To enter Nicaragua from El Salvador, we had to take four buses, a full twelve hours of travel and crossing two country borders. Needless to say, the tropical heat, carrying our bags and cramped buses made it a long day. Once in Leon, Nicaragua though, it was all worth it.
Leon is this quaint Spanish colonial town with great food and a bustling centre square. It was coming up to Megan’s 29th birthday so in between museums and volcanoes, we had an evening on the town. 2 for 1 daiquiris started the afternoon which led to rooftop bar cocktails (delicious piña coladas for me) and a street food dinner. The main art museum was surprisingly awesome. It had some great modern pieces mixed in and even a Picasso.
From there we struck out north to Esteli where our main goal was to hike, swim and climb Somote Canyon. Unfortunately the heavy rains have caused flooding and so it was closed while we were there. While in Esteli we also went and did a cigar factory tour. To call it a factory is a bet of a stretch, it was a bunch of rooms with people in each do the different steps of the process. It was interesting but the smell was unbelievably intense. In the tobacco leaf drying room it literally made out eyes water and made us start choking.
Our last day in Esteli was Megan’s actual birthday and she got a blouse and a piñata stuffed with her favourite lollies. She didn’t want to do the piñata that morning so she spent the day lugging it from bus to bus as we headed back down to Granada. Red wine, a piñata and pizza made up the afternoon in Granada. Megan blindfolded and trying to hit the piñata was absolutely hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Granada was fun with a bike ride along the coast (why are all hired bikes in Central America such hunks of junk!!) and a night visit to Volcan Masaya. Volcan Masaya is unique in the area because you drive to the rim, literally walk to the edge and look down into the crater and see actual lava. It doesn’t seem all that far down to where there is a deep hot red glow, the lava lighting up the constant haze of gases and smoke. From some vantage points you can even see a small section of flowing and bubbling lava. The fathomless shifting forces or heat and pressure creating a roar made this a seriously impressive sight.
On to Ometepe island for a few days where we hired a motorbike and explored the island. The island is made in the middle of a lake (not quite as it’s connected to the ocean) from two volcanoes. We also hiked in the rain up to some waterfalls and stopped at some natural spring pools for a swim in the way home. There is a spit of sand that runs out from the island and is a popular sunset watching spot. Sitting out here, drinking rum and juice while watching the sunset on one side and Volcan Concepción on the other. As it got darker, the fireflies started to appear. The blinking little lights mesmerizing as we walked back to the motorbike and then drove back to the main road.
From here it was a quick hop to the beach side town San Juan del Sur. They had a lively festival going in the streets in celebration of their saint. The town was partying until well into the morning with the main stage a hundred metres from our hotel, we could hear the pumping beats of their dance music until 2 or 3 in the morning. Now we are on to Costa Rica and Panama before returning to Nicaragua to meet up with Jarrah and Mikey for Jarrahs 30th.
