Panama City, Panama

Folks,

Well, here I am. Final week. It's hard to believe. I'm now in Panama City, and it's been so hot the last couple of days that I'm happy to be hiding away in my hotel room with the air conditioning on. The hotel is called Hotel California, and the mat outside the door actually says, Welcome to the Hotel Calfornia.

The pic of the week shows the financial district (El Cangrejo) from the old city (Casco Viejo). I'm not sure what I expected of Panama City, but it wasn't this. It's like Manhattan on the Pacific.

Leaving Ometepe
----------------
I had a really early start on Monday, taking the 5.30am ferry from Ometepe. They gave us life jackets when we got on, and I put mine by my side on the seat. Of course, the next minute I moved and off it went into the lake. A major rescue operation ensued as they scrambled about to recover the lost jacket. And they were ultimately successful.

The journey, while still a little bumpy toward the end, was a lot less rough than the way over, and I had time to enjoy watching dawn rise over the volcanoes.

Transit through Costa Rica
---------------------------
My bus took me to San José, where I had an evening in the city before getting the 11pm bus to Panama City. It was great to be back in San José and knowing where everything was. I was able to go to a good restaurant and then pop out to a cinema. Having started on Monday at 5.30am, I arrived into Panama City at 3pm on Tuesday.

Panama City
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As the bus comes in through the city it looks really beautiful, and unlike any other place I've been in Central America. There are big architected buildings with columns and lawns. And the financial district is full of high-rise banks and apartments. There are a lot of banks.

Just as I arrived news broke of the John and Anne Darwin case, the canoeist who faked his death. She had just moved here, and I was never so aware of the city in the news.

However, now I'm here a while and have had a chance to explore I have to say that there are extremes. In the wealthy areas I saw more Lexus cars than anywhere else I've ever been. But in the poorer districts you could be anywhere in Central America, and the wealth doesn't seem to have made any transfer.

The Canal
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Of course, the centre of the whole Panamanian economy is the canal. You cross it on the Puente del Las Américas when you come into the city, and although I saw ships out in the ocean there were none in the canal. I thought it would be choc-a-bloc all the time.

But they actually have the flow of traffic north (Pacific to Atlantic) in the morning, then let it clear out, then route the southern traffic in the afternoon. At night smaller vessels go in both directions.

I went to see the operation of the Miraflores locks on Thursday. To build the Canal they created a large artificial lake that stretches from the pacific side to the centre of the country, which is 84 feet above sea level. Then they they cut through the mountains (The Culeba Cut) between the lake and the Pacific. Three massive locks near each coast bring the massive ships up the 84 feet and back down again.

Because of the shape of Panama (like an S on it's side) the canal actually runs from the northwest (Atlantic) to the southeast (Pacific). So the Pacific entrance is actually east of the Atlantic!

The Canal was only handed over by the Americans to Panama on 31 Dec 1999. There was concern that Panama wouldn't be able to run it. But in the 7 years they've increased the transit rate, and have begun construction of new locks which will almost double the capacity and allow much larger ships use it. This extension was approved by referendum last year.

The size of the ships going through is amazing. The largest are called Panamax, and are built to exactly the maximum dimensions of the Canal locks. And they're massive. They pay around $250,000 to cross. And the extension will allow a whole new generation of even larger ships to use it.

Mother's Day
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I dropped my clothes to the laundry on Friday, and they were to be ready Saturday. However, when I went to collect them the whole centre was closed. It turned out 8 December is Mother's Day, a Bank Holiday. Although what bright spark came up with the idea of celebrating Mother's Day on the feast of the immaculate conception I don't know!
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Well, that's it for this week. I take the 11pm bus overnight to San José. I'm in Heredia for a couple of days, and then fly to Shannon through Newark on Thursday, arriving Friday morning.

So, until next week,

Slán go fhoil,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Prensa: 'Obedience due' in Institutional Protection Service regulation (I haven't a clue what it's about either)

Isla Ometepe, Nicaragua

Folks,

I'm now on Ometepe, an island in Lake Nicaragua. I have come to realise that I do seem to be drawn to little islands. Maybe it's because I'm from one.

The pic of the week shows some kids in the town of Altagracia on the north of the island that insisted I take their photograph.

León
------
There was no direct bus from Tegucigalpa to León, so I had the driver drop me off at the crossroads, where I got a hugely overcrowded bus for the last few hours travel. Lots of the local buses in Central America, often called chicken buses, are old US school buses. This one even had a sign up telling us to protect our riding privileges by observing the same conduct as in the classroom.

I had been told that León was perhaps the most beautiful colonial city in Central America. But, for me, it didn't beat Granada which I love. However, it does have a magnificent cathedral, which is the largest in Central America.

Granada
----------
I had been in Granada before, back in March. You may remember that it's where I lost my wallet. As I walked down to the lake I remembered the last time I'd taken that walk, and I could recall so clearly the rising sense of panic as I realised it was gone. And when I got to the bench I had last sat on before I realised the wallet was gone I could remember that the book I had been reading was 'The Secret Life of Bees'.

It's a beautiful colonial city, and I was delighted to have the chance to get back there before leaving Central America. There were processions and bands every night while I was there, because it's the festival of La Purisma, the 10 days leading up to Immaculate Conception.

Ometepe
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Lake Nicaragua is huge. When you're on the shore it stretches beyond the horizon, and it feels like you're on the coast. In fact, before the Panama Canal was built many people preferred Nicaragua as a location. Because the Río San Juan is navigable and links the Caribbean with the lake, and then there is just a narrow stretch of land between the lake and the Pacific.

Ometepe island is created by two volcanoes that rise up in the middle of the lake and are connected by an isthmus between them. It takes an hour to sail over, and it was a really rough crossing. In a lake!

It's beautiful here, but most of the activities centre around hiking up volcanoes, or horse-riding. So way too energetic for me. I've been taking it easy, and exploring just by taking the local buses.

Mobile
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I still have my mobile phone from Ireland. It's my calendar, organiser and alarm. But in my two and half years plus in Costa Rica it never operated as a phone; it never connected to the cellular network because there was no roaming agreement. I was quite surprised when I turned it on in Guatemala at the beginning of my travels and it leapt into life and delivered me a text message. I was then able to use it throughout Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Belize and Honduras, but after crossing the border to Nicaragua it lost the Honduran signal and I've had no coverage.

So I was amazed on the boat to Ometepe for it to beep with a text message received with a special offer from O2. I wondered where it was getting the signal from, and saw that the network was none other than ICE, the Costa Rican phone company. So just as I'm about to leave they've obviously started allowing roaming!
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Well, that's it for this week. I'm going into my last full week in Central America, and I have my ticket to get a bus directly through Costa Rica and into Panama for 5 days, before returning to Heredia next week for my last few days before flying home.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Wednesday's Headline in La Tribuna: Ortega gives Assembly an ultimatum.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Folks,

I've enjoyed my time in Honduras. I am travelling to Nicaragua tomorrow, and I have just three weeks left before I'm home. I've shaken off my cold, and I'm all set for the final few weeks.

The pic of the week shows one of the two wrecks in the harbour of the wonderfully-named town of Coxenhole in Roatán. Which is quite a worrying sight as you arrive on the ferry.

Roatán to Copán Ruinas
---------------------------
It was an early morning start to get the ferry from Roatán, and then I got an up-market bus to Copán Ruinas. We were served with soft drinks and crisps, and we had two films to occupy us on the journey.

The security was much stronger than I've had on a bus before. They checked our tickets against our passports, took individual photographs with a digital camera as we got on the bus, searched our bags, and even cigarette lighters had to travel in the hold.

Copán Ruinas
-----------------
The town of Copán is a lovely little cobbled town, and you can walk out to the ruins, which are just a kilometer away. The weather was really beautiful.

The ruins themselves are less dramatic than either Tikal or Chichén Itzá, because they're on a smaller scale. But they have very rich carvings on the stones and that's impressive. There is a large hieroglyphic stairway, where the steps have hieroglyphs telling the entire history of Copán. However, it's covered with a canvas roof to protect it from the elements, which diminishes the impact.

There are a number of tunnels which run under the ruins. They cost the same amount again as entry to the ruins (€10), and my guidebook said that they weren't worth it. But when I was going around, I found an unguarded door, and nipped in and had a good wander around. I could hear the footsteps of the guard trying to find me, and I pleaded ignorance when he did.

Tegucigalpa
-----------
I stuck with the same bus company and again had two films for the
journey to Tegucigalpa. As we left Copán they showed 'Apocalypto', which was very appropriate having just visited my third and final Mayan site. It did make me wonder when I saw decapitated heads rolling down the steps I'd sat on.

Tegucigalpa isn't really on the tourist map. Even the taxi driver was amazed that I planned to stay a day. He'd assumed I was heading straight to Nicaragua in the morning.

My hotel strategy is the same in every location at this stage. I choose one from my book, and head there by foot or taxi. I pretend I have a booking, which stops taxi drivers or touts plaguing me about other hotels. If I like it, I check in. If I don't I wander around to find a better one. I was arriving later than usual in Tegucigalpa, it was after 7pm.

The hotel I'd chosen was booked out, and they redirected me to another. They showed me two rooms, both with bathrooms infested by cockroaches. I told her I didn't like them. 'But they're everywhere,' the girl replied. I could see that. So I was back out on the street trying to find somewhere else. It took a while.

My book is 'The Lonely Planet Guide to Central America on a Shoestring'. It's great for finding cheap places. The only problem is that it only has basic places, so if you decide to go a bit more upmarket, which I was prepared to do wandering around he dark streets of a strange city at night, they don't list them. It's strange to find yourself asking 'You don't have anything a little more expensive?'

I tried another place which was full. They directed me to another which only had room in a shared dorm. They told me that there was another hotel, but that they charged 300 lempira a night, as if this was extortion and I couldn't possibly afford it (€10.60).

It's ok, the bathroom is spotless, and remarkably cockroach-free. I had a wander around the city today, and there isn't much to see. But it was nice to take it easy, and organise my bus to Nicaragua for the morning.
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So that's it for this week. I've been travelling for eight weeks now, and I really miss having a base. I feel like I'm just wandering from hotel to hotel, and I'd love to have an apartment that I could just go back to for a week. It makes me look forward to getting back to Ireland all the more.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in El Triunfo: Premium petrol to rise by 6 lempira

Roatán, Honduras

Folks,

And so now it's four Caribbean islands in four weeks, given that four weeks ago I was still on Isla Mujeres.

The pic of the week shows sunset on my last evening on Caye Caulker.

Journey from Belize
---------------------
It was an early start to get the 7.30 boat to Belize City, and then the bus to Punta Gorda in the very south of Belize. I arrived about 6pm, and stayed overnight.

The next morning, I was down to the ferry to get the small boat that would take us to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. The crossing was quite rough. It was a small fast boat, so it thumped over the heavy waves, and I could see my rucksack up front going into freefall every now and then. There was a group of six American Christians, clad in Missionaries of John Paul II and pro-life t-shirts. So I figured there would be enough prayers going on to keep us all safe.

Two borders
--------------
At the dock we were met by lots of taxi and minivan drivers, offering to take us across the border. A guy on the boat had told me that I could go with him and his cousin for 75 quetzales (I can't remember the rate, but about €6.50). He told me it would be relaxed and comfortable. But when I got to the clapped out car it looked like it didn't even have springs. So I headed over to the Christians who were negotiating a 50 quetzales fare on a minivan, so I joined with them.

We had to go through Guatemalan immigration, drive 20 minutes, Guatemalan emigration, drive 10 minutes, Honduran immigration. From there we picked up a bus going to San Pedro Sula, the next big city.

From San Pedro Sula, I got another bus to La Ceiba, the port where boats go for the Bay Islands off the north coast of Honduras. That completed two days of quite hectic travel.

Currency confusion
---------------------
I didn't know the rate of the Honduran Lempira, so I asked one of the Christian group, and she told me the rate to the dollar was 18.80. I knew that the dollar was €0.68, so I calculated a rate.

When I got to La Ceiba, my hotel was €15.60 a night. But it was a dive. I tried the hotel next door, which was €38.60, and out of my price range. So I stayed in the cheaper one.

I had dinner in a fairly ordinary restaurant, and again it wasn't cheap. I was surprised, because according to my guidebook, Honduras was to be one of the cheaper countries I'm visiting.

Later, I was in an internet café (which was also a bit pricey!) and I looked up the actual euro/lempira rate. It was more than double the lempiras per euro rate I'd calculated. I had multiplied by the 0.68 euro/dollar rate, instead of divided.

So now, my hotel was only €7.15 and matched it's dive status. I moved to the more expensive one, which was now only €17.60 and was perfect.

Roatán
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The Bay Islands are a group of 3 islands off the north coast of Honduras. They're former pirate islands, and, like Belize, have more of a Caribbean than a latino feel to them. In fact, from Belize down to Costa Rica, the places I've been on the Caribbean seem to have much more in common with each other than with their own countries. The experience feels more like, I imagine, Jamaica than anything Spanish.

Roatán has quite an international feel. There are people of all nationalities, some of them living here. There is a huge range of restaurants, Indian, Thai, Swiss, Vietnamese and Mexican. With real Mexican food. Not like the type you get in Mexico.

It's beautiful here, and I have a really nice room in a lovely hotel right on the beach. I had come here to dive, but I've picked up a fairly nasty headcold, and you're not supposed to dive with one. I've taken the chance on it before, but I'm pretty bunged up, and if it's still the same tomorrow I'll skip the diving.

The weather this week hasn't been great. From Sunday, when I left Belize, to today, Friday, it's been overcast and rainy, with just a little bit of sun. It doesn't bother me, but some people who are on short holidays are not too happy.
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Well, that's it for this week. I think I'm heading back to the mainland on Sunday, then heading to the Mayan ruins at Copán, before heading on down through the capital, Tegucigalpa, to Nicaragua.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Prensa: Strong warning from Chavez to the United States at OPEC summit

Caye Caulker, Belize

Folks,

Well, I've made it back from Cuba, and I'm now in Belize. I've had a very quiet week, because I'm trying to get back under budget after the Cuban expense.

The pic of the week shows the sea at Caye Caulker, which I think looks like a swimming pool, but it's the actual sea. This is just at the 'split' which I talk about below.

Leaving Cuba
-------------
As we got our taxi out to the airport I took a note of the various revolutionary slogans along the road. They are everywhere as you travel around the country, daubed on walls and lampposts, as well as on billboards (there are no advertising slogans, they're all government messages). These were just on the way to the airport.

• Against the threat of aggression Cuba answers: more revolution
• The challenge for this generation is to believe
• Our ideas are our greatest weapons
• Until victory forever
• Another victory, countries in favour of the blockade 184, countries against the blockade 4, abstentions 1
• Revolution forever
• Long live Fidel and Raul
• Long live the revolution
• When victory comes it is ours
• Defend socialism

Cuban motorways
----------------
Driving on the motorways in Cuba is hilarious. Not only are there about 30 people swarming over the road at every junction looking for lifts, but there are potholes, and you rarely see painted lines. People sell garlic, cheese, onions and other produce on the central median strip. So if you want to buy something, you have to stop in the fast lane, and they do.

On the motorways we also saw horses and carts, bicycles and motorbikes going the wrong way, people jogging on the carriageway and cars making U-turns.

Back in Mexico
---------------
I felt immediately at ease when I got back to Mexico. I stayed in downtown Cancún for a day, while I got my laundry done and got ready for travel to Belize. I must be a rare tourist in Cancún that stays downtown and doesn't go to the beach.

Belize
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I travelled down to Belize, and it's so strange to be in Central America where the main language is English. A lot of people do speak Spanish, but English is definitely the main one. But I still can't get out of the habit of talking to people in Spanish.

Caye Caulker
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I had met a Canadian couple on the bus from Guatemala to Mexico a few weeks ago and they'd fallen in love with Caye Caulker (pronounced Key Cawker). So I decided to try it too. It's a little island out in the Caribbean (my 3rd Caribbean island in as many weeks after Mujeres and Cuba), and it takes about 45 minutes to get here from Belize City.

It's tiny, but beautiful. I love the Caribbean vibe, which is stronger here than anywhere I've been so far, and the accents are fantastic. The sea is so clear, but there isn't any real beach.

The island is now split in two. Hurricane Hattie (I don't even remember it or know when it was) split the island in two, and now there is a channel, known as 'the split' between the two halves. I'm staying in the grandly named 'Tropical Paradise Hotel', but in reality it's a fairly modest affair, and costs less than €14 a night. Who knew that paradise could come so cheaply?

My favourite sign so far: Happy Hour. From 3pm till everybody happy.
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Well, that's it for this week. I'm leaving here on Sunday, and travelling to Honduras, which I think will take a couple of days involving buses and boats. I can't believe that I'll be home in less than five weeks.

Until next week,

Éamon

Today's headline in Amandla: PUP and UDP go eyeball to eyeball at St. Thomas and Freetown over a sign

Havana, Cuba

Folks,

We're back in Havana, and flying out tomorrow. I'm flying back to Cancún in a flooded Mexico, and Jack flies back to a wintery Dublin via Gatwick.

The pic of the week shows the Che memorial in Plaza de la Revolución in Havana.

Trinidad
--------
We got lost, of course, heading from Cienfuegos to Trinidad. You just have to build time for getting lost into your plans.

After getting lost we picked up a hitch hiker to help navigate. He asked where we were staying, and when we told him he screwed up his nose, telling us that where we were going the beach was polluted, and that it was much nicer to stay in the city, and that we could stay in his house.

He was really put out when we said that we'd stick to our original plan. We got to Playa la Boca, where we were met with crystal clear water with kids splashing around in it.

We went snorkeling just up the coast, and it was beautiful. Really clear shallow water that went for miles over coral and rock and teeming with fish.

I liked the historical centre of Trinidad, although it was touristy.

Journey to Viñales
------------------
We braced ourselves for the long journey to Viñales, knowing how difficult journeys are. We picked up a very demanding hitch hiker. She told us to turn on the music, asked me to 'go easy' when I went over a pot hole, and told us that our air conditioning wasn't strong enough. When she left I was down to a quarter tank of petrol, and was on the look out for a petrol station.

We drove the whole way to Havana without seeing one. It was now well below empty and had visions of us running out and hitching like everyone else.

We went to a garage in Havana, and the guy directed us to the pump and spoke to us while another guy filled up the tank. I asked him about finding the motorway in the direction of Viñales. He started to give very complicated directions, and then went back inside for more information. A woman who was with him continued with the directions, but said that she knew they were complicated.

He arrived back out, and said his boss said that he could drive out with us to the road, and that maybe we could do the same for him someday if he was ever in Ireland. So he got into the car, and told us the woman was his wife and asked if she could come too.

I was suspicious, but thought that maybe it wasn't far, or that it was in the direction of where they lived. I hoped that this was maybe an example of the friendliness of Cubans that I'd been told about.

They brought us on a complicated journey, and then we emerged on a big road, and they said it was the motorway we were looking for, and they would get out.

Then he asked for 20 pesos for a taxi back for them. That's about €16, and way over what any local would pay for a taxi I'm convinced. It was a pure scam, and ended up in a shouting match. He then said he had 10 pesos, so just needed 10 from us. We ended up giving him 3.

At this stage we just felt that people were attempting to scam us every way we looked. I realised in hindsight that he didn't even work in the petrol station, he just talked to the petrol pump attendant and told him what we wanted. We weren't even on the motorway we wanted. On the return journey we realised that the motorway was just a straight run from the garage.

Later as we got nearer Viñales, we stopped at a junction without a sign and didn't know whether to go left or right, and we had to pick up another hitch-hiker. This guy again tried to get us to stay at his house, and tried to get us to agree to go with him to a cigar plantation the next day. At this stage we said that even if we got completely and utterly lost we wouldn't take another person into the car.

Viñales
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The valley around Viñales is absolutely breathtaking. It's formed by limestone hills with steep sides that emerge from the flat red earth. The hills are riddled with caves and we really enjoyed visiting a couple of them.

We went for a drink on the first night, and met an Irish couple, Eoghan and Yvonne, who were just out of Havana and had had the same experience of scams and hitch-hikers. We also talked about how none of us had managed to find the 'party' Cuba we'd heard so much about. Everywhere we'd been was so quiet. We arranged to meet them the next night.

The next night, we met for a meal and a few drinks and had a good laugh. Afterwards, with nothing happening in the town and our restaurant closing, we decided to head to a bar in a cave we'd visited earlier in the day, and which a friend of Yvonne's recommended. Her friend called it the salsa bar, and said it was great fun. We got a taxi, a 1953 Chevrolet, and the driver agreed to drive us out, wait and drive us back.

We arrived, and there was nobody there. Not a soul apart from bar staff. We ordered mojito cocktails, and they arrived with salt in them. They'd mixed it with the sugar by mistake.

They put on music, but there wasn't much we could do with nobody and no atmosphere. We wondered if all the party people were hiding in the caves to come out after the all clear when we'd gone.

A car arrived, looked in, thought better of it and headed off.

We decided to head back too, as there was no point in staying.

Veradero
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Our plan had been to go to Maria la Gorda, mainly on the strength of the photographs in the guidebook. But we discovered that there was only one hotel and it was expensive. People aren't allowed to have casas particulares in resorts. So we decided to go to Varadero instead.

We hadn't planned to go there, and it was a crazy route to have to go back through Havana and out the other side again. We drove through the torrential showers of Tropical Storm Noel, before it became a hurricane. It didn't really bother us much, although the streets we drove through in Havana were flooded, and we heard that the east of the country was badly affected.

We got through the city without much problem, but then got spectacularly lost when leaving the city through taking one wrong exit off an unsignposted roundabout.

Eoghan and Yvonne had told us that they calculated their journey from Havana to Viñales would take 2 hours, and 2 hours later they were still trying to get out of Havana.

Varadero is a tourist place. It's on a narrow sandbar that sticks out into the Straits of Florida. You're so close to the US, you can get Key West radio stations. It's currently off season, and most of the people there were Cuban.

We couldn't swim, because the seas were still rough from the storm, but we stayed in a reasonable hotel with mainly Cuban guests, and had a really good few days. The restaurants were actually cheap!

Back in Havana
--------------
We're now back in Havana, and flying out tomorrow. Havana has always been bad news, and we're just keeping our fingers crossed it will be ok this time.

Thinking back over the two weeks, I have to say I'm disappointed. I've looked forward to visiting Cuba for years, and the stories I've heard from anyone that I know who have been were very positive. I thought I was coming to a place that was full of music and party and a people who'd found a way between the extremes of poverty and the materialism of the west.

But I've ended up disappointed. In all my travels I've never had such a strong feeling of being ripped off. Everywhere I go I feel like I have dollar signs over my head, and people are just wondering how they can scam me, or overcharge me, or force me to tip them.

Once that feeling gets in on you it saps your enjoyment of a place, and you end up suspicious of everyone. We were happy to give lifts to people when so many obviously need them. But the Havana scam and the constant hard sell made us stop. In the end I wouldn't even ask someone directions or to take a photo for us, because I'd feel they wanted something in return.

Our saviour has been the casas particulares. Once we got into people's houses we found them open and friendly and generous. And the meals there were excellent. But in any official interactions in hotels, restaurants, car hire office and shops, I found that in general you feel that people don't care and that they're just doing a job.

It's been an interesting experience, and I won't forget it. But we leave tomorrow and, frankly, we feel relieved.

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in Granma: Countries refuse to support Bush's blockade

Cienfuegos, Cuba

Folks,

Internet café's aren't that plentiful in Cuba, and they're expensive, so I didn't get the emails posted. This is the first week, and I'll follow with the second at the weekend.

I arrived to Havana on Sunday, and met Jack at the airport. He'd travelled over from Dublin earlier the same day, and this is the only part of my trip where I'm not travelling on my own.

The pic of the week shows one of the dancers from the famous Tropicana nightclub which we went to on Tuesday night.

Flight
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I flew from Cancún by the Cuban airline, Cubana. It was the chicken bus of planes. It was so full, and the seats were so close together they make Ryanair look spacious. Before we took off a fog almost filled the cabin, and I could hardly even see the steward giving the safety demonstration. It was like an 80s pop video.

Havana hotel
-------------
I'd booked our hotel on the internet. At €58 a night, it was more expensive than I've been paying on the rest of the trip. When we got their they said that they were having problems with air conditioning, and were transferring us to a better hotel.

The new hotel was nice, and we had a view of some sort of an oil refinery across the harbour complete with a flame burning off the gas. We were told that if we wanted to stay more nights, it would be €102. So the next day we went around the other hotels in old Havana, but all the prices were the same. They're all government run. Our original hotel was a little cheaper, at €87. We couldn't now get the €58 rate because that's just on internet and you have to book a week in advance. We stayed in the expensive hotel, and because we booked for 3 nights we got a 10% reduction, and so paid €92.

On the second day 2 bars of chocolate that Jack had brought from Ireland were stolen from the minibar in our hotel room. We reported it, and were told that we must have eaten them.

Money
------
My guidebook, the Lonely Planet, advised that the best way to fund your trip is to bring US dollar cash, because credit cards may not work and usually have surcharges.

There are two currencies. The moneda nacional which locals use, and peso convertible, or CUC, which is hard currency, used by tourists, and very sought after by locals.

When I went to change my US dollar cash in the airport I was told there was a 10% penalty on dollars, so the guide book advice was out of date.

Later I went to a bank in Havana, and they told me they deduct 20% as the penalty. She told me the for every $100 they would take $20, then change and charge commission on the remaining $80!

So we trekked around until we found an ATM. My card didn't work, maybe because it's MBNA, an American company. Jack's Irish credit card was fine. He had to make two withdrawals, because of a transaction limit, one for him, and one for me. On Wednesday, authorisation for his card was refused at a restaurant. It didn't work at the ATM either.

We went back to the hotel so he could phone his credit card company to see why it was being refused. For some reason we couldn't dial out on our mobiles, so had to use the phone in the hotel. His 8 minute 47 second call to Ireland cost over €50.

It turned out that the double withdrawal had led them to suspect that the card was stolen, and so they had put a block on it.

Havana
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I loved Havana when we arrived first and went through the old town. There are beautiful colonial buildings, and music is playing everywhere. However, when you go past this centre the city is really in decay.

And for tourists it's very expensive. I've been keeping well within my budget for my travels so far. But with the hotel, restaurants and taxis in Havana charging almost Dublin rates I'm going through it fairly fast. Although I'd budgeted more money for Cuba than for any other country, not only am I over budget, but I've also gone through all of my savings from Guatemala and Mexico.

Tropicana Nightclub
-------------------
The feeling of being ripped off was coming at us from every transaction, and so going to the biggest tourist venue, the Tropicana Nightclub, was perhaps not the brightest idea.

It was a whopping €63 each for a ticket, but I said to Jack that if it gave us a night we'd always remember that it would be worth it. And to be honest it was the highlight of our time in Havana. Because we paid our money up front, we knew what it had cost us. There were no hidden expenses or extra charges. Then inside we were given a cigar each, and half a bottle of Havana Club rum, and 4 cokes, all included. We were sitting out in the open air with a beautiful starry sky with the moon over us, and the show was really excellent, with a huge cast of dancers and an impressive set. They even dragged myself and Jack up for the finale.

After the show was over, the coach parties left, but we stayed on, and after a little while the stage descended and became a dancefloor, and a new band came on.

What looked like it could be an expensive mistake actually ended up being the one time in Havana we felt we got value.

Cienfuegos
-----------
We were kind of relieved to be heading out of Havana. But with no road signs escaping is easier said than done. We had a map, but without road signs it's impossible to follow if you don't know where you are. We asked a couple of people for directions but they didn't know.

Eventually we got on what we thought was the right motorway, when two soldiers stood out in front of the car with their hands up to stop us. Assuming it was a checkpoint I stopped. But it turned out they were hitching, so they said they'd help us find where we were going and got in.

At every junction there were loads of people hitching. They would actually swarm out onto the motorway.

We dropped our soldiers off when we took the road off the motorway to Cienfuegos. When we got to the town I pulled in to check my guidebook. In an effort to save money we'd decided to try casas particulares, which are like bed and breakfasts in people's houses. I was looking for directions in the book to where we wanted to stay. As soon as we stopped about 5 people came around the car knocking on the windows and asking us for pesos.

We eventually found our casa, and I have to say it's beautiful. We're on the tip of a narrow peninsula in the Bahía de Cienfuegos, and from the balcony of the house (where I'm writing) you can see the water on all three sides. We had a five course dinner served to us by the woman of the house last night, for just €7.90. And it was beautiful. One of the nicest settings for a meal I've ever had. I feel that we might be saved by the casas particulares, and by getting further away from state control.
-----
Tomorrow we're going to the colonial town of Trinidad, after which we will drive back, past Havana again, to Viñales. We're going to spend our last few days at the beach in Maria la Gorda.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in Granma (the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba): CUBA'S ANSWER. The Elections: a new demonstration of the maturity and political culture of our people

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Folks,

I've had a really relaxing week, mostly here in Isla Mujeres, an island off Mexico.

The pic of the week shows El Castillo (the castle) Pyramid in Chichén Itzá. It's so quiet because I got there early.

Chichén Itzá
------------
This is the most famous Mayan site. It was voted one of the new seven wonders of the world in the recent poll, and they're over the moon. There are Maravilla del Mundo t-shirts everywhere.

It's very impressive. I have to say, though, that I was a little spoilt by having gone to Tikal first. Tikal seemed a little more extensive, and also because it's in the jungle you feel like you're discovering it. Chichén Itzá is much more open than Tikal. It's like a big park rather than jungle.

For all these sites I now try to get the earliest bus in the morning, and get there before the crowds, and it was the best way to see Chichén Itzá. It's enormously impressive. There are many pyramids, a large pitch where ball games were played, and many other structures still standing.

When I finished my tour, I came back into the main area, and relaxed and read my book. When I got up to leave, it was like a different place. The tour buses had arrived, and tourists were milling about everywhere. In addition, there were at least a hundred souvenir sellers who had set up stalls all around. I never saw anyone selling anything in Tikal.

Getting around
---------------
One thing that surprises me is how easy it is to travel everywhere. There are local buses going everywhere. Whenever I travel from one place to another, it's really easy to pick up the next leg of the journey. And I'm getting to places quicker than in my plan. I often plan to go from X to Y, stay overnight before going on to Z. But, in practice, when I get to Y there's bus there already going to Z, and I can save the extra overnight.

Isla Mujeres
-------------
I fly to Cuba tomorrow from Cancún, which is why I'm in this region of Mexico at all. There are lots of flights from Cancún, as many people from the States use it to avoid the travel restriction.

I decided to stay in Isla Mujeres, because I read it was less of a tourist resort than Cancún itself. It's a tiny island, 8km long and 1km wide. In fact, at the end of the town just up the street it only takes 30 seconds to walk from the east to the west coast!

It's called Isla Mujeres, or Women's Island, because when the Spanish arrived there they found a painting of the god Ixchel, surrounded by a court of women. It's also an old pirate island.

The water is an incredible turquoise, and it's crystal clear. If you saw it on a postcard you'd think it had been photoshopped. I'm in the middle of the town, but the beach is just at the end of the street. I hired a bike yesterday and cycled around the full circumference in just 2 hours, and that was stopping for a drink halfway.
-----
It's late now. It poured with rain tonight, and the street is flooded. I had to wade out out my hotel with the water up to my ankles earlier. Actually, there is lightning now, so it's some sort of a storm. I am heading to Cuba tomorrow. I get the 9 o'clock boat to Cancún, then a taxi to the airport and a flight to Havana. So I better go and pack.

Until next week.

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Journada: Governors protest at US anti-immigration measures

Tikal

I'm now in Valladolid, Mexico. I travelled from Guatemala, through Belize, into Mexico on Wednesday.

The pic of the week shows the very impressive Temple I in Tikal. It's 44m high, and the pic is taken from the top of Temple II, on the opposite side of the Grand Plaza, from a height of about 38m.

Tikal, Guatemala
------------------
Tikal was absolutely wonderful. It's the ruins of an old Mayan city. I was staying on the pretty island of Flores, in Lago Petén Itzá in the north of Guatemala. I got an early bus to Tikal, leaving at 6am, and arriving shortly after 7. It was great to go so early, because it was virtually deserted for much of my visit.

You enter via a pathway through the jungle. It was so impressive to see, directly in front of me, the first temple rising out of the jungle. It was like something out of Indiana Jones.
It turned out to be the back of Temple I, or The Temple of the Grand Jaguar, built around 700AD for King Moon Double Comb. I spent hours going around the many temples, pyramids and acropoli (if that's the plural of acropolis). It was a wonderful place to visit, and amazing to see something so impressive with so few visitors.

Throughout there were monkeys, toucans and pisotes, which are animals that travel in packs and are quite like racoons.

A group of three people got onto the bus on the way back. I heard the first girl greet someone 'Howarya, José' in a strong Kerry accent. It turned out they were from Dingle. Also on the bus I got talking to a Canadian couple. They had sold up literally everything they owned in Canada, bought a motor home, and have been driving since 2004, most of that time in Mexico. They have no plans to stop.

Journey to Tulum
-------------------
I got a minibus from Flores to Chetumal in Mexico. This was a 5am start, and we travelled through Belize. I'll be back in Belize later on my journey back south, but it was so strange travelling through Central America with all the signs in English.

I smiled as we passed the Marion Jones Sports Complex in Belize City. I wonder if it's due for renaming.

When we crossed the border into Mexico, a group of us got together to hire a minbus. Some of us were going to Tulum and some to Playa del Carmen, a beach resort further north. I was going to Tulum, because I wanted to see the Mayan ruins there, and also to change direction and head inland in preparation for my visit to the most famous Mayan site, Chichén Itzá.

Tulum
-------
I was a little disappointed in Tulum. It's very much a backpacker town. I checked into a hostel that was recommended in my guide. But I didn't like it. It was basic and dirty, and the it cost €20 a night, which is way more than it was worth. I was shown to my room by Martin from Urlingford.

After just one night, I left to go to a cheaper and better hotel. It still wasn't great, but it was an improvement. That afternoon I went to see the ruins of the old Mayan port city. It is in the most beautiful location. In my guide it said that this was surely where Mayans would have requested a transfer to work, because it's right on the Caribbean. In the middle of the ruins, there is a tiny white sand beach with incredibly turquoise-blue water. It was so idyllic it looked like it was a film set rather than something real.

Valladolid
-----------
I decided to relocate to Valladolid. It's hardly mentioned in my guide, but it's a good location for Chichén Itzá, where I'm going tomorrow. The bus broke down on the way up, so we were an hour and a quarter sitting in the bus waiting for help. I heard the driver on the phone saying 'I have 5 passengers. What will I do with them?'

I kind of dozed off, so I'm not sure if someone arrived, or the driver got it running again by itself, but we were on our way.

I'm much happier here than I was in Tulum. It's an old colonial town, but it's not particularly touristy. It's got a couple of touristy restaurants. But I'm in a lovely hotel for just €16 a night. And when I went out for a walk earlier (on possibly the hottest day of my whole time in Central America) I enjoyed seeing places like the barbers, with a tailor working away on a sewing maching in the corner. Now, this feels like Mexico.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I'm off to Chichén Itzá in the morning. It's one of the sites that was voted as one of the new seven wonders of the world in that recent poll. But for me, it will have to be truly excellent to be more impressive than Tikal.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in El Universal: Panistas unveil statue of Fox in Veracruz

Panajachel, Guatemala

Folks,

It's been a busy week. I left Santa Teresa, returned to Heredia, and flew to Guatemala.

The pic of the week shows 13-year-old Pedro, who was my guide in the town of Santiago Atitlán this morning.

Leaving the casita
------------------
On the last day when I told Ariel (the gardener) I was going, he asked if I was leaving anything behind. I showed him some kitchen stuff and he was delighted. Then I told him that if there was anything out with the rubbish he could have it as well.

He eagerly went through the rubbish, and found t-shirts, jeans, and CDs that he was delighted to take. He went off with two packed sacks.

I laughed when I saw him after lunch, and he was walking up the road in a t-shirt with a message emblazoned across his chest 'Is fearr liom buachaillí'.

Heredia
-------
It was wonderful being back in Heredia. It felt a little like going home. I was delighted to meet back with people in the school. A few of us went out for a few beers in my regular bar, El Cholo. It was just like old times when Abraham. the barman, saw me arrive and asked, 'Pilsen Red with a glass of ice?'

Arrival in Guatemala
---------------------
I had conflicting advice on whether to stay in Guatemala City itself, or Antigua - both are close to the airport. Guatemala City is fighting a bad reputation on security, and Antigua is considered 'prettified' and manufactured for the tourist. I hadn't decided where to go, and read up on both in my guide on the flight. I discovered that Antigua was a UNESCO World Heritage site, and that made up my mind.

It's a very pretty colonial city in the shadow of three volcanoes, full of art galleries and not very typical of Guatemala. But I didn't mind spending my two nights there, and seeing all the kids going to school in the morning made me feel that at least it wasn't totally manufactured.

First impressions
------------------
My first impressions of the country are that people are a lot poorer than Costa Rica, but the roads are better. There are also a huge proportion of indigenous people, most of whom still wear their colourful traditional clothes.

They also know how to pack a bus. On the way up here we were like sardines. But everyone was laughing, smiling, and in good form. It was like they were having a day out, although I imagine it was their daily commute.

Lago de Atitlán
---------------
For my first overland journey I've already abandoned my plan and come west to Lago de Atitlán, on the recommendation of a couple of friends.

I'm staying in Panajachel which is the biggest town on the lake. The lake is a beautiful body of water with several towns nestled under two enormous volcanoes.

The country is in the middle of the run-off in the Presidential election, and political posters and billboards are everywhere. It's apparently very close, between the Centre Left candidate Colom, and the traditionalist Pérez, who many fear is too close to the military. I'll be interested in following how it goes after I leave.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I leave early tomorrow to travel north-east to the Mayan ruins at Tikal. After that, I move on to Mexico.

So, for this week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's headline in Prensa Libre: Rotation of senior police chiefs

Adios, Costa Rica

Folks,

And so to the end of my last week living in Costa Rica. I leave on Wednesday for Guatemala, and although I'll be back once or twice over the next couple of months (I fly home from here in December), I will just be staying for a night or two.

The pic of the week shows the writer at work. Probably my most typical pose (although I usually face the ocean, I just did it this way for the camera). You can see that I'm putting quite a strain on the poor hammock, and lets just say it now bears the scars.

The 'real' Costa Rica
----------------------
One of the reasons that I wanted to move to the coast was because I thought of it as the real Costa Rica. In choosing to come to Costa Rica, the two coasts were a major deciding factor. However, having lived in the central valley and now on the coast, I realise that the central valley is actually the more authentic.

Heredia
--------
Living in Heredia gave me a sense of how real ticos live. I learnt about tico life from my students and I lived a similar life. I used the same markets, shops and sodas. I lived on a nondescript street off the Avenida Central. I woke in the morning to the loud bustle (too loud for some of my guests) of the city getting its early start. I walked to work every day. I went to local bars.

In Heredia, everything is tico run.

Santa Teresa
-------------
I have loved my three months here on the coast. I think I've been happier living in my one room casita than anywhere else I've ever lived (ok, so not having to go out to work helps). But it's not the real Costa Rica.

It has all the beauty in the mountains, the ocean, the lush vegetation and the animals. But in terms of people everything is built around the tourist dollar, or the dollars of people from the States that have moved here. There are big houses on hills overlooking the ocean everywhere, but I don't know any that are owned and lived in by ticos. The supplies in the shops and the menu in the restaurants are all geared towards holiday-makers. You hear lots of English spoken and a large number of businesses are run by foreigners.

That's not to say that it's touristy or pushy. Everything is laid-back and relaxed, and it's a wonderful place to take a break away from it all. It's just that for me, on reflection, life in the central valley is how ticos live.

Looking back
------------
I have loved all of my time in Costa Rica. I think back to getting off the plane in April 05 without place to stay, and looking for a job in which I'd virtually no experience. I sometimes wonder how I had the courage to do it!

I feel I have been incredibly lucky. People tell me they don't believe in luck, and that life is what you make it. But in getting the job in Intercultura, the apartment in Heredia, the casita here, it's just incredible how everything always fell into place.

I have met wonderful people, particularly in Intercultura, some of whom I will always keep in contact with and hopefully meet again.

In particular, I've met some wonderful Americans. The Americans who have chosen to live in a country like Costa Rica working for buttons are very different from the loud, whooping Americans you so often encounter on travels. And they'd make you wonder how George Bush could ever scrape a few votes together.

I will also never forget the beauty and variety in this tiny country. Remember that it's about two thirds the size of Ireland, and has the diversity of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, volcanoes and mountains 4 times the height of any in Ireland.

There are monkeys, egg-laying turtles, sloths, iguanas, geckos, whales and many animals and creatures that I don't even know the names of. Including the green thing that's just landed on my desk. It has six percent of the earth's biodiversity in just 0.03% of its landmass.

Of course there are also earthquakes, scorpions, tsunami alerts and tornadoes.

I've loved my rich experiences here, but I'm sure that there are more to come.

Possessions
-----------
I arrived with one rucksack. It's been supplemented by other rucksack-loads after visits home, things visitor brought from home, and by purchases over 2 years until my stuff fairly filled a 2 bedroom apartment.

Then I had to downsize to what would fit in a car to move here.

Now I have to downsize to what I can carry back on the bus to Heredia.
-----
And so the end of another phase. I'll continue with my mails one a week, but depending on where I am and when I'm travelling the days I send them may become a little erratic.

So until next week,

Pura vida, y adios,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Poll: Better for Yes, but it is a virtual draw

Scorpions

Hi folks,

Well, I'm heading into my final week, and I'm going to be so sad leaving my lovely casita. I've been so happy here over the months, and it's better, rather than worse, for all the drama.

The pic of the week is a scary view of my latest scorpion, who gave me another nasty sting.

Hidden Scorpion
---------------
The other day I was getting ready to go out for my walk. I finish working about 5 or 5.15, and with sunset now at around 5.40 I'm always in a bit of a dash. I grabbed my bag, lifted it up and put it on the bed. I put in stuff like my book, my camera (just in case the sunset is particularly spectacular), my little iPod thing. When I was ready I grabbed up the bag to put it over my shoulder.

As soon as I touched it, I immediately felt the sting. This time I was awake and alert, so I knew what was happening. It takes about 10 seconds for the full force of the sting to hit you. I was over at the sink to run cold water on it. Unfortunately, at that time of the day there is no cold water, it's warm. It was on the index finger of my right hand, and more painful in a concentrated area like a finger, rather than my leg.

I still hadn't seen the scorpion, but I knew the sting by now. I got the spray, went back, and moved the bag a bit, and sure enough there he was. Lurking right at the back.

I tossed the bag so it went on the floor. He still clung on. I sprayed the bag. Then I saw him move out onto the floor. He didn't seem to be reacting to the spray. I sprayed again. He went into convulsions, writhing around lashing around with his tail. After just a few seconds he stopped. I sprayed again to be sure.

I left him there, but when I came back, put him onto a sheet of paper, and took the pic you see above.

Quad bike
---------
I collected the quad on Wednesday. I want to be able to explore the area a bit more than I've been able to do on foot. Given the state of the roads, I've only been able to explore the beach really.

It was really nerve wracking when I started driving it first. If anything, the state of the roads seems worse on it. Going into the huge potholes full of muddy waters unsure if there are any rocks or stones out of sight is difficult. And when I tried to skirt the edges I was leaning at an angle that made me feel it would overturn.

I'm getting used to it now, and I was able to drive all the way to the end of Mal País yesterday. It gave a wonderful feeling of freedom. But the concentration on these roads, particularly driving back in the dark, is immense.

Thunderstorm
------------
Thunderstorms are not unusual here, and we normally get a few a week. The one on Tuesday night was the closest yet. The noise was deafening and I would literally jump as it hit. At one stage I went to the door with my camera to take a video clip. One of those instantaneous strikes happened when it was so close that the light and sound are together - the only time I've heard something louder than the tree falling - that I jumped in shock, and then afterwards my hand was shaking. You can see the jump and shaking hands in the video.

The Travelling McDonaghs
------------------------
My family are truly on the move at this stage. My sister is teaching in Seoul, South Korea since March, and on Wednesday my mother (who's a Brady!) moved to Nigera, to volunteer for three months. As I travel around between now and Christmas we'll have fun trying to keep in touch. Sharon and Enda are still maintaining a token family presence on the auld sod.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Next week is my last. I'll be throwing out everything I possess during the week in an attempt to travel light!

Until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Waste makes absurd journey to arrive at landfill

Día de la Independencia

Folks,

I think I've used this title for the Independence day emails all the time I've been here, so this is the third. It's easy to see whether shops, bars and restaurants are tico or foreign owned as I walk up the streets, because all tico businesses, homes, cars and trucks are festooned with national flags.

The pic of the week shows a girl in national costume at the 15 September celebrations for Santa Teresa/Mal País last night. She was part of a group from the local school that gave a display of traditional dance.

Quad bikes
----------
The state of the roads has gradually deteriorated while I've been here. I went into Cóbano on Monday and not only were whole stretches completely in mud, but several parts of the road had completely swept away as well.

I have come to dread walking out after a night of rain, because even in my new plastic clogs (€9 in the supermarket) with grips on the soles there are areas where I'm sliding all over the place. Walking anywhere but the beach requires such concentration.

Because of this, the most popular form of transport is quad bike. They're also called ATVs or All Terrain Vehicles. Most of you will know them, they're like a cross between a big motorbike and a tractor. They're perfect for this terrain. Everywhere you go people are zooming around on them. So I've decided to hire one for a week before I go, and I'll pick it up next Tuesday or Wednesday. It's a bit of an extravagance, but I've lived quite a frugal life since I've been here, and it will allow me explore a bit more before I leave.

The internet cascade
--------------------
As I've said before, by far the most difficult thing for me here is a) not having internet access in the casita and b) the really slow speed of access even in the cafés. On Wednesdays and Saturdays I'm always there for between 3 and 5 hours!

I haven't missed TV at all, but I miss the internet so much. The positive side has been that it's less of a distraction from the writing. But on the other hand I so often have things that I need to look up that it slows the process down a lot too.

My two biggest saviours in all this are two free programs that are fantastic. One is Google Reader, which everyone who uses the internet should try out. You 'subscribe' to any sites you want, and it will bring you any updates from them. So you don't need to constantly visit the sites. For example, I have a feed from the Irish Times. Every story that is in the Irish Times comes into my Google Reader list. I get the headline and first paragraph. Other sites make the full article available. But the real power for me is that you can access it offline. So I plug into the internet on a Wednesday and a Saturday, and it downloads all pages that are updated (to a maximum of 2,000). I carry them home on my laptop, and can read them at my leisure in the evening.

However, there are situations where I realise I want the full story and not just the first paragraph. For this I mail myself the link, and when I go to the internet cafe I bring up the page, select what I want to read, and hit a button that copies the whole pages, pictures and all, into the 2nd fantastic program, EverNote. This allows me to get the full detail that isn't in Google Reader.

The only problem is that all this flow of information (I call it the internet cascade) takes time. For example, Pat Rabbitte resigned on a Friday. I got the headlines in Google Reader on Saturday, and marked many articles for reading in full. On Wednesday, I downloaded these to EverNote. So on Thursday, almost a full week after his resignation, I'm finally able to read the full articles.

Overstaying my visa
-------------------
My visa ran out on 8th, and I should have done a visa run to Nicaragua. But apart from the expense, this would have taken up about 5 days, 2 days traveling there and back, and 72 hours out of the country. So I decided to skip it. I'm flying to Guatemala on the first leg of my travels on October 3rd, and I don't think they'll even check. If they do, I'm leaving anyway so I don't think there should be a problem.

Supermarket notice
------------------
This notice is in my supermarket, Super Costa, this week. Pure Spanglish!

Super Coast communicates all its respectable clients to him who the day 26 of September the supermarket will remain closed by inventory returning to its normal schedule the day 27 of September. Thanks, Atte: The Management.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. Just two to go!

Until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Dengue fever reaches epidemic

I'm a writer

Folks,

I was amazed how quickly everything was cleared up after the tornado. This week has been thankfully less eventful. And I need to update you a little on how things have been going with the writing.

This week, the papers were full of warnings about hurricane Felix. It said there was an alert for the whole country. But I really don't think that on the Pacific we'd get anything but bad weather. Being away from news I don't know what happened with Felix, but the weather's been perfect all week.

The pic of the week shows Ronald and the guy from the restaurant whose name I don't know cutting the tree that fell on the red casita as part of the clean-up.

Tornado clean-up
----------------
On the morning after the tornado I went out for a walk. As I went down the road I realised that the chainsaws I'd heard were actually clearing fallen trees on the trail between the casita and the restaurant. It had been impassable in two places.

Along the main road, everyone was out clearing up. Pulling trees off the road and clearing up their property. The town had no electricity.

I got back at 9.30 and there was a hive of activity around the casitas. Ariel the gardener, Adrubal the chef, Ryan, two friends of Ryan's visiting from the US, Ronald (Charlie's partner), and the guy from the restaurant whose name I don't know, were clearing up. They hacked off all the branches of the fallen trees with machetes, and Ronald then sliced the bigger parts of the trees with the chainsaw. Everything had been removed by 12.30, and the electricity came back at 1pm. It had been gone for 17 hours.

The weather was so beautiful for the clean-up it was hard to believe that it had happened.

The red casita survived really well despite the size and weight of the tree that fell on it. There are just three small holes in the roof and no structural damage. There is a hole in my roof too, but it's giving me no problems, no rain is getting in, so they're going to fix it after I've gone.

I'm a writer
------------
I've made a lot of progress over the past few weeks in terms of my attitude to writing, if not yet the writing itself. I'm getting to like it more and more, and I think in some little ways it's improving. Although, some of the things I've been writing have been terrible!

A couple of weeks back, I read one part of The Right to Write book that says that if you're writing you're a writer. And I'm writing. So folks, I'm a writer. Once I said that in my head it's all fallen into place, and I really feel it's going to work out for me. How it will I'm not sure yet, but it will.

Knock knock
-----------
On the day I had this epiphany, the exact same day, there was a knock on my door. There's NEVER a knock on my door. I thought I was hearing things. It was the girls from the blue casita (this was a few weeks ago). They'd had a few drinks and were looking for matches or a lighter. 'We don't know anything about you,' they said, 'But we know you're a writer and you're writing a book.' I must have put the vibes out.

First article accepted
-----------------------
Then last week I got a mail telling me that the first article I'd sent off had been accepted. It's a gay guide to Costa Rica, and was part of an assignment for the writer's bureau. The assignment required that I send it off too. So, I sent it off to GCN and they've accepted it and will publish it in the next few months. They've asked me to send them 'an invoice as agreed'. I have no idea what that means, because I have no idea of price and nothing was agreed. But I'll work something out.
-----
Well, that's it for this week. I only have 3 weeks left in the casita, and I've been making progress on my plans for my travels around Central America, Mexico and Cuba for the remainder of the year.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Health service without medication for colds or pain

Tornado

Folks,

Well, the drama just continues here in Santa Teresa. I had planned to write something entirely different this week, but we were hit by a tornado last night and that's got all my attention today.

There are two pics of the week. Both taken this morning (I'm writing on Friday). The first shows the large tree that landed on the red casita, and the second shows the smaller trees that landed on mine.

The start of the storm
----------------------
After a lovely day yesterday, the wind whipped up around 4.30 or 5. Wind is unusual here. There was a windy day before. Well, windy for here, it would be classed as a strong breeze in Ireland. The next day there were branches strewn everywhere, and I remember thinking that they'd know all about it if they got a real wind. How right I was.

At about 5.45 I decided to go in, because things were blowing off the desk. It got worse, and I had to close the windows about 7. There was thunder and lightning, but very light compared to normal. The lights kept flickering on and off as the power supply was interrupted a few times. There is an emergency light powered by battery that is in the casita, so I took it out in case we lost power altogether. That happened just before 8.30.

At this stage the wind was very strong. Even in Ireland this would be really strong. I was imagining the damage it would be causing, but feeling comfortable and safe, lying on top of my bed, reading my emails on the laptop using it's battery.

The first tree
--------------
At around twenty to nine, I heard this incredibly loud cracking sound, followed by an almighty bang. The whole casita shook, and I jumped off the bed and cowered by the bathroom door. Knowing that you should head for a door frame in an earthquake I decided that's where I'd head for almighty bangs also.

It was without doubt the loudest noise I've ever heard while I was inside a house. I was quite sure the casita had been hit by lightning. Then I realised that there had been no lightning. It was just like really loud, up close thunder.

I just stood there in shock, my heart going nineteen to the dozen. After about 5 minutes, the wind died down a little, and I opened the door to see if I could see anything outside. I just got this overwhelming smell of sap and leaves. I came out with my torch, and shone it at the end of the porch, and over the surf board box there was lots of bushy trees and branches blowing about, which had never been there before. I turned the torch to the side, to the roof of the red house, and saw this huge tree lying across the roof. It had cracked along its trunk on impact. You can see the tree in the first picture. But when I saw it first it was still dark and in the wind and rain.

The second tree
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I went back inside. I was frightened, but not petrified. Although the tree had been huge, the casita looked to be still standing. I wasn't sure if branches had gone through the roof. I decided to stay on the couch, which was on the opposite side to where the trees are. All the trees are behind the casitas.

So I'm trying to remain calm, realising that anything else isn't going to help. I did, however, pack my bag. I thought that it was possible that Ronald, Charlie's business partner, might arrive to evacuate me to the big house. Or I thought that the casita might also be clobbered by a tree and I'd have to leave. Either way, I thought be prepared.

The battery had gone on the laptop, so I brought the emergency light over, grabbed a beer, and read my book. My heart went every time the wind got stronger. I was waiting for a tree to come through the roof at any minute. The wind was changing in intensity every few minutes, and you'd hear distant cracking.

At 9.15 a louder cracking sound came, and I knew another tree was falling. There was a clatter on the roof, and I was fairly sure it had hit, but it was nothing like as loud as when the tree hit the red casita. A few minutes later there was another crash on the roof. Whether this was another tree, a branch, or the original tree settling I couldn't be sure.

Aftermath
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The wind eased off about 15 minutes later, and I went out with the emergency light, and I could see that there were branches and leaves on top of the casita. I went back in feeling a little easier, because I thought if anything else fell the branches on the roof would have a cushioning effect.

At about 10, the wind died away completely. It was almost eerily silent. I went out again, it was difficult to see the full damage, but I could see that several of the trees had simply snapped completely, the trunk was there, but snapped about three quarters way up, and there was no sign of the top of tree. I had noticed before when I watched the gardener trimming some branches before that the trees are very brittle. There is none of the suppleness most trees have in Ireland where they will bend a lot before they break.

One tree was just a snapped off trunk, and there was a big green iguana clutching the broken top looking up at the rain wondering where the rest of it had gone.

Today
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I woke at 6, and headed out straight away, to see in the daylight what had happened. The whole place looked like a disaster. There were branches and leaves everywhere. The plants had been blown over. The full size of the enormous tree on the red casita was clear. The front of the casita and its porch was completely hidden in foliage of the top of tree.

I walked up the steps, and saw that some smaller trees had fallen onto my casita, and also that there was a tree on the blue casita too. They'd all been hit. Mine was the only one occupied, and probably also the lightest hit. Above the car park there was a tree that had been hit by lightning. It looked like it had been blown apart.

Ronald arrived to survey the damage. He told me that it had been a tornado, although how close to us it was I don't know. He said it had hit Jacó too, and that's quite a distance away. I haven't seen a paper yet. I went out to the village this morning and there were no papers in the shops. The road was impassable in several places apparently, but it was cleared later on.

They had to unblock the little road down from here which was blocked in two places by fallen trees. The sound of chainsaws is everywhere.
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So, that's it for this week. Today, Friday as I write, is a beautiful day, the clean up has been thorough and swift. They're putting the electricity poles back up behind me as I write.

Things are progressing on the writing front, but I'll hold that over until next week.

So until next week,

Chau,

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Public prosecutor investigates named Education Ministry politicians

Hotel Fiesta

Folks,

I had a great weekend in the Fiesta Hotel in Puntarenas meeting up with everyone from Intercultura.

The pic of the week shows Intercultura teachers Nathan, Patrick and Luke in Fiesta on the very beautiful Sunday morning where we met around the pool to defeat our hangovers with the tried and trusted hair of the dog.

Tsunami Alert Aftermath
-----------------------
Puntarenas, where I went for the weekend, is a really flat city built on a sand bank. The name means Sandy Point, and it's like a city built on Bull Island. Locals are concerned about global warming, as it couldn't cope with any rise in sea level. The lack of high ground also meant that there was huge panic during the tsunami alert, as everyone tried to leave the city on the narrow strip that joins it to the mainland. I think there's only one road. People had to abandon cars and try to escape by foot. If there had actually been a tsunami I dread to think what would have happened in Puntarenas.

Scorpion Aftermath
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I was so relieved that my scorpion stings didn't have any lasting effects. I really thought that a scorpion sting would require hospitalisation. But it turns out that the black scorpions we have here are not that potent. And also, the larger ones are less potent than the smaller ones. I thought my guy was huge, so presumably that was in my favour too. I bought a spray that I found in the supermarket, and I'm dousing it liberally around the bed each night.

Hotel Fiesta
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The trip to Hotel Fiesta is the annual 'thank you' celebration for all staff of the school, including the English and Spanish departments, and also the administrative staff. It's a resort hotel. When you arrive you get an armband, and after that all food and drink is free.

It was really great to meet up with everyone again, and to socialise when it's been so long. My last night out with people was the pub crawl at the end of June. I'm hoping some of them will come down and visit me before I leave. Given that next week is September I really feel that my time here is approaching its end.


Ferry Journey
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Puntarenas is a very easy place to get to from here, because it's the ferry port. From here I just got two buses across the peninsula, and then the ferry. The full trip took about three and a half hours. The cost to Puntarenas for both buses and the ferry was €3.06, although the taxi out to the hotel was a whopping €5.50!

I love that ferry journey. I've made it about 7 times now, and apart from one time when it rained I've enjoyed the view so much. You sail for an hour right across the Gulf of Nicoya with Puntarenas behind you, mountains to the north and west, and the open Pacific to the south. However, the journey back at the weekend was the best ever. It left at 5.30pm, so the hour included the sunset and the transition from full daylight as we left, to full darkness when we arrived. And all for 76c. The should market it as a sunset cruise and charge accordingly.

Charlie and Denise
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Charlie and Denise have gone to the States on holidays and I don't think I'll see them again. I don't think the other casitas are being let while they're away. They've been empty this week anyway. I love when they're empty and I have the place to myself. I absolutely love an evening out in the hammock sipping a Cuba Libre reading my book, with the lightning all around, and knowing there is no-one around to disturb me. Maybe I'm becoming a hermit.
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Well, that's it for this week. My tasks this week include sending reminders to editors for the articles I've sent off, and for which I haven't received even one acknowledgment!

So until next week,

Chao (and up the Dubs again),

Éamon

Today's Headline in La Nación: Fall in birthrate empties schools and preschools

Tsunami Evacuation

Folks,

I'm writing from Puntarenas. The whole email today is about the dramatic events of Wednesday night.

The pic of the week shows some people waiting on a hilltop for the tsunami to strike.

The Alarm
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Wednesday had been a perfectly regular day. In the evening I was making my plans for the following day, as usual . I was in the casita sitting on the bed with the laptop. I had music on fairly loudly, so I didn't hear Charlie shouting for me until he was right outside. Charlie is a very jovial guy, always with a twinkle in his eye. So I was surprised when I opened the door and he burst in looking more serious than I'd ever seen him. "There's a tsunami on the way. We've got to get out. Quickly, grab your stuff and let's go. You're coming with me to Cóbano. This is not a joke." The last part was added when he saw the incredulous look on my face. For a start, in the shock of the news I confused tsunami and hurricane, and I was thinking, but there's not a breath of wind. Charlie said he'd get the van and to get up to the car park as soon as possible.

So I had to grab my stuff. But what do you grab when a tsunami is on its way? Is it life or death? Will everything be washed away? I grabbed the laptop, because that's got almost everything I need on it. I threw it in the bag. Then I ran for the door. I realised that I had money and my passport in the safe, so I ran back and got those out. Then I ran to the door again. Now I remembered my wallet with my credit card. I decided then to grab the back-up unit for the laptop, and for some reason decided to grab the laptop speakers as well. I went around turning off all the lights, until I realised how non-essential that was. When I got out I couldn't find the keys. They're always on the inside of the door, but they weren't there now. Either I'd brought them back when I went for the safe, or I'd thrown them in the bag. I tried the bag and couldn't find them. I went back inside, having to turn on all the lights again. Charlie, his wife, the people in the next house and his business partner were shouting at me from the car park. I checked around the porch. No keys. I went to go back in, and I realised I'd locked myself out. So, I just ran up to the car park. Charlie's partner, an American guy called Ryan was driving the truck, and myself, Charlie's wife, Denise, and two American girls Gillian and Andrea, who were visiting Ryan, were passengers. One of them was sobbing.

Outside in the back of the truck were the night watchman and an American guy that lives locally and his dog. Charlie was on his quad bike, and Ryan's other visitors, the boyfriends I think of Gillian and Andrea, were on another quad. Ryan was hyper and shouting 'Go, go, go'.

Evacuation
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When we started driving I asked Denise what exactly they had heard. The word was that there was a tsunami on the way following a big earthquake in Peru. It was scheduled to hit at 9pm. What time was it now, I asked, because it was too dark to see my watch. 8:30.

Charlie and Denise had received a phonecall earlier from friends in Mal País telling them that there was a tsunami warning. They assumed that given our height on the hill we were safe. A little while later the gardener, Ariel, arrived in a state of panic, and told them that the village of Santa Teresa was being evacuated, and all the hotels had been emptied. Charlie and Denise decided that we'd better go.

Since the Asian tsunami, every time I'm on the coast I look for the nearest high ground, and figure that that's where to go if one hits. It's just a habit I have. I'd always assumed that the location of the casita is totally safe, because it's high. It seemed a bit counter-intuitive to be driving down a hill with 30 minutes to go, to drive along the road at sea level a couple of kilometers through the town, possibly getting stuck in traffic while all vehicles from Mal País and Santa Teresa converged on the one mud road to Cóbano. I also regretted having both the computer and the back-up unit in the bag.

It was strange driving through Santa Teresa. Everyone was fleeing, but there was no panic. There was a truck in front with about 30 people standing in the back like cattle. But the traffic was moving. There were a lot of cars, trucks and quad bikes streaming up the hill. There were hundreds of pedestrians making the journey on foot also.

The whole journey, there was just one thing on my mind. Where were my keys? After all this, how do I tell everyone I've locked myself out?

When we got to the gas station, which is about 2km out of Santa Teresa, and on one of the highest points, there was a huge crowd of people who had decided to stay there as it was clearly safe. We decided to keep moving on to Cóbano where we could maybe get news of what was happening.

Refuge
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About another two kilometers, outside a bar called The Doghouse, we decided to stop. People had mobile phones and wanted to call home to see what was going on. There was another large crowd here. The Doghouse had started to charge 1,000 colones for entry!

There were lots of family groups together. August 15th is Mother's Day, a bank holiday here. I remember from my students that nearly everyone joins their family for this celebration.

I went off to the side, and took everything out of my bag. And sure enough I found the keys.

Denise rang her mother in the States. Her mother, at 82, is of an age where she always worries about the cost of long distance calls and tries to keep them short. Denise told her that we were evacuated and about the threat of a tsunami. Her mother replied that hadn't heard anything, but would keep her ears open, and then she attempted to hang up. 'Mom,' said Denise, 'I'm standing on a mountain here. I need to know!' She then asked to talk to her sister-in-law, who said she'd look up the internet and phone straight back.

They called back a few minutes later to say that a 8 point something earthquake had hit Peru, and there was a tsunami warning all up the Pacific coast as far as Mexico, and also in Hawaii. But there had been no word of any problems in any of the countries yet.

This made me feel that we were safe. I had felt all along that nothing was going to happen. I knew there had been a number of tsunami alerts in Asia triggered by earthquakes where nothing happened. But of course, it's better to be safe than sorry. I also felt that if it was to hit Costa Rica at 9pm, that it would have to hit Ecuador, Colombia and Panama earlier. So if nothing had happened there we were safe.

About 9.30 all the mobiles starting ringing. The all clear had been received. It was interesting that all the information we had on what was happening came from people on mobile calls to the States. Word of what was happening was related to the Tico families by American's with phones.

Back home
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And so we headed back home. Again, traffic flowed quite smoothly. Everyone was in good form. People felt better that precautions had been taken, but that everyone was safe and the danger had passed. We drove back through Santa Teresa, and it was strange to see all the shops and bars with the shutters down. It was fairly comprehensively evacuated. I was home just on 10pm, the whole thing had just taken little over an hour and a half.

And so to bed
--------------
Little did I know as I went to bed that, for me, the worst was yet to come.

I had no problem getting to sleep, but I woke suddenly at 2.30. I didn't know why, but I was suddenly alert. Then I felt something running across my head, just over my ear. I brushed it away with my hand, and it fell onto the bed. And then in the half light I saw something dark run across the white sheet, and disappear over the side of the bed.

I had thought that I heard a fluttering when it was near my ear. So I figured it was some type of insect that had got in. I did think that it was strange that it had scuttled away over the sheets rather than flown away. I thought about turning on the light and trying to find it. But previous experience led me to believe that I would just end up waking myself completely and I wouldn't find it anyway. As I drifted off to sleep I kept thinking, I'd be much happier if I knew what that was.

At 3.40 I woke again, just as suddenly. I felt something moving. I turned in the bed, and suddenly felt this incredible sting hit my leg. It was like a combination of a bee sting and an electric shock. I shot up out of the bed, and got a second sting as I went. I ran to the bathroom, turned on the light, and looked at my leg. At first it was just all a shooting pain, but after a few minutes I could feel that there was a sting on my thigh and one just above my ankle. I didn't even know which I'd got first or second.

I went back in and looked at the bed. There was a little more light spilling from the bathroom, and I could see again a black shape against the white sheet. It looked like some type of beetle. I grabbed what is THE most important item living here, the fly swatter (come to think of it I'm amazed that wasn't what I grabbed to flee the tsunami). I took a big swipe and hit it. It lay there momentarily stunned, and I saw the full shape. Unmistakably a large black scorpion. I hit it again, this time it shot into the air and landed on the floor, still stunned, its tail curling and uncurling. But now an unmissable target on the tiled floor. I lashed at it three or four times until there was little left but the tail.

I was so shocked. I had adrenalin pumping and my leg was still throbbing. I know nothing about scorpion stings. But two on the one leg didn't seem good. I thought I might become sick from the poison. I really hadn't a clue. If I went asleep would I wake up? I took Solpadeine to be on the safe side!

After a time I calmed down. I felt ok. I shook out the sheets to check there was nothing else in the bed. I lay down. It was about an hour before I got back to sleep.

The next day I was fine. There was no lingering pain. I would have had more discomfort if it had been a mosquito bite.

And now I really have to laugh as I consider this life I've chosen to live. Where a quiet night in becomes an hour and a half fleeing a death wave on its way from Peru and followed by coming home and getting into bed with a scorpion. It's incredible that I found a little creature so much more scary than something that threatened the entire coast and caused a mass evacuation. But I'll be honest. I'd flee 100 tsunamis rather than get into bed with scorpion again.
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Well, that's it for this week. I got the ferry over today and I meet up with the Intercultura crowd for our freebie (well freebie for them) weekend. So I'm really excited to finally have an opportunity to socialise.

Until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Thursday's Headline in La Nación: Country on 'tsunami' alert following strong earthquakes in Peru