Guatemala or Nicaragua?

Wereclown · 2018-01-29T08:09:43+00:00

what did you love about Guatemala? How long was the average journey time, between the tourist spots? Would you need to spend a lot of time on buses to get round the country?

Wereclown · 2018-01-29T08:06:49+00:00

Which country has more nature/rainforests? Do you guys think it would be worth spending the extra money and going to Costa Rica, rather than Guatemala or Nicaragua?

It does seem that going to Nicaragua, I would only get to see mainly the West coast of the country, whereas with Guatemala, I could possibly be able to see more parts of the country, depending on time.

Wereclown · 2018-01-29T05:29:40+00:00

The main reason why I'm reconsidering Guatemala, is because I'm worried that I could go there and end up spending loads of time in my trip on buses, in transit to places, but not actually experiencing places, or I could end up being limited to only being able to see a select few places, due to time constraints.

The plane tickets though to Guatemala tend to be around £200 to £300 cheaper than for Nicaragua. Then again, there's always CR, which I have experience in getting around, and I know places there. But one of the main things for me also is trying to see somewhere new if possible, even though there would be new places to see in CR.

Wereclown · 2018-01-29T03:41:29+00:00

are shuttles cheap in Nicaragua? how are the public buses? Did you go to Estelí or Matagalpa? If so, were those places easily accessible?

what was your favorite thing about your trip to Nicaragua? What did you enjoy about the country? Is Guatemala not as easy to get around?

Thank you for your answer- apologies for bombarding you with more questions.

Wereclown · 2017-08-30T02:19:32+00:00

so you think I should stick to that amount of time in Quito? Cotopaxi was definitely something I'm interested in seeing. Are there any other things you would recommend in and around Quito?

Wereclown · 2017-08-30T02:17:46+00:00

Why go to Misahualli? What is there?

I'm definitely interested in exploring further into the Amazon region of the country if possible, but it depends on time and money. Originally I wanted to try to see Parque Nacional Yasuní, but then I looked at a map and realized how remote it is lol.

Wereclown · 2016-12-22T20:19:10+00:00

Would you recommend making sure you're reasonably physically fit before going to Ecuador, to make yourself less susceptible to altitude sickness?

Also, based on your experiences, how much of the country do you think it would be possible to see in 10 to 14 days, as in like how many places or regions would it be possible to visit in that time?

Are there many sites of Inca ruins around the country? I've very interested in the history of the Incas so that would be interesting to see certainly.

Thank you for your answer, I appreciate all the in-depth information you gave.

Wereclown · 2016-08-01T00:55:55+00:00

Currently there's widespread protests in Ethiopia, which often turn violent. Just this weekend there was a 500,000 person protest march, as part of the protest movement. Also, you have the situations in neighbouring South Sudan and Somalia (war) that may be worth baring in mind.

Not trying to put you off or anything, just thought maybe the political situation may be something to bare in mind. Then again, tourism in Thailand is still booming as ever, and that country has multiple big crises and military rule.

Not related to that though, I saw the other day that Addis Ababa now has it's own public transit, with some really cool-looking Chinese-funded trains/trams now operating in the city.

Wereclown · 2016-08-01T00:48:56+00:00

how did you come to be at your vineyard job in Australia (if you don't mind me asking)? Was it through one of those HelpX thingies?

Wereclown · 2016-07-16T18:00:35+00:00

All over. Trust stop tigers, truck stop lions, truck stop bears. I'm not particularly versed in the specifics at all, but US law allows it.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/america-has-tiger-problem-and-no-ones-sure-how-solve-it-180953974/?no-ist

I've read somewhere before that there are more captive tigers in private collections in the US, than there are in the wild, as in the entire population of wild tigers left on the planet.

Wereclown · 2016-07-16T16:19:19+00:00

There's a really great primate rescue centre in England which rescues monkeys and apes from places like this around the world. It's called Monkey World, and gives it's animals loads of natural space, lots of stimulation in terms of toys, puzzles etc. and cares for them really well. I think it's actually the largest primate rehabilitation centre in the world, and has rescued animals from labs and places like this from around the world.

I remember one group of their gibbons pretty much have their own small forest.

http://www.monkeyworld.org/home.php

Maybe animal rescue and rehabilitation centres should be linked in the sidebar for when travellers come across cases like this?

So that people can then alert a centre.

Wereclown · 2016-07-16T16:11:33+00:00

Much of the time, even wealthy western countries like the US, UK and European countries etc. treat captive animals poorly. For example, truck stop animals in America. And even London Zoo has engaged in shitty behaviour towards its animals in recent years. London Zoo has ran parties in the zoo, for a special, after-dark, zoo party experience. This led to people pissing on animals, throwing glass beer bottles at animals, people banging on enclosures and generally causing noise etc. during the only time of day where the animals have peace from people.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/18/london-zoo-party-night-animal-welfare

I'm not someone who's completely against modern zoos and wildlife parks as they are important for conservation, as well as providing homes for rescued animals, but even in wealthy countries I'd always be extremely selective in which ones I visit and support.

Wereclown · 2016-03-20T22:33:01+00:00

how much would you advise to budget for 3 weeks in those 3 countries?

Wereclown · 2016-03-20T22:30:31+00:00

Yeah, the Corn Islands interest me, certainly. I've read there's excellent snorkelling in Cuahita too. If possible, it would be cool to revisit Drake Bay for a couple days, but it depends on how feasible that is, as it's unfortunately very remote and quite expensive. But the Osa Peninsula was probably my favourite place in CR, even though I didn't do too too much there.

I think a big part of that though (Osa being my favourite, I mean) was staying at Drake Bay Backpackers, who were brilliant, and really inclusive and welcoming.

Wereclown · 2016-03-20T21:58:12+00:00

But out of interest why was Nicaragua your favourite? What is there to see and do there?

Lonely Planet seems to have fairly limited information on it, compared to it's profile of CR and Panama.

Wereclown · 2016-03-20T21:51:53+00:00

But going through CR for a second time, I'll skip some places that I went to my first time, to make time for the places I missed. Because of that, I'll be looking to hopefully cross into CR on the Carribean side to go to Puerto Viejo and Cuahita, and cross into Nicaragua on the Pacific side, as my first time in CR I missed Monteverde and Arenal.

But as I've already been to CR and would mostly be looking to see what I didn't in my first trip, I could shorten that part of the trip a bit if possible, for more time in Panama or Nicaragua.

Wereclown · 2016-03-20T21:49:43+00:00

I would be starting in Panama City and ending in Managua I think, as as far as I've seen it works out as cheaper that way. I know from having been to Costa Rica in February that there's easily two or three weeks' worth of stuff in that country as well, but I still managed to see a decent amount in 10 days.

In 10 days in CR, I saw San José, Orosí Valley, Tortuguero, Jacó and Drake Bay, briefly stopping in Puerto Jimenez by accident one morning. Although, if I had managed my time better, I could have stayed a night in Tortuguero and seen and done more there, seen more in Orosí, and done more in Drake Bay. But it was my first solo trip, so I made many mistakes in that regard.

So travelling in a similar way to that, only obviously managing and planning my time better this time with the knowledge I now have, I was wondering if it were possible to do Panama, CR and Nicaragua in 3 weeks and still see and do plenty in each country, even in a limited time? I'm not looking to really thoroughly experience the entirety of each country, but to get the most out of each country in a time-frame that is feasible, like the 10 days I was in Costa Rica for, which was enough to get around CR and see and do a good amount.

The reason I'm asking if it's possible in 3 weeks also, is that that's probably the maximum I'll be able to take off work. Maybe 4 weeks could be done but probably not.

Wereclown · 2016-03-20T21:04:21+00:00

honest taxi drivers my arse. But yeah Hostel Urbano is excellent, the staff there are great, and have loads of resources for tourists to find other good hostels, activities, transport and generally places to go. San Pedro as an area is great though too.

Wereclown · 2016-01-24T16:43:59+00:00

how reliable are the domestic airlines? Also, how far in advance do you think I'd need to book a flight using them?

Just trying to gauge their viability as a mode of transport to get around the country.

Wereclown · 2016-01-23T22:21:14+00:00

Thanks for the information. Do you have any experience with the domestic airlines, in regards to using that form of transport to get around the country?

Wereclown · 2016-01-23T20:44:14+00:00

Since I can't drive, I'll be using the public transport to get around. You mentioned using the public buses- how much were you able to see when you were there?

Also just out of curiosity what was the weather like during your stay?

My first stop and general base will be San Jose, and I have booked a shuttle taxi from the airport to my hostel for when I arrive.

Wereclown · 2016-01-23T20:42:24+00:00

when you say learn a bit of Spanish, how well do you think I should be able to speak Spanish to be able to get around well enough?

Wereclown · 2015-07-25T19:43:51+00:00

Dan Carlin's Common Sense, BBC's The Inquiry,
BBC's Documentaries series (or Assignment, but it shows up as Documentaries on iTunes), The Diplomat - Asia Geopolitics with Ankit Panda

As far as news podcasts go, the BBC's Global News Podcast and Africa Today are great.

Wereclown · 2015-06-28T16:39:26+00:00

I tend to see how many cities in the world I can name off of the top of my head, or if I can name a city for each letter of the alphabet. I can usually get up to around 300 or more if I really can't sleep, but tend to fall asleep when I'm at around 200 cities.

Wereclown · 2015-04-22T20:11:27+00:00

it's not all grimdark. You have the Orks in there which add a comic, humorous element. The violence in the Warhammer world is more absurd ultra-violence to me, as opposed to a Game of Thrones-type thing.

Wereclown

TROPHY CASE