Nicaragua
Trip Start
Mar 22, 2005
1
17
26
Trip End
Sep 09, 2005
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Granada,
Nicaragua
Sunday, June 26, 2005
We would have done more diving in Roatan except for that pesky rule about not flying within 24 hours of diving. Even after spending nearly a month on Roatan, I was not quite ready to leave. The diving was getting better and better (in large part from getting more comfortable in the water) and in just the last week or so, I met a bunch of new/interesting/fun people. Luckily, I think I'll keep in touch with a lot of them and hopefully see them again.
On Friday, we flew from Roatan to Managua, Nicaragua. This was an ordeal for more than one reason. First, our flight left about 2 hours earlier than I thought which we didn't confirm until about an hour before we should have been in a cab on the way to the airport. Within this hour, we needed to eat, pick up a DVD from the dive shop, and pack, which was seeming to be a bit difficult due to the fact that our laundry was still in a machine somewhere within the hotel. It showed up and we made it to the airport to stand in line for 25 minutes while the woman at the TACA desk checked us in. How easy it is to forget: we're in Central America, no need to rush.
TACA never flies direct, so we were going Roatan to La Ceiba to San Pedro Sula to San Salvador to Managua. No flight was longer than 45 minutes (and the Roatan-La Ceiba on 15) but we spent about 8 hours in the various airports along the way.
cathedral on central park
On the flight from SPS to San Salvador, we discovered we were sitting next to Dr. Sebi, a healer/herbal medicine guru from Honduras, with whom Will's sister spent about a week several years ago. He was delightful and it was especially fun for him to see pictures of Will's new niece, who he visited on the way to Roatan. Crazy small world.Our first night in Managua was nothing exciting. The hotel I reserved was decent, at best, but, since the streets looked overwhelmingly sketchy, we were stuck there watching National Geographic en espanol. The next morning, we drove around the Area Monumental, where the old "downtown" used to be before being destroyed by earthquakes or other natural disasters (Central American capital cities have a way of being built in exceedingly dangerous areas), then found a mini-bus to Granada, for the cost of less than $1 for an hour drive. As always, the drive was entertaining and terrifying at the same time. They were tearing up one side of the road so whenever he'd have the chance, our driver would go down the road the wrong way (because that side had fewer pot holes) and only move back into the correct lane at the last possible moment before getting into a head-on collision. Lovely.
Granada is an Antigua-esque beautiful colonial town, surrounded by volcanos, with an enormous lake skirting the edges of town. Its not as developed as Antigua, but one of the next "hot spots." We're staying at a stylie hotel that could easily be in San Francisco or Miami or Palm Springs -- complete with minimalist decor and a hopping bar/restaurant in front. The price: $35 a night.
This morning, we took a tour of Volcano Mombacho, which included a lift to the top in an "eco-mobile" which was actually just a big old military-style truck. From there, we hiked around for about an hour. Great views of Granada and the Lake.
On the way down, we did a "canopy tour" -- about an hour of hanging onto zip lines as we flew through the trees. I wasn't so sure I would like this, but it was SO fun (and not scary).... the guides were great. (And, I have photos to prove this!).
Tomorrow, we're going to Isla Ometepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua.
More soon....
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