The weight of my backpack at 5:00 AM was brutal: 9 liters of water, 1 sleeping bag, and sundry other camping bits and bobs. And I was one of the lucky ones. Dan carried all that plus an old school (read: heavy) four-person tent.
Even at this hour, it was steamy. Under the weight of my pack, I was glazed in sweat before we reached the crossroads for the chicken bus to the trail head. I looked around at the young, energetic faces – mostly in their early 20s – and wondered, “Am I too old to be doing this?” Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Nicaragua, Panorama, Travel, Videos by: Audrey Scott
20 Comments | 3 July 2009
Ah, the local barber. A ritual, a comfort of home.
Not so for me. Every haircut is a new adventure: a different country, a new language and yet another man with scissors (or God forbid, clippers) who has his own ideas about style.
During a recent ear-lowering interlude in Leon, Nicaragua (see our 360-degree panorama photo below), it struck me that barber shops are less about haircuts and more about history and culture. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Nicaragua, Panorama, Perspectives by: Daniel Noll
9 Comments | 28 June 2009
Over 900 days on the road, and I’m still not immune to the phenomenon of culture shock. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, El Salvador, Personal Growth, Travel by: Audrey Scott
23 Comments | 23 June 2009
She is nine years old.
She lives in El Salvador.
She sells sugar wafer cookies on buses leaving the market in Santa Ana. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, El Salvador, Perspectives by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
5 Comments | 15 June 2009
Guatemala surprises with its variety and delivers a diversity of humanity and landscape that belies its size. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Guatemala, Photography by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
5 Comments | 13 June 2009
Descendants of shipwrecked slaves from Nigeria; Jerry Garcia’s rumored Caribbean seaside bungalow hideout; warrior dances (see video below) and turtle shell drums; echoes of an accented pigeon pidgin English that smacks of Jamaica; and a remarkable coconut seafood soup called tapado.
This is Livingston, home of the Garifuna. This is the other side of Guatemala.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Guatemala, Travel, Videos by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
15 Comments | 10 June 2009
“Hola, Gringos!” a little Honduran girl calls out to us from the garden of the coffee plantation-cum-guest house on the edge of Gracias, Honduras where we awoke Saturday morning.
“Hola, ninos!” we offer in response.
Giggles all around. Little do we know what a prescient greeting it is. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Honduras, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
5 Comments | 7 June 2009
What do we do when we’re not chasing chicken buses from one town to the next? Here’s a hint.
Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Honduras, Travel by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
12 Comments | 21 May 2009
Some friends have suggested that we attach helmet cameras to our heads to give viewers the unabridged full monty version of our lives.
Trust us, you really don’t want to see all of it. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Guatemala, Travel, Videos by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
10 Comments | 14 May 2009
There we were at the dock in San Pedro bargaining for a boat to Santiago. The price seemed prohibitively high for a whimsical afternoon side trip on Lake Atitlan. Natasha, another traveler hoping to take the same boat, also questioned the price.
“You know, I have a car here. We could drive. You can just give me some gas money.”
Sounded like a reasonable alternative.
Just as we turned to leave, the boat ticket salesman’s voice rose, “Carretera. Banditos. Peligroso.” (Highway. Bandits. Dangerous.) Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Central America, Guatemala, Travel, Videos by: Audrey Scott
19 Comments | 28 April 2009
