Udaipur, India

The Island We Were Staying On In Udaipur, India

Udaipur was the most southerly city that we would be visiting in Rajasthan, and in fact in India all together on this trip. We had debated whether to go as it was a little out of the way, but the promise of a relaxing few days in a quiet city surrounded by lakes sounded too good to pass up and we'd hoped to be able to spend some time in a place without drama as everywhere we'd been so far had included a scam, some sort of altercation or hectic busyness. We arrived at the station and took a tuk tuk to an island on the lake. The island was built up and connected by foot and road bridges, we walked down a dead end street passing some absolutely stunning intricate paintings of elephants on the walls, embellished with shimmering gold paint. The guesthouse was friendly and though our room was small with only a window into a shared living room it was clean and cool. We settled in and then, after a bit of research found Yummy Yoga a short walk away which had great reviews. The owner was super friendly, as it was low season he was pretty happy to have our custom. We sat on a little platform on cushions and ordered our food, while we waited we drank fresh banana milkshakes and played board games. The food was lovely, we agreed we'd come again and then went on a walk to the lakeshore which is a popular spot to watch the sunset. 

A Bridge In Udaipur, India

Pretty Lakeside Buildings In Udaipur, India

The following day we had breakfast on the roof which was included in the price of the room, with a choice of several items it worked out to be really good value and the huge fan pointed in our direction helped with the heat. We left the guesthouse and crossed the pretty lake by foot bridge, after climbing a steep hill we found a beautiful temple. We walked up the steps and removed our shoes, on the outside were intricate carvings, the sunlight shone on them highlighting a few of the decorations. Some locals were sat in the shade of the temple, we ventured inside and saw more carvings though this time they looked more like stone figurines and they were covered in colourful pink and orange pigment. A group of ladies wearing bright sari's were sat on a rug in the middle of the temple, playing instruments and singing. A small boy played a drum with his hands. We left the temple after giving a small donation to the man guarding our shoes and walked on past numerous art shops selling miniature paintings, an art form famous in the city. 

Temple Decorations In Udaipur, India

Elephant Carving In Udaipur, India 

The walked to The City Palace and bought our entry tickets for 300 rupees each. The slope we walked up to gain entry to the palace was original having been found under the modern surface, in times gone by elephants would have carried people up the slope. In the rectangular yard were water fountains, a line of boutique shops and a lush green strip of grass. We found a pretty viewpoint looking out over Udaipur in the shade before walking through the huge doors to the palace. Inside were wall hangings and murals, we were ushered one way round the palace visiting dozens of rooms and courtyards. Inside one room were press clippings for the Richard Attenborough film 'Ghandi' and the glasses that Ben Kingsley wore in the film. There were old weapons, paintings and perfectly preserved plaster decorated rooms. It was like being in a huge maze, each room led to a corridor which led in turn to a tight staircase and then to a courtyard. One of the courtyards I found to be particularly peaceful, I sat on a bench in the quiet amongst the flowers, little birds chirruped and the light shone through colourful stained glass creating beautiful rainbow patterns on the floor. 

Bird Cages In The City Palace In Udaipur, India

The City Palace Interior Decoration In Udaipur, India

After exploring the palace we went to a café which had a roof terrace overlooking the lake. I could see monkeys playfully chasing each other around a monument and tree below, children splashing in the water and a woman washing clothes. It was very peaceful. Afterwards we took a walk to the sunset pier although the sky wasn't as colourful as we'd hoped and another tourist was flying his drone over the lake, footage from drones is always pretty impressive though when you're there it is extremely loud and annoying! We had dinner at Yummy Yoga as it had been so lovely the day before and the guy running it was so friendly. 

Walk Around Town In Udaipur, India

View From The Café In Udaipur, India

Our second day in Udaipur was an extremely chilled out one. We went for a walk in the town, passing shops selling trinkets and the miniature paintings. Craig bought himself some loose and light trousers in bright shades of red and green to help keep cool, we were still finding the Indian heat hard to bear although our slow paced days and air conditioned rooms were helping. We went back to the rooftop café and sat for a couple of hours, the slight breeze, lake views and peacefulness made it feel like we were on a relaxing holiday rather than a backpacking trip. I sketched the view for a couple of hours before it was time to leave. We ate dinner at a different restaurant which had views of the twinkling lights on the lake. We stopped by Yummy Yoga on the way back to the guesthouse to see if they'd be open early for breakfast as we'd be leaving for a bus in the morning. The lovely owner said he'd open especially for us which was so kind. As we stood talking to him I felt a nudge from behind, it was cow which rubbed its head on me like a cat would. I thought how sweet and affectionate but actually it probably just had an itch it wanted to scratch. 

At last we'd found a place with no drama, Udaipur had lived up to what we'd hoped it would be and we were so glad we decided to include it in our Indian adventure. 

Onwards to Jodhpur! 

🎥 India video:

Have you been to Udaipur? If so, what did you think? Maybe you're planning a trip? I've got tonnes of advice and tips I can share. Let me know in the comments below. 

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Nicaragua

So, to pick up where we left off. We boarded a bus in Monteverde headed for San José early in the morning and jumped off at a petrol station. The next bus we needed was sat on the roadside so we grabbed our backpacks and hauled them along the dusty road, throwing them into the luggage storage. We made our way to the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border and chaos ensued. The border crossing was a mess of vehicles waiting, touts and offices here there and everywhere. We had found a few other travellers to walk with including a Frenchman named Marin to help with the crossing which made life a little easier. After walking to the immigration office we were pointed back the way we came with no explanation, a lady casually milling around advised that we needed to pay a fee. We weren't sure if this was a swizz or not as I had read some interesting tales on blogs and Lonely Planet about Central American border scams. We were led to an office which didn't exactly look official but found that yes we did indeed have to pay a Costa Rica exit fee of $8 which was an extra dollar as we hadn't organised it in advance. We got stamped out of Costa Rica and after a sweaty walk of about 1km we officially arrived in Nicaragua where we were ordered to pay $10 for a tourist card plus $2 processing fee and a municipal fee of $1, how I miss the easy and free border crossings in South America! 

Craig, Marin and I left the immigration office and were swarmed by touts and taxi drivers all hoping to get us in their cab for an inflated price, we had heard that there was a bus going to Rivas for the equivalent of less than a dollar but each tout in turn told us 'no bus today' or 'bus is too expensive, taxi better value'. Agitated and with a face like thunder I started to ignore all the touts and insisted that we walk on to see if there was a bus around, low and behold a bus was just leaving and although it was heaving we were practically pushed on and charged $3 each which I learned was still more than locals had been charged but by this point I was just happy that it was a relatively nominal fee. After arriving at Rivas we quickly jumped in a taxi with Marin and were driven to the huge Lake Nicaragua where our end destination awaited, Isle de Ometepe. Famous for its huge twin volcanoes the island attracted me due to its place in the Lonely Planet's 'top places to see in Central America'. We sat on the top deck of the ferry under a bright blue sky watching as the imposing volcanic island got closer and closer. Once we reached the island we set about finding a place to stay, the port town of Moyogalpa was small but its streets lined with a variety of cafes, restaurants and hostels. We found a colourful shabby chic (minus the chic) hostel and had a look around, the dorm room was separated from the main area of the hostel by a bamboo screen and the bunk beds were tiny rickety wooden things that looked like something I could have made in woodwork class. A lacklustre little fan blew a bit of air around and I was too tired to go elsewhere so with a bit of a grumpy tone I said it was fine for a couple of nights. Feeling tired and hungry the three of us went out for some food, we found a cute and friendly place serving fajitas and tucked in to a huge portion each.

Volcano Concepción on Isle de Ometepe in Nicaragua

Thank goodness for earplugs. I learned that a holy bamboo screen does nothing to stop the racket of noisy drunk backpackers and one small desk fan in a dorm room does little to keep the heat at bay too. Craig and I visited a small empty cafe on a corner and sat at a table by the window. I ordered a traditional Nicaraguan breakfast which consisted of rice and black beans, fried egg, plantain and cheese. It was delicious and such a huge portion that I couldn't finish it all. We met with Marin and the three of us decided to hire bikes and cycle to Reserva Charco Verde which was a few kilometres along the road. The road was long but thankfully flat and as the hours passed the temperature rose making peddling a struggle. We reached the reserve and paid a small entry fee. Just inside was a lovely butterfly enclosure with more butterflies in one place than I'd ever seen before, as well as tropical plants and nectar rich flowers. Classical music played quietly in the background and as we were the only visitors it felt like a peaceful and magical place. 

The Butterfly Garden in Reserva Charco Verde, Nicaragua  

Nature's Bench Overlooking a Volcano in Nicaragua

We left the butterflies behind and followed a trail where we saw some pretty little birds flutter by and heard what sounded like an alpha monkey asserting his dominance, the screech would have been deafening had it been closer. Inside the reserve was a shimmering lake and as we were already on an island in a huge lake, it was technically a lake within a lake. We stopped to sit on a bench surrounded by trees with a view to the smaller lake and the huge lake beyond, breeze gently whipped at our faces which was welcome relief as the temperature was becoming unbearable. We continued our walk and found the large lake's shore which did resemble a beach and I found a huge twisted tree branch which made a perfect natural bench to sit on and admire the volcano in the distance. As we took the trail back to the entrance we spotted families of black monkeys high in the trees snoozing. 

We returned to our bikes and cycled back the way we came turning left to detour to a lakeside viewpoint to watch the sunset. Just after we turned the corner two girls on one moped did the same and miscalculating the sharp corner and gritted road skidded to a crashing halt. One girl was particularly bloody after scraping her foot across the road. Craig and Marin quickly rushed to help as did other passers by and after a few minutes they were back on the moped and on their way to a local hospital to be patched up. We jumped back on our bikes and cycled down the sandy track to the lake where a couple of informal bars were set up inside wooden shacks. We bought ourselves some drinks and sat and watched as the sun dipped lower and lower creating an intensely orange glow across the landscape until it was gone. With night falling and knowing full well that our bikes didn't possess lights we quickly got on our way. It was dark after a few minutes of cycling and I wasn't feeling safe. We still had quite a way to go to get back and although the road wasn't particularly busy cars with blindingly bright headlights still flew past. Thankfully we made it back in one piece and Craig and I went out for well deserved pizza while Coldplay songs played in the background.

Sunset on Isle de Ometepe in Nicaragua

The next day we left the island for Granada. We took the ferry back across the vast lake and tried to get a taxi to take us to Rivas the nearest transport hub. Every time we asked to go to Rivas we were met with; 'no, I can take you directly to Granada'. 'No' we tried to explain, being taken that far would be too expensive for us and we knew of a bus leaving Rivas for Granada. 'No bus going to Granada today, taxi only'. *insert exasperated emoji* Each driver in turn said the same or the driver would simply drive off! Eventually we found a taxi that would take us to Rivas, on leaving the car a couple of backpacking girls asked if we'd like to share a minibus taxi with them to split the cost as they were going to Granada and had been told there were no buses. I explained that we were looking to take a bus and I'd heard of this 'no bus' talk as a common scam so before committing to a driver we should take a look. Again, low and behold a bus heading to Granada sat waiting to depart. Feeling smug that I'd saved us all an expensive taxi fare we were on our way. On arrival in Granada we walked and found a lovely hostel with huge clean metal bunk beds and lots of ceiling fans, hooray! We took ourselves out for lunch and climbed the bell tower to see views of the characterful and historic old city from up high. We then walked to the lake front which was pretty but deserted so we walked back via the city square which was playing host to some musicians and dancers. 

From The Bell Tower in Historic Granada, Nicaragua 

Beautiful Buildings of Granada in Nicaragua  

The next day we took a hostel organised shuttle to Reserva Natural Laguna Apoyo where we sat in a sun lounger on the lake shore and whiled away the hours as if it were a beach day. The crater lake was surrounded by trees of all sorts and the water busy with kayakers and swimmers. 

We left Granada after our customary two nights and made our way to León by shuttle bus which stopped briefly in Managua. León seemed a lot poorer than the parts of the country that we had already seen, it had a distinctly Asian feel about it with litter piled up and bustling overflowing markets. We walked to a hostel that we had pre-booked and as we walked closer to the centre the streets began to feel cleaner and the surroundings safer. We dropped off our bags and went out for lunch and a wander, we found a lovely local art gallery which was well worth the cheap entry price. In the evening we made our own dinner in the shared kitchen and researched our next move. The next country to pass through was Honduras, former murder capital of the world. I was keen to visit as the Lonely Planet guidebook recommended a few places that sounded really interesting and I particularly wanted to visit the Mayan ruins of Copán. Craig was not so sure. After much reading we couldn't find a safe route to take us all the way through the capital of Tegucigalpa to Gracias so we had to begrudgingly book a shuttle that would take us straight to Copán on the far west side of the country, skipping several sights I was keen to see. Due to the roads and Central American geography our journey would take us on a crazy route; from Nicaragua into Honduras, then a crossing into El Salvador where we would drive through the whole country before entering Guatemala to then re-enter Honduras and finally arrive at our destination of Copán. Easy. Oh, and our shuttle would be picking us up at 2am. With that journey to look forward to we got as early a night as we could. knowing that what awaited was hours and hours in a minibus and the most complex route we'd ever encountered. 

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Panama

We arrived in Panama City on 22nd March and already had our goal, to reach Cancún in Mexico for our flight to New York in 40 days by May 1st. Now, we could have flown to a couple of places or even directly to well travelled Mexico but where's the fun in that we thought? By now we'd had a taste of overland travel. In our minds it seemed far easier to take a bus for hours and hours at a time than to fly. All that waiting around in airports, checking baggage and what not, nah. I'd got it into my head that we could visit every single Central American country in our short time, it's a cluster of relatively small countries, how hard could it be I thought. 

Panama City 

And so, our journey began in Panama City and as a treat for starting the 'second part' of our trip we gorged on avocado topped veggie burgers covered in every condiment imaginable and fries at an America style burger place. With an NBA game playing we felt like we were in New York already and enjoyed the fast food in comfortable air conditioning. The next day our first priority was getting a new camera to replace our beloved and much missed stolen Canon. Luckily we knew what we wanted, and just up the metropolitan streets of Panama City was a big technology store. We tested out the Nikon that we'd researched online, Craig managed to persuade me to at least consider something that wasn't a Canon. I found the idea hard at first, I've always been a Canon girl. My first SLR was a second hand 35mm Canon I bought at college, now splattered with purple paint thanks to some 'experimental painting' from my art foundation days. But a Canon was out of reach being much more expensive than any other camera brand. The Nikon looked great and I begrudgingly had to admit seemed to have better features than our Canon. So, with our new camera in hand we decided to take a trip to the Panama Canal which we did have some difficulty finding thanks to the huge bus station. We were pointed here, there and everywhere until we eventually found the correct bus and made our way to the Miraflores section of the canal which is on the Pacific side. We paid the $15 entrance fee and walked to the top viewing balcony where a catamaran was waiting to be let through. How the other half live I thought as I watched the yacht dwellers mill around on their multi-million dollar boat. The water levels drained and rose in perfect order until the gates opened and the catamaran sailed through with ease, up next was a huge cargo ship which looked like a giant in the canal. We wandered through the on-site museum though we couldn't stop for long as our time was running out. The short film about the history of the region and the building of the canal left me with a tear in my eye. When France started construction of the canal in 1881 thousands of workers died, many to yellow fever and malaria. Problems with engineering and the death of workers led to the project being abandoned until the United States took over in 1904 eventually opening the canal for business in 1914. Since then control has been handed over to the Panama government and work to enlarge and improve the canal has been ongoing. On our walk to the main road and bus stop we crossed a bridge and I noticed a sign with a symbol of a crocodile. I looked down at the muddy river bed and sure enough saw a huge wild crocodile snoozing on the riverbank, scaly skin shaded under the bushes. We returned to the bus station which is right next door to one of the biggest shopping centres I've ever seen. As we walked through it the shops seemed to go on infinitely. We found a food court full of American fast food chains and decided to have a baked potato from Wendy's. I miss jacket potatoes from home, with lots of butter, an unhealthy amount of cheddar and of course baked beans. I thought a nice potato from Wendy's would help quell my craving but unfortunately the bright orange goo on top of the tiny chewy potato did not satisfy. Surely American cheese has to be the worst in the world right? We filled up on Cinnabon for dessert which didn't disappoint and caught the metro back to our quiet hostel amongst the city's sky scrapers.

Imposing Cargo Ships Pass Through The Panama Canal

The Miraflores Locks of The Panama Canal

Boquete 

With little time to spare we left Panama City the next day and travelled for 10 hours by coach and chicken bus (no chickens present) to Boquete in the highlands. Arriving after 9pm it was dark in the little town and we found our hostel with ease. With luck we had a four bed dorm to ourselves which was lovely. What wasn't lovely was the huge cockroach running around on the floor. I moved to a top bunk and turned off the lights. I could feel my neck and shoulders itching and turned on the light, there right next to me on the wall was previously mentioned cockroach which scared the absolute life out of me. Alongside that the itching had been bed bugs, large enough to see crawling on the pillow. It was the stuff of nightmares. How am I the one who always encounters bed bugs? Do I just have the worst luck when it comes to biting insects? By this time the whole hostel was asleep and we had to wake up one of the owners, luckily she was very understanding and moved us to a dorm next door which was bug-free. By the next morning the whole room had been fumigated and sealed off, and our fee for the night had been waived. We made pancakes for breakfast with the hostel supplied mix and caught a colectivo to the start of the Pipeline Trail which is a couple of kilometres outside the town.

Attempting To Be A Birder in Wildlife Rich Boquete in Panama

We walked through the forest catching sight of pretty birds and admiring huge ancient trees. The walk was easy if a little sweaty thanks to the humidity and was made more fun by rickety wooden bridges over the river which shook as we crossed. At the end of the trail was a waterfall which we sat by, watching people come and go. The return walk was downhill slightly and so even easier than the way up, we squeezed (literally) into an overcrowded colectivo for the quick journey back to Boquete and then had veggie tacos for dinner.

Beautiful Nature in the Highland Region of Boquete in Panama

Crossing Bridges on The Pipeline Trail in Boquete, Panama

Bocas del Toro

Our last stop in Panama was at Bocas del Toro where we would hopefully experience some Panama beach culture. Before we could enjoy sandy beaches we'd have to get there first. As we left our hostel a bus was passing to the next big town of David so we jumped aboard, we then - after some confusion - found a chicken bus to Almirante where were dropped off on the side of a road, a taxi took us to the colourful docks where we boarded a speedboat to Bocas Town on the island of Bocas del Toro. Travel isn't always a picnic but with time and patience you always get to where you want to go, eventually.

The Laid Back Caribbean Vibes of Bocas del Toro in Panama

Colourful Boats Docked at Bocas Town in Panama

The calm waters were interrupted by our boat, creating spray and waves aplenty. We arrived on the island and walked to our homestay which was out the way of the busy tourist packed strip. The following day we were unsure what to do. Our plan had been to visit a local beach called Red Frog but while researching we learned that there had been several reports of muggings at gun point there and most frighteningly the mysterious death of a female tourist in February, just one month ago. We took a walk to the boat dock to see what other options were available and found a boat tour leaving in 10 minutes to a dolphin rich area and beach. We had to dash around to take cash out and retrieve our swimming things before the boat left but we managed it. We spotted dolphins out at sea and starfish right by mangroves before arriving on the island paradise of uninhabited Cayo Zapatilla. The sand was white and sugary with an island centre dense with palm trees. We wandered along the beach until the clear warm water became too irresistible and we dived in. Our afternoon breezed by in a mix of swimming, splashing, frisbee and sandy beach picnic and was sheer paradise. Reluctantly we jumped back on the boat and sped through the mangroves stopping to see wild sloths hanging from branches. Once back in Bocas Town we ate dinner at Om Café an Indian restaurant on the decks edge, our table looked over gently lapping water as the sun set. Our beautiful Indian meal topped off a fantastic time in Panama; a country that we didn't expect to love this much. The variety of cosmopolitan skyscraper strewn Panama City, quiet and nature filled Boquete and perfect sandy paradise of Zapatilla meant that Panama might just be one of our favourite countries.

The White Sandy Beach of Cayo Zapatilla in Panama

Jumping for Joy on Cayo Zapatilla in Panama

 🎥 Central America video:

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