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Published: January 18th 2010
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We decided to take a day tour up to Nicaragua, since we were fairly close to the border. The tour was to Granada and the Mayasa volcano, and was a full day adventure. When we booked the tour, we didn't realize that it was a large group tour, something we have sucessfully avoided so far. We had a bit rough start - the tour bus didn't come to pick us up, but the hotel we booked through straightened it out for us and the tour company arranged a van to drive us to the border to meet the rest of the group. Once we joined the group, the guide helped us through the process of exiting the border in Costa Rica. After this point, the bus drives through a decontamination area and passes through to a waiting area. The guide then goes into the border office to begin the process to enter Nicaragua. It was a fairly lengthy process - in total the crossing took about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The area is a bit chaotic, long lines everywhere, a bit dirty, with vendors selling everything imaginable-juice, water, bread, nuts, soda, trinkets, etc. ThereĀ“s also several big duty free shops.
It was a bit overwhelming at first. We finally passed into Nicaragua an began the hour drive to the town of Grenada.
We weren't sure what to expect or what we would see. Nicaragua is at the beginning stages of building their tourist industry. It is known as the land of lakes and volcanoes. Our drive took us past Lake NIcaragua and 2 volcanoes on an island-called Isla de Ometepe. The twin volcanos, Concepcion and Maderas, rise out of Lake Nicaragua and are connected by the old lava flow. Our guide was very knowledgable - telling us stories of the history of the region and country, including the tale of how the lake and volcano was formed. The legend is of 2 forbidden lovers who died for each other and caused the gods to cry so much they formed the lake. The volcanoes in the middle of the lake are the fallen bodies of the lovers. He also spent time explaining the history of the Sandinistas and the Contras. We passed through several small towns and agricultural areas.
After about an hour we arrived in Grenada for a walking tour. The town is very different from cities in
Costa Rica - very different architecture. The city was founded in 1524 and has survived a variety of attacks and fires and has been reconstructed a few times. The buildings are brightly colored and colonial. Our walking tour passed through the center of town and the main plaza ' Parque Central - where vendors were selling crafts, trinkets, snacks, cigars, just about everything - including pirated dvds, like Avatar. We continued past historical buidlings and churches and ended at a historical museum in the Convento y Iglesia de San Francisco. The museum is in a church was burned to the ground in the 1850s and was rebuilt several years later. The museum had murals, statues and information about the history and culture of the country. Of course, we wished we could have spent a couple of more hours there exploring the little side streets and shops and restaurants. Poverty seems more pronounced in Nicaragua then in Costa Rica, and while we were walking about, we were trailed by children begging for food and money.
After leaving we went to lunch at a fun little steakhouse for a leisurely lunch. The restaurant had a lot of character and we were
serenaded by mariachis. We also got to sample our first Nicaraguan beer.
Following lunch we headed up to the Mayasa Volcano . It is an active volcano - producing gases. We were only able to stay at the volcano for about 20-25 minutes because of the strong fumes. THe views were incredible - and the crater was very deep and dramatic, belching out plumes of sulferous gas. We have been to 5 volcanoes, and each one is a bit different.
On the way out of the park, our bus broke down. So we had a slight delay leaving the park. It was about 5pm, so everyone was a bit curious what would happen - as we had heard that the border closed at 8pm. A replacement bus arrived farily quickly - and we boarded on our way to a local artisans market. Unfortunately, we only had about 20 minutes to shop and most of the stores were closed, but there was some interesting hand crafted items.
Our trip back to the border was smooth and took much less time, and turns out - we were able to cross the border after 8pm. We didn't get back to our
El Diablo
One of the many Gods hotel until after midnight - it was a very long day, but we were glad that we went. Definately felt like we learned about a new area worth exploring further.
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Elly
non-member comment
Amazing
What wonderful memories and pictures you have. I'm sure a slide show will be in order to get the full affect. Can't wait.