Pan American Road Trip: August 2007

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

New Blog

OK, folks, this is it. We sold the van. We are renting property in North America. I think it's time to move on to a new blog.

If you want to keep up with our adventures in LotusLand (Vancouver), please follow these links for Kim and Douglas, respectively.

http://kwool.blogspot.com/

and

http://theworldlikeadog.blogspot.com/

I hope to see you there! I like keeping in touch this way. Please leave comments if you're still reading, so I know you're out there.

Camp Spots

night 132 *** side of road across the street from Hotel Laboulaye, Laboulaye, AR. free. S34.13234 W063.39148 Unexpected free WiFi from the hotel across the road. Fantastic.
night 131 *** Parqueo on La Rioja, just south of Zapata in Mendoza, AR. 12 pesos for 24 hours. S32.89765 W068.83721 Friendly parqueo, centrally located.
night 130 * Luz y Fuerza camping outside Mendoza, AR. supposed to be 30 pesos (scandalous!) but we snuck out without paying. They didn't even have running water for us, nevermind bathrooms or showers!! 30 pesos!! ha!
night 129 *** Municipal camping in Rodeo, AR. 6 pesos (but there was no one there to pay, so free). S30.20790 W069.13367 Nice campspot in a small town. This part of the country is gorgeous - make sure to visit the Penitents at Paso de Agua Negro.
night 127-128 **** Visitors center at Ischigualasto National Park, AR. 6 pesos. S30.16756 W067.84479 Very friendly rangers, hot showers, and a park at your doorstep.
night 126 *** Camping just south of Monteros, AR, on Ruta 38. 12 pesos. S27.18451 W065.50249 Really hot showers, made hot by a bamboo fire lit under the hot water tank. Who could ask for more?
night 124-125 **** Camping Lorohuasi, Cafayate, AR. 9 pesos. Just south of town on Ruta 40. We biked into town to sample wine and visit bodegas. Wonderful!
night 122-123 *** Parqueo across the street from Hostal Condor Pass. 15 pesos for 24 hours. 3 pesos for a shower at the hostal. A good spot, right in the center of town, near excellent cafes and pastry shops.
night 121 *** Tres Cruces, AR. free. S 22.91920 W 065.58861 parked by the church in this small town. The kioskas nearby sell excellent salami. A bit noisy, but good.
night 120 **** Hotel Mitru, Tupiza, BL. 20 bolivianos. Nice parking spot in their garden, excellent book exchange.
night 119 *** Side of the road south of Uyuni.
night 118 *** Isla Incahuasi, Salar de Uyuni. 10 bolivianos. S20.23931 W067.62229 we camped on the side of the island without infrastructure, but they found us anyway. The money is all used for community development and conservation, so we were happy to pay. The ranger, Victoria, is very interesting to chat with.
night 117 *** In the desert off the side of the road, south of Rio Mulatos, BL. Saw emus in the morning.
night 116 *** Parqueo of a Hotel in Oruro, shoot we forgot to write down any details. Fine.
night 115 *** outside police station in the central square of Chucuito, PE. Free. Nice. Quiet. Friendly police officers.
night 102 - 114 *****Quinta Lala in Cuzco, PE. We're waiting for the new turbo for the van and will be here until it arrives. Luckily it's a tremendously nice place to be stuck!!
night 101 * Turistic Hotel in Pucara, PE. We just ended up back here, and had another sub-par night's sleep.
night 100 ** Parqueo across from Los Uros Hostal in Puno, PE. 6 nuevos soles. Not a bad parqueo. They also washed our car for 5 soles.
night 99 * Turistic Hotel in Pucara, PE. 35 soles for a room, we parked in their lot, next to the mail road.
night 97-8 back at Quinta Lala, hooray!
night 96 *** La Payacha Hostal in Aquas Calientes, PE. $25. Not a bad option in expensive Aguas Calientes.
night 93-95 ***** Quinta Lala in Cuzco, PE. 26 nuevos soles. A true overlander spot, with a big lawn full of other overlanders, hot showers, laundry, kitchen, etc. They can also recommend lots of things to do and see in and around Cuzco.
note - Cconocc Hot Springs, about an hour east of Abancay, would be a lovely place to camp. We stopped for lunch and a quick swim. Look out for the tiny biting flies - the bites itch like crazy for days!! Turnoff is at S13.54855 W072.64048 and the hot springs are down a small dirt road at W13.54278 W072.63858
night 92 ** Hostal Turistico in Abancay, PE. 20 nuevos soles. Nice big cochera, bathroom and water available.
night 91 * Hostal Jousef in Puquio, PE. 10 nuevos soles. S14.69476 W074.12465 Parked in their cochera. Toilet available, but no water. Very inattentive staff, and they changed the price at the last minute.
night 88-90 **** Bananas Hotel in Huacachina, PE. 20 nuevos soles. S14.08689 W075.76365
night 87 *** Reserva Nacional de Paracas, PE. 10 nuevos soles. S13.83282 W076.30373 Beautiful campspot on the beach. Bathroom facilities disgusting beyond words.
night 86 *** Parqueo in Huacho, PE. free, after we gave them our fold-up chairs, which they loved. Otherwise, 3 nuevos soles for the night. S11.10411 W077.59616 The family was super-friendly and very happy to welcome long-distance travellers. They wanted to know everything about our trip. They also opened up a block of showers and toilets for us.
night 85 * Hostal Blanco, Yungay, PE. 40 nuevos soles. not recommended. Got stuck in the mud and shorted out the whole compound trying to have a hot shower.
night 84 **** Plaza de Armas, Yuramarca, PE. free. S08.73756 W077.90399 We felt like we had landed the mother ship on another planet. No one had seen anything like us before. They were very welcoming and *very* curious.
night 82-3 ***** The Garden hotel, Huanchaco, PE. 25 nuevos soles. very near Nice hotel in a cute beach town. They let us park on the lawn by the pool, and use the *hot* showers in one of the rooms. Excellent.
night 81 *** Garaje in Lambayeque, PE. 3 nuevos soles. S06.70602 W079.90399. 21m. Nice parqueo in a quiet town, run by a *very* friendly family.
night 80 * Parqueo in Piura, PE. 18 nuevos soles. Only place in town that would have us. Doubled as a chicken coop.
night 79 * Hostal Tenguel, Tenguel, EC. $10. Cold showers, parked on the street out front of the hotel. Motorcycles without mufflers circled us all night long.
night 77-78 ** Parqueo in Cuenca, EC. $2. No facilities, central to town.
night 74-76 *** El Pedron, Banos, EC. $16 for the room while I was sick, $6 to camp.
night 72-73 *** La Luna hostal, Otavalo, EC. $6.
night 71 **** Cotopaxi National Park. S00.63667 W078.48397. $26. Spendy, no services. Amazing views and hikes. no other people.
night 69-70 ***** Posada Tigua. Near Quilotoa S00.94724 W078.85661. $4. Working Posada, great food, great hosts, felt like we were at home.
night 68 * Rocafuerte Av. Guaranda, EC. Free. Quiet side street near the park. Level.
night 67 * Guaranda Central Square, EC. Free. Nice benches. Busy in the am.
night 66 * Chimborazo Refugio, EC. $10. Only vicunas live here, and we found out why, at 5000m it was a bad nights sleep.
night 65 *** Hotel Las Flores, Guaranda, EC. $16. Clean, quiet and safe, no parking. Parked down the street at a garage.
night 64 ** Central Square in Salinas, EC. Free. These folks get up early, and get really excited with the church bells around 5:30.
night 59-63 *** Hotel Pacifico, Guayaquil, EC. $16 Clean, Quiet and safe, right downtown and near the Malecon. Has a garage.
night 58 *** Hotel Tren Dorado, Riobamba, Ecuador. $16. Very cute, right next to the train station.
night 57 ** Hotel Picket $16, Quito, Ecuador A bit noisy and hotel door didn't lock very well.
night 56 -** Panama city airport. Free. Slept under a bench for a few hours each, in shifts, as we forgot the alarm clock and didn't want to miss our flight. We miss the van.
night 54-55 ** Balboa Yacht Club. Panama City. Free. WiFi. Bar. Never really spoke to anyone except to get more beer.
night 53 *** Outside the ranger station at Parque Nacional Soberania, just north of Pedro Miguel Esclusas, Panama. Free (though this seems variable). Everyone was very friendly and we met their pet Toucan.
night 52 *** Outside the police station, El Valle, Panama. Cokes for the policemen. N08°36.262' W080°07.729' The police officers were very nice, helped us find a flat place to park, indicated where there was a water tap we could use. They would not accept beer as payment (we're not in Nicaragua anymore, toto). Nice quiet safe place in the middle of a cute town, but no bathrooms. Across the street from the Sunday market, too!!
night 51 * outside Hotel Little Mozart, Boquete, Panama. free. * No one was around at the hotel to let us in (they offer camping), so we parked outside in a well-lit area and slept there.
night 50 * Parqueo, San Isidro de la General, Costa Rica. 3500 colones. Terrible. A parqueo in the middle of town, right next to a disco that played LOUD 80's music unti the wee hours. What is it with 80's music in Central America??
night 48-49 ** Gaudy's, San Jose, Costa Rica, 5,000 Colones, Parked and slept in their parking lot. Free internet and friendly staff. No loud music, hooray!
night 47 **** Finca los Maestros, Orosi, Costa Rica, free (visited the school and will be penpalling with the students) N09°46.032 W083°47.392. Parked near Gabriella and Mirella's house, were welcomed to use the bathroom and get water. The scenery, filled with coffee plantations and cloud forest was worth the short trip from San Jose.
night 45-46 ***** Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, Costa Rica. 8,200 colones. N10°07.819' W084°07.523' Parked the van next to the ranger station inside the gates. A bit of a bumpy and steep dirt road, not suitable for very large campers, though you could park outside the gates. Freindly ranger and incredible cloud forest with gorgeous views of the central valley (SJ).
night 42-44 * Pangea hostel. San Jose, Costa Rica. 10,600 colones. N09°56.232' W084°04.587' A good safe place to park the van while we work on it and wait for the boat to Ecuador. Yummy food, nice staff. Unfortunately it's full of 20-something dreadlocky backpackers who start drinking at 8:30am (seriously) and keep the music pumping until 1am. ugh. not much sleep to be had.
night 41 **** Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica. free (we're not sure it was supposed to be). N 10*20.783' W85*20.793'. More birds than we've ever seen in one place. They sky darkened when they took off. Amazing.
night 40 * San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Outside police station, free. N 11° 15.028 W 085° 52.399. Friendly police, near beach, right in town. Water nearby.
night 38, 39 ***** Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. Ensuenos 270 cordobas.Heaven on earth. You feel like you have your very own tropical beach.
night 37, 38 ** Little Corn Island, Nicaragua. Grace's Cool Spot 140 cordobas. Close to the beach, good food, the most uncomfortable bed we've *ever* slept in.
night 35, 36 * Granada, Nicaragua. Parqueo near Central Park 50 cordobas. A parqueo. Centrally located. No facilities. (Wed - Sun the van stayed here while we went to LCisland, 350 cordobas)
night 34 *** El Paraiso, Honduras. Quinta Avenida Hotel 225L. Private bathroom with hot water shower (the hottest since Asheville!!). The TV in the room kept us up way too late. Close to the Nicaraguan border (30min)
night 33 *** Lake Yojoa, Honduras. Los Naranjos archeological site, free (bought the guard a coke) GPS: N14*56.384' W088*01.199' They seemed to welcome us with 4 military guards watching over the sort of enclosed grounds. It seemed like we are also expected to see the ruins in the morning. $5US each, gulp.
night 32 * Copan Ruinas, Honduras. Texaco Station, 50L. GPS: N14*50.351' W089*08.853' it's a gas station, but there's a guy with a big gun across his lap sitting in the parking lot all night, and we paid him to camp here, so we guess it's OK. Terrible nights sleep due to passing truck traffic. Spoke with someone else who boondocked in central square with no problems.
night 31 *** Chiquimula, Guatemala. Hotel Hernandez, 50Q. GPS: N14*48.096' W089*32.703' a very happy and happening hotel. shared bathrooms are *tiny* but clean, and it's right in the town center, close to several *wonderful* supermarkets and an internet cafe. It also has a pool just barely big enough for laps.
night 28-30 ***** Poptun, Guatemala. Finca Ixobel, 44Q. GPS: N16*18.215' W089*25.216'lovely friendly ecological inn with a great kitchen serving delicious cheap meals. A great place to rest and recharge before hitting the road again.
night 26-27 ***** Tikal, Guatemala. Tikal Ruins Campground, 60Q. GPS:N17*13.493' W089*36.699 walking distance from the ruins, with clean bathrooms and showers, near to some nice small cheap restaurants, very hot and buggy, monkeys, parrots, toucans, Peten turkeys, and other unrecognizable animals roaming through the campground
night 25 *** El Remate, Guatemala. Gringo Perdido Ecological Inn 50Q. right on Lago de Peten Itza (crystal clear turquoise waters, nice swimming, breezes to keep the mosquitos away), with pit toilets and a sink with water
night 24 ** Salama, Guatemala. Hospedaje Juarez, 50Q (and the attendant was willing to cut us a deal for less if we left before 7am when his boss showed up, but we didn't want to get up that early) a secure parking spot in a cheap hotel, OK bathrooms and nasty showers
night 22,23 * Antigua, Guatemala. Los Encinos Parqueo, 40Q per day. a parking lot. dirty bathrooms. but right in the center of town. 3era Calle Poniente #28, tel 7832-0553
night 21 ***** Panajachel, Guatemala. Hotel Tzanjuyu, 75 Q. gorgeous spot on the lake, clean bathrooms and hot showers, close to the markets in Chichicastenango and Solola
night 7-20 ***** Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala Home Stay while studying spanish with Celas Maya. Highly recommend this school, beautiful courtyard setting for studying with great teachers. 5hrs 1 on 1 instruction with room and board - $130us/wk
night 6 **** Lagos de Montebello, Mexico Camping area within national park, 20 pesos. Parking by Ranger station and Orchid green house, no shower, clean bathroom inside Ranger station, friendly rangers
night 5 *** San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico Camping place s.e of town (walking distance), 80pesos. spotty water supply, decent, lots of cats.
night 4 *** Catemaco, Mexico eco camping place outside of town, 80 pesos
night 3 **** Emerald Coast, Mexico campground in Mexican camping, 140 pesos
night 2 * Ozuluama, Mexico can't remember hotel name, 280 pesos had to pay for a room to camp there, so had a hot shower
night 1 ** La Pesca, Mexico La Gaviota Hotel, 180 pesos nice view, lots of pelicans, kind of expensive and a little run-down. Bathrooms, cold showers.

Pan American Road Trip

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

New Blog

on the road

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