nicaragua

Video: Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua

Happy New Year! It’s been a few weeks since I managed to get to a reliable enough internet connection to update our blog, but fear not, I’m now back in civilization and catching up!

Isla de Ometepe is Nicaragua’s fantasy island, formed by twin volcanoes rising out of Lago de Nicaragua (Lake Nicaragua). Lago de Nicaragua is a HUGE lake – 177km long by 58km wide – and looking out across it is more reminiscent of gazing out to sea than an inland lake.

Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua

I made my way here on an extremely rough four hour boat trip from Granada, during which time I miraculously managed to avoid chucking my guts up. For anyone else trying to get to Isla de Ometepe, I’d definitely recommend the easy route via San Jorge.

Having braved the extremely broken-up roads around the island, I ended up with a cheap $5 room at Santa Cruz, just past Playa Santa Domingo and at the foot of the Maderas volcano. I soon realized that on Isla de Ometepe I was in a wonderfully unspoiled & friendly place – perfect for walking, relaxation and simply contemplating. Some of the activities possible here include hiking the volcanoes, horse-riding & swimming. We ended up doing very little here except for wandering around the island, and climbing half way up Volcan Maderas – one of the most memorable walks I have done in a long time. During a five hour walk I met one farmer, some monkeys and no tourists.

It was hard to drag myself away from Isla de Ometepe, but the nearby beaches & surf of San Juan del Sur beckoned.


Our podcast from Isla de Ometepe and San Juan del Sur

“God manages this hostel”

As I inquired about a room at Hostal Esfinge in Granada (Nicaragua), the female proprietor (who bore more than a passing resemblance to a Nicaraguan version of Margaret Thatcher), pointed out her wall-mounted list of hostel rules. As she repeatedly warned me of the perils of bringing women back to the hostel, and I repeatedly assured her I was married, my fear grew.

"If you bring a woman back, I’ll give you your money back and see you to the door. I don’t need your money." she told me in Spanish. "I understand, I really am married, I won’t be bringing any women back", I told her for the fifth time.

She finished her hostel induction pep-talk with the wonderful line "God manages this hostel". I walked around the corner and saw a cardboard cut-out God watching over Hostal Esfinge.

Hostal Esfinge, Granada, Nicaragua

On my second day there I plucked up the courage to ask her for an adapter so that I could plug my laptop in and run it at the same time as the room fan. The room was a stifling 45 degrees, and had nothing in it except hallucinogenic wallpaper (see photos) and a single plug socket.

Her reply was simply "Oooohhhh…that is not permitted. It is not permitted to plug in computers, phones, cameras or anything except the fan. The electricity is expensive."

Muchas gracias Margaret.

Photos of Granada and Hostal Esfinge

Granada, Nicaragua

The Lonely Planet states the following about Granada "The goose that laid Nicaraguan tourism’s golden egg is beguiling Granada, whose restored colonial glories render it a high point of many travelers’ time in Central America".

I thought it a pretty, but rather vacuous tourist trap. Compared to Leon, it had none of the edgy, revolutionary, arty vibe about it. Think horse-drawn carts ferrying around fat tourists, restored, gringo-owned restaurants selling $10 hamburgers to the same fat tourists, and you’ve pretty much got the idea.

The average Nicaraguan can no longer afford to even be in Granada (unless they’re sweeping the streets), let alone own property, work and support a family here as the foreign tidal wave of property & business acquisition sweeps through this once splendid city – turning it into another Antigua – beautiful, empty buildings, but no locals.

That may sound a bit harsh, and it wasn’t that I found Granada so bad, it simply felt a bit empty and characterless compared with the rest of Nicaragua.

Leon vs Granada? Leon wins hands down.

Podcast from Granada and Leon

Photos of Granada and Hostal Esfinge

Podcast: Granada & León, Nicaragua

[Download MP3 | Add to iTunes | Subscribe to Podcasts]

Join us on an audio tour of Granada, with sounds of the market, Lago de Nicaragua and a street parade and band. We round off this podcast with a bit of Nicaraguan history and some thoughts on the highlights of both Granada & Leon in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua podcast

Corn Island: Bounty island in Nicaragua

Corn Island in Nicaragua
Corn Island in Nicaragua

Thomas and I had dreamt about the white Caribbean beaches since long before we came away. We had seen heavenly pictures from little Corn Island and had been looking very much forward to spending Christmas and New Year there.

Big and Little Corn Islands are both low-key vacation spots in an isolated corner of the Caribbean. The two Islas del Maíz retain in many ways the magic associated with the Caribbean – clear turquoise water, white sandy beaches fringed with coconut palms, excellent fishing, phenomenal coral reefs to explore and an unhurried and peaceful pace.

However, getting there is NOT funny. The ferry there from Bluefields runs irregularly and we ended up having to decide between staying 4 days in Bluefields or flying to Big Corn Island (one way 85$). We chose the last option although it was not in our budget -but Bluefields is honestly not a place you want to spend 4 days (or even one).

On the way back we also flew because there was no boat right after New Year and we would have to wait one week on Big Corn.

Collective pangas between the islands (US$6, 40 minutes) leave from Big Corn at 10am and 4:30pm; if you’re staying on the far side of Little Corn, you need to take the morning boat. Boats leave Little Corn at 7am and 2pm, meeting each round of flights. The sea is very rough and you better wrap your backpack.

I really enjoyed my time on Little Corn Island – but thought it was too expensive to get there 🙂

León, Nicaragua

León is the former capital of Nicaragua, and is situated in the most volcanic region in Central America – a chain of ten volcanoes stretching all the way to the border with El Salvador.

Leon cathedral, Nicaragua

León was founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba, and was capital from the colonial period until Managua took over in 1857. Despite no longer being the administrative capital, León remains the artistic, intellectual and revolutionary capital of Nicaragua.

During the Nicaraguan revolution virtually the entire town fought against the corrupt, US-supported dictator Somoza – and the murals around town bear witness to the city’s revolutionary leanings.

León’s cathedral is the largest in Central America – and well worth a visit. There’s also a decent collection of galleries and museums, including the incredibly impressive Fundacion Ortiz containing a great selection of both European masters and Latin American art, as well as some very interesting pre-Columbian ceramics.

León captivated me. It’s hard to explain quite how, but the place felt immensely rich culturally, and the people passionate and strong.

On my second day in León I headed to the beach – about 20kms away, or an hour by bus. I had almost the entire beach to myself, but thanks to the fiery hot sand and midday sun (this place was HOT!), I hid away in a restaurant just watching the sea, before returning to town for another dinner of the traditional Gallo Pinto (rice and bean mix) for dinner.

Photos of León and the nearby beach, Las Penitas

Podcast from Granada and Leon

Map of Leon and Nicaragua


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