to feel under the weather. So, instead of making the trip to Las Peñitas, a beachfront community that was highly recommended, we decided to head up to the mountains where it would be cooler.  And it was.  We visited Estelí, Jinotega and Matagalpa - all of which I really loved.  The problem here was that Matthias got sick - a fever followed by intestinal problems - that limited his ability to be very far from the hotel rooms.  He was all but out of commission for about five days (fortunately, though, he was able to make it out for beer and dinner each evening).

Cathedral in Leon

Cemetery in Jinotega - a town surrounded by mountains

View of Matagalpa from our hotel

A quick note about traveling through the country.  A real highlight for me was riding the buses.  Most really were old US school buses which were fine with me (my feet reached the floor!).  They were often packed, but that didn't stop hoards of people from jumping on at major stops to sell food and drinks and even hawk the latest miracle cremes and elixirs.  All this, and loud music, too.  Quite festive!  Unfortunately, the beautiful scenery was often marred by the garbage lining the side of the road.  We cringed as most people on the bus simply threw their trash (mostly wrappers and bottles from the meals they just purchased) right out the window.  

Our bus to Jinotega

Our final stop in Nicaragua was the Rio San Juan at the southwest corner of Lake Nicaragua.  The town of San Carlos was once again hot and steamy, but also quite beautiful with a cool breeze in the evening.  We took a trip up the historic and beautiful Rio San Juan to El Castillo, a village only accessible by boat, where a fortress was strategically placed to thwart the advance of pirates and other invaders on Lake Nicaragua.  Matthias actually had his best meal (a whole fish, not fried!) at our little hotel restaurant overlooking the river rapids.  

One of the views of Lake Nicaragua in San Carlos

View of El Castillo and the Rio San Juan

Sunset over Lake Nicaragua

We spent the final days of the trip making our way back to Costa Rica, which involved another boat ride down the Rio Frio (misleading name, for sure) as part of the border crossing.   Emerging in Costa Rica, we were struck by how much more developed and modern it seemed.  The food was better (yes, they seemed to put pork and seasonings in their pico de gallo!), the markets were cleaner (with refrigeration!) and the bus rides were smoother.  The ride down from the border to Alajuela, where we spent the last two nights was stunning. 

And that's the trip in a nutshell.  The full photo album is here, with pictures and comments.   

I'll admit, it's kind of a pain to write the blog after (or during) a trip, but I do love being able to go back and read some from the past, as I did today (namely, Breaking Away (2009), Potti Mouth (2008) and Chinese Red Light (2007).  Hopefully, that keeps me motivated to keep going!

Here We Go Again (Posted 8/5/15)

I can't believe it, but in just about a week we'll be leaving Portland on another adventure. It's even harder to believe we've been here for almost four and a half years. Portland has been nothing short of fantastic. I feel like we've been let in on the secret the great Pacific Northwest – though it may not be such a well-kept secret anymore. At least we're following the unwritten rule: come and enjoy Portland, but don't forget to leave!

Looking back on our stay, I think we became more Portland-y than we could have imagined. Bike commuting, composting, craft beer, camping, light rail, and even a pick-up truck became part of our lives. While I cycled over all ten city bridges, Matthias baked bread, made his own sausage and cheese, smoked fish and ribs and grew roses. Although we resisted getting tattoos and Matthias hasn't grown a beard, we are leaving with a sizable amount of fleece, Columbia sportswear and a few pairs of Keens. Most importantly, we met amazing people and made friends for life living and working here. I can't say enough about how terrific it's been working at Virginia Garcia – the people and the wonderful work they do. I will miss them, A LOT!

So it's time to dust off the blog and start chronicling our next adventure. We're going to start by touring the USA, something we've wanted to do since we got a taste of it driving out here in 2011. We'll meet up with Matthias' parents in Seattle and travel with them for about a week and then set off across the country, ending in Florida for my mom's 75^th birthday bash. After that, we're off on a quick trip to Germany and then Southeast Asia for the winter. We're planning another US tour for next summer, but anyone who knows us knows that it's all subject to change. Stay tuned and hope to see you on the road!

Out of the Frying Pan (Posted 9/10/15)

We left Portland almost a month ago and we've only made it to Idaho. We started off by heading up to central Washington and then over to Seattle to meet Matthias' parents. We spent just over a week with them around the Puget Sound, Olympic Peninsula and back to Portland. Some stressful moments but a good visit overall. Now we're on our own with about two months to get to Florida.

Family Photo in Olympic NP

Matthias and his dad in Anacortes

 We took a bit of a detour, opting not to go to Glacier National Park because of the fires. We probably could have made it, but when I called one of the campsites where we wanted to stay and asked about the fires, the response was “well, there's smoke and high winds today – try calling again tomorrow. But don't worry about finding a place, there's plenty.” That, plus a town in Montana near one of the other campsites I wanted to stop at was being evacuated. Not sure we made the right decision, but here we are.

Instead, we headed toward the Wallowa mountains, stopping at a nice site outside La Grande where we caught our first glimpse of wildlife (Elk!) and took care of laundry, propane, etc. Our next stop was Wallawa Lake, which was nice and then along the Wallowa Scenic Loop to a national forest campsite recommended by the welcome center guy in Joseph, Oregon. Next day, our second wildlife encounter and huge highlight on the Indian Crossing trail – spawning salmon at blue hole! The hike was great, too, and we were the only ones on the trail, even though it was the Friday before Labor Day. Even the ranger we met afterward at the trailhead was surprised. I said maybe people didn't want to camp if they couldn't have a fire (campfires were banned so we didn't get to have one yet) but she replied that as of the night before, fires were permitted in established campsites. Of course, we raced back to our campsite, gathered wood and started a fire. And then, as if on cue, it started to rain. Well, I sat by the fire and cooked my spud in it anyway, dammit!

By the Blue Hole in the Wallowa Mtns - think this will be my new FB photo!

Next day, we set off for Idaho, and even though it was Labor Day weekend, we hoped the campsites would be available there as well. We checked a couple up in the mountains in the Boise National Forest but they were full. Fortunately, the host of one of them told us about a nearby airstrip where we could camp for free (toilet and drinking water, but no campfire allowed). We were the only ones there!

On our morning hike at Warm Springs, Idaho

“We flew up to do some fishing”

The next morning, after a lovely hike, we came back to the airstrip to see that a small plane had landed. A woman and small child were sitting by the plane – her partner had gone down to the river to fish. In the afternoon, we walked down to the nearby campsite and hot spring, where I took a dip (along with lots of others – it being the holiday weekend) and then back to the campsite in time to watch the plane take off. Fab!

Take-off

We spent Labor Day (and our anniversary) at a riverside campsite in the Sawtooth Mountain recreation area where we could have a fire, and relaxed a bit before crossing the rest of Idaho, which we are doing now. Another night in Idaho and then on to Jackson, Wyoming!

Link to next post - Lost in America

Lost (and Found) in America (Posted 9/30/15)

We're driving across the middle of Montana. Big open sky that makes you feel small – in a good way.  

Feeling small under the big sky at Hungry Horse

For the recap:

From Idaho, we crossed the continental divide and descended into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We had a beautiful campground on Lower Slide Lake in the national forest outside Grand Teton NP. Stayed there a few days while we took care of business in town (laundry, etc.) and visited the national park. Then we drove through Grand Teton NP to another remote campsite (had to cross a small brook to get there) right outside Yellowstone NP. Spent a couple of days there visiting the park and then emerged on the north side in Montana. We then decided that Glacier country would be worth a visit after all, and headed a few hundred miles further north. It was! Stayed over a week at a national forest campsite on Hungry Horse Reservoir. From there, we visited Flathead Lake, Whitefish and Kallispell, and the west side of Glacier NP. Meanwhile, Matthias caught a fish and we found mushrooms – both were delicious! And Matthias was also delighted to find enough firewood to make big fires for us each night.

Grand Teton from the road to our campsite

When in Montana...

Leaving Hungry Horse, we headed over the Marias Pass (the Contential Divide once again) to the Glacier NP campsite at Two Medicine Lake. Being the end of the season, it wasn't too crowded, so it was a great base for exploring the east side of the park, and visiting the Blackfeet Reservation.

Two Medicine, Glacier NP

Blackfeet Reservation

Lost:

We are enjoying life in the travel trailer – it's really not roughing it at all – with all the conveniences of a heater, stove, fridge, bathroom and a comfy bed. But I am literally (make that figuratively) LOST without internet connectivity! Okay, I suppose it's a good exercise trying to live without it (sort of like that crazy month I gave up alcohol), but it is seriously annoying. We do get wifi when we're in towns or doing laundry, but by that time I've got so much on my list (bills, travel planning, backing up photos, etc.) that I don't get to do the fun stuff. Luckily, I can download email to read later – but who's using email anymore? And what am I missing on Facebook and Instagram?? Who's changed their status to engaged, married or single, had a birthday or changed their profile photo?? Who's had a delicious-looking meal and whose kid did something cute? I may not post (hardly ever) or “like” things too much – but I was always looking! I can't even post a photo on Instagram without updating the app (and I never have the time with my brief wifi encounters). Note to my two or three followers – please forgive me! On the bright side, I haven't heard or read anything about the presidential campaign in over two weeks. Is what's-his-name still running? Ha, ha – I don't care!

New use for old lunch bag - Mushrooms!

Found:

Nature! So far we've seen whales, salmon, deer, elk, pronghorns, bison (galore), mountain goats and MOOSE! Matthias is still seeking the elusive bear, and though one of our campsite hosts showed pictures of a black bear that came through our campsite while we were there, we haven't witnessed any.

Campsite visitor

Country Music! Even though we have a Sirius radio trial that's great when there's no local signal, I'm so enjoying discovering country music on the local radio stations. Songs have super-fun topics like being drunk on a plane or how money ca
n't buy everything (but it can buy me a boat)! And the songs are seriously catchy and have me singing along in the car (poor Matthias)!

View from the trailer at sunrise

The Wire!! One of the best shows EVER! I've got through season four (please tell me there's at least another or two!) and have been watching one episode or so a night. Everyone needs to see this, and soon – the tech is dated as the series is more than ten years old – but the drama is timeless.

Late-breaking wifi-enabled update:  We just stopped in Buffalo, Wyoming for our night out. I had my sights on Sheridan, because Linda and I stopped there many years ago as there was a free campsite in the middle of town. Well, the free campsite is no more, so Matthias and I headed down the highway a few more miles, found a campsite in Buffalo (not free) and headed out for our very belated anniversary outing (way overdue – we haven't been out since we left Portland!) And we weren't disappointed. Spoke with locals, heard some down home jams, and ate decent food. Sweet.

Bank of Buffalo

Occidental Hotel and Saloon 

And now I'm enjoying wifi at our campsite. Now I've got to read a month's worth of Facebook feeds (by the way – the radio just reported, or made fun of, the fact that FB was down the other day. Ha!!)

What's the Matter with Kansas (Posted 10/30/15)

We're driving through Arkansas now on the way to Memphis. Feels like it's been a long time since the last post in Wyoming, so it seems time for an update. Leaving Wyoming we headed to the Black Hills of South Dakota. After visiting Devils Tower, Deadwood (Wild Bill Hickok's grave, etc.) and the surrounding area, we veered off into North Dakota. We spent a few days in the N. Dakota badlands at Teddy Roosevelt National Park, where we stayed at a pretty state park campground with the best-looking horse camp we've ever seen. We then drove to Bismarck to see the town named after the first German chancellor, which was originally settled by many German immigrants. That also gave us the chance to visit the burial site of Sitting Bull in the Standing Rock reservation.

Pretty Horse Camp

N. Dakota Badlands

Sitting Bull Burial Site

Driving back to S. Dakota we breezed through Badlands National Park – actually bucked the breeze as we drove into seriously heavy winds. I couldn't even open the car door to get out at the scenic overlook to take a picture, so we forewent the camping there (nothing to do and campfire being out of the question and not allowed anyway).  Instead, we  headed back to the Black Hills where we found a good campsite by Sheridan Lake. Matthias gathered lots of firewood and we spent the next few days exploring the area – enjoying the the views of Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse monument and the mountains from Custer State Park – and also taking care of laundry and getting an oil change. Next, we drove through Nebraska, spending one night at a local county park campsite before entering northern Colorado. We found the one remaining National Forest campsite that was still open in the Cache La Poudre River Canyon and used that as our base to explore the area and Rocky Mountain National Park. Unfortunately, the road over the pass in the park was closed for the season, but the views from the east side were lovely nonetheless. Anyway, Matthias was pretty much over being dragged around to see more spectacular scenery....

S. Dakota Badlands - from inside the car

Bison at Wind Cave National Park/Custer State Park area 

Nebraska campsite

After a couple of days of rain, we arrived in Denver for a real trip highlight – a visit with Jennifer and Brenda. They were fantastic hosts, taking us to Red Rocks, on a couple of local hikes, out for traditional green chile (YUM!) and to experience a newer Denver tradition – a recreational pot store. I'll admit I wasn't really enthused about visiting the pot store, but it was really interesting and nice – and I'm still reeling from the idea that I can go into a store and buy something for $2.50 that will get me high for six hours. I didn't have the nerve to try it because Brenda's family came over that evening, but there may be a cookie stashed away somewhere for a rainy day...

Red Rocks

At the pot store

Two great cooks (not too many) in the kitchen

Leaving Denver was a downer, not just because we had to leave our friends and drive across Kansas (we were warned to do it quickly) but also because the first Kansas State Park was really disappointing (half closed and no place to make a fire) and the next day a rock hit and cracked our windshield. Once we crossed into Missouri, though, we found an auto glass repair shop in Joplin, which just happened to be on historic Route 66 (and that lifted my mood a bit, somehow). Since we spent a little time getting the windshield repaired, we decided to shorten the drive that day and make a stop at a state park in Branson, MO, which I kinda always wanted to see. The drive through the Ozarks was stunning (hadn't seen foliage in a while) and the park was nice. Next morning we took a quick drive through Branson (no, I didn't subject Matthias to one of the shows, though I was slightly tempted) and drove through the Ozarks to a national forest campsite near the Arkansas border. Which brings me to where we are now. In about an hour I'm going to try my first Memphis BBQ and then tonight we're going to hit Beale Street. But that will have to be a subject for the next blog post – probably from Florida, where we should be in less than a week.

Windshield repair on Route 66!

Probably a good thing I didn't subject Matthias to this!

Back into the Frying Pan (Posted 11/19/15)

Time to wrap up the X-America trip journal. (To start at the beginning of the trip - click here.) We've been in Florida for a few weeks already, but I'm just getting around to writing/posting this.  The trailer is tucked away in storage for the winter and we're planning our next steps.  But there's a little bit left to the story of how we got here.

Roadside BBQ joint in West Memphis

I left off the last time in Memphis.  After our roadside bbq lunch, we crossed the Mississippi and got a campsite at T.O. Fuller State Park just a few miles from Beale Street.  Of course I figured out how we could catch a bus to go downtown for a fun night out.  It worked - even better than I expected when the park ranger felt sorry for us walking down the street (a street without a sidewalk) on the way to the bus stop and gave us a ride to our connection.  Had lots of fun on Beale Street hopping from bar to bar and sampling lots of ribs and beer. And we marveled at the convenience of taking Uber back to the campsite - it was a first for the driver as well.

Friendly park ranger and our ride to the bus stop!

Our first Beale Street Beer stop - with live music, of course

Matthias on the Mississippi

We didn't have any particular destinations in mind for the rest of trip, but we did happen upon some fairly interesting places.  Our nextcampsite in Alabama was lovely (and lonely - we were the only ones there on that Halloween night) in mountains I never knew existed in Alabama, close to the Georgia border.  Then, as if on cue,  the moment we got into Florida,  it became unbearably hot and sticky.  We had some trouble finding the national forest campground I mapped out for us and I almost wish we hadn't.  The campground itself was not bad - next to a slow river - and although we were used to sites without electricity (we rarely plugged in at all), we REALLY wished we had access to A/C.  Matthias was annoyed by the campers (he dubbed "swamp people") who arrived before us (big family with rickety RV) and I was taken aback by the snake in the grass the host nearly stepped on while showing us where to park.   Despite the heat, once we settled in we made a fire (gotta have a fire!) and were almost starting to enjoy it when Matthias spotted a coral snake (poisonous!) which sent us running into the sweaty trailer.  It was a tough night for sleeping.

Alabama Campsite - just us and the leaves

Wild Florida Scenery - by the Suwanee River

Yes, Florida is hot...and weird.  But things  improved the next day - our last day on the road.  We had a nice drive along the coast and decided to live large at a state park campsite with full hookup. And, we enjoyed our A/C for just the second time ever.  We laughed about how we only used the air conditioning twice - on the first night in Leavenworth, Washington and the last night at Manatee Springs, Florida.  For the whole rest of the time we were cursing the fact that we were carrying around the A/C unit all those miles.

Upon arrival in Sarasota - PARTY TIME!

So here we are in Sarasota, waiting for my mom's big event - Bat Mitzvah and 75th Birthday party this weekend!  Looking forward to seeing the family and celebrating the milestone.  Then really looking forward to the next stage - Germany and Thailand/Cambodia!

Links to all X-America Trip photos
Part I
Part II

Forward to 2016 Year in Review

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