I left Ometepe in Nicaragua and spent one last hot and sweaty night in Granada. The next morning I was in a shuttle to the airport in Managua and then winging my way to the next country on my list, Costa Rica. I had to spend about six hours in the Panama City airport because my connection got delayed, but I finally made it to San Jose, rented a car, and then drove myself to nearby Grecia, where I’ll be…
My “easy” travel day from Granada to Isla Ometepe turned out to be quite the adventure. I found the bus easy enough, but since they don’t leave until full, I ended up waiting for an hour and a half. And by full, I mean we were stuffed in there like sardines. By now I’m already pretty sweaty and gross. The bus only goes to Rivas, so next I had to find a taxi to the San Jorge boat dock. I…
My flight from San Salvador to Managua, the capitol of Nicaragua, was quick and easy. And the driver of the shuttle I booked was waiting for me to whisk me away to my next official stop in Granada. The first thing I notice about Granada is how insanely hot and humid it is. This has to be in the top three hottest and most humid places I’ve ever been on earth. I don’t know if I can do this. I…
I left El Salvadors Ruta de las Flores via a chicken bus to the bustling town of Sonsonate where I grabbed a quick snack and then hopped on another bus to the nations capitol, San Salvador. I’m only spending one full day here, so this will be a quick post, but I thought the capitol was worth exploring a bit. I started at the National Museum of Anthropology, right around the corner from my hotel. They had a pretty impressive…
The bus ride from Atacó to Juayua is probably the easiest transport I’ve had. Between all the tourists here on the Ruta de las Flores and all the locals making their way around, there are chicken buses going back and forth all day long, and the ride was only about an hour. I found my awesome little hotel and checked right in. There’s only three rooms around this beautiful courtyard with an outdoor kitchen. My room was the furthest down…
I left Santa Ana to begin my trip through El Salvadors Ruta de las Flores, also known as the tourist track. This is supposedly the most beautiful part of El Salvador due to the unbelievable display of flowers that bloom all over the region during the summer. I’m missing the grand blooming, unfortunately, but it’s still a super beautiful area. My base for the first part is in Concepción de Atacó. The Ruta de las Flores is dotted with, primarily,…
I’m learning that getting around Central America is pretty darn easy. There are lots of cheap shuttle options that usually pick you up right at your hotel, and when there’s not, there’s an easy bus going right where you want. Just two blocks from my hotel in Guatemala city was where the bus left for my next destination, Santa Ana in El Salvador, and the next country on my list. The border crossing was easy and quick, and in just…
I left Copán early on a shuttle all the way back to Antigua, the only place the shuttles seem to go, and this is now my third time there. Not that I mind so much because Antigua is a pretty nice place to get “stuck” for a night. The next morning I was on another short shuttle ride to the capitol, Guatemala City. I dropped my trusty backpack off at the hotel and commenced with an epic museum day. The…
Wow, these early mornings are killing me! My bus from Antigua picked me up at 3:30am. WHY?! I don’t know. Needless to say, I slept like the dead for the first few hours. Anyway, my trip took me far northeast to the Honduran border where I crossed into the next country on my list, Honduras. The officials at this border crossing have the routine down to a science, both immigration offices are in the same building. The whole process only…
Just a short minivan trip west from Antigua and down into a massive caldera surrounded by volcanoes is the beautiful Lago Atitlán. All the towns around the lake are named after saints and my base for this stop is in San Pedro la Laguna, which is probably the most popular one with the most hotels, restaurants, etc. The lake is considerably bigger than it appears on the map! My hotel is right on the shore of the lake and holy…