Country #22 - Panama

The Canal

Today I unfortunately had an early afternoon flight - I would much rather have arrived in Panama earlier! However, everything ended up working out. I took the free hotel shuttle again and had an easy flight before arriving in Panama around 1:00pm. I Ubered into the city where I saw all of the incredibly tall buildings Panama is famous for. Some of them were so cool and unique! After the long Uber drive into the city and my hotel, TRYP, I quickly dropped my bags off in my room and immediately took an Uber to the Canal. It was about a forty-five minute drive from my hotel, so I got to the Miraflores Locks Museum around 3:00pm, giving me a good two hours to explore.

It was such an interesting place! There is a museum, as well as a film, and an outdoor viewing area for boats passing through the Miraflores Locks. The canal is composed of three sets of locks, which helps to raise ships from the ocean up into the lake that composes to the canal and then lowers ships again to the other ocean. The Miraflores Locks is one of those three sets of locks. Did you know that it can cost $300,000 - $400,000 for a large ship to pass through the canal one time? After doing the museum, which was relatively quick but very informative, I headed to the film which was once again very informative. It was really interesting to learn about the United States’ role in the canal, and how we turned over full control of the canal to Panama beginning in 2000.

After the film, I headed outside to watch a boat go through the lock. It was a pretty long process, probably taking around thirty to forty-five minutes per boat. The structure and the boats are both so large, it makes sense that it takes so long when you think about how much water has to be moved every time the process occurs. I stayed watching the boats pass through until it was time for the museum to close.

I then took an Uber into the historic city center. It was way cooler than I was expecting! There was a very European feel and the buildings in the area were all so beautiful. I walked through   Plaza before walking through the area to go inside many of the different churches that were luckily open late. While inside the last church it began pouring rain so I decided to take an Uber to my close by restaurant.

My Uber driver was pretty funny, as I got the typical “Forest Gump” response when I told him I was from Alabama. Apparently it was his favorite movie! Forest Gump, along with Sweet Home Alabama, are what I get 90% of the time I tell people where I am from if I get a reaction at all. After the quick ride, I went to Santa Rita. It is the top ranked restaurant on TripAdvisor, and it did not disappoint! The prices were reasonable, but I had a really great dinner. I had quite possibly the best croquettes I have ever had, as well as yummy tomato bread and freshly mashed potatoes. It was quite the satisfying dinner!

I then headed back to my hotel, where I went to take lots of pictures from the amazing roof view of the city and its incredible buildings. I then headed back to my room to get a good night's sleep before heading to Colombia!

22 countries down, 174 to go.

Country #21 - Costa Rica

San Jose

Today I left Nicaragua pretty early for my flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. I was really excited for today because for the first time in a few days I am able to get out and explore! I took the free hotel shuttle to my hotel, Adventure Inn. Thank you so much to Adventure Inn for sponsoring this night of my stay! It was a really cool hotel with a definite Costa Rica feel. My room was not yet ready when I arrived because I was being upgraded to a suite - yay! I sat by the pool for a little bit before embarking on my day in San Jose.

I Ubered into the heart of the city, which took about forty-five minutes with the horrible San Jose traffic. My first stop was the National Museum. It was such a cool museum! When you first walk in you walk straight into an amazing butterfly garden. It is a huge enclosure and there are so many beautiful butterflies. Some of them were huge! I definitely took my time walking through as it was such a cool room. There was then an exhibit on the history of the building itself, which used to be a military use building.

The most interesting part of the museum was definitely how well it laid out the history of Costa Rica up until the present time. It was interesting to see how much they referenced the United States in the museum, as it was a major goal when becoming independent to be officially recognized by the US. I thought the exhibit on current issues in Costa Rica was the most fascinating and well done because it talked about so much that you wonder about when you are a visitor in a country. After finishing up all of the exhibits I exited out through the butterfly garden.

I walked down the street to a yummy Italian restaurant where I had a very satisfying lasagna. It was the first time I have eaten a real, hearty meal in a few days due to my stomach, and boy was it satisfying! I had a Fresca to drink accidentally (I thought he said Fanta) but this was a welcome mistake because Fresca in Latin America is much better in my opinion than it is at home! It tasted a lot like Sun Drop for those of you who know what that is (if you don’t you’re missing out). The restaurant definitely took a long time as it was during lunch, but it was worth it for the lasagna.

After lunch, I headed on a ten-minute walk to the National Theater. It borders a large outdoor square that was filled with people out enjoying the day! I bought my ticket and waited a few minutes for the English speaking tour. It was me and one other woman, from Ukraine, on the tour. Our guide was probably my age but she was super helpful and did a great job explaining everything about the amazing National Theater. It was such a cool building with a really unique history!

The theater looks like something you would see in Europe, which is definitely intentional. Most every aspect of the building was imported from Europe, and it was an absolutely stunning building. The painted ceiling is supposedly the most impressive ceiling in Latin America, and it was pretty cool. The floor of the theater was also really interesting. It is sloped down to where people in the seats can see over the row in front of them, like a normal theater. However, there is a giant mechanism under the floor that requires a lot of people to help turn that actually flattens the floor out. After doing this the theater can then be used for banquets or even State Dinners. Costa Rica does not have a national palace or any other type of national building for its president, so the National Theater is used instead. If you ever make it to San Jose this place is a must see! I loved getting to explore San Jose, but I would definitely like to come back to Costa Rica and do the more nature focused things that the country is known for!

After the National Theater, I decided to head back to my hotel. I probably could have squeezed in one last hotel, but I was pretty exhausted. My Uber driver back was really nice and is a Chemistry Professor at a local university. The drive took a while again with traffic, but I was glad to have at least beat rush hour! After arriving back at Adventure Inn I had a really good pizza in the hotel restaurant. I then headed back to my room to watch the series finale of Pretty Little Liars. Yes, I know the show is ridiculous. But having watched every episode since the beginning I needed to watch the last episode without it being spoiled. It definitely was not the best ending, but I’m just relieved that the crazy show is over. At least I had good internet for the first time in a few days to be able to watch! After the ending, I went to sleep pretty quickly. I head to Panama tomorrow!

21 countries down, 175 to go.

To learn more about Adventure Inn click here.

Country #20 - Nicaragua

Monkeys and Parrots and Toucans

I left my hotel in San Salvador, El Salvador and flew into Managua, Nicaragua pretty early this morning. Upon landing, I again had to pay $10 at immigration. I took a car arranged by my hotel, Art Hotel Managua. Thank you so much to Art Hotel Managua for sponsoring this night of my trip! The drive in was interesting, with a lot of the city looking the same and then we came upon an area along the water that had been developed into what looked like a large park/entertainment area.

I checked in to the hotel where I was greeted at the front desk. He was very welcoming and helpful and showed me to my room right by the pool. The most exciting thing for me, though, was all of the animals that Art Hotel has! I spent a while playing with the two monkeys, as well as attempting to talk to the parrots, and looking at the toucan. The monkeys were so cute and playful - I don’t think I saw them not playing once!

I again spent my day in the hotel today. I know that these are not the most exciting of blog posts, but I promise I start being able to explore cities again tomorrow! I probably could have gone out in Managua, but once again I did not feel entirely up to it and wanted to avoid any potential problems. Managua is definitely safer than San Salvador or San Pedro Sula, but I likely would have wanted to have a guide to make sure I was safe around the city. I would love to come back to Nicaragua to explore some of the smaller cities in the country that I have heard have a lot more character than Managua.

I was able to work a lot on things on my website and making sure all of my pictures and videos were uploaded. I went out to play with the monkeys a few times because they were just so cute! I went to sleep pretty early once again before an early flight tomorrow to Costa Rica.

20 countries down, 176 to go.

To learn more about Art Hotel Managua click here.

Country #19 - El Salvador

El / San Salvador

I was able to sleep in again this morning, and I am already feeling much better! I had an afternoon flight to San Salvador, El Salvador, and I honestly cannot remember which is the name of the city and which is the name of the country. It’s a little confusing! I drove back to the Belize airport with the same cool driver as well as a couple from Knoxville, TN. They were in Belize staying in a resort area and really loved their stay. It was great getting to talk with them!

I landed in San Salvador at a really nice, modern airport. Customs and immigration were simple, although you do have to pay $10 at immigration. I met the driver arranged by my hotel, Morrison Hotel de la Escalon. Thank you so much to Morrison Hotel for sponsoring this night of my trip! The drive into the city was uneventful, and we soon arrived at Morrison. The front desk was very helpful upon my arrival, and it was such a cute little hotel in the middle of the city! While I felt relatively safe on the drive into the city, San Salvador is another one of those very dangerous cities very high on the homicide rate rankings. This, coupled with my still recovering stomach from yesterday, led me to decide to stay in for the day.

Morrison Hotel had a really nice courtyard and pool area in the middle right outside of my room. My room was very comfortable and I rested and worked for most of the day. While once again I hate that I was unable to see more of El Salvador, I feel like it was the right decision. I have a really early flight in the morning to Nicaragua before finishing up Central America and starting on South!

19 countries down, 177 to go.

To learn more about Morrison Hotel de la Escalon click here.

Country #18 - Belize

The Tiny Airplane

I left my hotel in San Pedro Sula really early this morning for my 7:00am flight to Belize City, Belize. The flight was short and simple but it was also the smallest plane I have ever flown in in my life. And I have flown in some small ones over the past month! I was sitting right behind the pilots and could literally see everything they did! There were only two other passengers and the plane looked like it could only fit maybe ten people when full. I really enjoyed flying in the small plane and being able to see the pilots in action - until we went into a cloud, that is. Flying through clouds in a plane that tiny is terrifying!

While it feels like minor turbulence in a normal plane, in a tiny plane you move around like crazy. Luckily I had an amazing view of tiny islands and the Caribbean waters meeting the ocean to keep me distracted. But every cloud definitely made me shutter!

I met the hotel shuttle upon my arrival in Belize. I stayed at the Best Western Belize Plaza as I didn’t want to stay in the heart of the city. My driver was really cool and was so excited about my trip. We talked the entire twenty-minute drive to the hotel, and he provided a lot of facts about Belize on the drive as well. I honestly had no idea that Belize was an English speaking country. It truly felt more Caribbean than Latin American.

After arriving at the hotel I waited by the pool for a little while before eating breakfast and then going to my room. My driver was so sweet and kept checking to make sure that I was okay while waiting for my room to be ready. I was pretty lucky that my room was ready so early because it was time for upset stomach round two. While I wanted to take a tour of Belize City, it quickly became clear that a tour was not going to happen. I ended up sleeping for the majority of the day, and actually was able to watch TV because most every channel was in English - something I’m pretty sure I won't see again in Latin America! Luckily the hotel had a shop selling Gatorade and water so I was able to stock up really easily.

I Facetimed with my mom and aunt Regina for a little while before working on things and then eventually going to sleep really early. While I hate that I did not get to see the city, I would love to come back to Belize and see some of the more nature focused things that Belize is known for offering. It is so close to home that hopefully I can someday!

18 countries down, 178 to go.