Nicaragua

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From Rivas, I managed to get to the port and over on the ferry to Omotepe island. Omotepe consists of two volcanoes- Fire and Water, the latter being inactive. It is a beautiful spot, although like the rest of Nicaragua has very basic facilities.

I stayed in town one night and wandered around during a power cut - there is a main street and not much else but I sat on the edge of their 3D model of the island down by the shore and was given a gift of local fruit by a group of boys to munch on as I watched the sunset (called momon: little balls of melon-like flavour over a big seed which you spit out).

Next morning visited the local museum at the back of a shop which had been started by the shop owner's father - full of deep, round funeral urns - before heading on the bus to the other end of the island and a gringo haven called Finca Magdalena. A large wooden farmhouse greeted both me and a Swiss guy Sandro who had been on the same bus as we ran for cover, having arrived in a tropical downpour. The bathrooms were very basic but the beds, some canvas stretched between two planks of wood, were surprisingly comfortable and there wasn't much hassle from mozzies which is always blessed relief. From our bedroom we could see Agua volcano and from the deck out front the sun set over Fuego - a stunning combination. Spent a very idyllic couple of days there, exploring the petroglpyhs in the local area with Ben, summiting Agua with several new friends from Magdalena (Sandro, Amira) and a guide (it has a large crater lake which unfortunately the fog prevented us from seeing but at least it wasn't overwhelmingly hot or pouring with rain during our climb), hanging out in hammocks, chatting to everyone and eating and drinking well.
You could hear and see howler monkeys - always an eerie sound, and the lake stretched away in front of the farm into the far distance. My one regret was that I should have hired a motorbike there since there was very little traffic, it was reasonably well populated in case there were any problems, and it was a good size to explore.... and they don't worry about the small hiccup of not having my licence with me!

Memories of Nicaragua

Granada

• Goats, cows, horses and carts wandering the streets amongst fading colonial grandeur
  
• School children on an outing racing each other up leafy avenues in horse and cart
  
• Mounds of fruit for sale EVERYWHERE - mangoes, pineapples, bananas
  
• The large, sprawling local market filled with people, salty cheese (queso blanco - ubiquitous to this region), avocadoes, tacky toys, silky underwear
  
• Beautiful, tranquil Hostal Oasis, complete with pool and leafy colonial courtyard
  
• Having upmarket Asian meal with Dutch friend Ben at trendy restaurant with very mellow vibe
  
• Beautiful buildings similar to Antigua
  

Masaya

• Fantastic Thursday night traditional fiesta in the market - una noche verbena - held for locals but featuring traditional folk dances, live music (including the same Mexican band I had seen before in Omotepe and Granada!), tasty finger food from a myriad of stalls, beer and boogying. Nicaraguans have some fantastic cuisine. I especially enjoyed the vigarrón - fried pork sitting on a bed of coleslaw. If you wanted it takeaway they would wrap it in a plantain leaf
  
• Ancient firetruck which probably originated in 1970s USA, charging through the streets
  
• Beautiful view from Catarina of Laguna de Apoya
  
  Still common...
  with Lago de Nicaragua in the background, Granada below, and Volcan Mombacho to one side. School children on outing charging up and down on horses.. a national teenage pastime?!
  
• Staying at the lovely Hotel Regis which hasn't changed, despite being listed in Lonely Planet (often a green light to hike the price and reduce the service) and meeting several interesting people, including Brit Natasha.
  
• Visiting local villages on the buses, including San Juan del Oriente on 24th June where, as luck would have it, I was greeted with the Saint's day procession through the streets, complete with brass band, large village following, and a man running around dressed as a horse. It was a prelude to the Mass and party on the Saturday, with apparently more parading on Sunday. I did feel sorry for the tuba player - with the heaviest instrument he was sweating profusely!
  
• Chat with man from San Juan who was upset at the Spanish for 1542 and the destruction of the indigenous population. He opened his pottery workshop just for me and I bought a little pot, simply decorated and typical of the area. His wife sold me peanut butter she had been taught to make by a Peace Corps volunteer.
  

Leon

• The initial struggle to get there, involving the bus ride from Granada to Managua, the taxi ride 'across' town to another bus station which required a 45 minute trip out to the suburbs and back to drop off two other girls in the taxi to separate locations, then an hour wait in the bus before we left the very crowded bus station (although gave me a great opportunity to people watch and take surreptitious photos of the local stall sellers and boys offering water, sodas, vigarron etc to passengers as they slid crab-style between the tightly-packed buses), then the several hours trip past the beautiful scenery of Volcan Mombacho ending in a mechanical clunk at the side of the road as the sun descended. We finally arrived in Leon about 10pm at night in the back of a truck - about 10 of us. I lent a pregnant woman my sleeping mat so she could sit on the floor and the rest of us, suited and booted, old ladies returning from markets with large baskets, the sole backpacker, the young lad keen to practice his english, made do with hanging on to the dusty metal insides. A translator befriended me and made sure I got a taxi safely into town.
  
• How many Nicaraguans does it take to change a tyre? The ENTIRE bus got out to take a look, pass comment and have a go when we initially broke down... even the women.. you learn they are a force to be reckoned with in this country!
  
• Watching terrible but fun live band that night in the same hostel I was staying in (not so good for getting to sleep and VERY hot night)
  
• The large baskets carried by the women for their produce - they fit perfectly on the old school bus shelves and are the ultimate in recycling!
  
• FOOD! Eating chancho con verduras (pork and vegetables - delicious), giant nacatamale - pork enveloped in ground maiz and wrapped in a banana leaf with momon refresco, delicious street food - ribs with cabbage, tiste - a cold, cocoa drink
  
• Comrade Diosinio at FSLN memorial museum - giving me the history of the Sandinistas and the struggle
  
• Murals everywhere - bloody depictions involving guns in the university entrance hall, anti-CIA, anti-American, amusing, dark, ironic, Imperial cultural references
  
• Delapidated museum of Indigenous works at Sutiava, whose curator was an indigenous cripple given to apologising profusely on the state of the exhibits (no cases, no signs, why no money had been spent because it was going on books to teach children the indigenous language, but it seemed that he couldn't read himself) and in a long roundabout way asking for money.. I was also put off somewhat when he tried to sell me some original pot fragments... not the ideal behaviour of a museum curator!
  
• Little boy on the back of his father's bicycle holding steady and enormous iced cake as they cycled through the streets
  
• Teenagers chatting each other up on the bandstand - the same the world over!
  
• My final beer in the 'poets' restaurant on the corner of Leon plaza, watching the cathedral lights reflecting in the puddles
  
• Buying baby powder for a girl and 'her baby' - who tried to get an enormous bag off me which cost 272 cordobas (nearly $200!). She got one for $10 instead. I saw her several times after that.
  
• Visiting Leon Viejo archaeological site and being shown round by a women volunteer. Beautiful setting by Lake Nicaragua.. although also its downfall since it didn't survive an earthquake
  

From Leon I headed to Chinandega near the border, where I had the most delicious traditional breakfast of egg, rice, beans, tortilla, avocado and juice drink for about 20p, tried to call Robert about our proposed Galapagos trip for about 2p, and ate leche cake and drank beetroot juice while watching the market get going as I waited for the internet cafe to open. It was a long ride across the borders through Honduras at Guasaule to El Amatillo to San Miguel in El Salvador... hot and sweaty, crowded in minibuses, easy enough once across the border to find my way. Everyone very helpful on the Salvadorean side and I had a lovely tricycle taxi on the Nicaraguan side who hauled me and my mighty backpack over the bridge separating Nicaragua from Honduras. I tipped him with a kiss on the cheek aswell as his money as he waited for ages for me at immigration!

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