Our tour bus picked us up at 5:30am for a full day of adventure. Got to our meeting spot with the rest of the group and switched to a bigger bus. Our guide, Jimmy informed us of the itinerary for the day and then proceeded to give a run down on what was happening in the country. A couple of days before we arrived, the government had voted to reduce social security payments by 5% and start charging workers a higher social security tax rate. This didn’t sit well with the public and they began protesting. Jimmy then followed up by saying of course your safety is our number one priority and we’ll do everything to ensure your safety. Unbeknownst to us, the other tour operators had cancelled their tours for the day. Hmm, what was that about safety?
Stopped for a typical Costa Rican breakfast of eggs, beans and rice, fried plantains and fruit. The restaurant had a great view point over looking the most northern bay of Costa Rica.
They were doing a little road construction on the Pan American Highway, which put us behind a little further. Finally got clearance to proceed and started passing a long line of trucks. We learned that these truckers have long waits to cross the border as their trucks have to go through additional screening. Around the holidays the truck line can be 5km long and the wait can be a few days. The Pan American Highway is not what you think. Near Liberia, the Pan American is a substantial road with 4 lanes and looks like a highway. Near the border crossing in Penas Blancas it is just 2 lanes and doesn’t really have much of a shoulder. So, as we were squeezing by the line of trucks we’d sometimes have to find a spot to move over and let the traffic pass in the other direction. It really takes a lot of cooperation to get through this area and a bus driver that can squeeze through tight spaces.
Finally make it to the border only to realize one member of our group had somehow lost her passport. She seemed to think a call to the British embassy could have fixed everything. But sadly that is not the case, she had to stay behind as even the British cannot cross the border without a passport. Her passport was eventually found on the first bus, so she was able to at least get back home without any more problems. Made it to the Nicaraguan side and as Will puts it, “It was organized chaos”. As Jimmy went in to get our passports stamped, we had to exit the bus so the border guards could check the bus. We were of course immediately accosted by all the entrepreneurs selling their handicrafts. One guy, whose English was excellent, was informing us of the political situation, the illegal crossing going on about 100 yards behind us, and the bribing of the officials occurring at the border, all while trying to sell us his decorated pens. It was an interesting experience at the border. But, finally we were cleared to go.
Our first stop was a viewpoint of Lake Nicaragua and the view of the two volcanos. Lake Nicaragua is a freshwater lake and is the 19th largest lake in the world. It was here that we were also able to sample Nicaraguan beer or a cocoloco. The cocoloco is coconut water and local rum served in the coconut. I thought it was pretty tasty!
The next stop was in Catarina. There is a viewpoint of the caldera lake that has formed from the inactive volcano. At the Mirador de Catarina there’s a nice handicraft market to purchase Nicaraguan souvenirs. After 10 minutes or so we were quickly hustled back on the bus by Jimmy. Apparently, the protests in the city were getting worse and the marketplace was going to be closing early. So, as not to be on the road too late, we were told we should get moving.
Next stop was the Masaya Volcano National Park. The Masaya Volcano is still an active volcano. We drove up to the top viewpoint which overlooks the smoking crater. Strangely enough we were the only tourists in the park. When we asked why, we were again told it was because of all the protests going on in the country. Just as we were leaving, another tourist bus did pull up, so, guess we weren’t the only fools.
Went to the city of Grenada for lunch. The normal lunch place that is used by the company is in the main square where protests were happening. So, we ended up at another restaurant that I’m sure was glad to have the business. We got a horse and carriage ride with Sexy Carmen. She didn’t speak English, but knew enough to refer to herself as sexy. Stopped at a chocolate factory which turned into a rum tasting. The shots kept flowing and after about 10 shots of various flavored rum, it was back to Carmen’s carriage. A few of the carriage drivers went toward the main square and were chased out by an angry mob. Glad we were with Carmen as she took us on a roundabout way back to the bus.
Went on a quick boat tour of Lake Nicaragua. This lake has more than 400 islands, one of which we visited called Monkey Island. The island is really small and only has 3 monkeys that are not able to live in the wild. The female monkey didn’t have a problem jumping into the boat when there’s an offer of food to be had.
As the sun set on our day in Nicaragua, we boarded our bus for the long ride back. It was a crazy one day tour.