What We've Learned in the First Five Days

So far we've climbed a couple of volcanoes, relaxed at a lake, made it to an island, and saw 4 cities. But throughout all that, we've learned some very important things along the way:

1. The most common and readily available activity in Nicaragua is sweating. It's indescribable how hot it is here. Way worse than Houston. And no AC at any capacity. Despite being above the equator and having the highest temperatures of the year right now, they call this time of year winter because it is their rainy season. And by rainy season they mean it rains for less than an hour in the evening most days. Chicago/Michigan if you could adopt this version of winter, that'd be fabulous. 

2. Nicaraguans don't have much. Very common housing we have seen is tin shacks put together with whatever metal (such as a beer sign) they can find. It is not uncommon for packs of cows, bulls, horses, pigs, or dogs to create a traffic jam. We saw some farmers actually using a plow being pulled by cattle. Farming and tourism are the main occupations here. 

3. The main Nicaraguan mode of transport is biking, however, it may be slower and more tiring than walking because their tires are rarely actually pumped to what I would call a rideable level. 

4. Nicaraguan food is rather bland but still quite tasty. I basically order anything that has something with plantains in it because they are delicious. Most dishes are some combination of chicken or beef with a side of coleslaw salad and rice and beans. Also tostones are thicker but little baked pieces of plantain that are delectable.  

5. Mixed reviews on construction in Nicaragua. When we went through their capital on our way to Granada, there were some pretty hefty cranes and workers were actually wearing hard hats and vests (lacking on gloves and glasses though). However, the previous night in Leon, we encountered people working on some plumbing lines in the street. They had zero PPE on, no trench box for a hole they were in, two guys were standing on PVC lines for their work platform, and no fence or barrier to keep the public from falling in. So it appears it depends on the city. However, the roads and highways here are in excellent condition, something the Nicaraguans are quite proud of. 

6. Toña and Victoria are the two beers made here. I like Toña, Doug likes Victoria. More or less it's coors light and bud light. 

7. Carry a stick and some rocks if you go for a run to deter stray dogs. 

8. There are soooo many other long term travelers. I think my favorite part of the trip so far has been meeting and talking to all of the interesting people at the hostels and on our excursions - locals included. 

9. Our backpacks are way too heavy. Not sure how to cut the fat quite yet though. 

10. Most importantly, we need to slow down... Our original plan was to get to as many cool places as possible but just within the first couple of days we have realized that the "go go go " method is not exactly sustainable and actually quite exhausting and more expensive. South America is mostly already set since we have some excursions booked in advanced in various locations but we will be rethinking the rest of our plan for sure. The key is more time in fewer places.

11. Also for anyone who travels abroad but doesn't have cell service there, download the app maps.me. It's basically like google maps but you don't need Internet to use it. Just download the map of the country you will be in and voila!

June 4-6

After walking around Granada for a few hours, we headed over to Laguna Apoyo which involved getting on a public bus and then taking a taxi from the highway to a gorgeous lake in a crater with volcanoes in the distance. We are quite sure our gringo-ness (we were the only white and non-Nicaraguan people on this crammed bus) caused us to pay double the actual cost but it still only put us down $1. The hostel we stayed at in Laguna Apoyo was right on the water, super cute tiki huts for the rooms and a great view of the lake while having a meal. We swam, kayaked, and smacked our backs on the water in failed attempts to flip off the floating dock island. Sadly we only had one night there and in the morning we headed to Ometepe Island; but not before I got a killer hill run in of course.

Our hostel in Laguna Apoyo looking from the beach. 

The beach at our hostel in Laguna Apoyo.

Ometepe Island is in the middle of a massive lake (third largest in the world according to one of our guides) and has two volcanoes on it. The ferry we took to get over to the island was quite interesting. Let's just say we made it there. Unfortunately we arrived on a Sunday so not much was going on but we were able to book a guide to hike the bigger of the two volcanoes the following day. Concepcion is 1620m vertical climb (that's a little over a mile). The hike starts in a tropical forest and then there is a timberline around 1000m where you can get a good view before you get engulfed by clouds. Dougie Fresh wasn't feeling so fresh that day so he didn't come to the top with our guide and I bet there wasn't a whole lot to see anyway - it's in the clouds 99% of the time. Luckily they broke for a few seconds to catch some good pics as we started coming back down. Very challenging hike overall. And then we made the poor decision of listening to our guide on taking an alternate route down the volcano which ultimately ended in us retracing our steps back up through a non-trail brushy area to the 1000m point and adding an extra hour to the hike. Our guide initially failed to mention he had never actually done this alternate route before. Oh well, we made it back. I'll admit, I'm a little sore today. Christina, no comments on my outfit for the hike are necessary. 

At 1000m up Concepcion Volcano.

From the top of Concepcion looking down when the clouds broke for a few seconds. 

At the top.

Making our way back down.

Concepcion from our hostel porch.

Today we took a ferry over to the main land, and when we were getting off the ferry I saw a Nicaraguan teenage boy with a Novi track jersey on! I still can't believe it. Next we took a taxi colectivo over to a market. Taxi colectivo is basically the Nicaraguan version of Uber pool except there is no app and the driver just picks up anybody else that needs a ride on the way to your destination. Once we got to the market, It took us a bit but eventually we figured out that "frontera," the place our hostel told us to go, was actually the border.  So we took another taxi colectivo there which was about an hour. Doug got to nerd out a little as we passed a large wind turbine farm. Once we got to the border we got on a bus and through both countries customs, rode it to another city 2 hours away, and then took a public bus over to the Pacific Coast. Finally a short taxi ride got us to our hotel. We splurged a little on dinner since we didn't have time for lunch, it was delicious. Long day of traveling BUT we have AC in our room for the next 4 nights!

Our Reqs for Nicaragua:

Esteli - dangerous at night but good hiking at Miraflores. Depends on time of year as well, you can't do the hikes in the rainy season.

Leon - stay at Hostel Poco a Poco or Bigfoot Hostel; volcano boarding at Cerro Negro, short shuttle to the beach - supposedly good surfing, Fortress Fridays tour (they have a page on fb)

Granada - walk around the city, go to the top of the bell tower at the church, kayak tour through the islets (can feed monkeys), Masaya Volcano you can see magma at the top. We were only in Granada for a few hours but it didn't feel like the safest city. 

Laguna Apoyo - stay at Hostel Paradiso; relax in the sun

Ometepe Island - stay in Santa Cruz or another area in the middle of the island, Moyogalpa is the city that the ferry goes to but it doesn't have much; must get a guide through your hotel/hostel to hike either Maderas or Concepcion volcanoes. Concepcion is dry but steeper and you can rarely see at the top due to clouds. Maderas is shorter but muddy, has a lagoon at the top you can swim in. Each hike takes around 9 hours and takes off early in the morning. Taxis here are a rip off. Rent a scooter for a day and ride around the island, check out Ojos de Lago. Santa Cruz has the best beaches.
Managua - skip

San Juan del Sur - Sunday Funday is a massive party, the town in general is a huge party town. The Naked Tiger Hostel is where to go for Sunday Funday but it's difficult to get to and seemed to be a bit much so I wouldn't stay there. Stay in a hostel closer to downtown. Go to Maderas for the beach and some surfing. 

El Transito - surf camp, stay at Free Spirit Hostel

Corn Islands - don't know much about it but the pics look gorgeous.

Use buses/shuttles to get around the country. Getting to Ometepe Island you have to take a ferry from San Jorge. The US dollar is accepted everywhere.

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Nicaragua has been an awesome first stop! It's definitely more for the adventurous type of person that is willing to backpack through it and stay in hostels. There aren't exactly 5 star hotels and resorts here yet, but I think that's what gives it it's charm. And we thank it for our awful farmer's tans and plentiful bug bites that will no doubt make us look so good in swim suits this week.