And then we were ten (plus 3 dogs, 3 cars, 2 tents and a nudist).
Rachel, Lauren and Peter (who we were now meeting up with in our 3rd country together) as well as the very first friends we met on our trip – Eugene and TJ (they had also met R,L&P separately in Mexico & El Salvador) as well as a few of their friends. So after having just us 2 on the beach, we suddenly had a little colony – roughly resembling a gypsy camp. We didn’t want to make ourselves unwelcome with the locals so we stayed just 2 nights catching up, having fires on the beach, eating seafood, drinking marga-peters and playing beach cricket (we even taught the Americans how to play). It was great to be surrounded by friends again, especially some that we didn’t think we’d ever see again.
The clan
It was also Lauren and Peter’s final month on the road so we set off with them to travel together for the next 2 weeks pottering around Nicaragua which went something like this… Island Omotepe to Lake Apoyo to Mesaya to Grenada to Lake Apoyo back to Mesaya back to Grenada and out.
Omotepe island was the first stop – it’s an incredible sight, an island formed by two huge volcanoes rising out of the vast freshwater Lake Nicaragua which is (thank you wikipedia) the 19th largest lake in the world – 8,264 km2. The lake is both a large source of fresh water and heated debate within Nicaragua as it will soon be part of a new canal that will be cut through Nicaragua to rival the Panama Canal. Billed as the largest ever engineering project in history, the plans for a 300km long canal passing through Lake Nicaragua have recently been approved. Building is set to begin shortly by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Construction Group with completion set, somewhat optimistically, for 2019 (although very few believe that is possible) and costs estimated at at least $50bn. As you may expect, not everyone is happy. At least 200,000 people rely on the lake for their fresh water but to allow the passage of huge container ships through the relatively shallow lake, a 100km long passage will have to the dredged through the lake – with damaging effects for water quality and animal life. There have been many protests about the canal from all parts of Nicaragua including the indigenous communities who live along the route and who will be displaced. We chatted to many Nicaraguans, some are on the fence but many don’t believe it has the support of the people and, even with job creation opportunities, don’t believe the benefits will outweigh the costs (our Spanish teachers on the coast were worried about it changing the nature of their beautiful bay – the ships will come out just a few kms South of the peaceful place we visited and they don’t like the idea of the tranquillity being disturbed by large container ships). The government have committed that 50% of jobs to Nicaraguans, 25% to others and 25% to Chinese labour. Its a tough one, Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Central America and a canal will provide a vital source of income for a country in much need of it but at what cost is still uncertain. To read more, this is a recent and really interesting article.
Anyhow, we spent 3 nights on the island enjoying great buffets and ice-cream at Hacienda Merida mixed in with a little waterfall hike (we didn’t quite make it to the top of either volcano as almost no one recommended it) and some hammock time (for a change).
We took the ferry back to ‘land’ on valentines day and headed up to Laguna Apoyo nearby the colonial city of Grenada. The little lake is pretty but not spectacular and yet it was one of our highlights – it has pristine, crystal clear blue warm water that you could swim in for hours (and we did). We found a brilliant camping spot right on the lake where we had a fires and swam at dawn when the wind stopped for just an hour and the lake was glassy and still.
From Laguna Apoyo, we tried to visit the volcano nearby where one can camp by the crater and see the parakeets who nest in the crater despite the toxic fumes and lava but alas, there were forest fires and the park was closed. So we headed 30min down the road towards the popular colonial town of Grenada instead.
We’d been warned that it is FULL of tourists and while this was true, the tourists (us!) were mostly confined to a fairly small part of the town and the rest felt very much like a working town, far more that we expected. The architecture and lighting of the city is beautiful and we enjoyed the hussle bussle for a few days while staying at the Red Cross (who make a little bit of money out of charging road-trippers to stay in their parking lot and use their shower). Granada is a city that really buzzes at night, so we spent our all evenings dutifully manning a table at the dodgiest & cheapest bar on Calle La Calzada, with the warm evenings melting away into a perfect combination of super cheap cold beer, alfresco dining and bustling street hawkers/traders/performers.
After 2 nights in Grenada, we tried the volcano again but the forest fires continued so there was no entering (we consoled ourselves by making another little stop at Laguna Apoyo for a swim) so we stayed one more night together in Grenada before heading to the Costa Rican border the next day.
And so ended our time in Nicaragua – we travelled a lot and yet, we only saw a tiny portion of the country with the entire Carribean side left unexplored – this side is not accessible by land (although you can take a combination of 2 15 hour bus trips and a boat trip to get there) and so very few tourists visit. It is almost independent of the central government – they don’t speak Spanish but a mix of English, Creole and Garifuna and don’t see themselves as Nicaraguan – its a different world and one we were sad to miss – but perhaps for another time.
Nicaragua seems to march to its own tune and has a soul that is hard to put into words. It has had a rough history and. remains one of the poorest countries in a poor area. And yet, you don’t see huge amounts of poverty, the people are very proud and mostly friendly and it is beautiful and peaceful (A combination that has lead to a huge boom in tourism). It is ambitious too – after the revolution, the government wanted to increase literacy rates for the whole country so it sent thousands of teenage children from the schools in the cities to the countryside to teach the farmers how to read. it seems crazy but it was actually pretty successful and this flare for the impossible seems to resonate with Nicaraguans – perhaps why they’re taking on the incredible engineering feat of a new canal.
Beach bonfires – Playa Amarillo
Squatter camp – Playa Amarillo
Roadtrippers re-united – Playa Amarillo
Some marga-peters to get the evening started
Squatter camp gather – Playa Amarillo
Playa Amarillo, free camp sunset vibes
El arbol de los amigos – Playa Amarillo
Emotional Goodbyes – Playa Amarillo
A Baja bromance is a beutiful thing
Forrest & Aguayo – eternally stoked pooches
Boarding ferry ‘Che’ to Isla Omotepe
Approaching Isla Omotepe
Cloud Halo – Volcano Ometepe
Volcano Ometepe
Some special sunsets – Hacienda Merida
Some special sunsets – Hacienda Merida
Eugene – pondering
Piglets
Island Hiking
Definitely had a few of these before
We are as happy as pigs in shit.
Sunrise – Lake Apoyo
Lake Apoyo
The Gang
Granada
Granada
Tona Bar – our 2nd home in Granada
Granada
Granada
Granada
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