Miss Maps Goes Solo

Wrote this sitting in a bus shelter in the pouring rain at a muddy border crossing between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Debbie and I reluctantly left Granada. A couple of chicken buses and a 1 hour boat journey later, we were on Isla De Ometepe, a sleepy island with possibly the friendliest people on earth. One theory from a French lady I met is that the island was isolated from the war, giving the people a certain softness.

Anyway, we arrived after dark so only had time to find a guide for our volcano trek the next morning. Yes, I hiked up a volcano! Not only was this my first hike ever, but it was up an active volcano 1600m high. We could only go to 1200m because of the ash and poisonous gasses but believe me, that was enough. I’m not very fit cardio wise which, together with the mental hurdles of ‘I’m not going to be able to make it’ and ‘I’m going to make a fool of myself’ made it hard. I hit the wall at about 800m but I kept going and my god was it worth it. From our viewpoint we could see Volcan Mombacho in Granada, right down to Costa Rica. It was so windy you could lean right forward and it would hold you up. The way down was fine (my legs are good, my heart is crap). By this point we’d seen a corn snake, white faced monkeys, blue magpies and an enormous blue butterfly the name of which I can’t remember. We’d also heard howler monkeys, I’ve heard them before in Tikal but they’re elusive so when we saw a large male and 2 smaller ones in the tree right above us we couldn’t believe it. Our guide made an excellent howler monkey noise and the male responded every time. In one picture his face is turned up and he’s actually howling!

Completing the trek was a great feeling and I’m keen to get more fit then try more. That evening we headed to another part of the island and watched the sun go down over the lake. The hotel was so beautiful and the people unbelievably friendly. Debbie decided she wanted a horse ride with a Nicaraguan cowboy early the following morning and they sorted it for her.

San Juan Del Sur was our next destination, a nice little sea side town on the Pacific Coast. The water is pretty nasty though so I decided to go to one of the more remote beaches further north. What the Lonely Planet failed to mention is that the bus stops miles away from the beach. I spent about an hour trekking along a muddy path, somethimes through streams, in the boiling hot sun, carrying all my belongings, including the two bloody paintings. The end result wasn’t entirely worth it. A lovely beach with good clean water but I have to admit the same can be found in Cornwall (well, on a very hot day). The ‘eco-lodge’ was a dive with a concentration camp style dormitory and a creepy manager.

I stayed for a few hours, had a swim then headed back to San Juan.

Whilst writing this I’ve left Nicaragua and headed into Costa Rica, my final Central American country. I’ll spend a few days on Playa Tamarindo then probably head inland before my flight to Ecuador and the galapagos, yay!

Anyone reading this thinking about going to Nicaragua, you have to go, it’s amazing and it will change pretty soon when more tourists arrive.

Most importantly of all today:

Happy birthday to my gorgeous niece Tabatha and happy anniversary to my just as gorgeous sister Nikki and brother-in-law Gary!

What a lovely couple of days, this place is great.

On Tuesday I headed down to the lake and took a boat trip around Las Isletas. 10,000 years ago, Volcan Mombacha erupted and plopped 365 islands into Lago de Nicaragua. Some of them are just a few rocks, some of them with bars, restaurants and museums. A lot of them are privately owned by rich Texans, believe me, I saw the flags everywhere!

There’s been plenty of other sight seeing, cathedrals and the like but the strangest was the bell tower (check out the photos link). Myself and a couple of German girls from the hostel heard you could climb up the bell tower of the local church and get a great view of the town with the lake and volcanoes in the background. This isn’t really a touristy thing and getting up there was a bit of a mission. Really small, crumbling spiral staircases up to a tiny bell tower too small to stand up in. We were happily snapping away at the gorgeous views of the city when the bell chimed 10am! Oh my gosh, we all fell to the floor clutching our ears, it was so loud and such a shock I couldn’t stop shaking afterwards. I can just imagine the little man who’d let us go up there, chuckling at the thought of us all with burst eardrums.

Tuesday night I met a girl who I’d hung out with in Antigua, this backpacker trail is so strange, we all go in the same direction. Debbie is a psychologist from Oxford and is really keen on salsa too. We’re travelling together for a week or two now, probably until I fly out of Costa Rica, it’ll be great to have someone to travel with again, no more scary moments!

Yesterday I braved the local market. It’s sensory overload, I spent most of my time holding my breath as I dashed past tables of chopped up chicken and beef (or something red) and piles of cheese, all unchilled of course.

I may have then got a bit carried away and spent $200 on two paintings! Couldn’t help it, I really loved them and the type of artwork is specific to Nicaragua. I justify it by thinking that they’ll be with me forever and when I’m 70 they’ll be hanging on my wall with the artists signature and ‘Nicaragua 2005′, what a great thing to have. There’s a picture under the photos link of a similar painting, it’s not a very clear shot though. Now just got to clutch them all the way to Costa Rica and spend another fortune shipping them home.

Last night Debbie and I used our last night as an excuse to hit the town. We went to a great local bar with live salsa music and stupidly cheap rum (we bought a bottle, oops). Mucho dancing and generally acting stupid. It’s weird to be out with the locals when all the girls are glammed up and you’re there in your flip flops and khaki trousers.

Today we’re off to Isla de Ometepe, a figure of 8 shaped island further down the lake which was formed by two volcanoes joined in the middle by their lava thousands of years ago. After that we’re off to the coast near the border of Costa Rica then further south. I’m thinking I might do a canopy tour in Costa Rica. That’s when you swing through the jungle on zip lines like tarzan, how cool!

Oh, met a fantastic photographer here, a guy called Moran from Israel. His pictures of Central America make my holiday snapshots of cathedrals look really boring. The link is on the right.

Lots of love to you all

Just realised how that title sounds so before I go on, I`m absolutely fine and happy in Granada, thank god. Friday night, my bags were packed and I was all hyped up for the long journey ahead. Later that evening ... [Continue reading this entry]