Blogs from Granada, Southern Pacific Coast, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 5

Geo: 11.94, -85.96Granada and surrounding area, 30 April - 13 MayWe used Granada as a base, leaving one bag here as we visited first the Caribbean coast as described in the last blog, and then Lago de Apoyo, a crater lake quite close to Granada, where we spent 2 nights. Unfortunately we had 2 bouts of minor illness during this time, a flu type virus and then a stomach bug. We suffered in tandem! It was one reason we retired to the lake, to rest and recover in a slightly fresher spot by the water. Our problems were not too severe but lasted a long time and left us feeling weak.Despite that we love Granada, it's delightful colonial buildings and churches, it's fascinating history, restaurants, little central square with trees and cafes and the people. It ... read more

Our Arrival The minibus from Managua UCA dropped us next to the central park. Where We Stayed Hospedaje La Libertad - $10 for a double room with shared bathroom. Thin mattress and a bit grotty but cheap. Small kitchen, free salsa classes and an expensive bar. When we stayed it seemed to be full of long term stayers. Spanish speaking staff only. Hostal Entre Amigos - $5 dorm or $18 double with shared bathroom. Opposite La Libertad and next to Bearded Monkey. The dorm has some double beds and non bunk beds. Clean, free drinking water, TV in courtyard and a kitchen. Hostal La Casita - $16 for a double room with shared bathroom. Nice courtyard, kitchen. Backyard Hostel - $16 for a double room with shared bathroom. Firm mattresses, swimming pool, kitchen and cheap bar. ... read more

We left Ometepe on a beautiful calm day watching the twin peaks of Concepcion and Maderas all the way to the port town of San Jorge back on the mainland of Nicaragua. Our plan was to catch a bus to Rivas then another bus onto Granada but a rather enthusiastic taxi driver offered us a deal we couldn't refuse, so we had a very comfortable 1 1/2 hour ride all the way to our hostel, start as you mean to go on I say, always looking for the easy path. Having spent the past few weeks in fairly remote locations some of which didn't even have cars it was a bit of an assault on our ears when we first ventured out to visit the nearby market. Packed in tighter than any other market we've been ... read more

Olly Murs cranked out “Trouble Maker” at 7.01am this morning as we had an early start to our kayaking tour. We were finally staying at a hotel that providing breakfast and it wasn't too bad; really sugary cornflakes, fresh fruit salad and toast. Most of our tour group had booked on the kayaking trip and we loaded onto the waiting mini-bus at 8am. Its was a short drive down to Lake Nicaragua where we'd be paddling along for the next 4.5 hours. This lake is massive and completely fresh water. We got kitted out in life jackets which were 'one size fits all'. Well, they didn't really fit the girls and the kids ones were too small so they had to settle for uncomfortably massive life jackets. We strode down the beach (yep, the lake had ... read more

We must admit, it was difficult to get ourselves out of Isla Ometepe. Even though it is not the most stunning place we have ever visited, we really liked the vibe of it and we felt sad moving forward. Unfortunately our beautiful journey was coming to an end and we felt the time pressure more than ever. If not that, we would have probably stayed there for weeks, cycling around the island, soaking in sun and drinking those amazing $1 cuba libres. We got trapped for one night (see previous blog), which was out of our control so in fact we got one more night at the island as a gift from mother nature. We always say that there is no point in freaking out about things you cannot change or control so we take the ... read more