Nicaragua
13. January 2010 until 27. January 2010
The custom and passport formalities at the Honduran border were a nightmare. It took us over 3 hours to get the necessary papers filled out, stamped and approved by the inefficient authorities. On the 150 km long journey through Honduras to the border of Nicaragua, we were stopped 9 times by the police. They tried to get money
from us, arguing that our motorbike did not comply with the regulations. Thanks to us pretending not to understand any Spanish and asking the police if we could take photos of them, they ended up waving us through quite fast.
Like most travellers, we headed south to the charming colonial town of Leon and the hip Central American hang-out of Granada. Volcano Masaya, with the dramatic crater that spews out tonnes of sulphurous gases, was a spectacular sight and was definitely worth visiting. The highlight of our Nicaragua trip was Ometepe, the largest lake island in the world, with it’s two volcanoes, one of them with a perfect cone rising to 1’600 m. San Juan del Sur’s beautiful beach on the Pacific coast, was our last stop in Nicaragua. We really enjoyed our stay with an Irish lady and her Nicaraguan husband in their modern Irish pub.
Itinerary
Goascaran/El Guasaule (Honduras), Leon, Granada, Volcano Masaya, Laguna de Apoya, Rivas, Isla Ometepe (Santo Domingo), San Juan del Sur, Penas Blancas
Highlights
Leon, Granada, Volcano Masaya, Isla Ometepe
Nicaragua

Flag of Nicaragua

Cathedral in Granada

Volcano Masaya

At Volcano Masaya

National park Masaya

Waiting for the ferry

Our friend the parrot

Relaxing in Ometepe
View from our hostel in Ometepe

Volcano Concepcion

Sign to the natural pool

Natural pools

Lake beach Ometepe

Island birds

Banana transport

Transporting hay

San Juan del Sur