Central America: Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

If there's one thing that can be said about hitching rides from the locals - it's quick, easy, and you'll cop about 10000 bugs in your mouth while you're flying down the free way to the boarder. 

While travelling Canada last year I picked up a few extra big brothers and after not seeing each other for the last few months the boys decided on a spontaneous trip to Costa Rica to pay a visit while they had some time off from their mountains jobs.

After the boys arrived we had some catch up beers and games of pool then called it a night to travel to The surfing town of Puerto Viejo bright and early! 

Puerto Viejo looks like how I would imagine Hawaii looked like 30 years ago, it's a quaint little oasis with good waves, decent food and little boutique stores selling anything from 

Hair wraps to expensive jewellery. 

For the first full day with the whole gang we checked into our tents at The Rocking Jays and took out some bikes to explore the town and bar hop through the village! 

To finish off the night we cooked up a big stir fry and sat around a bonfire on the beach while drinking too many frozen cocktails! 

The following day to celebrate Ash's 24th birthday we travelled to the sloth sanctuary to have a private tour and hang out with some baby sloths - if you're ever in Costa Rica this tour is 100% worth your time and money! 

Our stop at Costa Rica was short and sweet but we are all itching to get into Panama and travel to Bocas Del Torro to indulge in some much needed relaxation time, exploring and good times! 

  

Central America; San Juan Del Sur

Arriving in San Juan one del sur we found a home away from home; Casa de Olas! Sitting pretty ontop of a sweaty mountain and overlooking the town, this little oasis made us feel like we were back home in aus! 

The hostel owners Carla and Bob were your stereotypical Aussie legends, the boys behind the bar were from all walks of life and the house pets were the Cheekiest pair of smoke stealing, drink snatching monkeys! 

After a few nights getting to know the Casa family and sharing home cooked dinners the much anticipated Sunday Funday had finally arrived! 

At no later then 7am we were woken by an airhorn and the bar boys over a megaphone demanding we get up and begin the festivities! After plenty of predrinks, partying, pinyartas, tequila breakfast shots, beer bongs, bar dances and one two many glasses of buzz punch we were on our way to the first stop - Naked Tiger Hostel, from there we ventured down to the town, got way too rowdy at a beach front pool party and finally made our way back to our home away from home to kick on well into the night! 

Sunday Funday is a must if you're visiting San Juan, and if you can stick around for the Monday Carla and Bob cook up the best baked dinner you'll have while on your travels! Aside from this the surfing and water activities are next to none and are cheap if you look around for a bargin on the streets! 

For now were hitchhiking to the border to make our way to Costa Rica! 

Central America; Leon, Nicaragua.

If there's one thing that's certain about backpacking - the longer you travel the less you care about the things that use to mean the most to you. I'm talking about cleanliness, comfort, hygiene, clothes, showers and good food..

If 24 hours stuck on a sweaty bus wasn't bad enough, when we finally arrived in the ghetto of downtown Leon we were greeted by a passed out man covered in mud and sweat lying sprawled out, face down on the hostel reception floor. Obviously after checking for vital signs and checking in to our rooms we were set to rest our sore stiff bodies.

While our stay in Leon was a quick one we made sure the full day we had was well spent and there's no better way to experience the best Leon has to offer than hiking up Cereo Negro and flying down it on a Volcano board! There's little wonder as to why this ridiculous activity is Rated #2 on CNN's top thrill seeker bucket list and if you want to experience it the best possible way you can make sure you speak to the team at Bigfoot hostel. The tour includes an insight into the weird and wonderful background of volcano boarding, transport to and from and some sneaky beers and well deserved snacks on the way home!

Leon is one of the most beautiful and yet underrated cities in all of Central America. It's unfortunate we only had a day to explore it's beauty but with that said Nicaragua has so much more to offer a curious tourist.

For now we are off to the small surfing town of San Juan Del Surr, stay tuned! 

Central America: Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is what the whole world should look like - every colour you could possibly imagine, everywhere you could possibly see. What an incredible colonial maze of cobble stoned streets! 

Prior to arriving we made the wise decision to stay a bit longer in Antigua and take in the full vibe of the town and it's safe to say we did not regret our decision. 

To celebrate Easter Sunday we made the 2 hour journey to the small town of Chichicastenango! Every Sunday and Thursday the locals put on a show of colour, bargaining and pure wonder; in the form of the chi chi markets - enough to make any savvy shopper weak at the knees! 

While we haggled and barged our way through the streets we managed to walk away with some of the most incredible treasures I've seen yet!

It's hard to be away from home during the holidays so we decided to have a decent dinner in the heart of town and take in the full colonial vibes happening all around us! 

The next few days were spent exploring the alleyways, sipping Cuban coffee and wasting away our hours people watching and taking photos. Here's to the next 24hrs we will be spending on a sweaty bus to make our way to Leon, Nicaragua! 

Central America; Belize to Guatemala

While pit stopping in San Ignacio we met a friendly local named Star. He made a strong effort to show us around town, give us voodoo drinks and herbal vaccines, and stuff us around in more ways than one. With that aside however we did get to explore the underground cave systems on blow up tubes and after what seemed like the never ending journey we finally reached the border and made our way into Guatemala. 

We only had a quit one night stop over in Flores to watch the sunrise over Tikal and explore the Malayan ruins; unfortunately the sun didn't put on a show but if you're ever in Flores it's worth doing as you skip all the crowds of tourists and you get to hear all the howler monkeys waking up to start their day.

After a decent drive north of Flores we arrived at our hostel in Lanquin - The Zephyr Lodge! If you ask me this place gets an 11/10; incredible atmosphere, fun young staff, good food and good company - all while situated in the middle of the jungle in grass and wooden dorms perched up on top of a mountain! 

To celebrate Good Friday we made our way to Semec Champy - what a way to spend the holidays; we ventured through darkened underground caves with nothing but a candle to guide the way, we jumped off huge suspension bridges, swung on rope swings and frolicked in the pools bellow the waterfall! To finish up one epic adventure we made our way back to our hostel via the only transport available; standing up with 15 other tourist on the back of a pickup...

Arriving back at our jungle home there was already a vibe happening, the hostel put on a big Easter BBQ, and we drank well into the night - probably not the wisest idea when you have a 12hr bus ride to Antigua staring you in the face, but that's tomorrow's problem! 

Happy Easter, friendly followers!!