Nicaragua

Ken went to visit family for a week and while he was gone, we went to Honduras for 4 days. We have no pictures of Honduras given my unfortunate incident with our camera. However, we spent a couple days seeing every historic building and one excellent museum in Tegucigalpa, the capitol. This may be the only Central American capitol that has not been devastated by earthquakes and its downtown has block after block of interesting buildings. However, most are in a state of disrepair. In better times, I imagine it could be like a small Oaxaca! In the city and in a tour we took of the countryside around the capitol, the povery and disparity of income levels is the most notable of any country we have been in to date. There are also more fast food restaurants and banks here (like 5 on every block) than any other place we have been.


On 3/26, we said goodbye to Mac and Allen from Effie and the rest of the folks at the Marina and headed south with Lost Elvis. Lost Elvis headed directly to Costa Rica, but we headed for Puesta del Sol in Nicaragua and arrived in the above beautiful spot on 3/27.

On 3/28, we, along with four other boaters, hired a van to take us to the nearest town, Chinandega. The road to the Marina won't be a dirt one for too much longer!

The church is dated 1885. It is well tended, but somewhat in disrepair. This would be about the best looking building in Honduras. Only in Honduras there would be garbage every where. Chinandega may be the most litter-free town we have ever seen. There was no garbage anywhere! The park at the main square was filled with brightly colored swingsets and other playgound equipment for kids. We had not seen that anywhere before. It was bustling and the people were very friendly.

The restaurant our driver took us to was pretty basic, but the food was delicious! Jalepeno sauced beef, beef with tomatoes and chilies, red beans, rice, tortilla chips and potato salad.

See this clean street? We just liked this juxtaposition of old/new with the horse drawn buggy on this one-way street. There are also three wheeled bicycles for hire to take people places within town. The town was busier than this picture shows.

A Ruins trip

The excellent chef from the Marina, Martin (who learned to cook in El Salvador first from a French and then an Italian chef), provides a van service inland on his days off. We hired him to take us on a tour of the ruins which took us north toward Guatemala. First stop was Joya de Ceren. This site was a bustling village 1400 years ago when the Loma Caldera Volcano erupted and buried the area in 10 layers of ash. Cooking and eating utensils and all kinds of pottery and other objects were left intact. Evidence of meals that were cooking when the inhabitants fled have been discovered. The area is still being excavated.

San Andres is 3 km. from Joya de Ceren. This was a ceremonial site that dated from the time Joya de Ceren was destroyed (in the 600's). Some of it was covered with ash when the volcano again erupted in the 1600's. Only a tiny amount of this area has been excavated and one can imagine the pyramids that are under all the hills that can be seen throughout the area.

Human settlement in Tazumal began in 1200 B.C. Within this over 24 meter high structure, tombs were found containing hundreds of ceramic vessels, jade jewelry, pyrite iron mirrors, ball game artifacts and lizard shaped ceramic figures.

Casa Blanca contains a nice museum and just skeletal outlines of buildings from the settlement there that dates back to 1500 B.C. Remains of the Nahuatl culture have been found here. The museum also tells the story of indigo, its production, and history of use through colonial times.

Beach and San Salvador

Either the property surveyor got it wrong, or the beach has washed away, but plans for this house are clearly on hold. There was another abandoned building behind this house and it looked to be a much larger condominium building. Incidently, this beach reminded us very much of the Long Beach, WA area - a beautiful walking beach that goes on for miles. Only this beach and the water were MUCH warmer.

Of course, you did not see many cows walking on the Long Beach Peninsula, either.

We took local buses to San Salvador the Saturday before the election. It costs a couple of dollars for the 2 1/2 hour ride. At many stops, vendors would come on and walk the aisles selling candy coated peanuts, pupusas, water, colas, toys, fruit, etc. The peanut seller used a tong to give everyone a taste and he consequently had many buyers. They were delicious! While in San Salvador, we went to our first pupuseria. Pupusas are a national food item. They consist of corn meal or rice batter stuffed with beans, beans and cheese, or beans, cheese and meat. These are then grilled and served with cabbage in vinegar and a mild red salsa. Two or three will make a meal and they cost between 35 and 50 cents each.

The city of San Salvador has been leveled several times in reccent history by earthquakes, so none of the remaining buildings are particularly old or interesting, but the cathedral has been rebuilt.

Saturday is market day in San Salvador. This is downtown. The market here went on for block after block after block. The currency in El Salvador is the U.S. dollar. The vendors seem to sell everything for either a quarter or 4 for a dollar. It was just a vibrant scene with very friendly people.

Bahia del Sol

We arrived in El Salvador on 3/10 having by-passed Guatemala as Ralph and I had both been there in the past. None of us had been to El Salvador before. Our timing was a bit off as the Salvadorans were gearing up for their national election the following Sunday. We were advised not to discuss this or be involved with any election activities. Ralph did get a sense of how the winds were blowing from the resident parrots at the Marina. Incidently, the parrots correctly predicted the winner. By all accounts the election was free and transparent and the Salvadorans were proud that their fledgling Democracy keeps getting stronger.

There is a Canadian woman (Jan) who sailed to El Salvador and then stayed. She bought this piece of land on the lagoon where our Marina was located, built a house with an outdoor kitchen and dining area, and started a two day a week free English language school for local children and adults. She serves a chicken dinner to cruisers each Wednesday in order to raise funds for school supplies. Boaters provide the beverages of their choice. It was our first "bring your own cooler" event.

At the arriving end of the dock, this is the typical sight when all our dinghies are there. These are cruisers' cars.

The outdoor eating area with kitchen in the center background. This is also where the children come to school. I taught school one Monday. It starts after the regular schools are out. High school girls are in the 2:00 group and my job was to converse with them in English about anything they wanted to talk about. They wanted to talk mostly about the beach and learning English so they could work at local hotels. They also said their mom has told them not to get married and start having children at too young of an age! One of them shared that her father was a fisherman but she hated fish and she thought that was so funny! At 3:00, little kids and one local mother come to the beginning class where we engaged in identifying pictures of fruit and vegetables. They got little pieces of candy or a fruit when they could properly say the English word. The third group at 4:00 is made up of more advanced classes of middle schoolers. Their assignment was to put some sentences in proper order. When my group (the boys) were done with the assignment, we talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Some were uncertain but several wanted to be mechanics, one wanted to be a doctor, and one wanted to be an accountant! It was simply a wonderful afternoon.

The land that Jan owns is overgrown with native fruit trees including several kinds of mangos (we took bags of them back to the boat - yum!) She also has cashew trees. The red pod indicates the nut is ripening. There is one cashew in each pod. As we traveled through the countryside we noticed lots of cultivation and small farms and, of course, roadside stands selling the products such as pineapples, coconuts, mangos, papayas, etc.

Passing the bar

A "weather window" finally arrived for crossing the Bay of Tehuantapec, so many southbound boaters prepared for a departure from Huatulco. The sailboat "Effie", with whom we shared a dock, and subsequent passage, organized a bon voyage dock party, and our deck never tasted so good, as it was used for the potluck buffet table.

After our three day passage, we arrived at Bahia del Sol in El Salvador, and then the fun really started. To enter the bay, you must follow a panga over a sandbar at high tide. Inspiration draws slightly less than 7', and our depth sounder read 7'1" at one point.

Surfing the waves over the bar.

In a trough. Are we having fun yet?

Inside the bay.

Oaxaca 2

Our tour also took us to another historic site - Mitla. Mitla means place of the dead. This is where the older notables from the Zapotec and then Mixtec cultures came to live until they died. There are remnants of the reds and golds that were prominent colors and they were bright! It continued to be inhabited after the Spanish conquest, unlike Monte Alban, and so many of the artifacts were stolen throughout the years as the tombs were filled with many treasures and much gold. We ended the day at a Mezcal factory where we found out how it was made and got to taste samples. Mezcal is different from tequila in that it is only distilled twice. We were told this drink is good for you! So, drink up!

Oaxaca is full of colonial architecture. Many buildings are made of green stone which is hand carved by Oaxacan crafts people. Stores, commercial buildings, houses, and churches are found on each block which makes walking a major attraction. There are also lots of pedestrian walkways. The Camino Real Hotel is housed in the former Santa Catalina Convent which was started in 1567. After Mexican Reform Laws in 1862 closed it down, it was used for municipal offices, a jail, and two different schools. It has been beautifully restored.

Santo Domingo de Guzman was opened for worship in 1608. It is said to be one of the best examples of the Baroque style in Mexico. The altar piece was made using gold leaf in 1959 by Oaxacan artisans, as it was previously destroyed by the conquistadores. It is attached to a monastary which is now the Santo Domingo Cultural Center which houses artifacts from Monte Alban and recounts the history of the area from then until today.

This is at one of the 5 or 7 Bays of Huatulco depending upon which map you view. It is about 2 miles from the Marina. We walked up one day and found this hotel - it was the only way to get to the beach. And there we saw FOG for the first time since Mag Bay last November. The cooler feel of the air was a welcome change, but did not make us hunger for more. Today is March 6 and we are leaving tomorrow to cross the Tehuantepec Bay. We have been waiting for a fair weather window as we will be out for up to 4 nights before we get to El Salvador. The Harbor Master says that the upcoming window is the best he has seen in years. Nine boats are planning to leave during this window. Effie will be our boat buddy so we will be in contact daily and more as needed during the crossing.

Oaxaca

After finding a geat hotel on the Zocalo and enjoying Saturday evening festivities that included an all girl rock band, followed by a series of other rock bands on the mainstage and a wonderful Mexican group playing in a corner of the square, we got up early on Sunday, ate breakfast, and went to the ruins at Monte Alban. According to local info, this site is considered the most important MesoAmerican Archaelogical site. It was inhabited by the Mixtec and Zapotec cultures and flourished from 500 B.C. until after 600 A.D. It is located on the top of a mountain which rises 1200 feet above the valley. The inhabitants farmed the valleys below. The site includes ruins of houses, ceremonial grounds, government buildings, etc. From this site, one can see many covered hills surrounding the areas. These are all ruins from the era and only a tiny percentage of the area has been excavated.

Sunday on the square featured a symphony playing classical music. We spent the rest of the day exploring markets and walking through more of the historic center of the city. By evening there were more bands playing a variety of music, from marimba bands, to solo accordian players. It was constantly busy and obviously used by the citizens of Oaxaca in addition to us Turistas. We had a late Oaxacan meal and then got back to the hotel to watch the Academy awards which were broadcast in Espanol.

We were on a mission to find great traditional as well as more contemporary fare. We did not find a bad restaurant the whole trip. We stumbled upon this traditional restaurant where we had a great meal (including grasshoppers in a chile relleno) and great service by the owner who was an older woman. We also sampled mole (there are 7 types), string cheese, giant tortillas, Oaxacan tamales and black bean soup. We were given a glass of mezcal after the meal as it is said to be good for digestion. There was no charge for the mezcal, we were told that, in her restaurant, diners are treated like friends.

Monday, after watching the miltary practice for a flag day celebration on the square, we took a tour to several spots including Santa Maria El Tule. The main attraction in this town is the 2,000 year old drooping Juniper tree. It is wider than it is high and I have all the dimensions somewhere, but not where I am writing this....

The tour took us through the Sierra Madres to Hierve El Agua, the petrified waterfall. You can just barely see the waterfall in the upper center of the picture. The water runs slowly and is full of minerals which is why it petrifies. The site also has mineral pools that are good for aching joints and seemed to be used by a variety of people, including the Zapotecs, in spite of its remoteness. We also went to a Zapotec village called Teotitlan Del Valle where its inhabitants weave wool rugs. They demonstrated the technique and showed us how the colors are obtained from natural products like marigolds, beetles, mesquite, and jasmine.

Huatulco

After Zihuatanejo, we headed to Panapoa for one night. We left at dawn for Acupulco and actually stayed one beach down at Puerto Marques. I forgot to mention that Ken is now taking pictures as I dropped the camera into Manzanillo Bay....It was in a pack that fell and I retrieved it right away but just a drop or two of salt water does not mix the electronics, evidently! Anyway, this is a daybreak shot while underway.

Aculpulco is big and trying hard to regain its allure as "the place to be". There are all kinds of upscale projects in Aculpulco and neighboring bays. Some of the newer condos in Puerto Marques are the most expensive ones in the area. And there are bays after Marques that are being developed. The little town of Marques has a Costco! We went to see the famous cliff divers of La Quebrada in Acupulco. You should Google this for the history and to see if there are more pictures of the divers. It was a great show and hard to do it justice from our viewing area. Pretty thrilling, though.

Fuerte de San Diego - started in the 1500's by the Spanish. You can see some of Aculpulco's many highrises in the background. This older part of town by the Malecon and Zocolo is pretty charming.

On 2/17, we headed for the Bays of Huatulco. This was an overnight trip and while out on the ocean we saw many turtles, and birds sitting on turtles, dolphins and a whale or two. We never get tired of seeing these sights out at sea.

We docked at Huatulco Marina. This is an area with several pretty bays. It is being developed by the Mexican Government (Fonatur) and there is much activity all around. However, several large developments have signs on them indicating the government shut them down. Evidently, these developers did not get their environmental impact statements in on time and so the government suspended work on these projects. Maybe the economy is keeping them from starting right back up, who knows? Anyway, there is a lovely town, La Crucecita, where the folks who work in the resorts live. They have great markets like all the other places we have visited in Mexico. And all the water is potable they say....

Oaxaca is only a 6 1/2 hour van ride on mountainly, twisty, sometimes dirt roads. There is also a highway, but the bus ride takes 8 hours. We wanted to get off the beaten track, so took the van. This picture does not do the road justice in spite of Ken's valiant efforts. It was too bumpy to get shots when the road was at its most interesting. We passed by signs advertising barbecued goat. We saw burros transporting crops, log trucks with loads tied down in a way that would be against the law in the U.S., and lots of great people in their small towns.