Nicaragua

Post Vegas I caught a plane straight to Nicaragua to continue my Southward journey through Central America, via Mexico City and San Jose, Costa Rica. As per my previous post I had roughly a week here to keep me on schedule, so I crammed in a few locations that I had been recommended.

These included Granada, a buzzing old colonial town on the northern edge of the 8,264 square kilometer Lake Nicaragua. Not much to report on Granada other than enjoying the excellent local rum, Flor De Cana, a little too much...

Next stop was the stunning Isla De Omotepe, a small volcanic island on Lake Nicaragua. It was formed by two huge volcanoes bursting out of the lake, side by side, which have since joined by a land mass created by years of lava flow. Now covered in Jungle, this island is an incredible place, straight out of a Jurrasic Park movie. The landscape was stunning, it was packed with wildlife, waterfalls, volcanic beaches and friendly locals. The picture above is of Volcan Concepcion, taken on the evening we arrived from the top of an amazing wooden sculpted viewing tower at the heart of the Hostel we stayed in.

Next stop was the pacific coastal town of San Juan Del Sur, near the Costa Rican border. A notorious spot for surfers to hang out since a film in the 80's (I think) put this place on the map. It wasn't as touristy as I was expecting, but it also wasn't the most real Nicaraguan experience. I spent a few days here dodging rain showers and hanging out with the crew I had met in Granada and Omotepe. All in all, it was a short and sweet stay in Nicaragua, but it feels like a good blast through some key locations.

Next stop, Costa Rica.

July

So, my goal for July is to get through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in around 3 weeks, leaving the last week of the month to take a 5 day sail boat trip through the San Blas Islands from Panama to Cartegena, Colombia.

This would mean that I get to Colombia for the start of August, starting what feels like stage 2 of my trip, South America.

This is pretty quick to be venturing through these countries, especially Nicaragua, but looking at the vast scale of South America and taking into account the many good things i've heard about the countries down there verses Costa Rica & Panama (which are very Americanised), I think it's the best decision right now.

As I write this, i'm on schedule and on the road almost daily with a couple of Aussies and a fellow Brit who are on the same timeline and course.