Carnival in Honduras
After Cuba, I’ve had a blast revisiting Panama & Honduras. I went to Panama after Cuba to see places I missed the first time. I met up with a Swedish guy I met in Guatemala in March and we traveled together to David (Panama 2nd largest city), Playa Las Lajas and Santa Catalina. There is nothing in David but the hostel we stayed at was awesome -Hostal Bambú, very laid back staff and it had a swimming pool. In Playa Las Lajas, really there is nothing much to do here expect chill & surf and same goes for Santa Catalina expect it has better wave for surfing -both places are beautiful. Actually we only went to Santa Catalina because we wanted to visit the Isla de Coiba (It used to house the most dangerous prisoners & political prisoners in Panama and it’s rich in nature), but we couldn’t go because of bad weather.
Then I went to San Blas island where I met really amazing people. I stayed at Isla Robinson for a night and moved to Isla Franklin which I liked better. It was cleaner, nicer and much lively. It was sad to leave but am glad I made the trip. As usual, Panama City was great, did a little shopping. Its impossible to go to Panama City and not shop because they really have cheap stuffs. Oh, by the way if anyone of you is interested in a Panama girlfriend, I can hook you up.
Then off to Guatemala City to pick up my backpack that I left at Dos Lunas guesthouse and took a 22 hours bus ride with Hedman Alas for $54 to La Ceiba, Honduras. I moved into the ‘Central America Spanish School’ volunteer house and it felt great to finally have my own room to myself. I shared the house with 3 wonderful girls from New York. We partied together and ate each others food. My second week in Honduras was very crazy, it was the start of the much talked about carnival and am pleased I was here to experience it. The carnival was a week long affair with Saturday being the biggest day of all. So for a whole week, we attended the carnival in different neighborhood, the earliest time we arrived home was 3am but I think it was worth it.
On the first day of carnival, we met Ricardo (a local from La Ceiba), he took us to the carnival venue because we were lost and introduced us to more local people -it turned out fun.
The Friday of the carnival, we partied extra hard (me, the 3 girls from NY -Chemique, Christine & Alex, Tessa -from Holland, she works at my school, Joshue -a Spanish teacher at the school, Matt -another American living in La Ceiba, Tiara -also from New York, Josephine -my German friend who came from Guatemala to attend the carnival and some other people. I really can not explain that night, it was so much fun and we met another America from Tennessee -he is a peace corp volunteer here in Honduras. The Saturday’s Carnival was much grand – they had a parade from 12 noon to around 5.30pm, then the party began until Sunday morning. The parade was really cool – for me the most impressive show was that from Tigo (a cellular phone company) and the US military. Tigo had a Bike show -with girls & guys doing stunts -really cool and the US military had planes flying, doing stunts in the air and flying really really really low, I mean you should almost touch it.
Oh this past weekend I went to San Pedro de la Sula. I took a taxi from the terminal to the hotel and the taxi driver insisted on charging me 100 limpiras, normally the price is 50 limpiras. I told him no & that he’s charging me twice the rate, I got down to ask the hotel receptionist how much its suppose to be because I hate to cheat anyone out of their money -she told me it shouldn’t be more than 50 limpiras then the taxi driver went all crazy and started calling me a ugly black trash and other racial sluts. Funny thing is that it didn’t upset me, I think after 9 months of traveling in Latin America, am numb to racial sluts and the likes. By the way I gave him the 100 limpiras – my thinking was $5 doesn’t make a different in my life & it must really mean something to him for causing all that unnecessary drama.
I was happy to return to La Ceiba. On Sunday, we went to Sambo Creek -a Garifuna town 30 minutes outside of La Ceiba to eat dinner. The food was good and surprising the town was buzzing with music & a lot of people, the club was even open & filled with people dancing. It was fun, I liked it. My trip is almost over, I have only about 3 more weeks and I don’t know what to feel – to be happy or sad. It will feel good making money again, having my own apartment, eating the Nigerian food I like, starting graduate school and seeing my family again. However I wish I still have money and time so I could continue traveling and experience new things……
until next time…………..
Visiting the ‘forbidden country’
As I got off the plane in La Havana, Cuba so many things was going through my mind but it didn’t prepare me for the nightmare I went through with the Cuban immigration officers. They are worst than the US immigration officers. Oh my God, I was questioned for 3 hours by 8 different officers asking the same questions all over again and I even had to do a X-ray to see if I swallowed drugs. After all that ordeal, I met up with Maddiel (from Couchsurfing) who showed me to a Casa Particular. I sort of promise myself not to analyze the political situation in Cuba because it wouldn’t make a differences and it will keep me from fully enjoying the county and its people. However I’ll tell you a little about this country.
Interesting things about Cuba
There are two currencies in Cuba – “Moneda Nacional” (for its citizens) & “Convertible Pesos (CUC)” for foreigners -exchange rate is 1 CUC= 1.23 Euros/1.31 pounds. There is an additional 10% penalty for those exchanging with the US dollars. Everybody is welcome to Cuba even US citizens, they don’t stamp anybody passport. You buy a tourist card for US$20 that they stamp. The government either owns all business, or a joint venture, there are some exceptions, like the accommodations for tourists. Citizens are allowed to rent up to 2 rooms in their houses to a maximum of 4 people, this is called Casa Particular and they must register with the government & pay 200 CUC per month regardless if they were able to rent room or not. These Casa Particular are up to 50% or more cheaper than the hotels which are government owned. It is illegal for Cubans to allowed foreigners to stay over at their house. In the past Cubans where not allowed in hotel rooms or tourist sites (the law to allow them was put into effect just 3 years ago).
Health care & Education is free for Cuban citizens. A majority of the people do not have access to internet because it is extremely expensive, it costs about US$6 per hour which is a lot for the people. I never saw extreme poverty or people starving from hunger however they was a lack of modern conveniences such as home computers, iPods, fancy electronics, good working vehicles, and the likes. The country is rich with educated people, art & music, diversity, naturally beautiful people and culture. There are a lot of pay phones on the street because cell phones are expensive and not everybody has a home phone. Everybody are not equal as claimed by its government – there are rich, middle class and poor people and racism do exist in Cuba. Females are barely dressed (meaning so far female Cubans wear the shortest clothes ever regardless of their age).
Baseball is the most popular game here & the most popular type of music for the young are Hip-Hop/Rap and Reggeaton. The government is against Cuban Reggeaton & Hip-Hop music because they strongly criticize the government so there are hardly any concert of those two types of music. Its illegal for foreigners to use the ‘Moneda Nacional’ – the currency for Cuban citizen however you can get away using it on the local bus/taxi, buying street food & buying tickets of shows/concerts and the likes. I changed a little of my money to the ‘Moneda Nacional’ and bought street food all the time, for local transportation and stuffs like that – usually it works because I can pass for a Cuban or I give one of my Cuban friends to buy for me.
I enjoyed Havana, there was always a show to go to and things to do. On my first day, I went to a show at the ‘Museo de los Orichas’, another time to a dance show and every Monday there is a meeting at the house of this professor – people come together to make music, talk about music and different cultures. Or you can chill at this one street that is packed with hip-hop free style artists and ‘Emos’ (Emos are sort of punkish who usually dress in black and have their hair covering half of their face).
I decided to skip Santiago de Cuba (the second largest city in Cuba) and return to Havana because unfortunately I was running out of money and I can not use my ATM card here because of the embargo, so I changed my ticket to leave Cuba 5 days earlier than planned -its sad, but oh well, there will always be another time to come back to Cuba. Meanwhile, I spent my remaining 4 days in Cuba trying to go to an Cuban Hip-Hop concert but ended up hanging out with a bunch of childish people, went to the Sunday alternative religion ceremony, Monday music meeting, a visit to a restaurant serving ‘Yoruba/African food’.
I think you should visit Cuba, it will make you appreciate what you have in your own country regardless of how you feel your own government is messed up. I met a Nigerian here on my way to check out the Nigerian Embassy – he told me there were about 200 Nigerian students studying sports or medicine. He told me about how Nigerians who come to visit or plan on living in Cuba all change their ticket and return home and that some of them even cry like babies. He also said after the Nigerian tourist, potential immigrant or student return home, they can not dare complain about the Nigerian government or the situation at home because we have it way better than Cuba. I must say I totally agreed with him.
This is a country I can NEVER live in. I so much cherish the freedom I have & the conveniences that life has to offer however I wouldn’t mind having the free quality healthcare & education the Cuban government has going for its people….Plus being in Cuba gives me this closeness to Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. I intend to come back here to do a research on the Yoruba people of Cuba, I think it will be interesting to learn about their culture, religion and compare it to that in Nigeria. Note: the Yoruba people of Cuba are descendants of Yoruba slaves brought from Nigeria and I’m from the Yoruba tribe – that’s why I find it fascinating to learn about the people in Cuba.
I decided on Cornell because I got a fellowship there which will save me a lot………Oh sad news, the president of Nigeria died today
Hasta la Victoria Siempre (Until the Victory, Always)
……….
Mexxxico!!!!!!!
I had my picture taken by a photographer. I met this photographer guy from the States while I was strolling the streets of Oaxaca. He wanted to take pictures of me and use it for some exhibition. I agreed. He promised to send the photos to me but I still haven’t received it. After 4 days in Oaxaca, I left to Mexico City aka ‘El D.F’ -the capital of Mexico.
El D.F was great, I totally loved it – big cities simply make me happy. Anyways I got there on a Friday & went directly to Daniela’s house – she is the girl from Couchsurfing & I stayed with her for 4 days. She is amazing and her family is great too – they made me feel at home. That Friday was her birthday so I joined the party. The next day was her friends birthday at Xochomilco (colorful boats carnival), we had a blast. I went to yet another ruins – the sun & moon pyramids in Teotihuacan which is about 45 minutes away from Mexico City, I learned how to use the metro which is easy & very cheap. I just loved walking in the Downtown area which has everything.
My first stop in Mexico was Tulum – the ruins are smaller but surrounded by the beach, which makes it a spectacular place to visit. I stayed for just 1 day. Next to Merida – a beautiful city, there I took a tour to Chichen Itza, it is an okay ruins. The hostel I stayed in Merida is amazing – it had a swimming pool, girls only dorm and bathroom – I loved it. At the bus station for my bus to Palenque, I bummed into Adrian & Christof (the 2 Swiss I met in Panama & traveled with in Nicaragua). We stayed in an hotel in the jungle – it was awesome and Palenque is ‘el máximo (the best)’ ruins I have seen so far in Mexico – you can compare it to Tikal of Guatemala.
Then we went to San Critobal de las casas – a beautiful but VERY cold city, we couldn’t find a hostel. They were all full due to semana santa (Easter) however we ran into a woman that showed us to one – it was half the price of the average hostel and had the same amenities plus a VERY clean bathroom. I got sick while I was there, I swine flu – the Swiss boys took care of me. I also met with a girl from Couchsurfing (I had set up an account since last year but never used it), it was interesting, we went out for drinks and to the club and I will be using it more often now.
Now am at Oaxaca, equally beautiful but not as cold as San Cristobal. Today I went to yet another ruins with 2 girls from Holland – it was nice but small. Unfortunately, my pics from Belize, Tulum & Chichen Itza got erased from my camera. The only good thing is Pam took a lot of pictures from Belize so I can borrow some of hers.
- El D.F
!Belizing it!
Belize was nothing like I imagined it will be. I LOVED it and stayed more days than planned. On my second day, I met Barry who introduced me to some wonderful people. Together we had fun in Belize, we had lunch in a house in the middle of the sea (the house has a swimming pool right in the middle of the sea -amazing, right. The boys cooked and Kelly made the best pina coladas ever. The next day we visited San Pedro (that Island Madonna sang about – la Isla bonita) with Barry as our guide.
I rode with Kelly & Pam (2 of the wonderful people Barry introduced me to) in a rented car to San Ignacio, we went to the market on the Guatemala side of the border and drove to Hopkins. While there, I took a day visit to Dangriga with Isabelle (another of the great people I was introduced to -she has a tour company in Hopkins, so if you need one will put you through) and I saw a Nigerian (yes I was HAPPY, after 8 months on the road, it felt good to see one of us), they had a Nigerian church and stores that sell Nigerian movies (Nigerian movies are a big deal in Belize). It was sad to leave but definitely I will be going back – I loved everything about Belize and I stayed in a cool hostel right in front of the beach at Caye Caulker.
Getting recharged in Guatemala
I had a great time in Guatemala especially in Xela (Quetzaltenango). We stayed in Antigua for 2 days, the ‘jungle party hostel’ is great, it comes with free breakfast and hot shower. Also got a chance to see Calvin (met him in Xela 2 years ago). Next we went to Lake Atitlan where we spent 3 nights at San Pedro & one night at Panajachel then off to Xela where I spent a week and 3 days. It was great to be back in Xela – I moved in with my former host family and took Spanish classes at Celas Maya. My host family is really awesome, she did not want to accept the money I offered. She said I was part of the family but I insisted because It didn’t feel right to me to live & eat with them for free when its obvious that the family was struggling financially. I liked my Spanish classes, I’m so glad I decided to take classes – my teacher -Leti- is awesome and I not only learned Spanish, but also the history of the country, women issues and other cultural stuffs about the country I did not know.
It felt good going to my favorite cafe – Cafe Baviera – everyday, chilling at the parque central and eating pastries from XelaPan. I also did volunteer work while in Xela. I volunteered with Hogar Temporal where I helped a group of 5 girls with their homework. It was rewarding – the kids had a lot of questions about my hair – it was very sad on my last day, saying goodbyes is not always fun, they wanted to know why I had to leave and I couldn’t give them a good reply.
Until next time – Adios…………….
!Crazy Journey: 2 countries in 2 weeks!
The Corn Islands is a very beautiful place – the water is clear and perfect for diving and snorkeling. I stayed mostly in Little Corn which has no cars and little modern luxuries but is very peaceful. I stayed at the beach in a wooden hut, did nothing for 3 days (chill in the hammock and eat fresh seafood) – good times. The flight to Corn Islands was really scary – the plane was soooooooo small, only 12 people can fit and you can feel the wind move the plane, thank God it was only a 1.5 hour flight.
I went back to Leon for my last week in Nicaragua & I stayed at a very tranquil hostel – La Tortuga Booluda – where I met up with Josephine, the German girl I met at Bocas del Toro, Panama. My last week in Leon was cool – I went to some bars that played really good live music, ‘La Olla Quemada’ is a really cool bar for the live music, ‘ViaVia hostel’ & ‘Taquezal’ are also good places to chill. Finally left precious Nicaragua on Sunday (Feb 14) after almost 2 months.
The border crossing was an experience. A lot of hustlers, harassing you. My first stop in Honduras was San Pedro de Sula – a very cool & modern state, we passed through Tegucigalpa – the capital. We visited 4 cities in Honduras in a week, crazy right? Originally, I planned on spending 2 weeks in Honduras but it started raining the 2nd day we got there and it rained for 4 straight days, we were lucky it didnt rain by the time we got to Copan Ruins. By the ways, the ruins are amazing but not as impressive as Tikal in Guatemala……..well one thing about Honduras is that they have almost all the American fast food chains from Pop Eye chicken to KFC – one day, we had Donkin Donuts for breakfast, Quinos sub for lunch and Pizza hut for dinner. At this time, I was tired of rice and beans – the typical food in Central America.
We left for El Salvador on Monday……..something very upsetting happened in the bus at the border. Two armed border patrol came into the bus to look over passports and traveling documents, the one looking over the documents didnt ask anyone a single question until he got to me. He started asking questions such as where am going to? Why I was going to El Salvador, For how long I was going to stay there? Then he decided that he was going to search my bags and I was escorted from the bus to be searched. His partner reluctantly searched my bag and I went back on the bus, the upsetting thing was that I was the ONLY person searched and questioned. It made me wonder because I was not the only foreigner but I was the only black – maybe I’m over analyzing but in my opinion the search was not necessary and if searching was part of their routine then more people should have be searched.
Next stop was El Mozote – also a small town who suffered dearly during the war, the government troops killed over 700 people in a 3 days killing spree. We were told that the people of the town were divided into 3 groups: women (females of 9 years & over), Men and children and during the 3 days killing, the men were killed the first day then children followed, the women were raped first, then killed. So far over 200 bodies have been recovered, of which about 140 were children. Very sad history.
After that we went to Alegria, another small town with kindhearted people, the town has only 3 hotels. Peaceful but not for me. We later left for Playa El Tunco – my last stop in El Salvador before going to Guatemala. This beach town is dominated with surfers and since I don’t surf, there’s nothing to be done here but relax. I’m not complaining either because by Sunday, I would have seen 2 countries (9 cities) in two weeks, so I really need to just relax for a few days.
Happy new month to you all……….
Festivo de Luna Llena (Full Moon Festival)
Not all Central America’s capital are worthless, Managua is very beautiful, also rich in culture like Leon but slightly more expensive. This is my opinion, I am a city girl and love every thing city. I stayed in this hostel -Managua backpackers inn- the best hostel I have stayed in so far during my travel. Its not expensive USD$8/night for a dorm bed, the same price as you will pay in San Juan del sur or Granada, the living room is very cozy, the kitchen, rooms and bathroom is super clean and they have a swimming pool & a chill area at the back. The staffs are friendly and the owner is cool. Also the hostel is only 10 minutes walk to a big shopping mall, supermarket, bus terminal and restaurants. I stayed here for 3 days and returned to San Juan del sur because two friends I met in Panama were there, we just chilled at the beaches and I watched the guys surf.
On Tuesday, we went to Playa Popoyo – such a beautiful isolated town. It was fun, one night the guys made bonfire at the beach and other nights we just chilled in the hammock. On Friday we returned to San Juan del Sur because of the Full Moon festival on Saturday.
Well I left San Juan del Sur for good on Monday to Ometepe Island – I had to go back because I forgot my journal in one of the hostels I stayed in, unfortunately I didn’t find it there either. I was a bit sad because the journal meant a lot to me but oh well what can I do. On Tuesday, I went to Granada for just 3 hours to buy my plane ticket to the Corn Islands before going to Managua. One of the beauty of Nicaragua is that most cities are 2 hours away from each other. So its very easy to travel around.
The Corn Islands (Big & little Corn) are on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, you can get there by bus and boat but I choose to fly because the boat ride from the Bluefield to the Corn Island is 5 hours and there is no way I can do that. I got sick every time I took the 1 hour ferry to Ometepe so there is no way I can do 5 hours on a boat. The flight cost USD$164 round trip and the combination of bus & boat would have cost just USD$60.
I’m looking forward to the Corn Islands, I have heard it is paradise, well my flight is in 4 hours so I have to go prepare……………….
until next time…
!From Pura Vida to Rocking Chairs!
My first blog of the year. Happy New year to everyone and hope it brings all the things you deserved, also do not forget to help those affected by the earthquake in Haiti – I believe Red Cross and other Non profits have information on how to help.
So I only spent a week in Costa Rica, mostly on the Caribbean side -Pueto Viejo. Like I said in my previous blog, Costa Rica is not for poor/broke people – seriously a plate of the food that cost $5 in Panama, cost $10 in Costa Rica. Puerto Viejo has a very strong Reggae/Bob Marley presence – everything pays respect to Bob Marley and 90% of its people wear dreadlocks. That was the only thing I liked about Costa Rica. On Sunday -January 3rd, I left for the border with Nicaragua but we got there 30mins late so I spent the night in the only hotel at the border which was the dirtiest hotel I have been to so far. The border crossing was easy and very busy so get there early.
This past Friday, I left Leon with another student at the school to visit Isla de Ometepe but we stayed the night at Granada which I do not really like.
Isla de Ometepe – this city is formed by the formed by two volcanoes, there are two major islands and about 6 smaller ones. It is an experience to travel from the 2 major islands to the smaller ones because the roads are not paved and very rocky. The smaller islands are almost isolated from everything modern -that means no phone service, no internet, no bar, no discotecas and 99.5% of the restaurants are those in the hotel. Also it is very difficult to travel between the smaller islands – the bus run every now and then and on Sunday it doesn’t run, so your only options of getting around is to rent a motorcycle or bicycle or hitchhike, you can walk but it will be painful because the distance is usually more than 1 hour and uphill.
On Monday, I left to San Juan del Sur – the beach town, I was surprised because I was expecting something else. Very beautiful town and a laid back vibe to it, the beach that surround the town is much beautiful and cleaner than that in Costa Rica. However the only people that will really appreciate the town are surfers because that is pretty much all to do in San Juan. I left today Wednesday to Granada because I left my backpack in the storage at the hostel. Tomorrow I will be going to Managua – the capital for the rest of the week.
Oh as for the rocking chair title – it is part of the culture here that every home has at least one rocking chair. As they say, after a hard day work – you need to relax on one of those and it is good for the back ……………. and ‘Pura Vida’ is the most popular phrase in Costa Rica, if you ask them how they are doing, their reply is pura vida -which literally means pure life.
Adios……..
Panama: the 51st & cheapest state of USA
I was sad about leaving Colombia, in my heart I considered myself a ‘paisa’ (a paisa is someone from the Antioquia state of Colombia) but at the same time, I was excited about exploring Central America especially Nicaragua and Mexico……….
I had the worst experience ever at the Colombian airport, my bags were searched – I mean they took out everything from the bag and even broke open one of my tampons, I do not know what they were looking for ……I was almost crying, anyways that is the past.
Finally I was in Panama, I stayed in a hostel that is extremely hyped -Lunas Castle, for me it was just a big hostel with too many people and unclean. I met a girl from Texas on my very first day and together with other peeps from Israel , we explored Panama City. The most impressive sight is the canal – I have never seen such innovation before, we got to see a cruise ship going through the canal – I can not describe it so I’ll upload a video. After 6 days in the Panama City, I was ready to see Bocas del Toro (the Caribbean side). One thing I liked about Panama City was the food – the city has great food (better than in Colombia) for cheap and a lot of shopping mall selling cheap stuffs – so I got a 2 purses, a scandal, 2 flip-flops, a short and 10 pairs of underwear for only $10 USD – imagine, you can not get that deal anywhere else……….
Well Happy New Year to all of you and thank you for reading my travel blog since I started writing it in August…………….
My Birthday: !United Nations of Gringos and Natives! in Medellin (Mi Cumpleaños: !Nacionales Unidos de Gringos y Nativos! en Medellin)
English Version
So my 24th birthday was 2 days ago and I celebrated it here in Medellin – my first birthday out of Nigeria or United States. I was a lot of fun because I’m blessed with wonderful people. My host mum gave me a beautiful earring, Lexie y Juliana gave me a purple dress, purple ear-rings and bought me a Chocolate cake, Freddy gave a really beautiful wrist-watch and Juliana’s mum gave me a perfume. So we went to a Jamaican Bar first and later to club Dejavu to rumba – I totally loved the club because it was mainly Reggeaton and hip-hop music.
So I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all my wonderful friends that came to celebrate with me – Freddy & Olivier (Congo), Nicolas & Joe (Kenya), Lexie (Scotland), Mari, Juli, Melissa & her boyfriend, (The Colombians), Chris (Switzerland), Iris, Violeta & her two friends (South Korea), Antonio (France) & his friend (Austria), Eric & Peter (United States), Michael (Norway) & his cousin (Colombia) and the Alemanas. Thank you so much because y’all made my day………………..I really appreciate your presence…
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH
Espanol
Mi Cumpleaños: !Nacionales Unidos de Gringos y Nativos! en Medellin
Mi cumple fue hacer 2 días aquí en Medellin, este cumple es mi primera afuera Nigeria o EEUU. Mis amiguitas (Juli y Lexie) me dieron un vestido lindo, aretes y torta de Chocolate. La señora que yo vivo con me dio un aretes lindo y Freddy me dio un reloj muy bonito y la madre de Juliana me dio un regalo también. Primera, nosotros fuimos Jamaica Bar para beber y después discoteca Dejavu para rumba, me gusta la discoteca porque es solamente Reggeaton y Hip-Hop – Gracias a Dios. Entonces.
Yo quiero decir un Gracias muy grande a mis amigos que vinieron a mi cumple – Freddy & Olivier (Congo), Nicolas & Joe (Kenya), Lexie (Escocia), Mari, Juli, Melisa & su novio (Los Colombianos), Chris (Suiza), Iris, Violeta & sus dos amigos (Corea Sur), Antonio (Francia) & Su amigo (Austria), Eric & Peter (Estados Unidos), Michael (Noruega) & su primo (Colombia) y los Alemanas. Me alegre porque tengo amigos buenos en mi vida y mi cumple paso muy rico.
MUCHISIMO GRACIAS A TODOS
The Adventures of a Nigerian-American 