More stuff Nicaragüense

So in case you didn't know, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti. It's also on the list of one of the dirtiest I've visited (Cambodia still wins though). After school one day I visited a town called Masaya via one of the infamous Central American 'chicken buses'. These are old Canadian or North American school buses and I can confirm that they are super-uncomfortable. And always decorated with stickers, lights and religious stuff. Here's a pretty stock standard bus.

Anyway back to Masaya. It was filthy.

This was the bus terminal. I'm actually fairly convinced it was also the local rubbish tip. There were huge piles of rubbish laying around and it seemed to be coming out of the ground! The bus terminal was also next to the market which was just as filthy. Everyone was selling food but I was convinced I'd shortened my life expectancy just by being there so I skipped the food. 

They're famous for their sweets there but luckily you could also purchase them in Granada and my teacher got some for me to try. The one on the left is like a candied fruit. Don't ask me what fruit because it's a weird local one I don't remember. Then the radioactive pink one is like coconut ice. The ball was also fruit based. The diamond was like an Indian sweet and the brown coconut one was my favourite. Kinda like a coconut caramel thing. Yum!

The other thing there is a lot of in Nicaragua is horses and carts. They use them as taxis and obviously to transport goods too. In Granada they use them with decorated carriages to take tourists on a tour of the city. 

They're also obsessed with baseball. I didn't get to catch a real game but I saw some kids practising on the weekend which was cool. 

I also saw something which I thought was quite unusual for this part of the world and just the world in general. A sign about safe sex. With two of the most unlikely models. But still I'm impressed. This translates to something like 'safe sex and pleasure. Always use a condom'.

The other cool thing about Nicaragua is they have plastic money! How cool. I've missed Australian money so much.

Granada, Nicaragua

So finally I was in Granada and ready for a travel break. I'd organised one week of Spanish classes and a homestay with a local family. Like a lot of towns I've visited this is an old Spanish colonial town. The buildings (and many churches) are gorgeous.

I didn't do a lot while I was in Granada. Just school, hanging with my family there and eating and drinking. After Colombia I was happy to see vegetables on my plate once more and significantly lower prices. Plus food with flavour! This is beef with some kind of sauce and vegetables over it, beans (of course), cabbage salad (a staple here), rice and deep fried banana chips. 

On Sunday we ate the traditional weekend breakfast of nacatamal which is a tamale with corn meal, rice, potato, pork and mint. Way better than any other tamale I've had, but I think the texture isn't everyone's cup of tea.

I was also happy to see coconuts back in the streets. In Ecuador they were on every second corner selling a cup of coconut water for 50 cents. This was about 75 for a whole one.

I also got to see the making of patacons which is basically a banana (plantain) fritter thing. This was available everywhere in Colombia and is a way of consuming both carbs and fat, sin flavour! Still don't get it and they don't even put salt on it. But yes, all you need is a plantain (giant green banana) and a metal thing to squash it. Then you just deep fry it. And if you're me, you add salt. 

In Granada it's ridiculously hot and humid. Most mornings I was working up quite a sweat just consuming breakfast. My family thought it was because I was from a cold country. I had to break it to yet another person that Australia is not actually cold. 

Anyway, most evenings at about 4pm people migrated out onto the street to sit in their chairs by their front doors and chat. This is apparently quite the thing to do in Granada and it was a nice time to walk around and see everyone out chatting. I of course was drinking beer, but that didn't seem to be part of the tradition, that's just my twist on it. Here's my street during the day of course. 

The family I lived with had a pet macaw (this isn't illegal here) so the view from my door was this... 

Pets are a weird concept in some parts of Latin America. I've lost track of how many times I've requested the name of an animal and been advised it doesn't have a name. Well the same goes for this bird. They've had her nearly 20 years and she's nameless! 

The other view from my door often looked like this. My 6 year old Nicaraguan brother Ignacio. I was happy because in Bolivia I also had a baby brother about the same age who I adored but couldn't really talk to since I couldn't speak Spanish. This time round it was nice to be able to talk to him. He told me he'd miss me and remember me FOREVER. What a sweetheart. 

It was his sixth birthday whilst I was there and like every boy in Latin America he loves minions! So of course there was a minion cake and 36 cupcakes to take to school. I bought him a pirated copy of the new minions movie plus some little game which was broken within 24 hours. 

They also LOVE piñatas here. I saw a minion piñata about the same size as me. I'll have to try and get a photo of them. They're just amazing. Stay tuned...

Buses and Backpacker Life

So I took an midnight bus from Panama to Costa Rica. We arrived at the border first thing in the morning. We were all hauled out of the bus and had to take our bags into a room to be sniffed by a 'sniffer dog'. I'm sceptical about this dog's skills since he just seemed to start eating a few bags and his handler had to keep pulling him off. A few people giggled and after he left I said to one of the guards that the dog was a bit naughty and he just laughed. 

Here's a map by the way...

Back on the bus to enter Costa Rica and we go through basically the same thing. Finally we arrive in San Jose (the capital) some 15 hours after we set off but there wasn't a bus out until the morning so I stayed in a shitty hotel near the bus port and went for a wander round the centre where I counted 6 McDonalds on one street. They love fast food here. 

Costa Rica is known for its great surf and great natural sites and animal conservation. It's also known to be full of yanks and have extremely high prices...so I skipped it. I caught an early bus the next day to Nicaragua. The bus pulled over at a roadside restaurant for lunch and I bought a Diet Coke and this plate of food for $8USD and nearly choked. Yikes. 

Eventually we crossed the border into Nicaragua. We arrived and I could see so many people at the office but as we walked closer I realised they weren't lining up. It was like a refugee camp. Five police officers stood outside our bus and others escorted us to the office to have our passports stamped. I asked a local what was going on and he told me they were Cubans. Someone told me they were trying to get to Costa Rica but someone else told me they would have come from Venezuela with the intention of heading north. So I don't know but they looked like they'd been there a while. I even saw people having showers. 

When we entered Nicaragua there were about ten army guys with huge guns so possibly the Cubans were going north but who knows. Yesterday I saw a guy with a huge gun at an icecream shop and in Bolivia I saw one in a shoe shop. So that's not proof of anything really. 

Anyway, eventually we were in Nicaragua. Here's a picture of the landscape on my way through. That's Ometepe island in the background and one of those peaks is a volcano. 

I arrived late in the capital (Managua) which is known to be a fairly busy/dirty/unpleasant city. After Colombia and Panama I was completely sick of men and just tired and grumpy. The bus arrived at some random terminal in the city and I was without internet. Fun. 

A taxi driver yelled some stuff at me and I ignored him. I asked the girl at the counter how much a taxi cost to the other terminal and she said $3. She then called him over. Haha. So I go outside and head towards his taxi. Some guy tells me not to go with him, but then he also asks if I need a boyfriend so I ignore him. Get in the taxi asking 'how much?' to which the driver ignores my questions. I knew exactly how this was going to go but I was just so over it. I got in. 

By this stage it was 5.15pm and getting dark (it's pitch black at 5.30pm here). On the way to the terminal he churns out a few classics:

1) I can take you there but the last bus to Granada left at 5pm. My response 'take me there'

2) There's another option. I can take you all the way to Granada (1 hour trip). My response 'take me to the bus terminal'

3) Look at the buses. They're so full. It's very dangerous here. My response 'take me to the terminal'

Ten minutes later we arrive at the terminal and he of course says $10. That's US by the way. I laugh. Since I only had a $20USD note or a small amount of cordobas I got out of the taxi and went to find change (which is hard work in countries like this). Ten minutes later I handed over 80 cordobas (about 3 bucks) and told him he was a liar. He drove off without saying a word. 

I then procured a chip for my phone and went to line up in the huge line for the many buses to Granada. Every bus that came was crazy. I saw men pushing women, women pushing men and just general chaos. About 3 buses later I got a tiny seat but was finally on my way to Granada. 

Some days are hard work!

Luggage Storage at Albrook Bus Terminal (Panama City)

This post is solely for anyone searching information on luggage storage at the Albrook bus terminal. I had googled this and found a lot of conflicting information, plus the people at the hostel, the tica bus salespeople and the information desk at the bus terminal told me no such thing existed. 

I found a post from one person giving some general directions which helped me out so I just wanted to provide some more information for people searching out luggage storage. Which should be available at every major bus terminal! 

So, if you're standing in the terminal facing the mall you need to walk to your left, all the way to the end of the terminal and out through the electric sliding doors. When at the doors turn to your left and a few doors down you will see Expreso Veraguense. 

If you have trouble finding it you can ask at the information desk. They knew about the existence of this company but not that they would store your luggage! 

I told the person at Expreso Veraguense that the information desk didn't know they offered luggage storage. She just said yeah they probably don't know. So then I went back to tell the information desk who seemed to care even less. 

Anyway in 2015 it cost me $2.50 and I had to go and pick up my luggage before 8.30pm when they closed. 

Hopefully this post can help someone because none of the employees in the terminal will help you!

Panama City

So I won't lie, I didn't have a great time in Panama City. It literally rained the entire time I was there. Everything I owned was damp and I was of course welcomed to my hostel with yet another cold shower (haven't had a hot one in several weeks at this stage). Oh and it's expensive and if there's one thing I don't like, it's visiting expensive countries. 

Nevertheless, it's unlikely I will return so obviously I had to get my tourist on. After waiting unsuccessfully for the rain to stop I headed out in the rain for a walk along the waterfront. Panama City looks quite developed from afar but I can tell you the regular streets look just the same as any other in poor Latin American countries. 

I did like their permanent table tennis table though. We need these in Australia for sure. 

I headed to the fish market for some food as that is apparently the thing to do. Got myself some ceviche which I couldn't even eat half of! 

Then I headed to the old town to take a look around and visit the Panama Canal Museum. I stopped to have a coffee (since they grow coffee in Panama). It cost me the same (maybe more) as a coffee in Australia and the cafe was also selling sandwiches for $10USD. Yikes! Get me outta here. 

Anyway, here's the rainy old town. 

Although one good thing about Panama City was that I saw a lot of cats. Must be thriving off the waste from the seafood market! Experienced the same phenomenon on the islands in Croatia. Cats everywhere! I have a photo of Nathanael with something like 16 cats and him. But here's my favourite cat of the day. And there's cat biscuits outside this building so obviously someone likes cats.

Next I went to the museum. It was of course closed. Tourism is not just for the weekend people! It looked nice though.

By this stage my feet were wet and I'd had enough so I gave up with the intention of visiting the canal the next day before my night bus to Costa Rica. I went to the supermarket to purchase some food for dinner and saw these Coke bottles in English for some reason (interesting I know!).

Plus this nail file which I cannot explain. 

I woke up to rain again but it finally stopped so off I went. It was a nightmare catching the metro and bus over there since you need to buy a card for each. I pleaded with them saying I was only there for one day. At the metro a cop asked a stranger to swipe me in which was great until I realised I needed to swipe out at the other end so i ended up jumping the turnstile like a deliquent.

At the bus terminal I went through the same thing but after I stood there for a while someone eventually let me on the bus. It was an old school bus like most of the buses in Central America... this was the interior. Ghetto chic.

So I finally get over there and have a bit of a walk to the actual canal. This is one of the locks where you can see the boats passing. It basically has a viewing platform with chairs and a commentator giving information on the canal and the ship passing through at the time. Apparently the US, China and Colombia are the biggest users of the canal. Oh and it takes 8-10 hours to get through the whole canal, unless you're a human then it takes 10 days (refer my Instagram post). 

After watching a movie and looking through the boring museum I headed back past the crocodiles to the bus stop. 

The bus I caught was decked out with neon lights, offensively loud Latin music and these curtains. Perfect end to the day. Then I just had to waste 5 hours in the mall and the bus station waiting for my midnight bus to Costa Rica. The joys of being a backpacker! 

Pirate Life in San Blas

To get from Colombia to Panama by road is basically impossible. There's an immense swampy jungle full of drug smugglers, mosquitos and wild animals waiting to kill you (apparently). So the better options are flying or taking a boat. Flights in this part of the world aren't cheap so when the option is USD$400 for a flight or USD$500 for 5 days on a boat and a chance to see the San Blas islands of Panama, I opted for the later (even though I have a history of sea sickness!). Well I mean, they look like this. 

So I chose to go on a boat called the Wildcard because it was the biggest and I was hoping the chances for sea sickness would be less. I met up with my group the night before to go through the details. I turned up to be greeted by 8 Australian boys and a yank. Thankfully later on a British couple and a Dutch couple also appeared. 

The next night we met up early in the evening and were all aboard the boat by about 7pm. After cruising out of Cartagena we hit the open sea around 9pm and were asked to go below deck. Apparently finding a man overboard during the day is hard but at night it's basically impossible. So here's my bed for the next five nights...top bunk. And that was one of the better beds since it was stinking hot further down where the other beds were.

As soon as we started moving I realised I was going to be in trouble so I took some sea sickness tablets. They basically knock you out so I was in a coma shortly thereafter. I managed to wake up for breakfast but couldn't handle being out on deck so I went back to my room to lay down and promptly resumed my coma. 

I got up for lunch and then basically repeated my morning routine. At 5pm I went out for some fresh air and to advise people I was alive. I soon started feeling ill again so I took some more tablets. Five minutes later I had my head over the side of the boat but managed to talk myself into not vomiting. I knew if I spewed up those tablets I'd never get any down. Soon all was well again and I was back in a coma. 

After a lot of rain and storms overnight I woke up to the feeling of stillness and this view outside.

Now I'm not going to tell you there's much to do in San Blas, because there's not. We spent the next three days snorkelling, drinking, swimming and exploring tiny islands and marvelling at how picturesque it was. 

Oh and we bought some coconuts from the locals which we of course added rum to.

In the evenings we'd hang on the boat and have dinner and try and feel clean (sin shower). I even washed my hair in the ocean. Surprisingly effective. 

There's apparently 365 islands in San Blas but the sea level is rising and they're disappearing. Only 49 of them are inhabited and the inhabitants are an independent group of Indians known as the Kuna People. I couldn't really photograph them but they are tiny humans. The women dress in brightly coloured clothes and wear gold nose rings. Here is a photo courtesy of Google. And yes, they legitimately look like this.

They make the 'molas' that they wear around their midriffs and for years have traded those, coconuts and lobsters with passing traders and pirates (true story). The men are skilled fishermen and one night on the boat we had a dinner with a lobster each! We also had crab and some fish we caught off the boat. Here's the captain and first mate killing the fish...with rum. A technique I was not aware of!

And here's a crab we got from the locals. He was a beast!

After the three days in the islands we headed overnight for mainland Panama. Back on the sea sickness pills and back into a coma. We finally arrived in Portobello in the morning but had to wait ages for our passports to be processed. By the time we got two buses to Panama City it was after dark (but it does get dark at 5.30 here!). The daylight savings lovers would be livid. 

Anyway I spent the next two days walking around Panama City feeling even more sea sick than on the boat! 

Old Providencia

We decided to fly to Providencia even though the 25 minute flight cost us more than a 1.5 hour flight from Cartagena. I read the boat crossing can take between 2.5 and 6 hours depending on the sea and weather conditions. And it only goes every second day. So we boarded this tiny plane. The captain gave the safety briefing and I literally sat behind him.

We arrived at our accommodation to be greeted by several large lizards in the garden. In case you didn't guess, Providencia is also a paradise for mosquitos. 

This was a shop in our street that I found fairly interesting. Haha.

First stop was Almond Bay about a kilometre up the road. 

We got down to the beach and it looked like this. Two other humans on the beach, four dogs and one guy at the restaurant/bar where he actually lived too.

We asked the guy at the beach to cook us lunch. We got one plate with chicken and one with some fish he'd caught which was delicious. After lunch we tried the local 'coco loco' cocktail of which I could not tell you what the ingredients were. 

I said before that there were two and a bit islands belonging to Colombia. Well the 'bit' is Santa Catalina which is a tiny island linked to Providencia by a foot bridge only. There's no vehicles over there. 

Santa Catalina is also home to a rock called 'Morgan's Head' since it obviously looks like Captain Morgan's head. It's on the far left by the way. No I don't have a close up photo but don't worry it looks nothing like anyone's head.

Next agenda item was to eat a deep fried arepa with an egg in it. We'd already heard about these but hadn't found them yet. Mainly because all deep fried Colombian items (and there's a lot!) look the same. So here it is...

We had stopped in town and were on route to crab cay for some snorkelling. After ten minutes we arrived at this tiny little island. 

We walked up to the centre of the island to get a view of the supposed 'seven coloured sea'. Not sure if I saw seven but it was pretty.

Next we went down to snorkel. There wasn't too much in the way of corals but the water was unbelievably clear and we saw plenty of fish. We swam around the island and when we got back we realised most Colombians can't swim! They were all hanging around the jetty where there were no fish! Haha

After snorkelling we stopped at the southwest beach for lunch at this restaurant. Our plates of seafood including lobster, conch, fish, prawns cost $12.50. 

Later that night we went to the theatre in town as we heard there was a concert of local music which was some kind of tropical music I guess. The guy in red was really rocking the tapping sticks. 

The next day we went back to the southwest beach to watch the beach horse racing that the island is known for. We arrived at 1.15pm and it was supposed to start at 1pm so I asked the girl at the restaurant and she said it's supposed to be on but no one is here. Ok. Good one! So no horsies even for a photo.

The following day we had an 11am flight out. This is the airport in Providencia. 

And this is the view over the islands as we left. 

We got back to San Andres to catch a flight back to Cartagena. We had four hours to kill so we went into town for lunch. When we came back we checked in only to be told 'the airport is closed'. Umm ok.

Apparently they were 'fixing a hole'. Ok. So our 5pm flight is reschedule until 9pm. We were told not to return until 7.30pm. So we went off for a terrible dinner and some more cake. Well banana pie and coconut pie.

On returning to the airport we discovered the flight was cancelled. Basically we stood around like this for 3 hours waiting for the airport to find us a hotel. Meanwhile planes are taking off so the story starts to become suspicious. Now it's something about the pilots having worked too many hours. 

Eventually we're shoved into a taxi where I was expecting more chaos. We arrive first at the hotel so I think this is good. Next minute taxi loads of Colombians arrive and are all allocated rooms first. We end up sleeping 6 girls in a room with 3 double beds. Thankfully the hotel has a pool so we think great, we'll have a swim and a beer....no beer. Wow. By the time I get to bed there's no water in the taps so I can't shower. And we don't have a sheet. But we survived and flew out the next day at midday. Here's me enjoying our emergency hotel.