By Señor Steve "Tone" Catanach8 hours, five local buses, a cyclo ride, taxi and one border crossing later we arrived back in the wonderful country that is Nicaragua. Despite the horror stories, the transition across borders was made easy thanks to $1 and the queue jumping skills of a local boy, crossing into Nicaragua in less time than an episode of Eastenders.
We have become rather accustomed to travelling the local way. Due to budget constraints, flights and luxury buses are now something of a distant memory. I have to say though that the good old chicken bus is my prefered method of travel. Despite being cramped up with your backpack on your lap and sharing a seat with three others, with a middle-aged woman stroking her newly purchased chicken behind and the lady in front breast feeding her three year old child, the swarm of children below the age of 10 rushing onto the bus to sell gaseosas and plantain chips and the latino music, blaring at an unprecedented decibal, makes the journey so much fun!
Furthermore, the savings per journey will allow us to hit the charity shops of LA for some less tramp-esque clothing, or at the very least invest in a decent haircut as Michelle has made somewhat of a mockery of my bonce! After 4 months of sporting an unkempt mullet that Chris Waddle (still hoping to get mine as long at the back!!) would be proud of and wearing the same fading T-shirts, I am sure that with a polystyrene cup in one hand I would make quite a living if I were to sit outside Epping station! Not only this but my clothes now have an effeminate pink tinge, courtesy of a red Ché Guevara T-shirt that slipped into the wash...not the first time that something has run from Ché.
Despite the buses not running to a timetable, due to my unrivaled punctuality (as always) I watched as the bus for the border pulled away...with Michelle on it! Luckily, with her Spanglish and her waving at me frantically I was able to stop dawdling and hop on the bus. I should really stop thinking of my stomach at the most inconvenient of times.
So anyway, our first stop back in Nicaragua was Granada, the town that we left with a bang only one month before. A beautiful colonial town, Granada is definitely in the top 10 places to visit in Central America and with a very unique twist - no water and no light. For reasons unbeknown to us the power is cut every week night between 7 and 10, plunging the town into complete darkness and more often than not, leaving the town sin agua (without water). This clearly befits Granada's identity, judging by the graffiti (pictured).
Due to having to live on a very tight budget we were back on the local food, having splurged on gringo food for the past three weeks. Most travellers know, when buying food from a stall, NEVER to have ice in your drink or eat anything washed in water. With this in mind we headed to the Central Plaza, ordered a tipico meal and chocolate drink with ice. Not only did we not know what we had ordered, we had no idea what we had been served, albeit that it was presented in a nice banana leaf. Nevertheless our stomachs lived to tell the tale. Much googling later, having demolished mine and half of Michelle's, did I find out that the sloppy heap was in fact coleslaw, casava (a starchy root), topped with super sized pork scratchings (or pigs ears, as Michelle put it). Needless to say it was washed down with a litre of Toña, the local beer, beneath the stars and by candle light...who said I wasn't romantic? That reminds me, Nicaragua has certainly won the war for the cheapest beer at only $1 per litre! I wonder if they serve it down the River Bar...???
Off the beaten track we headed to Estelí, a dusty town surrounded by Sandino communties from the revolution and our base for our day in the Miraflor jungle! The experience of the day proved more than just a trip into Estelí's misty mountains and I have to say that a visit to Miraflor is like a trip back in time. They say this is what Costa Rica was like 40 years ago before the eco-tourism boom.
When we arrived at the Miraflor, after a bumpy 2-hour journey, we ate breakfast in a small lodge (Posada Soñada). It was an outstanding meal prepared with 100% organic, home grown produce. Whats more there was no electricity or running water and all cooking was done on the simplest of stoves. Naturally we went back there for lunch.
[Michelle says: As Central Americans are meat lovers, it is extremely difficult to find healthy, nutritious food. With all this lush vegetation you'd think it would be easy but no, it's not! I have never craved a plate of vegetables or big bowl of fresh salad as much as I have in Central America so imagine how happy I was when we ate here...the food was exquisite! I could almost see the vitamins jumping off the plate! And not a piece of fried chicken or red meat in sight...heaven!!!]
We took a guided horse trek around the reserve. It was so wonderful to be in the fresh, open air totally detached from everyday life. The place was so peaceful
and tranquil, disturbed only by our psycho horses! Whether they had been plucked from the wild or whether they simply hadn't been ridden by two novice Londoners before, it was an unnerving experience. Michelle's horse was simply uncontrollable and mine had a better kick than Bruce Lee, lashing out at anything that got too close. I am about as adept at riding a horse as Rambo is at reciting poetry!! Needless to say we finished in one piece and slept well that night. Sore and achey we headed to Honduras the following day, having enjoyed Nicaragua for the second time......Writing this section of the blog has made me realise that it is the first time in six years that I have had to use my brain. You may be thinking that studying Spanish for 3 weeks may have triggered some brain activity but on the occasion of many a conversation with my tutor back in Guatemala, my mind was often distracted with such things as "♪ I love Martin Jol ♪ and Martin Jol loves me...♪♪" and such ponderings as "is Disintergration really the best Cure album?" I can recall many a time staring blankly at Betty (my teacher) as she awaited an answer, whilst I hadn't even heard the question. C'est la vie, as they say! (Maybe I should have taken up French!)
As our time in Central America approaches its end I would like to say what an amazing experience it has been. Guatemala especially was a wonderful country and we really took it to heart, even down to the national teams football shirt that I purchased (¡Guate! ¡Guate! ¡Guate!). The people of Nicaragua and Honduras have been so warm and welcoming and, despite being the poorest nations, never expect anything in return. It truly does give plenty of opportunity to reflect on your own life and put your life into perspective. The wildlife in Costa Rica and the untouched wilderness of Panama were a sight to behold. Mexico and Cuba were pretty cool!
Overall I am so glad that we came to such an amazing place and I am lucky to have shared these experiences with my beautiful girlfriend Michelle. She has hiked volcanoes, traipsed through forest after forest, paddled miles across water and amazingly put up with my constant need to explore when others would have given up- all without a complaint....... other than the demand for Snickers which I have rationed her to one a week!!!.... Thank you Titch.
THE END back to my photography!!
[Photos: 1 - Local buses; 2 - "sin agua, sin luz, esto Granada" - without water, without light, this is Granada; 3 - Michelle on her crazy horse]
