If you live where the white stuff falls, you’ve no doubt gone snow sledding. For a whole new take on sledding, you simply must try barreling down the side of a volcano. The best place for it is in Leon, Nicaragua. There are several tour groups that will take you to Cerro Negro to ride a board down a volcano, but we think we found the best one! Quetzeltrekkers! They are a nonprofit that organizes tours in Guatemala and Leon, Nicaragua. As an added bonus, the money from the tours goes directly into programs to help children in Guatemala and Nicaragua. [Read more…] about Careening down Cerro Negro (otherwise known as volcano boarding)!
Grandiosa Granada (and the purchase of the painting from hell)
After a brief stop in Las Penitas (a beach town near Leon, Nicaragua) we headed to Granada, Nicaragua. We had to take a chicken bus back to Leon, then a taxi to the other side of the city, then the bus to Managua, then another taxi (driven by a dude with his wife a baby in the front seat) to the other side of Managua , then finally…yep, you guessed it…another bus to Granada. It was a 8+ hour long day of travel!
[Read more…] about Grandiosa Granada (and the purchase of the painting from hell)
Estelli to leon (successfully navigating public buses in Nicaragua!)
This day was our first attemp at riding public busses (aka chicken busses) on our own. Leon, Nicaragua is about 2 1/2 hrs from Estelli. A direct shuttle costs about $20. We got there for $3.25. Woohoo! First, we took a taxi from Sonati hostel to Estacion Sur (South bus station) for C$20.
[Read more…] about Estelli to leon (successfully navigating public buses in Nicaragua!)
Awesome Alberto (the stone carving hermit of Nicaragua)
Get up early and you, too, can find an artist-hermit in Nicaragua! Alberto is an energetic 76 year old man rockin’ a fantastic white afro. He decided to combat alcoholism by taking up rock carving and has been at it for more than three decades. His work is impressive. [Read more…] about Awesome Alberto (the stone carving hermit of Nicaragua)
Enamored with Esteli
[…continued from “Bus Ride from Hell”]
After being dumped at a random gas station in Nicaragua by the Transporte del Sol bus, Rhiannon and I stood in the lot looking around without a clue where we were or where to go. Luckily, the gas station store was air conditioned and had an ATM and a beautiful bathroom (we’ve begun to judge places by the quality of their bathroom. It is very exciting to find one that is clean, has soap and toilet paper, and a toilet with a seat!). [Read more…] about Enamored with Esteli
Shopping in San Salvador (and the bus ride from hell)
After buying bus tickets for the trip from San Salvador to Esteli, on Transporte del Sol for $45 each, we left the beach at El Tunco for the hour ride by shuttle to San Salvador. To catch the shuttle you need to walk through town, out the guarded exit gate to the main road…and wait. Eventually shuttle 102 comes barreling around the corner and seeing two lasses laden with backpacks, it stops. [Read more…] about Shopping in San Salvador (and the bus ride from hell)