This
time last month... I was on a long ass travelling day crossing into
Nicaragua from Costa Rica. It took 8 hours all in. First a bus to the
border which took 5 hours and in between we stopped at a city plaza to
grab some lunch and something for our Homestay families. I also needed a
new set of headphones. Next to a decent conversation on the long bus
journeys and some restful sleep (if you can fall asleep to being bumped
around - I can!) I love to whack my headphones in and play some tunes
whilst I watch the world go by. Then it was a 3-step process through
Security and a lot of waiting around in the heat of the day - and
sweating buckets. Did I mention the sweating buckets bit !! Luckily I
had wet wipes so we could all cool off, frequently. They'd only half
stamped Olivia's passport (on purpose?), so she and Rafa had to go back
and queue and do it all again... Whilst
waiting I changed up some dollars into Cordoba. The rate was spot on at
1 dollar = 26 cordoba (we'd checked the internet prior to entering
Nicaragua).
After making it through, it was a short bus ride to the ferry port where we had an hour's wait for the next one over to Ometepe island. We got totally sandblasted until we found some shelter. Just look at the trees in these pictures. En route, we had seen one of these windmills crashed, smashed and burnt out on the ground. Imagine that coming down on you!
After making it through, it was a short bus ride to the ferry port where we had an hour's wait for the next one over to Ometepe island. We got totally sandblasted until we found some shelter. Just look at the trees in these pictures. En route, we had seen one of these windmills crashed, smashed and burnt out on the ground. Imagine that coming down on you!
It was a rather choppy 1 1/2 hour ferry ride but we did meet some nice people and get some great views.
After
the final bus journey of the day, a mere 30 minutes later, we arrived
at our destination on Ometepe island just in time for the sunset.
Playing with the children over a delicious locally cooked dinner, our
hosts from Puesta del Sol welcomed us into their village. G Adventures
run a homestay Planeterra project here so for the next two nights, we
would be splitting up and staying with different families.
Finally
around midnight, once we were settled in our accommodation, Olivia and
I both desperately needed (and wanted) a shower. The taps were there
but nothing came out. After some mis-matched Spanish and lots of sign
language - mostly by me - our hosts showed us the bucket and showed us
the sink filled with water and, well, that was that. I have to tell
you, it's been a few years since I've shared my shower with bugs! And
this didn't bode well for our hike up the volcano tomorrow where we
knew we'd be disgustingly dirty by the end of it.
To be continued...
To be continued...
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