Nicaragua - this place has it all!

So after making it back safely to Managua, myself and 3 others (Dave from the UK, his GF Jenna from Perth, and our Swiss Miss, Josiane) from the Corn Islands decided to arrange a taxi, ala ‘flashpacking’ to Granda. Granada is a colonial city that was discovered some time ago by the yanks, and is described as the Jewel in Nicaraguas crown. I was scared it would remind my of Antigua in Guatemala which I visited 6 years ago and dispised due to the American influence, but I was surprised by Granada and likened it to San Cristobel de la Casa in Mexico instead, a place I really enjoyed all those years ago.

The 1 great thing about Granada was the food! Although you couldn’t get the $8 lobster, you could get everything else! There is a very international influence there, so you can sit at a normal cafe like home, to great fusion style meals for dinner - clearly I was going to be eating my way thru this little chestnut!

The first day there was spent doing 2 parts of f’all, just enjoying being in a place that had access to modern anemitites again! The 2nd day was spent doing a walking tour of the place - the Lake (not something I would choose to swim in!), the colonial buildings, forts and churches. The restoration of these buildings has been done in such a way that they’re not shiny and sparkly like Havana Viejo, but certainly a colour scheme that is very complimentary and tasteful...it was really nice to just wander about and suck it up.

We headed out to a place called Laguna Apoyo for the night. The Lagoon is seriously stunning - crystal clear, and I mean crystal clear water, the temperature of bath water. No pollution whatsoever, and so so so calm. We spent the night lake side in a gorgeous cabana, of course dropping back a few Flor de Canas (it would be rude not too!). Even a took a nice kayak to the other side of the lake, a really nice relaxing couple of days out.

From Granada is was off to Isla de Ometepe - a seriously beautiful location that’s for sure. We chose to stay in a place called Merida on the other side of the island which is also the most accessible for climbing Volcan Maderas. There are 2 Volcanoes on Ometepe, Concepcion (1680m) and Maderas (1320m), and they say that on a clear day, you can see both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans from the top. So my plan was for that view.

Unfortunately the weather also turned to jack with my arrival on Ometepe! It is wet season now so I can’t complain too much. We climbed Maderas and it was A LOT of fun! Very very muddy, and 2/3rds of the hike was definately about climbing NOT hiking. We were faced with 2 metre mud walls, and could only get up by climbing tree roots and branches - that was definitely my favourite part about it! Once we arrived at the top there was no seeing the oceans - the clouds were too low and they were not going anywhere! Still, more fun to be had - getting down! Lots of slips, stacks and slides, not to mention the odd fart or here from the previous nights pasta pesto!

I was still keen to have a crack at Concepcion, although from the time we got back it pretty much rained solid every afternoon and evening, nothing was drying out, just getting muddier, and Concepcion was ALWAYS covered in clouds - the decision made that one cloud covered Volcano was enough!

While on Ometepe we celebrated Dave’s birthday - it was so much fun, we arranged a Pinata in Granada with stacks of lollies, plus a 1.75 ltr Flor de Cana and Jenna even arranged for a cake to be baked - a really good day, goes to show that birthdays on the road are good to be had!

So all in all Ometepe really has a soft spot in my heart, a great way to spend a few days for sure. Unfortunately, time is fast running out and my time in Nicaragua must come to an end. I wish I had at leas another week to soak up more, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made. I was really keen to hit the Pacific Coast (I know, I know, I said I’d never go to that coast on this trip!) and San Juan del Sur to “attempt” to surf, but Costa Rica was calling, and after a good bye to my companions for the past 10 days, I jumped into a collective and headed for the border, bound for Costa Rica.

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