NICARAGUA – From Granada to Ometepe

by | 10 Feb 2018 | Nicaragua, On the Panamerican road | 0 comments

Date de dernière mise à jour : le 30 July 2018

We leave the sea shore and its refreshing wind to go inside the main land, back to colonial cities.

Granada

Like Leon, Granada is a lovely town, colonial and very very hot! There are not too much people when we arrive and we leave Tikal in the street, under the sun, to charge the batteries.

We prefer the shadow, but now the sun is way too high to leave us alone.

The town is very pleasant, the main square is full of trees and the colorful streets around give us some great walk opportunities.

At the evening, we lead to the red cross parking lot where we ask the authorization to spend the night. The temperature still doesn’t decrease, and we can’t feel the wind. The night is long…

The morning after, instead of freshness, it will be a breakfast/lunch in a nice and shady patio. OK we are convinced by the idea, and we take our bags, our laptop and we move on there. We finally spend most of the day there waiting for the sun to be softer.

In the middle of the afternoon, after a walk near the lake, we see a small hotel, with a pool… and A/C!! We give up and decide to take one night.

This is our second hotel since the beginning of our journey.

Do you remember the first one, in Prince George? We did not sleep well, the noise of the neighbors gave us the sensation of a too close promiscuity…

So we park Tikal in the street, we move on the most important things in the room and we go out for dinner. Something light by this heat.

Ok not so light. A pizza.

Then a dive in the pool and on lock ourselves in the coldness of the room, letting Tikal in the street all the night. Alone. Well we hope he will stay alone (the fear of the parent leaving their child, this is what we feel sometimes with Tikal. YEs, it is weird but he really is the third guy of the trip). Anyway.

So what is the overview of this second night?

Well the air conditioning is good.

But too much, when you are not used to, can make you sick.

So it is with a throat soreness and a blocked nose that I (Dana) am going to take the road. Still with 40 degrees.

Direction Ometepe.

Ometepe

Ometepe is this island composed by two huge volcanoes on Nicaragua lake. We access it by boat from San Jorge, little village next to Rivas. We eared a lot of good things about this island, so it is a must do for us!

We arrive by the end of the morning in the harbor, the next boat only leaves few hours later, the time for us to eat before boarding. It is around 17 euros to cross, for 2 persons and the truck.

We arrive with the light of the ending day. The sky is cloudy but the volcanoes still remain dramatically impressive!

Punta Jesus Maria

Our spot for the night will be a place next to the water, in Punta Jesus Maria, surrounded by pigs and birds.

Parque Ecologico Charco Verde

The day after we decide to go visit the Parque Ecologico Charco Verde, to meet the howler monkeys and the capuchin monkeys. Well, by the way, we have a great welcome from the mosquitoes, and it make us incredibly happy. So much affection in such tiny beasts, it is too much.

The sky is filed by clouds, but the park is really splendid. Our walk ends by the butterfly reserve. Thousands of butterflies foraging on multicolored flowers.

Ojo de agua

Then we lead to Ojo de agua: a translucid blue natural pool (but when there is some sun).

Dana test the ant bites, her favorites, and the wasp ones, in order to change.

The place is really magnificent once the tourists are gone. We stay on the parking lot and spend a peaceful night listening to the monkeys.

In the early morning, after a walk between banana trees and magnificent views on the volcanoes, we decide to take the road back to start an island tour by van. We heard that some parts of the road need to have a 4×4. Good news!

We realize that the only touristic part of the island is the center. The rest is very difficult to access and very rural. It is pleasant to go out of touristic ways. We feel so good that we do not take any pictures… Excepted the pigs on the road. You will have to imagine the rest. Or to go there. This is probably the best solution!

We sleep near the road close to a restaurant by the beach. And the day after, after 3 days, we decide to take the returning boat.

After some administrative interrogations, (the price is not the same between the two ways. Logical) we succeed to put Tikal on the boat.

The two following days are a kind of zigzag between the beach and the main road before crossing to Costa Rica.

San Juan del Sur

We discover San Juan del Sur. We spend the night then we move away from the tourists. After a detour by the town panorama, we lead north until Maderas and Marsella beaches… but we finally take the road to Costa Rica.

Our last country on our way south!

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