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mattdev posted:If you guys could only go to ONE place in Mexico for 10 days, where would it be? Mexico City and Guanajuato, or Mexico City and Oaxaca City. Mexico City is one of the best cities in the world for eating, and the Mexican art scene is outstanding. If you decide to see Guanajuato also, you could do some outdoorsy stuff by adding on Patzcuaro. Oaxaca is very cultural, in an earth-muffin kind of way. The outdoors activities are along the coast, with surfing at Puerto Escondido, or beach-stoner time at Mazunte or Zipolite.
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Jan 19, 2011 01:46
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mattdev posted:Funny that you give us the choice between Oaxaca and Guanajuato. Those were the two places that we were trying to decide between! Do you have The Fear? Things are dodgy north of DF these days ... might be better to head to Oaxaca. I used to live in Puerto Escondido, in coastal Oaxaca state. If you like water and big fierce waves (Zicatela), go there.
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Jan 19, 2011 14:37
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Medellin, Manizales, and Bogota are all fairly clean, depending on the barrio. Places on the Caribbean coast (with the exception of Cartagena - the crown jewel of tourism in Colombia) are filthy. Turbo is an open cesspit.
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Jan 25, 2011 16:11
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Vernacular posted:What are work opportunities like for foreigners in South America? Is teaching English the only way to go or are there other enticing alternatives? What are you qualified to do? I practice US immigration law all over South America, but lawyering isn't exactly entry-level work.
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Jan 25, 2011 21:12
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Vernacular posted:Got my B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from a top university, and have 5+ years of admin./office/management experience in the non-profit sector. In other words...I'm flexible. Can you hablar/falar?
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Jan 25, 2011 21:31
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Liberal arts BA ... Hello teacher! Thing with arranging work in Latin America is that you really need to be on the ground to do it, even with the ESL stuff. You'll get some mileage on your gringo card if you are credentialed and can speak conversationally, but you're unlikely to arrange anything worthwhile from abroad. People are big on personal connections down there. With a master's or preferably PhD, you can usually find some kind of teaching work at a university (UNAM in Mexico City is a good place to start) for enough pay to scrape by. If you're serious about kicking around South America, Brazil is where it's at these days. You'll need Portuguese for that though. It's tougher than Spanish, but close enough that people will understand you as you gradually move from Spanish to Portunhol to Portuguese. Understanding their responses is significantly more difficult. Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina are all good places to teach. I've heard Chile also has a good ESL scene for foreigners.
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Jan 25, 2011 22:18
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Uncle Ivan posted:Can anyone recommend a brief 7-8 day itinerary for Panama? I will be traveling alone -- I like nature poo poo and pretty environments. Also if there is surfing to be had, that'd be cool too. Panama City is the only decent city in Central America, and worth a couple of days. If you're the hostel type, Luna's Castle in Casco Viejo is a solid party place. Bocas del Toro has several reef breaks - otherwise you're looking at the Pacific coast for surfing. For the nature poo poo, check out Volcan Baru in the western part of the country - there is some excellent hiking around there. From the peak, you can see both oceans.
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Jan 28, 2011 20:49
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Caerulea posted:Oh yeah, I wasn't anticipating an overabundance of vegetarian restaurants. I just didn't know if there was a lot of variety in the cuisine or if more of the dishes were heavily meat-based. In any case, I'll certainly get by with whatever I can find on a menu that doesn't have an obvious meat product and keep my fingers crossed. Soups are almost always based on meat broth. The beans usually contain lard and/or bacon fat. In most places in the world, locals will think you're crazy for coming from a wealthy country and not eating meat. Outside of larger cities with an international presence, or Gringo Trail hotspots, people in Latin America don't understand the concept of vegetarianism. It really is an affectation of people from wealthy countries, for the most part. Colombia is the dark horse favorite of South America, for most people who've been there. It's budget-friendly, incredibly varied in topography, and the people are great. It's also nowhere near as bad as its reputation these days.
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Mar 3, 2011 19:33
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John Jhonson posted:Does anyone have any good resources for where to start with a trip like this? Money is kind of a limitation and I'm finding it overwhelming with all of the choices at hand. Basically I want to backpack for around two weeks, but I have no experience with the area and really don't know how to even start researching. Brazil and Chile are out of the question for anyone on a tight budget. Focus on a country like Colombia or Ecuador, both of which are very cheap and rewarding for budgeteers. Take an afternoon and go to a Barnes & Noble or Borders, plant yourself in the travel section, and read through the Lonely Planet and Moon and other guidebooks to various destinations. That should be your very first bit of research.
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Mar 13, 2011 14:58
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pitchblende posted:Well I just got back from Carnavales en Panama. If anyone has any questions about Panama please feel free to ask. I enjoyed Panama so much more than I did Costa Rica. Panama has everything that Costa Rica has to offer, without the tourist hordes but with a cool capital city. Costa Rica is like Latin America Lite.
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Mar 14, 2011 00:35
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jonawesome posted:How bad is theft in hostels? Of course that's fairly dependent on the travellers in the hostels, but is it generally safe to keep stuff - Ipod, Camera, netbook, maybe guitar - in the rooms when you go out at night? Is theft from hostel workers common? Theft by other backpackers in hostels and guesthouses is the most common kind of theft on the Gringo Trail. Lock up your electronics and passport, and ask yourself if you really need to bring the netbook in the first place.
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Mar 14, 2011 21:03
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Hadlock posted:p.s. gently caress the traveling laptop haters. Oooh, defensive. I spend 60+ hours a week on a computer. The last thing I want to do on a leisure trip is keep my nose stuck into another computer, spending 60% of my days updating Facebook or my blog, so that people back home knew I what I was doing three minutes ago. Would much prefer talking to actual living people. Once every couple of days at an Internet cafe is more than enough. To me, part of the novelty of taking a lengthy overland trip is disconnection from home. That's cool if you're different.
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Mar 15, 2011 15:43
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gee shuckz posted:So I'm looking at going to South America to build up my Spanish and then go on traveling from there. Any suggestions for a good base city to study in which is a) cheap b) has warm weather and c) speaks a 'good' version of Spanish? I'm thinking Medellin, but I don't know if there are any cheaper/ (safer?) options... Medellin would be approximately the best place imaginable for this, unless you are a recovering cocaine addict. A) Medellin is cheap. You can sublet a luxury apartment in Poblado for $700-800/month (swimming pool, parking, security, furnished), or something more modest for half that. B) Climate is gorgeous. The valley floor is about 1300 meters / 4200 feet up, meaning warm days and very pleasant nighttime temperatures. C) The Spanish spoken in this part of Colombia is extremely clear and easy to understand. All in all, Medellin is an incredibly pleasant city. Even better, it's experiencing a bit of a rennaissance these days.
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Mar 18, 2011 14:13
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Ribsauce posted:Can anyone explain how these surf camps work? Only curious about ones in Central America, the best would be for beginners, cheap, and have spanish lessons too. My friends and I think that would be an awesome vacation. Surf camps are usually bare-bones accommodations (often nothing more than a palapa roof and space for hammocks) near a good break. Often they are a long way from anything, and not very practical if you don't have your own transport and boards. There are a few in Nicaragua that cost $2-5/night, up and down the Pacific coast. I spent a few weeks at one on Playa Majagual, near the break at Maderas, about 10 miles north of San Juan del Sur (where they do have Spanish classes). It's pretty remote though, and a pain to get back to SJdS for groceries and other provisions. I've stayed at one in El Salvador near La Libertad, at El Zonte. El Salvador's pretty dodgy though, and you're not likely to find a Spanish school there outside San Salvador. I wouldn't recommend Guatemala for surfing. I know you wanted to limit this to Central America, but your best bet really is Puerto Escondido, Mexico, in Oaxaca state. It's almost the southernmost point of Mexico, about a 12 hour bus ride from Mexico City on Estrella Blanca. There's a good array of breaks in town, which has about 40,000 people. It's touristy in a very low-key way, extremely popular with backpackers, surfers, and Mexican hipsters. Given that it's Mexico, you'll find it a bit more expensive than most of Central America - comparable to Costa Rica or Panama. $40/day is a reasonable budget, particularly if you're staying there for several weeks. A lot of places rent rooms by the week or month, particularly on Zicatela, aka the Mexican Pipeline. Zicatela is a beach break, screamingly fast and shallow. During the big season, from June to August approximately, it's for experts only. During the dry season, it's a bit more forgiving, but only a bit. There are easier breaks at La Punta, a bit further down Zicatela, near the rock pile at Playa Marinero, and also Carrizalillo, which is a cove with points on either side that are gentler. The town is awesome. I've been there several times, most recently for just under three months while I studied for the bar exam a few years ago. Wind is consistently offshore in the early morning, until about 10 or 10:30 when it shifts onshore. There are a lot of hotels and apartments to rent, but nothing high-rise. It's still a scruffy place, although not in a dangerous way - a true Mexican surf and fishing town. When I was there last, early in 2008, it was huge news that a Mexican supermarket was finally opening in town. That's how sleepy the place is. I know of two Spanish schools in town, and it's the kind of place where you'd have good chances for immersion. The breaks are varied enough that all of your skill levels would be accommodated, and there are a few locals who give surf lessons for reasonable prices too. Zicatela has quite a few board shops - you'll definitely want to pick up your own gear, and probably a couple of longboards for the newbies. The scene in PE is really friendly and relaxed. There are a clutch of decent bars at Zicatela like Casa Babylon, usually rotating their specials through the week so as not to overlap with each other. You can readily find other substances in town, if that's your thing. About half the tourists in town at any time are Mexican, mostly twentysomethings from Mexico City or Puebla. The rest are a mix of foreign surfers (mostly from US, Australia, and Brazil), and backpackers (a lot of French Canadians, Israelis, and Argentines). If you are friendly and can hablar, you can find casual bar work in town pretty easily - I did. There's Internet at several places in town. If you stay long-term in a place like Hotel Mayflower, you'll have wireless. Drop me a line if you want any specific recommendations for Puerto Escondido or Central America. I've been up and down the isthmus several times. TheImmigrant fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Mar 23, 2011 |
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Mar 23, 2011 03:15
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duralict posted:Jaco (Costa Rica) got its start as a surf town, and has a good variety as far as difficulty of the beaches goes. It's going to cut closer to your $40/day budget than Nicaragua, though. On the other hand, no rolling blackouts, great infrastructure, easy access to other activities and a tourist-friendly local culture. It's a good bet if you don't really want to work too hard to plan this trip, basically. Jaco is awful, both for surf and scene. It's like the lowest-rent Florida beach community. Costa Rica in general is massively overrated. If you must, Tamarindo is the only place you should consider. Jaco is the closest beach to San Jose, and as crowded as you'd expect the beach nearest the capital to be. On weekends, it's crawling with josefinos and hookers cruising them. The beach is dirty, and the best surf is knee-high mushy white water. Hotels and restaurants are overpriced, and it's really commercialized. Nasty scene. Witch's Rock Surf Camp in Tamarindo is the best you'll find in Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean coast near Panama, is a really chill place too, but probably not a good fit for you. (Most of the breaks are on a reef, and not a good place to learn. This part of CR is mostly English-speaking, and wouldn't be good for Spanish lessons either.) When you compare Costa Rica to Mexico though, you'd have to be crazy to pick Costa Rica. Mexico is a real country with real food and real people. Costa Rica is a backwater tourist trap, a sort of Latin America Lite. They are about as expensive as each other, but Costa Rican food is garbage. You'll be eating gallo pinto (rice and beans) and some kind of overcooked meat or eggs three meals a day, while Mexico is one of the best countries in the world for eating. While Tamarindo is a good place to learn how to surf, it doesn't hold a candle to Puerto Escondido. The only place in the Americas that stands up to Mexico surfwise is Brazil, and you'll never make it in Brazil on your budget. TheImmigrant fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Mar 23, 2011 |
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Mar 23, 2011 11:04
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John Jhonson posted:I posted this question in the teaching abroad thread, I'm dropping it in here just in case any South America-traveling goons have gone the teaching route. There is definitely a demand for English teachers in South America. Don't expect the money you can make in Japan or Korea or Taiwan though. Also, in most of Latin America, people are reluctant to a) plan ahead for hiring needs, and b) hire someone without meeting him or her in person. The result is that you'll need to do some legwork to find an ESL position (and have professional attire with you), and probably be functional in Spanish or Portuguese, depending on the country. Good places to look in South America are: Medellin and Bogota, Colombia; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Brasilia, Brazil.
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Mar 24, 2011 15:13
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John Jhonson posted:The money isn't much of a concern. My interest is living there, so as long as I have enough for basic housing and food I should be fine. My Spanish is functional but broken, it could use some work. I had sort of assumed I could wing it and practice it more once I'm there, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to brush up before that. Good. The money is there, more than enough to live on. It's just not the easy living, pay off undergrad loans and travel southeast Asia for six months after your contract kind of easy. You'll have to set things up for yourself. This is easier, because Latin America is much more accessible for westerners than Japan or Korea are. quote:Are there placement services or programs similar to the ones in Asia? Or is it just a matter of flying down there and passing my resume around? I'm not entirely sure where to even start looking to figure out how to go about doing this. I don't think there are large, reputable placement services, but I could be mistaken. I worked in Colombia last winter (I'm an attorney), was curious about teaching at a university, and wound up with a soft offer from Eafit in Medellin after knocking on a few doors. I didn't wind up taking it, but maintain the contacts there, and may return to teach a comparative law or trade course. You'll have to be somewhat aggressive about marketing yourself to get a plum job. In the meantime, a lot of people teach private lessons. I have a friend who taught privates in Sao Paulo for a year, and wound up setting up his own school there. Santiago would also be really good for teaching privates, as there's money in Chile today. It's kind of a dumpy city that doesn't hold a candle to Buenos Aires, but it's definitely thriving. You could also give Buenos Aires a shot. Alternately, check the listings on eslcafe.com regularly for openings in South America. Mexico is also a really good market to teach English.
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Mar 25, 2011 02:42
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gee shuckz posted:Following up the questions about Medellin. Any suggestions for a) language schools and b) a place to rent a cheap apartment / a room in an apartment? This this forum for expats in Colombia. Several of the regulars there live in Medellin. I really don't know about language schools. As for an apartment, you definitely don't want to rent in a place where there aren't other expats, since the bad in Medellin is really bad. Neighborhoods are classified into six estrato (strata), corresponding to income. One is the lowest, while six is the poshest. In Medellin, places like Poblado, Laureles, and Envigado are nice. Poblado especially is sort of an auxilliary downtown a few miles south of the old one, which is kind of gritty.
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Mar 25, 2011 15:25
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kriminal posted:How do you guys travelling exchange your dollars in different countries? Venezuela is an anomaly in that the currency exchange market is heavily distorted by the economic policies of Chavez. Venezuela is extremely expensive if you use the official exchange rate for the dollar, rather cheap if you use black market currency exchange. To use the latter, you'll have to carry cash, which is a bad idea in a country with the crime rate that Venezuela has. Elsewhere in South America, just use an ATM card to withdraw money from your bank account in local currency. Keep a stash of US dollars for emergencies, but generally ATMs will work fine. automatic posted:Hey dustingduvet since you were in colombia I was wondering if you had any insight into a question a friend had about traveling there. Leticia is the Colombian city in the Amazon basin. You won't be able to take a bus there (no roads), although there are reasonably-priced flights there from Bogota. Manaus is a big city of about two million, I'm guessing. The Amazon is heavily deforested around Manaus - Leticia is actually a better bet for seeing the thick Amazon forest. Leticia is on the tri-national border between Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. You can take boats downstream to Manaus, Santarem, and eventually Belem; or upstream to Iquitos in Peru. Tabatinga is the Brazilian city across from Leticia. Bear in mind that that US citizens need visas for Brazil before arrival, and they cost $110 last I checked.
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Mar 29, 2011 15:19
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Rrail posted:I'm planning to take a 35 day vacation to South America, most likely Brazil, potentially Colombia. I know next to nothing about either place. Would anyone be willing to let me send them my litany of questions via PM (or e-mail, if necessary)? I can definitely help you with this. A few questions first, so I can help you most effectively take years off your life expectancy. Do you speak any Spanish or Portuguese? What does "partying" mean to you? What's your budget? Are you male or female, straight or gay or omni?
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Apr 21, 2011 16:57
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PlesantDilemma posted:Hey would you mind posting more about your experiences in Antigua? I'm thinking of going there in June/July to do some immersion Spanish learning. I didn't realize the violence was getting bad in Guatemala, I thought it was all in Mexico these days. While I don't have any first-hand knowledge of whats going on down there, I spoke with a Guatemalan customer at my job yesterday while helping him and he said the violence is getting bad but he didn't have any specific information. Maybe I should go to Panama instead. Let me say first that Antigua is a gorgeous place. At the same time, you'll have at least as good a chance of learning Dutch or Hebrew in Antigua as you will Spanish. The town is chock-full of twentysomethings studying Spanish for a couple of hours in the morning, and hanging out (in English) with other backpackers "studying Spanish" at Mono Loco or Frida's. Most Guatemalans can't afford to live in Antigua, which lives and breathes tourism. Almost all of your daily interactions with Guatemalans in Antigua will be transactional in nature, and default to English if your Spanish is beginner-level. San Pedro, on Lake Atitlan, is the same scene but with more drugs. If you're serious about immersing yourself in Spanish, Xela is the place to go. As for violence, it's bad in Guatemala City. Antigua and Tikal are the tourist jewels to the entire country, and relatively safe.
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Apr 28, 2011 20:18
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Ribsauce posted:out of the different Central America guidebooks can anyone tell which is better than the other for budget traveling? If it includes Mexico that would be super awesome, although it looks like the footprint one is the only one which does, although Lonely Planet includes southern Mexico Moon is easily the best, coming from a former LP contributing writer.
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May 6, 2011 22:03
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Ribsauce posted:Do they have an all in one guidebook? I do not see one. Ah, that's what you meant. I don't think Moon does a general Central America guide. I still have an LP Central America, which has always been adequate. Error-laden, but adequate.
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May 7, 2011 02:35
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wprltndmcofjne posted:I have a friend who wants to travel, by bus, from Mexico to Costa Rica (I'm here with family). The bus company is Ticabus. Besides stops for meals, he would be staying in El Salvador until something weird like 3AM. Also, he doesn't know much more than very basic Spanish. He'll be fine. If he's starting in Tapachula, that's a two-overnighter. Ticabus doesn't run at night, so he'll be sleeping in San Salvador and probably Managua. Both are shitholes; San Salvador worse than Managua. Tell him to find a place to sleep in both - Zona Rosa in San Salvador, somewhere in Barrio Martha Quezada in Managua. The bus ride itself is no problem. Ticabus takes the Pan-Am highway, and is comfortable.
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May 23, 2011 03:43
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NoArmedMan posted:Send me a PM if you happen to be in Cuzco on Christmas Day. My wife and I are in Peru for Christmas as part of our 4.5 month around the world trip and are looking for things to do/people to spend Christmas Day with. Six hours by bus.
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May 24, 2011 15:34
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barbudo posted:Just checking in. I finally made it to Brazil. I'm studiyng a few months in Campinas, São Paulo. It's pretty chill but it's also expensive, and really nice and developed. I kind of miss Peru/Bolivia/Northern Argentina-style street vendors and hustlers. Anyway, any Brazil goons wanna recommend me some cheap, short (less than a week, I guess) excursions in whatever direction? I'd really like to climb a mountain but that seems improbable. There's not much in the way of mountains in Brazil, although Rio has some of the world's best rock climbing. It's mid-winter, so not the best time to do beach-related activities that far south. I think it's coming to rainy season at Iguazu Falls, which is about a 17-hour bus trip from Sao Paulo. Stay in Puerto Iguazu on the Argentine side, which will be a lot cheaper than Brazil. Paraty is much closer to Sampa, and a gorgeous old colonial town on the ocean. Once it gets warmer I highly recommend Ilha Grande.
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May 25, 2011 18:51
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jonawesome posted:Hmm, good to know. I'll probably just land with a few hundred Canadian then, and go from there. I am planning on using ATM's exclusively after my cash runs out, but even the best travellers chequeing account in Canada still takes a healthy cut off the top of the exchange rate with all the extra fees they add on. I figured I'd try to save myself a few dollars by taking a bit more cash with me. Bad idea for two reasons: cash, and CAD. You'll have a lot of fun trying to get a decent rate for CAD in Colombia. About the only place in Latin America where the USD isn't the second currency (or first, in the case of Panama and El Salvador and Ecuador) is Cuba. There, it's Euro. CAD isn't easy to exchange anywhere outside of maybe Cancun.
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May 31, 2011 21:01
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jonawesome posted:Fack. Alright, well I guess Ill just bring enough money to exchange at the airport, and go from there, haha. I'm glad I found all this out before I landed and had a number of useless large denomination bills. Exchange for USD, I hope. On long trips, I always take a few money precautions. I always carry $500 in USD AmEx traveler's cheques. I've had them for a few years now - they are strictly a last resort. I always carry a few hundred in clean, untorn US 20 and 100 notes stashed away in various parts of my back (books, hidden pockets, etc.). All of my daily needs come from a debit card tied to Visa. Be sure to let your bank know where you'll be traveling before you leave. Keep a couple of credit cards for backup too, but try not to use debit cards or credit cards for routine transactions in a place like Colombia. Cash is king. For almost anywhere in the world these days, you won't need to use anything other than a debit card.
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May 31, 2011 21:46
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flippygrip meatbio posted:Can the reason be "backpacking around and therefore doing a lot of trekking"? Cuzco is nowhere near Amazonas. Iquitos is, and a good place to start. You'll need to fly there.
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Jun 19, 2011 18:08
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mateo_j posted:I live in the Darien in Panama as a Peace Corps volunteer. It's the end of the Interamerican Highway, and the province bordering Columbia. It's one of the least developed, which is not good for your run of the mill gringo tourist, but it is incredible for more adventure types. Yaviza? I was in Puerto Obaldia last year. What a shithole that place is.
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Jun 21, 2011 19:45
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Ribsauce posted:I have a question from my parents. For years they have wanted to go to Costa Rica, but they are not sure the best way for them to do it. My parents are in their early 60s and in very good shape. They want to see a lot of cool stuff, they are really into artwork, active stuff like hikes (especially waterfalls), and would enjoy anything historical. They are unsure the best way for them to visit. They do not really want to rent a car (they are afraid of the traffic, unsure if this should be a concern or not) but they also do not want to be part of a group tour with a bunch of fat rear end in a top hat loud tourist (which is not how they behave). On the flipside, I doubt they would enjoy getting in a van with 15 kids backpacking (like I will be haha) to go to whatever site there is to visit. They'd probably like Mexico more than Costa Rica. CR really is the most overhyped destination I can think of. Culturally, there's nothing going on there, while Mexico is fabulously rich in art. There are great waterfalls in Chiapas state at Misol-Ha and Agua Azul, an easy daytrip from the Palenque ruins. Also, the food in CR sucks. Mexican food is among the best in the world.
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Jun 21, 2011 20:07
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bam thwok posted:Wrong. Every restaurant you went to must've run out of Lizano sauce. Vinegary hot sauce will not make gallo pinto three times a day interesting.
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Jun 21, 2011 20:17
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Costa Rica is nothing more than a successful marketing confection. Its culture is in no way distinct from, say, Panama's. It's overpriced and overtouristed. There are no ruins or colonial towns. It does have great nature, but so does all of Central America. In the area, Panama is vastly superior as a destination, Mexico doubly so. I'm not saying Costa Rica is unpleasant. On the contrary. It's just not all that.
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Jun 21, 2011 20:31
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No, the fact that Panama is next door should deter you from visiting Costa Rica.
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Jun 21, 2011 21:00
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Granada, Nicaragua is historic, and only a few hours from the Guanacaste beaches in CR. The border crossing is easy, and Nicaragua is safe.
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Jun 21, 2011 21:36
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Mr.Showtime posted:Thanks! Try baexpats.com.
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Jun 22, 2011 13:07
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A Loaf of Bread posted:I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, and I haven't read through all twenty-six pages of the thread, so please direct me to the right place if this has already been addressed. You'll be teaching English, especially if you don't speak Spanish or Portuguese well. Chile and Brazil have the highest wages, as well as highest cost of living. Mexico is another good place to investigate. Stay away from northern Mexico, although Mexico City has lots of opportunities. I taught for a while in Nicaragua as a volunteer. Colombia is doing pretty well, and I know there is ESL work in Medellin and Bogota.
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Jun 22, 2011 21:31
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You can try eslcafe.com. Usually though, you have you arrange these jobs on-site in Latin America.
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Jun 22, 2011 22:06
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Destroyenator posted:I just arrived this evening in Panama City after being stranded there for three days. Can confirm it's still a shithole. I was stuck there for three days too. They cancelled flights from Puerto Obaldia the day I arrived, and the last plane out was full. Did you stay at the Pension Cande, with the enormous rats and the old lady owner with the huge glasses? I finally found a boat out on the third day. It took ten hours to get to Miramar, where the road ends. The last two hours were in a blinding downpour. All told, it took me a week to get from Medellin to Panama City, which is a couple of hundred miles as the crow flies.
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Jun 29, 2011 05:31
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Destroyenator posted:The plane was full Sunday when I arrived and then todays 9:40 finally took us at about three thirty (although our luggage left on a mostly empty flight at eleven). Pension Cande has a young woman running it from over in the Internet cafe now and I managed to miss the rats, wouldn't have surprised me though. All seven foreigners on the flight were detained for no good reason for over two hours when we arrived in Panama City as well. I stayed drunk the whole time I was there. Absolutely nothing to do. Be glad you flew, as the boat trip is hellish. Did you notice how the sewage pipes empty directly into the bay? So much for swimming. Where are you staying in PC? Luna's Castle is one of the funnest hostels around.
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Jun 29, 2011 06:25
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