Page 14 of Delek Delek Travel Blog Posts



The title of this blog is a homage to the blog entry I wrote about the time I visited Granada's Spanish namesake. It took me a while to finally get to Spain's Granada, but once there it perhaps surprisingly, became one of my favourite cities in Europe. Would Nicaragua's version have the same effect on me? Well, I didnt nearly have as much difficulty getting there than I did finally getting to Spain's version though I had to get up earlier than I would've liked. But overall the transfer from Isla de Ometepe was painless. The ferry we took to San Jorge was nice and big and rode the swell a bit better than url=../../Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Southern-Pacific-Coast/Isla-de-Ometepe/blog-926158.htmlthe small, creaking, wooden vessel we came over to the island on. And just as well, as it was super-windy and ... read more
Granada Cementerio
Colourful Buildings
Facade Of Iglesia de la Merced


I really need to stop partying the night before travelling. Being hungover on a crusty, creaking, seen-better-days, cargo-barge-cum-passenger boat is never a good idea. Although I have probably had worse boat rides, I was really wishing for it to be over near the end. The dirty brown water of the lake – I’m not sure why the water is so dirty but it is – had quite a lot of swell for a lake. It is probably due to the high winds but there were some decent waves you wouldn’t expect to see on a lake that were buffeting the boat. Canadian Carter, Aussie Aidan and I had taken all the easy options from Hola Ola Hostel in San Juan del Sur, to Hacienda Merida on Isla de Ometepe; a taxi to San Jorge, the boat, ... read more
Visions Of A Sunset
Ojo de Agua
Playa Santo Domingo


Back in La Fortuna, Costa Rica, it wasn't great getting up at 5.30am - my sixth early start in a row - and it wasn't great doing it after drinking a litre of boxed wine the previous nighteither. So luckily I had a shuttle picking me and then dropping me off over the border at my hostel in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. I will go out there and say it; the Costa Rica-Nicaragua is probably the shadiest border crossing I have ever undertaken and this was despite having a shuttle employee guiding us every step of the way. Even inside the actual building that serves as the Nicaraguan border office, there were jokers trying to scam tips out of you, saying that you needed "papeles" even though we weren't given any at any stage of ... read more
Life's A Beach
Sunset Over Playa Maderas
Playa Tamarindo


I could really have done with more sleep as I rose nice and early for the 6.30am bus in Puerto Viejo. At least I would get plenty of opportunities to sleep on my two buses to Monteverde... ...well, make that one bus ride to San Jose. A late departure ("Tico time"), two long stops for "breaks" and heavy traffic meant that I didn't get into San Jose until 1420 - which if my WhatsApp conversations with Kurt and my Lonely Planet were anything to go by, meant that I had ten minutes to catch what would probably be the last bus to Monteverde that day. Arriving at one of San Jose's many bus terminals, I had no idea where I was nor which terminal I had to go to to catch the bus to Monteverde. I ... read more
Volcan Arenal From Our Boat
Zip Line Action
Crater Lake & Arenal


To travel a fairly short distance, I had to make five connections, which was a bit of a joke. So when a colectivo offered to take me straight to the Costa Rican border and thus saving me two connections for just $10, I decided to take a slight kidnapping risk by agreeing to the offer. Things didn’t get any more encouraging when I turned out to be the only passenger in the colectivo, but it all worked out fine in the end and I even had a decent chat with the driver. By the time I added up what I paid for all the different transportation I had taken, I only saved $8 in the end versus a direct shuttle from Bocas to Puerto Viejo but such was my determination to save money. To make things ... read more
Salsa Brava
Outback Jack's
Playa Negra


My typical underestimation of how much time I had and the stubbornness of my search for silk boxer shorts in the Albrook Mall (do they not make them anymore?! Why?) meant that I didn’t have enough time to have a shower before getting on my overnight bus to Bocas del Toro. Which is a little bit of an issue in Panama since walking around all day in hot and humid Panama City works up quite the sweat. I can’t sleep well if I am feeling disgusting but I think in this case it was more to do with the fact that this was the COLDEST BUS EVER. I asked the driver to go easy on the air-con but no dice. This was how it had to be. Some bullshit about needing to balance the temperature inside ... read more
Cayo Zapatilla
Selina's
Cayo Crawl

Central America Caribbean » Panama » Panamá » Panama City February 25th 2016

It was finally time to leave South America. Though fun and although I had seen and done some amazing things, there were elements of frustration that accompanied me throughout my time there. This continued right up until the last, having had my water bottle, my universal adaptor and flip-flops nicked within a few days. WTF backpacker people. For good measure, South America decided to give me a final dose of bedbug bites to send me on my way. To be completely honest, I felt that I had had my fill of South America and that I was ready to move onto somewhere new. But South America hadn’t had its fill of me and did everything it could to stop me from leaving. Crossing from Colombia to Panama is notoriously difficult and a pain in the arse, ... read more
Old Colonial Building
The Panama Canal
Cathedral Tower Of Panama Viejo

South America » Colombia » Santa Marta February 21st 2016

After the craziness and sickness that was Carnaval in Barranquilla, it was now time for the last and perhaps the most anticipated part of my time in Colombia and perhaps even in South America; relaxing by the pool, a little bit of trekking, and some of the most beautiful beaches in South America. The hostel I had booked - The Dreamer - was somewhat of a resort. Busy, with a pool, with constant electronic/house music blaring out and lively chatter emanating from the bar, it seemed like the perfect place to put your feet up and have a few beers, which is exactly what Teo and I did. I also seemed to have stumbled upon all the Brits and Aussies in Colombia here - though I wasn't sure if I really liked this lot. Not a ... read more
Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino
Taganga
Playa Arrecife

South America » Colombia » Barranquilla February 9th 2016

Barranquilla is only famous for two things. Being the home town of Shakira, and being the home of the second-biggest Carnaval celebration after Rio de Janeiro. Having attended the biggest party in the world three years ago, if Barranquilla’s showpiece was be anything like Rio’s, then this was going to be an awesome, alcoholic five days. Otherwise, there was no reason whatsoever to visit this soulless, concrete jungle. Hadn’t planned on attending – in fact, I didn’t even know that Barranquilla’s Carnaval existed until I read about it in my Lonely Planet when I got to South America…and realised that I was going to be in Cartagena, by chance, just a couple of days before the start of the festival. The stars were aligned – it was time to party! Making our way from Cartagena, I ... read more
Bull Float
La Marimonda
Another Colourful Costume

South America » Colombia » Cartagena February 4th 2016

Having not taken a flight for three-and-a-half months, I was now on my second one in a week. When you can save yourself a 12-hour bus ride for an extra £7, it's a no-brainer. Managing to finally escape the screaming toddler on my flight as I walked out of the plane; as I felt the sweet humidity in the air and saw the palm trees blowing in the wind, I immediately knew that I would like this place and was excited about beginning the 'proper hot' part of my trip. This was what I was looking forward to the most - beaches and parties await! And oh boy, Cartagena is as beautiful as everything I had read and heard about the place. From the colourful colonial buildings, the balconies of bougainvillea, the exotic Caribbean climate to ... read more
Playa Blanca
Fruit Seller In Colourful Attire
Street Art




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