Blogs from Northern Pacific Coast, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 3

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I did not mention it in my blog from el Tunco, but the reason I came to León, is because I was offered a job. The shuttle agency "Gekko Explorer" has an office in el Tunco. After they closed the bar, I went to look for another job and walked into that office as well. They came back to me a few days later, telling me there was no job for me at the office, but that the owners had a hostel (Blue Hat Hostel) in León where I could work for them. This meant a free place to stay and maybe even a small salary. Because they also own the shuttle service, I traveled for free. At the moment I'm working at the bar they just opened. I´m pretty much responsible of it, so there ... read more
Volcano boarding
Making my first pupusa
Eating pupusa


Returned to Granada for a day before traveling via shuttle to Leon for a trip to Playa las Penitas and a stay at Barca de Oro, an "eco lodge" where we stayed in their ecoist of accommodations, a bungalow we found pretty comfortable. From there, it was a short walk to the almost empty beaches where you can walk for several kilometers running into hardly anyone...except on Sundays when people come from much hotter Leon to enjoy the beach and the restaurants and bars that line it...all of which are low key. This isn't a resort. The sunsets are beautiful, especially when accompanied by $1 beers and $2 drinks. After a few nights at Barca, we moved onto Leon, which is a very different place than Granada. It's busier and more city-like than Granada. While the ... read more
Catedral de Leon
Volcan Telica
Barca de Oro, Playa las Penitas


Geo: 12.43, -86.89"Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun!. Well...... I have to report that this is probably one if the hottest places we have ever visited. The life expectancy of your standard UK constructed 99 ice cream I guess would be less than 3 minutes before it drained itself conveniently into your hand.....The shade temperature must have been pushing 38/40C and by 1400 we had retreated to our room for a small Siesta!There is a folk "Street Play" in Nicruagrua called the "La Gigantona" which centres on a big doll which can be up to six meters tall and constructed on a wood frame. She usually wears a colorful dress and may have many ornamentations and jewelry. La Gigantona represents the tall white Spanish women that came with the conquistadors. El Enano ... read more
Local club......
Bustling Leon
Francisco our Sandinista freedom fighter guide!


Geo: 12.43, -86.89We left our room (2059) earlier than planned.........0535hrs......piled into an elevator which delivered us right to the platform and boarded the little "Bubble Works" train to Terminal E. We boarded in the wrong direction and were treated to a complete circuit of the system passing our boarding station twice........... Various UA Stewardess types joined us.....they were "groomed" to kill! The last one one would have not looked out of place hanging around a Buneos Aires Casino......UPDATE: 0703: Just demolished a fab American Breakfast in a "Happy Dayseque" Diner Called Ruby's. The United Club Lounge was celebrating Ramadan with enthusiasm and only had apples and muesli on offer. Obviously, UA have no competition out of Houston.....unlike Heathrow where.... if they had put on a show like here.....punters would have "hot footed&... read more
Spot the Halpeno's.........
Leon Cathederal
Momotomo Volcano


The journey to Surfing Turtle Lodge involved a 2.5km walk in the midday sun with a heavy backpack, to a bar to get the boat across the river, then horse and cart took our bags while we walked behind to the lodge. Once we arrived and we're checked in, we were asked if we'd like to help release today's turtle hatchlings - big YES. Surfing Turtle Lodge works with local people to save turtle eggs from being eaten, buying eggs at above market rate and reburying them in their sanctuary, releasing them into the ocean when they hatch. Since they opened they have released over 15000 turtles (mostly Green Turtles), and by protecting the eggs from poachers and predators, the chance of the turtles hatching and reaching maturity is increased tenfold. On the beach, watching the ... read more
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The main reason I wanted to visit Leon was to volcano board Cerro Negro, and it didn't disappoint! We set off at 9am to the volcano, and on arriving at the park and paying the entrance fee we were shown given the chance to hold a blue boa constrictor that is one of the snakes used in their repopulation programme, and shown baby green iguanas. Green iguanas are the only completely vegetarian iguanas and are apparently very tasty so their numbers are very low. Luckily now eating them has been outlawed so hopefully their numbers will keep climbing :) Moving from the entrance to the base of Cerro Negro, we were given our boards and jumpsuits to carry to the top, which wasn't too bad a climb, with a good couple of stops! Cerro Negro is ... read more
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Geo: 12.43, -86.89Our ambitions for this trip were much greater than our actual ability to see everything we intended. Annemarie and I both have a great love for waterfalls and were really looking forward to visiting a popular one on the other side of the island. In order to make this happen, we were going to have to plan things down to the minute because we wanted to be in the city of Leon by 6 in the evening to book our grand finale activity. The particular outfit we wanted to go with would not take online reservations and closed at 6. Unfortunately, in a Central American country, or any Latin country I have visited for that matter, you really can't have both the layed back culture, and the ability to plan down to the minute. ... read more
One of the many modes of transportation
Our walk through the market
Watch out for running cows


Siwmae! Today was mostly a travelling day from Roatan to Leon. It consisted of two flights and two buses and all went smoothly (no flat tyres or make shift engine belts this time round!). On the way from the airport we made a stop at a photo spot with a view of the lake and volcanoes. Leon is similar to Antigua again with it's old feel and ruins. We had our first bit of rain here too which was comforting to Annie as it reminded her of good old rainy Wales. We enjoyed a family dinner right next to the cathedral in the town centre with some rum and pineapple juice (holding onto the Caribbean lifestyle). There are definitely more mosquitoes here too and this is the only place we needed the malaria tablets for, but ... read more
Volcano view by lake Managua
Small plane, short journey
Volcanoes


Didn’t expect much and didn’t get much. We walked into the town which is adjacent to the port and were greeted by many who wanted to take us somewhere else. Since we weren’t interested, we just walked up the mains street and observed little shops that were inside dark entrances and chose not to explore those either. Turned around and headed back to the ship. End of visit to Nicaragua! Next stop Costa Rica - no plans there either but we will go out and see what there is.... read more
Adorable Dancers
Welcome Dance


So after a week of Central America we are making our way through our third country, Nicaragua. The country is characterised by its many volcanoes, lakes and beaches, each of which we have briefly sampled in our short stay so far. By far the most beautiful place we have visited in Nicaragua so far is Laguna de Apoyo. Formed in the crater of a volcano and surrounded by volcanos on all sides, the Laguna is in a picturesque spot. As it is heated by the volcano, little pockets of warmth exist throughout the lake, which is 200 meters deep in the centre making it the lowest point in Nicaragua. It is necessary to pay a fee to visit the Laguna, which is accessible only by the resorts which have sprung up around its edge. We chose ... read more
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