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Blogs from Leon, Northern Pacific Coast, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean
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Day 30: Having a Lava of a Time in Leon!
Published: May 8th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
May 6th 2013
I've listened to your feedback (well, Gramps') and I'm going to try and enhance the descriptive nature of my blogs, encorpating more of the scenary and locals, instead of just enlighting you on the food we've been eating! So, to begin with, we allowed ourselves a little sleep-in given we were pretty knackered after a couple of long days travelling. We took a short walk to the aptly named Volcano Cafe for breakfast which did really nice fruit smoothies and porridge. We spent the morning wandering around the streets of Leon. It's not the most picturesque of towns that we've visited, and it tried to mimic other Central American cities with the different coloured buildings however most were quite run down. The roads were not cobble stones either therefore there was quite a lot of traffic ... read more
Day 29: Continued Travel San Pedro Sula to Leon
Published: May 6th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
May 5th 2013
This am we awoke in the 3's to Olly singing to us cheerfully 'You're a Trouble-maker!' Usually this is such a welcome noise but not this am!! We had had about 4 hours sleep and were not ready to get up so we waited until the last possible minute and threw on some clothes, packed up and off we went. Today is all a bit of a daze really and not very exciting so will just give a brief overview. We all piled in taxis as we had done yesterday with our bags all tied on the bag of each card and we dopily convoyed to the bus station that we waited hours at on the way to Roatan so we knew it well. It was all shut up at this tie of them and so ... read more
Conquering Telica
Published: April 8th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
April 8th 2013
TELICA VOLCANO HIKE: So even though I'm not much of an avid hiker, I couldn't imagine traveling through three countries in Central America without climbing a volcano. Every country has volcanoes that present a different challenge or thrill. We had to debate between volcano boarding down Cerro Negro (thats right, surfing the volcano on a wooden toboggan while they clock your speed) or camping out on Telica near an active crater and witnessing lava at night! Even though the boarding sounded like an awesome experience (and only 45 minute hike) we decided to rise to the challenge and endure the six to eight hour overnight hike. I mean how many people actually get to lay their eyes on molten lava? It was a no brainer. We started our hike around 1:30 in the afternoon, with four ... read more
Isla de Ometepe
Published: April 5th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » LeonApril 5th 2013
ISLA DE OMETEPE: By Easter Sunday the evidence that there had been a massive week long beach party started to diminish. The only trace of the celebration was smell of urine lining the sidewalks. The streets that were once littered with people, djs and vendors were now desolate and eerie quiet. We waited until the next morning to leave, hoping to avoid any remaining traffic. A group that we had grown close to decided to venture on with us to Ometepe, as they had also spent way too much time in SJDS. We left around 11 and two buses, a cab and a ferry later we reached our destination about 7pm. I was a little nervous traveling to an island with a group of six, and without reservations, but worst case scenario we could all pile ... read more
Nica traveling
Published: April 18th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
April 4th 2013
Nica cont.... So I catch a bus up towards Leon in hopes another bus will take me to puerto sandino or I'd hitch in. I always use to have to bother the bus driver or the bus ticket collector as to where I get off but with my iPhone and google maps I can keep and eye on where I am and figure it out myself. It's amazing how much iPhones have changed the travel game. Anyway apparently this bus was on the old road and boy was it old and bumpy. Google maps said 20 mins to the intersection probably an hour later we finally arrived there. Where I get off with a couple other people. It was a pretty barren intersection a gas station and a tienda/tiny store. I found out a bus would ... read more
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The very last days of our holiday...
Published: February 21st 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
February 20th 2013
Last Thursday we went to the Somoto canyon. After a hard walk in a terrible sun, we jumped into the water (wearing a lifejacket) to float for a while, some parts walking, sometimes jumping from the rocks into the water. Luckily we could choose how high we jumped, Zoe was fine with 2-3m, but Gyanendra enjoyed a jump from 10m. Besides the adventure, we enjoyed the great views of the river in between the high rocks. And afterwards we had a very delicious lunch at the home of the guide. On Friday we went for 2 nights to Reserva Natural Miraflor, a community tourism project in the mountains. Besides the beautiful nature (cloud forest, tropical dry forest), you can observe the local rural lifestyle. There are many coffee plantations, but they also have other crops. Roads ... read more
The rest of Nicaragua (Granada and Leon) and upto to El Salvador to Player El Tunco
Published: March 4th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
February 19th 2013
Granada is located about 2 hours from where we were staying so we set off in a taxi with another couple to spilt the costs. A round taxi from San Juan Del Sur to Granada is $50.00. However is it twice as fast and safer than the chicken bus so we decided to take this option. We arrived in Granada around midday to check into our hostel which was centrally located, we stayed in the dorms as everything else was booked but were pleasantly surprised to find most the beds were double beds and not bunks so was a nice change and cost us $8.00 a night, cant complain! That afternoon we explored the tourist strip which is a paved street with bars and cafes on either side of it for about Km. Granada is one ... read more
Playa Roca & Beyond
Published: March 2nd 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » Leon
January 22nd 2013
Hanz and Maureen gave us a ride to Playa Roca in Poneloya which is about 20 minutes outside Leon. The hotel was sufficient, nothing special but right on the beach. There were big rocks in the water, hence the name. (Playa Roca means beach rock) I think it was the first beach we went to with rocks like that and it was nice, it kind of reminded me of the Oregon Coast even thought it was quite different. I spent most of my time reading since I couldn't swim. Across the street there was a tiny place that served tacos which were quite good but there was only one employee so things took a while. We walked down to the end of the road which was a good distance. It's kind of a remote place so ... read more
Death To Fire Ants!
Published: January 27th 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » LeonJanuary 21st 2013
During the night I woke up several times feverishly itching where a fire ant had bit me the day before. I was mostly asleep and not really thinking. When I woke up in the morning I realized my foot was swollen around the bite for a pretty decent size section. I was slightly concerned but mostly just annoyed. We set out to find sunglasses and a "cut off" shirt for Dan and a swimsuit for me. Mine had accidentally been taken to the cleaners and put thru a washer and dryer and it was too small in some places and saggy in others so I needed a replacement. As we popped in and out of shops we took in the town and its gorgeous cathedrals. My foot had become swollen all over, my ankle ball was ... read more
Nicaraguan Mayberry
Published: January 22nd 2013Central America Caribbean » Nicaragua » Northern Pacific Coast » LeonJanuary 20th 2013
Somoto is like a Nicaraguan Mayberry. The people are so incredibly friendly, the city is much cleaner than almost any city we have been to in Central America and I just got a "good vibe" from it. There was a guard across the street from the ATM that we were using, there were 3 of us that needed to use it so it took a while. The guard came over and started talking to us. He was very kind and of course I felt extra safe with him right there. I had heard Nicaragua was very safe but this was above and beyond! We got some yummy ice cream, I had a scoop of orange chocolate ice cream which was so delicious! The people there too were very friendly, one of the woman had a unique ... read more
