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

Geo: 11.94, -85.96LOCATION UPDATE: We have driven some 145km from the cool and tranquil "cloud jungle" of Matagalpa down to the scorching heat of Granada...... an historic Spanish colonial town buzzing with life, yapping dogs and the dreaded TOURIST! Locals try to sell them everything from wooden nick-knacks to food! Why do restaurant touts present you with a menu when walking past their establishments at 1500hrs cheerfully hoping you will suddenly want a full blowout evening repast mid afternoon .."come in see sir!"......"mucho steako"......"chipos"......"besto restauranto in townos".....!We are surrounded by trendy US back packers types (daddy's Amex in their back pockets though) plus a heathy smattering of "Elmer Fudesque" retired couples with knobbly kness and protruding money belts. Strangely enough, the "b... read more

Trouble down Mexico Way We arrived at the Mexican/Guatamala border just after 9.00am. Got all our exit papers for us and our bikes done, BUT not before the entire border crossing was invaded by thousands of people protesting about education in Mexico, they swarmed onto the bridge effectively closing the border. BUGGER. No amount of negotiations by us was going to get us through so we just had to sit it out in the stinking sweaty heat. Finally around 3.30 pm we were able to make our way across to Guatemala with the 'help' of our fixers that literally screwed us!!! The customs official would not accept our NZ registration papers as real, so we HAD to pay a fine for that!!! We had to Pay US$150 per bike to ride across Guatemala for one day!! ... read more

What a day. We started out on a city tour of Leon with a local guide who told us practically all the history of the place. The ancestors out here were brutal with their killings and punishments. We went to a museum featuring the tallest heanta (giant lady puppet) and the myths and legends of Leon which was based in a prison where they tortured people during the revolution. On the way out of there, there were carts selling a strange ice dish called raspora which was basically shavings off an ice block with syrup on top - perfect for cooling down in the 38 degree heat! At the end of the tour it felt like we were in the middle of a war with canons going off to celebrate a certain saint and a tremendously ... read more

To get down to Panama, our final stop of the Central American diaries we needed to get back to Granada so decided to book an AirBnb there with our friends from Bristol and have a last weekend with them. The AirBnb is owned by an American called Glenn who moved to Granada with his wife 5 years ago and we got a beautiful apartment for around £8 each a night. Over the weekend we did some stuff we missed out on in our last visit but unfortunately all the girls got food poisoning on the first day so we couldn't do much. The highlight of the weekend was the trip around the isletas in Granada. In lake Nicaragua and just off the Granada port is 365 archipelagos, some containing houses, some monkeys, some birds, one was ... read more

Leaving Ometepe on local transport was surprisingly easy. We were able to have breakfast before heading out to catch the morning bus along the road (there really are very few and only one that the bus would take). That took us right into Moyogalpa to the port where we jumped on the small lancha that takes foot passengers and some cargo vs. the ferry that leaves infrequently but would take vehicles. One passenger was chatting up the captain and asked how often a boat sinks; he reassured us that only one in the last thirty-three years had gone down, without commercial passengers. We back tracked getting a taxi from San Jorge to the Rivas bus station and were whisked off toward Granada. One thing we've noticed and really appreciate on the Nicaraguan local buses is that ... read more