Tag: backpacking
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U for unreal: we are in Panama!
Crossing into Panama belonged to the easiest border crossing we have had so far. Quick and efficient. Officers on both sides were very diligent. A bit too diligent in my case: our Panamanian officer noticed that my boat ticket out of Panama had been issued incorrectly. Great… Audrey had become Aufrey (mind you, I got…
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T for thankful
Since one of our friends told us that Cahuita National Park was a MUST, we couldn’t miss it! We were of course still wary of such recommendations after Manuel Antonio but according to her, this was her favorite park because 1) its wildlife was sensational 2) the entrance fee was on a donation basis. Say…
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S for smile, you are in heaven!
Our time in Quepos was up and after doing some research on Corcovado National Park, we got very excited about it and we simply couldn’t wait to discover it. We were quite overwhelmed though by the amount of contradictory info available. According to some operators, we would have had to go to Drake Bay, which…
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R for really glad we didn’t skip Costa Rica…
… Even though this leg has seriously damaged our daily budget. National parks are insanely unaffordable (15 to 20$ entrance fee – you must be joking?!), restaurants are incredibly overpriced and hostels ridiculously expensive for an off season month. That said, we have absolutely no regrets as we have been having a blast. I can…
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Q for quite an adventure
Three enthusiastic friends, a rental car, 12 days and a whole new country to explore… What could possibly go wrong? Fast forward 600 kilometers, and we now know that a road trip in Costa Rica (or CR for cool kids) during the rainy season is a risky adventure. We have gambled and lost, facing some…
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P for positively surprised
Some travelers tried to dissuade us to go to San Juan del Sur as it was ugly, overcrowded and dirty but we decided to head there anyway to relax for two days – read: do (absolutely) nothing to avoid spending money before crossing into Costa Rica. At first, we were not sure of our decision…
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O for Omotepe: a two-faced island
When we boarded the ferry to Omotepe island in San Jorge, we didn’t know what to expect. Yes, we had done our usual ritual: googling and asking other travelers about the island but this somehow didn’t help much. There were unfortunately too many contradictory opinions (‘it is great’, ‘it is boring’, ‘so many things to…
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N for Nicaragua: the country we have trouble to fall in love with…
Yes, we had amazing days in Somoto, Las Peñitas, Little Corn Island and Matagalpa, yet, we are struggling to fall in love with Nicaragua. Our hearts are refusing to warm up to Nicaragua the way they did for El Salvador and Honduras. M and I have been discussing a lot about it and we have…
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M for marvelously marvelous and marvelously relaxing
Since it seems that most of our boat rides have given us exciting (yet terrifying) memories so far, I didn’t expect anything less from our boat ride to Little Corn island. We had reached Big Corn Island by plane as the road plus boat option was too time consuming and we were eager to get…
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K for kindness or the Salvadorian quality the world fails to see!
After riding many more chicken buses, hitchhiking (sorry, mom!) and traveling to the Northern, Western and Eastern parts of El Salvador, we would like to confirm that our previous statement was spot on: this ‘Don’t go to El Salvador, it is dangerous’ is bullcrap and before someone shouts (people tend to shout at you on social media…