Nicaragua

After a long bus and ferry journey from Santa Teresa, starting at 6am, I finally made it 12 hours later into the town of Rivas, Nicaragua.  Despite what all the information said about the border crossing taking about 2 hours, it was fairly easy, and there were no queues, so we went straight through.  It was more of a challenge finding the bus to Rivas from the border!  In the end I agreed to getting a taxi as it was only $10.  When I got to Rivas, the taxi waited at the atm while I got some money and then took me to the hostel I wanted, which I found was closed down.  He had been trying to tell me, but I did not really understand and would not have believed him, so he showed me.  He then convinced me to spend the night in San Jorge as I was heading there in the morning anyway to get the ferry to Ometepe.  However, the weather was stormy so I was still debating that!

San Jorge

View of Ometepe Island with its 2 volcanoes

Once in San Jorge, it seemed there was no hostels, only hotels, which were all around $25.  Oh well nothing else for it as I was so tired by now, maybe it was for the best.  I settled into one near the beach, close to the ferry port and went straight out to dinner before watching a movie in bed and enjoying the luxury of my own room once again!  The storm seemed to pick up as the night went on, and I could hear what I thought were footsteps outside my window which kept coming and going.  There was no way I was sleeping now as loads of thoughts were running through my mind as to who was outside my room.  I left the tv on for some light and tried to sleep through the rain and the footsteps but did not really sleep well.  The next morning I woke bright and early….too early!  I checked the weather to see that it was still raining!  I needed to make a decision as to what to do.  I could get the 10am ferry or my inclination was to scrap the idea altogether and just get to Guatemala as fast as possible!  I decided that this was my preferred option.  I packed up, had breakfast and grabbed a taxi back to Rivas where I boarded the bus for Granada.  An hour and a half later I arrived!

Granada is a friendly town, focussed around the main plaza, Parque Central.  I checked into the Granada Oasis hostel, which had great facilities including a pool and hammocks everywhere to chill out in.  I settled into my room and then went out to explore the town and book my bus ticket to Guatemala.  I arrived at the ticket office only to discover the bus was full until monday!!  I also found out that there was no bus from Granada, despite what the internet says and I had to spend half a night in Managua!!  Arghhh!  I paid for my ticket with King Quality, the grand total of $75 and made my way back to town for some sightseeing.  No hurry now as I have an extra day.  I am really feeling tired now of travelling and am ready to end this trip as I feel I just need a break and some time back in normality and comfort for a while at least.  I am even missing work, so things must be bad!!  It is not so easy to meet people here, at least not anyone over the age of 30 and I have to be honest I am fed up of hanging out with kids now.  I want to hang out with people I can relate to.  I think I am just missing my friends….I feel I am just going through the motions but with no desire to really do anything.  Maybe this is traveller burnout!!!

I wandered around the town and visited some of the sights which did not take long.  I then made my way back to the hostel and started doing some research into Guatamala.  I now am stuck with having to spend a night in Managua and a night in Guatamala City, both of which I wanted to avoid.  Oh well nothing else for it, too late for a bus to Antigua when I arrive, I will have to wait for morning.  I have also discovered I will be in Guatamala for the height of the season, July, so it will be busy and expensive!

I ventured out to the plaza for dinner and treated myself to a glass of vino tinto!  I was invited to join a group of tourists sitting at the table next to me.  There was two guys from US and Spain and a german girl.  We got chatting and Chris and I decided to trek the volcano Mombacho the following day if the weather was dry.

The following day the sun was shining and we met promptly at 8.30am for breakfast, shopped for snacks, negotiated a taxi and were soon on our way.  The taxi ride was about 15 mins and dropped us at the park entrance where we paid our entry and got a jeep to the start of the trails, stopping at a coffee plantation on the way for a sample of Nicaraguan coffee.  The viewpoint there was breathtaking and we all stopped for pictures.

Viewpoint

Coffee tasting house

Once at the top there was a definite chill to the air and I just wanted to get walking.  We had decided to do the 4km Puma trail which was supposed to be challenging due to the amount of uphill work, but I needed a workout and was looking forward to it.

Howler monkey :)

The trail was fairly tough, with many steps going up, but was well maintained and completely manmade.  When we started the trail there was no view visible due to the cloud forest.  Everywhere was just a blanket of white!  Apart from the many types of plants and ferns growing we did not see much wildlife until the end of the trail when we finally spotted the howler monkeys and managed to get really close.  They were as curious about us as we were about them!  Finally the cloud cleared and we managed to get some pictures of the crater and views of the lake.  It was worth the wait!!!

Chris posing in the tunnel

View of the crater!

As we made our way back down the thunder was rumbling and rain was threatening.  We walked out of the park from the rangers station and flagged down a tuk tuk.  It was like being back in Asia!  Just in the nick of time as the heavens opened and the rain pelted down all around us.  The sides were open so I was getting wet down one side as we trundled back into town waving and laughing with the people all around us, who thought it was quite funny that we were getting wet!  I was glad to be back to get showered and dry and arranged to meet Chris for dinner later.

The rain had cleared and we headed out to treat ourselves to steak and then meet with the other two people who were with us the previous night.  We enjoyed a drink or two and then I headed back to the hostel around midnight as I was shattered from all the hiking today.

When morning came I was definitely a bit stiff from the hike, and decided to just have a lie in and get the bus to Managua to find a hostel.  The one I wanted was fully booked so I was just going to turn up and take my chances at another one I had seen in the rough guide.  I got straight on the bus at 11.30am and would arrive an hour later.  Halfway through the journey a local man came and sat next to me.  He stank of booze and kept trying to talk to me in spanish.  I tried to be polite, but was so relieved when he eventually got off as he was trying to kiss my hand!!!  Eww!!

My hostel in Managua!!!

The people working on the bus were very helpful and told me where to get off and got me a taxi.  I found the hostel and it was not at all like its description in the rough guide!!!  However it was only $7 and I was going to leave in the middle of the night anyway to get the 3am bus.  This so called popular backpacker hostel had turned into a locals hotel.  There was no water until 7pm, but I did have a tv and movie channels!!  Well that was me sorted for the day then.  I ventured out before it got dark to check out the local area and grab some supplies for my bus journey.  The guy at the hostel was really helpful and offered to take me to the bus terminal when his shift finished at 1am.  He also told me not to venture far from the hostel as it is not safe and to stay within 4 blocks to the left!!!  I returned from the shop and was walking to my room passing another room where i spotted a false leg and walking stick!!!  Bizarre, but probably common out here unfortunately!!  I locked myself in the room and just chilled out watching movies for the rest of the day before venturing out to dinner.  I could not relax as I was worried about my stuff being left in the room, and as soon as I was finished I headed back.

Before long it was time to leave and it could not have come soon enough!  I arrived at the bus terminal 3 hours early, but the security guard let me in and we just sat around and chatted, I tried to speak spanish, which is getting quite good now, and he english.  We managed to get by and had a laugh, his name was Andres and the other guard was Marcello.  I shared my cigarettes and we smoked and chatted until other people started to arrive and it was time to leave.  I said my farewells and made my way on the bus.  Generally people here in Nicaragua are very friendly and helpful, but I just need to be in a more relaxed environment right now and am really keen to get to Guatemala.  Next stop Guatemala City!