Central America

Hostel recommendation in San Salvador, El Salvador

 in Central America / Deb in El Salvador / Deb's Travels / El Salvador / Sleeping Accommodations / Stay in El Salvador

When I first arrived in San Salvador I stayed at a perfectly nice hostel that was recommended by Lonely Planet. It was nice and breakfast was free, but there was no kitchen, it was low season so it was pretty empty, and I didn’t feel connected to the staff. My local friend had heard a CouchSurfer had liked a hostel — Cumbres del Volcan — and as we found ourselves nearby, we checked it out. I am so glad we did! I loved staying at Cumbres del Volcan! There is no question that this is THE hostel for just about everyone to stay at. Regardless of your age, you will like this home-turned-hostel. Here are a few reasons why I like the location: It is in a terrific, upscale neighborhood — Escalon. There are low-cost Pupuserias right down the block. It is just a short block below the Plaza Futura, […]

Granola in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb in Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Food

When able to shop and have a clean bowl and spoon, I have been buying Granola for breakfast. At times that granola has been lunch or dinner instead or as well. This is today’s breakfast granola. I selected this brand — alin: Alimentos Naturales — because it is made in Costa Rica. The 250 gram (8.8 ounce) bag sells for 710 colones ($1.42). One of the fruits and something else (a nut?) in it are hard and a bit of a shock to the teeth, but it is a good mix anyway. I bought this same one once last week and it was a great late night smack eaten out of the bag slowly. This is the first time in all of my Central America travels that I have purchased milk in a “regular,” not the new box style container. This Costa Rican-made Coronado brand 1 liter milk was 505 […]

US – Panama fair trade agreement has begun

 in Central America / Panama / USA

As of Wednesday, October 31 United States and Panama are in an active fair trade agreement, a year after President Obama signed this historic bill (which had its start in the 2007 Bush administration). As Panama is home to the Panama Canal, the US has long been working with Panama. Exactly what benefits to each country will be remains to be seen. (There are many theories, projections of benefits, and worries on the US side.) The US gov’t website says, “The U.S.–Panama trade agreement will support American jobs, expand markets and enhance U.S. competitiveness.” it also says,”Now more than ever, America’s ability to create jobs here at home depends on our ability to export goods and services to the world….” I will be entering Panama as this agreement is new so I wonder whether I will hear of it from Panamanians and in shops. What I do know already from […]

Halloween candy sales in Central America?

 in Central America / Deb in El Salvador / El Salvador / Food / Food in El Salvador

I wonder if all the Halloween candy that doesn’t get sold goes on sale or half price like it does in the US. In El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras that would bring the prices down to what we normally pay in the states. In fact, a huge disappoint for me has been the lack of local brands. It is amazing to me that the cacao grows in these places but there is pretty much no candy bar manufacturing. Instead, the stores sell Hershey’s and Cadbury. In Guatemala there is a local brand, a candy bar the size and shape of the Hershey Bar, but it was more expensive than the Hershey Bar. Go figure. Well, I don’t know if they sell Halloween candy in Honduras and Guatemala, and I won’t be there to see what happens to the candy on the large Halloween displays that were up in San Salvador […]

Cooking fish in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb in Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Food / Food in Costa Rica

Last night I walked (about a mile) to the supermarket. First stop, the fish counter. Fish has been all too rare in my diet on this trip. They had some very nice looking fillets. One was Tapia, which is too bland for my taste. There was another white fillet that was less money. As I am not traveling with my spice cabinet, I preferred to gamble on the flavor of the other. So here is my mystery fish of choice. These two pieces were 967 colones. At an exchange rate of roughly 500 per dollar, this was a $2 gamble and each piece was $1. I do carry an excellent Spanish/English dictionary (by Ascendo) with me so I could have looked up the name of this fish. I considered doing so, but I wanted to keep the adventure aspect of this shopping trip alive. Plus… I trusted my judgement that […]

Tasty Sour Cream in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb in Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Food / Food in Costa Rica

If you like American Sour Cream, you might love this sour cream in Cost Rica as well. To me, it was like having either Sour Cream or Cream Cheese, only not as sweet. It was also somewhat reminiscent of the fresh cream I loved so much while living on a working farm in Tasmania, Australia years ago. (I ate that cream out of the tub! The Australians found that rather entertaining.) I actually found this next to a liquid Cheddar Cheese, not beside the plastic tubs. I have seen and enjoyed a plastic container of “American Style Sour Cream” when a friend bought it. That was a creamy sour cream just like we eat in the States, but without sugar. It was also more fresh tasting. This bag is the same – but less costly as it comes in a bag. I have been using it as a pasta sauce, […]

More Bagelmen’s in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Food / Sleeping Accommodations

Funny how things happen. At 10am I took a walk down the road from the hostel where I spent last night. On that walk, I discovered Bagelmen’s and wrote about it here. At 11am, I checked out of the hostel because I felt the manager’s behavior toward me became uncomfortable for me after I told him I was robbed at one of its owner’s other hostels and I didn’t feel at home there. I was told, I needed to leave exactly at checkout time. No problem. I had been welcomed at Bagelmen’s so I went there and relaxed while I looked online for a new hostel. I found a hostel that had excellent reviews and sounded perfect for me, called, and found my way there (in Spanish via two buses). Feeling at home, relaxed, happy and excited about my new albeit short-term home, I asked my friend of what is […]

Bagelmen’s in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Food

I am at an eatery called Bagelmen’s in San Jose, Costa Rica. I am sitting amidst fantastic smelling bagels that although not as large as NY style, are very tempting looking. There are 6 locations. This owner owns three. curious, I asked and learned the owner isn’t Jewish. I am pretty sure none of the upscale clientele here is either. I knew bagels had come a long way in NY, LA and other US cities, but until today hasn’t realized they’d become so well known or desirable elsewhere.

Two days without rain

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels

As I have traveled south from Honduras to Costa Rica, I have hit rainy season over and over. I am not sure if I had any 100% rain-free days since mid-May. (Until yesterday.) I was in Guatemala, in the rains, when I told my friend I would arrive in his country in days. Loving Guatemala (specifically my friend Terre and her family), but tired of the rain, I asked how the weather was in San Salvador. The answer — sunny and dry. The day before I arrived it rained there for the first time that season. Then, just as my bus pulled into the bus stop to let us off in San Salvador, the rain came pouring down. We all had to make mad dashes to get our luggage from under the bus and into the small doorway with minimal damages. (Wet boxes, luggage and backpacks are not fun.) I […]

Costa Rican Monkeys

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Sight-seeing

Look who I met as I hiked along the green-lined beach side jungle path of Cahuita National Park. I didn’t being my camera as I was focused on getting back into the Caribben Ocean. These photos were taken by a hostel friend, Daniel Peraza. (I used to link to his website but it’s gone now in 2021.)   First we watched this little guy eat.       Then we noticed this mom and baby.

Cooking Plantains in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Food

In San Salvador my friend Frida served sweetened yellow Plantains with each meal she served to me. All through El Salvador, sweetened yellow Plantains were a part of my meals. Later, Oct 19, in Costa Rica… I asked the fabulous Alonzo (he runs a hostel I stayed at) to show me how to cook them. He used a touch of salt instead and I liked them better than chips. So throughout Costa Rica and into Panama, I started cooking slightly salted yellow Plantains as a filling staple part of my meals — and as a favorite snack. They are also easy on a traveler’s budget in Central America. These are some of my first. I didn’t have the slicing down well yet.    

Costs Rica preserves wildlife by outlawing hunting

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Sight-seeing / Sight-Seeing in Costa Rica

Yesterday I interviewed a wildlife guide in Monte Verde and as we spoke about seeing Jaguars and Such here, he told me that 3 weeks ago Costa Rica made hunting illegal. He said that as man kills off the wildlife these animals eat, these animals are forced to come into towns or farms seeking food. Hopefully now that won’t happen and man and animals can coexist.

Best deals for rafting & such in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb in Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Sight-seeing / Sight-Seeing in Costa Rica

If you’re in La Fortuna, Costa Rica and are wanting to go white water rafting, ride a zip line, or do whatever else is offered there, the person to find is Christian. You’ll hopefully find him at Sabor Tica, an excellent restaurant (called a Soda). Find Christian and let him bring you in to book your tickets.

Costa Rica: La Fortuna to Monte Verdi

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Sight-seeing / Transportation

Time to take the “Jeep-Boat-Jeep” from La Fortuna to Santa Elena (aka Monte Verdi). The bus arrives at my hotel gate for me. Yep, the “Jeep” is a mini-bus, just like my hostel companion Sebastian guessed it would be. The first bus is 20 minutes to the lake. Flat boat. Flat water. Beautiful scenery. Man made lake after 1968 Volcano. Then 1.5 hours on stone and dirt narrow roads as we climb toward the clouds. We are going to the Cloud Forest. Here it doesn’t rain so much. The views cannot be caught in a single frame photo. We all comment on the beauty of the rolling green hills and many levels of mountains and fields and textures. We pass some small home or farms, some cows locked in pens and some out grazing. At 11:05 after about 30 minutes from where we packed up the 4 american horse riders […]

Costa Rica: La Fortuna to Santa Elena

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Sight-seeing / Transportation

Time to take the “Jeep-Boat-Jeep” from La Fortuna to Santa Elena (aka Monte Verdi). The bus arrives. Yep, the “Jeep” is a mini-bus, just like my hostel companion Sebastian guessed it would be. The first bus is 20 minutes to the lake. Flat boat. Flat water. Beautiful scenery. Man made lake after 1968 Volcano. Then 1.5 hours on stone and dirt narrow roads as we climb toward the clouds. We are going to the Cloud Forest. Here it doesn’t rain so much. The views cannot be caught in a single frame photo. We all comment on the beauty of the rolling green hills and many levels of mountains and fields and textures. We pass some small home or farms, some cows locked in pens and some out grazing. At 11:05 after about 30 minutes from where we packed up the 4 American horse riders we are in the clouds. The […]

Waterfall in La Fortuna, Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Sight-seeing

Today a fellow traveler and I took a cab (that typically costs $8) then paid $10 admission, and walked down about 700 steps to see a beautiful waterfall that everyone raves about. It was nice. But the waterfalls in Juayua, El Salvador were nicer and more fun to swim in. And they were free to get to, with an easy hike or a $3 tuk-tuk ride. Photos of both to be added when I have time.

White Water Rafting in Costa Rica’s Balsa River

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / Sight-seeing

  I LOVED white water rafting with Kern River Tours on the Kern river near Bakersfield, CA and always wanted to go again. so when a couple of people I was with in San Jose, Costa Rica were going rafting out of La Fortuna, Costa Rica I was IN! My first (only, so far) white water rafting in Costa Rica was on its Balsa River – one of the many rivers commercially rated in Costa Rica. It isn’t THE river here but heck, it was rafting! This trip with Costa Rica Descents was Class III and IV, both the upper and lower Balsa. The water was warm so the spray and getting walls of water in my face or on my body was enjoyable. The price I paid, with the help of a local connection, Christian of Sabor Tico, was good. I know many others pay up to $90 for […]

Traveling again: in Costa Rica

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels

This morning starts the third day since I left San Salvador. You may notice I say San Salvador, not El Salvador — and that is a big part of the difference in what I am feeling today and yesterday. I landed in San Salvador as a traveler and a bit of a tourist, but I quickly came to more be living there. San Salvador became home. I had a phone number, a permanent (for three months) address, and I had many friends. People who live there called me and invited me out. I called them. I went to the beach, swimming, out to lunch and dinner, etc with my friends there, not with other travelers. I lived there — an everyday life participating in the everyday lives of my friends. Now I am back on the road again — a traveler. This hit me as I waited for the bus […]

Ended 3 months in El Salvador

 in Central America / Costa Rica / Deb's Travels / El Salvador

I arrived in El Salvador — specifically San Salvador — on July 4th, with a plan to spend one week and two weekends there. By mid-week I had decided to stay another week. Then another… I didn’t leave until my already-extended CA4 visa was ending so I had to leave. I LOVED Cumbres de Volcan, the hostel in Escalon that my CouchSurfing friend had heard about. It easily became home.  It was easy to stay. The neighborhood I was in. It was perfectly safe to walk around in. To walk to beautiful supermarkets and malls, to go out to nice places, to walk all the way downtown… All fear of San Salvador was easily questioned by my Tica bus seat-mate as we arrived in the city. My fears somewhat melted away the first days but I remained diligent. No city is perfectly safe, but as with all cities, if you […]

A traveler’s language challenges

 in Central America / Deb in El Salvador / Deb's Travels / Travel Tips

Tonight’s plan was for me and two friends to hear a woman from Argentina perform at the bar in the Crowne Plaza two short blocks from where I am staying. I’d walked over there this afternoon to learn the times and even find out that her performance coincided with the last half hour of happy hour so we’d enjoy two-for-one draft beer in the warm evening’s air. I was happy that I’d gone over there and inquired in Spanish, gotten the information, and relayed it to my two local friends. However, we arrived to find she is not performing tonight. One of my friends’ response to me: “So your Spanish is not so good.” (Not meant in a bad way.) Really, I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong. I am certainly not fluent in Spanish. I lack many, many words. But I knew how to ask about a female singer […]

Fabulous Fillet at Ruth’s Chris San Salvador

 in Central America / El Salvador / Food / Food in El Salvador

Tonight  my two friends and I weren’t terribly hungry but we wanted a good meal. My friend Frida hadn’t had the opportunity to try the newly-opened Ruth’s Chris San Salvador yet, so it was time. She welcomed me into her life so warmly and has done so much for me that I wanted to take her out before I have to move on (whenever that turns out to be). It’s late but the meal was so good that I have to write about it while the tastes are fresh on my tastebuds and in my memory. A perfect steak dinner at Ruth’s Chris San Salvador None of us were very hungry so it’s great that Ruth’s Chris gladly served French Style — cutting our thick, juicy, perfectly seasoned, sizzling steak by our table, serving a piece to each of us on our own very hot plate. There are several cuts of steak […]

My first El Salvador earthquakes

 in Central America / Deb in El Salvador / Deb's Travels / El Salvador

Last week there was a quake here in San Salvador. Ironically, I was sitting at the dining table at my guest house, working on a Mac there when the all-too familiar shaking started. Sitting at a Mac just like I was during most of the shakes I have felt in Los Angeles for the past many years. Seriously, over 5 months of not sitting at a Mac and here I was – same combo. So here I was relaxing and doing some casual work, when the ground shook. Not rocked. Shook. Sharper than what I felt most in LA. In LA I lived 2 floors up, too high to exit through a window, and always wondered if it was best to stay inside or go out. Here, I was in a single home, but up some stairs. And immediately outside are major electric wires. I wasn’t sure of the building […]

Weekend in Guatemala

 in Central America / Deb's Travels / Guatemala

When I got on my bus from Guatemala City to San Salvador, I never expected to do the reverse drive to Guatemala City and return by the same route again. But I did, when my friend Frida decided to do the trip in her car. Another friend arranged for a CouchSurfing host who lived in a very modern, tall apartment building with a reception desk and a beautiful view. This was a very different experience than my previous visits into the city. I will post the photos of this view when I find them. I didn’t get to take my photos of me leaving Guatemala and entering El Salvador the first time across because passengers were not permitted to get off the Tica bus. So this timne, at least I got a photo as our car crossed the bridge borders. (Of course, I don’t photograph customs offices.)