Nicaragua

Home early.... if one thing can chase us out of a country quickly, it´s bad food. Unfortunately Nicaragua could not compare to the cuisine of Costa Rica (or any other country we´ve been to for that matter) and we decided we were just as happy coming back early.

We caught the bus to Managua, Nicaragua on the side of the road in Liberia, Costa Rica. We were told we had about five hours of driving, and an undisclosed amount of time to wait at the border. We were exactly at our 90 day limit here in Costa Rica, but thankfully the border guards did not seem to care at all. It was absolute chaos once we crossed into Nicaragua and had to go through customs. The bus driver took everyone´s passport and so we sat there waiting outside the bus for an hour while he went to get them all stamped. Meanwhile, everyone around us was selling food, hammocks, illegal movies or changing money. Then everyone scrambled to get their bags from under the bus and take them over to another mass of people who supposedly check them and send you back. The entire process was a joke, and seemed to take the maximum amount of time possible. A couple hours later we were back on the road and headed to Managua.

As soon as we arrived, everyone began telling us how dangerous the city was and to be careful. We walked around for awhile and as it got dark figured that we were safest just to watch a movie at the nearby mall. However, the movies now showing in the theater in Nicaragua are the same ones we were watching as Redbox rentals last summer. It was still worth the $3 of entertainment and was the coldest we have been since arriving in Central America. The next morning we decided to head south to Granada, since everything we´ve seen and heard is that it´s a gorgeous city. As the bus pulled into town, it reminded us so much of Peru. The city center is full of old churches and convents and the city is situated on Lake Nicaragua (which is so big it looks more like an ocean and even has sharks).

While walking around the city, we happened to run into another American couple we had met on the bus ride to Nicaragua. We joined them for the rest of the day and cooked a great dinner at their hostel with some of the other guests. This was the best meal we had in Nicaragua. The next day we took a bus to Masaya to see the huge markets there and a nearby volcano. Volcán Masaya was amazing because it is still active and gas was rising from the crater as we looked over the edge. It feels as if you have left Earth and have been dropped on some remote planet. Our plan was to hike back down the mountain and flag down a bus heading to Granada. However, the park officials offered us a ride back to the main road and it was all down hill from there. Another couple also waiting for the bus managed to flag down a truck and we all climbed in the back. About half an hour later, we figured out that they were not headed to Granada at all so we hopped out and waited for another bus to pass. This bus could take us to a town that had a road leading to Granada, so once we got off we tried hitchiking again. It took longer to find a ride this time, but finally another truck full of ladders in the back stopped and the four of us managed to squeeze in around them and finally make it back to Granada. Just in time too, we were able to catch tip-off for the Final Four Games. The outcome of the games was definitely not what we were hoping for, but we were able to drown our sorrows in $1 mojitos and beers.

The next day we were going to head to another nearby volcano to hike, but we were awokened at 5:30 to church bells, drums, gunshots, and a parade going through the streets. Samana Santa (Holy Week) had begun and everyone was up early to begin the celebration. We had been teetering on the edge of coming home and the promise of a week of 5:30 am wake up calls was enough for us to call an end to our time in Nicaraga, and catch an 8am bus back to Costa Rica. Eight hours later we managed to make it back to our apartment, thankful to be back. We will certainly give Nicaragua another chance in three months, but for now it is nice to know that Costa Rica is starting to feel more like home.

Eat lots of Cadburry Cream Eggs for us,
Team Wander