Blogs from Capital Region, Nicaragua, Central America Caribbean - page 28

We went for a walk down the road in the morning - there wasn´t a lot too see as this is a pretty quiet area. The rest of the day was spent reading, relaxing, swimming and kayaking in the lake. After dinner, we headed down for a swim under the full moon. Night-time at the lake we generally quiet... until a mango falls out of the tree and hits the roof, which sounds like a bomb going off. This happens numerous times throughout the night.... read more

Nous sommes a Managua, cet apres-midi nous partirons vers le Costa Rica. De la nous devons aller au Panama pour aller a Quito. Mystere et boulle de gomme: * Option A: Un vol direct du Costa Rica vers Quito coute 486$US par persone * Option B: Un vol de Panama vers Quito avec une escale au Costa Rica coute 326$US par personne. Le mystere c´est qu´apres l´escale au Costa Rica on prend le meme vol que l´option A! On va donc aller du Costa Rica au Panama en autobus pour revenir en avion au Costa Rica pour aller a l´Equateur. Trouvez l´erreur. Notre demi-heure d´Internet acheve, 9 Cordobas (50 cents) pour 3 ordis pour une demi-heure. A+, J.P. Mise a jour de derniere minute : On a trouvé et acheté 3 billets de Panama a Quito, ... read more

I have just reterned from a week long vactaion in Managua (as Juliana´s sister was visiting from the US, so she took the week off to spend time with her-- and I came along). I feel bad about the time away from the job, and spent the first 5 days feeling guilty and restless (I have realised that "relaxation" is something very trying for me, and I get very stressed-out when my time is not constantly occupied!). Juliana was kind enough to take me around the city on one of the days (a welcome escape from the house, and endless hours of Spanish soaps "novelas" that I only partially understand), and I managed to find any excuse to go to "El Oriental". This time I even braved taking PICTURES! Yes, caution was thrown to the wind ... read more

One interesting thing that I have not yet written about are the markets here in Nicaragua. I absolutsely LOVE them! They are full of so many sights, colors, tastes, noises and people...it´s quite overwhelming. But that´s precisely what I love so much about it: so many people busily shopping, selling, pushing, shoving, sleeping, peeing (honestly, you see EVERYTHING at these markets!). The past two trips I made to Managua (the last of which I travelled home from in the back of the truck, if you recall) we visited the largest market there, called "El Oriental". El Orinetal is resportedly the largest market in all of Central America. It spans an incredible 100HA, in a complicated web of formal shops and informal vendors and stalls that make the Toronto Eaton Centre (our largest mall) look like a ... read more

When you chose the right place (and have the right passport) things can work out to develop rather fast. In the internet I found '2 days' on a list of waiting times for visa applications behind the capital of Nicaragua, Managua. Something that let me ignore all warnings about this dangerous city. So I had to find out for myself. When I came there and first wanted to walk a few blockes for a dinner place a local family stoped me right away to tell me that I was certainly going to be robbed if I would continue to walk down the street. After some discoussion about taxi and other restaurants the family was so kind to escort me to my place in order to prevent my being robbed. How kind of them! And looking down ... read more