Travel The MEGA Travel Thread!

[TheSpade]

I really really want to make Latin America my next trip now instead of going back to Asia. It looks so exciting. :D

I plan to leave the UK this October so need to make my mind up soon and get flights sorted.

 

[Jamshyd]

^ Well, October is around the same time I'll be going. I'm always up for travel buddies . What is definitely in the plans is to be in any of those countries (though particularly mexico) in November, during the Day of the Dead festival.

Thanks for the tips everyone, keep 'em comin' .

NotDeja: Will PM you back soon!

 

[TheSpade]

I'm checking out flight Jam, they're quite a bit more pricey than flights to Thailand are and as money is a bit tighter this trip than previous ones I need to watch what I'm doing. Asia is cheaper on the ground also than S. America. I want to go to S. America more really because I've never been and have always wanted to, plus it'd be a great adventure but I do love Asia, there's lots of places I haven't been and places I'd plan to revisit and the cheapness is a big factor.

 

[Jamshyd]

Lol, I understand.

In fact I am a bit torn between doing this or going on my dream trip on the silk-road / trans-sib while I still (sorta) can... before the shit really hits the fan in that general area. Actually it probably already did. I bet I'd get more than a couple of raised eyebrows with a Pakistani and Afaghan visa on my passport

With that said, C. America seems to be 75% sure.

 

[socko]

Not sure how many C. Am. countries this applies to, but if it does, don't go during the rainy season. Or during the Easter season -- everything (including buses) shuts down. Try to have a decent Spanish language vocab before you go so you can make friends with locals (if that is you goal). I was able to get by in the bush with the what I could memorize on the flight, but it's not enough for socializing.

 

[Jamshyd]

^ This is actually very good advice and I certainly believe in it. I've been studying Spanish from several sources for the past year and I think I am more language-ready for this than any of my previous travels. Thanks Socko . Indeed... one of the main reasons I plan to do this is because I want to lean spanish all the way to fluency.

Btw my range includes: Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica (where I'm hoping to stay). No Panama (ewww), Unless I plan to take a boat to Columbia (Cartagena) and on to Venezuela and the Guyanas, then back to CR for a bit.

 

[TheSpade]

Lol, I understand.

In fact I am a bit torn between doing this or going on my dream trip on the silk-road / trans-sib while I still (sorta) can... before the shit really hits the fan in that general area. Actually it probably already did. I bet I'd get more than a couple of raised eyebrows with a Pakistani and Afaghan visa on my passport

With that said, C. America seems to be 75% sure.

When did you go to Afghanistan mate and what took you there?

 

[Jamshyd]

^ Oh I haven't been there. I was just pondering the implication of having these visas on my passport when passing through the US or other paranoid countries.

Although, I wouldn't think twice before going to Afghanistan if I could. It seems like a strikingly beautiful country, not to mention its very interesting history.

 

[TheSpade]

Maybe slightly dangerous at the present time.

 

[StarOceanHouse]

The only places I've been to in Central America were Guatemala and El Salvador. One advice for you is to not go to El Salvador, there really isn't anything interesting to do there except get drunk. Guatemala on the other hand is a wonderful place. Definitely check out Antigua if you can.

 

[Seventeen]

^ Oh I haven't been there. I was just pondering the implication of having these visas on my passport when passing through the US or other paranoid countries.

Although, I wouldn't think twice before going to Afghanistan if I could. It seems like a strikingly beautiful country, not to mention its very interesting history.

I feel exactly the same way - I've just finished reading my third book on the country and want to go more than ever.

I really recommend the book by the way; Rory Stewart's 'The places in between'. He walked across Afghanistan, from Herat to Kabul, in 2002.

 

[Jamshyd]

^ Wow, that sounds like a blast! Will definitely check out the book.

I'd still go to Afghanistan even today if I could afford it. I mean I spent half my life going between Jordan and the West Bank, so warzones aren't a new thing to me. I definitely wouldn't spend too long a time in any place or in the country itself, but if I ever find myself in the vicinity, I'd definitely make a detour through it. If I ever do make my silk-road trip, it would fit nicely between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan (that way the more dangerous south can be avoided).

Related Reading (funny at places, IMO).

---

SOH: Interesting, can you give more details about El Salvador? I have considered visiting it in-transit, but definitely not a destination in its own right. I'm focusing most on Guatemala and Nicaragua, but also hoping to find employment in Costa Rica.

 

[socko]

Costa Rica can be as expensive as the US. Keep that in mind when working out your budget. As you get out into the country, you'll find that most of the locals won't speak English, but they are friendly and will be happy to teach you some Spanish. My favorite part of Costa Rica was Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. It is the least developed and most biodiverse part of the country. I Spent some time backpacking through there, trekking through the jungle observing animals like jaguars and on the "untouched" beaches.

 

[daysonatrain]

i spent almost 4 months backpacking around central america, mostly guatamala but also hondorus, belize and have been to mexico 2 other times. guatamala is probably the cheapest among those places, though hondorus is a close second. guatamala is cool because it has a wide variety of different terrains from desert like to tropical forests, to high mountains. the backpacking scene is not near as pronouced as it is in india for example (and i assume other asian countries).

you will certainly want to know some spanish while there as very very few people speak english. thats the nice thing about belize is the language similarity but it is very costly to live there.

in guatamala check out panajachel, its the highest lake in the world i believe and being so high its quite cool by guatamala standards (high 70s to mid 80s every day). its a chill town and there are several other small towns around the lake accessable by boat (some are cooler than pana actually).

pm if you want more info, this is all i can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Jamshyd]

^ Thanks a lot guys, great info!

Both Corcovado and Panajachel (especially the latter) sound like places I'd like to visit.

Of course, Spanish is in order. Unlike Asian countries where language was an obstacle, I actually want to learn and become fluent in Spanish, so language here would be an objective in and of itself. I already have some reading knowledge and am practising semi-daily with the Colombian cleaner where I work.

Days: I'll definitely be PMing you sometime soon, thanks .

 

[Jamshyd]

Err, bump?

C'mon guys! I know a lot of people on BL have been to Mexico at least. Where is Enod when you need him?

 

[rachamim]

I have a daughter in Mexico, though in Nuevo Leon State so far north of where you are going. That said I have been to most of Central and South America. The only nation I didn't care for was Brasil, and that was a language thing (Portugese gives me a headache).

Many tips I suppose but it depends on exactly the locale. My most memourable experience was in Guatemala. I was there when white skinned people were being beaten senseless and even killed. Most of the nation is Native American and a bunch of rumours had started about "baby snatching," for re-sale to Americans.

Actually began when 2 travelleing salesmen, locals, ran afoul of drunks at a Fiesta (each town, and in the cities each neighbourhood has a Patron Saint whose Saint Day is celebrated with a raucous Fiesta). The violence lasted a couple of weeks and I was travelling by bus as I so often do.

Peru was just coming out of Sendero Luminoso, who by the way are active again so watch yourself if you hit the Andes in Peru, as well as part of the Basin. Same for Colombia, FARClandia is not a place you want to go. ELN is calm nowadays but always watch your Ps and Qs.

My favourite part of Mexico, hands down is Oaxaca. Best food, prettiest people, best accent in Spanish. It is funny. I speak Spanish better than English since I am a Ladino speaker. Yet, when I went down there and spent only 10 days in that area, ever since I have leaned towards its accent and get pegged as a Mexican (Huero, meaning White Mexican though there are many Judios/Jews in DF and Monterey).

Also, to Oaxaca's credit I was there during the Zapatista brouhaha with Sub-Commadante Marcos and was safer probablly than any other part of my trip, including Argentina which people assume to be as safe as any American city.

If I could go again? I would go to Surinam and spend time with Bush Negroes, what a fascinating People! I also want to try and see how easy it is to learn Papimiento, the Dutch Creole Language.

I would spend time in Honduras' Bay Islands among the Garifuna People. I lived among them in the South Bronx and find them to be very interesting as well. Most people don't realise that the Caribbean coast in Central America is filled with English Language Peoples like them, the Miskito in Nicaragua, etc, etc.

Panama? You have that one correct. Not much to see until the Colombian Border area and of course FARC operates north of the border so stay away. Panama is one of those places like Abu Dhabi, the Dollar is king, anything you can afford can be had and an American puppet government make it unpalatable to me.

Chile? Now that is spectacular. The fjords are to die for. There are towns that could have been plucked out of the Bavarian Alps, people and all and German more popular than Spanish. I think I could spend a good year there and never be bored.

An area there I did NOT see but wish to is the pampas near the Argintinean Border. The Vaquero Culture is dying fast, but sheep ranches, pine forests, its something I would love to get a look at.

I did see some of the Argentinean pampas because of family that live in the Jewish town of Villamoises [sic]. Founded by the Rothschild Clan, as an alternative to Ottoman Palestine as a safety net in case the Zionist scheme for Palestine failed.

Mostly though my family is in the Palermo area of Buenos Aries. Gorgeous city, close your eyes sometimes and it seems as if you are in Paris, but with friendlier locals and better retail service hahaha.

I would like to really see Montevideo, in Uruguay having only spent 2 days there and I want to go to 2 locales in Paraguay, Asuncion and the 4 Corners region, the capital of Arab South America (borders of Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Brasil).

 

[Jamshyd]

^ Wow, thanks a lot Rach. I wasn't sure you've travelled through Latin America but was hoping you'd write here if you did - your travel stories and advice are always much appreciated.

It looks like we're on the same page on a number of things.

- Mexico: Oaxaca is indeed the only place there that I have real interest in from the get-go. I will be entering Mexico from California, and will be definitely making a stop for the Copper Canyon train (don't ask, I'm a rail freak). One thing I wonder is whether the Baja is worth all the time/money (24 hours on a bus to get to La Paz, and then 12 more hours on an expensive ferry to get to the mainland!!). These aren't long times by no means, but this is Northern Mexico - I have less interest in it that pretty much all of Latin America... So yeah, any advice on the western half of Northern Mexico is appreciated.

- I actually would like to visit Suriname (and eventually to Argentina), even though for the sake of being realistic I'm capping it at Costa Rica. That said, my one issue with Suriname is that to reach it overland one necessarily has to go through malarial Amazon forest and on through shady, questionable Guyanas

- The bay Islands are pretty much my only draw to Honduras as it stands.

- Patagonia in general is my foremost dream-place as far as the Americas are both concerned.

Thanks again.

And if anyone has anymore to add about the above, you're more than welcome .

 

[junctionalfunkie]

"....He wis also babbling oan about his ain life in a maudlin sortay wey, and spouting fantasies aboot how he wis gaunnae git hissel straightened oot and take oaf tae Thailand whair the women knew how tae treat a gadge, n whair ye could live like a king if ye had a white skin n a few crisp tenners in yer poakit."

-From Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh


9 weeks to flight time.

 

[StoneHappyMonday]

And if anyone has anymore to add about the above, you're more than welcome .

Loads, but no time now.

Couple of things. I recently(ish) spent 3 months in S America and can confirm that Patagonia is to die for. Look.

Those colours are real. Something to do with having no ozone layer. Sunglasses are compulsory.

And I'll also add....I've never agreed with Rach so much...ever.

I too am off to C.America in about 12 months and am finding this thread more than useful.

Have one more of my g/f at a glacier.

I Patagonia.