By Vicki Barnes
We feel like we’ve crossed so many borders this trip (two in the last few days), it hardly seems a big deal any more. You get your stamps, you pay your fee, you walk out of one country into another, you get your stamps, you pay your fee, you walk into another country.
No biggie! Continue reading
By Vicki Barnes
The towns along the Río San Juan are rough around the edges, as one might expect in the distant frontier of a country.
Sandwiched between the river and the rainforest on land that is Nicaragua, but which in some spots is claimed by Costa Rica, it is not surprising that the residents are strong and a bit boisterous. Continue reading
Posted in All posts, Costa Rica, Destinations, Getting around, Nicaragua, Photos, Vicki "Mamita" Barnes
Do you want speed or do you want adventure?
A van from the beaches in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica, where we stayed a few nights, to the nearest airport in Liberia is about $50 per person. A flight from Liberia to Managua, Nicaragua – the nearest airport to our destination in that country is about $120 per person. A van from the beaches where we were staying in Granada is about $40.
The route from Point A to Point B is not so easy sometimes.
So for a mere $210 per person, we could have been here in a few hours.
Or, for $21 apiece, we made it here in seven – laughing, sore and sweating the excitement from every pore. Continue reading
Posted in All posts, Budget, Getting around, Granada, Nicaragua, Vicki "Mamita" Barnes
By Vicki Barnes
We made the trek to Alajuela – a few dozen kilometers from San Jose, the capitol of Costa Rica, so that our traveling companions for the first leg of the journey could catch planes back to the US.
An upscale (by Costa Rican standards) city of 85,000, Alajuela is made up of a large city center surrounded by barrios (suburban neighborhoods). The small hotel where we set up camp for a couple of days is in the barrio of Coyol, west and a little south to Alajuela Central (downtown).
Unless you’re up for a long hike, the best way to get to San Jose is by bus. First the local bus to Alajuela Central and then a larger “Tico Bus” to the center of the capitol. The task seemed a little daunting at first, but with a little coaching from the young woman at the front desk, we march a few hundred meters up the road to the covered bus stop and waited for the next bus downtown. Continue reading
Posted in All posts, Budget, Costa Rica, Getting around, Vicki "Mamita" Barnes
Aerial and water-based photography 407.417.1628
Our Great Loop Boat Trip 2014-2015
Sustainably South is a bicycle tour from San Diego California, to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brasil. Along the way we will be hoping to promote things we find important such as bicycling, farming, and preserving natural environments. The bicycle will provide us an economical and environmentally friendly means of transportation for this journey.
Two travelers - with more time than money - show you how to explore the world on a shoestring
Photos and thoughts from along my way
