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cabin fever.

i haven't been back in the country for even a week....yet...i have cabin fever. summer is coming. my 25th birthday is coming. and i. don't. have. a. ticket. booked! my original plan was to go to africa, but i don't think that is financially possible. but then when i check for tickets to europe--they're over a grand! even for flights out of ewr/jfk. it's insane. the cheapest place to fly into in europe is dublin [that's even over 800 and doesn't count the other tickets you have to buy on ryanair or air lingus. it's 1300 to get to casablanca in morocco...might as well just go there! there's always south america and the caribbean........butttttttttt, i've been to those areas so many times....

i haven't left this side of the pond in over 2 years! fortunately, i've gone to colombia 3 times, costa rica, jamaica, honduras...and jersey probably 6 times....in the past 2 years. i guesssssssss we could to central america...maybe nicaragua...ohhhhhh i dont know. the two places i want to go in south america--brazil and bolivia..are pretty pricey flights and require $150 visas. yuck. chile is another option. maybe suriname. i want to go somewhere french-speaking. i found tickets to toulouse, france for 900. canada is ehh..i wouldn't want to spend 3 weeks there. this is really how my brain works---i travel the world every day. mentally. i have 12 tabs open in this window...no joke...and another few in another window.

here's what i have open at the moment:
-a listing of local restaurants where i can earn delta skymiles
-delta deals from nyc
-a lonely planet post i wrote about the copan ruins
-lonely planet discussion boards: central america
-a kayak search for fll-toulouse
-a map of terceira island
-tap portugal airlines
-a map of europe
-my aunt's cooking blog
-my blog
-a thing about a scholarship
-my email
-facebook

i beleive that's it. and i've been sitting here for almost 3 hours....just...researching and searching. okay...im going to check out some info on suriname. wish me luck.

honduran hooha

so i just got back from honduras this morning....great trip....well, minus a few hiccups. for one, we arrived in san pedro sula at 12.15am...i had initially booked a hostel to come pick us up; but, after having not received adequate confirmation, booked an additional, so as not to have to search for a place to sleep in the middle of the night. well, the second hostel confirmed...shortly after, the original did....so i cancelled the original because it had been so laggy in responding...HOWEVER, when we landed, drivers from BOTh places were there to pick us up. apparently my cancellation email had never been received--because the establishment's email is a "do not reply". well, that is not my fault; they should have direct email! needless to say, we did not go with the original booking--the woman was livid and tried to charge us 25USD!!! we told her no, and after more haggling and badgering, walked out the door with the other driver. i received an email later that day from the woman saying that she was sad we did not choose her [she had been yelling and screaming at us while the other driver remained calm]. c'est la vie.

we took a bus to copan ruinas the following afternoon...we were told it would take 2.5-5 hours............well, with no air conditioning, small seats and a passive driver, it took us 5 hours, plus the 1.5 we sat on the bus waiting for it to even leave in the first place. fortunately, we had planned to have a relaxing vacation and so had a nice hotel waiting for us when we finally arrived in copan. we stayed in a clarion, which had a pool, jacuzzi, fresh flowers in our bedroom, room service, internet, beautiful views and a gorgeous overall appearance. its a bit set back from the city, but that's the beauty of it.

the next morning, we did the ruins--mayan ruins. it was 15USD to get into the site; 15 for the tunnels; 7 for the museum. we did not do the tunnels, but did do the other two. it was really nice....very hot and dusty, though. in comparison to machu picchu....well, it wouldn't be fair to compare such a small area to the incan metropolis...but it was still very neat and worthwhile....the site is known for its stelas (carved statues) rather than its buildings and temples. there are all kinds of bright birds around--supposedly people see an occasional monkey.

overall, honduras was great! i had a slight issue with hostels on the first night....i had made a reservation at tamarindo back in january, but did not go back and find that it said to reconfirm at least a week in advance until the day i was leaving.....so i checked hostels and hostelworld--to see both were booked. i sent an email asking if we would still be able to stay there...and i waited a few hours..........so, i booked a room for la posada bb (our flight got in 12.30am and i did not want to spend hours driving around looking for a place. i sent posada an email asking about airport pickup and they confirmed it within the hour. well, perhaps and hour later, tamarindo emailed me and said we were confirmed and they would be there to pick us up. i replied to tamarindo that i had had to make another reservation due to the circumstances.......i thought that was the end of it.

well, we got to the airport, and....waiting on the other side were drivers from both places...they were fighting over us--i told the woman from tamarindo that i had sent an email hours before and she denied it....after a few minutes of them badgering us, we ended up go to posada bb (pretty nice place, near a mall in a residential area, pretty cheap)....found out later that the email from tamarindo said "do not reply" on the bottom; so, she never did get that message. i feel bad about the situation and am going to suggest they make their emails repliable.

the next afternoon, we took a bus to copan ruinas....casasula to be exact. it wasn't the worst bus in the world, but it was very hot (no a/c) and long (1.5 hours waiting On bus to leave; 5 hours to finally get there). when we got the the ruinas, we spent the first night at the clarion--very nice, serence, had airconditioning, jacuzzi (the turn on the jets upon request), clean rooms, great staff.

the next morning, the driver from Hacienda San Lucas (Pipo, maybe) picked us up and took us to the ruins...he brought our bags back to the hotel for us. ruins were awesome...we spent maybe 3.5 hours there, including museo, ruins, restaurant and little shops...so we walked from there up to san lucas....was a nice walk....about an hour......the place is spectacular....amazing views, very pleasant and accomadating staff..we were a bit worried about not having air, but the fan proved quite alright. we walked down to los sapos and bought a cornhusk doll from the kids in la pintada...then we came back and sat down to one of san lucas' famous dinners.

finally, we stayed in hotel marina copan, right near parque central. we were told this is the oldest hotel in copan....it is very quaint and aesthetic, with courtyards and ponds--a pool and jacuzzi. they offered to take us to aguas termales for 45USD each (40 if we'd had a bigger group), so we went into town to see if we could find a better price....we did...a tour company (starts with a Y) charged only 30 each. the hot springs were great..they weren't crowded at all and we spent almost 2 hours there. we spent the night in our airconditioned room with plasma tv (this hotel was actually the cheapest of the three, and included breakfast).

in the morning, we had our complimentary breakfast (it was also included in san lucas) and tried to figure out what we could do before we had to catch a bus back to SAP at 2.30. we decided to hang out at the hotel until check-out, then walk around town and grab lunch. we went with hedman alas and splurged the extra few bucks for class plus....well-worth it....the ride was much more comfortable with a/c, blankets, pillows, a movie, a bag lunch, and semi-cama seats--even cupholders!`i think casasula was 7USD; this was maybe 19USD.....but it was pretty much 3 hours to the dot

we got into SAP around 6 and had to find something to do for a 1.22am flight....we had dinner and decided to pay 25bucks to get a room in Hotel Real for a few (3 to be exact)hours....there was no discount for our shortened amount of time, but it was nice to have an airconditioned place to relax and watch tv---instead of sitting in the airport for 6 hours. all was good...taxi driver to airport tried to overcharge us...we got it down a bit.

once at the airport, we ran into some problems. the lady asked for our passports when we were in line for spirit. she said she couldnt find our stamps....we told her we hadn't noticed any either and figured they may just stamp on the way out (i was in and out of both france and italy with no stamps several years ago, so did not think it much of an issue). well, apparently they thought we entered the country illegally.......even though we had been on a spirit flight in and had papers......the migration officer said they were going to detain us and investigate our case.....absolutely ridiculous.....he kept us hanging around for about an hour...we were both exhausted.....then he decided we could pay a fine, instead. in a very shady manner, he stamped a piece of paper with the dates, accepted the money and sent us on our way...no receipt...nothing....spirit took the stamped paper when we went to get our tickets, and the departure tax place didn't mention it. we went through security....both getting our bags double-checked...and got on the plane with no further problems. customs in ft. lauderdale were quick and easy.....they didn't look for our non-existent stamps. i am upset that i didn't get stamped....and even more upset that their customs somehow forgot to stamp us--if it hadnt been so late and us so groggy upon arrival, we probably would have paid more attention. the migration officer said it was Our fault for not noticing. im not sure how that works...but it definitely allowed them to get off with a chunk of bribe money.

minus the last mishap, the trip was great, relaxing and peaceful. if anyone has had any similar experiences with customs, please let me know...i am interested in hearing the stories of others.



****on a side note, i'm honestly not sure what happened at the airport....it was about 2.30am our time by the time we got there, so we were feeling pretty fatigued/half asleep........i just remember handing my passport to the person, them handing it back, and me walking through....i don't remember what was said, but i do know that there was no issue at the time

in retrospect, we think we may have been targeted when we first entered ..........they may have figured, 'if they don't notice now, we can get them for money when they try to leave.' this is just speculation.....i only say we may have been targeted because the bribe part seemed so natural to the migration officers, who agreed to somewhat negotiate the price....they basically told my boyfriend to go to the cajero to get money, then go to the bathroom and put the money in his passport, then give it back to them......while he was doing that, i was with them, answering questions so they could fill out and stamp a paper about our arrival. i guess that paper is similar or identical to the one we should have received when we came in...we didn't get our passport stamped by them, though

other possibilities are that the border agent was new? not doing his job correctly? forgot to stamp? who knows?

ive been to about 20 other countries and never had anything so bizarre happen with customs....it won't stop me from traveling, of course....im wondering if i will have any problems getting back into honduras in the future....we ALmOst went to guatemala....and....thank goodness we didn't.....we would have had bigger problems trying to get back into honduras! lesson learned: if they don't stamp your passport, ask them why; make sure they give you all proper documentation and check you into the country!

laggy posts....

so...i've been to...costa rica, jamaica, colombia (twice), and new jersey (twice) since my last post.

let's do this in chronological order, then. costa rica=awesome, but, WAY too touristy! my boyfriend and i flew in on the afternoon of december 31, 2009 (new years!!). we stayed in a hostel in san jose...i think it was called pangea--something like that. the place was pretty cool, neat artwork, pool...for new years, we went to the rooftop bar and were handed sparklers....we could see all the fireworks in the city. it was spectacular. we didn't stay up too late; however, because we had to catch an early bus to la fortuna.


then, we went to la fortuna--which was quite touristy. the major attraction is volcan arenal--which ended up running us $40 each--for a 10 minute lift and a 2 hour tour--overpriced. they say you can see eruptions on clear nights; our night was foggy, but we could hear some rumbling. in la fortuna, we camped by a stream behind someone's tourist agency (about $6 per person). it rained, so it was a good thing we had sprayed sealant on the tent before. we stayed--mostly--dry, save a small leak in the ceiling. when i woke up the first morning, i found a wriggling ant squished on my face, just above my mouth. there were also ants inside the tent...so we became suspicious. well, we found a line of ants leading up to the tent...and, sure enough, they had made a hole.

monte verde was pretty cool--as in cold. it was neat, too. theres a cloud rain forest; you can see the clouds passing very rapidly just before sunset. we went ziplining with what is referred to as the best ziplining company in central america--extreme. it was sick. the flew across canyons, rappeled, swung like tarzan and flew like superman. i highly recommend this operator. we ended up catching a ride to the west coast beaches with a couple from spain (there was a dry erase board in the hostel for people to announce if they were offering or needed rides). it took 5 hours. we offered them money, but they refused it. they were nice people. they dropped us off at a shady campsite, but came back ten minutes later, beggging us to just stay in a hostel. the campsite was empty and the one guy working was pounding down beers, so we agreed. we were in tamarindo..aka tamagringo.

MORE TO COME.

colOmbia

yes, i emphasized the O in colombia. there is no U....get it right. so..i went to colombia for 9 days last april/may. i write about it over a year later, because master's degree part II has taken my attention from my blog. and i have also been encouraged by a friend to keep up with my writings. onward.

we landed in bogota april 28...i had dipped out of a class called "end of the west" a week early to make the journey (i got a B for claiming that the us and france had a positive future--the professor was germna-swiss..you do the math).....so, it was cold! coming from tropical florida to mountainous colombia...change of pace. unfortunately, i had only brought one pair of jeans and some sneakers that looked ridiculous with them.

we hung out in the city a couple of nights. good scene...relatively cheap in comparison to america. we took some buses out to the salt cathedral, which was far worth the sojourn. a friend and i licked the wall. mind you, swine scares were at their zenith at this time, but we didnt care. we survived. the next day, someone apparently died from the swine flu at, or shortly after having visited, the edifice. i survived, so did my friend. in fact, my group was 7 deep, and none of us contracted the disease. so we took a night bus to bucaramanga the next day. let me tell you, night buses are awesome...they're cheap AND they save you the fee of one night's accommodation. ;)

bucaramanga was much much hotter. we spent some time in a market, and shopping by street vendors. we went to the quaint town of giron for a few hours, and moved on, via taxi, to a nearby farm. finding a taxi was hard; but, getting up that damn mountain was harder. two cabs, stuffed with 9 people (we had acquired some friends) later, we arrived at the finca. one word: breathtaking. okay, we got there at night, so i didn't actually see anything, but i did the next morning. some of us went for a walk through the valleys; some of us slept in. then we went parapente...that was one of the highlights of this trip. paragliding, in english, i suppose. imagine jumping off of a hill and flying over a valley for fifteen minutes. frightening? absolutely...but, the adreniline rush...much greater....id do it a million times again...and it was only about 20 bucks!

next, we took a bus to santa marta. slept through the night again. hung out in santa marta for a bit before finding a ride out to parque tayrona (must see). there, we saw little monkeys and hiked an hour to the cabanas on the beach. the park is very peaceful and serene...it has this vibe--a partially hippie one...that makes you not want to leave. the cabanas we're too expensive, and..for those on a really tight budget, you can walk another half hour to find a campsite and hammocks. the beaches were nice, beautiful. several of my friends tried to find the lost city....many hours, no shoes, and a rainstorm later, they apparently did. they also took the donkey trail, so there may be a better route somewhere.

from there we to another bus to cartagena. tourist trap. it's pretty, cute, commercialized. it reminds me of san jaun, puerto rice--it's probably the fort. the city was alright (pretty damn hot), but it didn't make my top ten list. in the interest of time, we ended up flying back to bogota from there. we didn't do much, as we had a day left. as for the exit fee, we did not pay one. we had to go first to tax exemptions, where they stamp your passport, then onto the ticket booth. this was over a year ago. next week, im going to colombia for three weeks...we shall see what it brings.

poland in brief.

july already? shit. i never reblogged after dublin and krakow and warsaw. it turned out well...cold as hell, but i finally got to see poland. i knew enough polish to get around and ask the basics. we wanted to go to the salt mines on the same day we did auschwitz, but jak daleko wielesa i gdzie jest weilesa just didn't get us there that day. we did see the wawel castle and cathedral. still, i have plenty excuse to go back to poland. yay.

i ended up breaking my glasses on the train ride from krakow from warsaw (appx three hours). we only had a day in warsaw. i passed out for five hours in the hostel. hmm...we pretty much only went to the polish uprising museum, saw a socialist castle, had some perogies, but it was awesome. it was so long ago, that i don't have the energy to type of it right now. poland was the first country i ever wanted to visit, when i found out i was half polish as a child.

on my way home from the dub, we had a layover in newark. i had to leave the airport and get to atlantic city. this cost me some extra money, but i had been so hung up on someone that i just had to go there and see if i was wasting my time. seven hours and four trains after leaving newark airport, i walked a mile or so through the city at night towards my parents' house. i told my job there was a death and i couldn't get back down to florida. i skipped a class or two. i really just layed low in the city for a few days. but the most important part..i didn't see him once. and i could finally get over it. and just like that, i was completely over jersey and indiana. i found closure. maybe even nirvana. magna rosa...and how beautiful it was.

the dub.

so here i am in ireland. at the abigail hostel at 1.18am. been here since yesterday. in the city that is. flying into krakow, poland at 7am. i saw all the main touristy sites....for the third time. christ church...st. pat's catherdral....guinness disillery...temple bar and area. the norm. been there done that. my friend, brian, is all new to this so it's way more exciting for he than i. idk. i just want to upload my photos online so i know they are safe. oh, also went to the jameson distillery and got my whiskey certificate. hopefully be able to upload some pictures onto here later.

met up with an old irish friend i hadn't seen since i was fourteen. had no idea who i was looking for...just a phone number and a name. good times, though. jameson and gingerale is a nice mix. but im excited to go to poland. jesus. six people sleeping in our hostel....i didn't make it to sleep until 3am last night due to jet lag and loud people running around. i don't mind it much. but ive been to ireland three times now...and there isn't really anything new to see in dublin, especially.

i've still got it bad and that's making me quite the downer. i don't know what to do, if anything, about it. i'm just constantly thinking about it...even now...five drinks later. we have to walk to the bus stop around 4.30am....it's 1.30 now. yay. it's a short flight to krakow...on ryanair, mind you, so it may be interesting.......it's probably going to snow. wow. okay im gonna take a nap before i have to wake up. ill be six hours ahead and even colder tomorrow.

besitos.