new york city subway • 15 comments • Since we were in NYC for so long with a camera around our necks, we have a lot of miscellaneous subway photos and figured we would share them. We refrained from taking photos of the rats, you can thank us later.
hats off to you • 14 comments • A little subway silliness, courtesy of the MTA, for you this Friday. We'll be back tomorrow, with a real post. Have a great weekend!
en route to philly • 10 comments • We flew from Brussels to Philadelphia for the incredibly low fare of $300. US Airlines, for some inexplicable reason was offering this price every single day when we were looking. We checked out the same flight recently and the price seems to have tripled. Needless to say, we were pleased with the deal because we wanted to make our way to NYC (but not before checking out Philadelphia)! Neither of us had been to Philadelphia either, so it worked out well. There was no one on the flight either! Flying overseas is usually uncomfortable, but each of us got to stretch out over 3 seats and get some sleep. The staff was really friendly too. Thanks, US Airlines!
rivas • 6 comments • To get to Costa Rica from San Juan Del Sur we took a cab ride to Rivas to catch another Tica Bus (this cab ride was much more pleasant than the last one). We’ve used Tica Bus before and normally we embarked and disembarked at proper bus terminals. This time there was no terminal, just an unmarked curb, in the sun, to wait for the bus. Under a tree and near a construction site, we found a pile of bricks to sit on just a few feet from where the other passengers were waiting. Keeping us amused were these unsupervised Nicaraguan children and their dangerous shenanigans (if you can’t tell they’re trying to reach through barbed wire): Next stop: Costa Rica!
guatemala • 9 comments • Bound for Guatemala City, on the 7am TicaBus, we reluctantly embraced another bus ride. TicaBus provides service to all of Central America and offers extremely cheap fares ($20 for the 7 hour ride from Tapachula to Guatemala City). You can't, however, buy tickets online, make reservations online, or get much information about the exact service you'll be getting (our bus arrived in Guatemala City 3 hours later than the website indicated it would). The border crossing was interesting, to say the least. You are immediately accosted by several people the moment you step off the bus - mostly money exchangers and people selling their wares. While Alex waited in line, to go through customs, I ran from one guy to another trying to find the highest rate for changing our leftover pesos. I find that the most effective way to get the best rate is to look sad and disappointed when they offer you the first rate, then a "come on, really?" expression at the second rate, and then you just point up when they give you their final rate... then when they won't go up anymore, you move on to the next guy. This method has worked out extremely well for us! Some photos from the bus ride into Guatemala City: Our shuttle to Panajachel (on Lake Atitlan) was waiting for us at the TicaBus terminal in Guatemala City. The shuttle then dropped us off in Antigua so it could pick up more passengers. Half an hour later it was off again. We finally arrived in Panajachel about 2.5 hours later and then had to get another van to San Antonio Palopo (a small village on the lake). We arrived tired, and yet relieved, at our Hotel at 9pm. Our accommodations were definitely not what we expected. However, since we were pretty much the only guests around Christmas, it was an amazing deal for the 5 days we were there and the view from the room was breathtaking:
Hola, Oaxaca • 11 comments • We ‘splurged’ and spent $10 more for a platinum bus to get from Mexico City to Oaxaca. The seats are incredibly large and recline just far enough for it to still be considered a seat and not a bed. However, it was still a bus ride in the middle of the night, so it could only be so comfortable. 6 hours and a lot of noises and sharp turns later, we arrived in Oaxaca. We stayed at Casa Ollin - a quaint bed and breakfast that is a short walk away from the tourist areas. Every morning, we would have a traditional Oaxacan/Mexican breakfast. Some of the items were unusual (to us), but always delicious and always accompanied with homemade muffins and freshly squeezed orange juice. The view from our balcony: Most of our days in Oaxaca were spent just wandering around, with no specific itinerary. The weather was always perfect, which made it all the more relaxing. While in Oaxaca, we also experienced Los Posadas. This basically meant we fell asleep to the sound of fireworks every night and woke up to the sound of (what sounded like) hundreds of children rehearsing well known Christmas carols, in Spanish, at the top of their lungs. For 9 days before Christmas, there are always festivities, parades and parties in the streets. We are now in Guatemala but will be posting about our time in Oaxaca for the next few days. We hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season - it's definitely been different for us this year. For more trips to Mexico, check out Great Value Vacations
