Nicaragua

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We started our day early with our driver picking us up at 515. He was 15 minutes late because he had stopped to pick up the others in our group from a different hotel, a couple from Germany and a lady from Chicago. It was about an hour and a half to the border of Nicaragua. We got dropped off there and walked across the border. Getting our exit stamp from Costa Rica and the entrance stamp to Nicaragua. Our guide for the day was very professional and has been doing the tour regularly. Our next van was waiting for us on the Nicaraguan side. We drove into Nicaragua and got a full history lesson about everything from the original people to the revolution from the dictatorship to modern recent issues. We stopped for breakfast on the shore of Lake Cocibolca, Nicaragua . Eggs, bacon, plantains and rice and beans with coffee. We finished the meal with some coconut water with rum.
Next we drove to Mirador de Catarina. Got some pictures of Laguna Apoyo. It is a beautiful overlook. We looked in some of the tourist shops and finally stopped at an antique shop. The guy was a vet from the revolutionary war from th 80's. We bought an old Nicaraguan license plate from him that was from prior to the revolution. At least that's what he said.
Next we drove to the volcano Masaya. We drove to the lookout and got out to take a look down inside the crater. It was very impressive. The volcano is active and has been on a schedule about every 100 years. It isn't due to blow right now, so we went and took our chances. Next we drove to have lunch and do some shopping. Next we drove to Granada and had a carriage ride and stopped at the chocolate museum. We had some samples. Next we drove to the lake and had a ride to monkey island. Saw a few monkeys. Them it was back to the border. There is a long line of semi trucks waiting for inspection prior to entering Costa Rica.
They blocked the southbound lane. We drove south in the northbound lane dodging back at times to avoid the oncoming traffic. Our guide said that the trucks sometimes wait more than a week. We walked the crossing again and stamped out of Nicaragua and back into Costa Rica. We got back to our hotel at about 730.
We had a nice dinner at the Casa Conde to end the day.

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