We left Montezuma at 10:30am and retraced our steps back to Punta Arenas and waited by the side of the road for a bus that would take us to Rivas in Nicaragua. There was one slight hitch however as unbeknown to us we had timed our trip to coincide with a transit strike affecting all Nicaragua. Local and national buses, taxis and trains were all on strike. We were a tad lucky that an international (TICA) bus coming from Costa Rica stopped for us.
When we hopped off the bus in Rivas we found an opportunistic local who agreed to take us to San Jorge which is on the banks of Lake Nicaragua where we would spend the night. We shared the ride with a fun couple (Alicia and Jimmy)from South Carolina and ended up hanging out with them for a few days.
The first rain of the 'rainy season'season fell that night and it was like nothing I'd ever seen before as the thunder and lightning raged and endless buckets of rain drenched everything in sight. The storm knocked out the power for the whole town so we were marooned in a bar in complete darkness as the wind blew the rain horizontal thru the doors and windows and soaked absolutely everything.
Finally there was break in the storm and we headed back to our hotel thru the dirt road which had now turned into a river of muck. The following morning we headed for Isla Ometepe on the lake which is quite rightly listed as one of the 'wonders of the world'. There are two volcanoes (1 active) and lush tropical rain forest lining the beaches. Playa Santa Domingo is the best place to stay with a great beach. We ended up staying 3 days and it was one of the highlights of the trip so far. Next stop El Salvador!
P.S. It's my birthday TODAY!
You're certainly having an eventful holiday! Transit strikes, torrential downpours, power cuts, volcanoes, what else is round the corner? Sounds more like one of those reality shows where you have to tackle anything that's thrown at you and bounce back grinning. Can't wait for the next instalment!
ReplyDeleteOh, clean forgot to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
ReplyDeleteI'm ever so anxious to read your adventures in the central american 'pagos', at times I feel I'm reading 'Indiana Jones and the myth of the last Paddy Crusade'. You are certainly having the time of your life!!! Congrats to both of you on the journey to the centre of the continent (not the earth, yet, hahaha).
ReplyDeleteMany happy returns, dear boy, big hug from Alf and Pat.
I didn't realize your holiday was all the way through central america!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm super jealous. I've been wanting to do something like that for a long long time.
Happy birthday for whenever it was! I love to travel vicariously . . . so many people overseas at the moment I'm feeling positively left out! Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteBut the country sounds like a quit-smoking gum...
ReplyDeleteNick: Thanks - It's been an adventure and hopefully more good things to come!
ReplyDeleteThanks Patricia: and talk to you when we're back
Nomadic Matt: you have nothing to be jealous of with your travel exploits!
Baino: Armchair travelling is sometime easier
VE: Smoking Guns and Gum are all the rage here!