Central, middle, median, average, mediocre... Central America... After three months on the Andes in South America, Central America pales slightly. Unlike South America where each country is different - Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, you arrive in Central America and everything is similar - the people are similar, the landscapes are similar, the food is similar (and maybe it's just us), we tried to find the difference and point it out.
Panama
April, 2018
Panama City
To understand Panama you need to learn a little history. Well, Panama is a narrow strip of coast (70 km) between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Until 100 years ago if you wanted to move from one ocean to the other (for example from New York to Los Angeles), you had to sail around South America (a month of sailing). So they decided to dig the Panama Canal (still considered one of the most complex technological challenges ever undertaken in the world). The French tried for 20 years and failed. Then the Americans tried their luck and succeeded, and as Americans they owned the canal (until 20 years ago). Why is this important? Because the canal is 80% of the income of the state of Panama (a large ship may pay up to a million dollars for one passage). Since the canal is so important and it was owned by the United States, the city of Panama looks, feels and smells like an American city. With the skyscrapers, the well-ordered roads, the retail chains (McDonald’s, Subway, etc.) and everything looks just like a typical American city. However, some things do not correspond to Americanization: almost no English is spoken in the city, the open sewers on the sidewalks – you walk on the sidewalk and suddenly in front of you is a standard sewer only without the lid, you think ‘OK, just this one’, but another 100 meters there is another one, and then you realize that this is the method, They don’t close sewers (Why? Just because!).
We are at the beginning of the rainy season so the weather is not really predictable, in the morning it is really hot and then without warning the chimneys of the sky open and a flood from hell descends for half an hour, and then it is hot again. The time between no rain and a flood is ten seconds. We were already caught in such a deluge that soaked us to the skin.
Other than that we didn’t find anything special in Panama. Just a land with a canal.
Costa Rica
May, 2018
Costa Rica decided 50 years ago to disband the army and is the only country in the world whose constitution prohibits the existence of an army. Why am I telling this? because throughout our trip we were surprised by the number of police officers, from traffic controllers to customs officers. Colombia even went further and added an army to the equation, and at every strategic point there are soldiers who signal to the drivers that everything is OK (there are rebels of all kinds there). All this is true until you get to Costa Rica, not only do you not see an army (because there is none) but you hardly ever see policemen either. This is the only country where you are not stopped every two meters to check papers, and it is also the only country where they do not constantly explain to you how safe it is here. I wonder what would happen if Israel decided to disband its army?
Nicaragua
May, 2018
So far we have been through quite a few countries. At every border crossing there are at least two customs and immigration stations, we have to go through customs because we are “importing” the motorcycle into the country and must prove that we exported it. Multiply this process by two (exiting one country and entering another country). Usually it’s quite simple, in most places there is no queue (except for the passage between Ecuador and Colombia which we have described before). But today when we entered Nicaragua a bureaucratic record was set that we had not encountered:
>> Spraying the motorcycle (it is not clear with what and why – I hope it was not DDT and lucky that we were not sprayed)
>> A payment of 1 dollar per person – we are not clear to whom and why – a girl whose whole task is to collect a dollar from each person
>> Make a copy of the document of departure from Costa Rica (a store on the other side of the complex) – we will use this later
>> Immigration – the clerk charges 24 dollars – when we wanted to pay in Nicaraguan currency, he asked for several times more than that, we gave him 25 dollars and he made a whole show that he had no change, we insisted, and after a round that took him fifteen minutes, he gave us back the change (we insisted because he made exactly the same show to the guy before us)
>> A customs official who checks the motorcycle (including opening one of the boxes for inspection)
>> Filling out a form for customs (a person without any official identification) – we will use it later
>> Insurance (a girl is sitting by an unrelated booth – we hope we did buy the compulsory insurance – we will use it later) – 12 dollars
>> Police (3 police officers are sitting under an umbrella in the middle of a parking lot and are waiting only for us) – presenting all the paperwork from earlier + checking all the paperwork of the motorcycle + checking two boxes on the motorcycle
>> Payment 5 dollars – we have no idea what for and why – another girl in another booth, this is her whole job in life – produces a form in three copies with a copy paper in the middle
>> Customs – production of an entry form into the country (it takes half an hour to fill out the form, including photocopying of all documents) – a total of 13 different forms so far, some in several copies, most of them filled out by hand
>> Control station at the exit – 4 different people check that we have passed all the stations.
As we arrived we were approached by a guy (official looking) who guided us between the stations, there are such ‘guys’ in every country, we usually ignore them, today for some reason we didn’t – and it’s a good thing because he really helped us. These are different check and control points in the area, some have to travel to (in this case he runs ahead of us) and an order that cannot be violated (you cannot do 6 before 5), and no one speaks English. Thanks to him the whole process took a little over an hour. $3 tip.
Managua
Nicaragua is a country that has had many fights. Until a few years ago they fought each other and then they calmed down and now try to convey security. Any Nicaraguan you talk to will tell you that this is the safest country in Central America. Perhaps this was true until a few weeks ago, when riots broke out here against the local ruler (Ortega – who, in our ignorance, we thought was no longer in power), and last week 40 civilians were killed in riots. For this reason we decided to cross the country quickly (3 days), but to our surprise what we saw during the journey was definitely nice (especially we liked Granada and Leon – lively colonial cities).
It seems to us that Nicaragua has a nation-wide hearing problem. In every restaurant/bar/cafe the music is played in decibels that are unpleasant to the ear and it is impossible to talk, or hear yourself. One local restaurant even went over, after we sat down and ordered to eat, two drummers and three wind instruments entered the restaurant and started playing. The volume of the music was really deafening to an annoying level. At first we sat and covered our ears (literally with two fingers) and after five minutes we couldn’t take it anymore and just got up, paid and left. In addition, every now and then a van passes by on the street with huge speakers playing music and incomprehensible shouts that are probably trying to sell something, the volume of the speakers is so strong that everything is switches off until the van passes by. Following all of the above, we decided that there is a genetic problem here at a national level or we are, as some of our children are saying, simply getting old.
Honduras
May, 2018
Throughout the trip we chose to drive on yellow roads (on Google Maps) – unlike white roads where you don’t know what you’re getting (sometimes reminiscent of off-road riding), yellow roads are usually in reasonable condition. Basically it can be said that in Central America the roads are better than in South America, they still keep you alert but reasonable, sometimes with potholes that reach the antipodes, sometimes with landslides from the side, and sometimes with a bumper at the height of the Himalayas without any warning… As mentioned, they keep you alert… All this is true Until Honduras. At the border there is a huge pothole under the gate (that is, less than one meter inside the country), there is a pothole in the road that requires skill to cross it and this indeed foreshadows the next fifty kilometers which are more potholes than asphalt. But then the road turns into a two-lane, in excellent condition, lust lay back and enjoy. All this is true until fifty kilometers before the border with Guatemala where the road becomes narrow and potholed once more. We therefore concluded that this country is worn at the edges.
Guatemala
May, 2018
In the economic hierarchy Guatemala is quite high on the Central American scale, it is better off than countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador (maybe because they stopped killing each other earlier), but you don’t see it when you go around the region. First of all, the bumpers are back big time, but the Guatemalans don’t think it’s necessary to warn about the existence of a bumper (as they say to themselves, the bumper is meant to slow down speed, so drive slowly, what are you complaining about…). The clothing of the people (mainly women) reminds me of my grandmother in the fifties, the houses are worn and not well maintained and the roads, God forbid. I wonder where the money goes. It is possible that the reason is that we did not go through the center of the country so we get the wrong impression.
At the border we encountered an interesting phenomenon, in order to cross the border with a motorcycle we had to pay a toll, but there is no way to pay for that at the border, we have to go to a bank 20 km from the border, but we are not allowed to enter the country with the motorcycle to pay the toll – in the end we received a special permit, went to the bank, paid and returned to get permission to enter the country.
Tikal is considered one of the most interesting Mayan sites in the world. Indeed, the two-thousand-year-old temples that survived in the jungles are impressive and sublime, wondering where they disappeared to (the Mayans). Since the site is quite off the tourist path (and we are also in the off-season), the place, despite its glory, is really abandoned and not really well-kept (we were here 20 years ago and almost nothing has changed). The closest city to Tikal is Flores, an island full of hotels and restaurants, the time has not turned it into a tourist place, but has left it a magical and recommended place, and thanks to that we stayed here a little longer.
Flores Island (it has a bridge so you don’t need a ferry to get to it). I was here about twenty years ago and not much has changed, it is more touristic but not in a way that is disturbing. Two strange stories that will demonstrate the fact that the island was stuck in the past. We walked down the street and heard loud ticking noises from inside a house, since they live on the street (the windows and doors are open to the street so you can see everything that happens inside the houses), we peeked – there dozens of children were sitting (like in a classroom) learning to type on… typewriters. As if these children do not have a smartphone and have never heard of computers. The second story is that there is a boardwalk that surrounds the island but it is half a meter under water, including the street lamps, the benches and everything. When we asked what was going on, they calmly answered “it rained a lot” and the surface of the lake rose and covered the boardwalk, some of us couldn’t resist and went swimming on the boardwalk.
Mexico
May, 2018
Colonial cities
So the Mexicans did not want to let us enter their country, and here is a story. Our motorcycle is from California and is not registered in our name. Since we bought it in Argentina (from our friend Lior) we could not transfer ownership there. But we have a notarized certificate (in Spanish) that we are allowed to drive a motorcycle and until Mexico everything was fine (13 border crossings in total). It turns out that the law in Mexico allows you to enter with a vehicle only if it is registered in your name, from here discussions began as to what could be done. Officials who don’t know a word of English (you’ll be surprised how much Spanish we picked up along the way.) After a while we found an English speaking official who invited 3 more officials and together we made a consortium how to get us into Mexico anyway.
In the end, we found the solution that was approved by all ranks: we will fill out a sales form for the motorcycle from Lior from whom we bought the vehicle, Lior will sign it (by the way, Lior has been back to Israel a long time ago), and all is good. They sent us back to Guatemala to find Lior there, and explained to us how to prepare the document. Everyone was all along super nice, in our opinion they didn’t expect a bribe (nor did we offer or pay). And after a rather grueling day, we are in Mexico, the last stop before the USA.
Mexico, we thought, another Central American country whose residents all want to move to the USA. Indeed, most of the country is like this, although the roads are better, although there are fewer policemen (those who are there ride in vehicles with machine guns ready to shoot), although there is a sense of security almost like in the West (yet there are cities along the coast that it is strongly recommend not to go there because people are shot in the streets)… but in any case a classic Central American country. All this until we realized that we really like colonial cities.
A colonial city has a large number of streets from the colonial period (15th-16th century) that have been preserved. There are impressive cathedrals and magnificent public buildings that are truly a feast for the eyes. The municipality understands that tourism is good and maintains the cleanliness and the external appearance of the buildings (there are quite a few houses that only have a front and behind a wooden structure that holds it so that it does not fall). Entrepreneurs are building businesses and boutique hotels inside ancient buildings, add to that the Mexican colors (orange predominates) and great weather (Mexican Plateau is 2000 meters high so most of the day and evening are really pleasant) and you have a recipe for a real treat.
There are colonial cities all over South and Central America, such as Arequipa and Cusco in Peru, Quito in Ecuador, Granada and Leon in Nicaragua, but we have not seen a concentration like we discovered in Mexico. For example, we visited Puebla, San Luis Potosi, San Miguel de Allende and Zacatecas (we really liked the last two). We stayed in a boutique hotel in the center of the old city (doesn’t have to be expensive) and just went out walking the streets for hours. In addition, we discovered that the night life in these cities is really not similar to the other cities that usually close at six o’clock, here there is lively activity until the late night hours, music from every doorway or passing car, lots of live music in restaurants and pubs, good and varied food and lots of bands that will play for you personally for half a dollar.
And here’s an example – in Zacatecas, if you want to celebrate a wedding, bar mitzvah, graduation or something, you hire a (decorated) donkey, a troupe of street musicians, two or three waiters walking around with bottles of liquor, and invite your friends. Each of the invitees has a small glass hanging around their neck and from time to time they fill it up and take a shot. This is how they walk around the city alleys – the donkey leads, followed by the herd, followed by all the guests. In every square or street corner (and there are many of them) they stop, dance a little and move on. We joined the group for over an hour and it didn’t seem like they were getting tired or that the drink was over. We, as tourists who stand out in the area (there aren’t many like us) were offered a drink, but basically it’s for invitees even though it’s on the street.
Ensenada
Most of the trip we looked for a place with live music, we learned that it’s usually quality music, and it’s fun to spend an evening in a bar or restaurant when a singer or band entertains you.
In Mexico the method is completely different. You are sitting in a restaurant or bar and a band enters (from the street, they are not related to the place). The band will usually contain an accordion, a guitarist-singer, a double bass (huge – a must have), sometimes a drummer and wind instruments. They pass between the tables and if someone invites them, they sing for him (very loud, sometimes slipping a sound – but always enthusiastic). Whoever ordered them will pay ($3-5 per song) and they will move on. There are dozens of such bands, so it is impossible for you to sit in a restaurant and not be approached once or twice with the offer to sing for you. If the muse lines up with the crowd they sing loudly with the band and maybe even get up to dance.
Another way to hear music is to stand on the street, every second car drives by with open windows and music at full volume with maximum bass, almost always the music is local, cheerful and noisy. We live in a hotel on the main street (actually the only street in town, colorful and crowded with people), our balcony faces this street, and if the balcony is open we get music all day and night (especially at night).
Driving in Mexican cities
Mexico is a poor country, that’s why there are no traffic lights at intersections, even the fashion of rounabouts has not yet arrived here, what has arrived? stop sign! You drive in the city and every 100 meters (no less no more) there is an intersection and at every intersection there is a stop sign in all directions. Sometimes the street that crosses you is a dirt road and sometimes a 3 lane road on each side – a stop sign, sometimes the road crosses you on the right, sometimes on the left and sometimes diagonally – a stop sign, sometimes you are in the city center and the traffic is busy and sometimes in the city crossings when a car passes once every fifteen minutes – a stop sign.
So far everything is simple, or could have been simple if it wasn’t in Mexico, that is because sometimes there is no stop sign (in any direction) and you are so used to stopping at every intersection you don’t know what to do, keep going, stop, speed up, slow down… if you stop, the honking from behind and overtaking wildly to the right or left will make it clear to you that this is not the right thing to do, and if you don’t stop then who will, because the vehicle that crossed you didn’t stop either.
Confused? So are we.
Food...
I’ll go ahead and say that I don’t like Mexican food, living in Dallas has taught me that it’s not for me. But here we lick our fingers (literally – because we eat a lot with our hands), we are in a very specific place in Mexico (Baja California) and it is certainly possible that what we experience here is not similar to the rest of Mexico, but the food is really delicious.
Mexicans have a lot of foods that are rolled inside something (each one costs a dollar, and two is already a meal), it can be tacos, burritos, tostados, tamales and inside you can put anything from salad and avocado to seafood, fish, meat, chicken and what have you. Not spicy, and very tasty. The problem is that you start with one, order another, and another, and fail to stop…
But the most interesting thing is where you eat. Well everywhere, every third shop is actually a stand that sells something, the restaurants also serve the same food (usually as appetizers), and in short everywhere. Right next to our hotel there is a stand selling tostados (in the middle of the street – a cart on wheels), a square of two meters by two meters, each side (and there are four of these) provides something different – one fish tostados, one shrimp, one oysters and one meat. Around it at any hour of the day there will be at least 30 people shopping and eating standing by the stand – the reason you eat at the stand is because when you finish you order another one – maybe on another side of the stand.
Not to forget papas – which is actually chips but well made and is found everywhere.
Pharmacies...
There are countries that are characterized by a certain type of shops and it is not clear how everyone earns a living. In Spain there are banks, every 100 meters there is a bank, and you say how much money they have that they need so many banks (and we know Spain’s situation – so maybe this is compensation, like a motorcycle).
In Mexico it’s pharmacies. For every five stores, one of them will be a pharmacy. How sick are they that they need so much medicine? By the way, everyone advertises in huge letters that you can buy Viagra, how helpless are they that they need so much Viagra? In any case, if you are expecting a Superpharm style pharmacy, then this is not it! The stores are indeed spacious and clean and lined with shelves all around, but on each shelf there is one shampoo (not one type of shampoo, one bottle of shampoo, maximum two), so all in all the selection is quite poor. Although there is another pharmacy nearby but it is also quite empty. There is something here that we do not understand (maybe we will understand when we grow up).
Tijuana
San Diego and Tijuana are neighboring cities. If there was no border separating them they would be like Ramat Gan and Givatayim, but there is a border separating them – San Diego is in California, a place where the wealthiest of the US live (the price of a house starts at one million dollars, but most of them are closer to ten million dollars), is incredibly pompous, and insanely expensive. Tijuana, on the other hand, is colorful, messy and poor (although relative to Mexico it is rich).
HE 
