The rough vs the beauty in Central America

I was only for a short time back in Guatemala. From Livingston I went by boat to Rio Dulce. The beauty of the forest passed by and I enjoyed the boatride a lot. After spending one night in Rio Dulce I went back to Guatemala city to catch the international bus to San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. The next day I walked into the old part of the city center. It was quite a long walk but I liked it because while walking you can see what is happening on the streets. There was a huge market covered by several streets where they sell almost everything. I bought a new shirt by the way on one of those stalls. After visiting two churches I took the bus to the ‘Museo de Arte de El Salvador’. It is a small museum with some nice paintings. But overall not that special. There was another museum quite close, the museum of Anthropology. It had a lot of information about history mostly in Spanish. But it was surely worthwhile visiting it.

Learning how to dive under a table in 1 second

From San Salvador I catched a bus again and this time to Nicaragua. After arriving in the capital Managua I found a place to stay very near the busstation. The owners are very nice and told me to leave everything valuable behind before entering the streets. So like I was used to in San Salvador I tucked my bankcard in my left socks and some spare dollars in my right sock for just in case I need it. After walking a couple of blocks I found an ATM inside a small shopping center to withdraw some Cordobas. That is the local currency. I felt a bit hungry and went to the upper floor and found a place to eat. An open area with several restaurants alongside it. Like a foodcourt. After finishing my meal I suddenly saw some guys starting a fight and than heard a big: BANG, BANG!! Someone started shooting and everybody dived under their tables. The guy that started shooting ran past me still holding his gun in his hand. A minute later there were more shuts downstairs. For a while I stayed upstairs because they might be still down there. Someone was lying on the ground, but I didn’t want to see it so I stayed were I was. It was so surreal. When it became more quiet I went downstairs and walked a bit shaky towards my guesthouse with the images still in my head of what just happened. Such a strange experience. Hopefully this was the first and the last time for me to witness something like this.

After rain comes sunshine

After experiencing the dark side of Nicaragua (and maybe Central America in general) it was time for me to witness the other side. So I went to Granada. I had a place in mind where I wanted to stay, but on my way walking I found another hostel that just opened it’s doors. The owners didn’t know exactly how to run a hostel, but there was a girl from France who helped and happened to be there at the right time, at the right place. She definitely had a positive influence on the place. I went to a church where you can climb the steps and have a beautiful view over the colonial city. The rest of the day I wandered around town and noticed the peaceful atmosphere. A good place to reflect and think about life. At least that’s how I experienced it. The next day I went to a small town called Masaya. There is a market with lots of local crafts. After walking a couple of blocks I saw a huge crowd of people.There was a procession going on and I stayed there for a while watching it. People all celebrating and eating and drinking and there was lots of music. Afterwards I took the bus back to Granada and in the afternoon I went with the French girl towards the lake . There we met two Canadians and another Dutch guy who joined on a boat ride on the lake. It was so beautiful on the lake. The scenery with the clouds and eventually the view of the sunset.

The next day I took a bus towards Leon. It has been the capital of Nicaragua for a while. The city is nice, but I think I like Granada more. I went to a very good museum called Fundacion Ortiz with lots of paintings. And so many beautiful ones. I was the only one at that moment, so I could have a good stroll around. Every room I entered someone switched on the light. That made it an even more personal experience. Like I owned the place. Hmmm, now I think of it, that would be nice to have your own museum. Looking at beautiful paintings at every moment I want. Such a dream.

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Part of trip: Around the world

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