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