HURRYING THROUGH HONDURAS

The roads have deterioted! Lots & lots of potholes, making driving not so pleasant. On top of that none of the ATMs like my MasterCard. Fortunately the petrol stations aren’t so prejudiced. We finally reach the hillside town of Gracias & overnight at Finca Bavaria. Its heyday is long past, but it is fine for us with a secure fence, grass & trees. The next day we leave GR2 there to explore the pretty town, & wait at the entrance of the fort….it doesn’t open.

We continue on following the Ruta de Lenca. It follows the mountains with lots of Lenca (the indigenous people in this area) villages. The ladies wear bright scarves & skirts. The road isn’t too bad with fewer potholes, then it becomes a magnificent new road, & finally the seal stops completely & it becomes an appalling goat track, we are so glad it’s not the wet season. We had planned on doing a long inland road…..we have now changed our minds, especially when the locals confirm that it is similar to this goat track. On a more cheerful note we finally find an ATM that will give us cash….we can eat again!

We head on to the lovely Lago de Yojoa where we pull into the Finca Las Gloria’s to camp for the night. We are right beside the water. They have a pool & Wifi (pity about the bugs on dusk) By now we have also realized that our mobile phones don’t work in Honduras, so the Wifi is an extra bonus. Next stop is the gorgeous Pulhapanzak Falls. A lovely spot for a swim, pity it’s too early to stop for the night or we would stay right here. But it is on the road again – heading towards the Caribbean. The grass is greener… bananas, sugarcane, pineapples, palms. We want to head into Park National Punta Sal for the night. We head along the peninsula coming to the first Garifuna town of Tornabe – it is right on the beach. We are directed back to the right road & continue down the peninsula finally following the beach as far as we can go. There is no way we can drive over the river mouth to the Nat Pak, so we camp in a tiny Garifuna thatched village, called Miami, right between the inlet & the ocean. A magic night until the wind stops & the little bities slide in through the fly screens.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, we take a boat ride onto the Lagoon to see the massive red mangroves. We have been promised monkeys, toucans….but it is not to be. After a swim in the ocean (not the lagoon with its crocodiles) we head back along the peninsula. After a quick explore of the waterfront town of Tela we decide it really is time to hit the road. Our days are running out & we need to get to Mexico.  No more coast, but straight on to our final stop in Honduras – the Mayan site of Copan.

 It is a long drive with lots & lots of trucks. It has been a long hot day. Our plans had been to head to the hot pools an hour out of the town of Copan Ruinas, but the cold ones are much more appealing in this heat. So we overnight right beside the pools at Balneario El Jaral, ready to hit the ruins the next day.

Phew! Ruins done. It was a hot day. Not too many tourists. The scarlet Macaws were gorgeous & the ruins….well piles of interesting rock - right up Brads alley. There were some very impressive stellae (tall carved rocks). We are finished in time to tackle the border with Guatemala. This is our best one yet (on this trip). A mere 10 minutes to exit Honduras, & 30 minutes to enter Guatemala.

And so it is Hola Guatemala. Earlier in this trip we found that we were way behind schedule. So rather than missing out seeing things we decided to pass through the eastern side of Guatemala, & then return on our next trip, so this will be a short visit.

EL SALVADOR - PHOTOS

May Day Parade

Parade - May Day

Our great camp spot in the crater lake La Laguna de Alegra

Market Day - we squeeze through

Market day spills onto the street

Cathedral in Zacatecoluca

Cooking tortillas

La Libertad - with its long jetty

The coastal route- Costa del Balsama

Local transport - squeeze on as much as possible

Trolleys to carry firewood down the hills

Ruta del Flores - parade day -one of the local girls

The Mayan ruins at Tazumal

The lovely cathedral at Santa Ana

Gorgeous Lago Coatepeque - within a volcanic crater

Local transport

our watch guards at Cerro Verde National Park - I think we will be safe

The cinder cone of Volcan Izalco - this is the one we climbed

See the caldera within the caldera at Volcan San Salvadore

The cathedral in San Salvadore

Driving through the town of Las Palmas

LUCKY TO BE IN EL SALVADOR

We head down through the smoke shrouded hills of Honduras. It is the end of the dry season & the time for burnoff, as a result we see everything through a haze of smoke. Finally down to the Pacific coast flatlands, stopping for the night at another recommendation – Hacienda Gualiqueme. It’s a lovely hotel on the outskirts of the city of Choluteca, with lovely grassy grounds (under trees), sorely needed swimming pool & Wifi. All for $10. We had planned to go to the ATM, supermarket & petrol station, but what the heck, tomorrow will do. Pina Coladas by the pool are much better.

Tomorrow arrives. It is May Day holiday & our road is closed with a parade. We head out to watch & give up on going back into town. So instead we head off to the border. Yes I know we haven’t finished Honduras….but El Salvadore is stuck on the side. We are rating it is a 20% to 30% chance of getting in. Our friends last year were refused entry with their right hand drive vehicles. After only crossing a border yesterday, it is very tempting to just give it a miss. At the Honduras side we are assured they if we have to return we can pick up our old paperwork without going through the hassle of reapplying & paying the $35 for the vehicle. So in we head. Immigration is a breeze. Then 5 kms down the road to the very efficient vehicle inspection.Yay we are legally in!! The customs officials stated that in their entry manual only very good looking tourists were allowed.

The first part of El Salvadore is scruffy & poor, so we head on to the volcanic area. There seem to be more volcanoes here than Nicaragua.  For our first night we head up to the little hill town of Alegra, famous for its many viveros/plant nurseries. It is Sunday & the town is packed with local tourists making the cobbled streets congested. Then we head up to the volcanic crater – La Laguna de Alegra for the night. We meet lots of cars coming down & the crater empties out by dark of picnickers. We have our very own crater lake & BBQ spot. Magic!

We head on down the mountains to the follow the Pacific coast. There are many lovely curves of black sand surf beaches on the Costa de Balsama. Most of it is private land. Albeit fancy hotels or shanty villages. It is hot so we turn & head back to the mountains towards the Ruta de Flores. We are hoping to camp in Bosque El Imposible (a Nat Park), but it proves impossible to find as mist descends. Instead we spy a hotel & ask there. We can park for free in their carpark. Perfect. It starts to rain heavily.

The next morning is bright & clear as we drive the Ruta de Flores passing many more coffee plantations, many more volcanoes, & lots of villages. We happen upon another parade in Juayua. The local beauties sit on their Dad’s decorated vehicle (cars, utes, horse & buggy) throwing lollies to the crowd. Finally we descend to the flatlands & detour out to a Mayan site- a pyramid at Tazumal. There are heaps of kids on school trip. Hopefully they are more impressed than we are. Then we head on to Santa Ana, planning to see the cathedral. No parking as the streets are overflowing with stalls – so it is a drive by before heading on to Lago Coatepeque. We fancy a camp spot beside the lake & maybe a swim to cool down. It is not to be – there is very little public access left, & that is steep, as this is another crater lake. So we drive around the rim & continue on to Cerro Verde National Park where we are allowed to camp overnight. I am sure they overcharge us for entry at $14, but as we stay 2 nights it is no big deal. We have at least 7 guards at night, all with big guns. We have found everywhere in El Salvador guards with lots of big guns. Security is big business here!

The next morning we decide to “do” the viewpoint meander, but find both the entry & exit locked. We need a guide! Next we decide to “do” the guided & guarded walk/hill climb to the top of the active cinder cone of Izalco. BIG mistake. I should have watched John from the lookout. It was a long 1500 steps down through forest to the lava flow, then a massive scramble up the rough track to the crater. The poor tail end charley guide was stuck with waiting for me. Then of course we had to get down (there were a few who slipped over- guess all those heavily armed military guys could carry any of us out) & then back up 1500 steps! I was so pooped we stayed another night.

At least that means that we are heading into the city of San Salvador on Sunday. Much easier traffic wise, although street stalls still overflowed onto the road. Parking was easy in the centre, so we simply drove to each historic building we wished to see – jumped out for a quick look & continued on. Not the sort of place to leave GR2 sitting unattended for too long. As a bonus services were on at the cathedrals, making them more personal. But first we had another stop to yet another volcano overlooking San Salvadore. Fortunately this one has a road nearly to the top & great lookouts into the volcano with a second crater inside. Even the museum was great.

Only a few more stops in El Salvadore –first the the lakeside colonial town of Suchitoto & then the craft village of Las Palmas. We overnighted at Las Palmas hotel carpark. I wanted to see the local artist’s museum, but it was well & truly locked so we headed to the border.

Hola again Honduras!! Well eventually. There is a huge queue of trucks that we drive past, but John has to wait with the truck drivers to return his Temp Vehicle license, so by the time we get paperwork done for the Honduras side the bank has closed for an hour - & we have to pay our fees there. Oh well, at least we can have lunch. Finally hola Honduras.

 

NICARAGUA - PHOTOS

This is all it took to close the road into Nicaragua for over 3 hours

The gorgeous beach - Playa Madera

Our new German friends

Volcan Ometepe in Laguna Nicaragua

The street markets in Granada

Local transport - in Granada - not just for tourists - locals use them too

Finally more traffic in Granada - GR2 is happily parked nera the centre of town

More of Granada

One of the many luxury homes- all on there very own island

Yum....Vigeron. A Granada special (actually I'm not too keen on yucca)

The gorgeous blue crater lake - laguna de Apoya

See all those noxios gases - that's why we couldn't visit Volcan Mayasa - see the road up to the top! Would have been great

Sunset over Laguna de Xiloa

Volcan Momotombo & the smaller Volcan Momotombito

Arriving in Leon

Sunday morning service in Leons gorgeous Cathedral

Yet another gorgoeous cathedral in Leon

My lunch - another local specalty - Nacatamales - totally glutton free Claire

Views from our camp spot right beside the road in the mountains

Local streetscape

Not so distant memories

Just love the saddles they have here - especially all the dangly bits

Making cigars - must be quality control as well

Not sure if his one will be up to scratch

Paddling up the lovely Somoto canyon

NICARAGUA - A COUNTRY OF VOLCANOES

We finally get through border (a snip at only an hr & a half) and find a massive queue of trucks, so we follow the buses onto the wrong side of the road, only to discover the queue is actually 2 lanes wide. On investigation we discover a protest (shades of Bolivia) – a group of ladies have closed the road with branches & bikes. They are waving sticks & yelling. We haven’t a clue what it is about, but we wait for 3 hours. Thank goodness we have air con in the cab as it is hot, hot, hot. Finally the police resolve the problem, but then there is the congestion problem. Traffic is banked up right across the road in both directions. Welcome to Nicaragua!

After sitting in the heat for so long, we decide to head straight to the beach. We turn off the main road & head to San Juan de Sur- a quaint town with brightly coloured buildings & a lovely curve of beach with lots of restaurants & boats. After finding an ATM we head along the dirt road to find “our beach”. We end up at Playa Madera, a surfies paradise, & camp under the trees. The water is magic A campsite for $5 including Wifi, restaurant & best of all for John- people to chat to in English.

It is nearly midday before we head off to Rivas & then the port town of San Jorge. We are hoping to catch the ferry to the volcanic island of Ometepe on the huge Lago Nicaragua. There is a queue but we can’t get on -it is full & we don’t have a reservation, so instead we chat to a  German couple, travelling in their huge motorhome, (who also couldn’t get on) for the next few hours, swapping notes etc etc. They head off to our beach & we head towards Granada. We finally stop for the night at Finca Miravale, where they do zip line tours. Free parking, with 2 guards at night. Just up the road at the Nat Pk they wanted to charge us $12.

The next day is spent exploring gorgeous Granada. We drive right to the centre with no problems as there are very few cars. There are more bikes, horses & pedestrians. We explore the frantically busy Mercado area & the stunning old cathedrals before heading to the lake front. Here we get a “lancha”/boat to have a nosy around a few of the 365 islands on the edge of the lake. Most are home to the rich & famous. We round out our visit to Granada with a meal of Virgoron – the local specialty of mashed yucca/tangy cabbage & crunchy pork rinds & a drink, all for $2 each.

Then we are off to Laguna de Apoyo to camp for the night. It is a stunning blue tepid lake in a volcanic crater. The steep caldera sides don’t make finding a flat spot easy, but we find a lovely campground right on the water’s edge. A warm swim morning & night, & we take the opportunity to wash our sheets & hang them out to dry. Oh the bliss of clean sheets! Reluctantly we pack up & leave to visit the very active Volcan Masaya. Apparently you can drive right to the top (sure beats walking!) – But sadly it is closed indefinitely – there are too many noxious gases. So we continue our exploration of the area following the scenic route to Managua. It is the capital city, but feels like a big country town. They have closed off the main road for a parade & it is tempting to stay, but as we know it can be difficult finding a spot to camp in the dark, so we head on to Laguna de Xiloa (another crater lake, although it doesn’t look so clean for swimming) & camp in a secure spot right beside the water. We even get to enjoy a glorious sunset. Almost forgot – we got nicked by the police today- the grumpy police officer wanted our paperwork & muttered about an infraction – he wouldn’t give back our temp vehicle licence, so we simply drove away (He didn’t appear to notice it was a copy!)

The next day is like driving through volcano alley. Here’s one, oh & there’s one. Past Momotomo & Momotombito. – They do make good photos. Yet another crabby cop stops us & wants our papers. Again we give him a copy, which he wants to keep for no reason, except maybe a bribe. John pulls it back off him & we leave. Anyway, on to the city of Leon. It is Sunday & we visit a few of the many churches during the morning service. It is a very hot walk around town stopping to look through the old prison. An awful lot of nastiness happened in this town. Then on past yet more smoking volcanoes & up into the cooler hills. It had been in the high 30’s in Leon so it will be nice to have a cool night. We are now in the hilly coffee growing area of Jinotega & it is once again hard to find somewhere to camp. In the end we simply pull off on the side of the road beside a small shop. It is a quiet night with very little passing traffic.

The next day brings some gorgeous driving through mountains. The road is great- not at the terrible rutted road that our guide book said. But eventually we wind back down to the tobacco lands of Esteli. We manage to get onto a cigar factory tour, which is great fun at only $5 each. We couldn’t believe how much work was involved in making just 1 cigar, Fernando would be impressed.

Then we head out of town to the Somoto Canyon, where we plan to camp for the night. Yay! The gates are open & we drive in & head right across the river to what we think is a great spot. It would have been our “buggiest” night ever. Millions of the blasted little things slipped through our fly screen & it is way too hot to close any windows. The next morning sees us heading up river to explore the canyon. A young “guide” catches up to us & offers to ferry us in his “lancha” to where you use tubes. The water is low, but we still manage to paddle through the gorgeous canyon & float, albeit slowly, back down.

Time to head to the border. It only takes 30 minutes to exit Nicaragua.

Hola Honduras!!

 

 

COSTA RICA PHOTOS

The lovely Park National Manuel Ballena

We met this guy in the National Park  - is he having a bad hair day!

The gorgeous beach at Park National Manuel Antonio

He's soooooooooo cute!!

The old style villages beside the palm plantations - they are being slowly replaced by new houses

Playa Hermosa - miles of black sand & surf

Crocs in the river

The crater at Volcan Irazu

So many lovely rivers on the Caribbean side

Just past our camp spot we found this waterfall & couldn't resist a picture

The crater at Volcan Poas - how we saw it

How the crater at Volcan Poas looked on the brochere!!

We had a little visitor at the National Park Volcan Poas - & no we didn't feed him

The town of Fortuna with Volcan Arenal towering in the distance

Volcan Arenal from our camp spot

Our camp spot virtually in the river

The tiled church at Canas

A toucan at Las Pumas animal shelter

Finally a PUMA

And a JAGUAR

Llanos de Cortes waterfall