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Tour or Not to Tour

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March, 2025


Let’s go to Costa Rica! Not long after my husband crossed over, I was invited to go with friends on a Gate One tour to Costa Rica and Panama.  Since we had been to Costa Rica years before and loved it, I quickly accepted even though it cost far more than I expected.

What I didn’t know then, but will warn you about now, is that these tours are designed for couples.  There is an extra charge (several hundred dollars) for solo travelers, the buses are two seats on either side, the tables in the restaurants are either 4-top or 6-top which leaves an empty chair reminding of your loss. So the prospect of spending time with my friends and helping each other grieve for our missing fourth, I was often alone while they sat together on the bus, or showed up to dinner after I had already chosen a table that filled with others.

Gate One offers a variety of tours, and this one was a “Discovery” tour.  Reading the description carefully, you will see that it is “moderately” strenuous, and that you should be in pretty good shape to enjoy this tour.  Well, as you may have guessed by now, we didn’t read the description carefully and the tour ended up being endured rather than enjoyed.  One day involved several hours on a bumpy road in the bus, then an hour-long hike into the forest, then an hour- long hike back out. I had to turn around and go back to the air-conditioned bus after about 20 minutes.  At 83, in the heat and humidity, I was afraid I was going to suffer heat stroke. So, read carefully before committing.

Gate One chooses their hotels with an eye toward folks who can afford the tour, and all of our accommodations were clean, comfortable, with excellent service, and good food. On one day that was planned to include lots of water activities (open boat in the sun) I opted to stay at the hotel.  I had a sleep-in (most other days were breakfast at 7 am), a leisurely breakfast, with a pot of delicious Costa Rican coffee, a swim in the pool, and a nap!

While most of our group of about 20 had not been to CR before, the three of us had stayed in a resort at the foot of the volcano, we had seen sloths in the rain forest, had fed bananas to coatimundi, and had been jolted awake by howler monkeys. I hate to say we were jaded, but we had “been there, done that.” 

I had not been to Panama and was keen to learn more about it. What I learned was that having lots of money is better than not. Panama’s infrastructure, including its roads, is 10 times better than in its neighbor.  I’m not sure I heard this right, but we were told that Panama collects $100,000  from each ship that uses the Panama canal. We were able to learn a lot about the canal and could see the evidence of the wealth it brought the country everywhere.  I wish we had been able to spend two days in Panama City, a modern city with architecture, art, science, and water.  

My advice is to rent a car in Costa Rica and book your own accommodations.  See what most interests you, and then arrange a few days in Panama.  If you’re not comfortable being your own travel agent, at least talk to a real person on the phone about the itinerary of any tour you are considering.

On the upside, I met a woman with whom I have a lot in common, and I would never have known her without this tour, so there’s that. 

Swimming With the Sharks

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Published March 8, 2014

I cannot believe that I waited this long in my life to go snorkeling!  Why, why, why?  If I had done this sooner, it might have changed my life.  I don’t want to go home – I want to stay here and go out in the water with the fishes, rays, and sharks every day.  Is it too late at 72?

Yesterday we were served breakfast by Oty and Gaby at D’Nest and met a delightful young couple from England who were about to head out for the airport after a 10 day stay in Belize.  Since our trip was just beginning, we asked them what some of their favorite places were.  They told us about Crooked Tree reserve where they saw a myriad of birds including the largest bird in this hemisphere – one with a 12 foot wingspan.  Their description sounded idyllic, so we called and made reservations for two days at the same place they stayed.  I am glad I brought along my long lens.  Maybe I will get some great bird shots.

We are staying at De Real Macaw on Caye  (pronounced “key”) Caulker, the more laid back of the two large islands.  And it is laid back.  Walk around bare footed in your swimsuit with a beer in your hand.  Rent a bike or a golf cart, there’s not a car to be seen.  Boats of every kind for every purpose – except none of them are the huge yachts you see in every American marina.

We shopped last night for food for breakfast and Ron and I made fried potatoes, cheesy eggs and toast for everyone along with good Belizean coffee.  Then we took a walk to see if we could make reservations for a snorkeling trip.  Our host here at Macaw recommended Anwar tours just a bit down the beach. We strolled along til we came to it, and then discovered that he had just filled the boat.  Initially we were disappointed, but made reservations for the afternoon trip. 

After a hot investigation of the rest of the island, we stopped at a bar for a bucket of beer to cool off.  Listened to Alan Jackson singing “It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere” and some Jimmy Buffet, then made our way back to our apartment.  Ron stretched out in the hammock on the porch and I made an short-lived attempt at reading on the couch before dozing off.  After a much-needed nap we were ready to go snorkeling.

I was hesitant about doing this because I am not confident in deep water, but our guide, Omar, was so reassuring and he promised that he would be right there if we had any problems.  We had life jackets, so I knew I wouldn’t drown, but I had never even had flippers on my feet before, nor had I used a mask and snorkel so I was a bit scared of simply making a fool of myself. 

Omar gave me an extra life jacket to hold onto and he kept the end of the belt so he could pull me along if necessary, but I pretty quickly got the hang of it and soon we were both spotting fish and he was telling me what their names were.  The blue tangs were gorgeous and we saw lots of varieties.  I had left the underwater camera on board for the first stop because I didn’t feel very confident about managing everything at once, and later I wished I had taken it because that’s where we saw the most colorful fish.  The second stop was Shark Alley where we got to pet a sting ray and watch Omar plant little fish in empty conch shells for the nurse sharks.  Soon we were surrounded by sharks and rays – it was amazing!

To cap off this fabulous day, we went to the open-air movie and saw “Philomena”. Talk about paradise! Padded benches and adirondack chairs, sand under your feet, and good company – plus a terrific movie, uh, sorry, film, as they say in Belize.

We arrived on Wednesday, and today is only Friday.  How much better can this trip get? 

Sunrise, Sunset

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BELIZE

Published March 10, 2014

Today is Sunday and we have arrived at the Tikal Inn in Guatemala.  Only a few days into this trip and I am ready to tell you that you need to budget about twice as much as you thought to travel around Belize, see the ruins, the beaches, etc. 

There is literally no transportation system in Belize or Guatemala.  We are accustomed to a bus system that is easy to understand and use.  Here, the buses run only twice a week sometimes, or maybe only once a day, so your schedule is just completely shot.  So, you have to hire a driver and a car or take a taxi – and they are not cheap! We had to pay $115 “plus tip” which means $120 or more, depending on what Bill decided to give him, to get from Belize City to San Ignacio.  The taxi driver started out with a quote of 300 Belizean dollars for the trip, which would be $150 US, or $75 for each couple.  In Ecuador, we paid $25 each couple from Quito to Cotacachi which included a stop at the equator and a stop for lunch and was about twice as far.  Then, we paid $100 for the four of us to go from San Ignacio to the Tikal Inn, PLUS $18 to leave Belize going into Guatemala.  Anyway, transportation is killing us.  I guess it’s because gas is $6 a gallon.  The young couple we met the first day said they rented a car and were complaining that it was so expensive – $500 a week plus gas.  Now I think it wouldn’t make much difference.  Thank goodness for credit cards.

So, arrived at the Inn, which is very nice.  The cabanas are comfortable and spacious, and the pool is inviting.  However, everyone comes here to see the Mayan ruins which, in my opinion is a bit of a scam.  They really upsell the sunrise and sunset tours – one of those ” you gotta” deals.  So, $20 entrance fee which is good from 6 am til 6 pm.  So, guess what? They charge extra for the tours because the sunrise is before 6 and the sunset after 6. Cute, huh?,,

Somebody please shoot me if I ever say I am going to see ruins again.  Whether it’s in Greece, Italy, or Central America, they are always up high! Duh, of course they are – the better to see the enemy coming, don’t you know. And my knees won’t let me climb steps anymore.  So hiking up to the temples this afternoon was hot, humid, and painful.  Once there I could see immediately that there was no way I could negotiate the steps to go up to see the sunset, so Ron, Bill, and Verda climbed up and I stayed down on the grass below.

When they came down, Ron and Bill both said they were disappointed in the sunset.  I told Bill they should come to Arizona to our house.  We will give them a spectacular sunset from our back porch and we will even include a free beer for only $10 per person!

Now if they will let us out of here and not hold us hostage for more money, we will be headed back to the beach – this time in Placencia – for more snorkeling!

Placencia

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BELIZE

Published March 12, 2014

Our next destination after Tikal was Placencia, Belize. We had not made arrangements for transportation, which we regretted.  There was a woman at the Tikal Inn who told us, absolutely, that there was no way to get back to the border except by shuttle which would cost us $30 each person (or $120 US).  But Bill and Ron talked to a guy who had a van parked in the parking lot who agreed to take us from there to the border for $75 total instead of $120 total.

Once we arrived at the border and made it through immigration, we had to find someone to take us to Placencia.  Bill made the tactical mistake of talking to a guy on the Guatemalan side who agreed to drive us all from there to Placencia for $80 US.  Thinking that was too good to pass up, Bill gave him the money and said we would meet him on the other side, the Belize side.  Well, of course, the guy disappeared and we never saw him again. The Guatemalans will tell you whatever you want to hear to make a buck. Tip: you are better off renting a car and providing your own transportation. If it costs you a few more dollars, it’s worth it to avoid the rip-offs, the frustration, and the unexpected expenses.

So another taxi driver on the Belize side promised to take us all the way for $150 US.  Jesus H . Christ!  So tired of getting ripped off by taxi drivers!  Now, today, we found out that we could have paid a taxi to take us just to San Ignacio, which was only 10 miles away, then we could have taken a bus to Placencia for about $20 US per person.  Ok, enough complaining.  My advice: stay out of Guatemala.

We arrived in Placencia and checked into Cozy Corner.  Nice rooms with a/c and TV for $70 per night.  And downstairs in the restaurant there is WiFi, where I was even able to download Wake Me Up by Avicii.  At this moment we four are sitting in our swim suits on the beach with our afternoon cocktails, with a cool breeze blowing and the gentle waves trying to put us to sleep.

We will be here til Saturday morning, then it’s off to Crooked Tree.

The Flying Pig

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BELIZE

Published March 11, 2014

Arrival in Placencia

WARNING:  Stay on the road!  This is our taxi after missing the turn to Cozy Corner and thinking he could take a shortcut.  Fortunately, there were 3 Belizeans who hang out near this spot waiting for idiots to get stuck and then charge about $20 to get you out.

But Placencia is a little bit of paradise.  There are no, and I mean NO, signs of the modern world here except for cell phones, signs saying Visa/MasterCard accepted, and a weak, sporadic WiFi signal.  But not a Macdonald’s to be seen, nor a Hilton, Radisson, or Westin.  The homes are small and simple, the restaurants are open to the sea breezes, and all the natives either sell food or crafts or boat tours.

At home we seldom just sit and relax, but here the chairs on the beach under the little thatched umbrellas are so conducive to reading, conversation, or just closing your eyes and letting your mind go blank, that you can’t help relaxing.  Younger and more fit visitors can go fishing, diving or snorkeling when the weather permits.  I would have done another snorkeling day, but yesterday there was a pretty stiff wind which brought rain last night and this morning.  No good for snorkeling.  But my experience in Caye Caulker has made me promise myself that I will go to Mexico for snorkeling (or someplace like that).

Last night we went to dinner at The Flying Pig, a restaurant owned by the cousin of a friend I went to high school with.  It was “all you can eat” spaghetti night.  Patrick was a charming, enthusiastic host and told us how he came to be in Placencia. He was teaching school in California until the recession and at that time his school combined with another school and rather than teaching algebra to 7th, 8th, and 9th grade kids, he was expected to teach 7-12th graders.  Unfortunately his certificate only allowed him to teach up to 9th grade.  So, he went back to school and got a Master’s degree in administration.  Now, he found his lack of experience made it impossible to find a job in school administration.  So, he gave California a one-finger salute, sold everything and moved to Belize.  He’s happy and making a contribution to the community. 

We have one more night here, and then tomorrow we are off to Crooked Tree, supposedly a bird-watcher’s dream come true.  Two nights there, then back to Belize City for the last night before we fly home.

Crooked Tree

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BELIZE

Published March 16, 2014

After four days of relaxing and talking about the kids, the grand kids, the economy, retirement, health, you-name-it, we dragged our rolling bags through the sand and boarded the 6 am Richie’s bus to Belize City.  After so many horrendous taxi rides, I was relieved to be on the bus.

In Belmopan we had a short potty stop, and Verda and I went to find the bathrooms.  Yuck!  Why can’t people in the Latino cultures ever keep anything clean?  How hard is that?  This place looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in 5 years!  Plus you had to pay to use the toilets.  After that, Verda started saying she didn’t want to take any more buses.

When we arrived in Belize City, we would have had to find a bus going to Crooked Tree, figure out how to buy tickets, fight the pushy crowds and endure another two hours on the bus.  Unbeknownst to the rest of us, Ron found a taxi driver who agreed to take us all the way to the Lodge at Crooked Tree for $50 US.  He must have known we were about to have a mutiny.  The car was the typical wreck with no suspension at all, and no a/c of course – at this point we had learned to be grateful if the damn car could make it to our destination.  So off we went.

The driver had indicated that he had been to the Crooked Tree lodge before but when he missed the turnoff, we thought that once again someone had simply told us what we wanted to hear.  Finally we arrived at the causeway out to the village.  In January of this year the floods were so bad they nearly wiped out the causeway.  In fact, we read on Trip Advisor that our hosts had picked up visitors in a boat to transport them to the Lodge during that time.  Creeping along the 2 miles at 0 mph, we finally drove into a small village with multiple trails going off in every direction.  Our driver asked every person, from a middle-aged woman to a 10-year-old boy where the Crooked Tree Lodge was.  Obviously, he had never been to this place before.  Finally we headed down the last set of ruts toward the buildings in the distance.  About 100 yards short of the main lodge, the road turned to mud and puddles.  The driver was reluctant to drive into it since the car was dragging bottom even on the dry parts.  We told him to stay put and we would walk ahead and see what’s what.  Sure enough, we were welcomed by Mick who quickly went to help carry our luggage from the car up to the lodge.  Even the crocodile in the small pond by the bridge seemed to smile and say “welcome to Crooked Tree!”

Quito

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Published July 11, 2012

My first impression of Ecuador, and of Quito, was the demeanor of the two taxi drivers that we hired to take us to our hotel, “Casa Arbolitta.” They were extremely helpful and kind, and worked together to determine where this place was. We ended up having the taxi driver call the hotel and find out for sure if we had the right place, especially since there was nothing to indicate that it was a hotel – no sign, no lights, no impressive building. He was assured that we were in the right place, and we were greeted by Patricio, a young man who spoke good English, and his mother, Jenny, who, with her husband, runs the place. 

It was a lovely home, with bright colors and interesting art pieces displayed. We were warmly welcomed and shown to our rooms. Ours was bright red, extremely clean, and had a nice bathroom. Jenny made breakfast for us and we were introduced to Lauren, a student at the University of Nebraska, who is in Quito for the summer. She is an architecture student and had come to Quito to work on a project there, was offered a chance to stay for the summer and she said she loved Ecuador so much that she decided to stay. She was renting a room from Jenny and said that Jenny was like her Mom away from home. She was delightful and we felt confident after talking to her that we would enjoy our stay in the country. 

Jenny hooked us up with a guy who had a van and would drive us to Cotacachi. We hired him for the day for $120 and he gave us a guided tour of Quito. We saw the cathedral, the main square, and the statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the hill. I got some shots of the entire city. Then he took us to the “middle of the world” where the latitude is 00.00.00. There were so many amazing demonstrations of the coriolis effect. Will post photos sometime in the future. I have found that I can easily write notes on my iPad. My problem is that I don’t have time! Tomorrow, a report about Cotacachi.

Off to the Coast!

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July, 2011

Got up when the alarm app on my iPad sounded out the cuckoo’s song.  Had two cups of coffee and a banana and we were off. The bus ride to Otavalo was routine, now that we have done it so many times.  One of the dozens of bus hawkers came to fetch us for the bus to Quito.  It was a comfortable bus, and I actually slept a bit on the way to Quito.  

When we arrived at the bus terminal, there was a taxi line and we had no trouble getting a taxi to the airport.  The Quito airport is small and we easily found the Tame Airline desk.  However, we were told that there was a problem with our reservation.  We had to go outside and get in a different line to get it straightened out.  When we gave the agent our ticket, she explained that the travel agent had failed to confirm our reservation, so we had seats on the way to Manta, but not to return.  So now we will have to fly back to Quito on Saturday morning at 8 am instead of at 1:30 pm.  Which means that we will have to go back to Manta Friday evening. 

The flight to Manta was only about 30 minutes, but I can’t remember when a flight hurt my ears so much.  It took hours for them to pop enough that I could hear.  Once we landed, there were taxis, and we got a driver to take us a Hosteria so we could make a reservation for Friday night.  Then he took us to the bus terminal.  

What unbelievable chaos!  We were so recognizable as “rich American tourists” we were almost trampled by men trying to get us a room, or a bus, or a tour, or something – I never found out what exactly, that it was almost frightening.  I yelled at Bill that we needed to eat – it was 1:30 and I hadn’t had anything since that banana in the morning.  You know what that meant – hangry!  We found what looked like a restaurant, but the selection was pretty slim.  The other three ordered fish, which they said was good, but it was fried, and I didn’t know what they might have used to fry it in, so I ordered chicken and fries.  The chicken was so-so, the fries were mediocre, but they can’t mess up Pepsi in a bottle. 

We went back into the bus terminal and didn’t have too much trouble buying tickets to Puerto Lopez, our final destination.  Our plan is to take a boat tomorrow to do some whale watching, go to Isle de la Plata, and I guess they take you snorkeling, too.  Then, we have Friday morning here at the hostia Nandu before we have to check out and go back to the madness that is Manta. 

This part of Ecuador is beyond ugly.  The shacks that people live in are maybe one step up from mud huts.  The kids are running around in the dust, the starving dogs follow anyone in hopes of a scrap of food, the most sturdy buildings are concrete block, no paint, no decoration at all,  might as well be a prison.  I could never live here.  It amazes me that in China, where people have lived for thousands of years, there are modern buildings going up everywhere, world-class shopping, education for everyone, and a feeling that everyone is moving forward.   There is nothing modern about Ecuador.  America has nothing to fear from Ecuador!

Lake of Blood

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Ecuador

Published 07/25/2012

Haven’t written anything since we returned to Cotacachi, so will catch up today.  We were so wiped after our exploring that we just chilled, watching “Big Bang Theory.”And talking with family on FaceTime.   Tuesday we did take the bus to Ibarra and took a taxi to the “Lake of Blood.”There weren’t very many people there but we did meet Herb, a guy about our age from Boynton Beach, Florida.  He is here doing pretty much the same thing we are-exploring possibilities in Ecuador.  He spent two weeks in Quito living with a local family and taking a Spanish course.  Then he spent a week in Otavalo during which time he visited Cotacachi.  He plans to go to Cuenca for a bit, too.  He told us a lot about San Miquel de Allende in Mexico, the place Kyle mentioned to us as another possibility. We hung out with him for quite a while waiting for them to take the tour boat out on the lake.  Turned out he had lived in New Jersey for about 30 years, has a brother in Toms River, graduated from Montclair State and now lives in Florida.  Small world, isn’t it?After about half an hour, we decided to ask when they were going to take the boat out.  Now she tells us, not enough people so can’t go.  Bummer!

Herb suggested we share a taxi back to Ibarra, so it only cost us $1.00.  The taxi dropped us off at the museum in town and we spent a while touring it.  Very nice museum, nicely laid out and displays were well done. After the museum we walked around the park and found a nice restaurant to have lunch.  I had chicken in a delicious sauce, with rice, French fries, and salad.  Ron had only French fries and salad, but the best part was my lemonade and Ron’s juice that tasted like strawberries.  Best lemonade I’ve ever had. After lunch we tried to find a bus to go to the woodcarving town of San Antonio de Ibarra.  Gave up after 10 or 15 minutes and took a taxi.  We cannot learn that all the shops close for siesta, so since we were there about one o’clock, there wasn’t much open.  Just as well-most of the stuff was unattractive, and we couldn’t find anything we wanted to buy.  We saw lots of buses coming and going, so we flagged one down and hopped on.  We even managed to see where we needed to get off to go back to the bus station for the bus back to Cotacachi.  We are getting pretty good at getting around on buses.