Leaving Lanquín

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Although our bus didn't leave until eight, we still got up a little early to pack up our backpacks and grab some breakfast from the hostel restaurant. I ordered toast and peanut butter which was awesome.

While waiting for our bus, we grabbed a nice group photo of our new friends we had made during our stay in Lanquín. Our van bus, had arrived and the five of us (Niki, the Australians, and I) piled into the van along with some people from another hostel.

The bus ride took from about eight to four with only one stop at a road side restaurant that we got a twenty minute break at. We ate grilled chicken, rice, and beans accompanied by a Coke for next to nothing money wise. I bought a small pack of chocolate chip cookies on our way back to the van and shared them with the little local boys in the van. They were about seven and four maybe, and dressed in fancy church-like clothes with hair gel and all. The young boy sitting next to Niki hesitated at first when I offered him the cookie, but snatched it happily and thanked me with "¡Gracias!". I passed the other to the front for the little brother and resumed my position of "bored passenger on the bus". Note to self, next time I know I'm going to be in a bus for a majority of the day, make sure to charge the iPhone fully so I can take advantage of the music, games and blogging I have available with a charged iPhone. Staring out the window and nodding uncomfortably in and out of sleep wasn't the most fun source of entertainment.

Shortly after lunch, we stopped in a line of vehicles and waited for our turn across the vehicle river ferry. After a quick float across the river, we were back up an rollin' down the road again.

I knew we had arrived when I could see an island out the window connected to shore by one long and straight road, kind of like the entrance to Cedar Point. The sun was about a half hour from setting and we entered our hostel and signed in. Checking out the rooftop of the hostel, I noticed an awesome view of the lake, with the sun setting beneath the horizon. Hammocks dominated the roof top area and definitely enticed me for a night time swing later.

After dark, Niki, Georgia, a guy named Paul from South Africa that we met on the bus, and I headed out to find some cheap, but yummy food. Cheap food is definitely what we found, but yummy it was not. We laughed at the restaurant's sad attempt at food and then returned back to the hostel for an early bedtime so that we could make the five a.m. bus to the ruins in the morning.

I managed to grit my teeth through a somewhat cold shower, brushed my teeth, and hit the bunks for some shut eye. I fell asleep blogging on my phone and before I knew it, my alarm was waking me for an early start again.

Sorry this post is so short and sweet, but I'm playing a bit of catch up on my blog and this day was so full of travel, that its nothing very interesting to write about ;)