City view, Granada, Nicaragua, February 13, 2018
In Latin America, every city I visit has a church, so I began to almost not care about any churches. In Leon, however, I visited Iglesia La Merced to climb the roof – the church is the tallest building in Centro area. There was a boy collecting $1 before climbing the stairs. The stairway was steep and narrow. Finally, the view was clear and the wind was refreshing, but I think it was better in Leon! @Iglesia la Merced, Granada, Nicaragua, February 13, 2018 https://listeningtotheworld.net https://www.facebook.com/listenworld/
Hot spring “Rio Chollin”, La Fortuna, Costa Rica, Feb 15, 2018
Costa Rica is known for a variety of adventure activities in nature, but this time (my second visit to the country) my body demanded a hot spring. I was originally going to a hot spring near Liberia, but the rough gravel roads did not sound motivating. Then I remembered a place where the tour guide had taken us three years ago. Only remembering that it was near La Fortuna, I began to track it down. @Hot spring “Rio Chollin”, La Fortuna, Costa Rica, Feb 15, 2018
Border crossing, Peñas Blanca’s, nicaragua, February 14, 2018
Exiting Nicaragua was the toughest vehicle exit so far. Exiting usually takes about 10 minutes but it took 1.5 hrs in Nicaragua. I am now comfortable with the usual processes and identifying who are real government officials and who are private helpers with similar looking uniforms. What was new here was that I needed to get approval stamps from a customs agent and a police officer, who allegedly were around this open square but in fact it was hard to find them. The police officer had...
Catedral de León, leon, Nicaragua, February 12, 2018
Unlike the previous few days, from Leon I had planned to spend more time for conventional touristy sightseeing activities. As expected, Leon was full of travellers which indicated that there is a free walking tour. So I joined one early next morning, only to find out it was the first real day for the new young travel guides. They were obviously nervous and there were so many pauses, which made the whole group feel awkward. Though I felt bad, I gave up after the first 40...
Driving in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 10, 2018
My destination was Plaza Libertad, the main square in the capital city of El Salvador, San Salvador. After 5 months of traveling by car, I’ve become more comfortable with finding parking spots at the very center of a city, but this time I never expected that the Plaza would be surrounded by traditional markets. On another note, driving through a crowded market is an unusual experience – you watch all the people around or surrounding your car, minding their own businesses, yet you are in your...
lago de Coatepeque, el salvador, February 9, 2018
I visited another lake formed in a volcanic crater. This one, lake Coatepec, seemed a lot smaller than lake Atitlan in Guatemala, but to me, it was equally beautiful and enjoyable for a tranquil afternoon. I also dropped by Tekunal cafe next to the lake to meet the owner, who is a friend of the hostel owner where I stayed in Santa Ana the night before. Finally I tried to shoot an overdue self interview close to water. Everything was going well until I was kicked...
- TRAVEL DIARY2 Central AmericaDaily NotesEl SalvadorMoments Together (Friends)PLACESWhat I Had Today (Food)
Chris and Pupusa,santa Ana, El salvador, February 8, 2018
The first thing I was thinking about as I was approaching El Salvador was Pupusa. Pupusa is a corn or rice tortilla stuffed with a variety of fillings. I think I first tried pupusa years ago at a potluck at work in Washington DC and I remember thinking then, “This thing is more serious than what it looks like!” And thanks Chris for the conversation on relationships, long term traveling, and other general craziness of yours which certainly dropped my jaw several times. @santa Ana, El...
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, February 6, 2018
Quetzaltenango, or Xela, was my first city in Guatemala. The city wasn’t too big or small, and it had some fancy coffee shops but at the same time several traditional markets – A good introduction to Guatemala! For about a week, I was focusing on driving, so I thought I’d restore some human contacts in my daily routine. So I walked up to two highschool students at the park and had an enjoyable and rather usual small talk. Brian and Shirley both study accounting and soon...
This website chronicles Leebong’s journey around the world for 2+ years, for the time being. To find out more, see The Travel & The Why.
To catch me, see Itinerary.
Impressions Series
