Our first stop in Nicaragua was the lakeside town of Granada. Luckily, we happened to arrive just as Festival of the Poets was beginning. The town square plaza was bustling with food, music, handmade jewelry and hammocks. Even with all the action, we didn't have to share the town with many tourists. We did meet a fun couple from London that we spent a lot of time with at the festival and around town.
There wasn't much to do in Granada which made splurging on a fantastic hotel the ideal option for celebrating making it through 1.5 months of bug infested/dirty hostels. For two full days we did nothing more than lounge around at our huge and empty palm-tree lined pool, drinking cold margaritas and planning where we'd go next. It really felt like vacation more than backpacking through 3rd world.
Our laid back hostel for the first night in Granada
Streets of Granada
sports field in the city
Ancient church
Our fancy hotel pool
Granada is a beautiful and moderately clean town but still home to a lot of poverty. We decided a while back that since we really haven't done the volunteer work we hoped to, that we would feed anyone we came across who was hungry (they beg you not to give money as it has created a HUGE problem). This town gave us a great opportunity to feed! The adults are happy to have you buy them a real meal while the little ones associate foreigners with sweet candies or cookies. Instead of "don't take candy from strangers" it's "ask strangers for candy". We've made sure to stock up on the healthy foods as well as all the Oreos we can find. The kids come up trying desperately to sell you a shell or handmade doll. When instead you offer them cookies and cheese crackers (or something with protein)...their big brown eyes get so wide and smiles spread across their faces...they forget all about wanting to sell you something for ten cents. Filling a hungry belly is much more satisfying. Another noteworthy observation is how much "sharing" goes on in these third world countries. It is very common to see a family of four all crammed onto one motorcycle for a trip to town. Even more unusual (and disturbing) is that infants are not exceptions to the family motorcycle outings. Early in the morning and late in the afternoons, its normal to see two full grown men cruise by on the same bicycle to/from work....one pedaling and one sitting between his legs upfront. The same thing is seen countless times a day via horse or cow.
Our last night in Granada we took a horse-drawn carriage ride at sunset while it rained softly on the town. It was a treat to see so much of the city in style:) Later that night we came back from our evening famished (at least I was). Not paying much attention, I hastily shoved a few good sized handfuls of granola into my mouth while we we watched something on our fancy television. When I finally looked down at the granola bag, I realized swarms of ants were frantically attempting to escape being eaten.....by me! It wasn't one or two ...or twenty or thirty....it was swarms!!! I laid face down, choking back the urge to vomit while Adam read me everything he googled on "why eating ants isn't dangerous". A late night dip in the cool pool cured the nausea...and of course...it just ended up being an alternative form of protein.
After Granada, we took buses and boats to the Isla de Ometepe. For the first time since our trip began, someone purposely put us on the wrong the bus for our $. Thankfully we figured it out and flung out packs and ourselves from the rear of the moving bus (it wasn't going fast Mom). Isla de Ometepe is an island that sits in the middle of lake Nicaragua and is home to two large and breathtaking volcanoes. Though the lake has some nice beaches, most shy away from swimming due to the only freshwater sharks in the world and piranhas. The island is particularly precious because few travelers make the journey leaving it a great opportunity to just sink into the culture. The only negative to this is that it's very hard to get where you need to go (it takes about 4 hours to get from one side of the island to the other) for hikes and exploring. It was here that we did our first (and last Mom) hitchhiking. Thanks to our friends the farmers, we got to hike Volcano Maderas where loud birds and monkeys accompanied us up into the wet jungle. We also rented a motorcycle (upgrade from the scooter) to check out more of the island. It was a hoot dodging cows, pigs, horses and many other farm animals as we cruised down the dirt roads. We ended up at the hot springs where we soaked in mineral rich waters that trickle down from the mountains.
Our only fear with the motorcycle were that the rental place had no locks for it. They laughed at our concerns and assured us nothing had ever happened nor would on the friendly island. Later that afternoon, Adam saw 3 guys carrying our motorcycle right from our hostel! He ran after them frantically. After a series of hand signals and foot motions, he realized they were simply relocating the bike so that the evening soccer game could go on in the street.
One of the two volcanoes on Isla de Ometepe
arriving on the island..
stopping for the cows, dogs, and horses
natural hot springs tucked in the jungle...
1.5 months in and I could finally put Adam's hair in a ponytail...cute huh? :)
washing closthes
our friend at the hotel
Saturday the 19th of February we got to our third and final Nicaraguan destination, San Juan Del Sur. San Juan del Sur is a beautiful and small stretch of beach that is very built up compared to the rest of the country. Though built up, it's still lovely! On either side of the sandy stretch are big rocks and cliffs perfect for hiking to for good views of the town. Our first afternoon we met up with Becky and headed to the hills for a big reggae concert. It was an odd feeling being on a chicken bus with 50 other gringos who had come to the beach for the big festival but we had a blast. A big field with drink stands and local foods surrounded the stage blaring great music!
dinner at a tasty beach side restaurant with Becky and friends
throwing fire at the music festival
Hanging out with Becky for a few days was such a treat! We ate plenty of amazing food at the market, caught some beautiful sunsets, drank good Nicaraguan rum wherever it presented itself and explored neighboring beaches via livestock truck.
a cave we found exploring the beaches of San Juan del Sur
the beach from the view at Jesus statue
It's hard to believe we've been here over month and a half! Time is flying by at incredible speed but we're loving ever minute and taking tons of pictures. Tonight (at 1:30am) we'll pick up our first visitors for 9 full days of adventure!
Awesome, awesome, awesome! Valerie and I miss you! And, we are jealous, too. AJ
ReplyDeletePS: Keep up with the wonderful writing. We don't miss an episode.