Thewesternprovinceblog

A 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 history nerd travelling The New World. ¿What could possibly go wrong? Join me on my way to The fabled lands of Ar Wladfa 🇦🇷

recent posts

about

A 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 history nerd travelling The New World. ¿What could possibly go wrong? Join me on my way to The fabled lands of Ar Wladfa 🇦🇷 in 🇨🇴

  • In a Lonely Place

    Okay everyone. This comes nearly a week late as only now am I feeling fine enough about us being past this one though at the time of writing despite being given the all clear I still don’t feel like I’m 100% out of the woods yet. Buckle up because this is going to be a raw, long and nasty one.

    So after our moped accident and the dog sniffing my knee I am getting on an early ferry back to the mainland from Ometepe. While we are sailing back I think back on last night’s events and while I am 99.9% certain it was only a sniff of a now scabbing up but still wet wound that was also covered the voice in my head starts thinking Rabies. Despite making some chit chat with other travellers I cannot shake this sinking feeling in the stomach and naturally get to googling.

    During the terminal Boredom phase of waiting for 3 hours for this coach bus in Rivas I’m reading more about it and while the research suggests I’m probably fine I decide I’m going to see a quacks soon as im sorted in San Jose to get a professional opinion. I end up talking to another traveller waiting for the bus, this real chill American girl who has lived in Costa Rica for 3 years and make small talk about places we’ve been and Costa Rica. I mention my predicament eventually. She says it’s very rare in Nicaragua and CR you’ll be fine. I’m not totally convinced. I even message maxim back on the island about this. He says don’t worry. I message the guy who ran the hostel back on the island. Don’t worry but get it looked as soon as you can.

    During all this the bus pulls up for the frontera and on we get. During the short ride to Peñas Blancas I’m looking up the statistics for rabies in Nicaragua and the last confirmed case was in the late 90’s, I even come across a Reddit post from last year with somebody panicking who actually did get bit by a dog on Ometepe and when they spoke to vets there they said not heard of a case on the island in a long time. 2nd hand info but somewhat reassuring. After this I briefly nap after doing my head in with all this then I am woken to say we’re about to get to the border. Get your passport ready.

    We pull up to the frontera and this is a right bundle of fun. We have to take all our bags off the bus including what’s in the hold. We go through an hour of queuing. End up having to put all our gear through metal detectors and pay the $8 exit tax for the privilege of this ($3 is tax the rest the service charge for stamping your passport and the baggage check) how fucking nice of them to give me an itemised receipt!! Wish I took a picture I really do!

    Now back on the bus we go. 2 minutes later we have to debus with all our gear again to do it all again on the Costa Rica side. Off we go do the bunfight again then are told to walk to this gate where we are then just told to wait here. 1 hour goes by. Crickets. 2 hours goes by. Crickets. 3 hours in one of the guys they let across to use the bathroom briefly says this is because of a powercut and their systems are down and cant process anyone. This goes on for another 1.5 hours  until people start coming in from the other side and I manage to ask the guard about noticias con la electricidad and he tells me we are back on but we’re dealing with the backlog on the leaving side first.

    After 5 hours of waiting round we are let through to queue up for immigration and this is very slow and they are also really pushy asking where are you staying show me proof of onward travel. Oh and you pay the 8 dollar entrance tax. I was at one point seriously considering saying fk this and going back into Nicaragua. Welcome to Costa Rica! Pura Vida! Gee thank you and fuck you! After this we have to put all our stuff through metal detectors again and then a copper checks your passport for a final time before you can get on the bus too. Like really? We literally just gone through your anal passport desk and we have to get checked again?!! Just bite your tongue do what they say and all that.

    Eventually after 2.5 hours everyone is through and the bus is moving again. Drive tells us because of the delays our bus that should have been getting into San Jose at 7pm will now be about 11:30-12:30 am. Anyways we are off and 2 hours into this ride we are come to a halt in a giant traffic Jam. I later find out this was because a sinkhole collapsed a major crossroad somewhere and it caused the whole northern half of Costa Rica to get gridlocked. Drive did his best for us fair play even off roading it at one point to get around what he could be we were stuck. It was a mobile car park all the way to San Jose. In the end our bus that was supposed to get in at 7pm doesn’t get in until 5:45 am the next day right as morning rush hour is getting underway.

    I am able to get an Uber to the hotel explain the situation about the check in. Man on the desk says it’s fine everyone else has been in the same situation and people been trickling in since 3am. I ask to extend another night explaing my medical predicament. Yes but your room is booked we will have to move you but check out isn’t till 12. You can go up get showered etc and there’s a free breakfast we will send up to you. Okay thanks sounds good send it up in about an hour.

    So shower up have breakfast and freshen up. Go though my bags and turns out quite a few basic but necessary items have inexplicably gone missing on this bus ride i.e my phone charger and a cable and so add that to the agenda. Right time to see a doctor. Going online the day before I seen the best recommendation was hospital clinica bíblica. I ask the lad on the desk he says they are good best in the country. It’s a 15 minute walk away. Great let’s go see them.

    Now for all the things I have slated Costa Rica for one thing I will not is the healthcare system here. I get to the hospital say I need to an emergency consultation. Straight inside and on the left. You press a button, take a ticket and they will see to you. Didn’t take pictures but this was a very clean, modern and well organised hospital, leagues above your average Welsh Hospital. Back home they would just prescribe you some Calpol & ibuprofen and tell you stop being a big fucking baby! I joke but have a feel this wouldnt have been as simple back home!

    Fair play I was seen to within 2 minutes of getting my ticket. Into the room I go. I explain the story about the moped accident and then the dog sniffing the wound. I say all the research I’ve done suggests I should be fine but need a professional opinion to be doubly sure These doctors also spoke very good English. I could have done this in Spanish if I absolutely had to with some assistance from el traductor but do this in Inglés. Don’t need things getting lost in translation with serious shit.

    Anyways they jump straight into action and take my heart rate temperature and put my thumb into this florescent light reader thing and then tell me to wait outside. “Eso no parece rabios” i hear him saying with the tablet when he comes out talking to the lady on the desk. 

    5 minutes later I’m called in again and the doctor explains to me that I am fine and that it was not a dangerous contact and goes on to explain that it is in a way better I delayed seeing them because had it been in my system after 40 hours subtle changes would already be underway that the tests would have picked up. I.e if there had been an immune response the light thingy would have caught it and felt the wound on the knee Vs the other knee – both were similar temperature – had the cut been exposed it would have been burning up and you would be feeling burning. We chat for a bit and he basically runs through all the telltales signs that I would be showing by now and none of them are. Also confirmed everything I read was correct. He steps out and has a chat with another doctor (which I’m not part of) but he comes back in and says his opinion is the same but legally they have to recommend you go get another opinion. There was another hospital I could go but that’s for real emergencies, i.e car crashes gunshots etc stuff where you REALLY need to be seen to right away. I would probably be kept waiting half the day to then basically be told the same thing. I thank him and say I won’t bother with this then and ask how much do I owe? Surprisingly nothing but he did prescribe me an antibiotic cream to put on future cuts I get should I have another accident of this nature. I tell him thank you so much. I am given the report after about 20 mins and go on my way. I am at this point declaring no harm done on the rabies scare. 

    After this I go buy another charger and go move my gear into my new room back in the hotel. After this lunchtime. I go walk around. Find a nice little bar and grill place. Have a burger and sink 5 pints then go back to the hotel and mong out for a few hours. My ordeal is over!

    …………..¿or is it?

  • The Isla Ometepe 🌋 Side Quest – Part 4

    Hola todos! This is the blog for the final day of the Isla Ometepe side quest!

    You know the deal by now, to skip the details I hired the bike again and off out I went to find the waterfall trail. I do briefly stop by the same comedor for breakfast before I hit the trail and ear a french crepe in the wrong way like the island Barbarian that I am!

    Anyways I soon hit the trail and after the practice yesterday I end up breezing past the slopey rough ground that I bailed at the other day and then I’m riding on some nice flat dirt roads with some lovely views of the coast. I briefly stopped at a little museum showing the different fish in the lake, which is more like an inland sea how big it is. After this I am soon at the entrance to the waterfall trail. I chat with some fellow backpackers and it’s not an easy trail being a 3 hours uphill hike in the blazing midday sun. 

    I give it some thought and decide I’m enjoying being on the bike so bail on the hike and decide you know what? I can walk to a waterfall any day of the week but can’t ride a motorbike so easily back home and decide to challenge myself to complete the full loop around this part of the island

    Off I go and realise I’m actually doing way better at this dirt riding than I thought I would be and I am absolutely killing it going through the uneven highs and lows without incident. It’s all about judging what’s in front of you and knowing when you should speed up or slow down on each rough part. I cut through about 2/3 of the full route where I briefly chat with some fellow travellers who were on the bus with me from Potosí to León a week ago. Some are heading to Colombia so might bump into them again. They tell me it’s not long to go and about 15 minutes till your back to the main road. Great stuff. We say our goodbyes and off I go for the last bit of rough riding.

    All goes well until we reach the very last village before we reach the main road. There are people about so I’m going pretty slow like 10 kph. I’m nearly through and right out of nowhere this little yappy dog runs in front of me and I split second slam then front brake on sandy ground. I skid cannot correct……I’m going boys!!

    Here I go ass over tit cut my knee and left hand and bruise my pinky finger good, not broken but need to take it easy for a while. Joder that fkng hound!! Fair play though the locals help me up and stand the bike up while I use my first aid wipes and bottle of pox that was in my bag sterilise and plaster up the cuts though the plasters sit pretty loosely as sweat gets to them. Once I patch myself up I now cannot get the bike started after this rollover and me and 3 lads are checking the battery, fuses connections etc all looks okay and the starter motor still turns. Try to start w full throttle open. Nothing.

    Not being able to start the bike I have to get somewhere with WiFi to WhatsApp the company to send a wagon out. One of the guys says there is a place down the hill but we need to ride down there. I push the bike to the top of the hill and freewheel it down trying to bump start it several times to no avail. We make contact and maxim @greenexpedition sends the wagon out but I have to sit tight for 2 hours. 

    The truck eventually comes and the guy gets out and has a look “this is simple” he then pulls open a hidden fuse in the corner which all of us failed to spot even looking up YouTube vidoes. He gives it a clean and bang the bike starts first time 🤦‍♂️. He then says am I happy to ride back or we can put it on the truck. I say I am happy to ride back and I can cut my teeth with a bit of night riding. We get back to the paved main road quicky with him following for a while then leaving me to ride back in the dark on my own. I get back to port fill the bike up while chatting to some fellow travellers doing the same on quads.

    I take the bike back to Maxim and he goes over the damages. I’ve lost my deposit and have to pay in US about £35 for additional damage and the truck call out. So this mishap cost me circa £90-100 however despite everything it was an amazing day and I went away feeling like I had slain one of my personal demons although I didn’t end up seeing half of the sights of this amazing island this is more important to me! Also firsthand knowledge doesn’t come free and the experience from this will pay off tenfold next time we have to ride to get round.

    After this is wrapped up I go out to eat and while i am sat outside this restaurant a stray dog takes curiosity to my knee which has now been scabbing up and was covered with trousers came up for a sniff. I quickly shoo him away loudly getting the whole street looking at me for a moment but he leaves and I get my food. I eat up and then head back to turn in. I don’t think too much of it in the night but in the morning I am very worried. 

    So begins the worst leg of the trip so far by a country mile………..

  • The Isla Ometepe 🌋 Side Quest – Part 3

    Hola todos. Day 2 on the island rolls round and I am quickly out and up on the bike. I decide today I will tackle the road to the waterfall, of which a lot of it follows the same route I did the other day so out I go.

    Getting about halfway there I get hungry and it’s also about to chuck it down so I stop off in this little comedor (café) and sit down and have a coffee and a sandwich. There was a guy pushbiking who I passed who had the same idea. Me and him start chatting and turns out he’s a kiwi fella who’s been about a bit and we’re talking for a while. His name was Jason and we exchanged details and seen if he wanted to meet up for a drink later. Unfortunately we never do as he rode a long way and is staying in a hostel out of town and I didn’t have my shit together for the next leg. So no new best friend unfortunately!

    Anyways rain stops but still wet but I ride on only to stop 2 minutes later and wait it out as it’s a Welsh tap style shower! Once it stops for good I make for the waterfall place. Ultimately I never get there get about a third of the way and decide to bail. It’s a lot of rough ground going up and downhill and was rather muddy after the rain. Still hasn’t been a bad day. If I stay a 3rd day I will attempt it again. Still taking the opportunity to cut my teeth I head back to port but instead of going straight back I go north of port and cut around on similar roads to the waterfall route but this is all on level ground, and am later told that this is harder than the waterfall route talking to some guys. 

    Getting home I give the bike back to Maxim @greenexpedition saying I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow and I will drop by tomorrow to hire it again if I’m staying on the Island. I look at options for tomorrow to get from Rivas to San Jose, Costa Rica 🇨🇷. The coach bus is fully booked up on Thursday, that said back in Granada the Metal man told me the chicken bus route to the border and San Jose once through but the Costa Rica border with Nicaragua is known for being a faf. If I’m kept waiting too long I will miss the last bus and be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile the coach was available for Friday. I decide another day on the bike is better than battling with the chicken buses and extend my stay by another night and text maxim to say I’ll be down to rehire the bike in the morning.

    We will try the waterfall route again tomorrow.

  • The Isla Ometepe 🌋 Side Quest – Part 2

    The Isla Ometepe side quest part 2

    Hola todos. Today is our first day on a motorbike in about 8 years so you can say I was feeling apprehensive to say the least. I wake up at 0800 and get showered watered etc and 0900 our man Maxim rolls round and drops off the bike and after a brief chat I am left to my own devices. Jumping on and not having to deal with Gear changes it was a lot easier to get to grips than I thought it would be. I am soon on my way. This is also my first time driving on the right so this will be interesting. 

    I forgot to mention I had booked this kayak tour in the afternoon but it’s a 1.5 hour ride around the other side of the island, no biggie not in a rush I got time to cut around a bit on the moped so decide first will head around and see if I can grab some breakfast somewhere. I end up going to  Altagracia on the other side of the western half of the island and get a coffee and a chicken and rice with kidney beans dish the locals eat. Don’t ask me what the name was think just pollo con arroz. It was pretty nice. During this time we get a Welsh tap style flash storm so picked a good time to stop!

    After the rain cleared I headed east to the kayak place. I quickly get over there and see the man. Through maxim I get a 5 dollar discount on the tour so I pay 25 USD and we have a short ride down to the beach. It’s very rocky and halfway through I lose my nerve after nearly coming off the bike so he walks up and I hop on the back and we’re down to the beach. I meet the kayak guy, a man named Johnny or more likely “Yoni” as it would likely be spelled – it’s a common thing in these países to have English names spelled en Español. I put my kit in the lockup including my phone – it’s too much drama getting into the waterproof bag I had and did not think to remove the cover so no pics of the kayak tour sorry. CONTINUED IN COMMENTS 👇 & WordPress

    It was about an hour and a half long and each of us had our own kayak and off we go. He takes me up river and we see herons of different kinds, monkeys, big lizards similar to Komodo dragons which I forget the name of and turtles. He says I’m lucky as in the morning when it was raining you would not have seen anything as these animals don’t hunt in storms.

    After this tour wraps up I thank him and get back up the path to the main road with some assistance and I head back to Moyogalpa. I stop by Maxim’s and tell him I’ll hire the bike a 2nd day was good fun actually! The evening is uneventful in port having some grub and beers in the restaurant bar where they helped me out when I had a moment when I landed. I’ve also extended my stay by 1 night

    Tomorrow we will try our luck with the harder road to the waterfall.

  • The Isla Ometepe 🌋 Side quest – Part 1

    Hola todos. I hope everyone is doing well this last weekend of November. I am currently transiting through San Jose, Costa Rica on to Bocas del Toro, Panamá. We got a lot of catching up to do, as such the next round of blogs are done retrospectively.

    After we left off In Granada I considered my options about Ometepe. After giving it some thought I decided yes I want to go, though before I accepted this side quest I made some enquiries with Gerry and the metal man – learning lessons from earlier legs on this trip I wanted to double check I was not walking into another San Pedro before I pulled the trigger. They all said it was good and no it’s not another San Pedro, so with that in mind I booked myself into a hostel in Moyogalpa, the main port on the Island’ staying here would mean it will be easy to get back to the mainland when it comes time to move on.

    With that sorted Monday rolls round and it’s time to leave Granada I check out of Gerry’s hotel and walk down to where the chicken bus for Rivas goes from. The bus left early but we can get on another one and change over in the next town and do that. Chat with some Scottish girls travelling to ometepe too and we travel to ometepe together. After the stop in Nandaime we are quickly on the connection and this bus is rammed. I’m practically hanging out the rear doorway 😂

    We arrive in Rivas and haggle with a taxi and get ourselves to port and we are in luck as there is a ferry already there and waiting to go. We get our tickets and quickly get aboard. The ride over is pretty interesting as this lake can get pretty rough and this ferry reminded me of the junkboats im Hong Kong. Had a very slow boats to China vibe getting over there.

    When I arrive on the walk up to my gaff I am approached by a guy who runs one of the tour companies there and speaks very good English to me. We have a quick chat and tell him I’ll drop by later once I’m settled in. Check into gaff all good then go back to see the man. His name is Maxim by the way and the company is called Green expedition. Sound lads would highly recommend them. 

    I ask about booking onto some tours and he runs me through the options. Places look good though there is one small problem. You can’t get to them without wheels and that means you need to hire a motorbike, scooter or a quad. I felt nervous about this as last time I had been on a bike was 8 years ago and it didn’t go well. I tell him I’ll have a think and come back.

    I go and have some water and a beer at this bar and hit up some of my mates who ride motorbikes for some advice. The recommendation was take the scooter as automatic and you can just focus on the road. With that sorted I drop back and go back to Maxim and explain that I’m nervous about it and haven’t ridden in a while. I ask “are the roads like Mexico here?” i.e a complete free for all. He says no and once your out of town it’s very quiet actually. Okay I’ll give it a go then. He runs me through the motor I’ll be riding and then offers to drop it off at my gaff in the morning. Okay then happy days.

    With that settled I head back to the gaff then go out for some food and a drink then have an early one. Tomorrow we face our fears!

  • 3 Españoles 🇪🇸 & a Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 idiot go on an adventure!

    Hola todos. Me siento muy feliz. Con mucha paz y tranquilidad porque hoy tuve un día muy muy super guay 😊😎 déjame decirteis sobre todo!

    Right back to business. I awake and have another lovely desayuno incluido in the new gaff. No pic but was a lovely bit of scrambled egg and a real nice fruit bowl. While eating I chat to some of the other guests. This group of 3 Dutch girls travelling round different places though they been flying everywhere as one of them had a baby with them. Fair play though, start them off young! We chat about different travels and bring up the other days throwback on Instagram to India (pics will be in the gallery below) 😂🤣🤣 they were in disbelief. On the gross out and challenge factor though nothing on this trip so far has come even remotely close to that train ride back in 2013!

    Now then for the main event of today boat tour time. I get my stuff together and wait for the 0900 pickup. 0850 Gerry comes out and says sorry they cancelled your tour and didn’t tell me. No dramas es lo que hay. He says you got a couple of options to save the day though and lays them out. I then go to the hostel round the corner and ask Mrs Lady there about apuntando un tour de barco si podría. “Espera” she phones someone has a yabber and says yes just wait there 10 mins. 5 mins later a driver comes in and I go with him into the back of a taxi. 

    Inside are 3 others and I say “hablas inglés, español or?” “Los ambos” the girl in the front is chatting to drive and I quickly clock that these 3 are Españoles and ask. “Si” muy bueno and they speak the dialect I know and understand near perfectly one bloke and 2 very fit chicas. We’re chatting in the car and one of them lived in Aberdare for 4 years teaching Spanish in a school in Cardiff. Crazy world! The vibe here is good and I Have to say the day is looking up and so is mae butty Bach!! 🤣 ayayay joder behave Boí!! 

    We soon reach our destination and are put on another boat similar to the ferry from La Unión and off we go. Just the 4 of us and our driver a guy who’s nickname was Ali. He shows us round these mini islands off the coast of Granada. There are tonnes of them. Only a handful of about 365. They have lots to see. Some have monkeys, some have people living on them fishing. Some have forts on them built to shoot pirates, others various other wildlife and some with abandoned wooden buildings that look like something dropped straight out of Far Cry 2!

    We’re all chatting all en español and it’s great stuff. 

    Eventually we pull up to this one island and we get off for a half hour stop. Ali recommended we try this citrus cocktail which I forget the name of. Was going to have a beer simple stupid but they all go for this and so, cuando estés en Roma? ¿No? I go for one too. I pay seperate to the Spanish trio and offer to buy Ali a beer or anything else he wants. He thanks me and goes for a coca (not the Colombian kind don’t worry!) and is grateful. Because of this he’s happy to wait a bit longer than the planned time. Little things go a long way folks! 

    The chicas now want to go for a swim and are getting into their gear. They say the water is cold. I wade in to my knees. No it’s not. Soy Del Norte!! I confirm it is NOT West Wales shock treatment; es bueno! ¡Venga!! Next thing all if us are going for a swim for the better part of an hour. Believe it or not first time swimming on this trip after 2 months on the road!! Soooooo good it felt. But all good things come to an end. 

    We are back on the boat and see a few more islands and are whisked back to port. I swap details with these 3 but they now live in the US and are only on a short vacation and heading to Masaya tomorrow the opposite direction to me. Qué pena!!

    As for me I now faced a dilemma. I loved the vibe today and decided I want more of this and so now have a choice to make……..do I plow on to San Jose  as planned or do a detour to Isla Ometepe?¿?

    Pues vamos a ver pronto!

    Throwbacks to India below:

    This is me in India when I was 19 on the Bubonic Plague Express – I’m so dirty in this photo I’m as dark as him behind me! 😂🤣🤣

    Indian trains be like: “If you can catch a rat, put it in the cage a member of staff will come and dispose of it professionally” and by professionally it’s going straight to the Pantry cabin and rat stew is going on the menu!

    lock your luggage with chain!

    That train ride ended in a place called Kovalam Beach, Kerala. That place was bloody weird too!

    If you care to read the Indian train story

  • Finde fun in Granada!

    Hola todos. Let’s get straight into it. After my siesta after the events of Friday morning and afternoon Cwru o’ gloch was once again rolling round and it was time to head out for a beer and a bite. I go to my guides hangout and have 2 beers and lovely fajita dish for £5 and some change but it’s quiet so head to Bar Clandestino to do the usual solo drinking thing. Sit my ass at the bar sip a few bottles and see if the RNG rolls us any gals or geezers, sexy señoritas…….. ¿or another crazy perhaps? Been a while since we had one of them and have a feel probably due another one soon!

    Tonight however we got rolled a Geezer and another one of the metalhead persuasion. Meet new best friend Theo! This fella is local here but has been round a bit especially to Europe to Nordic metal gigs. He is a civil engineer working remote for a US company and doing pretty well for himself. He’s a CAD Monkey in engineering speak! Not knocking him at all he’s got a good thing going on there and all the best for him. 

    He is some good entertainment and another great guy to hit up for local knowledge. We have an easy one Friday night and call it fairly early. However we make plans to meet again tomorrow afternoon for some lunch and a beer once I’m moved into the new gaff and sorted.

    Saturday rolls round. I get my laundry, desayuno and am out. Repack and haul the gear 10 mins up the road and I’m in my new hotel at 1130. Better I can check in early. Lovelllyyyy!

    Turns out this new hotel is run by an Irish expat fella by the name of Gerry. Been here for 14 years and married a local. I sort out check in formalities and also ask about doing a boat/kayak tour tomorrow. He texts someone and says yes boat tour good. 20 USD and 0900 pickup. Sound!

    After some rest I join my metalhead new best friend for hora del almuerzo (and Cwru 🍺 o gloch!) and we shoot the shit for a while. Let’s just say the modern UK has got a lot of eyes on it right now and how things are there right now. Read between the lines on this one. It’s a good time and hora de siesta follows. 

    Later that night we meet again in Bar Clandestino but nothing worth blogging really comes out of it but is a good craic. Again we wrap up early and I end the night with a gentle tinny or 2 then turn in for some shuteye before the tour tomorrow.

  • Much ado about nothing!

    Hola todos. Today I will tell you about why I have been so late to get the next round of blogs out the door. Entonces vamos a empezar! To pick things up I get up Friday morning in my new nicely bearable semi sweatbox and they also do a nice traditional breakfast in the morning. Lovellyyyyy! 

    I eat up then ask Mrs Lady can I extend my stay by 2 nights? She says no. Por qué?? Because they are getting fumigators in on Saturday through to Monday so they are kicking everyone out Saturday morning. No drama I think. Plenty of places about and within the budget and today was an admin day anyway so up I get to the chores of the day. First up was laundry. I ask if they do laundry service and they say yes so hand it over to them and they tell me to pick it up mañana. 

    Next order of business was finding a new gaff. I think let’s stay somewhere a little nicer before the Push to Panama so see a nice looking place with a pool £20 a night. This’ll do hit the button confirmed. This dear reader is where the day goes downhill muy rápido. 

    From a closer look it turns out this place is on the edge of a real dodgy hood and my mum whatapps me saying this looks bad cancel. I have a look at the reviews and yes. I WhatsApp them saying I may need to cancel and ask more about the area. They tell me nothing happened to the guests but telling me what I want to hear? They say if I want I can cancel but confirm. I’m in full decision paralysis here and decide an in person reccie is needed.

    Take a walk down there and it looked mostly ok except one last ropey looking stretch. No problem can always spend 2 bucks on a taxi back. So message the hotel say yes I’ll stay. I tell mama back at moonbase alpha I’m going to stay there and proceed to the next task – haircut. Find a place and am seen to quickly even though I got charged gringo price my new best friend tells me but more on him on the next blog. Mum is still bombarding my WhatsApp about this place and I’m getting bad vibes. I even go to the local market and pick up a burner phone for $35 US anticipating a possible mugging situation. 

    After some thought I cave. Message hotel tell them plans changed need to cancel. Luckily they still let me and don’t hit my card with a charge. Regardless another one for the LFE log! Now then let’s find somewhere else. Searching booking.com, Airbnb, Hostelworld and a few others I find another place. Looks good but something feels off. In person reccie again in the midday sun. Walk down a long market strip and the place is nonexistent on Google maps and looks boarded up almost. Off that, my folks recommended me 2 other decent places close to old gaff but have to hike back to my hostel to look because internet crapping out again. Walking back up this strip I am harassed by street vendors including this one guy sat down gesturing me to buy a bracelet. I say “no, Gracias” and he starts SHRIEKING at me! Not saying anything just Shrieking At me in a high pitched squeak with his mouth open like his balls have been given a wallop in an old school comedy film But this wasn’t comedic at all a bit sad and slightly creepy. Ya. Me voy!

    Get back to the gaff and see the reccos and settle on this one good looking place 2 blocks from me. Little bit on the pricey end bit still in the budget so book it up and confirmed. Happy days! I can chill a bit and do just that. Then I head out for a well deserved drink and meet a new best friend, but this has been a long read so we’ll get to him on the next one.

    What a stressful day and hours lost over such a stupid thing. Hence this blog’s name – to quote that certain playwright who makes countless kids’ lives hell in English GCSE class every year:  “Much ado about nothing!!”

  • Pirates of Nicaragua! 🏴‍☠️🇬🇧🇫🇷🇳🇱🏴‍☠️

    Hola todos! Saludos de Granada! Granada Nicaragua 🇳🇮 that is. The plan here was always to spend just one night in León and then scoot on over to Granada, where you are by the mighty Lake Cocibolca, where the climate is a bit cooler and the city a bit safer. 

    I was up and running out of my sweatbox for a good bit of traditional breakfast. Eggs and rice and black beans in the hostal while I waited for my shuttle. It is due for 0930 but it doesn’t show up. Im not sweating can always chicken bus it if it don’t show up. Just on its way to 1000 it arrives and we are on our way. The ride over is pretty uneventful as I’m mostly focused on writing up the blog for León. 

    One thing to note is I do overhear from one girl chatting about how 2 other girls from her hostal got mugged walking back from the club at night. Getting out against the wall together the works. Guess they were on the periphery same as me. Not going to judge as don’t know the story but shows you have to be careful! I had an early night and went back about 2245 and there were guys eying me up but didn’t make a move – maybe because I was overdue a shave and haircut and looked like a bum who wouldn’t be worth bothering with.

    We pull into Granada and I quickly find my gaff. A lovely colonial hacienda turned hostel-hotel. No AC but got a lovely breeze going through so it’s pleasant in the night for a change. Getting settled in I decide to repeat what I did the night before and book onto a free walking tour. It runs from 1530 to 1830 and run by a guy called Enrique. Another very knowledgeable bloke who takes us round the sights of the city. 

    Granada and León were often rival cities for who should be the capital of the colony. The León i was in yesterday is actually new León. The first one got destroyed by a volcano after 30 years and they relocated it some miles away. He talks about the lake and this was how Nicaragua got it’s name. There is a river that feeds into this lake called the San Juan and it goes all the way out to the Carribbean sea. The Spaniards sailed up here in 1522 looking for a passage to the Pacific and met the local chief ‘Nicaga’ I believe his name in modern day San Jorge then sailed up north and founded Granada. Nica agua – Nicaragua.

    He shows us the cathedral of Granada. This is interesting. It was destroyed 3 times and rebuilt just to be destroyed again. How so? What does a rich place connected to the Carribbean bring in the 1600’s? Pirates! 🏴‍☠️ Specifically of the 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇳🇱 variety. This place was Sacked 3 times by pirates sailing up river. There are various accounts of attacks but the major sackings were in 1621, 1665 and 1685, one of which was done by our very own famous Welshman Henry Morgan. Yes him who the rum is named after! During these sackings the cathedral would get destroyed right after they finished rebuilding it from the last one! As you can imagine quite comical and the locals here were none too happy about this!

    Enrique took us up hill to this old fort where the gunpowder was stored and where the rich would also hide their gold whenever another band of scallywags paid the place the ol’ surprise visit. You can go up the towers here and that we did. You have to climb a narrow staircase then go up a ladder where there is nothing to hold onto up the top. Was a little uncomfortable but great breeze and view. Coming back down you have to watch your step. Some of the girls in our group had the freaks and was quite entertaining to watch. Clearly none of them know anything about working at height and 3 points of contact.

    They get down eventually and we head back into town see a few more churches and wrap up the tour. The Enrique chats to me and says if I want to go for a beer. “Siiiii”. “Local or tourist?” “Local!”. We go to a cool locals hang out where I grab some grub and a few beers with him and get the rundown on Granada. If you stay in the historic part it’s safe and chill more so than León and also gave some tips for getting the bus to Rivas for the next leg but that’s a few days off yet. He also recommended a few decent bars and I go check them out after he heads home after an hour. Rest of the evening was uneventful. I like Granada and decide yeah I can spend the weekend here and decide will make arrangements first thing tomorrow………

  • A whistle stop tour of León

    Hola todos. As mentioned in the last blog installment our stay in León was brief as I am wanting to be in Colombia by the end of the first week of December while having time to explore Panamá. Because of this the next few legs of this journey we will be moving fast. So our first whistle stop of the push to Panama – León Nicaragua.

    After I arrived, checked into hostel and sorted basics out (shop and ATM) I had a look round to see if there were any free tours going and it happened that there was one starting at half 4. Was able to join onto it literally as it was getting started. Leo, our guide was a top bloke and could highly recommend, unfortunately I haven’t got the company name as it was all very last minute.com

    We look round the cathedral and some churches then he goes on to explain the murals around the city representing the struggle of Nicaragua against American occupation and meddling. The US has quite a long history of ‘gunboat diplomacy’ and political meddling in Nicaragua going back as far as 1912. The first period of this was the 1912 to 1933 US military occupation to depose a ‘banana republic’ though the reality was big business wanted to build a canal through Nicaragua. Sounds very much like the what the European empires were doing in Asia….. Remember kids, It’s totally NOT imperialism when Uncle Sam does it!!

    In this period there are several revolts against the US but the most famous one and the one which eventually gets the US to withdraw is that of Augusto César Sandino – Sandinos rebels operated from 1928 to 1933 when though they could not defeat the US marines the liberal party of Sandino secured a peaceful US withdrawal. Sandino was a hero but he died shortly after being killed by US sympathisers in the national army after being stopped at a checkpoint. He is known as a martyr today and his Party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) are still in charge today.

    After WW2 and the start of the cold war between the US and USSR came the next round of Uncle Sam’s totally NOT imperialism in Latin America – this time enter dictator Anastasio Somoza Garcia. This guy’s history is quite long being first elected in 1937 dubiously then forced out in the 1940s and then coming back to power in 1950 in a rigged election. His family the Somoza family would rule for 42 years being backed by the US because it kept communism out of America’s back yard. Basically most of his rule was centred around extracting the wealth of the nation to build his business empire in Managua. He would invite foreigners to Managua and show how Nicaragua is a developed country and how pristine it is while outside of the capital everything was in rack and ruin unless his family had a stake in it. The regime committed atrocities against its own people during his rule and there’s the famous quote by President Roosevelt when being questioned about him. “He’s a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch”.

    Somoza had a house in León which we visited on the tour. Today it is famous because it is also where he met his end being assassinated by a writer from León, Rigoberto López Pérez, he was killed by the guards moments after and today is seen as a martyr for freedom in Nicaragua, the house today is a shrine to him. His death however didn’t change things much, Somoza’s son, Luis Somoza Debayle took over the regime and ruled until 1963 until he steps down and puts a number loyalists in charge for the next 10 years. During this time the Sandinistas began organising resistance militias in the mountains backed by the Soviets. Several even go to Russia for training.

    In 1974 the last Somoza, a different Antonosio takes power and decides to launch a campaign to crush the rebellion, which was growing fast by now. In 1975 the US pulls support for the regime and the guerillas slowly start to get the upper hand. By 1978 the Revolución is in full swing and by 1979 the last Somoza would flee to Paraguay before later being assassinated himself in the 80’s by another writer.

    Now the Sandinistas are in power. The revolution was a success. Is this the end of Uncle Sam’s totally NOT imperialism in Nicaragua now? Absolutely not. This begins the next phase – the Contra War – The contras were militias made up of loyalists to the old regime who fled to the border regions after the FSLN takes over and are armed and backed by the US and other Latin American neighbors of Nicaragua to fight a 9 year long Guerilla war. During this time there was a ‘mandatory army’ basically any random person could be called up to go fight this border war including women and children. It was a bloody affair with around 80000 being killed and half a million people displaced.In 1990 this war ends after the historic 1990 election which sees a new party under Violetta Chamorro win the election in a promise not to ‘win’ the war but end the war. She managed to win with 55% of the vote to 45% of the FSLN. She became Latin America’s first female president and ended the war through a system of giving land and money to anyone who would hand in their weapons. Somehow she managed to do it and get sanctions lifted and foreign investment into Nicaragua which saw a period of economic prosperity which also brought a baby boom to the country.

    After this ‘good’ time Nicaragua began to fall back into economic and social decline again in the early 2000’s and eventually the Sandinistas are re-elected back into power in 2006 and have stayed in power since then to the present day under president Daniel Ortega. During this time up to 2018 the country was going through a period of economic development and was considered safer than Honduras or pre Bukele El Salvador though 2018 came a sort of second revolution when government and students clashed leading to about 600 being killed. This violence during this time drove a lot of tourism out of the country and put sanctions back on Nicaragua to a certain degree. Shortly after this then of course came COVID, which would likely further have hammered the economy here. I later learned they didn’t shut down everything but no doubt tourism further would have dried up. Today tourism and the overall economy seems to be picking up again though safe to say the future for Nicaragua is uncertain. I just hope peace lasts as I’ve grown to like this place!

    After these history lessons we went to a theatre briefly and seen a concert for a few minutes – it was free as the local gov is trying to promote this culture to locals and tourists alike.We wrapped up the tour at a local market and sampled some street food. After this we went our separate ways as hadn’t really talked to anyone here so rolling the RNG I went out and did the solo thing again but didn’t meet anyone interesting. I headed back to the gaff at around half 10.

    Tomorrow I go to Granada……….if it’s okay will spend the weekend here. If it’s another San Miguel or Tuxtla I keep moving.