---Sunday ---
I finally managed to convince Becky to upgrade to a nicer hotel.
I think the fact that when we walked around we were warned three times about getting robbed in that neighborhood helped.
We checked into Hotel Sol y Luna. A MUCH nicer place, and to me worth the extra cash.
We ended up having lunch/breakfast at nearby giraffe themed placed. I kid you not.
We went back to the hotel to kill time. Watched the final minutes of the Euro Cup where Spain defeated Germany.
Afterwards we got dressed and headed for the restaurant.
I took Becky to the Intermezzo del Bosque, a restaurant on the outskirts of the city with breathtaking views of the city and surrounded by nature. The food was excellent, and the cheesecake was delicious.
We went back into the city to the National theater Ruben Dario and the Ballet folkclorico de Tepenáhuatl.
Overall it was a fun evening. Unlike my date, I like dressing up. She'll learn someday.
Tomorrow we head back to Granada, then one last time to Managua on Tuesday when Beck leaves the country. Then phase II of the trip begins: The lone traveller.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
After Ometepe...
---Thursday ----
The second part of my trip involved visiting my family in Camopa. Getting from Ometepe to Camoapa turned out to a challenge. This is the trip we ended up taking starting with a 3:30am wake-up call for a 4am bus ride.
One side of the island to other side via bus(2.5 hrs)
Other side of island to San Jorge via boat(1 hr)
San Jorge to Rivas by Taxi (15 mins)
Rivas to Granada by bus (2hrs)
Granada to Managua by bus(1hrs)
Managua to Camoapa by bus (3 hrs)
Total: Over 9 hours
Yes indeed. That was not pleasant. We had to go through Granada to pick up some stuff that I left at the volunteer house. Becky and I also had breakfast in Granada and took some time to see a photo exhibit in the park. We arrived at my grandma's house (although my grandmother passed away it will always be my grandma's house) around 5pm.
We were tired. We had dinner chatted for a bit, walked around the park. We each had a beer and went to sleep around 10pm. We did not wake up the next day until 10am, a well needed night's sleep.
---Friday ----
It was raining for the entire day. This prevented us from going anywhere in the town (not that there was much to see anyways). Throughout the day relatives kept arriving to see me. At some point I think that the house had about 15-18 people who were somehow related to me or knew me from childhood.
Most of this day was spent talking to relatives and taking pictures. At some point I tried to connect to the internet to upload some pictures, but the connection was so slow that it was not really worth waiting.
This day I also decided not to go to the Patent Interview Program at Loyola. I had gotten only one interview which I left was not enough to warrant me spending money to fly to Chicago and stay at an expensive hotel.
At night I invited some family member to have dinner at a restaurant. The food was good but the service was horrendous. I don't think I would come back.
---Saturday ----
I visited my mother's and grandmother's grave early in the morning (during a small window of no rain). We then left for Managua in the 11:45am bus. Three hours we were back in Managua. We checked into a place which was listed in the budget section of a guide book. I did not like this place. The book was wrong: no internet, and not clean.
Nonetheless we made the most of the day. We actually had time to go dress and shoe shopping. Shopping with Becky is ummm.... an experience. We did manage to find a suitable dress and shoes. We also decided to watch a movie: Get Smart or "Super Agente 86." This was such a great movie! It made me laugh through the entire movie. We eventually went back to the hostel and slept.
The second part of my trip involved visiting my family in Camopa. Getting from Ometepe to Camoapa turned out to a challenge. This is the trip we ended up taking starting with a 3:30am wake-up call for a 4am bus ride.
One side of the island to other side via bus(2.5 hrs)
Other side of island to San Jorge via boat(1 hr)
San Jorge to Rivas by Taxi (15 mins)
Rivas to Granada by bus (2hrs)
Granada to Managua by bus(1hrs)
Managua to Camoapa by bus (3 hrs)
Total: Over 9 hours
Yes indeed. That was not pleasant. We had to go through Granada to pick up some stuff that I left at the volunteer house. Becky and I also had breakfast in Granada and took some time to see a photo exhibit in the park. We arrived at my grandma's house (although my grandmother passed away it will always be my grandma's house) around 5pm.
We were tired. We had dinner chatted for a bit, walked around the park. We each had a beer and went to sleep around 10pm. We did not wake up the next day until 10am, a well needed night's sleep.
---Friday ----
It was raining for the entire day. This prevented us from going anywhere in the town (not that there was much to see anyways). Throughout the day relatives kept arriving to see me. At some point I think that the house had about 15-18 people who were somehow related to me or knew me from childhood.
Most of this day was spent talking to relatives and taking pictures. At some point I tried to connect to the internet to upload some pictures, but the connection was so slow that it was not really worth waiting.
This day I also decided not to go to the Patent Interview Program at Loyola. I had gotten only one interview which I left was not enough to warrant me spending money to fly to Chicago and stay at an expensive hotel.
At night I invited some family member to have dinner at a restaurant. The food was good but the service was horrendous. I don't think I would come back.
---Saturday ----
I visited my mother's and grandmother's grave early in the morning (during a small window of no rain). We then left for Managua in the 11:45am bus. Three hours we were back in Managua. We checked into a place which was listed in the budget section of a guide book. I did not like this place. The book was wrong: no internet, and not clean.
Nonetheless we made the most of the day. We actually had time to go dress and shoe shopping. Shopping with Becky is ummm.... an experience. We did manage to find a suitable dress and shoes. We also decided to watch a movie: Get Smart or "Super Agente 86." This was such a great movie! It made me laugh through the entire movie. We eventually went back to the hostel and slept.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Ometepe Day 2
We began the day around 7am, had breakfast and left for a bike ride.
The main goal of the day was to see petroglyphs. We rode to the first location (I should really know the names of these places, but Becky takes care of the details) which was several kilometers away. It took us about an hour and a half to to get the place. I found out that I am out of shape. Sadly, in the last few months I had not been going to the gym every single day (or even once a week) and I suffering for it. I still managed to keep up, but more tired that my companion. I will certainly get back to the gym when back home.
At the place we only saw a handful of petroglyphs, and I was not impressed. It took about half to do the entire path.
Afterward, we decided to go to the Ojo de Agua. This is an artificial pool, made from a nearby natural stream. We spent a few hours there, including lunch. I enjoyed the swim and had a good relaxing time.
When we decided to head back to the hotel, our bodies were sore from biking so we were going to walk most of the way back (except for the downhills parts). Soon after we started, Becky's bike got a flat so we were forced to walk all the way back. Until we saw a bus! The bus was able to take us back all the way to our hotel.
I was asked again if I was her guide, gerrrr.
We finished the day uneventfully with dinner, a conversation about American politics with the new arrivals, then we settled out bill and packed. We have to be up for a bus ride at 4:00am.
Of course I decided to stay up a little later than Becky and get myself a beer, kick back on our private balcony hammock and write about the day.
Overall, I wish we could have done more. We did not clim either of the volcanos (to my relief after realizing how bad in shape I am) because we did not want to spend an entire day doing one thing. The waterfall we really wanted to see was closed because of a mudslide. We did some of the things we wanted to do, but like any trip: there is always more to do.
Still, although I tend to write about the negative. I am certainly happy with the trip, and gathered great pleasure from the island. I am glad that I had a chance to finally visit.
Tomorrow we leave for Camoapa and my relatives.
Pictures from today will be hopefully up tomorrow.
The main goal of the day was to see petroglyphs. We rode to the first location (I should really know the names of these places, but Becky takes care of the details) which was several kilometers away. It took us about an hour and a half to to get the place. I found out that I am out of shape. Sadly, in the last few months I had not been going to the gym every single day (or even once a week) and I suffering for it. I still managed to keep up, but more tired that my companion. I will certainly get back to the gym when back home.
At the place we only saw a handful of petroglyphs, and I was not impressed. It took about half to do the entire path.
Afterward, we decided to go to the Ojo de Agua. This is an artificial pool, made from a nearby natural stream. We spent a few hours there, including lunch. I enjoyed the swim and had a good relaxing time.
When we decided to head back to the hotel, our bodies were sore from biking so we were going to walk most of the way back (except for the downhills parts). Soon after we started, Becky's bike got a flat so we were forced to walk all the way back. Until we saw a bus! The bus was able to take us back all the way to our hotel.
I was asked again if I was her guide, gerrrr.
We finished the day uneventfully with dinner, a conversation about American politics with the new arrivals, then we settled out bill and packed. We have to be up for a bus ride at 4:00am.
Of course I decided to stay up a little later than Becky and get myself a beer, kick back on our private balcony hammock and write about the day.
Overall, I wish we could have done more. We did not clim either of the volcanos (to my relief after realizing how bad in shape I am) because we did not want to spend an entire day doing one thing. The waterfall we really wanted to see was closed because of a mudslide. We did some of the things we wanted to do, but like any trip: there is always more to do.
Still, although I tend to write about the negative. I am certainly happy with the trip, and gathered great pleasure from the island. I am glad that I had a chance to finally visit.
Tomorrow we leave for Camoapa and my relatives.
Pictures from today will be hopefully up tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Ometepe Day 1
Today was the first full day that we spent in Ometepe.
Things have not gone exactly as I wanted. We landed by ferry in Moyogalpa last night. We woke up in the morning to catch a bus to the other side of the island and where there are more things to do. We did not realize that it would take us us 3.5 hours to get to the other side. The main road on the Island is bad condition and very narrow. The bus we were on never went faster than 30mph, and also made a one hour stop at an intermediate city. When asked the driver why he needed stop for an hour, he informed us that the government forces him to. This is to ensure spread out bus schedules.
We arrived at Hacienda Merida a little after noon. There was a problem with getting a room with a locking door. By the time we finished lunch, it was past 2pm. We managed to kayak for an hour. We could have been out on the lake for longer, but we were given heavy wooden paddles that quickly made us tired.
We rented bikes and rode for a couple of hours heading east. We took pictures of a bunch of butterflies and checked out some of the local scenery.
What happened to the waterfall? The petroglyphs? The path to the waterfall was closed because of a mud slide. Getting to petroglyphs was going to take too long since it unexpectedly took us too long to get to this side of the island.
After biking, we had dinner at local comedor, or dining place. Although Becky was tired and went to sleep, I went downstairs and hung out with some of the people. Including a couple of Dutchmen who we managed to coerce into signing Dutch songs for us.
Electricity was out for most of the day, before nightfall it came back, along with WiFi.
Overall, I am not too fond of this place. Room, food, and equipment fees are much too high (using Nicaraguan standards). There is a lack of a homey, welcoming feeling. I feel that this place is much too commercialized. We will be staying here because of convenience and availability of equipment.
One thing I will note. There are more and more tourist in Nicaragua than I saw three years ago. A lot more! Although annoying to see clueless white people everywhere, this is good for the country and I am happy.
I will leave my pictures uploading tonight, and update this post with some selected pictures tomorrow. If there is electricity.
UPDATE: All pictures here.
A couple of my favorites.
Things have not gone exactly as I wanted. We landed by ferry in Moyogalpa last night. We woke up in the morning to catch a bus to the other side of the island and where there are more things to do. We did not realize that it would take us us 3.5 hours to get to the other side. The main road on the Island is bad condition and very narrow. The bus we were on never went faster than 30mph, and also made a one hour stop at an intermediate city. When asked the driver why he needed stop for an hour, he informed us that the government forces him to. This is to ensure spread out bus schedules.
We arrived at Hacienda Merida a little after noon. There was a problem with getting a room with a locking door. By the time we finished lunch, it was past 2pm. We managed to kayak for an hour. We could have been out on the lake for longer, but we were given heavy wooden paddles that quickly made us tired.
We rented bikes and rode for a couple of hours heading east. We took pictures of a bunch of butterflies and checked out some of the local scenery.
What happened to the waterfall? The petroglyphs? The path to the waterfall was closed because of a mud slide. Getting to petroglyphs was going to take too long since it unexpectedly took us too long to get to this side of the island.
After biking, we had dinner at local comedor, or dining place. Although Becky was tired and went to sleep, I went downstairs and hung out with some of the people. Including a couple of Dutchmen who we managed to coerce into signing Dutch songs for us.
Electricity was out for most of the day, before nightfall it came back, along with WiFi.
Overall, I am not too fond of this place. Room, food, and equipment fees are much too high (using Nicaraguan standards). There is a lack of a homey, welcoming feeling. I feel that this place is much too commercialized. We will be staying here because of convenience and availability of equipment.
One thing I will note. There are more and more tourist in Nicaragua than I saw three years ago. A lot more! Although annoying to see clueless white people everywhere, this is good for the country and I am happy.
I will leave my pictures uploading tonight, and update this post with some selected pictures tomorrow. If there is electricity.
UPDATE: All pictures here.
A couple of my favorites.
I made It ...
Currently, I am sitting in Ometepe the island in the middle of the big lake in Nicaragua.
I arrived in Managua only 20 minutes late. With somebody from Paxeos waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. They waited for me as I purchased a phone and used an ATM where I was able to withdraw cash in the local currency.
The driver took me to where Becky lives. When I got there, I was informed that Becky left a couple of days earlier and had not come back. This upset me, but the other volunteers in the house were very kind and allowed me to stay and wait for her. After about twenty minutes she showed up.
At this point I unloaded a laptop I my formal clothes that I did not want to carry around in Ometepe. We left for the dock where the ferry leaves, only to find out that we needed to buy tickets hours ago. Becky had failed me by not purchasing tickets earlier.
Luckily we were able to take a bus to a another city further south on the lake edge and take another ferry that took us down there. We finally made it to the island around 7pm. We found the first hotel, got a room. Had dinner, stayed up scheming out plans for the next few days.
Now, it's time to sleep.
I have been very bad about taking pictures, but I was too tired. I will be more detailed on my adventures and include more pictures starting tomorrow. We should be seeing a waterfall and some petroglyphs tomorrow.
I arrived in Managua only 20 minutes late. With somebody from Paxeos waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. They waited for me as I purchased a phone and used an ATM where I was able to withdraw cash in the local currency.
The driver took me to where Becky lives. When I got there, I was informed that Becky left a couple of days earlier and had not come back. This upset me, but the other volunteers in the house were very kind and allowed me to stay and wait for her. After about twenty minutes she showed up.
At this point I unloaded a laptop I my formal clothes that I did not want to carry around in Ometepe. We left for the dock where the ferry leaves, only to find out that we needed to buy tickets hours ago. Becky had failed me by not purchasing tickets earlier.
Luckily we were able to take a bus to a another city further south on the lake edge and take another ferry that took us down there. We finally made it to the island around 7pm. We found the first hotel, got a room. Had dinner, stayed up scheming out plans for the next few days.
Now, it's time to sleep.
I have been very bad about taking pictures, but I was too tired. I will be more detailed on my adventures and include more pictures starting tomorrow. We should be seeing a waterfall and some petroglyphs tomorrow.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Arriving in Nicaragua ...
The layover in Mexico City was sadly uneventful. I am still upset that I was not able to leave the airport because of time constrictions.
I boarded my second flight to Managua. Were are on a small jet, and I am no longer in first class. Sad.
Here is a list of things that I need to do when I land.
1. Find bags
2. Get through customs (hopefully without paying some stupid tax)
3. Get cash from ATM
4. Purchase cell phone
5. Find shuttle company that will take me to Granada
6. Call relatives and let them know that I made it alive
I boarded my second flight to Managua. Were are on a small jet, and I am no longer in first class. Sad.
Here is a list of things that I need to do when I land.
1. Find bags
2. Get through customs (hopefully without paying some stupid tax)
3. Get cash from ATM
4. Purchase cell phone
5. Find shuttle company that will take me to Granada
6. Call relatives and let them know that I made it alive
No Mexico City Adventure...
Sadly because my plane was delayed I only have about three hours between my flights. This is far too little time for me to leave the airport.
Even before leaving the airport became a logistical impossibility, I was hesitant to leave because I did not want to deal with customs and security. I now know this was moot. Although I have a connecting flight I still had to go through customs and redo airport security. This was extremely annoying.
I am now sitting on the floor of the Mexico City Airport, trying to recharge my battery as much as possible. There is no Wi-Fi, so I guess this will be posted when I get internet somewhere in Nicaragua.
The sun just came up. I can start to see light through some holes on the wall. See picture below.
Update .. a restaurant upstairs where I had breakfast had Wi-Fi. So this got posted.
Even before leaving the airport became a logistical impossibility, I was hesitant to leave because I did not want to deal with customs and security. I now know this was moot. Although I have a connecting flight I still had to go through customs and redo airport security. This was extremely annoying.
I am now sitting on the floor of the Mexico City Airport, trying to recharge my battery as much as possible. There is no Wi-Fi, so I guess this will be posted when I get internet somewhere in Nicaragua.
The sun just came up. I can start to see light through some holes on the wall. See picture below.
Update .. a restaurant upstairs where I had breakfast had Wi-Fi. So this got posted.
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