Author: Carolyn McClain

Each morning I awake to the sounds of bombs bursting in the air directly above my little house. They’re not big ones, maybe 100 times larger than a typical North American firecracker. The problem is Bentley. These explosions drive him into barking fits. While trying to shut him up I notice that the bombs sometimes … Continue reading “Bombs Over Granada”

I continue to enjoy Granda. It’s very different than anything else I’ve seen in Central America. Is much older for one thing. This internet shop was built around 1860 and the building next door was first built in 1529! The place is cosmopolitan, there’re original art works in most every shop, house and resturant. The … Continue reading “Mapaches In Granada”

It continues to rain and rain. I left San Juan Del Sur this morning and headed for San Jorge, the takeoff point for the ferry to Ometepe. When i arrived it was raining and you couldn’t see much of the volcanos so I decided to skip it and move on to Granada a little earlier … Continue reading “On To Granada”

Southern Nicaragua may be different than you expect. The people are exceptionally friendly and open minded. For instance I entered this internet shop with Bentley at my side and it wasn´t a problem. It is certainly not ordinary but nobody seems to judge that behavior as strange, they just see it as interesting and unusual. … Continue reading “Security Note”

I’ve been thinking about the border crossing for weeks. It really feels good to get on with it. After lots of strategizing I decided to simply hit it staight on. I drove from La Cruz to Penas Blancas early this morning. I arrived at 7:45 and was driving freely in Nicaragua before 9am! This was … Continue reading “Into Nicaragua!”

I checked out of our Faro in Playa Grande and headed north. I drove to the small non-tourist town of La Cruz, Costa Rica. La Cruz is about 15 miles south of the Nicaragua border. Rain, rain and more rain. All the the Central American countries are being hit pretty hard. For the most part … Continue reading “Starting Towards Home”

Lookout, Carolyn’s back in town! With the Santa Ana winds, it’s dry and hot here in San Diego, but it’s great to be home. I’ve missed all of you friends and family. The blog won’t end – I still have 967 photos that we could put up here and another month’s worth of writing. And … Continue reading “Back to Another Paradise”

I put Carolyn on the airplane at the small but elegant airport in San Jose and 25 minutes later I had the Landcrusier teetering on two wheels. Bentley was standing with two paws on the right front window and two on the floor. The front left and right rear wheels were on the ground while … Continue reading “Carolyn flies home”

From about Sept.3rd to 17th was nearly solid travel. We spent a few days in San Jose, then ventured to the Caribbean side of the country, then back to the north Pacific coast. On the Caribbean side, we spent a morning snorkeling off the Cahuita Reef. Just chock full of colorful fish. I’m sure I … Continue reading “Caribbean to Pacific – we get wet!!!”