Although other companies had cheaper volcano boarding in Leon, the thought of going with 30 other people was, well not what we wanted. We arrived at Va Pues around 5pm and immediately negotiated a sandboarding trip for the next day. With tourism down, they were more than happy to negotiate the price and in the end we paid $3 per person more than the larger tours, and ours ended up being private. Our guide, Wilbur was excellent and on our hike to the volcano he explained the geology of the area, pointing out recent lava fields in the distance. Relaxed and flexible, Wilbur didn’t hesitate to add an additional hike into the crater at our request. Patient, intelligent and fluent in English, we had a great time with Wilbur and Va Pues. Although we took a sandboarding tour, the company offers tours out of Leon and Granada, Nicaragua.
Archives for September 2009
Casa de Clara (Trujillo, Peru)
The proprietor of Casa de Clara, Clara, runs a no-nonsense one day tour of the ruins surrounding Trujillo. Our small group of three piled into Clara’s tiny, VW Beetle and spent the day touring around Huaca del Luna, Chan-Chan and the Temple of the Rainbows. What her car lacked in safety and aestetics Clara more than made up for in archeologic knowledge and local background. At each site it was clear that Clara is a regular on the Trujillo archeological circuit, not only did she know the sites, but she also knew every security guard and tour guide on the property. She navigated our group around the crowds and gave us a much more thorough tour than the other groups seemed to get. Her English is very good, but don’t expect a relaxing tour, there’s a lot to see in one day and only so much time to see it in. The price including all entrance fees and transportation for the one day Trujillo ruins tour was 60 soles. Other tour agencies in Trujillo offer tours from 30-40 soles, which do not include entrance fees (about 20 soles total for students depending on which sites you go to). We did not book our tour in advance and it ran from approximately 11am – 6pm, including a lunch break, but since its a semi-private or private tour the time is up to you.
Vasque Low XCR Trail Shoes- Womens
Rugged and tough, these low profile light trail shoes lived up to the Vasque reputation. My fourth pair of Vasques, these shoes are supportive and comfortable. They’re lightweight and at the end of the day, whether hiking uphill or through city streets my legs are never tired from hauling the boots around. The boot is supportive enough for hiking with a light pack, but since its a low profile, it lacks the necessary ankle support for heavy backpacking.
Fit:
My feet are very narrow and I have high arches so I’m difficult to fit in a boot. The fit is excellent and I’ve replaced the bottom with my custom made orthopedic without problems.
The shoe itself is breathable so I never have the problem of wet or sweaty feet. At the same time I’ve hiked in all temperatures, from hot and humid jungles to mountains of 4700m and have never had cold feet. Over the last 5 months my boots have been soaked numerous times and covered in mud more than I can even imagine. Since I’m backpacking they’re often crushed in the bottom of my pack, so to say boot are holding up well really means something! No tears or structural problems to date, and I’ll admit, I NEVER take my boots off correctly, they always get pushed off while tied!
Update December 2009: I love these shoes so much, they have been perfect for what I wanted. I just bought another pair!
Princess Maria Hostal (Banos, Ecuador)
Over 5 months on the road and this is the first review we have written for a hostal. Princess Maria was simply a breath of fresh air. The cheapest of all of our accommodations in Ecuador (about $6 each) we had only intended to stay in Banos one night but quickly extended our stay. The owners were always present ready to supply any and all visitors with whatever kind of information that might be needed or just to hang out and practice some Spanish.
Aside from being a cheap hostalling option, Princess Maria provided us with everything we needed for our stay in Banos. We had a private room with a private bathroom and all the hot water we wanted, which wasn’t much thanks to the nearby hot spring. There was a kitchen where we cooked ourselves a nice meal as well as free Wifi internet. The hostal is well decorated with a TV common room as well.
Usually we skip the hostal and go to the small hotel around the corner. If more hostals were like Princess Maria we wouldn’t go anywhere else….ever.
Men’s Travel Shirts
ExOfficio Polo – This is undeniable my best shirt. It is a polo shirt and can look quite ‘smart’ with the right pair of pants but since it is completely wicking I can even work out in it if I wanted to. Naturally, I don’t work out in it, but as hot as it might sometimes get this shirt still performs well and is thick enough to still be comfortable in the winter time. The shirt really doesn’t show its wrinkles once I put it on but the thing that puts this shirt over the top is that it has a zipper breast pockeet. While this is normal for an ex-offico shirt it’s not quite standard for a polo shirt.
ExOfficio Trip’r – These shirts are my formal shirts. Again, with the right pair of pants I look like a perfectly normal guy going out for the night rather than dirty backpacker. Both of these are button down so their fabric isn’t as wicking or forgiving as the polo shirt but the material is still surprisingly lightweight with a vent in the back as well. Long sleeved or shirt both shirts are impressively wrinkle resistant and both have zippered breast pockets as well.
Mountain Hardware Polo – This would be my favorite shirt of all if it wasn’t for one thing, it’s missing that breast pocket. The shirt is far lighter than the ExOfficio polo and I believe it wicks better as well. With a different material on the shoulder it is a bit more stylish too.
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