krlee03
Informazioni
I am a writer from San Diego, California. I completed a backpacking tour of Central America, lived several months in Panama, several months in Ecuador, and am currently living in and exploring Peru.
Sono un utente di expat.com dal 24 Settembre 2012
Percorso di espatrio
I moved here in the middle of high season when it was hot, busy, and noisy. After high season, students went back to school, the weather turned cooler, the sky grayer, and the town quieter. I am spending comfortable days writing and taking trips around Peru.
The number one thing I like about Huanchaco is the price. Number two is the small-town vibe. The caballitos de totora (little reed horses) that the fishermen use are the most fascinating. There is no expat community to speak of, although there are other expats here. Most of the English-speaking people here are surfers who are passing through to Mancora or in the opposite direction to Chile. I chose this location to force myself to improve my Spanish, to get back to my reasons for travel (experience other cultures and see awesome sights), and to repair the budget after 6 months in Salinas, Ecuador. The ceviche here is fantastic and nearly every restaurant serves it. I love the fishing village feel of the town now that the tourist season has died down a bit. It doesn't take long for everyone to get to know you - or know of you. Within two weeks a woman came to our hostel, because she had heard we were looking for an apartment - which we rented. There is a mall about a 30-minute bus ride away that has nearly anything you need that you can't get in Huanchaco. There are important Moche and Chimu archaeological finds nearby to be explored. There is an airport outside of town with flights to popular destinations in Peru. The city of Trujillo is a short bus ride away.
There is no central market where farmers bring produce; there are several tiny stores that have off and on good produce. You have to take the bus to Trujillo to buy just about anything.
I split my time in Salinas between writing and hanging out on the most beautiful beach I've seen in my travels.
Ecuadorians in Salinas are warm, friendly, and helpful, and the expats here seem to assimilate to their new culture better than anywhere I have seen so far. I became very ill here for the first time in my travels and received excellent free health care. There is even a doctor who does house calls for a small fee. For complicated operations or procedures, the bigger cities - Quito, Cuenca, Guayaquil offer better options. There are some good restaurants in town, Cevichelandia is extremely popular - several ceviche restaurants in one location - with locals and tourists. There are great restaurants run by expats that add variety beyond traditional Ecuadorian selections. Sin, Ralph's, Hostal Aqui, Common Grounds, The Smiley Gringo, and Smokin' BBQ are local favorites run by expats. Ecuadorian almuerzos (lunches) are filling, delicious, and inexpensive. By far the best thing about Salinas, besides the wonderful people, is the beach. Clear, calm, warm water - you'll think you're in the Caribbean - with excellent sand beaches. Chipipe Beach is the bigger and nicer of the two, but Salinas Beach is where all the action is, so it is a matter of preference. This destination has a row of high rise condos fronting the beaches which can be a plus or minus depending on what you like. It's a popular tourist destination for Ecuadorians and can get pretty crowded at times. Montanitas, a colorful surfer party town is a short bus ride away. La Chocolatera is another option for surfers who want to stay in Salinas.
The unscrupulous real estate "agents" - both Ecuadorian and expat. It's better to DIY by word-of-mouth. Befriend Ecuadorians and expats to find out how to navigate this real estate shark tank. Overall, Salinas is much more expensive than Cuenca..."beach tax." :-)
I lived in a small house in Alto Boquete outside of the more popular town of Boquete. I spent my time here exploring the coffee highlands and working on freelance writing gigs. I also visited Las Lajas on the Pacific coast and Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean coast.
Boquete has a very strong expat community and an active online forum. It's easy to get help with virtually anything you can think of. At one point, I had several freelance writing jobs due and my computer quit working. It took a few weeks for a local computer tech to get the required parts and fix it. In the meantime, an expat answered my plea for help and lent me a computer for the three weeks. Another expat brought an external hard drive to me from the states. There were countless other situations where expats stepped up to help out. The Panamanian family I rented from was extraordinarily gracious, and one of the brothers often gave me rides. I felt very at home immediately in this community. The expats are very organized and offer classes and get-togethers around virtually any interest from art to herbs to hiking. They've built a local theater and put on amazing, high quality productions; they've built a state-of-the-art library; there just aren't enough good things to say about this community. Great bakeries, a specialty deli, wonderful restaurants and friendly bars. Great coffee and awesome coffee tours. Stunning countryside; the land of eternal spring...and rainbows.
A handful of expats get into ridiculous banter on the online forum. Don't let it deter you from living in Boquete.
I went to Granada on the basis of a recommendation from travelers in Antigua. The draw for me was Ometepe, the island made from two volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua.
Granada is supposedly one of the most beautiful colonial cities in Central America. There wasn't really anything that I liked about Granada. I felt unsafe most of the time, and I failed to see the beauty of it. Of course this is completely subjective; so no hate mail, please. It was just my own experience.
Nicaragua in general felt very unsafe, particularly Managua. I arrived by bus late at night, and my 12 hours in Managua were more than enough to have several uncomfortable situations. Granada does not even come close to comparing to Antigua, Guatemala in any category. If I had it to do over again, I would fly over Honduras and Nicaragua. If my travel partner hadn't become sick, there is no way I would have stayed longer than a few days. It is dirt cheap though, and other travelers have raved about San Juan del Sur on the Nicaraguan coast. I met Nicaraguans in Costa Rica who had nothing good to say about their country.
I spent some time in the Manuel Antonio area of Costa Rica, went to Panama for a couple weeks, before coming back to Tamarindo, Costa Rica to rent an apartment. I spent my days on the beach or writing. Most nights I ate out, which was easy to do on a budget. There was a lot of variety among places to eat for such a small community.
The phrase Pura Vida definitely applied here. This is a very laid back, chill, beachfront community. Nadine and Rob Pisani of the Happier Than a Billionaire books live here, and they were gracious enough to let me interview them for my travel blog. (Very funny and charming couple.) The area has an exotic beauty to it. I was expecting it to be more expensive, and by comparison Costa Rica and Belize were the most expensive of the countries in Central America. Costa Rica in general was beautiful and friendly. I never felt unsafe, even the three times I stayed in San Jose. I recommend the hostels around the University there. Other beach destinations in Costa Rica are also lovely. I didn't make it to Lake Arenal, but would recommend it based on the many travelers I've talked with along the way who said it is a must-see. Tamarindo also has my very favorite coffee (that I miss dearly) - tarrazu.
I wasn't a fan of the occasional tarantula or scorpion in the apartment.
I first visited Flores and went to Tikal. Flores was beautiful, quaint, and charming. I was in Antigua longer and fell in love with this town. I spent my days exploring architecture and learning about coffee and CHOCOLATE, Maya culture, Guatemalan history, and more. I visited Lake Atitlan, which is probably the most beautiful and peaceful place I have been so far. This is where I began seriously writing. It was a very inspirational place for creatives.
Antigua was recommended by several expats, and it's easy to see why. It's architecturally stunning. Intellectuals would fit in well here. The expats seem to get along surprisingly well; I never heard a word of the usual sniping that seems to plague many expat communities. They have a local literary magazine, several bars, cafes, and restaurants that are all superb, and they're in the heart of Anacafe coffee country. Their proximity to Lake Atitlan and the surrounding Maya villages is an incredible bonus to this destination. There are several popular Spanish language schools in Antigua, which may account for the type of expat who lives here...interesting.
This is by far the favorite place I have visited in Central America, but there is no ocean, and I am a beach person at heart. :-(
The first country I went to when I left the US was Belize. I explored Corozal, Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, and eventually settled for awhile in Placencia.
I loved Belize in general. Caye Caulker would've been my favorite if it weren't for the noseeums and lack of a terrific beach. I loved that there were no cars on the island other than emergency vehicles. Placencia was great. The expats there were very friendly and welcoming, the community as a whole seemed open to expats. It's the only English-speaking country in Central America, which made it easier to navigate. The beaches in Placencia were nice, lots of tour opportunities to Maya ruins, Monkey River jungle trips, etc. There is a vibrant community of local artists and a variety of really lovely artwork. Visa renewals are inexpensive and easy to acquire.
I was caught off guard at the high cost of living in Belize. That was the biggest detriment to living there for me.
