This is a story-style travel blog featuring my adventure through Central America in the fall of 2023. I did a 17-day tour called Central American Journey, from the company Intrepid. We visited Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some parts
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish;
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your tour leader be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
For those new here, Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. Since it gained independence from Spain in the 1800’s the country has had many periods of political unrest, fiscal crisis, dictatorship and occupation. Nicaragua has a diverse culture from the multiethnic population, which shows in its cuisine, folklore, music and literature. It’s known as the land of lakes and volcanoes.
This morning, we enjoy a lovely poolside breakfast at the hotel in Granada before heading over to the bus depot to leave for our next destination.
This is no fancy bus…..it’s a chicken bus! These are actually old school buses from the US that have been sent to Central America to be used as public transport.
And your visit to this area of the world is not complete without traveling in one! It’s not always the most comfortable ride, but it’s a cheap and fun way to get around. The name “chicken bus” came from a time when people would travel on these buses with chickens…it’s not as common now, but if you’re lucky you might still have a chicken in your bus. Haha. We clamber onto the bus and try to get comfortable…I whip out my handheld and battery powered fans, because there is no air con…only the breeze from open windows. As I move to put my bag in the overhead rack, I clock my head so hard on the metal bar. I think I’ve narrowly avoided a concussion.
There are a few ladies that come around selling snacks before we hit the road.
Once we get to the next bus station we have to transfer on to another bus. It’s quite a scene to watch the drivers haul our luggage from one bus to the next.
It’s especially funny when they get to mine and Ivonne’s suitcases (we have the largest and heaviest bags of the group. Haha). We drive through some small market streets and I can literally put my hand out the window and grab anything they’re selling.
It’s a short ride to the ferry terminal, and we get on the boat that will take us to the next destination, Ometepe island. It’s wayyyy too hot inside this small ferry so we find a spot outside to take in the views of the island as we approach.
Ometepe is an island formed by 2 volcanoes rising out of Lake Nicaragua. Ancient traditions and culture have been kept alive and the locals celebrate so many religious and folk festivals. The original inhabitants of the island left behind some petroglyphs and stone idols, which we will find tomorrow. The two volcanoes are named Concepcion and Maderas, and Concepcion is still active. We’ll discuss my fears about this in a bit. Haha. The latest eruption was in 2010, but not many of the locals took the warnings to leave the island. Like, WHAT? Luckily, not much damage was done and they all lived to see another day.
We’re all pretty hungry by now, so before we head to the hotel we have lunch at a place in the small town of Moyogalpa. I have the most amazing pizza! We do a quick snack/booze stop since the hotel is not really close to anything. We’re staying at Hotel Finca Venecia.
https://ometepenicaragua.com/hotels/hotelvenecia/index.php
The rooms are in these cute little houses, and after we settle in, us girls head over to the pool. Our cabana boy Adam brings us some fresh cold beers. The views of the volcano from here are stunning!!
But now I’m really starting to let my imagination go wild. What if this volcano erupted? What would we do? We have a discussion and decide we’d make a run for the water. But we’d probably drown anyways and the lava would eventually hit the water. Great, now I’ve got this weird, somewhat irrational fear of staying on this island. Haha . But an island volcano eruption would be a really good premise for a blockbuster movie….
We decide to stay at the hotel for dinner and I’m not super hungry so I order a snack of tajadas con queso, which is fried plantain chips topped with cheese and pico de gallo.
There are tons of little bugs flying around so we keep the lights down low in order to not attract them. But it’s just inevitable…they are really fucking annoying and we still end up with flies on us, in our drinks, in our food. We make it an early night because this bug situation is just not “flying” tonight. Because of these bugs, we have to keep the lights off in our room and only turn them on when we are safely secured in the room. Otherwise, they would swarm us. <shudder>. Oh, and on the way back to the room I almost stepped on a frog. Ok, I’m sure the frog would have jumped away. But still. Ew. And to top it off, there is one giant ant in the room and he’s decided he likes to crawl on my bed and all over me. I keep shooing him away but he keeps coming back. I know, I probably should have smashed his little guts but I just couldn’t. So now I keep getting the heeby jeeby creepy crawly feeling as I’m trying to fall asleep.
The next morning we have a nice breakfast at the hotel before we begin our exploration of the island. James has left in the middle of the night to climb the volcano, that brave soul!
Our first stop today is Charco Verde Ecological Reserve. We meet up with our guide, and it’s time to walk through and see some nature! We pass through a caged area where the butterflies hang out, and then out into the trails. The guide finds lots of insects, like a grasshopper and a bunch of ants. There are also many cool looking trees.
As you can imagine, it’s so hot and humid in this park so I’m staying hydrated, fanned and misted.
Here are some views of Maderas volcano from the park.
As we’re walking, we can hear some monstrous noises in the distance and that can’t be anything but howler monkeys! We watch them for awhile, and they can see us too. We’re all equally curious.
The last critters spotted on this walk are a praying mantis, and a little snake coiled on a fence.
The next stop involves a quick drive over to an area that has a few significant and well-preserved petroglyphs, the ancient rock carvings. These were left behind by the early Indians that inhabited the land, and the drawings represented calendars, animals, and every day life.
After this, it is time for lunch and we stop at a small place along the water and we are the only people here.
I have the basic chicken with rice and veggies; this fish is also on the menu but it’s not really my thing. Haha.
As we’re eating, we have a few friends that hang around hoping that we share. It is a couple of dogs, cats, and even chickens. I feel weird about feeding chickens chicken, but it looks as though they will eat anything. I had to look this up, but it’s actually ok for them to eat it. Go figure.
The final stop of this little day tour is Ojo de Agua, a natural springs swimming hole where you can relax and have some food and drink.
The water is crystal clear, originating from an underground river from Maderas volcano. It’s pretty busy today, and there are lots of kids running around which takes away from the relaxing experience I was hoping for. Luckily, we are sitting right next to the guy that is chopping and carving coconuts to make cocktails. Yay!
We order a round for the table, and sip on that before it’s time to take a dip.
The water is so cool and refreshing, and I’m loving it until the tiny fish start biting my feet and legs. I just can’t, so it’s time for another cocktail!
As we are enjoying our time at Ojo de Agua, Bill & Kelly and Eilidh are doing a sunset kayak tour. This would have been so awesome, but I am terrible at kayaking. But here are some pics from their adventure!
Our last night on Ometepe Island is a chill one back at the hotel for dinner and beers. Those bugs are in full force again, so it’s a repeat of last night. And nothing too crazy since we have a long travel day again tomorrow!
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 