Sweaty and a little tired we piled on to the collectivo on the Nicaraguan side of the border. This was really easy as it was waiting once we got through and cost only 60 Cordoba each ($2 USD/2.55 AUD) to take us to San Carlos. There are money changers here and they offer exact daily rates if you have any Costa Rican or USD to exchange. I’m not sure what I was expecting of San Carlos but what we arrived to was not really it. The bus station was a lively bustling place with a few chicken buses ready to leave and one man was asking if we were heading to Granada. As we had done such an epic journey the day before we knew we wanted to stay in San Carlos for the night so I asked him what time the bus would be tomorrow…this was when he replied that the next bus was on Tuesday (it was currently Friday). Unfortunately, this left us in a bit of a pickle. Although we could head to the capital and then transfer there for Granada on any day, we weren’t really wanting to spend any time in Managua so we made the decision to head to the Rio San Juan first and then catch Tuesday’s direct bus. We had found a really nice (backpacker nice) guesthouse just opposite the bank in town that, true to form, turned out to be a ‘rent a room by the hour’ kind of place. Sadly, it had the unfortunate addition of a circadianly challenged rooster in the back, who alerted us of his presence every hour from 1am, so after a disrupted nights sleep we got up early, got some breakfast and jumped on the first real chicken bus of our Central American journey (it turned out there were even actual chickens on our bus). This bus was due to take an hour to reach Boca del Sabalos, but in the end, took just over 2 1/2hrs and we learned a valuable lesson…always sit by a window that opens…it was a stiflingly hot journey! We got off the bus at the “bus station” and caught the boat across to the town (5 cordoba/ $0.15 USD/0.20 AUD). On arrival it appeared a little chaotic with loud music pumping and an open-air clothes market on the dock, but it seemed to have heart. We were shown to a guesthouse by a nice man who spoke good English and introduced to the owner. Hospedaje Clarissa is run by Nathanial who is a sweet young man who really wants to work with tourists. We got a nice double room with private bathroom for 300 cordoba a night ($10 USD/12.75 AUD) and he was really helpful at arranging a guide (Julio) to show us the surrounding area. After meeting with Julio on our first evening, we had agreed with him that the earlier we got up for the tour the better in terms of spotting wildlife, so we were up and ready to go from the dock at 6am. The tour was to consist of a wildlife spotting trip down 2 rivers and a jungle trek. It seemed pricey at $45 USD pp ($57.35 AUD) but once on the trip it seemed to be totally worth it. The wildlife here is very similar to Tortuguero as they are geographically not very far apart but the bird life here is sensational! We were treated to a baby sloth as well as a close look at a very young howler monkey along with the troops of howlers, capuchin and spider monkeys. When we went in to the jungle we also got to spot the poisonous dart frog which is a lot smaller than you would expect and another incredible green and dark blue/black psychedelic looking frog. There is an abundance of wildlife to be spotted here and Julio and his sons were very good at picking them out. In hindsight we had one complaint regarding this trip, and it was entirely our own fault! The thing with Sabalos is that it is very isolated and because of this we were under the impression that negotiating on the price was not an option as Julio was the only guide we were aware of in the area. We had forked out the $45 USD ($59.35 AUD) each with no questions asked. After our 4hr tour we got back to the dock and there was a Dutch girl waiting for him to take her on a trip. It turns out there was a lot of wiggle room in his prices as she took him down from $120 to $40 for an 8 hour trip in seconds and we had just spent $45 for half the time! Hmph!! Lesson learned! Having said this, it was a wonderful trip and while we wish we had attempted some kind of negotiation we weren’t going to grumble about the experience we had! Knowing that there was only one bus directly to Granada leaving the next day we decided to head back via bus to San Carlos with a days grace as we were not entirely confident in the reliability of Nicaraguan transport. Booking back into the brothel and killing time playing cards by torch light (the power was out in the whole district at the time, for the second time in as many days and this actually became a bit of a regular feature of our time in Nicaragua) we prepared to head to our first city destination in Nicaragua. The bus/boat times from San Carlos to Granada make absolutely NO sense as there are only direct options on Tuesdays and Fridays (1 boat and 2 buses) and all leave within a 3 hour window from 2-4pm on these days. Opting for the cheaper chicken bus route (190 cordoba/$6.20 USD/8.20 AUD/person) we left San Carlos 2pm and arrived into Granada at 9.30pm. Never booking accommodation in advance we figured there’d be places open in an actual city...then again, maybe not (once again we appeared to have fallen into the trap of applying western logic to a developing nation). Driving through to the bus station we saw nothing! Everything was shut and it looked like we may be facing a night sleeping outside! Luckily for us, we managed to locate one little place that was open…albeit it looked like a converted convent, but it was open, it had space for us and it was reasonably priced. Turns out we were really lucky because no sooner had she checked us in than she was locking the front doors. The next morning we were up and ready to search for a better place to stay (that didn’t electrocute you every time you used the plug socket) which is when we stumbled upon Nicaragua Mia, which was a great find. They had a room for $12USD ($15.85 AUD) a night for a small private double that also included a full Nicaraguan breakfast (gallo pinto, eggs, toast, cheese and plantain). It was right in the centre but quiet at night and had ridiculously good WiFi. After moving in we contacted our friend David who happened to be in Granada too. Basically the 3 days we spent in Granada were used wandering around and catching up with David. The one thig we did decide to do was a Nicaraguan cooking class at La Tortilla Cooking School which we would definitely reccomend. It included a traditional dish and 3 side dishes and we were able to sit down to a meal with those who had taken the class and have a great discussion afterwards. It was well worth the standard $45 USD ($59.35 AUD) each we paid. We can’t really say we saw a lot but after the multiple difficult journeys we had taken, that was exactly what we needed. After a chilled time in Granada, it was time to head up to León which was a fairly easy process (no need for the expensive tourist shuttle) and involved a quick change at Managua. All we needed to do was take a minivan to the UCA station (29 cordoba/person) in Managua, say León when we arrived and got out of the van and wait to be pointed in the right direction to be ushered into the next minivan to León (61 cordoba/person). The whole journey took us just over 2 and a half hours. In the mini van we met a lovely guy called Paul who had already booked a hostel, so we agreed to share a cab and check it out. We talked with the boys that accosted us as we got off the bus and agreed on $1 USD each or $3 USD for the taxi to the hostel. The taxi actually turned out to be a rickshaw and the 3 of us were packed in (quite literally) with our bags and cycled off into the street. The gods took this opportunity to open the heavens and the rain poured down on us and our bags. Soaked (and a little wound up) we arrived at Serendipity Hostel and proceeded to be told that we were mistaken and they had agreed on $3 USD each and we were now short changing them. Paul decided to handle it and gave them a $5 note, refused to give any more and walked away. It turned out that we were absolutely right, as the journey should cost no more than $1 per person. Waiting for them to disappear we checked out the hostel before I did the loop to see what was around. It turned out that Serendipity although more expensive than we had anticipated was actually our cheapest and nicest option. This was a great find, not only was it really comfortable with a fantastic chill out area (pool table and cheap drinks) but the staff who run it are amazing (they have volunteer options too if you’re looking to stay for a while and save on spending bit of money). Over the course of our 4-days there we stayed in 3 of their rooms and all were equally as comfortable. (4 bed dorm $7 USD/9.25 AUD, 6 bed dorm $6.25 USD/8.25 AUD, private double $15 USD/19.80 AUD – all with shared bathrooms). At Serendipity they also advertise trips run by Volcano Day, but no, they’re not getting a commission, it is simply informative. We can highly recommend their Telica Sunset Tour ($45 USD/59.35 AUD/person), which is a short hike to the top of Telica volcano, where you can see lava in the crater, wander through a bat cave and then watch a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean. This trip was a bit testing both mentally and physically as the volcano is Nicaragua’s second most active which is a little nerve wracking for me (Riv) and it is also a fairly steep and uneven 45 minute climb up but totally worth it (for those of you with functional joints it’d be easy). After a few nice days in León and a great experience at the volcano it was time to move on. From León, it was looking like another difficult journey to get to our next destination of Matagalpa. The journey was to involve a bus to a junction and then flagging down a bus from the side of the road, going to Matagalpa. It turned out to be a lot easier than expected and we were on our second bus within 20 minutes of being dropped off at the junction. We had read in guides that Matagalpa was a highlight of Nicaragua and offered a beautiful alternative in terms of landscape as it is located in the mountains. Sounded perfect and just the change we fancied! It turned out to be not quite as interesting as it had been made out to be and there wasn’t a lot to do or much information around. When we arrived, we settled on a guesthouse just up from the bus station which was 250 cordoba($8.15 USD/10.80 AUD) for a double with private bathroom which was the cheapest we had stayed in in all of Nicaragua. The food next to the bus station was plentiful and delicious so we were content on a few days of wandering and eating. The final leg of Nicaragua was in our sights. We had planned to make it as far as Ocotal on the border of Honduras to ensure we had an early crossover the next morning. The first stage was really easy as it was just a direct bus from Matagalpa to Esteli. On arrival in Esteli we were directed to the next bus station which is only a 10 minute walk down the road (turn right out of the bus station). At this bus station we were informed that the next bus to Ocotal was at 2pm (at this point it was 11:30). This turned out to be a potential crossed wire as there was a bus to Jalapa that was going via Ocotal leaving 20 minutes later (Ocotal was also emblazoned on the front). Due to the misinformation about the bus we were one of the last ones to get on…meaning standing room only! This would have been fine had the beginning symptoms of what would turn out to be gastro hadn’t started within the first 30 minutes of me (Riv) getting on the bus. Crippling cramps are not fun while standing for a 2 hour journey on a hot and overly full bus with no suspension, and I was exhausted by the time we got to Ocotal. The nearest and possibly only guest house in sight looked way out of our price range but I think the look of desperation on my face softened my money conscious wife and I could tell she’d pay anything for the easy option for me for the night. We had lucked out though because despite their really fancy rooms at the front they had cheaper (still with private bathroom) out the back (320 cordobas/$10.45 USD/13.80 AUD per night). I’m not sure why but Dani and I were both suffering from uncomfortably high levels of anxiety about Honduras…thank you mass media scare mongering! We know it has a bad reputation but this is not a traveller-targeted reputation (ever looked up the backpacker horror stories in the supposedly safe Australia?!). In spite of repeated attempts to rationalize, neither of us could shake the apprehension. Not wanting to miss what promised to be a rewarding country for the brave travellers (everyone we met coming down Central America had skipped it) we put on our bravest faces and got ready for the next border crossing. It was a quick journey to Las Manos (the border) from Ocotal and the bus dropped us 2 minutes from Nicaraguan immigration. We payed our $2 USD ($2.65 AUD) exit fee, changed the remaining cordobas we had and marched off into the concerning mysterious unknown. Budget Time $$$For me (Dani) as the budgeteer, Nicaragua was an odd country for me to get my head around. We entered with a daily budget of $20USDpp/day and in terms of the generic usuals (accommodation, transport, food) we were on easy street! In fact, on a bog standard average average day, we were struggling to hit $25 for both of us! Accommodation averaged about $10/night, food was about $2pp/meal and journeys between destinations rarely cost more than about $5pp. So just ‘being’ in Nicaragua cost nothing and was probably one of the cheapest countries we have visited anywhere in the world. However, in terms of actually ‘doing’ anything like tours or excursions there seemed to be no cheap options anywhere! Now I know that we had our hindsight realisation with our river trip in Boca de Sabalos but even so it would have been pricey, and when bundled in with the other experiences we had while in Nicaragua I have since entitled this fine country as the “$45 excursion destination”. Everything we did, from wildlife in Sabalos, to cooking in Granada and volcanoes in León cost us $45pp. For the content and quality of the experiences this was not unreasonable at all! However, on at $20pp/day budget this threw any attempts I made at balancing things out over a course of days completely impossible! In the end we were unable to stick to our targeted budget, having had three days when our entertainment alone cost $90 for the two of us, but as I said previously, the immense under expense that we had on days when we didn’t do anything made it less of a dramatic over spend than it could have been! Given how cheap everything else in Nicaragua was, I was shocked by the expense of day trips and experiences but it was important to acknowledge that this is all relative and there are very few other places in the world where we could have had such remarkable and exceptional adventures for such a minimal sum. On occasion you have to take a step back from the budgeting game, get your head out of the numbers and look at what the value is rather than the price. Overall, Nicaragua was an immensely budget friendly country to just ‘be’ in, and a very warm, welcoming and comfortable place to be doing that ‘being’. In terms of experiencing what the country has to offer you may need to loosen the purse strings a little but if you choose right this is absolutely worth it! What we actually spent: 16 Days = $654.90 USD/859.10 AUD Entertainment: $355.09 Accommodation: 203.42 Food: $107.01 Miscellaneous: $96.78 Transport: $56.25 Drinks: $35.06 Souvenirs: $5.51 Daily spend: $20.55 USD per person which was slightly over our $20 USD budget. LGBT:Nicaragua was another country that we did not face any problems as a couple but were starting to sense a strange theme we hadn't found anywhere else in the world. People weren't actually recognising us as a couple and as we are a dual nationality couple people seemed unexpectidly suprised to find out we have been travelling together for so long. This happened with both locals and other travellers (it's them we find the strangest). Everyone we came across was hospitible and friendly and no one blinked twice at a request for a double room. This came as a little shock considering homosexuality was only decriminalised in 2008. There is very little information on trangender rights available so I am unable to comment on this. Worth noting though is that Dani never got mistaken for a man throughout the country and people were very accepting of her androgenous apperance.
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