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.