If time and money weren’t an issue, where would you go?

We’ve spent the past two years working while traveling.

Both time and money have been a daily challenge.

But the work we do ,(and the people managing the Internet and power grid in the countries we’ve been to) has allowed us to successfully work and travel for over 2 years.

We are now returning back to America because we want to once again spend time with our families and be part of their lives in-person.

But given unlimited time and money…

Here are 29 places we have already been that we will love to return to.

(In some cases we’ve noted the things we would do there.)

1. Tanzania, Africa – tour the tanzanite mines, see the Serengeti
2. El Cid Resort, Cancun, Mexico
3. Munich, Germany – Could live here
4. Germany – Pretty much most places we’ve been
5. Puerto Iguazu, Argentina (see the falls at midnight with the rainbows)
6. Mendoza, Argentina – spend another weekend enjoying the wineries
7. Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
8. Chichicastenango, Guatemala
9. Granada, Nicaragua
10. Boquete, Panama
11. Quito, Ecuador – neurotic crazy city, but awesome too.
12. Cuenca, Ecuador – See the surrounding hill country and take Spanish classes
13. French Polynesia – this time I would go to Bora Bora or Moorea
14. New Zealand – almost anywhere in New Zealand. We could probably live here if our family did.
15. Bali – do more diving and see more of the island
16. Malaysia – but see more of the country outside of Kuala Lumpur
17. Hong Kong (Hong Kong Island)
18. Brunei
19. Chiang Mai, Thailand – stay inside the old city walls during a cleaner air quality season.
20. Hoi An, Vietnam
21. Udaipur, India
22. Bilaspur, India
23. Hyderabad, India – Nothing can prepare you for a trip to India except a trip to India. This time we know what to expect – and the food… oh the food was so good.
24. Slovenia – Viktorija and family, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!
25. Krakow, Poland
26. Budapest, Hungary
27. Northern Italy
28. Rome, Italy – live in an apartment for a month
29. Mallorca, Spain – Stay at an all-inclusive resort, see the castle on the hill above Palma, see the old defensive castle on the water, go diving.

It seems a shame to me that in the last 7 months, we didn’t see more, do more, meet more people.

We had plans to do and accomplish different things, and I kind of feel like we planned to do *more*) during the past 7 months of our lives.

My friend Patrick Shaw says that people greatly overestimate what they can do in a year, but greatly underestimate what they can do in ten years.

So maybe we should talk in ten years.

But thinking about it, I realize that we did do a LOT over the past 7 months in central and south America, and laid a foundation for coming back to this part of the world throughout our lives.

However, we had plans.

This post talks about what we had planned to do versus what we did.

(I have written this post to remember what we planned to do, actually did and didn’t do, and also should help others traveling through Central and South America to discover some great places and things to experience.)

Lakes:
We didn’t see lake Titicaca (Bolivia), or Lake Nicaragua.
But we did get to see the beauty of Lake Atitlan (Guatemala).

Islands:
We didn’t see the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Isla del Omitepe (Nicaragua), or the San Blas Islands (Panama).
But we learned to SCUBA off of Isla Colon (Panama) in a town called Bocas Del Toro.

Animals:
We didn’t get to see whales or dolphins.
But we helped guard baby turtles and were part of their introduction into the world.  We saw monkeys in lots of places throughout central America; saw llamas mating; hummingbirds and butterflies in Mindo, Ecuador; and many other animals and critters.  We loved the variety of animals we saw, even if the insects were sometimes disturbing.

Language and culture:
We didn’t spend time living in an indigenous community, (though we spent lots of time around indigenous people).
But we speak Spanish pretty well now.  (Thanks Maribel!)  We speak well enough to be well understood, to receive compliments on how good our Spanish is, and to understand even difficult topics like politics and religion.

Business:
Because of taking Spanish class every day, and the time involved with both planning and getting from place to place, we didn’t grow our business in the way that we wanted to.
But I know 100% that our videos and written reviews of the places we’ve stayed in Antigua, Guatemala; Boquete, Panama; Quito, Ecuador, and Cuenca, Ecuador; have resulted in more bookings for the owners of those places.  Our knowledge of marketing on the Internet has helped other people to grow their businesses.  That’s exciting to me.

Ancient Cultures and Civilizations:
We didn’t get to San Augustin, Colombia; or in Peru – the Ruins of Kuelap, Macchu Picchu (due to flooding in March), or the tomb of Sipan near Chiclayo. But we saw the remnants of powerful and amazing ancient civilizations at Copan, Honduras; Tikal, Guatemala; Guayabo National Park, Costa Rica; Ingapirca, Ecuador; Cuenca, Ecuador; and Cajamarca, Peru.

Land Travel:
We did not see Belize; visit Santiago, Chile; return to Buenos Aires, Argentina; nor did we get to most of the countries in South America.
But we saw every land country in Central America (except Belize); went to or near the top of five volcanoes in three countries (Irazu and Poas, Costa Rica; Pacaya, Guatemala; Masaya, Nicaragua; and Cotopaxi, Ecuador); we covered thousands of miles by bus, plane, car, in the water, and on foot; saw amazing markets at Saquisili and Otavalo, Ecuador, and at Chichicastenengo, Guatemala; got to the capital cities of Guatemala (Guatemala City), Nicaragua (Managua), El Salvador (San Salvador), Costa Rica (San Jose), Panama (Panama City), Ecuador (Quito), and Peru (Lima); and met many amazing people along the way.

Personal Growth:
I’ve recognized and let go of some of my own ethnocentricity (which I didn’t know I had); become a Spanish speaker; learned that the jungle is a great place for me to visit, but for short-term visits only; and have learned that even though the longest we’ve been apart in the last 7 months is 4 hours, Carrie and I love and appreciate each other as much or more now that we ever have before.

I feel like a year or more could be spent exploring just Ecuador and Peru, with a mention to the lifetime that could be spent exploring Colombia and the other countries in South America.

I do think that these are areas which we will return to at some (as yet undetermined) future point in our lives.

At the same time, 7 months in central and South America has given me an even greater appreciation for the country I call home, the place where I grew up.

The United States of America is a place where stores almost always have change for a $20 bill, many stores are open 24-7, the bathrooms nearly always have tissue paper and toilet seats, and the spirit of the people, more than anywhere else I’ve ever been, says both in word and in action, “we can do it if we’ll just work hard at it.”

I am so grateful for the opportunities provided by our travels of the last seven months, and I’m very grateful as well for the opportunities and life I’ve been able to have growing up and living in the United States.

Probably more often than I should, I check what words and phrases people have typed into Google to get to our web site.

Tracking what people want to know about is important if you want to be of service to others.

Also, it’s just fun to see what Google thinks CarrieAndJonathan.com is about.

Today, I want to share a tiny smattering of what I discovered people have been looking for, prior to landing on our site.

Also, I want to answer their questions.

These are all actual search phrases typed into Google by people before they landed on our site.

“what are chifles”/”what is an ecuadorian chifles”
Despite the funny English in this question, I am happy to respond to this one. In Ecuador, Chifles are chips made from thinly sliced green plantain.  They are very delicious.  We like chifles better than potato chips (which we don’t really like, so that’s a terrible comparison.  That previous sentence should say: We like chifles.)

“how far is it from david, panama to boquete, panama?“
Taking the local bus, it’s about 1 hour to Boquete from David, Panama, give or take 20 minutes.  Boquete is absolutely worth a visit for a few days, if not longer.

“are frozen bananas bad for you?”
Is frozen water bad for you?

“does it matter if you use yellow or green plantains when making patacones”
Yes, use green plantain. The yellow plantains won’t work for patacones.  They’re still delicious when fried, just not the right plantain to use for patacones.

“can you see lava masaya”
We weren’t able to see lava at Masaya volcano… lots of sulfuric ash spewing from the mouth of the volcano though.  You can, however, roast marshmallows over lava at Volcan Pacaya in Guatemala near Antigua.  (Take the marshmallows and a stick with you though.  There’s nothing except people renting out horses as taxis up the volcano, and kids selling walking sticks, once you get out to start your trek up the volcano).

“do ecuadors eat cuy/why do ecuadorians eat gineapig”
Yes EcuadorIANS do eat cuy.  Why they eat guinea pig is beyond me as I don’t like the flavor at all. Not all Ecuadorians eat guinea pig, but my guess is that many do because they like the flavor of it.  Others eat cuy as a social custom or tradition.

“does everyone in ecuador have a pet chicken”
No, just the people who live close to wherever you happen to be trying to sleep.

“how many mph can a koala run”
That is a good question… Maybe you should race one to find out.

Keep those Google visitors and random searches coming!

Carrie &Jonathon,

I’m confused looking at your site… you guys have traveld a lot looks like… where all have u been?

james

Hey James!

Well, we have done a lot of travel in the past, but since October, we’ve been permanently on the road, living wherever we are…

Here are a couple of maps to show where we were in October-December.

After that we were in Colorado briefly.

In January, we flew back to Costa Rica and took the bus to David, Panama.

What we have been up to since January is on the map below.

Now we’re in Quito, Ecuador, taking Spanish classes.

Thanks for asking and for visiting our website!

In this podcast, we cover about 7 weeks of travel, from the time we left Granada, Nicaragua, early in December, through today, January 18.

Download the travel podcast MP3 here
We cover our travels through places and experiences like:

Parading Mary through the streets of Granada, and fireworks
Nicaragua to El Salvador through Honduras – didn’t get off the bus at all, no stamps in our passports
Staying at Hotel Novo Apart
Climbing Puerto del Diablo
Pupusas
Walking through the Calle Ruben Diario Market in San Salvador
Ticabus to Guatemala at 5:00 AM
Jerk taxi driver in Guatemala City
Dai Nonni hotel (great shower and packed us lunch)
Eating at Friends (oh joy) where we had a salad w/hearts of palm, avocado, pesto (tomato and red onion)
National monument of Guatemala
Walking through Guatemala City at 4AM to be picked up to go to Copan, Honduras
Arriving in Copan at 10:30 AM felt like 3 PM
Seeing Copan ruins (and meeting the Dutch people)
Napping in Copan
Beers in Honduras (not so good)
Breakfast with no power and artisan market
Shuttle to Antigua
Hotel in Antigua didn’t have our reservation – stayed at Casa Luna (kind of like a hostel, but only $17) instead
Booked Pacaya – went to Pacaya Volcano (lava roasted marshmallows -riding horses – Getting separated from Carrie taking other trail)
Pizza w/Robin from Belgium
Macadamia tour near Antigua
Mexican food at Fridas, and eating street food in Antigua (yummy!)
Left for Panajachel/Atitlan (tubas early in morning) crazy driver – suicidal driving + crazy loud music
Atitlan boat tour (3 cities)
Hotel Utz Jay (finally got some sleep on uncomfortable beds, but hot showers)
Chichicastenango (colorful city for sure – lady+daughter with sour Atol who asked us to take her daughter with us)
All day at chichi (trip back to Antigua took 45 minutes longer than trip there)
3 hours in Antigua
Antigua to Guatemala City
FDN Bus company in Guatemala City to Flores bus station – waiting 1 hour 15 minutes in Flores
Jorge showed up.
Waiting 2 hours at airport
Pick up Nixon (Tikal tour guide) and head to Tikal
No park entry paid for (even though we paid for it)
Touring Tikal
Dinner and staying overnight at Hotel Jungle Lodge (good sleep)
Trying to figure out how to get tickets for next day with no cash… asked 7 people
Touring Tikal day 2
Going back to Santa Elena – spent the afternoon on the Internet from a backpacker’s hotel in Santa Elena
Arriving in Guatemala City at 5:30 am
Asking to be taken to Westin Camino Real because it’s all we knew
Trying to “hide” from WCR people so we could stay there until something opened.
And Cafe
Breakfast
Taxi back to Tica Bus
TB is 2.5 hours late
Arrival in El Salvador, stay at TicaBus hotel
Leave early in the morning (TB is 30 min late)
Arrival in Managua, getting back to Granada
Dinner at Mexican restaurant, meet Tom (from the states, who bought a house in Granada)
Day at Hotel Terrasol
Dinner at hotel Terrasol
Massages
Market
Dinner w/ martin and Tom (Don Luca Pizza)
Seeing Tom’s house
Breakfast at hotel
Tica bus station in Granada
Bus is 1 hour late
Crazy traffic, and long time at border
Arrive at San Jose, Costa Rica
Hotel Adventure Inn in San Jose
The great breakfast at the Hotel Adventure Inn
Returning to Colorado for Christmas
Returning to San Jose, Costa Rica
Heading to and touring David, Panama
Arriving and house-sitting for a couple of weeks in Boquete, Panama
Things we forgot to talk about were in Nicaragua.
These included:
Street food in Granada (Yummy)
Mombacho cigars (fun tour)
Cemetery (Huge monuments like those in Buenos Aires’ Recoletta Cemetery)
Scheduling TicaBus (Where to find TicaBus in Granada)
Hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking about our travels!
Listen to the podcast or download it below.
(If you use the player, after you click the play button, it may take a moment, so please be patient or click the download link.)

Download the travel podcast MP3 here
The call was produced using Skype. it was edited using Sony Vegas.

This short video of spider monkeys (monkeying around) was taken on Dec. 15 when we visited the Mayan Ruins at Tikal, Guatemala.
Watch as the adult monkey leaps out and grabs a branch so that the baby spider monkey can crawl across it’s back to the other tree.

In three months, we visited 6 countries, covered over 2,500 land miles (mostly by bus) and saw some really amazing places.
We also met some truly fantastic people – both people who are involved in tourism as tourists and tourist guides, and people who are living their lives in the countries we visited.
This map is not yet 100% complete, but gives you an idea of the places we’ve been and what we’ve been up to.
If you’re looking to ride Ticabus or Tracopa and want to know exact locations, this map should be rather helpful for you.
Also, we’ve tried to put in all our hotel stays (Think we got them all on here) and will be linking from this map to the reviews on our site so that you can easily get to everything in one place.
This should help you know where to stay if you visit these countries.
If you’re going to Central America, we hope that this helps you to both find things you’d like to see and do, as well as to know where exactly those things to see and do are located.
If this map does prove helpful for you, please comment below and let us know!

visited 15 states (6.66%)
Create your own visited map of The World
On our trip through Central America, I got to add 6 countries to my map of visited countries. It’s too bad not all of them have a stamp representation in my passport.
I’ve actually been to more countries that this, but I didn’t spend the night, so they don’t count. I’ve been to France numerous times when I lived in Germany, and I also drove through Austria. They’ll be added to the list sometime soon through.

We will be posting our thoughts on Tikal park and the Tikal Mayan ruins very soon…

For now, we’re just posting some of our favorite pictures.
In 2 days, we took over 130 photos of the amazing ruins at Tikal.
Suffice it to say that we loved our visit to the Mayan Ruins in Tikal, Guatemala and will have more to say (in this post) soon.
For now, we hope you enjoy the visuals from a place that is being restored… a city that is over 1,000 years old and is being dug out of the jungle so that it will be preserved in it’s best state for future generations.

You can see me in this picture next to the watermark. Gives you an idea of the sheer size of this temple.


What good would a Mayan temple be without a few sacrificial virgins?

Digging out the temples from the jungle growth of 1,000 years

Effective sleeping on a night bus from Guatemala City to Tikal (7 hours on a bus)



400 year old Cypress tree



I shall call him Big Face




Day 2

Can you see Carrie?
Lots of monkeys in the park. Pretty awesome to see them swinging from the trees! Just be forewarned that they’re used to people and can pee on you if they’re in the right mood and given the opportunity.


How many Mayan steps can you run in less than 10 seconds (timer on my camera)?






Lots of wild turkeys

Really Nifty bugs

I feel bad for the Germans whom we met today, Thomas and Kristin, who got to listen to us complain about the confusion caused by…
I have no idea what it’s been caused by actually. Perhaps different expectations and/or understandings about the travels we booked through plus Travel in Antigua, Guatemala.
Thomas and Kristin met and saw us at the height of our frustration.
Three times in our travels in the last few years, Carrie and I have used travel agents. Three times it has turned out creating frustrating results.
In my mind, in 2009, in an era when anyone can do their own research and make their own reservations online, (or via phone) directly with providers of services, the role of a travel agent is to make things easier and less expensive (since they should be able to pass along discounted prices and connections they have worked to build).
Perhaps the travel agents we have used don’t view their role this way, but at this point, I don’t envision us ever hiring a travel agent again.
In short, here is the gist.

I am leaving out some details because the story would be too long – Plus Travel booked our travel for us from Antigua, Guatemala, to Tikal, Guatemala, and back. According to Plus Travel’s marketing, the trip (when booked through Plus Travel) includes: transport from Antigua to Guatemala City, Guatemala City by night bus to Tikal, Tikal park entry, Tikal guide, and lunch in Tikal park.
Three couples booked this travel.
Three couples paid $130 per person.
I had a receipt from Plus Travel (which only accepted payment in cash), which the shuttle driver took from us when he picked us up in Antigua. (He is a third party operator – I assume the ticket is how he gets paid.)
When I said I needed the ticket back for Tikal, he said I would get another one later. (OK, but I’d better get something later, I’m thinking.)
So we got to Guatemala City. In Guatemala City, there are at least two bus companies which run night busses with the “ejecutivo” class (which we paid for) to Flores, the city nearest Tikal.
We got dropped off at Fuente del Norte, while the other couples (we later learned) got dropped off at Autobuses del Norte.
ADN is the company we would have used had we booked the trip ourselves. For whatever reason, ADN looked better to us.
The driver of the shuttle gave us our tickets, handed us our bags, said to be careful because this bus station was in a very dangerous area, and he left.
Looking closer at the ticket we had just received, I realized two things: 1. We over compensated Plus Travel (since the total cost for both of us (combined) to ride the bus round trip was about $90), and #2. We now had nothing to show that we had, in fact, paid for entry, guide, and lunch at Tikal. It is my fault for assuming that a travel company would actually be there taking care of us.
To their credit, someone did show up in Flores.
Carrie and I arrived on the bus at 5:15 in Flores, where there is nothing open and not really much anyway. At least there are some indoor concrete benches. Jorge, our transportation, showed up to pick us up at 6:30. (We had no idea we would be waiting that long and were on the verge of making other arrangements when Jorge showed up. I’m sure that was never communicated to us. At this point, our Spanish is good enough to know whether or not we were told (by Plus Travel) that we should expect to be waiting over an hour in a bus station full of strange characters and taxi drivers constantly asking where you need a taxi to.) At 6:30, Jorge showed up with Carrie’s name on a sign. Jorge is the shining star in this story.
We got in Jorge’s van where we reunited with Kristin and Thomas whom we’d left in Guatemala City 10 hours earlier. They had ridden ADN *remember that we all paid the same* while we rode FDN. From their talking about their bus, it was pretty clear that although it was cold on their bus from AC, ADN is the superior choice.
Jorge took us to the airport in Flores/Santa Elena and told us that we should get out and wait at the coffee shop because (he nicely explained) we were still waiting for two more people. Their plane would arrive at 7:30 and we would leave right at 8:00. Of course 8:00AM came and went.
Long story… longer…
After a bunch of odds and ends, waiting at a gas station for gas that didn’t exist, blah, blah, blah, it was 9:00 before we got on the road to Tikal from Flores.
It is a 1 hour drive to Tikal from Flores airport.
We met our Guatemalan/Mayan tour guide for the day (Nixon, whom we really did enjoy) in the van, and arrived in Tikal park.
At the ticket counter/entrance the cost of entry is 25 for locals, while it is 150 for foreigners. (This double standard pricing exists almost everywhere and is okay, except that it is rather audacious and ridiculous to charge foreigners 6-10 times what locals pay. I don’t mind paying more than a local, but the double pricing perpetuates a societal inferiority complex and actively discourages tourism. Anyway, another topic for another time…)
Nixon is standing there at the ticket counter expecting people to pay. We all explain that we have already paid through our booking company.
Thirty minutes later, Nixon returns and says that the others are covered completely for park entry, lunch, and guide, but that Carrie and I are only covered for lunch and guide and still need to pay the park entry.
We have nothing to prove otherwise because the shuttle driver took the receipt from us back in Antigua.
Fortunately, (we think) Carrie has the business card of the person we booked through.
There is a phone we can use (at the nearby Hotel (Hotel Jungle Inn) where we will spend the night), but the cost is 3 Quetzales (40 cents) per minute.
45 Quetzales ($5.50) and three phone calls later, we have our answer:
Somehow, we didn’t pay the park entry fee.
The other couples, just like us, paid $130 per person. They got a better bus, food on the overnight bus, lunch, guide, and park entry.
We don’t have 300 Quetzales in cash (why would we – we already paid for everything but our hotel in advance?) and the nearest ATM is in Flores, which is nearly 1 hour by car away.
The only electricity anywhere in Tikal is generated from solar, wind, or generator power. This is very cool, but means that the park entry doesn’t accept credit cards. (Oddly enough, the hotel does accept credit cards – I would guess that has something to do with private enterprise vs. government enterprise?)
At this point, we’re asking the hotel if we can overpay them using a card and they can give us the cash to go pay the park entry. No.
Is there ANY other way to pay the park entry?
We ask the hotel. No.
We ask our guide for the day, Nixon. No.
(We’re told this, but discover the next day, after asking 7 additional people, that there is a way.)
Jorge, our driver for the day (and for the next day’s return trip to Flores) takes it upon himself to call Plus Travel back (at his expense) and attempt to explain that the other couples have paid already, and if we’ve paid the same, why isn’t our entry included (the same thing I’ve just spent 15 minutes explaining).
I’m not sure how that conversation went between Jorge and Plus Travel, except that they told him our entry wasn’t included.
At this point, Carrie and I are ready to just call it a wash and not see Tikal, if there’s no way for us to give them money (at 6x the prices they charge locals).
Jorge sees our frustration and communicates that he will pay our entry for the day, and that we can stop at an ATM and pay him back the next day when he takes us back to Flores.
Jorge becomes the only way we can see Tikal for the day.
I told you he was the shining star of this story.
I still don’t get it, or how Plus Travel could charge people the same amount, for the same advertised package, and provide different levels of service. They literally changed what was paid for in the middle of our travel.
Neither of the other couples had a receipt either, but on the phone, 3 different people from Plus Travel insisted our package didn’t include park entry while theirs did.
Admittedly, my Spanish is weak at best, and I was frustrated and not really wanting to hear why we got less and paid the same amount.
But what I do know is that either they lied when they sold the package to us, or they lied about what we purchased once we were already at Tikal.
And when we needed their help, even to re-pay the park entry fee once we were there, they were unwilling (unable?) to do anything to help.
Lesson learned (for the third and final time).
We won’t use travel/booking agents going forward.
For other people, travel agents and tour companies work well. For us, it’s gone poorly, and when we give the agents a chance to rectify the situation or help us in the situation we’re currently facing, they either don’t help or really drag their feet in doing anything to help.
Generally, we also receive frustration from them that we’re even calling, like they’re annoyed that a tourist can’t figure things out.
(About 5 years ago, we booked a Las Vegas hotel through a travel agent, paid for the whole thing (4 nights) in advance, and we showed up in Vegas to not have a hotel room, and no record of us having made a reservation. We ended up paying for and staying at a different hotel. After many attempts to get the situation fixed with the travel agent, who insisted they were doing everything they could, we decided (a month after continuing to give the agent a chance to fix things) to do a chargeback. The travel agent actually used the phrase, “But if you charge it back, the charge comes back on us and then we’re responsible for it.”)
Here’s what we’ve paid to learn this lesson this time (though up to this point, we’ve spent somewhere close to $1,000 to learn this lesson).
Booking ourselves:
Antigua – Guatemala City – Antigua: $20 (or less)
Guat. City – Flores – Guat. City (FDN): $85
Lunch at Hotel at Tikal (better lunch): $20
Flores – Tikal – Flores: $30 (or less)
Park Guide: $20/day + $5 tip
Park Entry: $18*2=$36
Total If Booking Ourselves: $215
Through Plus Travel
$135*2 = $270
$36 Park Entry
$5 Phone Calls
Total If Booking Through Plus Travel: $311
It was almost $100 more to wait around for people to show up at the bus station and the airport (+4 hours), and have the frustration of thinking that the travel company would have our back, rather than saying there was nothing they could do, when we needed their help most.
Using a travel agent should make travel easier.
Using a travel agent should give you someone you can go to when encountering travel difficulties.
For us, using travel agents and booking companies has always resulted in more difficulty. It also twice resulted in someone who actively worked against our attempts to resolve the situation in a favorable way.
Lesson learned.
Unless someone can prove otherwise, we will not be using travel agents in the future unless it’s absolutely necessary for political or language reasons.