One Night in Choluteca

It was almost dark by the time we arrived in Choluteca, Honduras. We asked the guy on the colectivo to stop us at a place where there were cheap hostels and where it would be convenient to get a bus to El Amatillo on the border with El Salvador the next morning. We grabbed our backpacks and headed over to the hotels that were pointed out to us and checked out the rooms. Without question, the rooms i saw that evening were the filthiest i had seen on the trip here in Central America so far. In fact, they were the filthiest rooms i had seen in my life. Without going into detail, believe me when i say that they were disgusting. And not only were they disgusting, the people selling these rooms were not very nice. Both rooms i saw looked unsafe as well and smelled awful. Life on the road is not all glitz and glamour!

Since it was getting dark, and we had read that Choluteca was a dangerous place after dark, we hailed a taxi and asked the driver whether he knew of any safe place to stay for the night. We figured, even if we needed to take a taxi the following day to the bus station, it would still be better than staying in either of the rooms we had seen. The driver ended up taking us to Hotel Bonsai, which he said was close to the police station, and therefore safe. I recognised the name from the guidebook too, so we figured, it couldn’t be that bad.

It was.

But at least it was safe. The lady operating the place was nice but the room was very expensive (at USD$20 a night) and it was one of those rooms where you have to sleep with all your clothes on. We couldn’t bring ourselves to use the shower either, and the air conditioning looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time. There were insects crawling everywhere…. you get the picture!

We were advised not to wander too far from the hotel and were directed to a Chinese restaurant just opposite. While we were there many locals came to order take-away food and almost everyone was worried that their bikes or motorbikes would get stolen from outside the restaurant (making us feel even safer, NOT!). One good thing though, the food at this place was delicious! It was the first time that we had tried Chinese food since we came to Central America, and the food here was a treat. It was a Cantonese restaurant, and on our budget, we could only order a ‘char siew’ fried rice, but it was huge and exceeded our expectations in leaps and bounds. I asked the owner/chef if he had siew yoke (not sure of the spelling), but he said the Chinese population in Choluteca was small and therefore they didn’t make it. For a while Rick and i were transported back to Asia, and after our thoroughly fulfilling meal, we really felt homesick! We really miss Malaysian food.

The Chinese restaurant opposite Hotel Bonsai didn’t look like much from the outside, but the food there was delicious. For us, it was the only good thing about spending a night in Choluteca.

We went back to our room and the next morning the both of us woke up with sore throats from the dirty air conditioning unit in our room (this was the first room that we had stayed in with air conditioning in more than a year, we usually avoid it). We quickly left the hotel and asked for directions to the bus station from the first person we met on the street.

You know a place is dangerous, when an old lady who you ask for directions tells you “Don’t worry, you are safe with me. I just came from church.” She was our angel that morning and led us directly onto a waiting bus, which would take us out of one of the worst places we have ever stayed, and onwards to El Salvador.

Border Crossing: Nicaragua to Honduras at Guasale

We left Granada earlyish. We didn’t want to rush ourselves and we were fairly confident that we had a good chance of making it all the way to the border crossing at El Amatillo into El Salvador.

First was a bus to Managua, then to Leon. From Leon to Chinandega then to the border with Honduras at Guasale. While we were on this last bus route, it started to rain. By the time we had reached the last stop, the rain had subsided and we put on our backpacks to cross the border on foot. Since we had already renewed our CA-4 visas, we didn’t have any problem at all at the border checkpoints. We had made this exact crossing but in the other direction into Nicaragua around a month earlier, so we knew exactly what to expect this time around. We managed to navigate through the swarm of pedicab guys and made it across the bridge on our own.

When we entered back into Honduras, it was clear that we were not going to make it all the way over to the border with El Salvador. The sky was getting dark and we knew that we would have to find a place nearby and continue the next day. It had started to rain again, so Rick and i made a quick decision to make our way onto a colectivo which took us to the town of Choluteca, Honduras, a town we had passed through a month earlier.

Safe journey…

This time we walked across the bridge instead of being conned by a pedicab driver. Lots of trucks were lined up on the other side.

The river we crossed at the border, with black clouds looming ahead.

Volcan Masaya

Who would have thought that i, of all people would ever be standing at the edge of an active volcano, trying not to breathe in poisonous fumes while peering into its steaming crater? Certainly not me. Even though we have been traveling through Central America, with volcanoes almost everywhere we look, being at the summit of one has not been something i have been interested in at all.

Early on, while we were San Pedro la Laguna, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, we saw lava flowing from the huge Atitlan Volcano and experienced the accompanying earthquake and power outage. There was something surreal about seeing a bright orange lava flow lighting up the night, but i have to say it scared me a bit. There are countless stories of people being killed by unpredicted eruptions, and of course, you have to be physically fit (which i am not) to hike up to the summit of most volcanoes.

The Volcan Masaya park is located in between Managua and Masaya.

The entrance at the Volcan Masaya park.

A painting at the visitor’s center depicting an eruption.

Here we are!

Views from the visitor’s center were pretty spectacular.

Volcan Masaya was only a 5km walk on a paved road, and best of all, we did not need to hire a guide or pay exorbitant fees for an organised tour to visit it. We took the public bus heading to Managua and got dropped off right at the park entrance. After paying our 100 Cordoba (about 15 Ringgit) entrance fee, we started to walk along the paved road but after 1 kilometer in the heat, we decided to try to hitchhike the rest of the way (insert embarrassed smile here)! We soon hopped into the back of a pickup and made it to the crater’s edge.

Rick cut his hands on this piece of ancient lava. Behind him is an ancient lava flow.

These beautiful spiked plants lined the road heading up to the crater of Volcan Masaya. This one is flowering.

Little baby plants flowering out of the mother.

Rick on the back of a pick up. We hitched our way up to the crater.

The parts we could visit were limited as there had been a forest fire that destroyed much of the area, and a few landslides, making some areas really dangerous. However, the ‘visitable’ areas were stunning. The steaming crater was completely covered in gas/steam/fumes and we were advised to only spend a maximum of 5 minutes at a time breathing in the poisonous fumes. The crater was actually a total of 3 craters side by side, and once the wind changed direction, you could easily make out the 3 distinctly.

The steaming crater of Volcan Masaya.

The other side of the crater.

More poisonous fumes.

The fumes were pretty bad. Visitors are advised not to spend more than 5 minutes at the edge of the crater.

The cross at the summit of the volcano. Landslides made getting there too dangerous.

Both of us in our safety gear looking a little silly!

A huge rock that was ejected from the crater during Volcan Masaya’s last eruption.

A lone tree grows out of an old lava flow.

There was also a lookout point directly in front of the crater where you could see lake Managua in the distance as well as old lava flows from the 1800’s. We spent a while at the summit, then decided to make our way down on foot. It was a hot day, and by the time we had reached the bottom, we had finished all our water. The ride back to Granada was in a colectivo, standing (or rather crouching) for most of the journey. What a day! We were exhausted but happy that we had finally visited an active volcanic crater, not only that, the crater of one of the most active volcanos in the world, the awesome Volcan Masaya.

Opposite the crater, you can see for miles. Lake Managua is in the distance.

p.s. We later heard that the lava flow that we had seen while in San Pedro, Lake Atitlan was most probably a fire and not a lava flow. Oh well. It was still very dramatic.

Celebration of Maria Auxiliadora

We arrived in Granada on the feast of Maria Auxiliadora (or Our Lady, Help of Christians), which falls on the 24th May every year. I knew nothing about this feast or celebration but was captivated by the children in the streets wearing their Nicaraguan national costumes. Here were children of all ages, proudly dressed and made up by their mothers getting ready for a procession through the streets of central Granada.

A young couple posing for the camera.

A beautiful girl in yellow!

Rick was the one who educated me on this Catholic feast,  since he had attended a Catholic school as a boy, founded by Don Bosco. Don Bosco dedicated his foundation, the Salesian Congregation, to Our Lady, Help of Christians and this feast is celebrated by Salesian school children all over the world. Since i still didn’t get the connection at the time, i did a bit of research on this guy, Don Bosco and his Salesian schools, that Rick and these children in Nicaragua have in common as students and alumni.

Don Bosco was an Italian Roman Catholic priest of the Latin Church, educator and writer in the 19th century (16 August 1815 to 31 January 1888). He dedicated his life to the education and betterment of street children and juvenile delinquents using the Salesian Preventive System, which uses love rather than punishment as a teaching method. A follower of the spirituality and philosophy of Saint Francis de Sales, Don Bosco dedicated his works to him when he founded the Salesians of Don Bosco. Later, together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a religious congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls.

Today, there are many Salesian schools around the world (as we saw here in Nicaragua) and it is the third largest missionary organisation in the world (according to Wikipedia). The Salesians’ charter describes the society’s mission as “the Christian perfection of its associates obtained by the exercise of spiritual and corporal works of charity towards the young, especially the poor, and the education of boys to the priesthood”.

The procession started just outside the market, and together with the colourfully-dressed children, was a float containing all sorts of local tropical fruit. Many of the children were also carrying brooms, which i assumed would be donated to the poor. The procession was from the central market to one of the many churches in Granada. Unfortunately, it rained on their parade in the end, and Rick and i had to run for cover. Luckily i managed to get a few photos of the procession before that.

The procession.

The religious part of the procession.

The float.

Unfortunately, in the end, it rained on the parade.

Granada

The trip from San Juan del Sur to Granada was an easy one as trips go. One chicken bus, sitting all of the way and good weather. The scenery was pretty. Lots of farmland, all surrounded by mountains and volcanoes.

When we arrived at the bustling bus stop in Granada, i was a bit confused. I expected to be in a colonial city, but the area where we were in looked very different to what i expected. It did not look like we were in a city at all but rather in the middle of a market. It seems that we were about 5 blocks away from the colonial buildings, so after asking for directions to the Parque Central (or Central Park), usually the place where most of the accommodation is located, we set off with our backpacks. We followed the main street, which was lined with stalls selling everything from vegetables to cheese, and discovered that these were just an extension to the Mercado Central (or Central Market).

A statue of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, who founded the city of Granada in 1524. In the background is Lake Nicaragua.

Directly opposite the entrance to the market was a huge old building called Hostal Esfinge so we decided to check it out. As we walked in we were transported back to another era as the old deco, high columned ceilings, and antiques on display was a stark change from the market in the streets outside. It looked expensive but we later found that they had affordable rooms (with no window and shared bathrooms but clean) for USD$12 a night. We did look at other places after that, but they were all more expensive, and it started to rain, so we went back and booked our room for our first night in Granada in Hostal Esfinge, which we later found out used to be the home of one of Honduras’ vice presidents.

The beautiful lobby of Hostal Esfinge. You can imagine how opulent it must have been in its heyday.

An old jukebox in the lobby of Hostal Esfinge.

By the next day, we had explored a bit of the city and had already found another, even better place to stay, Posada Las Brisas. The family that owned and run this hostel were its selling point, along with its huge, well equipped kitchen and beautiful lounging area. It was here that we spent the following 4 days, making new friends and taking advantage of that big kitchen.

Cheers! Our last night in Granada. I made a curry and Rebecca and Simon supplied the wine.

Saying goodbye to our hosts in Posada Las Brisas. Such a helpful family.

Granada was founded in 1524 and is one of Nicaragua’s most important cities, economically and politically. It has a rich colonial heritage with its Moorish and Andalusian architecture and is named after the ancient Spanish city with the same name. Historically, Granada was the sister capital of Central America, along with Antigua, Guatemala, and its location on the north shores of Lake Nicaragua (or Lago Cocibolca) ensured that it was a center of commerce. Granada was also the city where William Walker, the American filibuster lived when he attempted to take control of Central America.

Granada’s Plaza de la Independencia.

The cathedral in Granada.

Beautiful arches on old colonial buildings.

More arches and beautiful old buildings in the center of Granada.

The parque central and its queue of horse-drawn carriages, lined up and waiting for tourists.

The pedestrian street where all the bars are located.

A Nicaraguan lady with a heavy load. You see many ladies around Central America carrying heavy things on their heads. Very similar to Asia.

Guadalupe Church.

These government posters were all over Nicaragua, which reads: Nicaragua: Christian, Socialist, Solidarity.

An old building t the dock on Lake Nicaragua telling the IMF to stay out!

The shores of Lake Nicaragua in Granada. A bit disappointing.

Naming and shaming is quite common here in Nicaragua. These are photos of purported ‘con men’ who were trying to sell property that was not for sale!

A statue of Emilio Bernard Doude, a politician from Granada. This statue interested us as it says below that he was so honest that when he died, he left no inheritance, as he had nothing. I wonder how many of today’s politicians can make this claim.

Granada and Leon have argued over which was the main city in Nicaragua. In the end, neither conservative Granada nor liberal Leon won and the capital city was awarded to Managua (which is situated between these two cities). The city was well organised and easy to navigate. We found Leon a bit too spread out and Granada seemed to us to be more centered.

The lookout tower at La Merced church with one of the best views of Granada. You can see the cathedral in the background.

Granada from above. Another view of Granada from La Merced church. Lots of mountains in the background.

A tiny shrew lost in the city.

An article on the hammock-making shop. These hammocks are made by deaf and mute Nicaraguans.

A display of mini hammocks made by the deaf and mute.

We saw this beauty parked in one of the streets in Granada.

We enjoyed our hostel and made friends with other people staying there, so when we had to leave to make our way up north, we felt a bit sad to go. We were getting a bit restless since the date of our flight back was fast approaching. When we left Granada on the 28th May, we had just under a month to go, and we felt like it was time to get moving. We had decided to travel northwards through El Salvador, so we left Granada with the intention of getting as far in that direction as possible.

San Juan Del Sur

After leaving Ometepe island due to the onslaught of rain, we took a taxi to Rivas then the chicken bus to San Juan del Sur, a nearby beach town. Let me mention here that we got conned on this bus along with many other chicken buses or colectivos in Nicaragua. We got charged more than the locals as we had luggage, ie. our backpacks, which we found out later is free on these buses. Anyway, we learned our lesson and managed to avoid this situation by asking other passengers how much the fare was after that. The journey took about 45 minutes and before we knew it, we were already in San Juan del Sur (SJDS) on the southwestern Pacific coast of Nicaragua, close to the border with Costa Rica.

The crescent-shaped bay of San Juan del Sur.

The beach in the daytime. A statue of Jesus stands on one of the hills in the distance.

We first headed to a cafe to get some lunch and we ended up having a really nice meal. Rick then stayed with the backpacks while i went to practise my Spanish and look for a place to stay. We had heard that SJDS was going to be a very touristy place. It is a beach town, with more beaches to the north and south of it. Its main draw is its waves and SJDS is the place in Nicaragua to surf. There are surf schools all over town as well as restaurants, shops, and hostels. I found a place just next to the bus stop in the centre of town called Hostal Nina. We ended up spending our first night there, during which we experienced a power failiure. It was swelteringly hot, with no breeze and so many mosquitoes. We couldn’t use the kitchen either, so not only were we hot and bug bitten that night, we also went to bed on empty stomachs as it rained so heavily, we couldn’t go out for something to eat.

You can imagine our moods the next morning! We managed to change rooms to one on the upper floor we shared with a couple from Canada, thinking that there would be more air, and found that the fan worked but just blew hot air into our faces. We took a walk around the town and to the beach and looked for some alternative places to stay but didn’t find anything interesting. We also checked on the price for renting a bike and it was ridiculously overpriced and out of our budget. We got the feeling that we were being ripped off in most places and it gave us a bad feeling.

A beautiful wooden house that looked strangely out of place in the bustling San Juan del Sur

These Maracuya (or passion fruit) trees were everywhere.

The fruit. Maracuya or passion fruit. This species had a really hard shell.

The church and main square.

Some artwork in the streets of San Juan del Sur.

More eye-catching images.

The crescent-shaped bay next to SJDS was a large gently-sloping beach with yellow sand. Nothing really spectacular, and the water did not look too clear. It was a bit of a disappointment, but we were also not really in the mood for a swim either so we just headed back to our hostel after sunset.

Sunset on the beach at San Juan del Sur.

The moon rising behind the beach in San Juan del Sur.

We spent another hot night in Nina’s place, and this time, we could hear conversations between various drunk people on the street from our room throughout the night. Again the heat was almost unbearable, so the next day, we both quickly decided to take a bus to Granada, an historical colonial city on the north shores of Lake Nicaragua.

Ometepe Island

If you look at a map of Nicaragua, you can see that the country is dominated by a massive lake, Lake Nicaragua (also known as ‘Lago Cocibolca’). In the lake, there are many islands and islets, some inhabited, others not. We read that there used to be bull sharks in the freshwater lake, but they were over-fished almost to extinction for their fins. One of the most popular places to visit when in Nicaragua is Ometepe Island situated in the southwest. It is the largest island in Lake Nicaragua and the largest volcanic island in a freshwater lake in the world.

Ometepe, taken as we were leaving the island. You can see the rain clouds covering the summits of both volcanoes.

Ometepe majestically rises out of the water into two peaks. On either side of the island, the two volcanoes (Volcan Concepcion and Volcan Maderas) are a sight to behold. It is said that from the top of Concepcion you can see all the way to the Pacific on a clear day, but ascending these volcanoes was not on our itinerary as they both take around 8 to 12 hours of hard climbing to reach the summits. Conception is generally considered the most perfectly formed volcano cone in Central America.

The island was inhabited by local indigenous tribes long before the arrival of the Spanish and there are many petroglyphs (ancient drawings carved into the volcanic rock) dotted around the island as proof.

We arrived at San Jorge (a port on Nicaragua’s narrow isthmus) after a long day of traveling, just in time to catch the last ferry to the island. The sun had just started to set over the mainland and the water was pretty rough. We had a truck tied to the ferry and as the boat was listing to either side, it looked as if we were about to topple over at times. By the time we reached Moyogalpa (one of the two main towns on the island (the other being Altagracia), it was dark, so we made our way out of the dock to try to find some reasonable accommodation. It wasn’t too difficult. We were approached by a girl who took us to Hostel Ibesa (USD$6 per person per night), slightly off the main road and in a quiet area that looked like a local village. The room was basic but spotless, as were the shared showers, and as we were exhausted after a very long day, we decided to stay.

Views of Concepcion Volcano are everywhere you look in Moyogalpa.

Another pretty street near our hostel in Moyogalpa.

We ended up staying a total of 4 nights in Moyogalpa, as Rick had some work to complete and the internet connection was working well. The people taking care of the hostel were friendly and the location was perfect for buying supplies for cooking. Moyogalpa itself was nothing special, and the part of the lake around the town was dirty, muddy and a disappointment.

An old-style merry-go-round in the Parque Central, Moyogalpa.

A truck full of plantains, widely grown on Ometepe.

Just before sunset at a muddy beach near Moyogalpa. It looked like the heavens had opened up!

One thing you notice about Ometepe is the abundance of horses roaming freely around the island. You can see herds of horses and cows descending from the river banks to drink water. For us, Ometepe had the highest concentration of horses in any area we had visited in Central America. Birds were everywhere, especially blue-tailed jays that come to your table to pick at your food! We also saw monkeys (White-faced Capuchin monkeys and Mantled Howler monkeys) during our stay on the island.

A foal we saw wandering around aimlessly looking in pretty bad condition.

A working horse.

A herd of cows having a drink in the lake.

‘Mono cara blanca’ or White-faced Capuchin monkey.

Some cute piglets sniffing around our motorbike after our visit to the farm at La Brisa.

These blue-tailed jays are everywhere on the island.

And here’s one trying to steal Rick’s breakfast!

On our last day in Moyogalpa, we rented a motorbike (USD$22 including petrol for the day) and set off to explore more of the island. It had been a while since we had been on a motorbike and it was great to have some freedom to move around, especially since we really enjoyed our motorbike rides while traveling in Asia. The prices were a bit prohibitive but since it was Rick’s birthday, we decided to splash out. We circled most of Ometepe, and rode on all the paved roads. The unpaved roads were a bit too difficult, especially with sore bums (after hours on the bike), so after going as long as we could stand, we turned back. During our bike ride, we visited a finca/farm recommended by our friends called La Brisa (close to Balgue) and sat for a while with the Spanish owner. We had wanted to stay for a while there as it was situated in a beautiful area with spectacular views of both volcanoes. We also visited a small lake, Charco Verde, which had almost dried up, as well as a few beautiful black/grey sand beaches around the island.

Rick and our bike for the day with Volcan Concepcion in the background.

A view of the Charco Verde, a small lake, from above. Behind it is an uninhabited island.

It was like walking on a mattress! The dried-up water’s edge of Charco Verde.

A huge nut shell we found while in the Charco Verde park.

The active Volcan Concepcion.

The dormant Volcan Maderas.

Evacuation route in case of eruptions.

Mangoes are everywhere on Ometepe.

A wall publicising the names of loan defaulters that we saw while exploring the island. ‘Naming and shaming’ is quite common in Nicaragua!

One of the projects on the island. One child, one computer.

The furthest we got on the unpaved roads. A deserted beach covered with volcanic rocks.

We decided to stay a night at Playa Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo beach) on the other side of the island as the beach was one of the prettiest that we had seen on our motorbike trip, so we packed up our stuff and took the bus from Moyogalpa to the junction to Santo Domingo. From there we hitched a ride to the beach. As soon as we had arrived at our hostel, it started to rain. In fact, it rained the whole day on and off and most of the night. We met a really nice family from New Zealand, who were at the tail end of their travels in Central America at our chosen restaurant for dinner and also at breakfast. What an experience the trip must have been for their two young children… they were talking non-stop about all the animals that they had seen while traveling.

Hitching to Playa Santo Domingo.

Our hostel on Playa Santo Domingo

The huge grey sand expanse of Playa Santo Domingo.

After our one night in Santo Domingo, Rick and i made a quick decision to leave Ometepe island. The rainy season that had come late this year, had obviously started, and judging from the amount of dust on the island, it was poised to turn into a muddy mess, well at least at the farm where we had originally planned to stay. We tried hitching a ride back to Moyogalpa until the bus arrived, then we hopped onto the waiting ferry to cross back over to San Jorge. We had decided that our next destination would be San Juan del Sur, a beach town on the Pacific Ocean, close to the border with Costa Rica.

It’s a Small World After All.

Today marks the 6th month anniversary of our travels through Central America. We started off in Cancun, Mexico and have made our way through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. Currently we are back in San Pedro, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (one of our favourite places during this trip) on our way back to Cancun to come full circle and leave this amazing part of the world at the end of June.

To commemorate spending half a year visiting and learning about these beautiful countries, i thought i would write a little post on tropical fruit (this is also my 90th post, by the way). I don’t know why, but when i have seen fruit that reminds me of home, i am automatically drawn to it. I think i am more drawn to the fact that even though i am worlds away from my home country, i cherish all the similarities between these countries and mine. From the friendly smiles and green landscapes, to the spicy sauces and tropical fruit, Central America has given me a new perspective and shown me just how small the world is.

‘Jambu air’ (i don’t even know the English name for these yummy fruit) in Livingston, Guatemala.

Huge pineapple, Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras.

Giant papayas in Leon, Nicaragua.

Rambutans (USD$1 for a bag) in Santiago Maria, El Salvador.

From Leon to Ometepe Island.

Our journey from Leon to Ometepe Island in Nicaragua was an epic one. Not because of the distance (although we traveled a major part of the length of the country), but more because we changed so many forms of transportation throughout the day carrying all of our gear.

We left Leon early. At around 8, we hailed a taxi in the street outside our hostel, which took us straight to the bus terminal. I have to mention here that we had taken a pickup (which is like a colectivo, but a bit crazier) to go to the bus station a week earlier in Leon, and after the experience of almost falling off the back of it while carrying our backpacks, we decided the next time we should just take a taxi. We got to the bus station and stood in line to wait for the vans that shuttle people along the Leon/Managua route. The trip took us 2 hours and cost us 51 Cordobas.

Once we arrived in Managua, we took a total of 4 public buses to navigate through the capital city of Nicaragua, stopping off at the central immigration office to pick up our passports. We had met a girl in Campeche, Mexico months earlier, who had been robbed at gunpoint in a taxi in Managua, so the last thing we were going to do was hail a taxi. One word of advice to share here is make sure you ask more than one person for directions when navigating Managua by bus, as we received the wrong information from people who looked like they knew what they were talking about.

When we had our passports back with us, we made our way to the main bus terminal to catch a chicken bus south to Rivas. The trip took us over two hours, and since we were cutting it thin to make it onto the last ferry to Ometepe Island, the jewel of Lake Nicaragua (or Lago Cocibolca, as it is also known), we took another taxi to the dock at San Jorge. We were literally running out of the taxi with all our gear to make it onto the ferry. But we made it! Once we had found a place on the outdoor seating area of the ferry, we could finally breathe easy and relax. We had come a long way and were exhausted, but watching the sunset, knowing we had come so far in one day, was a good feeling.

Rushing to catch the last ferry from San Jorge to Moyogalpa, Ometepe Island.

Our first view of the beautiful Conception Volcano on Ometepe Island from the dock at San Jorge.

Matagalpa

Matagalpa is a city in Northern Nicaragua, and only a 2-hour bus ride from Leon. Since it was so hot in Leon, and we had time to kill while waiting for our visa extensions, we decided to head there for a few days. We set off early on a Saturday morning, which was a bad idea. The chicken bus was already packed when we arrived at the station, and we ended up having to stand most of the way. It seems that we were not the only ones with the idea of escaping the heat and since it was the start of the weekend, many of those on the bus were university students on a short getaway (or so we assumed).

Our packed chicken bus ride to Matagalpa.

Unloading our backpacks.

On the chicken bus, we met a lovely couple from Italy, Cathy and Saro, who we ended up staying with in Hostal Buena Onda (since we had no place pre-arranged, as usual). Matagalpa was one of those gems. Small town surrounded by mountains, walkable and fairly safe at night, friendly locals and a variety of affordable restaurants.

Matagalpa’s streets almost always lead up to the surrounding hills.

The cathedral in Matagalpa.

San Francisco de Asis.

Parque Ruben Dario.

A river that runs through Matagalpa.

A tangle of wires on a street corner near our hostel.

The delicious pizza at an Italian restaurant just behind our hostel.

I liked this creative use of recycled cans at the Italian restaurant we visited.

A huge plate of Mexican-style barbequed ribs served at El Taquero.

It is a drop off point for those who volunteer with the communities in this coffee-growing area of Nicaragua and we met a few interesting people who shared their stories with us at our hostel. We were also staying in a dorm, which was the cheapest option for us (USD $8 per person per night) and a change from our usual routine. I have to mention here that these dorm beds had one of the best mattresses we had slept on so far in Central America, and although we could only use the kitchen in the mornings to prepare breakfast, the ambiance of the place was great. It was here that we met Memo, a local guide, and a really nice guy. He showed us a mural that he had painted with his friends and we spent an evening  hanging out in his neighbourhood.

Saying goodbye to Jordan and Memo at Hostal Buena Onda.

Some imagery on the mural painted by Memo and his friends.

Social messages.

Enjoying the whole mural.

It was strange to see a rabbit running around the hostel. Here it is hiding with the piece of carrot Rick gave it.

While walking its streets we were approached by a few locals willing to give us a bit of historical background to some of the artwork that adorned the walls around Matagalpa and immediately fell in love with the friendly people who live there.

A schoolboy walks past a huge mural at the side of an apartment building.

Historical figures and various nationalistic images.

Matagalpa celebrates 25 years of solidarity with Tilburg (The Netherlands).

Heroes of the revolution.

Statues of Tomas Borge Martinez and Carlos Fonseca Amador founder and commander of the FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional).

We walked up one of the hills overlooking the town and took in the beautiful surrounding scenery. From above, you could see just why Matagalpa is situated where it is, surrounded by mountains and rolling hills. Walking down, we passed by the poorer area of town, and although its inhabitants were poor, it looked like all the houses had an electricity supply.

View of Matagalpa from the lookout point at Cerro El Calvario.

Move views of Matagalpa from above.

We also visited the coffee museum, which was filled with general information on the history of this city. The first coffee beans were brought to the region by a German couple who set up the first plantations. You can still see their descendants today as you walk around town.

A map in the coffee museum. Editing needed!

After a few days, it was time to head back to Leon to collect our passports and visas.We anticipated that we would have to spend a night there before heading southwards, which was a good opportunity to catch up with our friends who we had arranged to meet.

Burnt fields on the way back to Leon.