Nicaragua

Wednesday 12th October 2016 – I was up early for two final dives while Alysa was saddled with the job of packing. At the dive site Thomas checked our kit and soon Ryan and I were in the water. That morning we saw a Petersons cleaning shrimp hiding in a trumpet shaped piece of coral, a wickedly toothed barracuda, a Caribbean spiny lobster, a Caribbean reef squid and a southern stingray as well as more brightly coloured fish than you could shake a stick at. Back on dry land Alysa and I said our goodbyes and walked to the ferry terminal. The Utila Princess was almost deserted on the voyage back – very different to the journey over. Back in La Ceiba we shared a cab to 1877 hostel with a hyperactive American living on Roatan. With no reason to stay longer in La Ceiba we booked ourselves on a shuttle to Nicaragua for the following morning.

Thursday 13th October 2016 – We were picked up from our hostel at 7am and arrived at the Nicaragua border mid afternoon. I can’t say we were sad to leave Honduras; there were simply too many guns for our liking. It was a long uneventful journey although we did pick up a German lad along the way sporting fresh stitches from where he had split his head open at a waterfall that morning. We arrived at Hostel El Jardin in Leon just before midnight and headed, travel-weary straight to bed.

Friday 14th October 2016 – We woke to the sound of miaowing outside our room. At breakfast we discovered the owner of that miaow was a frankly adorable tabby kitten. We gave it some of our scrambled eggs which it devoured before tilting its head upwards again and mewing for more. Leon is an attractive town with colonial architecture, a large cathedral and a couple of interesting churches. We wandered the streets until we arrived at a church, Iglesia La Recoleccion. Inside a man and a woman were worshipping – one praying to the Virgin Mary, the other to a carved wooden saint. We sat quietly near the back of the church and felt strangely calm; outside you could hear the bustle of daily life but somehow it never intruded on the tranquility inside. People mostly stayed for just a few minutes – a quick timeout from their busy lives but in every case you felt they were praying because they truly believed. The man was still there when we left. I wondered what his prayers were. Back out in the noisy street we navigated to the cathedral that is the heart of Leon. After a quick look inside we climbed some narrow stairs to the whitewashed roof where we were afforded splendid views of Leon and the surrounding volcanoes. In the evening we hung out in a double hammock watching hostel life while our little tabby companion climbed playfully in the scale lines.

Saturday 15th October 2016 – Today we would travel to the cobblestoned streets of Granada – considered one of the prettiest cities in Central America. We chowed down on eggs and toast, donned our backpacks and proceeded through the busy market to the bus station. We hopped on a minibus to Managua where we took another minibus straight to the Central Park in Granada – total journey time about three hours. Well cared for horses pulled visitors around the cobbled streets in decorated carriages, locals and tourists alike relaxed on park benches watching passersbys and birds sang from manicured trees. We made our way past colonial facades and beautiful courtyards to Hostel La Mexicana where Alysa gratefully cooled off in front of a fan. When we were recovered we had a look around town. Alysa said the view of the terracotta roofs from the top of Iglesia de la Merced reminded her of Italy. We took a stroll down to Lake Nicaragua where sweethearts promenaded along the shore in a prelude to Saturday night festivities. On our way back to town we passed a neglected courtyard strewn with statues. We were surprised to see such pieces of art just lying around like that and went to take a closer look. Only on close inspection, where some damage had occurred could you see the statues were made of expanded polystyrene. The effect was so good that on undamaged pieces you really couldn’t tell them apart from actual stone sculptures. Before long it was dark and we found ourselves on Calle La Calzada where the party had already started. Well heeled locals and tourists were serenaded at open air tables while street performers and beggars added colour to proceedings. We had a few drinks and enjoyed the vibrant, festive, noisy, happy atmosphere. A mariachi band appeared at our table and belted out ‘One Tala Mela’ in a whirl of embroidery and gold teeth – it was wonderful. Alysa had spotted some hungry looking dogs so on our way home we stopped to buy some hotdogs from a vendor. They must have been pretty unappetising as not one of the dogs would give them more than a cursory sniff.