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Hey everyone, some more exciting updates for you all! Hmmm what has happened lately? My title is funny because we always say we are leaving a place and usually never do until at least the next day. Yep, we´ll go tomorrow for sure 😊 Steve and I took the bus up to Esteli a few days ago. The ride up was beautiful, lots of green mountains, palm trees and tiny little towns. Nicaragua really is amazing, it feels like you´ve gone back in time. Even in Managua, which is a crazy, dodgy city, you see horse drawn carriages and cobblestone streets. You see little houses with kids playing outside in the dirt and laundry hanging everywhere. There are lots of horse carts around too. Anyways, we got into Esteli and found a nice little hostel right in the centre called Hotel Nicarao. It had a fun little courtyard and lots of interesting pictures around. And of course the token parrots, which would hang out on your shoulder sometimes. That night we drank some Flor de Caña (cheap, delicious Nicaraguan rum) with some of the few people there, but we didn´t really do too much. The next day we checked out the town, we were really the only white people around but no one paid any attention to us. A few kids asking for money but not crazy like in Managua. Esteli had a cowboy feel too it, every little shop sold cowboy boots and saddles. The city also had lots of beautiful murals around. We found a great cheap little restaurant with the cheapest beer and food I have seen yet. Beers were only 10 cordobas, which is about 60cents and food was about a dollar for tacos or enchiladas, and it was good food too. It was all locals in the restaurant having beers with the guys, it had a good feel to it.
The next day we went on a day trip to some waterfalls outside of town, it ended up being a pretty long walk because we took a few accidental detours. But one of the detours took us up by some little farms with wells and cowboys sitting around, we also passed a school and the kids seemed quite interested as to where the hell we were going. There were lots of cows and horses around, just a really nice area with some great views of the surrounding hills. We eventually found the falls, which were pretty but there was a lot of garbage around. We climbed up above the falls and found some nice spots to hang out, there was no one else there so it was nice. The water was a little shady because you couldn´t see the bottom anywhere and we were jumping in. People in Nicaragua just throw their garbage on the ground no matter where they are, so it is really dirty most places, it´s kind of sad.
Today we took a bus back down to Managua, buses are funny because people get on selling things all the time. Today you could buy presription medications, grapes, nail clippers, juice in bags, pancakes, or really anything you could think of. We had some sugary little pancake things for about 50 cents. Buses are always an interesting experience. Today there was also a man reading from the bible to the whole bus, that was fun. And there is usually someone asking for money after a big story about why they need it. I am always amazed at how well the kids get along, 3 siblings might be crammed into one seat but they hug each other and cuddle and it´s so cute. That just wouldn´t happen at home, we could barely manage to get along in a big van. Managua is insanity, there is no sense to that city. When we got the second bus station after a taxi ride, people just start grabbing you bags and trying to sell you stuff and give you a cab ride. But all in all, they´re just trying to help and if you tell them where you´re going they will show you where to go.
So Steve and I parted ways in Managua and he is off to Costa Rica. I hopped on a bus to Granada by myself, it was super crowded and I was squished between a bunch of old men...good times. I made it over to Granada and found this great hostel that everyone talks about. I´think I´ll stay here for a while, I´m not quite ready to go to Honduras but when I do I think I am going to head straight to Utila for diving before the rain muddles up the water. Miss ya, Good messages from everyone!!
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Deaner
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Rain?
I guess rainy season is coming up. How is the weather down there, besides H-O-T? Does it rain a lot? Guess I am starting my travels at the beginning of the hot and wet season.