Day 7: Hanging out in San Juan del Sur

Beach, guitar, couple beers, and a night of shooting intestinal pains and sudden runs to the toilet.

Good day until night fall. Apparently I've come down with some type of travelers diarrhea. I did fill the prescription for this but I want to first make sure that's its a serious one. I've read that most cases go away in 2-3 days so I think I'll wait and save the prescription in case I get something worse later on. No fun tho - didn't sleep much last night and ended up having to cancel our plans for leaving early this morning for costa rica.

Ended up spending most of the day in the hostel bed. Didn't want to be too far away from the facilities. S0 as of now were going to try again for a 5:30 taxi ride out tomorrow morning and then about 4 bus connection for the next 5-6 or more hours. Could get ugly - hopefully this thing will run most of its course by then. I'd hate to think of the worst case scenario here - tying a long sleeve shirt around the waist ...

So yeah - outta here. San Juan del Sur - pretty much one of those A list lonely planet places. Chuck full of tourists filling the handful of bars on the beach night in and night out. Loads of hostels around every corner. Probably a pretty close ratio of foreigner to Nicas.

Good to do the beach thing for a bit - always seems to get a little lazy to fast tho - which is the idea I suppose - more for vacationing than traveling tho. Got some swimming in, guitar playing, and a fair amount of drinks in. On to La fortuna Costa Rica - home to some type of very active volcano, cloud forests, wild life, etc.

Until then - Hasta Luego

100 C - peruvian steak rice - lomos salta?

17 C - coke

88 C - bottle of Nica Rum aged 5 years

100 C - breakfast sammy

$6 - Eleonoras Hostel

60 C - happy hour drinks on the beach

Day 6: recovery in Ometepe

Feeling it today for sure. Hard to walk anything with a down grade, and I find myself locking the knee when walking in general, must take some weight off of the muscle and more into bone and hip.

Not sure what we were going to do today - plan was to head out and get over San Juan del Sur, but we decide to check on motorbike prices. We go to the lady that Shawn has continually been running into since we arrived on the island and got a price for $15 for something like 2 til 5. We split a aging Kayak 125 motorbike and headed down the other section of the island, the Maderas Volcan section. I took thee reins at first seeing that Shawn had never driven a bike with a clutch before (or a car I believe), and zip along down the one road that goes around this place.

Got a pretty good cross section slice of the island life: every so often a cowboy rounding a small herd of cattle down or across the road, the random tattered dog in its own world crossing the road, rice farmers drying kernels of rice on a flat semi paved basketball court, people general just laying about here and there in small groups, dirty children staring, lots of farm animals littered about.

Took about 45 mins and we at the end of the 'good' road and entering the other half the figure 8 island. I started for it - rough going, more of a big rocky trail then road. For a bit I thought we might be able to make it around this whole part of the island, however, we stopped to talk to a local and we soon found out that it would take us until around 7 to get back where we started in Moyogalpa. So instead we didn't to go back the natural pool called 'ojo de aqua' and take a dip.

Got back just by 5 and as we walked back to the hostel Phil drove by on his way to the ferry, Phil the Australian who we had hiked the Volcan with. We ran to get the bags met up with Phil on the ferry, caught the sunset on Lake Nicaragua, zipped down to San Juan del Sur, went to about 10 full hostel, settled on a hole in the wall, and went out to hit the town for drinks and food.

Ended up running into almost everyone we had met up to this point in our traveling on the Iguana Bar.

Day 5: Conquering Volcano Concepcion

Possibly the most grueling one day hike I've done. Up at 5 - down a cliff bar and get to the Volcano as the sun is coming up.

Day 4: Starting the southbound push

Heading from Granada back south to San Jorge to catch a ferry to the Volcanic island of Ometepe.

The thing to do apparently. Probably make it there say 2 pm. Enough time to scope the place and get a decent hostel before dark.

Interesting note - reaccuring through the last century is a the idea of the Nicaraguan canal. From Ometepe which is a island in Lake Nicaragua u can see the pacific not far away, and lake is connected to the Caribien through the San Juan River on the other side. Wikipedia says the canal was instead built in Panama to quell any competition there.

.. arrived in ometepe around 3 or so. Met a pair on the bus and split a taxi from Rivas to San Jorge where you can catch a ferry over to the Island. Met a guy named Gerald who' presently living in NYC an down for a 9 day holiday. Ended up walking the small town of Moyogalpa looking for hostels together and eventually all settle on the same joint which seemed to have the best deal.

Afterwards we directly booked our trip to hike Conception Volcano for the next morning. The trek being a solid 8 hours of hiking, we were set to live the hostel at 5 a.m. Knowing it'll be an easy one we went to find some local nicaraguan cuisiine and settle in for the night.

desayuno at Mochilas leftovers

34 C Bus - Granada to Rivas

$2 taxi - Rivas to San Jorge

40 C - ferry

$7.5/$15 - hostel split

185 C - dinner, 2 beers, jamaican drink

24 C - cigarillos

12 C - coke

60 C -chips and 2 ltrs water

Day 3: Granada Excursions

solid day so far. flipped over the front of my bike and bloodied up my elbow and palm racing Shawn and Bardillo. We were on our way back from the Islet fishing excursion down the 2 + mile rocky dirt road. Could have been a lot worse but I employed some evasive manuevers and a good tuck rolled up to my feet.


Bike ride to some of the Islets right near Granada to do a little fishing.

The days catch! Hard fishing. Just using worms on about a size 2 hook. So many small fish, they'll strip the hook about 99% of time. Found a sweet spot after awhile and contributed to the days bounty.


Local families elder mujer cooking up the catch, Maria Antonia.



Straigt to the oil. Descaled and gutted.



Bien Provecho! - Plantains are the banana look alikes here. Good tasty solid meal.



The way to come and leave. The rainy season washes though driveway out, they said it was a couple feet higher. Right now it's at a height where its just low enough to make it challenge to get the rickety boat to and fro.
Flipped the bike on the way back. Made to back to Leo to return his bikes and headed back to the Hostel for wound treatment and water. Close to 3:30 so missing the tour to Masaya Volcan - instead try to do it ourselves. Head north after finding the bus station. Similar to Belize these cheap public buses double as school buses so it ended up taking some time. Got dropped off at the Masaya crossroads about a 10 minute drive from the volcano with the sun getting low - 4:30. Found a taxi and haggled a price while traffic honking in the extended row behind him. Made it to the volcano with seemingly time to spare - however - apparently they close thbCe entrance at five to anyone not in a tour group! It was 5:06! I would have definitely haggled but my Spanish is crap for that.
Hit the next bus back to Granada, after we stopped at an 'On the Run' gas station.
Pretty chill night - went back to the Gringo Calle(road) - late and hard try to fight local 'off the beaten track' food. Although we did find traditional dishes. The meal so far is Indio Viejo. Shawn ordered it again, except this time is was way better.
Crushed up corn tortillas, beef, onion, and some spices and maybe some other ingredient - all mushed up into almost a soup.


$20 each - bikes/guides/fishing/fish prepared by local family 9 til 3
street market prices:
desayuno
18 C /6 eggs
10 C /small bag chilies
20 C /2 sandwich loafs
15 C /tomatoes
9 C bus from Granada to Masaya
120 C taxi Masaya to Volcano
9 C bus from Masaya to Granada
$7 Hostel rate
24 C /belmont cigarillos
15 C /coca-cola classic
250 C /shawn and I meals and couple Tonas (50C tacos/ 90C indio Viejo)
20 C /hostel tona

Day 2: Granada Nicaragua

Felt like I slept for 2 days...almost 12 hours anyway.
Feeling pretty good - didn't go overboard last night, just 2 Victorias (which I believe is a local Nicaraguan beer.

Hit the banco up for some more Cordobas and then walked Granada with Shawn for a couple hours down the Malecon and got a bead on some fishing and island viewing in the Laguna de Nicaragua. 365 Islets. $15 for both of us for an hour long ride/fishing excursion.

cigarillos: 35 C ($1.5) shawn
coca-cola: 10 C ($.45)
aqua: $1

figuring out the next move, but enjoying just staying in one spot for a bit. Crossing borders is always a bit of a toll - in more than one way. Got some news from some fellow travelers from Colorado about the Crossing - from Panama to Columbia. They illuminated some relevant information but mainly the fact that during the Christmas/New Years time period it will be hard to book certain things. So - need to start planning this sooner than later.

Met with some Dutch girls and hit the town for a bit. Played some pool on some crappy tables and tried a new meal called Vaco Flaco, which is chicken that looks like beef with some Yuca. Pretty tasty all in all.
bill - 332 C - dinner 3 beers and pool.

$7 - hostel, mochilas

25 C - beer at hostel

Day 1: Buffalo to Liberia, Costa Rica to Granada, Nicaragua

Arrived at airport in Liberia, Costa Rica about 1:30 pm 21st of November, Monday. In quick order and on Shawns advice I hopped a bus for less than a $1 to the city/town of Liberia where I was to meet Shawn, 100 mts north by 25 mts west of the destination terminal, at some hostel, which I had conveniently forgot to write the name of down.
Currency exchange:
400 Colones ~== $1 USD

-bus ride from airport: 320 C
-bus ride from terminal de busas to frontera: 1400 C (3.5 USD)

Travel luck on my side - my bag which I reluctantly checked made it to Liberia. After I thought about it, bad idea. It would have been a royal pain to try to track down that bag had it not arrived. Made it to the terminal walked north and found Shawn outside. Meet a guy named Marc from Montreal on the bus and we helped him out with some translation and left him at the hostel Shawn had stayed and then off to the Frontera - the town right before the border with Nicaragua.

Got exit stamp and then walked over the border to Nicaragua immigration checkpoint. Paid: $12USD for entry.
Getting the typical run around not to take the bus from the local 'drivers' at the border and how its cheaper and easier to just take their taxi for around $30.
Found a bus that went directly to Granada for $10 USD a piece and easy as that.
Nice bus - turned out to be tourist group bus of some kind that had gone over the border - showed the movie Contagion as I passed out for a bit on the end of the guitar.

Time very strange how its passing. Maybe from some type of traveling jet lag mixed with some kind of excitement. But mostly probably just the strangeness of a new land and not know much of anything about what going ON. Bus to frontera maybe an hour or two. And the bus from Frontera to Granada maybe about the same.


Eventually go to Granada, dark, and eventually found the hostel in Granada that Shawn had make some type of reservations at. Hostel de Mochillas. $7 USD per person for the private room.
Hit the town for a tad - $418 ($19USD) Cordoba for 4 Victoria beers and 2 fajitas meals
Currency Exchange - Nicaragua:
22 Cordoba ~= $1 USD


Got to bed before midnight - a little rung out after a solid day of traveling. Not bad for day.

Post 1

9 days until departure. Buffalo to Liberia, Costa Rica. No definite plans or time lines from there. Only plans - learn Spanish, and continue south.
gear:
11.6 in acer notebook.
mini guitar w/ case
three of each - clothing
flipflop and sneakers
8 wt flyrod/reel/flys/line/weight
light toilet trees

and that's about it. trying to stay as light as possible. may be able to get guitar into the pack which would be ideal.

nothing else to report as of now. just using the last days to file away some to dos and get ride of any worries and responsibilities here. The great trek will soon commence...