"When was the last time you did something new for the first time?"
Anonymous
On November 5, 2024, Melanie and I hooked up with our good friend and travel buddy, Paul Delaney, to travel to Central America for 6 weeks. I had been here in 2005 so it was time to go back and see this beautiful region again. Our first stop was the country of........
Nicaragua
Officially known as the Republic of Nicaragua, the country is the largest in Central America with a population of 7 million.
For visitors of a certain age, just the name Nicaragua, evokes grainy images of camouflage-clad guerrillas, punctuated by gunfire and a 1970's soundtrack. In fact, political events of the past few decades, have had a huge impact on many outsiders' perception of Nicaragua, and the country's natural, historical and cultural attractions remain largely undiscovered by tourists.
First-time visitors to Nicaragua are often thrilled to find volcanoes, navigable rivers, colonial cities, Caribbean islands and deserted beaches - all without the hordes of tourist seen elsewhere in Central America. One of the first things you notice is how clean this country is: no garbage littering the roads and zero, nil, nada graffiti. Another thing you quickly notice is no one is in your face trying to sell you things - a rather friendly civilized fine crowd actually.
Before we go any further into the blog, I want to share my thoughts on the recently announced Dictionary.com's new Word of the Year, which is 'Demure'. Now, I'm not going to pretend I use this word very much, in fact I've never used it, but apparently someone does. I would have thought that the Tariff of Nottingham's, "the dictionary's most beautiful word", would have been a contender, but I guess old Rudy G. hasn't been appointed as Secretary of Biggily Words yet, so Demure it is. However, I figured since the topic came up, I'd use a new word periodically within the text of my blog, so without further adieu my first word is (drum roll please):
arduous: adj. - involving or requiring strenuous effort; difficult and tiring. "an arduous journey".
Now back to the blog: we fly into Costa Rica, near the Nicaraguan border, and head for the nearest land entry point. Our first stop, after crossing the border, is the most touristy destination in the country.....
San Juan del Sur
This golden sand-fringed, half moon of a cove, hemmed in by stunning cliffs and filled with boats in repose, is known as the Pacific gateway to some of the best surfing and beaches in the world, not to mention a party-town!
 | | Nothing screams 'tropics' better than a cheap cold brew from a beach bar on a hot sweaty day! |
 |
| After spending an arduous day of beach bar-hopping, we would retire to our AIRBNB balcony and watch the Women's National Beach Volleyball Team -my favourite sport next to Women's Mud Wrestling! |
 |
| No trip to the beach is complete without an arduous walk along the sandy shores. In this case, we were headed for that nob jutting up out of the far hillside. |
 |
| The arduous walk up progressed from beach to roadway, complete with runaway white horse (what happened to the rider we'll never know)! |
 |
| After an arduous hour of hiking we reach our goal, the 25 metre statute of Jesus - one of the tallest in the world - to catch a great bird's-eye view of San Juan del Sur...... |
 |
| ...... bird's-eye view of San Juan del Sur. |
No trip to a party-town is complete without partying and, while we may be older (we ain't dead) and we can still party like it's 1999.
 |
| Our first stop was to hear some reggae music, complete with a stray dog that randomly walked in from the street, settled on-stage at the feet of the bass player and proceeded to lick his private parts (the dog's private parts, not the bass player's)! |
 |
| We ended our night at a pub called The Hip. Now, I know you're saying that the name has a certain 'Canadian' ring to it, especially since there is an outline of a maple leaf on the sign overhead. Coincidence, yes I believe so..... |
 |
| .....wait a minute. They even have a hockey game on the tely. This place loves Canada and the Tragically Hip. !!! |
After 3 days of arduous exploring and more arduous partying it was time to move on to our next destination, a somewhat less arduous place, if you like......
Isla de Ometepe
Nicaragua's dramatic candidate for the 'Eighth Natural Wonder of the World', Isla de Ometepe is exquisite: two volcanic peaks rise from the hazy blue expanse of Lake Nicaragua, known as the 'Sweet Sea', the largest lake in Nicaragua and the 19th largest in the world.
 |
| Ometepe Island with the twin volcanoes covered in cloud. |
 |
| The ferry is probably not quite up to Canadian code, but they did instil confidence by giving us all life-jackets; of course if we had to use them the lake is infested with freshwater bull sharks (more deadly than Great Whites) and staying afloat would only delay the inevitable! |
And now it's time for a new word:
Perambulate: verb - walk or travel through or round a place or area, especially for pleasure and in a leisurely way. "the locals perambulate up and down the thoroughfare".
 |
| We perambulated up the road to Moyogalpa, the island's largest settlement for a gawk. I know in this picture it seems like I'm having a dump, but I swear I'm not (although I may have farted), I'm just doing my best squat and pose! |
 |
| The 1/2 kilometre long astro-turf-covered perambulating street in Moyogalpa, completely void of people. The concept: build it and they will come, hasn't quite caught on yet! |
We were on Ometepe Island for five days and had big plans on the activities that we wanted to partake in, including kayaking around the forest swamp that separates the two volcanoes, but first we had to get there.......
 |
| By and large, we found the main roads in Nicaragua to be in better shape than Canadian roads, but the side roads (such as this one) reminded me of the Cape Shore highway. |
 |
| To get to the forest swamp was not an easy task, in fact, it required a bumpy taxi ride along what barely passed for a road, a boat-trip to the put-in-point and a paddle on the big pond! But once there, all we had to do was put our hair up and we're off!!! |
 |
| Our guide lead us into a river tributary..... |
 |
| ......that quickly became a maze of flooded channels and murky passages (get lost here and you'll be missing for years). |
 |
| Kinda like kayaking in a large bowl of spinach soup. |
 |
| We saw all kinds of flora and fauna, including the Nicaraguan Slider Turtle, endemic to these waters......yeah, turtle soup and sliders tonight for supper!! |
 |
| I've never been to the Florida everglades, but I expect it has a look and feel similar to this area! |
The next day, after one of the best inland kayaks I've ever done, it was time to put our leg muscles to work. Now once upon a time, climbing one or both of Ometepe's volcanoes would have been my preferred choice, but alas Melanie tells me I'm now too old for that sort of hike, so we settle on San Ramon waterfalls.
|
The hike starts out easy enough, much like a perambulate in the park....
|
 |
| The pre-Columbian Indians considered Ometepe as their promised land and created images of their surroundings with motifs of various animals, including birds and turtles - as seen here! |
 |
| An early picture of SpongeBob SquarePants great-great grandfather. |
 |
| This was an advanced civilization that had the know-how to create an 18 month, 20 day calendar (360 days), but not the know-how to create the wheel. The oldest petroglyph dates back to around 1000BC, including this image of a monkey sticking his tongue out.....cheeky monkey! |
Our remaining time on Ometepe was spent hanging about doing hanging about things, which happens to be my new word:
Hanging About: Phrasal Verb - to wait or stay near a place, not doing very much. "kids hanging about in the streets".
 |
| Literally hanging about with Concepcion Volcano as the backdrop! |
 |
| More hanging about! |
 |
| Hanging about at El Ojo de Agua - a natural spring pool filled with crystal clear water from an underground river that comes from Maderas Volcano. The pool is about 2 metres deep and 40 metres long. That's me with my arms spread-out and Mel in front of me.....just saying! |
 |
| While at the El Ojo de Agua, this fella came walking on the water, making believers of us all......Ok I'm only joking, he didn't actually walk on water, he was jumping from the tarzan swing and I happened to capture the fall just before he went into the water!! |
 |
| Ah yes, the old hanging about having a cold beer trick. |
After five fun-filled days in Ometepe it was time to move on to our next destination, the city of........
Granada
Granada is Nicaragua at its most photogenic, a city of graceful adobes and elegantly proportioned porticoes drenched in rich tropical colours. Nicknamed the 'Great Sultan', in honour of its Spanish Moorish namesake across the Atlantic. Granada was founded in 1524 and is the oldest city in the New World and this year it turned 500 years old.....that's a big WOW from me!!
And now for a new word for all of us to ponder....
Magnolious: Adj. - magnificent, splendid. "The building was very magnolious".
 |
| Our home for the next 8 days with the non-magnolious doorway - it's that little tiny door, not the huge one next to it...... |
 |
| .....aaah but inside the home it is very magnolious! |
Time to get out and explore the city in all it's magnolious glory, but first I had a house I needed to locate.....
 |
| BEFORE: Nineteen years ago I was in Granada and spent 2 weeks living in this humble abode (this is younger version of moi)!!! |
 |
| Head.....and that's all I got to say about that. |
 |
| Nicaraguan laundry-mat. |
 |
| The three wise men. |
 |
| Granada's walking street with its inlaid tile artwork. There were over 20 of these on the street. |
One day we heard a racket coming from the street and went out to investigate. It was a parade, not unusual for this part of the world but entertaining nevertheless, even if we have no idea why they were parading....
 |
| Every parade that I've seen in this neck of the woods involves the Virgin Mary leading the charge. |
 |
| The ladies were absolutely magnolious in their outfits! |
 |
| Each group of ladies represented a different municipality in Nicaragua. I think it had to do with the 500th birthday celebrations but I couldn't say for sure. |
 |
| These ladies were also part of the parade, dancing and twirling just behind the Virgin Mary (not Melanie, just the two other ladies). |
You could easily spend several days exploring the streets of old Granada, but there is a lot more to do than just that. So we got off our butts and headed down to the big pond for another kayak. About 20,000 years ago, a volcanic eruption created 365 small islands specifically for us to explore, but first it is time to enhance our vocabulary by adding a new word.....
Super-Duper: Adj. - very good, marvellous. "We had a super-duper time".
 |
| Local fisher catching my supper, well ain't that just super-duper! |
 |
| Lily choked channel. |
 |
| On many of the islands local Nicaraguans live, but being poor they can't afford electricity, so they catch fish but store them live in nets until it's time to eat them, hence the nets hanging from the trees. |
 |
| "Look at dat dere, luh. Quick Mel get a picture." |
 |
| Many of the islands are privately owned, usually by wealthy Nicaraguans and Americans...... |
 |
| ....and some of them have quite the super-duper homes on them, and even though this one is still under construction, it is plain to see that it's going to be the spot! |
 |
| Due to the recent tropical storms that raged through this region, the lake's water level was well above normal, allowing anyone that's interested, to be able to pick this island up cheap......only minor water damage! |
 |
| The drive to the top of the volcano in the back of a pick-up truck......it was all super-duper until I tried to stand up and get out! |
 |
| We stopped at a place to get a coffee and this Rhinoceros Beetle was running around. I'm not sure if he was a pet or waiting to go on the BBQ! |
 |
| The pick-up drove us nearly to the top, and after I got circulation back in my legs, we were off. The hike was rather easy - up and down and all around and back again. |
 |
| The hike included a walk through a fissure which is always super-duper! |
 |
| The crater! Mombacho hasn't erupted since 1570, so the entire crater is covered in dense rainforest. |
 |
| We break out of the rainforest and catch a fleeting glimpse of Granada's 365 island on Lake Nicaragua. |
 |
| Of the 19 volcanoes in Nicaragua, seven of them are considered still active, including this one, but it ain't very active, basically only the scattered gas vent..... |
 |
.....unfortunately, this is as close I get to seeing any volcanic activity - sulfuric vents billowing stinky gas.
|
Often described as refined, intense and politically progressive, Leon is Nicaraqua's second largest city. It's real name is a mouthful, Santiago de Leon de los Caballeros and was the country's original capital and was founded only 2 months after Granada in 1524....another big WOW! Its mind-blowing churches, thriving universities and historic sites make it more Spanish than most cities in Spain. Unfortunately, we are only in Leon for a day as we make our way north to the Honduran border.
 |
| The Nicaraguan lion has been roaring since Adam was a boy. |
 |
| The UNESCO World Heritage site - Leon's cathedral is the largest in Central America, officially known as Basilica Catedral de la Asuncion de la Bienaventurada Virgen Maria (what a mouthful!). For a small donation to God, you can climb the bell tower to the top.....so we did! |
 |
| Paul climbing the claustrophobic unlit stairs to the roof of the cathedral. It's a tight squeeze! Apparently, you can also go underneath the cathedral into the tunnels that connect several of the city churches. |
 |
| Once on top you get a God-like view that is simply super-duper, including this Saintly figure that sits on the very highest point of the Cathedral. |
 |
| A super-duper framed shot of the Iglesia de El Calvario in the distance! My photogenic abilities astonishes even myself! |
 |
| Every year the Cathedral is whitewashed from head to toe bringing it to a brilliant glossy blinding white, but this is the tropics and the black mold develops over the year. The downside is it doesn't look so good, the upside is it keeps painters employed! |
 |
| Paul looking for a bathroom inside the Cathedral. The sleeping lion to his left is the burial chamber of Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario - you may remember him, he wrote 'Los Tres Reyes Magos' - no doesn't ring a bell? |
 |
| Yet another building waiting for a whitewash! |
And now it is time for our final word.....yes you guess it!!!
Demure: Adj. - reserved, modest and shy. "A demure young lady".
(of clothing) giving a modest appearance. "A demure full-length dress".
 |
| This demure supersized young lady was wearing a very demure dress!! - the fella photobombing the picture, well he was just fooling around! |
Well this concludes our time in Nicaragua. We head for the Honduran border the next day for our three week adventure within its boundaries. See you there!
At least this adventure wasn't "Brain Rot"!!!
ReplyDeleteOutstanding and educational reporting! I thought I saw four wiseman…but realized it was a reflection on my computer screen !
ReplyDelete