Honduras to Nicaragua

Nicaragua!

Once again, it has been a while since I wrote to keep you all updated.  Last you heard, I was leaving Utila, Honduras, for Nicaragua.  Because of bus schedules and ferry schedules, I knew it would be a two-day adventure.  I don't know that I was prepared for how exhausting it would all be.

The trip from Utila, Honduras, to Managua, Nicaragua, took two full days.  There's not much to describe, as the trip was just long and rather uninspired.  A group of us (two people from my dive class and another guy we met on Utila) decided to take the 2:00 p.m. ferry off of Utila for the mainland.  The ride from Utila is generally a bumpy ride; this time was no different, although I am thankful we were on a larger ferry than the one we took to get to Utila!  The ferry dropped us off at the port and we took a cab to the bus station in La Ceiba.  We caught an afternoon bus that got us to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, around 9 p.m. (if memory serves me right).  Heather, the other girl I was traveling with, found a great hostel that agreed to pick us up from the bus terminal and drive us back for our next bus in the morning.  That was a HUGE find because the taxis would've cost us about L300 ($15) each way.  The next morning, we got a ride to the bus terminal at 3:45 a.m.  Our bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 5 a.m., but we needed to make sure we got in line for the tickets.  Once on the bus, we all finished our night's rest until the bus stopped for a break in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (about 4 hours from our starting point).  After some really crappy food in the bus station (if you could even really call it that), we boarded the bus again, bound for Nicaragua.

I haven't had any really exciting border crossings (and I pray that I never do), but this one seemed strange.  We all got off the bus in Nicaragua, unloaded our bags, took them to a kiosk where guards searched our bags in a really haphazard and noncommittal fashion.  We stood around for at least a half hour while the guards pulled one girl aside, took her to the back and only Lord knows what they detained her for.  My guess is that she had overstayed her visa, but maybe it was just a random, more detailed search than the rest of us.  The group of us traveling together discovered that one of the guy's wallets was missing, and we're pretty sure he got pick-pocketed by the kids claiming to offer to help with our bags at the border.

Back on the bus...hours later inside the Nicaraguan border, we got stopped by the Nicaraguan drug police.  Mind you, we'd already been traveling since 5 a.m. and it was now about 6 p.m.  First they selected a few passengers to randomly check.  They were taken off the bus and searched.  Next the police began removing paneling and other "hidden compartments" inside the bus.  Then the dogs came and searched the storage holds and everything outside the bus (the dogs didn't board the bus itself that we saw).  Next we were told that we were waiting for another bus to arrive so that we could switch buses...because the cops were confiscating our original bus.  We switched buses at least 2 hours after we were supposed to have arrived in Managua.  Sixteen hours after we set off from San Pedro Sula, we arrived in Managua.  We chose the hostel right around the corner from the bus station, dropped our bags and went in search of food.  Wow!  Turns out we were only a block from one of Lonely Planet's recommended eateries, Comidas Sara!  That was an awesome meal for a great price after a long day of traveling!

The next morning, my two diving buddies headed toward Grenada.  Our other companion decided he was headed to San Pedro Sula.  I made the decision to go with him to San Pedro Sula, rather than staying in Managua (as was my original plan), so that I wouldn't have to make the trek alone.

The bus to San Pedro Sula is a chicken bus.  That was gonna be my first time on one of these (earlier in my trip I had thought that my next transport would be a chicken bus, but it turned out to be a small collectivo -- minivan -- instead).  I can honestly say that the chicken buses might be better than the collectivo vans.  The collectivo vans are minivans that are rigged to properly seat about 14 people.  Problem is that they frequently have many more than 14 passengers.  I was on a collectivo at one point with 20 adults and about 8 children.  Nope...not kidding.  What's worse is that the passengers have the ability to close the stinking windows!  The people down here may be used to the heat, but this gringo needs the wind from rolled down windows!  I digress.

I arrived in San Juan del Sur around 6 p.m.  It was already dark, but I could see that the small town was still alive, which is not common in a region in which most people rise and sleep with the sun.  The streets...and there were few...ranged from cobblestones to pavement to dirt.  The buildings still have a bit of the Spanish colonial feel to them, but far less so than places like Antigua.  The town definitely is a beach town, with restaurants lining the sand and the occasional band or bar pumping out tunes.  There are hostels and hotels in town, as well as some scattered along the coastline.  At least two hostels are a shuttle ride from town, but the hostels are good about regularly scheduled shuttle services.  There are food shacks, restaurants, carts, and other mom-and-pop places to eat, ranging from about C40 to C300 ($1.80 or so to $13-14).  Whatever you choose, chances are that you'll get a decent, but not outstanding, meal.

I chose the hostel Casa Oro as my temporary home and explored the town.  The vibe is young, but not too young.  I soon realized that there a large number of the tourists were there to just party; the other small percentage of people are there to surf and relax.  Oh, and if you want to meet people, this is certainly a good place to do it!  I met some great people in San Juan del Sur!  First there was this guy staying in my hostel, who introduced me to a big group of people staying at another hostel, who eventually became traveling companions to Ometepe.  We went to the top of the hill to watch the sunset together.  Great time!

I spent four nights in San Juan and that was enough.  I was over the party scene pretty quickly...I may be young at heart, but something must've happened to change my perspective because girls dancing on the tables really wasn't my thing.  Several beautiful sunsets, a couple nights out, some fun in the sun & sand, and I was ready to go.

I traveled to Ometepe with the guy from my hostel with two others scheduled to meet us later that day.  They brought another girl with them, and the five of us hung out for the next several days on Ometepe.  Ometepe is an island in Lake Nicaragua formed by two volcanos (Volcano Conception and Volcano Maderas) with an isthmus of land between them that forms the lowest point of the island.  That's about all I knew of the island before heading there. I didn't know what to expect (as is most often the case of these new places I'm visiting) other than some jungles and hiking.  The guide book said there were hikes, waterfalls, beaches, wildlife, and lots of relaxation.

The ferry ride to Ometepe took an hour.  Another bus to a city on the island recommended by the guy from my hostel took two hours.  The bus was at times standing room only, and other times rather comfortable.  A group of school children got on the bus about halfway into the trip...I swear they all bathed at school because the bus was suddenly filled with the pleasant aroma of soap and flowers.  Weird.  Anyway, we had no idea where to get off the bus and had to rely upon the help of the locals to make sure we got off at the right stop in Balgue.  We were dropped in the middle of the road with few buildings nearby, but a sign pointed to Finca Magdelena 1 km down a dirt road.

Finca Magdelena, our first hostel, was amazing.  One kilometer up a dirt/rock road hardly seemed worth the walk at first, but the view was spectacular with Lake Nicaragua and the other volcano in not-to-far distance.  When we got there and unloaded our packs, it was easy to see why this place was recommended for relaxation and nature.  It sat near the base of Volcano Maderas and was surrounded by beautiful flowers, trees and shrubs.  Finca Magdelena is a co-op of coffee growers and we could see many people working nearby.  There were birds everywhere, most of which I'd never seen before.  We could hear the howler monkeys and other monkeys playing in the trees surrounding Finca.  The air smelled like a combination of flowers and mud, if that's possible.  Closer to the lake, I discovered later, the air began to carry a slight sent of fish.

We relaxed for a few days at Finca and explored their grounds a little.  There are so many flowers that it's impossible to know what they all are or to describe them to you.  Suffice it to say that they were beautiful and I tried to smell every single one.  Also, they have these incredible almond trees that grow up and then flatten out in a wide spread of leaves.  Spaced correctly, the could form a perfect cover from the rain, which is precisely what they did at Finca.

I celebrated Thanksgiving on Ometepe with my new friends.  We hiked Volcano Maderas -- not an easy hike by an stretch of the imagination -- for over four hours and finally decided that we were too hungry to go further and broke for "lunch" at 2 p.m.  I gave thanks on that mountain for all the wonderful things in my life, the new opportunities spread out before me, the grace of God, the new friends I've made on this trip, the love of my family and this crazy adventure I'm on.  We made it back down the mountain just before sunset.  Whew!  And then, an ice cold shower (by the way, I have had very few warm or hot showers on this trip...my last one was on Utila and before that, El Remate...I think I've had only about 3-4 hot showers since leaving Mexico in October).

After Finca, we took a bus to Santo Domingo, a city on Ometepe on the isthmus with a beach of sorts.  We stayed at Hospedaje Buena Vista upon the recommendation of Lonely Planet and a local restaurant owner from Australia.  Good choice.  The wind and flies were plentiful and somewhat bothersome, but it was nice to hear the waves lapping  against the shore.  We went on a few walks from Santo Domingo, but nothing really revolutionary.  Four of us rented bikes for a day, but the dirt and rocky roads deterred me because the bikes were far from the best bikes I've ever seen.  The gears didn't work, the brakes barely worked, the tires lost air, and we didn't get helmets.  So, I stuck to the paved roads and my adventurous streak lasted only as long as those roads.  Last thing I want to do is get all banged up on an island with the closest medical care an hour bus ride away.  Two of the guys were willing to take the risks and said it was worth it to see the other side of the island where there was no wind and calm shores.  Oh well.  I may not have seen that, but every day I am seeing something new so I can't really complain.

After Ometepe, three of the people in our group were headed to Grenada and two of us headed to the surf town of Popoyo.  Popoyo is a small surfing village on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua.  We took a cab from Rivas (where the Ometepe ferry deposited us) because we were told that the bus would only get us close to Popoyo and we would have to walk another 10 kilometers to get to Popoyo.  I didn't care about the cab fare; I'd rather not have carried my pack for 10 kilometers!  Anyway, $25 later we were dropped off in front of a beachside hostel.  After wandering around, we decided on one of the hostels.  I came to Popoyo because I just wanted some time to write and relax, without much to do to distract me and without tons of people to disturb my writing.  Well...quiet I found.  Ahhhhhh.  Popoyo is essentially nothing but beach.  It has a few hostels and hotels that line the shore, a surf shop, a couple restaurants, a small tienda, and a bunch of surfers.  I haven't seen many girls here and I swear I'm one of maybe three female tourists here.   That's about it.  Perfect.  My friends (one I came here with, several I met here) here are complaining about the waves not being very good for surfing, which is why they all came, but it's really no matter to me!  I like the smell of the salt air, the slight breeze (although at times it can be very windy), the sun, the quiet and the atmosphere of relaxation.

After a couple days though, I've had enough and I'm ready to set off again.  Problem is, I'm sort of stuck here because there are no ATMs anywhere and I had to borrow some money from my friend.  I can't just go "into to town" to get to an ATM -- that's an hour's drive and at least $25 in cab fare, each way.  So, I can't pay him back until we're both ready to leave.  He's not ready to leave.  And to top it off, it's become awkward because I'm the only native English speaker and I'm the only non-surfer.  Well at least this silence and awkwardness has given me plenty of time to write.  More importantly, I'm ready to do some more voluteer work!  Must get ot Costa Rica soon!