Nicaragua

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When we headed to Nicaragua from Honduras we did not have much of a plan.  We only knew that we had about a week and a half to spend there before we had to get on our airplane to fly to Quito.  When we crossed the border into Nicaragua it was getting a little bit late in the day.  We had heard about a place called Somoto near the border that has a beautiful canyon.  Taking a couple of buses we made iot there around dinner time.  We found a hotel to stay at, got some dinner.  Then we went to the only atm machine in town to get some cash.  The atm told us the transaction could not be processed???  We tried it a few times but it did not work.  That evening I got on the internet and checked our accounts and every time we tried to get cash it took it out of our account!  We checked with the bank the next day.  They of course said we had to talk to our bank.  We tried to get cash again and the same thing happened.  After getting a lot of run around we decided we had to leave this town with the tiny bit of cash we had and try to get cash from another town.  So we caught the next bus out of there.  We never got to see the canyon.  Bummer!

Trucks lined up at the border

Luckily we were able to get cash in the next big town.  It was not a place we wanted to stay so we took a bus to Leon.  This is a pretty popular colonial town.  We did not do a whole lot here.  We stayed a couple of nights.  Walked around the town a bit and bought a few things we needed.  Then we headed to the coast.  Micah was hoping to get surf.  We stayed the night in Peneloya at a really nice spot right on the beach.  There was no surf but we met another traveler there who joined us for dinner and drinks.  The next morning Nev and I played on the beach and in the tide pools.  Then we packed up our things and headed out. 

We thought we would travel down the coast but we obviously had not studied the map very well.  We had to go back through Leon then to Managua and ultimately to San Juan Del Sur.  This is another popular tourist town and popular for surfing.  We only stayed one night there and then caught a shuttle to Playa Maderas.  It was a bumpy ride out there and pretty rustic accommodations but the beach was absolutely gorgeous.  The only problem is there was no surf.  We stayed one night there and Nev and I played on the beach the next day then we headed out again.  We went to Rivas and had a taxi driver take us out to Playa Popoyo, another surf spot.  There was some good surf there but Micah was not feeling well.  Back in Leon his elbow started hurting him and by now it has gotten pretty swollen.  We took it easy our first day there and the next morning the swelling had gone down into his forearm.  He was pretty worried about it so we decided to leave so that he could see a doctor.  Unfortunately this was his last chance to surf and he was not able to.  He sold his board to another surfer there and he got a good price for it so at least that worked out.  The same taxi driver took us back to Rivas and to a doctor that he knew of.  The doctor said it was arthritis and gave him some meds.

So up to this point we have bounced all over Nicaragua, staying only one night in most places.  We took the ferry from Rivas across Lake Nicaragua to the island of Ometepe.  We stayed one night in Myogalpa where we were able to get a room with hot water!  This was a must for me.  Up to this point we had not had a hot shower in Nicaragua.  The room was a bit more expensive than we cared but it was so worth it.  After that we headed to an area of the island called Chaco Verde.  We stayed at a place called Tesoro del Pirata (The Pirates Treasure).   It was a bit of a hike in down a dirt road and when we got there with a sleeping child we were warmly welcomed and given a hammock for Nev to sleep in.  We were the only guests there and the place was completely tranquil.  We stayed for a few nights.  We played in the lake and swam in the pool.  The food was great too!  We took a side trip one day and went to Ojo de Agua.  It is a beautiful swimming hole with the clearest cool water.  We were able to spend the whole day there getting food and drinks served to us by the water.  Nev even took a nap in the hammock while we were there. 

The next day we had to leave the island and make our way towards Managua where we had to catch our flight to Ecuador.  We stayed our last night in Masaya to avoid having to stay in Managua.  We hired a cab to take us to the airport early in the morning.

All in all our time in Nicaragua was hectic and not to eventful.  However the time we spent in Ometepe was great and just what I think we needed.  Some time to just chill out.  I can tell from going through my pictures that I must have been feeling a little burnt-out because I have very few pictures of the places we went to.  We were definitely looking forward to getting to Ecuador so we could settle into one place for awhile.

Honduras

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From El Salvador we headed to Honduras.  Alex the guy that owns the place we stayed at in El Salvador drove us to San Salvador early in the morning so we did not have to stay in San Salvador the night before we left which was a good thing.  We were hopeful for another awesome international bus ride but we were all sadly disappointed.  This bus ride was probably the worst we have had yet.  It was supposed to be a “1^st Class” bus which means the windows don’t open because there is supposed to be AC.  However, this buses AC was broken so it was a very long hot and stuffy ride.  On top of that the bus kept over heating so it pulled over about every 15 minutes while driving through the mountains to cool down.  This made the supposedly 7 hour bus trip a 9 hour bus trip.

When we got to San Pedro Sula in Honduras the bus station was very convenient.  There was food to eat and we were starving after 9 hours on the bus with little food and the next bus we needed was at the same station.  We hopped on the next bus that would take us to Lake Yoja and the D&D Brewery, a place Micah and I had been looking forward to.  We have always loved visiting micro-breweries and since leaving Oregon we have not had much good beer.

The bus dropped us off near the D&D Brewery along with a couple who were also going there.  The guy offered to help carry some of our stuff which was very nice of him!  They were pretty full at the brewery but they found rooms for us anyway.  The beer was not the best but it was a nice change from the Latin American beer we had been drinking.  There was also a restaurant there with some pretty good food.  The place is a little out of the way from “civilization” but it was a good staging point for some “naturalist” sites.  After a few days there I was starting to feel a bit isolated.  There were a couple of places to eat nearby but other than that there was not much of a town.  There was a larger town a short bus ride away also but after a few days at D&D I had yet to really see anything outside of the brewery.  Micah and Carissa often went out to get us food or go shopping while I stayed behind with Nev.  I was getting pretty antsy to see life outside the brewery.

A crazy Catepillar that looks like it was created by Dr. Seuss

Coffee

 

We did get to go and see a few of the natural sites.  There was a coffee plantation right next door where we went our first day there.  It was really beautiful with rivers running through it.  We went there to go to a swimming hole but when we got to the spot it said “no swimming”.  We were pretty disappointed but we found a nice spot in the river to hang out.  I also got to go out birding with the resident bird expert on the lake.  It was pretty awesome!  I love being out on the water and we got to see a lot of birds and other wildlife.  Unfortunately my camera battery was dead so no pictures. 

Collecting Sticks

Cool Lizard

Mating butterflies

Micah, Nev and I also took a little (somewhat forced) family excursion to see the waterfall nearby.  Unfortunately it had rained quite a bit the day before so the water was pretty muddy.  It was not the most beautiful looking water fall but the amount of water going over the cascades was pretty impressive!

 

At the brewery another family showed up with a 3 year old and the mom was also a biologist so we had a lot in common.  He and Nev played together and for the most part had fun together.  Nev and I hung out with this family quite a bit our last few days there.  We joined them on a trip to the Archeological and Ecological Park nearby.   It is mostly an ecological park for viewing birds and insects but there are also some unexcavated ruins there.  Unexcavated ruins are pretty much suspicious looking hills in the forest.  The boys had fun running the trails and boardwalks together.   

 

 

After a week at the brewery I was pretty much ready to get out of there.  It is a pretty cool place with a lot to offer in the area but I was ready to move on.  We also said good-bye to Carissa from here.  She was off to Utila and we were off to make our way to Nicaragua.