January 26 -30 - Grounded in Texas

Sterling and I parted ways when we made it back to the United States a few days ago. He went to Las Cruces to see family and friends from his college days there. I'm sitting in Burger King for several days now in Port Isabel and South Padre Island, Texas waiting for a brake job. Not everything about traveling is glamorous. Roberts Automotive opens at 9:00 am Monday morning and I'm the first appointment of the day! Yeah!

I've spent the weekend planning, dreaming and thinking about the folk art wall I hope to build when I get home. Looking at thousands of pictures of folk art and walls.

Sterling and I will hook up together and join my other son Emerson for Mardi Gras and the trip home. Look forward to taking in lots of museums in Washington & NYC and working on seeing some more folk artists in SC, NC & Maryland - will keep you all posted once we get on the road again.

Until then - +PEACE

Back in the USA - Brownsville Texas

Cathy Swansburg Sykes

January 25 & 26, 2012 - Made our way up through the Gulf side of Mexico yesterday and entered back into the United States today. Driving along this route was pretty boring except for the military stops we kept encountering. Lots of them!!! As we drove further north they got more and more present taking over many of the larger hotels.

We stopped for Wi-fi last yesterday afternoon and found the sweetest little girls having birthday party at McDonalds. Did you know most McDonalds and Burger Kings all have free wi-fi now.

Anyways, the US Border was pretty easy compared to others. No customs, they took my bacon and eggs, let the dog do his thing which of course found nothing and I joked on the side-lines with the Border Patrol Cops who told me each day was like a treasure hunt. I told them I was an antiques dealer and could understand. I asked "What was the most valuable thing they had found?" They responded "Diamonds!" which kind of surprised me - they did admit that it's usually narcotics (a more scary word then Pot/Weed/Ganji etc.

We sailed thru customs and I brought Sterling to the Greyhound Bus so he could catch a couple of weeks in LasCruces NM seeing some old college friends and maybe working for my sister Debbie & husband David who live there and are in the midst of moving their pottery shop to a new location.

I happily spent the afternoon at a beach taking an hour long walk. I chased what I thought was a lighthouse until I got close enough to realize it was a large multi story building - I should have known better - I'm back in the USA.

It feels good to talk English and be understood. I feels good to have toilets with seats and paper that aren't filthy! If feels good not to have crazy people passing me on a double yellow line. It feels good not to have any more speed humps and bumps. It feels good to be by myself for a couple of weeks until I meet up with the boys again for Mardi Gras.

I contacted my friend NarrowLarry Harris who recommended some trick things to do in this area so I look forward to exploring the next few days - doing some writing - considering doing my taxes and being home on US turf. PEACE for now - more tomorrow.

Jan 17-22 Driving along the Gulf of Mexico for a few days now

Well another week has passed and it’s not quite as exciting as it was with my friend Cindy here. We started the week by taking the Peace Mobil back to the Toyota dealership because of the flat tire and the brakes still making funny noises. We sat for 6 hours while the mechanic worked on the frozen caliper and at 3:30 the handed me the keys and said we were free to go. No charge - thank you Belize Diesel.

Belize is very expensive on a shoestring budget like ours. Gas is over $5.25 a gallon and food is almost double American prices so we tried to hurry up and get out of there. We headed back to Mexico and decided we’d continue our trip North. Campache Mexico was calling me from the Lonely Planet guide book so we took a 2 hour detour and headed off our route to visit this historical town which is located within ancient fortress walls.

On the way to Campeche we found a fishing village called Chopotan which we enjoyed quite a bit. We arrived mid evening and parked at the town docks, not quite realizing the morning would be bustling with fishing activity. Watching them clean the stingray and baracuda dressing them for market was quite interesting. These were caught with a net but we also so a fair number of casual fishermen using a minnow on a piece of fish-line - sans rod. We walked through the market and went on our way to Campeche.

We loved Campeche with it’s old time Mexican houses, architecture within the fortress walls. We found a hostel to land on and they must have known I was coming because there were Dragonfly tiles on the floor of our room. It’s been a very long time since I’ve slept on the top in a bunkbed but it was closer to the ceiling fan.

We spent the two days there and left feeling like we could have spent even more time there. Campeche dates back to the early 1530‘s when pirates, the Spanish and English were all vying for this plat of land. This was a military camp and the cannons are still there just in case I guess.

In 1999, Campeche was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Village. I didn’t really understand the connection with UNESCO but it is a branch of the United Nations which preserves archeological and geographical sites of importance around the world. The Barrier Reef we went diving on, the second largest in the world, is also a UNESCO site. Basically thy ncourages international peace and universal respect by promoting collaboration among nations. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/ Most of the places in the US are our grand National Parks

The churches are plentiful, huge and interesting. One has a black Jesus carved from ebony in the 1500‘s. The black Jesus was sent to Mexico from Africa via boat. The boat who refused to carry the Jesus sunk on the voyage. There was another church which celebrated the first Catholic mass in all of the America’s in 1534. There was yet another which was over the top gilt decorated. Most had very old, beautiful paintings albeit all religous. Comedian, Bill Maher would have loved the church with larve in the Holy Water.

We visited the plaza, many churches and museums and at the end of the second day when I could walk no more, we took a trolly tour ($7pp) around the greater city which consists of more then 215,000 inhabitants. Caught between progress and tradition, this town was bulging with modern day stores. There is a 3 mile long walkway which runs along the ocean where you see all sorts of people exercising. It’s also where you’ll find WalMart, KFC and other American chain-stores unfortunately. There was a very nice crafts store (supposedly the best in Mexico) we visited as we were leaving town and I bought a few gifts for my girlfriends and a beautiful hat for myself.

UNESCO provides millions of dollars every year so Campeche can keep up the painstaking preservation which is just magnificent. Every year, the 3,200 buildings within the walled city are painted lovely pastel colors. The cobblestone streets are narrow and it’s interesting to watch the people gravitate to the shady side of the street and cars get to park on the opposite side or the sunny side. With all this history you’d think there would be lots of antique shops but not so - I can’t seem to find any, any place. I wonder if there’s a reason they are not allowed.

After we left Campeche we went back to long travel days filled with brightly colored concrete houses with storefront signs and graffeti painted right on the walls anywhere and everywhere. We’ve enjoyed the flora and fauna, the birds, the mountains, the statues, monuments and churches.

We’ve been stopped 4 or 5 times each day by the Military or Policia Federali who want to know what we’re doing. They ask if I speak Spanish, tell me they don’t speak English and when we acknowledge neither of us know what the other is doing or talking about they let us pass. Before I left home, I had a postcard printed which I hand out profusely which has confused and pleased them. I flash a PEACE sign and off I go.

The last several nights, we’ve had the pleasure of finding a spot on a beach with an internet shop nearby. Tonite we’re in another Pemex which we haven’t visited in 5 or 6 weeks now, but they are clean and well lite and we feel safe. Late today I made a wrong turn and realized the sun was setting on my right side which meant I was heading south again instead of the North I should be. Oh well, what’s 206 km and a tank of wasted gas, when you’ve driven over 12,000 miles. We’re getting weary and our enthusiasm is starting to wane, especially for each other. Just a few more days and we’ll be back in the United States....I hope.

For more pictures on Campeche and the Gulf of Mexico visit me on FB at Cathy Sykes.

January 10 - 16 - Hondorus, Guatamala and Mostly Belize

Oh my - what a week it’s been. My dear friend Cindy decided on very short notice to meet us in Belize City, Belize for a snorkeling trip and a few days R&R. But we were still three or four days away but thought this would be a good meeting place and it was.

Sterling and I went through the mountains of Hondorus and Guatamala as quickly as we could. We put in several 9 hour days driving into the evening which we hate to do but we were pushing ahead to meet Cindy. The driving is awful going through very rugged, pot-holed, but through beautiful mountains.

These countries are about the size of some of our states, taking only 6-8 hours to cross. We pushed on through Hondorus and Guatamala at the smallest, easiest border crossing we’ve yet to encounter. No lines, no fuss, one tiny little women came and checked our VIN number and on we went.

The first night in Guatamala we came upon a bus accident on a rural country road, of all things. A full commuter bus, early in the evening, missed a right hand curve in the road and fell right over onto it’s left side. My goodness, it was firmly pinned by several trees which had saved the situation but there was luggage and people every-where. It was one of those scenes in your life you don’t easily forget - we were among the first people to arrive just before the first ambulance. The driver was looking pretty shocked and the police were stuck like glue on him and l luckily there didn’t seem to be any serious tragic moments. Bumps, bruises and it appeared the vast majority of people were ok and on their feet. On we go.

So we got up the next morning on our quest to meet Cindy in Belize and as we were going along we came upon these young men playing with a 6‘ boa constrictor snake. Sterling got right out and enjoyed the entire process teasing it with a plastic cup. I filmed the entire thing - it was quite interesting to watch from a safe distance! (the photos and video are posted on my Cathy Sykes FB page).

We drove and drove through the most beautiful mountain range. Hondorus especially has lots of lush jungle landscapes that change from palm trees into pine trees and red clay or limestone landslides. Instead of moving the giant rocks that fall, they paint them white so you don’t miss them. We crawled through all sorts of small villages that consist of nothing much more then a church and a few houses, sometimes a school. Every 50 miles or so we’d find a bigger town with a center courtyard, restaurants etc. It’s all starting to blur together.

So we arrived in Belize 2 hours late and in the darkest corner near the Security Station was the slight profile of Cindy, patiently waiting knowing we would show up eventually. The airport closed at 6:00 and things were dark. Being the last person there she was easy to find, I scooped her up and stayed at the first decent motel we came to which was a Best Western. We woke to find ourselves in a beautiful resort and moved on.

We spent the day doing laundry, acclimating ourselves to Belize City, locating the ATM, the Toyota dealership for some brake work etc. We found a nice modest, older hotel that suited us fine for $55. It was kind of funky and had interesting antique bottles and weird art on the walls, with a beautiful hibiscus that covered trellis and porch.

We woke the next day, dropped off the Peace Mobil for it’s brake job. After a big breakfast we boarded a small commuter ferry and went to a small island off Belize called Caye Caulker where we then caught another smaller boat with just seven of us and took off to the Barrier Reef, which is the second largest reef in the western hemisphere. What a fabulous experience snorkeling is. It’s such a privilege to enter into their world. I love floating still over the reef and watching all the life teaming below. Our first stop was a 45 minute swim in what the natives call Coral Gardens. There were huge purple coral fans and probably 25 species of fish from barracuda’s, morea eel to lion fish.

Our second stop was a place they call shark alley where we got to swim with the sharks and sting-rays which were also huge. When we first arrived and the sharks came to check us out, I said no way but then Cindy and Sterling jumped right in and I decided to follow along. Talk about under-stated peer pressure. It was cool but I’ll admit, I was the last one in the water and the first one out.

After a fruit and water break our third stop was a very shallow area where we could touch in most spots and wasn’t real deep reefs but very spread out. It was another 30 minutes or so of exploration. The colors were different because of the shallower water.

When we walked along the dirt road in Caye Caulker we were heckled by artists not wanting us to take photos. They kept trying to charge us $2.00 Belize which is $1.00 US each. It was very unsettling. The begging in Belize is awful, but we did find a very nice cab driver who took us to order pizza before returning us to our room at Mopan Hotel. We crashed early after such an exciting couple of days. It was wonderful to talk and touch Cindy. It’s the one and only thing I miss about Wolfeboro in the Winter.

We had two more days to spend together, Saturday and Sunday. Many people had told us Placencia was a wonderful town. Some people said it was 2 hrs. and some said it was 4 hrs. We didn’t care, we had two days, so we headed south once again to this pretty peninsula which sticks out in the incredible aqua Caribbean Sea. We found a nice place on the beach with a restaurant and settled in for the night. After dinner and a drink at the local Reggae bar, we dropped into bed by 8:30. Sterling has been staying in the Peace Mobil so Cindy and I could have our space and it’s a good thing he did. We got broken into by two local drunks just before dawn. Luckily Sterl said WTF and they moved on only after breaking one of our screen windows, leaving a large metal pipe on Sterling’s bed and throwing his backpack onto the roof after they found out nothing was in it.

It was Cindy’s day to leave so we started working our way back to the airport. We had learned of an antiques stop near the airport so we allowed an extra hour to stop but it got sucked up when we got a flat tire. UG! Sterling was a champ and got our spare out and got it put on. Making the airport exactly on time. We sadly dropped off Cindy and went back downtown to the Mopan Hotel and stayed outside on the street back in our rig. January 16th and we’re back at the Toyota dealer trying to figure out the best plan to get us home safely with brakes and tires.

January 6 - 7, Leaving Costa Rica and back to Nicaragua

January 6 & 7, 2012 - Crossing the borders are always a challenge. Yesterday going from Costa Rica back into Nicaragua proved to be one of the worst. We had no slow downs at all in CR but then we got in the line of the guy who could only seem to process one person for every 10 the guy in the next line did. We spent close to two hours in line only to find out we needed $12.00 each and had no money to give them. Sterling went back into Costa Rica and found an ATM that accepted Master Card. The vast majority only accept Visa, and I always thought MC was every where you wanted to be. So much for that slogan. After waiting in line for 2 hours, I momentarily freaked with Sterling in another country and me without a passport because they wouldn’t give it back to me without the $12.

Well, once we got back in we decided to go back to San Juan Del Sur and climb to the top of the gigantic Jesus Christ statue that over-looked the bay. It was spectacular and it was nice to get out of the Peace Mobil and stretch our legs. We then decided to drive the coastal route which is really just a pot-holed, washboard, dirt road but we found a great surf spot with a hostel and 2 bars and spectacular rugged pristine waterfront. We took a nice walk on the beach which was quite unusual with a black rock formation intertwined with the beach. We laid in hammocks, shared a $7. pizza and gave thanks for flush toilets.

We woke and drove out of the jungle of Costa Rica today. Back into stretches of very rural humble homes into huge sprawling cities. It was our first rainy day since we first arrived in Mexico and had the torrential downpour on Thanksgiving. Many days we just get a shower but this must have been a front coming through because it’s turned a bit colder and I actually got out a thin jacket today, January 7th. I got out my wool slippers and a short sleeve sweater yesterday. This is considered their dry season, it rains about 7 months a year in Costa Rica and Panama. Sure not what I’m looking for.

Both Panama and Costa Rica are very expensive for this area of the world. Most of the poorer countries use United States Dollars for stability, but both Panama and Costa Rica want you to only use their money and they don’t mind charging you just exactly what they think you can afford which quite often is more then you would expect in the US. We needed to get back into some poorer countries to make our funds last.

The Internet is great for sharing so many things, but of course all the words I can use don’t begin to describe the little things that make the tropical experience the magnificent journey that it is. Fleeting things like an ocean breeze, wild-flowers, spectacular butterflies, fascinating insects, both aromatic and nasty smells, signs, graffiti, the tanned, buff fella warming up on the beach before surfing, the delicious fresh fruit we gobble at every chance, especially the pineapples. I especially love seeing the laundry hanging out on all the clotheslines, fences or bushes every morning.

The brakes were really squealing today so we finally stopped to deal with them and also an oil change as we’ve gone over 8,000 miles now, but we got stuck in the bay so had to let air out of our tires to get out and then pump them up again but first we waited for the mechanic who had to arrive and hopefully help us with our brakes which he couldn’t, so now we use second gear more then ever. We’ve run out of LP gas for a few days now so no fridge, no stove, makes our eating a bit more challenging. Oy vie - there’s always something when you’re traveling.

The oil change was just outside of Managua which is the capital of Nicaragua although it was leveled by an earthquake in 1972 and is now just new, crappy sprawl because they lack money and the city lacks any history or colonial architecture or really anything you could grab on to and call nice, and I think I stretch pretty far when I say nice. As you’ll see in the pictures, the most interesting thing we could find to photograph was the blue overstuffed Toyota pick-up with wicked neon tires, tons of graffiti and the old church which is being re-rehabilitated at last after being left in decline for 30 years but they didn’t want us to photograph the progress. There’s really very little reason to ever go to Managua if you’re offered the opportunity. We got stuck in a traffic jam to boot.

Nicaragua is pretty small and we drove right through to the other side but went to a different smaller border as they’re much easier to deal with. We’re glad to report Socialist, Christian and very well loved Daniel Ortega won the election since we visited earlier in December and they are now replacing the “Elect Daniel” billboards with thank you celebratory billboards.

Anyways as we approached the border Nic/Hondorus border we had to laugh as three tractor trailers we’re headed into Nicaragua and they had to make a lane for us to get through which was just two GIANT potholes and a rope between two orange cones. Apparently Hondorus has been especially hard hit with the lack of tourism which has been sweeping the globe in the last two or 3 years so they were all happy to see us and laughed when we took pictures. We made friends and exchanged cards with a number of the border rats which are what we call the brokers who try to help you in exchange for a tip. Today in Ocotol Hondorus they were very helpful, friendly and cute and actually earned the $10 for helping.

All of these Mexican and Central Americans have wonderful thick, jet black hair that doesn’t go gray until very late in life. I don’t understand why young American men are growing bald in such high numbers. Is it our ball caps or something in our water or food?

Every bar or restaurant are named after a female person, much like we do with Ships but tonite we ate at a joint called Restaurant Rosie that had 3 young mares playing in the field, blooming hot pink, rose bushes that were 5 feet tall and just as we were finishing a beautiful rainbow with the most vibrant colors we’ve ever seen hovered above us. We drove out into the countryside where the cows, horses, goats and pigs still out-number the people and found a large level cleared lot we could park in for the night. +PEACE

January 3, 2012 - Rainforest Tram Costa Rica

January 3, 2012 - My oh my - what a day! We found refuge last night at a National Bird Park in the parking which they locked us into by choice. It was on a truckers route and it was loud. We woke this morning to a dead battery. Waaah! So we go ask for help at the closest person, who was a young park ranger who didn’t drive and spoke very little English but called a friend who came to help.

Apparently our battery had tipped just enough that the belt beside it burned a hole in the side of the battery, which leaked fluid draining it enough it wouldn’t start. Before we left NH so many people asked us what we would do because we didn’t speak Spanish. Well this was a true test, these two guys were the kindest men. They epoxied the side of the battery so it wouldn’t leak and then went and got some battery fluid/acid from an old battery they had and then gave us a jump start. Neither of us spoke each other’s language but we were able to communicate between Sterling practicing his Spanish and the Park Ranger practicing his English on us - we somehow made it through.

So we went on our way to one of the highlights of our trip, the Rainforest Adventure Atlantic which is an Aerial Tram. The experience took us to three different levels of the Rainforest, the very bottom on a walking tour, the middle which truly went right through the middle of the jungle and then the canopy looking down an all over view. It was spectacular to be surrounded by such an organic environment. The tram trip cost $55 a piece and took about 3 hours. It was leisurely, peaceful and one of those places you learn so much from the guides.

We’ve had two sloth experiences now. The first two we saw in a tree at the Reggee Bar and Beach Spot over New Years and the other was today at this site just when we arrived and again late in the afternoon but this time there was a telescope set up we got to see the fella’s face up close and WOW was it ever cool. I loved it!

So we ate our late lunch of egg wraps in the parking lot and went on our way. It was kind of fun driving along in a new area and going fast again. But the fun wasn’t over for as we drove on through a mountainous rural area with beautiful views and interesting fauna. Right outside the tram was a terrible mountain covered in billboards. It was such an assault on the area, just awful but as we drove away we started seeing some interesting murals and churchs and decided to stop for the night at a rodeo fairgrounds parking lot in the center of a country-town so I pulled into the left so I could back up and turn-around and when I pulled in that driveway, I hit mud and slid like no ice I’ve ever been on. I got stuck, really stuck, deep. Sterling took over and got me unstuck but in doing so he got stuck, really stuck, deep and not coming out stuck.

So again we go and knock on the closest door and find a very nice Spanish speaking country family. Well once again, twice in one day, we hit the jack-pot! I knock on the door and say I’m stuck and the guy looks at the Peace Mobil and says, Oooooh - and holds up his hands to indicate10 minutes. Sure enough, the fellow we found had a connection with a gigantic tractor and driver who show up with just the unit we need. Well the original fellow we spoke with jumped up in the tractor, as if it was his own, and pulled us out of his yard and back onto the highway. He wanted no money and I had no money, so I gave him for $75 and told him to take it to his back. You’d think he hit the jackpot from the smile on his face but I know I did! I wonder if the check will clear my Wolfeboro NH Bank.

We went to back to the rodeo fairgrounds parking lot and started to relax, when a man comes up to our side door, armed with a flashlight and machete and asked what we were doing. Sterling somehow got out “sleeping until tomorrow morning” and the guy said ok - good, this is my area, I’m watching and went on his merry way. Oh my what a day! You meet the nicest men here in Costa Rica. The are such gentlemen and all want to take care of the gringo tourists.

Look for photos on Facebook under Cathy Sykes

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The picking just keeps getting better

Time to get started on the road again - the holidays are officially behind us and we need to work on getting back north. We've laid low over the holidays at two different spots in southern Costa Rica. Checked into a chill situation and laid back, did laundry, listened to lots of Reggee, grocery shopped, and even picked a sign from the neighbor-hood breakfast spot. I asked if she wanted to sell it and she said I could have it. Can't say NO to that price. Life is good.