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Published: August 22nd 2008
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A local hangout in San Juan del Sur
and an apt tribute to David's budding surfing prowess Hola amigos. It's been a while. David and I are currently in Belize- it has been great for us to reflect back on the last five weeks of travel and for us to finally share that with you. Our last blog entry left off at the point of crossing the border from Costa Rica into Nicaragua. On entering this rough and ready country, bursting with beauty and potential after its fairly recent emergence from civil war, we immediately noticed the contrast with its much more polished neighbour to the south. One of the first striking features of 'Nica' are the taxi drivers! They are so game for business that they are willing to drive their clapped out 1984 Hyandai Accents wherever and whenever needed regardless of how much luggage you may have (and between four of us, that was a fair sized load!) always making a plan, and always with a smile!
And so it was that we headed off with Carlos, (in a rain storm with a car loaded with bags, a smashed windscreen and windows that couldn't roll up) from the border post to San Juan del Sur, a pretty happening little surfer town on the Pacific Coast
of Nicaragua. After hanging out in the town itself for a day or two, we moved on to a surf camping spot called Matilda's located right on one of the most pristine beaches we have seen so far. Surfing is definitely the name of the game in these parts and so most of the travellers we met were there for the waves. Not wanting to be left out, David and I signed up for a lesson with a tanned, blond, salt encrusted old seadog called Fred. The beach where we learnt to surf was called Maderas and it was a fantastic spot to hang out and catch a few waves- which we did manage to do with Fred's help! A great feeling and definitely something to pick up on back in Durbs.
Crawling a little further up the coast, our next destination was another remote beach town called Playa Gigante, where we had rented a house called 'Casa Rosada' for five nights. Getting there was classic - bags strapped in, our driver expertly rallied his way though the 'Chocolate Road' - a 6km stretch of churned up mud en route to Rivas, where we stocked up on a week's
Our private beach... almost!
Camping Matilda's was positioned right here. supply of groceries and beers. You have to picture the scene - one Hyandai Accent with blue fur covering the dash board and a couple of smashed windows, one driver, four of us, four large backpacks and four smaller daypacks, 16 bulging bags of groceries, four cases of beer... all heading off together on some of the worst roads you've ever seen.
Casa Rosada was a great spot perched on the top of a hill with a magnificent view of the ocean. The house is managed by a nearby little hotel called Brio, a cool place to chill and chat. For us, it was good for a change to have our own space and we got into a lovely evening ritual of one couple cooking dinner and the other couple laying the table as creatively as possible. One evening when we ate dinner on our rooftop under the clear night sky, we were treated to the most enormous and breathtaking shooting star.
While staying in Playa Gigante we managed to practice our surfing (well... mainly we practised falling off) and we also had the opportunity to go deep sea fishing with a local skipper. We set off early
Andy proudly shows off our catch
The massive fish on the left... that's mine! one perfect morning when the sun was just starting to peep over the horizon. Andy pulled in the first fish which happened to be tuna (sadly it was the kind they shred and put in a can, and not the sushi kind). The next five catches, all tuna, followed rapidly, and then it was my turn. After feeling the bite, I enthusiastically started to reel it in, but the enthusiasm began to wear thin after five minutes of arm busting turns. Just as I was feeling like a total 'woos' for making a meal out of a job that seemed effortless for everyone else, my boy emerged on the side of the boat - a monster 'Jackfish'. Apparently not great to eat because of all the bones, but a rewarding catch none the less. Our three hours spent fishing along the beautiful rugged coastline produced about seven tuna, Four Jackfish and a Mackeral to boot. Our skipper kindly gave them the 'once over' and we happily set off back home with enough fish for at least three nights!
Andy and Lisa cooked up a delicious dinner that evening - strips of pan fried mackeral accompanied by a spicy dipping
sauce as a starter, and a feast of veggies with the tuna steaks as the starring attraction. The tuna was great and we ate with gusto that evening, but on later reflection when the glow of catching and eating our own fish had worn off, we agreed that it was probably better off kept in a can.
On our last morning, David organised with one of the Brio guys to watch the SA vs. Australia test on-line on his laptop. After a disappointing loss for the Bokke we bade an extra sad farewell to Playa Gigante and the lovely Nicaraguan Pacific coast. Another taxi ride later landed us in Granada - a majestic colonial city on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, and the oldest city of its kind in Central America. Our intention that day was to catch a local bus from Rivas to Granada, but it was Liberation Day in Nicaragua and every bus was lined up in a procession adorned with people and flags for kilometres on end in the direction of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
We absolutely loved Granada! All the activity happens around the 'Parque Central' a great space where you can sit
The Chicken Bus - a defining feature of Central America
This one we caught from Granada to the nearby markets at Masaya and watch the hustle and bustle of life go by - old men chatting amongst themselves on a park bench; a couple riding together on a bicycle, 'Nica' style, with the girl's legs hanging over to one side. We visited local markets, sipped iced cappucinos in quaint little cafes and shopped for books at the second hand book store, we climbed the bell tower to look out over the roof tops of the city, and we enjoyed sundowners at our favourite spot, the Zoom Bar. A highlight was following the church bells on Sunday morning to find the beautiful and ancient San Francisco Church where we celebrated Mass with the local parishoners.
After four wonderful days in Granada, and not wanting to be away from the beach for too long, our next stop was the Corn Islands. I'll leave you here and hand over to David who will no doubt do a brilliant job of creating vivid picture of our time spent there. Later dudes!
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debbie
non-member comment
Fishing skills!!!
Holy Cow - most impressed with the fishing skills guys!! You pulled in some crackers!!! hope you got to eat them too??? Well done!! Living off the land - you make us proud!! debxx