We didn’t really have any plans other than going to the central market and picking up some food as this market was supposed to be amazing. So after a little lie in we made our way towards the market.

Unfortunately as it was Sunday not a lot was open though we did manage to find a little stall on the outskirts of the market selling Vaho (pronounced Bao). It is a big steaming pot layered with yucca on the bottom, then whole plantains with meat, onions and peppers on top all covered in banana leaves and left to simmer for 3 hours. It really was delicious.
For the next few hours we just walked around and let Leon seep into our pores. On arrival our first impression was that Leon was not a patch on Granada. (Which the Leonians wouldn’t have liked one bit because in the 1800’s the two towns were vying for top spot and eventually descended into civil war. This culminated in the Leonians hiring American William Walker into Nicaragua and getting him and his soldiers to take Granada. Which he did but then subsequently named himself ruler of Nicaragua. He was eventually driven out but not before he torched the entire city and left a sign saying “here once was Granada”. But this is why Managua is the capital instead of either two as it was named to stop the fighting.
But slowly we have warmed to it. Much more gritty than Granada but still beautiful in its own way and tourism although here, is more an afterthought. Street food is on most corners, my favorite being mango sometimes ripe most times not, cut into strips and you add salt and chili sauce. Sounds crazy but tastes delicious. My mum and dad are going to think I am crazy when I start picking their mangoes green.
We walked out towards the bus station to see when our bus would leave tomorrow and we got a look at everyday life in Leon. The streets were lined with stalls, selling everything you would need in everyday life and the smells! Not really any of them good but in their defense it was about 32 degrees and with rubbish lining the streets and the drains not really working you can understand the underlying problem. It was a bit of an eye opener. Although we were in the poorer part of town never did we feel unsafe and we soon made it to the bus station and it was crazier than the one in Rivas. But we soon found out our bus times and off we went. 
By this time I was hot and bothered and so convinced Tim to go eat in Tip Top which is Central Americas answer to KFC, the reason being it was air conditioned! Food was pretty average but not worse than KFC.
After that we pretty much just chilled in the hammocks in the hostel. A very chilled out day, pity the weather wasn’t the same. S 

The giant Vahoe pot.

They are slowly restoring the Cathedral and as you can see a work in progress. I am still undecided which I like better.

One of the many civil war murals scattered around the street.

Still can’t get enough of the colours.

The street view of the market stalls leading up to the bus station.

Another street view thrown in for good measure.

Another shot of the Cathedral.

So one last quick (and hot) walk around Granada this morning and then we were off. It’s going to be sad to leave here we have loved our time in Granada, and while we have crammed so much into our two days we could have kept going for a whole week at that pace and not seen everything.
The transfer to Leon was going to take us 3 hrs and we decided to splurge and take a minibus (with air conditioning) for $15. I was a bit annoyed but then as soon as we sat in the cool and didn’t have to worry about bags being stolen/pick pockets etc I settled down to a more relaxing journey.
We arrived in Leon and got dropped straight off at our hostel. The first thing we noticed about Leon was that it certainly has a bit more of an edge to it than Granada.
We set off for a walk around town and the place was strangely encapsulating if not necessarily beautiful outright. It isn’t a tourist town although there are a few around.
We waited for the sun to set and for the temp to drop and then went out to the central square where we had heard that there was to be some live music. Sure enough right in front of the Cathedral de La Asuncion there was a stage set up and groups dancing.
It was a truly fantastic way to start our Leon experience as we sat in a nearby bar and watched the dancing. It started off very traditionally but gradually the girls started wearing less and less and the dancing got a bit more modern!! A guy impersonating Michael Jackson finished off the dancing before two old crooners took the show until the end.
Dinner was a bit of street food, this time a sort of pizza. The base was stuffed with chicken and cheese and then more cheese, a tomato salsa and coleslaw on top. Good munchie food. T

Our corner store.  You aren’t actually allowed into the shop.  You have to ask for what you want through the door, luckily our Spanish is improving.

The street that our Hostel was on.

Nicaragua is definitely the home of the rocking chair.  Everyone, and I mean everyone has one.

Our first church in Leon.

A bit more of an edge to the place.

The colours of the buildings are mind blowing every time you see them.

A great way to spend Saturday night.

We had another jam packed day planned today. We started off walking to the bus station and catching a local bus headed towards Managua. We were getting off just a little out of town at the turn off towards Laguna de Apoyo. Once there we were to catch a taxi to the lake. But just as we were about to get into the taxi a local bus turned in and so we jumped on that instead. We then had a joke about how blairse we have become about jumping on a bus and not being 100% certain exactly where it is going. Unfortunately for us this bus didn’t quite take us all the way to the lagoon and we had to walk the last 3 kms. 

On arrival we payed a fee to get into one of the resorts as the public spot wasn’t much chop and spent the next few hours lounging in an inner tube tire on the lake. The lake is crystal clear water that is fed by rain water and springs. The water in some places can be a little warmer than you would think, we found out from our guide yesterday it is because there is actually a dormant volcano underneath whose vents emit steam. All in all a pretty relaxing start to the day. 

We made our way back to Grenada by catching a taxi to the motor way and flagging down a bus. I ended up in the dicky seat right next to the driver with Tim squished in the isle. Luckily we only had about 12 kms to travel. 

After checking out the local market and realising it wasn’t for us. We again filled our bellies with some Vigoron from our ladies at the park and slowly made our way towards lake Nicaragua to commandeer a boat and captain to take us to the isletas. Most people get a tour through an agency but Gabby our hostel lady told us it is better to go down and get the captain yourself as you get the whole boat. This is exactly what we did and I soon found myself on the back of a push bike with the owner in front and Tim following on another bike. Bikes over here would be up there after buses as one of the main forms of transport. The locals have it down to a fine art, especially the ladies who sit side saddle in front of the driver often with a child on the front handle bars. As you can see by the photo I may have been a little to big and definitely not very elegant but we made it work even if all the locals were laughing at us. 

We tentatively asked if we could buy some beers for the trip and not only did he say it way okay but he actually went and got them for us so we soon found ourselves in a boat with just us and our teenage captain and his girlfriend who came along for the ride. The owner of the boat soon tried to get more money out of us but after some intense negotiations on Tim’s behalf we were away and boating!

The isletas were formed when volcano Mombacho exploded and around 350 tiny islands were formed. These were owned by the local indigenous people but unlike the Kuna in Panama these guys sold out and a lot of the islands have been purchased by rich Nicaraguans and Americans and massive houses have been built. 

On one of the islands an ex pat introduced Howler and Capuchin monkeys. They have been fed by the boat operators to the point where they will occasionally jump from the trees onto the boat to get the avocados or fruit the captains have. Well there were about 3 boats full of people and our boat with just us so we got the monkeys as they apparently avoid the full boats. It was awesome. These guys were no where near as tame as the ones in San Blas but they still let us touch them and get really close. It was very cool just to see them move around the boat. They enjoyed it so much that they didn’t want to get back on the island and our captain had to splash them with water to get them to climb back onto the trees.

Our next island stop was one where an old Spanish outpost had been built which had views back to Granada. After getting some photos we walked back down to the boat only to discover that our boat had left but he did leave his girlfriend guarding our bag and she told us he would be back in 10 minutes. We didn’t mind at all as we sat on the pier watching the sun set and a man in a little canoe throwing his cast net.

Old mate came back but with another group who wanted to see the sunset so we all piled back in the boat and watched it set while on the trip back. There was a little bar just where we got off so we decided to go in and have a beer. Very much a locals spot we got a few stares but nothing we were not used to. 

It quickly got dark and we were told by our hostel not to walk around this area at night but to get a taxi. So after paying we asked the barman to call a taxi for us but he promptly told us that he couldn’t and not many came this way. Well we had no other choice but to start walking home. The strip is full of bars and clubs but at this hour it is pretty quiet and dark. We soon found a security guard and asked him to call a taxi but he said again that you can’t call but we could flag one down when one passed. So we promptly sat beside him to wait. 10 mins later one went passed and we were safely out of there and back into old town. Probably nothing would have happened but it is sometimes better to be safe than sorry. 

We soon found ourselves sitting back and enjoying some very cheap mojitos along the pedestrian street watching the world go by. S

Thought I would get a bit of exercise in. 

The resort.

So tranquil.

Just lounging around.

View from the resort.

Some of the not so nice colonial buildings, but for us almost as beautiful.

The craziness leading to the central market. The old blue and white building housed the market.

Pots anyone?

Rice and beans and corn sold by the bag full. 

We decided against eating in this market. Not quite up to even my adjusted South and Central American level of hygiene. But still an awesome experience to take a walk through.

Who knew there was so many different types of white rice.

The pedestrianised street that came alive at night.

We honestly could have taken thousands of photos in this city. Literally picture perfect.

Another old church. Very cool as there is maybe only two or three in the city not restored.

Like I said, not very elegant but it got the job done.

The pier.

One of the islands.

Getting ready to climb aboard!

Just chillin.

As you can see in the background, everyone wanted to be on our boat!

Shot of the day. Even though they were so close they move so much and make it so hard to get a good shot. Awesome work Tim.

Obligatory us shot.

The man in a canoe with a cast net.

Sunset over Granada.

A storm brewing on the horizon.

Today was going to be pretty action packed and we were very excited about exploring Granada as the town had looked so fun and vibrant when we had arrived on the bus and walked through.
Our excellent hosts had given us some great advice as to what to do over the next couple of days and so we started with a local breakfast at our local restaurant. Eggs, tomatoes and rice and beans. We must be getting used to the filling breakfasts here as we both found it delicious, especially when it’s washed down with a melon juice. Way too hot here for a coffee, we noticed that even the locals are sticking to colder drinks.
Filled and ready for the day we set off for a stroll around town. Having been to a few colonial towns so far I have to say that Granada has been the most authentic for me and certainly the most impressive in a natural way. While there is a touristic influence, the town still seems to function as a working town and most of the buildings seem to be original.
I reckon we could have walked around for days admiring all the different coloured buildings and the old churches but the heat was pretty oppressive and we found ourselves hugging the shady sides of the streets and taking refuge in the old churches.
I can’t get over how wonderful the town is we both very much fell in love.
We had been told to try “vigaron” for lunch which was a local specialty. The dish originated with two old ladies selling the dish outside the local baseball ground and one of them decided to get an edge by calling the dish “vigor on” as in get your vigor on. The name has stuck and the dish is made of mashed yucca, pork rind and spicy coleslaw all wrapped in a banana leaf. Our new favourite.
The afternoon plan consisted of going on a tour to the top of a nearby volcano called Mombacho. We had to book a tour apparently but were not really sure what to expect. It turns out that there are some definite benefits to travelling during the quiet time as it was just the two of us on the tour so off we set with our private guide and our driver!!
Mombacho is just outside of Granada and is a dormant volcano made up of four main vents. The top of all four vents blew off a few hundred years ago so it doesn’t look like a volcano in the classic sense and it’s absolutely covered in cloud forest. The drive up was done in a four wheel drive truck which managed to get us up one of the steepest inclined roads I have ever seen. We climbed 1000 metres so were glad we didn’t have to walk it!
Once at the top our guide, Alberto, gave us a good education about volcanos and a history of Nicaragua thrown in too. It was all very interesting and the walk was great too as the temperature had dropped about ten degrees. It wasn’t a strenuous walk at all and we just circumnavigated one of the vents.
The first highlight was a viewpoint where we got a great view of Granada, Laguna de Apoyo and Les Isletas sitting on Lake Nicaragua. The area is absolutely stunning and made Granada look so amazingly small. We were lucky to be there on such a clear day and Alberto pointed out a few more of the volcanoes including the very active volcano Masaya, lake Managua, the city of Managua and the ranges beyond that. We were very lucky with conditions and very lucky to have our private guide.
On the stroll back two main things happened. Firstly we came across a Sloth with a baby. It was during the heat of the day so there was absolutely zero movement and in fact due to the fact that a path had been worn on the way to and from where the sloth was I don’t think it had moved for quite a while. Still it was great to see such a unique and brilliantly weird animal.
The second thing that happened was that we started finding out more information about the Volcano Masaya which had apparently been closed up until four months ago but was now open to the public once again. He claimed that we would be able to see lava and Sarah’s eyes practically popped out of our head and we decided to go on a night tour to see it.
So it was quickly back to town and we had just enough time to throw some vigaron down our necks before we had to be back on the next tour. Once again it was just us with our private guide.
Access to the volcano was limited to just 15 mins per car and everyone was let in and out in groups. The queue to get in stretched for ages right outside the park. I have a feeling that in most other countries the volcano would have been closed to the public but we had to take a chance to see something so different.
So after about two hours it was finally our turn and we started on the last five minute drive up to the top and could already see the red glow coming out of the top of the volcano.
When we got there we rushed to the edge and peered over the edge down into the depths of the volcano. What an amazing sight we saw. You could actually the see the lava way down below churning and boiling away. It was truly amazing. Just like we had seen before on TV or in the movies but obviously far more impressive to see in real life.
The sounds were great too. It sounded like waves pounding against a cliff face and the whole thing was incredibly mesmeric. Made all the better as we were only held back by a thigh high wall so there was nothing to block your view (some might say nothing to prevent you from falling in too!).
A truly unforgettable experience and we were so excited we couldn’t sleep when we got back so we went out for a $1 Mojito in the pedestrianised centre of Granada. A great place to watch the world go by and a great way to finish such a wonderful day. T

The main square in Granada and then some shots of the churches all within a stones throw of the Central Park.

Such different colours and designs for all the churches.

Some shots of the streets in Granada.  Just such a wonderful place to walk around. The colours of the buildings are unbelievable.

A view from the bell tower of one of the churches.  The tiled roofs are wonderful, but it’s also clear to see the courtyards in all the buildings.  These keep the place cool and some of the peeks we have had through windows show some to be beautiful gardens.

Vigaron.

The crater at Volcano Mombacho.  Completely covered by cloud forest now.

Our path through the cloud forest.

They look like wild flowers but they are actually orchids. 

Over our left shoulders is Granada and over our right are Les Isletas. They are both sitting on Lake Nicaragua.

Our third Sloth.

Back to the local for more Vigaron.

That’s the view into volcano Masaya.

The Lava was so mesmerising.

We got to get pretty close.

We awoke again to sweltering heat. Even with the fan it was uncomfortable. So we went out for breakfast and walked around for a little bit as it seemed marginally cooler outside than in our little heat box B&B. 
Gio from the hostel gave us a lift to the ferry terminal, thank god as I don’t think I could have made it. Luckily there was a little more breeze out on the ferry and it was covered so all in all a pleasant ride.
Once off the ferry we went in search of a taxi to take us to the bus terminal. Frustratingly they kept trying to con us into taking the taxi all the way to Granada or tying to charge us ridiculous prices. Eventually we found the reasonable taxi man who took us to the bus terminal for the correct amount. This terminal was insane! More a market than a bus terminal, the goings on were mind blowing. We soon got directions to our correct area and stood waiting. A very nice man came over and made sure we were in the correct spot and then told us that others would come over and try and get us in another bus that didn’t take us all the way to Granada and we would then have to catch a taxi the rest of the way if we went with them. Sure enough this is what happened and they were very disappointed when we sternly told them no.
So I soon realized that there was not a toilet around and was wondering how far I would have to go to find one when the same man overheard and said he would take me to a toilet in the nearby market. So off I went. Yes I know this sounds dodgy but I kept my wits about me and sure enough he directed me through the rabbit warren of market stalls to the toilet. I was kind of hoping he would wait for me because although I knew the direction of the bus terminal I wasn’t exactly sure how to get back.
But like the nice man he was he waited patiently for me outside and then proceeded to take me back to the terminal. So at this stage I am thinking maybe I should give him some money. But then I was irritated that I thought that the only reason someone would do something like that is for money. So we didn’t give him any money but thanked him profusely and hopped on the bus. I understand that we probably have more money than them and a few dollars for us is nothing but to them it is a lot. But I am so sick of being taken to the cleaners because we are gringos and therefore thinking the worst of people when maybe there are still nice people out there who generally want to help others.
Enough of that. We soon found ourselves trundling down the road to Grenada in an old American school bus fondly called Chicken Buses here and making stops every few kilometers to pick up and drop off locals. No wonder the 80km flat trip was going to take us 2 and a half hours! Well for the $1.50 we paid each we can’t really complain.
We were dropped off in the middle of a bustling road market in Granada. There was action everywhere including a bus that had broken down in the middle of the road and cars and motorbikes frantically trying to maneuver around. The closer we walked to the centre the less crazy it got and soon we were walking by amazingly colored colonial style houses. Already we thought we would love this place.
Our hostel is pretty much right in the centre and we had splashed out and paid $40 a night for this place but we were not disappointed! It was what we thought was a renovated old colonial house but we soon found out from the owner that it was built 5 years ago and in the old town of Granda you have to build to colonial specifications. To top it off they had 2 Dalmatian boys who were about a year old so we got to get our dog fix in. Though it really makes us miss our two so much. Nonetheless we were looking forward to spending the next three nights here! S

View from around town.

Our local breakfast joint. Best rice and beans I have ever tasted. Had a nice recently swept dirt floor as well.

Tiny town, big church.

More street views

The cows being herded for a drink and swim in the lake.

Leaving shot on the ferry.

Our chicken bus!

Market slash bus terminal.

Our initial view of Granada. So much to see!

Just one of the many amazing streets around old town. Can’t wait to explore tomorrow! 

We woke up to a short power cut this morning, the reason we woke up being that the fan stopped working and the intense heat woke us both up. It turns out that these power cuts are quite common and don’t last long.
Anyway we had decided today that we were going to rent scooters and go for an exploration of the island. We wanted to get one each and our host Gio sorted us out with a place to get them from. We were warned about being scammed and conned. We were also told to make sure we didn’t crash the scooters as we would be charged a fortune to repair them (there wasn’t an insurance option)!
Anyway we were both pretty excited and after sorting out the formalities and being shown the Men at Work song “down under” a few times we were off! Well we were off to breakfast of beans and rice, scrambled eggs and tomatoes. Actually pretty delicious and filling.
The scooters were so much fun and it wasn’t long before we got the hang of them and Sarah was insisting that we go faster! There was hardly any traffic on the road, the main things we had to watch out for were horses, cows, pigs, oxen, chickens or dogs which were all wandering free around the island! Luckily we escaped without crashing into any wildlife!  
It was just a great way to travel around the island and a great start to Nicaragua!! The roads were fairly decent and some of the villages we passed through were fantastic. The main road was paved but the roads off of it were just dirt roads and they were lined with small huts with loads of trees around providing shade. Everything was open to try and take advantage of any breeze available and most of the time people were sat in rocking chairs outside the front door. It was all quite romantic.
We interrupted our “Easy Rider” experience to visit a nature reserve called Charco Verde. We had no idea what to expect but set off for a wander. There were loads of lovely flowers and butterflies to begin with and we were having a great time.
15 minutes into the walk Sarah spotted a monkey and we soon noticed a couple more. We followed these guys through the trees for a while and they eventually met up with the rest of the troop!! Suddenly we were surrounded by at least a dozen monkeys in a huge mango tree. It was just us alone able to wait and watch them all. Just an incredible experience.
The whole island was teeming with wildlife both domesticated and wild, we were really starting to get taken in by the place.
Even with the wind in our faces as we were cruising around we were still getting hot and decided to go for a dip at a lagoon called Ojo de Agua. It wasn’t quite the natural lagoon we were promised, more of a swimming pool. The water was cold and fresh and we enjoyed a cool down but the place was pretty busy and we were having such fun exploring so we decided to set off again.
We stopped at a beach for lunch which unfortunately was terrible. We were trying to experience some Nicaraguan food but for the second time now we were only able to find a selection of western options badly executed. Still I have complete faith that things will get better. The location for instance was fantastic and we spent the rest of the afternoon cruising around in between dips in the lagoon!!
We finished the day by watching the sun go down at Punta de Jesus Maria. The best bit about this place was that you could do your best Jesus impression by walking on water!! The sand banks were just the perfect depth and while we would have liked to spend longer there we wanted to get the scooters back before dark.
By this stage we were exhausted and set off to find a cold beer and some dinner. On the way we had the local drunk latch onto us and insist we had a beer with him. We said thanks but no but he followed us around anyway and even came to sit with us while we had a beer!! We managed to get rid of him after a while and both had a good laugh about it.
We couldn’t believe what a great first day we had had in Ometepe and were really looking forward to the rest of the trip around Nicaragua!! T

A couple of Hell’s Angels shots

Riding through banana plantations and small villages.

A standard obstruction.

We saw all sorts of weird and wonderful things on the road.

Of course I forgot the zoom the day we were surrounded by monkeys!!

The volcanic sand was quite different.

Some local red ants.

Cooling off in the lagoon.

Great spot for lunch on a beautiful beach.

Back to the lagoon for more cooling down.

There were so many monkeys on the island.  This guy was in the tree right above our scooters.

Typical local houses lining the main road.

The Concepcion volcano was a constant sight around the island.

Walking on water at sunset!

Our day started by catching the 4.20am local bus to the highway. There we were dropped off at around 6.30 and according to the lady who sold us the tickets our bus would be along at 7. Well all the locals got on another bus which we were told was not ours and then we were left by ourselves. 7 came and went and still our bus wasn’t there. Just as we were starting to get a little nervous our bus showed at around 7.45. 
On we hopped, drove about a kilometer and stopped at a restaurant for breakfast! We were soon on our way and we didn’t really know what to expect at this border crossing but soon our bus conductor came over and in perfect American accented English proceeded to explain to us the procedure. It took us a little longer than the others as we had to pay an exit tax to leave Costa Rica and the machine wasn’t playing the game. But we soon found ourselves back on the bus and crossing the border into Nicaragua.
The bus stopped to complete the entrance into Nic and we had to get off with our bags, standard procedure. What wasn’t was the swarm of people surrounding the bus selling phone cards, money exchange oh and of all things hammocks. Because that is exactly what you want to purchase when entering a new country. It was hilarious! The procedure this end was pretty painless as we didn’t even have to complete it ourselves. The bus conductor took everyone’s passports and forms and came back with them all stamped and handed them back out again. Probably not the smartest of things to do on our behalf but we didn’t really have a choice.
Back on the bus we only had about another hour to get to Rivas where we were dropped off on the side of the road and met by two tricycle taxis competing for our fare. I must also mention that it felt about 35 degrees. Well we probably paid to much but he had to peddle both of us and our bags which in total probably weighed 200kgs the 6kms to the ferry terminal. It was certainly fun for us, for him not so much.
The ferry ride over was beautiful with a constant view of the island and its two volcanoes slowly getting closer and closer. It took an hour and that was due to a combination of a very slow ferry and a very large lake we were crossing. On arrival we declined the use of taxis to get to our hostel as it was only 5 blocks away. Big mistake! If it felt 35 degrees at Rivas it felt about 44 degrees here. We nearly died! 
We dumped our stuff and went for some lunch. But it really wasn’t enjoyable as it was so oppressively hot. We couldn’t find a spot to cool down so ended up just sitting in a restaurant and sweating. Even when it got dark we still were struggling. Our plan of maybe hiking one of the volcanoes went out the window in about 5 mins of being on the island so we will have to find something else to do to occupy ourselves tomorrow. S

If there is one thing we have learnt its to be patient when travelling by bus.

A bus on the beach!!

Our trusty ferry to take us across Lake Nicaragua 

It’s always a bit ominous when they had out the life jackets before you depart.

The two volcanoes that make up Isla de Ometepe.

Concepcion volcano.

The port at Moyogalpa.

Enjoying some cold beverages.

The local DIY store.