Renewing Our Visas In Granada, Nicaragua

We needed to travel to Nicaragua for 72 hours to renew our Visas in Costa Rica so we decided to check out the town of Granada. Got to ride some bikes and had the opportunity to get touched by 4 beggars in one day.  A new personal record:

Why can’t we quit you, La Fortuna?

Guests. Visitors. Friends. OH MY!

They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to go to the hummingbird sanctuary. Turns out it was a good time for everyone. It was free and came equipped with a cafe so for the first time ever, Foley was happy.

Enjoy yourself in Canada

Some may view Canada as an unlikely destination during the summer months of the year but Canada has a lot to offer once the weather warms up.

A wealth of options is laid out in front of the avid outdoorsman. Any traveler with a fishing pole would be hard pressed to not find success in one of Canada’s innumerable lakes and streams. Kayaking in the Great Lakes or along either of the neighboring oceans is ideal. Canoeing through the boundary waters from lake to lake is also another option. Camping in one of the many coniferous forests is a great way to relax and get away from your desk for a week.

Canada boasts large metropolitan areas as well. They may not be in first place right now but the Toronto Blue Jays are putting together a respectable season thus far. Stop by Toronto to catch a game this summer. You can also brush up on your French by taking a quick trip to Montreal. Eat some delicious crepes in the province of Quebec. Get cheap flights to Montreal and enjoy yourself.

Summer spawn in Canada

The summer is right on the horizon for those of us on the northern hemisphere. The advent of June brings with it something extra for others like me; the fisherman.  The first two weeks of June usually coincides with the spawn of the smallmouth bass. During this time the bass will become extremely territorial of their spawning bed and attack most anything that crosses their path. Many a fisherman has come away from their catch slightly disappointed only for the fact that they were expecting a larger fish. Smallmouth bass are notorious for their fighting ability once hooked. They dive down continually until worn thin, only to reveal themselves as a phony. You’ll think you have a lake record on about every hook set. At least the fish will fight like one.

If you’re looking for a spectacular place to beat the shores for these powder kegs, Canada has the best fishing I know of for smallmouth. Clear waters, large boulders and healthy fish abound in Canada. If you catch the spawn at the right time it will be impossible to be let down.  Go here to find cheap flights to Toronto.

About as close to Panama as we’re going to get

Aly’s mom came to visit us in Costa Rica and she took us on a little trip to the hippie haven of Puerto Viejo. It’s a great beach with one of the best Italian restaurants outside of Italy (not just the best in Costa Rica). They owner is Tuscan and basically told us what we wanted to eat. But that was probably more a product of our indecisiveness than anything else.  EVERYTHING SOUNDED SO GOOD!!!1!1!!1!

Anyways, we ran into a few more toucans (their bills are colored differently than the other) and just couldn’t seem to get away from all the howler monkeys. Waves were big, food was good and the beer cold.

We also took a tour of a coffee plantation that was informative and delicious.

A visit from the Hannamen

If there are more than one Hannaman, is it Hannamen?

Some mysteries we’ll never know, but we do know that we had a good time. Surprisingly enough to all involved we actually survived driving around ourselves in a Latin American country. And although we had to ask for directions quite a few times it was usually just to double check that we were going in the right direction. Road signs are at a premium in the Spanish speaking countries. And so is smooth concrete.

In the end we saw some cool birds, survived an erupting volcano, swam with a pool of Spanish-speaking trout and had our car peed and pooped on by some howler monkeys that don’t seem to take kindly to tourists. And no stingray incidents.

Microbrewing in Toronto

Toronto’s distillery district is one of the oldest sections of town.  It is where the majority of Ontario’s alcoholic products were produced. Products such as whiskey and beer have been distilled and brewed her for years.  Although production has tailed off in modern times, Toronto still boasts a very popular and ever growing microbrewery industry. It’s no secret that Canadians enjoy a beer, whether it is during a Maple Leafs game or while sitting in a boat waiting for a muskellunge to bite. Fortunately for beer brewers a Muskie is the fish of a thousand casts. That means that the average fisherman is going to need a lot of microbrews to keep him busy. We’ve tried some of the micro brewed beers that Latin America has to offer and they leave something to be desired. That may be less of a fault to them and more a fault to lack of access to quality ingredients, but Toronto doesn’t have that problem. Their beer is quality brewed and refreshing all the way down to the snow boots. So pick up a cheap flight to Toronto and taste what makes Canadians such a pleasant bunch.

Hey, look! An apartment!

Aly and I really enjoyed our apartment in Quito. It had a great view of the park, we could see a volcano in the distance if it were a clear day and it was located in the historic district. Lots of great things to see because, frankly, it only took one 360 degree turn to see our entire apartment.

We’ve upgraded digs in Costa Rica though and not at a much higher premium. We have a yard. That was basically the selling point for me.  And we also have a second floor porch. Included in that yard are a couple banana trees, a couple of lime trees, basil plant, lemon grass, pepper plants, a mango tree and we have so much aloe that you purposely need to burn your fingers on hot pans to utilize it all.

We also have a pet hummingbird that comes around everyday!

French-Canadian. Sometimes the sequel is better than the original.

Aly and I haven’t yet mastered the Spanish language, but it’s never too early to be thinking ahead to the next foreign language we’d like to sort of understand.  At least when reading menus. Perhaps that next language will be French. Not because it’s our next favorite, but because you don’t have to fly all the way to Paris to get a little bit of immersion. In place of the stuffy collars of the French, we have the infinitely friendlier French-Canadians. Who can resist an autumn in Montreal? I know the Expos aren’t there anymore, but you wouldn’t be missing any baseball games in October even if they were still there.  Their season typically ended in September.  Although there’s no baseball left in Montreal, you can still catch a Canadiens game that will most likely be more entertaining. Get there before the winter settles in with cheap flights to Montreal.