I think Nicaragua deserves its own post, so here we are! After Suchitoto, El Salvador we went to La Libertad (also in El Salvador), where we stayed at a place on a cliff by the ocean overlooking beautiful black sand beaches. It was a perfect spot to relax. This is also where I stayed in for a full day writing my blog and organizing photos. The one activity that we all enjoyed and joined in on in La Libertad, was the releasing of the baby turtles. It was soooo cute! We got an informative introduction about the types of turtles that come to this specific beach, and the history of the organization. Then, we got to head out to the beach with a bucket of little Squirts and help them head off into the big blue ocean! It was magical and fun.
Crossing into Nicaragua
The next day was our border crossing day*. You’ve probably caught on by now: border crossing days mean early wake-up calls. It was no different for today…except that it was an extra early wake-up call on the last day of the year. We were on the bus by 3:06 am ready to head out. Unfortunately, the cook had forgotten to get our breakfast boxes ready, so we left without food (no worries - gas station food was had later on). After a few bumpy, windy hours on the bus we pulled up to the El Salvadoran border office around 6 am. It was a shotty building in a strange neighborhood with all kinds of people and smells hanging around. While our tour guide was getting all of the exit paperwork ready, a few of us headed to the nearest bathroom (we had been warned that the next leg of the trip wouldn’t have any decent toilets for about 3h, so this was our last chance). It happened to be at a local fish market. Now, I’m all about exploring local markets. But after a bumpy bus ride and an already not-too-happy stomach, walking into that fish market was very difficult. But alas, when nature calls, you step into that stinky market, head to the very back where the restrooms are, and hope for the best. I got the heck out of there as fast as possible.
Our next step was to walk to the dock with all our things. This was going to be a border crossing by water - how fun! We walked a few hundred meters and got to the dock. One little difficulty though: the water was so low we couldn’t walk on the pier to get to the boat. But of course they were prepared (and used to it), and had a solution ready: ox carts. Yup. Our group required 3 carts. Two with 9 people each on them, and one for all of our luggage. Now picture two guys wearing basketball shorts and rubber boots pushing/pulling us across the muddy flats. It was an experience! Fun, anxiety, laughs, tears, sweat, a little bit of everything happened in those 30+ minutes before stepping onto the boat.
Once loaded up and boarded we set off to Nicaragua! It was a very relaxing, pleasant ride along the El Salvadoran border, and a perfect spot for a little nap. After about 2 hours we reached our stop - the Nicaraguan border! Here we had a similar but not as dramatic situation disembarking the boats, since our baggage had been taken care of for us. So, after anchoring we took off our shoes and waded through the shallow water and black volcanic sand to the “check-in area” - aka a desk and a bench setup on an old pier with two Nicaraguan marines standing there, and opposite of them, a little old lady selling snacks and drinks out of coolers. This is where we had to each fill out our arrival documents, and have our luggage checked for professional cameras and drones (Nicaragua is VERY strict about not bringing anything of the sort into their country).
Once we were all checked out, our luggage was loaded onto a trailer and we were welcomed onto a nice, air conditioned bus. There we waited for Eric, as he was in charge of taking all of our paperwork and passports to have our entry approved. When he got back to the bus we all cheered... until we saw his face. He looked Sam straight in the eye and said there was a problem with her visa (now, to understand the full story, you need to know that Sam had a hard time getting her visa in the first place and she was already worried she may have to skip the Nicaragua part if they didn’t accept it). You could see the fear in Sam’s eyes. Oh shit! Eric let her sit there for just long enough to freak out before admitting that it was a joke - LOL! We were all clear and ready to go! (And all laughing and clapping at how well he had pulled that off!)
Ringing in 2025
A few hours later we made it to our hotel in Leon. We dropped off our bags and headed out to see the city center and various markets before getting ready for our new year’s dinner with the whole gang. Most of us turned in early, we were all wiped from the day’s excitement!
On new year’s day I indulged in another easy-going morning and had a nice brunch in a hidden, gorgeous cafe with Sam. That was all our time in Leon, because that afternoon we were heading out to Granada. We got to Granada just in time to hop in the pool and have a drink before the rain started pouring down (#savethemargaritas). Dinner was another cute spot picked out by our trusted foodie tour guide Eric. Lucky for me, it was close to a geocache too, so Larna and I headed out to grab that find before our dinner came 😀
Granada
January 2nd was our only full day in Granada. So we took advantage and enjoyed a city tour including a train museum, a lake shore that looked more like the ocean, a chocolate shop, and a super cool lookout tower at one of the old churches. We stopped at an artisanal market with tons of hammocks, embroidered shirts, wooden souvenirs, and more, followed by a swim in the Laguna de Apoyo, a crater lake. It was so relaxing and fun, and the perfect spot to bust into that rum punch that was part of the tour. The final stop was a boat ride around the Isletas de Granada. We were in party mode, had the music going, and the rum punch flowing!
Ometepe Island
After a short and sweet bus ride, we took the ferry to Ometepe Island. It was absolutely magical! We stayed at Puesta del Sol, a local community that offers homestays for travelers. Their property encompasses various families’ homes, a bar, and an area with hammocks right by the shore of the lake. Michaela and I stayed with a super sweet grandma named Coco and her grandson. They were very welcoming and had our room all setup for us. After our quick hellos most of us headed to the lake to relax, throw the football around with the local kids, and enjoy some hammock time, followed by a tasty dinner provided by the community.
The next day’s activity was exploring the island and its natural beauty - including trying some protein-rich termites! Fun fact: they taste like carrots. We visited some local indigenous petroglyphs, ate lunch at a super nice lookout, and got to swim in the Ojo de Agua natural pool. The water was soooo clear! This was also a geocache spot. Unfortunately, due to the tons of people enjoying their Sunday afternoon with their families, we were unable to find this one. But, the best part of the day was still to come: sunset kayaking on the lake and river Istian. This was such a fun, beautiful way to spend the last few sunny hours of the day followed by a magnificent sunset with the view of the volcano. 10/10!
Leaving Nicaragua
Another full day of travel was ahead of us: Bus - ferry - bus - border - 1km walk - border - bus. The first bus ride was easy enough. But the ferry dock made for our first “uh-oh” moment. Although we were there by 5:30 am with plenty of time to catch the first ferry off the island, so were hundreds of other people. The line was long and we could see on Eric’s face that this meant the next few lines we were going to be in would probably be pretty darn long as well. Luckily we all made it onto the first boat, with some of us being lucky enough to grab a seat. Back on Nicaraguan mainland we hopped on a bus and headed to the border. Now, what happened to be so special about our travel day: it was the last day of Costa Rican winter vacation. Since many Costa Ricans go to Nicaragua to spend their time off, it was us and all the Costa Ricans heading in the same direction.
We got to the Nicaraguan border knowing we’d have to stand in a long line, but didn’t realize just how long the line would be until we got there. Luckily it was well organized and moving along quite quickly. They had a whole bunch of staff on site, allowing our whole group to exit the country in about 1,5 hours. Awesome! Next step was the 1,5km walk to the Costa Rican immigration office. After only a few hundred meters we realized we wouldn’t be making it to the office anytime soon. The line leading up to immigration was over 1km long! It went along the street and wrapped around a little meadow. We were out in the elements, unsure of how long this next long line would take. After about an hour and a half with only about 200m of movement we settled in and started playing games, listening to audio books, and watching the monkeys in the nearby trees. It was hot, sunny, and definitely not a good time. But I do have to say, our group made the best of it! After 4,5 hours we finally made it inside the immigration office, got our passports stamped, and met up at the bus to get the heck out of there!
After the harrowing 7 hour border crossing saga all we wanted was some food. So, we stopped at the first grocery store we could find. Now, we had been traveling for 26 days already and some of us were sick and tired of eating chips and plantains on the bus (although we did have fun exploring the different flavors along the way). We were on a mission for something else. A sandwich. A salad. Anything but chips. To our surprise this grocery story didn’t have any pre-made foods. Were we going to buy sandwich stuff and make sandwiches on the bus? It was a thought. Tight up until we spotted the rotisserie chicken. Boom! That was it! A 12 pack of beers and a whole chicken later we were happy as can be heading into the beautiful landscapes of Costa Rica!
That's all for now! Costa Rica adventures next!
Hasta pronto :)
*Please note, our awesome guide Eric mentally prepared us for all of these hurdles and set expectations accordingly. At each step, we pretty much knew what was expecting us. Except for the long lines. Those were a surprise LOL.
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Thanks for sharing. We are living vicariously.. And loving it.
So exciting!
TP