BootsnAll Travel Network



Articles Tagged ‘ocotal’

More articles about ‘ocotal’
« Home

Los Manos Border Crossing – Honduras Here I Come!

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

I think this was the easiest border crossing so far and it’s got the bonus of being in a beautiful mountain range. The officials were friendly and helpful. Nicargua charges you $2 for leave the country (and $7 to get in!!) and Honduras charges you $3 to get in. Technically, there are not supposed to be any border charges between 4 countries after Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala entered into the CA4 pact that eliminates various border crossing procedures for many, but am I really going to sit there and argue in bad Spanish about the CA4 pact with a border official? No thanks. And yes, they count on that attitude I’m sure. I did get a receipt, tho ☺.

On the Honduras side I caught my nicest bus ride yet – a little over $5 for an express bus to Tegucigalpa, the capitol of Honduras. I was thoroughly enjoying my ride, complete with english language movie and Spanish sub-titles, when a disgusting Nicaraguan man who blew his nose into his hand then wiped it on whatever he could find sat down. When that didn’t work he just blew it into his shirt. Dude, you are seriously interfering with what was to be a great entry to Honduras. At least he’s a nica ☺. And I didn’t even bother to GENTLY decline his offer to go out on a date. A vigorous head-shake and NO did it. Sure, It’s valentines day but I’m not nearly that desperate. Actually, I didn’t realize it was valentines day until much later in the day.

Last Stop Before Honduras – Ocotal

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Like I said, I don’t like to do all day bus trips. Not knowing how long the border crossing at Los Manos would take, I decided to spent a night in the Nicaraguan town closest to the border. Ocotal was also praised in the lonely planet for the botanical garden in its square and for being a nice, typical northern Nicaraguan town. OK – this will be a nice way to say good bye to Nicaragua. A goodbye I fortunately felt I was ready for.

Ocotal is at the base of the Sierra de Diplito, Nicaragua’s highest range, and the climate here is lovely as well. I found an awesome $10 room at hospedaje Llamarada del Bosque and headed out to walk the town. The square and adjacent church really are lovely. A little later I met Sarah, a Nicaraguan guide who spoke decent english and wanted to practice with me. We chatted for a long time and I agreed to go visit her home so I could take a digital picture of her, in her guide shirt, to send to her to be used in the guidebooks she is frequently mentioned in – footprint, lonely planet, etc. she even has her pic in the back of one. Despite being molested by her dusty dog (there was one outfit retired a day earlier than i planned) it was a lovely evening.