As we rocked up to the counter to check-in, the lady asked us if we had proof that we were going to leave Nicaragua. We had proof of flights from Costa Rica to Colombia, proof of flights from Colombia to the US, and proof of flights from the US to Australia, but these did not satisfy the airline. No, we needed proof that we were actually going to leave Nicaragua before we could get the flight into Nicaragua.
So, with time ticking before our flight left, I jumped into a taxi and drove through ghetto-ville (Guatemala City) to by a bus ticket from somewhere in Nicaragua to somewhere in Costa Rica. As we had no plans at all for our travel between arriving in Nicaragua and flying out of Costa Rica, I closed my eyes, picked a point on a map, and told the guy at the Tica Bus office that we wanted two tickets from that town (it turned out to be Rivas) to (again, my eyes and picking a random place) Liberia - just over the Nicaraguan border, in Costa Rica.
So with two bus tickets in hand, the taxi driver drove me back to the airport at a million miles an hour ("Senor, rapido! Rapido!") and we just made our check-in. Funnily enough, when we checked-in the second time, the guy only asked us if we had proof of onward travel as an afterthought. Always the way I suppose...
Our 40 minute flight was in business class. We both were both wearing jeans, thongs, and tshirts, and generally looking dishevelled (I was heavily bearded at the time), while everyone else in our area was suited up to the hilt. Yes, we both felt very out of place. But we both got over it very quickly when the drink and nice food came out.
Shortly after we reached maximum altitude, we descended and landed in Managua. We got a bus to Granada - a town on the banks of Lake Nicaragua - and checked into our hotel. Although having the smallest rooms on the planet, the hotel was nice enough. Granada though, wasn't quite what we were expecting. It was alright, but nothing to write home about. Dusty, dirty, lots of homelessness, lots of dogs, lots of people selling cheap tack to you at almost every turn. The restaurants and cafes were good: the restaurant/bar that was a living tribute to John Lennon, funnily enough called 'Imagine' and funnily enough found on Abbey Road; Zooms world famous ribs restaurant/bar (completely decked out in US basketball shirts); are two that spring to mind. Neither of which we went to; and an "Asian Nicaraguan fusion" restaurant, that does dishes like Vietnamese rice noodle rolls with rice and black beans. Interesting.
Overall, we had two highlights of Granada. One of them was a trip to a nearby active volcano, where due to the poisonous gasses being constantly emitted, you could only stay at the rim for 15 minutes.
 |
| No, that gas isn't coming from us |
The view from the top was excellent. Fortunately, we went on a clear day and could see for miles around.
The second highlight of Granada was a boat trip around the 350 small islands in the lake just outside of the city. The vast majority of these islands have been bought by millionaires from all over the world: the guy who owns Nicaragua's most popular (and famous) rum - Flor de Cana; to some high ranking US army officer who's started to make a move into politics (whose name slips my mind right now). Many locals, however, still live here, and make their living from fishing. The Nicaraguan fresh water sea bass is the prime fish of the area, and these guys catch them by hand (as in hand-reel), and sell them on to local restaurants. The fish is absolutely delicious.
After finishing up in Granada, we moved onto Isla Ometepe - definately our highlight of the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment