Elena Borgen Guest House Managua

... we were lucky enough to get a seat.
It took us about 2 hours to the to the border, which seemed to go by relatively quickly and easily. However, our trip to the border seemed to have gone a little too smoothly, because when we arrived at the border, confusion set in again.
The Nicaragua-Costa Rica border is a very interesting and confusing place. When we arrived we got out in what looked like a marketplace set up on a dirt road. There was a wooden ...

We hebben echt een leuke vakantie gehad! Vanaf Managua zijn we naar de Big Corn Islands gevlogen met een heel klein vliegtuigje. Het was net een aflevering van de Flying Docters....12 mensen op elkaar gepropt in een klein vliegtuigje....inclusief een chemische taart en een mega ijsbeer...iemand is jarig. Het was een gave vlucht met mooi weer!
Eenmaal aangekomen namen we een taxi naar de haven en om half vijf vertrok de pancha naar small Corn Island....het einde van de wereld ...

... we een winkel invluchten waar we veilig waren. Vervolgens werden er meer stieren losgelaten uit de vrachtwagen....de één wat wilder als de ander.....en achter iedere stier gingen jongens aan om hem op te jagen. Hier en daar werden mensen geraakt en klem gezet....verwond....en zelfs een paard moest afgemaakt worden omdat het door een stier te grazen genomen was. Allemaal erg feestelijk!! Wij besloten thuis te gaan eten en vanaf ons balkon verder te kijken.

Bij ons voor de ...

... on to the bus and went to the central square in Grenada. This is a very popular place for tourists to go - so we finally saw some other Americans! The town is a bit colonial and it was pretty, but still dirty. We walked around, visited the market, got bombarded by every single person begging us to buy something or give them money, and sat down and had dinner!

It was then time for my birthday celebration!! We got back to Los Pinos, showered and ...

...announced the air stewardess amongst the applause that erupted in the cabin as the plane's wheels kissed Nicaraguan soil. I looked around at all the beaming faces around me, trying to recall the last time I had heard applause when landing somewhere. Knowing that people were happy to be returning (I presume?) to this country diffused a bit of my anxiety. As I exited the plane into the Aeropuerto Internacional ...

Planned as a short stop, Granada is now the place for living...at least 15 days-medical recommended. Blended by the cities beauty i cracked my ankle walking towards the Parque Central, but just 4 hours later the pain started. Now for the second time I went to Hospital, it seems this excurses became to be a common habit... The hospital is set around a big patio with strey cats and dogs and looks more like an old hostal - it probably was one before - and so do the rooms. Rusty beds ...

... cafe. It was ok. But we forgot to leave tip, because of the chaos with the money: cordobas-dollars, no change, overcharge. So, the guy seemed upset, but only later we figured out why! Ooops. The lake is nice. It's kind of dirty near shore. A few kids swam in it, but very close. Alan read, there are sharks in this lake... They have a playground, but it is all covered with rust and grass. It they just invested a little money, time and effort in it, it ...

... got stuck in a power cut. Its always interesting trying to find your way around a strange mall in the pitch black! We eventually made it out and went to the shop to buy some rum and coke to take back to the hostel. It seemed that the whole town had been affected by the power cut, but then a bus went past with its lights on!!!! Back at the hostel, the generator was working and so we sat up for ages, playing cards and drinking far too much. Hangover alert for our long drive tomorrow!

... mistni obyvatele a misence. K tomu se pote pridal ohnostroj a delbuchy (ty nesmi chybet na zadne akci) a nakonec pruvod se sochama svatych. ;) Bylo to prijemne. Odpoledne jsme pak prosli centrum Granady az k jezeru a den zakoncili v nasi oblibene restauraci. Pohodovy, tradicemi prosyceny den. ;)

Day 3
I slept well during the night, no bug problems. I woke up once and noticed that a light was on in the girls' room. When I opened the door, they all gasped in fear and fell off the bed! When they saw the door move, they thought whatever was making noises was going to get them. We found out later that it was lizards. They are small and loud but only poisonous if you touch them ...