Nicaragua in 1 Word: Unexpected

Feeling refreshed after our break in El Salvador, we braved the final 2 border crossing day we’ll have on this journey. From El Salvador to Nicaragua, there is a small sliver of Honduras that separates the two countries. While we would have loved to stop in Honduras for a bit, we would have wanted to spend all of our time on the Caribbean side which would have required quite the detour and left us with less time in Nicaragua. Plus, we were eager to meet up with some friends that happened to be visiting family in La Paz Centro, Nicaragua. So on we went!

After a quick border crossing into Honduras, a 2 hour drive on the PanAmerican HWY, and a LONG 3 hour crossing into Nicaragua, we made it. A quick stop-over for the night in Leon allowed us to stock up on groceries as well as get Miles to the vet- he’d gotten a tapeworm at some point in El Salvador and it was eating all of his food! Some quick over the counter meds to defeat that pesky worm and we had one more errand to run. Miles needed grooming BADLY. It was hot at around 90 degrees during the day and we had been having trouble finding a groomer the previous weeks to get his coat shaved down. You see, pets just aren’t common. People don’t exactly have extra income to take care of a dog, and this includes grooming. When there’s less demand there are fewer businesses around to groom. So we’d been resulting to dunking him in the ocean any chance we could get to keep him cool. We almost resorted to giving him a botched hair cut ourselves (poor guy would have such an uneven shave) when we were FINALLY able to find a groomer. The women that ran the small grooming business out of their home were so tickled to groom Miles. It’s rare to see a dog as a “pet” these days. If we do, they are usually small shitzu types. Most dogs they see his size are street dogs or working dogs. And by working dogs, I mean tied on a leash 24/7 and meant to guard the property or alert their owners of intruders. It’s sort of just part of the culture we’ve been finding in most places we’ve been to Latin America thus far. So having a dog like Miles as a “pet” was a fun change for the groomers. Especially when they saw how sweet and loving he was- also not common for a dog his size. They took about an hour and a half and were SO proud of their work. They took their time to show us every single crevice in his ears, his toes, etc. He was the cleanest he’s EVER been in his 14 years, and the whole thing cost us a whopping $19.00. Quite the difference from the $100 bill we’d get back home in San Francisco.

First big grocery run in Nicaragua: $62.19

Freshly groomed pup!

After our errands it was on to La Paz Centro! One of my friends from home, Joseph, was visiting with his girlfriend to see her family. She is also from San Francisco and her mom has a house in Nicaragua as well as a ton of family. It was a fun few days catching up with them, visiting a small town that we likely would have never gone to, eating INCREDIBLE foods we would have never known to try, and practicing spanish with her family. Joseph also brought me my favorite snack from the states, Cheez-Its!

Joseph & Kenia in Momotombo.

Boat tours run when it's less windy.

Selfie in Momotombo.

Quesillo! String cheese-type cheese wrapped in tortilla with slaws and sauces & served in a plastic bag because.... it's messy!

Hanging out with Kenia's mom and cousin.

Delicious lunch.

Happy guy.

Lunch time with Joseph, Kenia & Kenia's cousin.

Farewell!

THANK YOU!

We then made our way to Laguna de Apoyo- a place that was never on our radar but highly regarded by just about everyone we met. It is a lake in the crater of a dormant volcano and is absolutely stunning! We found ourselves an extremely nice hostel to park at- probably the most luxurious $8/nt place we could have ever imagined. They had CLEAN bathrooms and showers, access to a beautiful beach with a floating swimming dock, free kayak use, free coffee, and a free drink every night. They also had Wifi- which is hard to find these days! We even met some new overlanding friends, a couple from Canada that we enjoyed getting to know during our five nights there and are excited to see again on our trek down to South America.

Horse and buggies everywhere on our ride to Laguna de Apoyo.

View from the lounge.

Relaxing day reading on the beach.

Beautiful sunsets over the lake.

Zach in his element.

Inner tubes = peaceful evening float.

Laguna de Apoyo. 

Overlanding party in the parking lot! Us, some Australians, and some Canadians.

There’s just one problem with all that luxury and something we’ve found about staying at hostels in general. They’re too easy! I know, funny after my last post, but we are rejuvenated now! The amenities are nice, but we found ourselves getting a little lazy in Laguna de Apoyo. Seeking less adventure and being happy with staying put in what feels like luxury when compared to wild camping. Additionally, we didn’t feel like we were practicing spanish enough. We didn’t feel like we were talking with locals enough. We didn’t feel like we were experiencing the culture of the place that we were visiting when all of the signs were in English and prices in USD. I mean, I'm trying to learn my conversion for Cordobas and be able to say more than “muchas gracias”, ya know! It was something we discussed was important for us. That we have a balance. That we take the ease of a hostel when we need it, but we seek to immerse ourselves in our surroundings whenever possible. I want to be able to distinguish one place from the next as we make our way down to the tip of South America. I want my memories and experiences to be filled with people's faces and their stories that are unique to each place we're in. And that can be hard when you're surrounded by relative sameness from one hostel to the next.

All that is to say, we felt like we needed a little adventure. SO we went extreme opposite and embarked on the most terrifying boat ride of my entire life! The boat ride was intentional but the conditions that made it so terrifying were unexpected. I was legitimately hyperventilating and Zach was planning our escape should the boat capsize. We were going to crawl out of the windows after breaking the glass and it was every man for himself! Sounds dramatic I know, but let me try and explain to you the insanity of this ride. We were crammed onto the boat along with about 5 other oversized vehicles and this boat was SMALL. We were trapped in the van and couldn’t open any of our doors. Additionally, during the months of January-March the Caribbean trade winds blow strong across Central America, making up the windy season. Heavy winds mean A LOT of waves. And I’m not talking just some white caps, I’m talking WAVES. Every one we rode over, our van was rocking side to side to the point I was convinced it would tip and hit the side of the boat or the banana truck that was parked next to it. It was NOT the most favorite hour of my life. But when we got there, we were on Ometepe and couldn’t wait to explore the island.

Ometepe is made up of two volcanos- one dormant, one active- in the middle of Nicaragua’s biggest lake, which also happens to be the largest lake in Central America. There are cold swimming holes, waterfalls, volcanos to hike, rivers to kayak, ancient ruins to be discovered, and motorcycles for rent to explore it all. We stayed at a pretty low key hostel, we free camped, and we even parked at a local’s house. It was the perfect blend and exactly what we were looking for. We loved it so much we ended up staying 10 days after initially planning 5. We rented a motorcycle to explore parts of the island that Fran wouldn’t be able to handle because of road conditions. We visited a local’s house to view some of the petroglyphs on their property. We hiked to and showered in a beautiful waterfall on Volcan Maderas. We did yoga with epic views of Volcan Concepcion. And we played with 3 day old puppies! Which was kind of cool, because we had stayed at a hostel on our first night and the owner’s dog was pregnant. We loved the place so much we returned after exploring the island for a few more nights before we took the ferry back to mainland. When we came back, she had given birth to a 7 pup litter!

Moto riding around the island.

Volcan Concepcion selfie :)

Volcan Concepcion

Volcan Concepcion

Volcan Concepcion

More moto riding.

Stopped at this sign to see some petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs: ancient carvings in stone.

Josue showing us some of the petroglyphs around his family's property.

He was the sweetest!

View from Nohelia's house, a local we stayed with on Ometepe.

Farmers would bring their cattle down to drink from the lake every morning.

Free camping the night before our waterfall hike.

It was peaceful.

And beautiful.

We watched local teens come to the nearby dock to fish.

Gathering traps from the water.

Gorgeous sunset.

After a few mile hike straight up hill, made it to Cascada San Ramon on Volcan Maderas.

Shower time.

Pretty decent water pressure :)

Zach in the falls.

Gorgeous.

Jose's Hostel.

View from the dining tables.

View from upstairs. Did yoga up here with this BEAUTIFUL view of Volcan Concepcion.

Enjoying the view on our last night.

Jose has hammocks all around his property. Enjoying my book and Miles is never far away :)

Beautiful view from the top floor. You can see Fran in the bottom right corner.

Parking spot for a few days. Volcan Concepcion in the background.

Some other overlanders came to join us! We actually met these guys while in Tulum, MX! Fun to see them again on Ometepe, Nicaragua.

Da babies!!!! They were 4 days old in this picture.

The ride back to mainland was luckily much smoother- the winds took a kindness to us :) It was back to the beach for our last few days in Nicaragua to a tiny surf town with the hopes of catching the Superbowl in a gringo bar and maybe a few waves. Though the swell wasn't really on our side, we ended up having quite the unexpected experience when we were taken in by some travelers. On our drive into town, we picked up a couple of hitchhikers from Quebec. They were staying in Popoyo for a few weeks and hitched into town for a big grocery run where we saw them on their way back. We were also heading into Popoyo so we gladly gave them a ride. Fast forward a couple of days and they invited us over for a dinner party with a few of their friends who have been living in Popoyo for 7 months. We parked in their yard for the night and stayed up way too late swapping stories with 5 new friends from California, Canada & France. Oh, and we caught the Superbowl too :)

Our camping spot also had a restaurant (soda) outside that served lobster plates for $7!

Playa Popoyo.

Sunset over Playa Popoyo.

Caught the superbowl!

This is me excited about watching football :)

The view from our new hitchhiker friend's house they were renting.

The giant feast they cooked up for our dinner party.

Nicaragua surprised us and invigorated us in a ways that were equally unexpected and desperately needed. In a way that seems to have re-fueled our curiosity and excitement to continue our journey for 8 more months. We've officially reached the half way point of living in the van and to us that seems like a huge milestone. It feels both like the blink of an eye and a lifetime ago. We can't believe it's only been 8 months since we pulled out of Vicki's driveway with sweaty palms and butterflies in our stomach. That we met the first locals that took us under their wings. That I had a bagel. That we learned to milk goats. That we celebrated our first wedding anniversary in the city we call home. It seems like a lifetime ago that we were preparing to leave the country for a year. We've now spent 4 months in Latin America and it feels like it's gone by in the blink of an eye. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua. Each place has been so unique and filled with so many rich, rewarding experiences. From the people we've met, to the food we've eaten, to the landscapes we've explored- all of it has been incredible and we're excited for 8 more months of exploring the next 8 countries in our path. Let's just hope that my spanish continues to improve ;)