Goodbye to Mexico, Hello Costa Rica

After an exceedingly wonderful time in Guatemala and meeting some incredibly wonderful people we are back in Puerto Chiapas. The bottom of the boat is cleaned, we have water and fuel and the engine hopefully will be working better after the heat exchanger was expertly cleaned. We will be staying one more night in Puerto Chiapas then leaving tomorrow morning for Golfito, Costa Rica, hopefully making it there in 8 or 9 days. The internet here is reminiscent of the bygone dial up days, but I tried to upload a few photos.

Jackie get a piercing at a very legit street vendor. It actually was surprisingly legit, new needles, gloves and everything. But he was still sticking pieces of metal into strangers on the side of the street.

As everyone knows, Chinese food comes with white bread and french fries!

At Xocomil, the premier waterpark in Guatemala. It was literally one of the coolest places I have been. From traditional slides to one where you get in a pod and the bottom drops you 30 feet down before you go into a loop, the park was definitely a highlight of the trip. And thanks to Paty, we got in for free!

The 8 lane, 50 meter pool in Retalhuleu, Guatemala. For 5 quetzal (about $0.80) you can use this beautiful pool. And the best part? No one is ever here. Ever. The only downside was I haven't done a swim workout in almost three months so after swimming 2000m, my arms feel off. I'm sure I'll still be able to sail the boat though.

Walking up to the ziplines, we crossed many bridges that were in varying degrees of disrepair. But none broke, so I guess they are good for another 10 years.

What we were all thinking was our last picture ever. From the left, Jackie, myself, Byron (Paty's son) and Benjamin (Luci's son)

Goofing off after hours at Xocomil. Jackie, me and Byron.

Yea, these ziplines were even more safe than the bridges to get up there. I'm sure they used a CAD program to design this exquisite piece of engineering. But hey, it worked!

At Xocomil, in front of the coolest old school slides ever! From the right, Paty, Byron, Jackie and some bodybuilder who wanted in on the photo.

The resemblance is uncanny I guess. Every single person we have met in both Mexico and Guatemala has instantly connected me with Bieber. I don't know how I feel about it.

Pizza Hut in Xela. Xela is one of the coolest cities in Guatemala. It has the climate of Lake Tahoe in the summer, about 60-70F and about 50% humidity year around. It does have a rainy season that lasts 4 months in the summer, but the rest of the year is amazing. Oh and there's a huge volcano to climb 5 miles outside of town. Too bad we didn't have more time...

Yea, you didn't realize Pizza Hut is a classy establishment? We were put on the list and had to wait 25 minutes for a table at lunch! All to pay the most for any meal yet this trip (including a steak dinner in Zihuatanejo). It cost Q170, or about $25.

Jackie the model, before a night out in Xela.

Nick the model

This was before we went out, we found this awesome car in the main park area. From the left, Byron, Byron's girlfriend, Jackie. By the way, in Xela, there are clubs where you can get all you can drink beer for Q60, or about $8. Not a bad deal, especially when only one person of your group needs to get a wristband.

The aforementioned Pizza Hut, but with horchata, or course. Is there anything else to drink with Pizza Hut?

A random Roman ruin in Xela. We never did figure out why it was built or what it was for, but it sure was awesome. This was on the walk back to the bus to Retalhuleu at 6 am the day after we went out, which was needless to say, very fun.

A very nice dinner cooked by Luci's friend on our way back to Puerto Chiapas. Pork chops and mashed potatoes, guatemalan style!

So many birds! They also had two cockatiels in addition to the roosters.

Luci's friend's family raises rooster for fights and has nearly 100 prize winning roosters. And they are loud. Really really loud.