We are on the last day of our two months sojourn in Central America. Today Geordie made me walk a couple of kilometers to the old fort where we explored a little (admission free!), then we walked back through the local market, very busy with folk doing their shopping. Somehow the sight of fresh meat lying on a wooden counter in the full air often makes me think being a vegetarian just might be the better way, but tonight I think I´ll still have the Alabama style ribs for dinner. (Sorry James).
After our hot and dusty walk we got back to the park and hired a coach and two for another tour of the city, taking in many of the sites we´d seen already, but in the luxury of our own carriage with a coachman and two lovely hard working horses to do all the heavy work for us. The coachman acted as tour guide too, telling us about the important sites in Spanish as we travelled the streets.It was nice to be a tourist and to have other tourists taking photos of us as we drove by.
This has been a wonderful trip for us, We have enjoyed all the places we have seen, there have been no disasters, although we have had a couple of colds which have put us under the weather for a time. I also had a long lasting cough which I didn´t talk about. It got tiring. Geordie and I laughed (ruefully?) when we saw the sign on some building that said,"if you have had a cough for more than 15 days, you may have tuberculosis." Oh, I don´t think so. But yesterday at the market in Masaya I had a coughing fit that lasted for about 20 mintues. It was a little weird.
We did a tour of Masaya, the craft town near here yesterday all on our own. We walked down to the bus area and found one going to Masaya so hopped on and paid our 20 córdobas each for the pleasure of sitting on relatively comfortable seats. But we were dropped off on the highway, and pointed to the centre of town. It was a hot dusty walk, and part way there we took a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the lagoon side so we could see the volcano across the water. Then we walked back into town, wandered the large old stone fort that has been turned into the craft market (didn´t buy anything), then found the bus station (another long dusty walk to another big dusty field) where the bus was as usual waiting for us. This was not such a comfortable bus, an old Canadian school bus with very worn seats with stuffing hanging out, and thank heaven the windows open in these buses so that at least when we were moving there was a breeze to cool us down. This was a more local bus so stopped to pick up and drop off passengers where ever they wished. It dropped us in the bus area and we walked back to our hotel and had a nice soak in the pool later in the afternoon.
So tomorrow we go home. We have only six weeks then to prepare our bodies for the Camino because once again we are setting off to walk, in May and June. Some of you will be disturbed to know that we are planning to walk separately, I´m sure. But I have wanted to walk the Camino by myself and Geordie must go at the same time so he is considering continuing the walk he did on the Via de la Plata by himself a couple of years ago. We will also take the opportunity to visit with Bertrand and Giorgio in Torremolinos again too. How wonderful to have friends in far places.
We have certainly enjoyed our travels in Central America and I think we have been pleasantly surprised by Nicaragua. It seems the country has come out of it´s bloody war with a positive outlook on the future and less of a militaristic view than El Salvador. It compares in that way with Guatemala, although we have seen fewer guns here than we saw in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. We must remind ourselves though that most, if not all, of the guns we saw were for our protection, or the protection of those who re involved in money collection in some way or other, so it is in fact a safety feature.
You´ll be hearing from us after we get home. I will be looking forward to telling you about my plans for the camino, and sharing that journey with you too.
Thank you all so much for sharing our journey with us again. It has certainly been our pleasure and thank you for your encouragement of our messages as we travelled. It is so wonderful to be able to make these connections.
Showing posts with label nicaragua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nicaragua. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
San Juan del Sur
Let's see if I can write a short message... Hah! We arrived in San Juan del Sur yesterday and spent one night at a mid-range hotel which was comfortable if a little too cool because I set the air con on high and didn't change it when I realized we were freezing. It was an easier trip than most - a bus to Managua, a taxi across town, and then harassed by crazy bus people who all wanted us to go on their bus. Somehow we lucked out. We let a guy lead us to his bus which was a mini-bus, not a van, and paid for our trip to Rivas where we were going to transfer and it left two minutes later. That has happened a lot lately. When we got to Rivas the bus guy asked where we were going, and when we told him San Juan he gave us the good news that the bus continued on there with a side trip to San Jorge, where the ferry to the island of Ometepe leaves from. If we'd been going there we would have been delivered directly to the ferry.
So, lucky us, we stayed on the bus and got here in good time. Found our hotel, two blocks from the beach, which we had booked in advance and found out that there was a power outage so there was no air-con or light, nor could we check in yet because that couldn't happen till 2 o'clock. No problem, we went for a fish lunch - fresh from the bay I think. It was wonderful. Then we lazed around, found an icecream place and had a cone, then finally went back to our hotel and checked in. Nice big room, two single beds, clean, and just fine, and with two windows for a little breeze. No complaints, until the evening when I set that aircon after the electricity came on. We had a cool shower in the afternoon, then slept in the heat. Not bad.
This morning we went around looking for a cheaper hotel. Found a few, but they weren't great - bathroom outside, or a little untidy, no water in the little pool, etc. Then we decided to ask about the fancy place across from the beach. After chatting and negotiating a little we now have a room that almost everyone on our reading list would be happy to stay in. We have a huge room, two double beds, a fridge, a microwave, tv and cable, nice bathroom and a covered patio with a direct view to the beach and patio furniture, the patio is almost as big as our room, and the sun sets right in the center of the bay, so we will have wonderful sunset viewing. The only catch is we have to stay a week and we are paying more - $75.00 yes folks, we are paying the big bucks for a little luxury. It's a big change from our usual places, but we figured we've earned it with all the money we've saved in the cheap places. Oh and a full breakfast is included, as well as a pool that we can cool down in when things get too hot after a walk on the beach.
We're happy - although Geordie thinks I should book a week of Spanish school since there are a couple of recommended ones here. But I'm so lazy - I don't want to study.
So, lucky us, we stayed on the bus and got here in good time. Found our hotel, two blocks from the beach, which we had booked in advance and found out that there was a power outage so there was no air-con or light, nor could we check in yet because that couldn't happen till 2 o'clock. No problem, we went for a fish lunch - fresh from the bay I think. It was wonderful. Then we lazed around, found an icecream place and had a cone, then finally went back to our hotel and checked in. Nice big room, two single beds, clean, and just fine, and with two windows for a little breeze. No complaints, until the evening when I set that aircon after the electricity came on. We had a cool shower in the afternoon, then slept in the heat. Not bad.
This morning we went around looking for a cheaper hotel. Found a few, but they weren't great - bathroom outside, or a little untidy, no water in the little pool, etc. Then we decided to ask about the fancy place across from the beach. After chatting and negotiating a little we now have a room that almost everyone on our reading list would be happy to stay in. We have a huge room, two double beds, a fridge, a microwave, tv and cable, nice bathroom and a covered patio with a direct view to the beach and patio furniture, the patio is almost as big as our room, and the sun sets right in the center of the bay, so we will have wonderful sunset viewing. The only catch is we have to stay a week and we are paying more - $75.00 yes folks, we are paying the big bucks for a little luxury. It's a big change from our usual places, but we figured we've earned it with all the money we've saved in the cheap places. Oh and a full breakfast is included, as well as a pool that we can cool down in when things get too hot after a walk on the beach.
We're happy - although Geordie thinks I should book a week of Spanish school since there are a couple of recommended ones here. But I'm so lazy - I don't want to study.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Leon
Today was almost easy. Woke up early, after having to put up with a bunch of drunks around the hot tub next to the kitchen, next to our room, but they shut up about 9:30 so we only had to listen to the noisy air con and a couple of screeches from the two huge scarlet macaws around the corner. Breakfast was included, tough eggs and ham, and gallo pinto - rice and beans, along with some white cheese and some well done toast and Butter! Haven´t had any of that for about two weeks.
We caught a taxi outside our hotel door to the bus terminal and the shared microbuses. We were almost the last to arrive, so we took off early, although I was crushed between two guys in the back row, and had to bend forward because there wasn´t enough head room - and I had my pack on my lap. Thank heaven my pack isn´t like the other backpackers around Central America. I can hold mine on my lap.
The ride might have been uneventful, except that the radiator on the van over heated and the driver had to walk up the road, twice to get water for it. The first lot boiled off I think - it was like being in a sauna for awhile. The people in the first three rows had to get out because the engine was under the seats. That took about 15 minutes and while we waited another van came up and the driver and about six passengers came over to act as sidewalk supervisors for the last bit.
But we got to Leon before 9, less than an hour, so I guess the guide book was wrong about its hour estimate, It would have been less than 45 minutes without the road trouble.
Leon is actually quite nice. We have a lovely hotel, although a little expensive for us, but it has air con, two beds, and a lovely sitting area outside our door with about four rocking chairs. Nice for reading of a late afternoon. We also asked for a lamp because again the light in the room is about 15 watts. I told the woman that we needed to read a lot, so had to have the lamp and she brought it right away. Very nice.
We´ve done a walkabout, had a rather weak coffee con leche, and now Geordie is back in the room, waiting for me to show up so we can go out again for lunch. I´m feeling a little peckish, but the choice of restaurants is much better than yesterday. Where we ate last night I ordered ribs with garlic and it came out with about a half cup of garlic spread all over. It was inedible, the fries (supposed to be mash) were cold and there were no "steamed vegetables". Geordie had some delicious deep fried chicken breast though so I shared his tasty food instead.
We´ll probably be here two nights. Apparently Saturday afternoon and evening there is action in the square, food, entertainment, people, so we will wander over to check it out. There are also a couple of museums including the one to Ruben Dario, the poet hero of Nicaragua. Apparently Nicas revere their poets above all. You can even by poems on the street wri
We caught a taxi outside our hotel door to the bus terminal and the shared microbuses. We were almost the last to arrive, so we took off early, although I was crushed between two guys in the back row, and had to bend forward because there wasn´t enough head room - and I had my pack on my lap. Thank heaven my pack isn´t like the other backpackers around Central America. I can hold mine on my lap.
The ride might have been uneventful, except that the radiator on the van over heated and the driver had to walk up the road, twice to get water for it. The first lot boiled off I think - it was like being in a sauna for awhile. The people in the first three rows had to get out because the engine was under the seats. That took about 15 minutes and while we waited another van came up and the driver and about six passengers came over to act as sidewalk supervisors for the last bit.
But we got to Leon before 9, less than an hour, so I guess the guide book was wrong about its hour estimate, It would have been less than 45 minutes without the road trouble.
Leon is actually quite nice. We have a lovely hotel, although a little expensive for us, but it has air con, two beds, and a lovely sitting area outside our door with about four rocking chairs. Nice for reading of a late afternoon. We also asked for a lamp because again the light in the room is about 15 watts. I told the woman that we needed to read a lot, so had to have the lamp and she brought it right away. Very nice.
We´ve done a walkabout, had a rather weak coffee con leche, and now Geordie is back in the room, waiting for me to show up so we can go out again for lunch. I´m feeling a little peckish, but the choice of restaurants is much better than yesterday. Where we ate last night I ordered ribs with garlic and it came out with about a half cup of garlic spread all over. It was inedible, the fries (supposed to be mash) were cold and there were no "steamed vegetables". Geordie had some delicious deep fried chicken breast though so I shared his tasty food instead.
We´ll probably be here two nights. Apparently Saturday afternoon and evening there is action in the square, food, entertainment, people, so we will wander over to check it out. There are also a couple of museums including the one to Ruben Dario, the poet hero of Nicaragua. Apparently Nicas revere their poets above all. You can even by poems on the street wri
3 countries, 1 day, 7 vehicles
Well we made it, even if it did take six hours and all those vehicles. We started across the street at the bus station at 7;20 am and got the bus out to El Amatillo right away, as usual. However, in the town of Santa Rosa de Lima, we were moved to another bus, although the money guy on the first bus paid the money guy on the second bus so we could travel on. Very honest - what would we have known.
In El Amatillo there were human vultures at the bus awaiting us. The driver waited until everyone was off the bus before he opened the baggage compartment, at which point we were swarmed with touts wanting us to take their tuk-tuks. We finally settled on one who gave us a price - the first said just a tip, yeah right - and then he drove us the two blocks to the immigration office. He waited there while we paid a little money to the El Salvador to get out, then went off with the tuk tuk driver, past the Honduran office and onto the minibus stop where we climbed in while our bags were tied on top.
The ride across Honduras took two hours, and it was very hot along the way. The travel thermometer read 38 at one point. At least the van windows were open. We both got the jump seats, which meant we were a little uncomfortable. But we weren´t being discriminated against, they were the last seats left which meant the bus got to leave.
In Guasale on the Honduran-Nicaragua border we got a pedi cab. A little guy sat on his bike seat in back and pedalled us sitting like queens in the front on a wicker seat as he took us first to the border crossing, where we got to pay more money to get into Nicaragua, then he pedalled us over the dirt road to the town of Guasale about 2 kilometers away where he dropped us off at the next minibus stop where again we left quite quickly as the seats were now full -but we got better seats.
Along the way into Chinandega we saw a smoking volcano called San Cristobal. We also saw sugar cane fields, - Nicaragua is famous for its rum made from the cane: Flor de Caña. There were cattle, sheep and pigs too. And I saw a cane truck with five trailers - just like a train, but on it´s own road thank heaven. The first km of the road were under construction so we didn´t make good time. All the bridges were being redone as well as the roads. It was a pleasure to make it to the real pavement. The last vehicle we got was a taxi in Chinandega to take us to our hotel. The most expensive part of the trip - the pedicab ride. Geordie felt guilty about the kid cycling us so gave him 12 dollars and a bag of Quesitos - Central American cheezies.
We managed to cahnge money at the border too, and when we got to Chinandega we found a bank that took Cirrus so we have Cordobas now and can have dinner. Too bad there are so few restaurants. We walked blocks and blocks and saw no place that could honestly call itself a restaurant. The closest was a place on the street that was frying potatoes and had some fried chicken ready. Well there was a place which uses steam tables, but it is recommened to eat there when the food is fresher - closer to mealtimes, and it was already after 2 pm when we made it.
So now we have to figure out where to have dinner. That should be fun. There are two restaurants listed on our guide, so we will have to look for them.
Oh, remember that I told you this was the safest place in Central America? Well as we were walking down the street, there were two women ahead of us. Suddenly a young man ran up to one of them, then grabbed her necklace from around her neck then ran off, while she reached up to her neck, yelled Puta - whore - and yelled. Then several people made after him while he jumped on his getaway vehicle - his friend was waiting in the street with a bike with those pegs that stick out for a passenger to stand on on the back wheel. We don´t know whether they caught him because we didn´t wait to find out. So much for safety. But hey, no one drew a gun. The place feels much safer than San Miguel did last night, though.
Think Chinandega will only merit one night. We are off to Leon tomorrow for a couple of days and then will head off looking for a nice beach place soon that we can hang out at again to watch the surfers.
In El Amatillo there were human vultures at the bus awaiting us. The driver waited until everyone was off the bus before he opened the baggage compartment, at which point we were swarmed with touts wanting us to take their tuk-tuks. We finally settled on one who gave us a price - the first said just a tip, yeah right - and then he drove us the two blocks to the immigration office. He waited there while we paid a little money to the El Salvador to get out, then went off with the tuk tuk driver, past the Honduran office and onto the minibus stop where we climbed in while our bags were tied on top.
The ride across Honduras took two hours, and it was very hot along the way. The travel thermometer read 38 at one point. At least the van windows were open. We both got the jump seats, which meant we were a little uncomfortable. But we weren´t being discriminated against, they were the last seats left which meant the bus got to leave.
In Guasale on the Honduran-Nicaragua border we got a pedi cab. A little guy sat on his bike seat in back and pedalled us sitting like queens in the front on a wicker seat as he took us first to the border crossing, where we got to pay more money to get into Nicaragua, then he pedalled us over the dirt road to the town of Guasale about 2 kilometers away where he dropped us off at the next minibus stop where again we left quite quickly as the seats were now full -but we got better seats.
Along the way into Chinandega we saw a smoking volcano called San Cristobal. We also saw sugar cane fields, - Nicaragua is famous for its rum made from the cane: Flor de Caña. There were cattle, sheep and pigs too. And I saw a cane truck with five trailers - just like a train, but on it´s own road thank heaven. The first km of the road were under construction so we didn´t make good time. All the bridges were being redone as well as the roads. It was a pleasure to make it to the real pavement. The last vehicle we got was a taxi in Chinandega to take us to our hotel. The most expensive part of the trip - the pedicab ride. Geordie felt guilty about the kid cycling us so gave him 12 dollars and a bag of Quesitos - Central American cheezies.
We managed to cahnge money at the border too, and when we got to Chinandega we found a bank that took Cirrus so we have Cordobas now and can have dinner. Too bad there are so few restaurants. We walked blocks and blocks and saw no place that could honestly call itself a restaurant. The closest was a place on the street that was frying potatoes and had some fried chicken ready. Well there was a place which uses steam tables, but it is recommened to eat there when the food is fresher - closer to mealtimes, and it was already after 2 pm when we made it.
So now we have to figure out where to have dinner. That should be fun. There are two restaurants listed on our guide, so we will have to look for them.
Oh, remember that I told you this was the safest place in Central America? Well as we were walking down the street, there were two women ahead of us. Suddenly a young man ran up to one of them, then grabbed her necklace from around her neck then ran off, while she reached up to her neck, yelled Puta - whore - and yelled. Then several people made after him while he jumped on his getaway vehicle - his friend was waiting in the street with a bike with those pegs that stick out for a passenger to stand on on the back wheel. We don´t know whether they caught him because we didn´t wait to find out. So much for safety. But hey, no one drew a gun. The place feels much safer than San Miguel did last night, though.
Think Chinandega will only merit one night. We are off to Leon tomorrow for a couple of days and then will head off looking for a nice beach place soon that we can hang out at again to watch the surfers.
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