(no subject)
To my family:
Hi -
Luke left about an hour ago for what promises to be a less-than-relaxing ride to Managua to catch his flight this afternoon. I find the buses here to be fascinating - they're very chaotic, but you always end up getting what you want - but they can be intimidating, too.
I haven't written much the past few days, so I'll do a brief recap. Last Thursday, we headed to León, which is a colonial city and is Nicaragua's strongest Sandanista stronghold. I have to admit the city was pretty much a bust. There was some interesting colonial architecture and you could tell that the city was vibrant, but there was practically no tourist infrastructure and, other than walking through a few museums, not much else to do. Fortunately they were having a national conference in the central square, which had some entertaining music and dance.
We stayed in León until Saturday, when we embarked on an epic 4-bus journey from León to Managua, then back to Granada, then a transfer in Rivas, to the beach here in San Juan del Sur. I don't think neither Luke nor I expected the ride to last 6 hours, and we were pretty exhausted when we got there. Fortunately, though, we were staying a night in what my guidebook dubs "the nicest resort in Central America". (This is its website.) It is built into a mountainside right outside of town and has three infinity pools, all overlooking the ocean. We got a cabana for only $140 a night.
On Sunday we went to a beach outside of town, which was very pretty but otherwise unremarkable. We got our share of surfers, though, since this town has emerged as a real surfer's haven. They can be pretty annoying at times, too. Our hostel in town was a huge step down from the resort. It wasn't gross but the wood box we had would have been pretty uncomfortable even if we hadn't spent the night before in air conditioning on firm mattresses.
We came back to the resort yesterday to hang out at the pool all day - the non-guest charge for that is only $10! We stayed for the sunset (spectacular!) and dinner, though all the creamy American-style food hasn't been sitting well in my stomach.
I start my Spanish school in a few hours, and that will last until Friday. I am doing a homestay, too. I doubt any room I get could be as bad as some of the crappy hostels I've stayed in so far, but it's a little strange not having a guide book to lean on for cleanliness, comfort, etc.
On Saturday (or Sunday, depending on whether I take surfing lessons [!] here), I'll bring the Nicaragua part of my trip to a close and cross the border into Costa Rica. My plan is to spend a night in San José and then transfer to a bus heading to the Carribean Coast. Costa Rica's Carribean is much more accessible and safe than Nicaragua's, and I'm heading to a pretty touristy town, so I think things'll be fine, if a little rainy. There I'll burn off a few days before Marc arrives next Friday.
It's hard to believe I've reached the halfway point on my trip already! Hope you guys are enduring the heat up there. I'm surprised New York hasn't had a blackout yet!
Matt
Hi -
Luke left about an hour ago for what promises to be a less-than-relaxing ride to Managua to catch his flight this afternoon. I find the buses here to be fascinating - they're very chaotic, but you always end up getting what you want - but they can be intimidating, too.
I haven't written much the past few days, so I'll do a brief recap. Last Thursday, we headed to León, which is a colonial city and is Nicaragua's strongest Sandanista stronghold. I have to admit the city was pretty much a bust. There was some interesting colonial architecture and you could tell that the city was vibrant, but there was practically no tourist infrastructure and, other than walking through a few museums, not much else to do. Fortunately they were having a national conference in the central square, which had some entertaining music and dance.
We stayed in León until Saturday, when we embarked on an epic 4-bus journey from León to Managua, then back to Granada, then a transfer in Rivas, to the beach here in San Juan del Sur. I don't think neither Luke nor I expected the ride to last 6 hours, and we were pretty exhausted when we got there. Fortunately, though, we were staying a night in what my guidebook dubs "the nicest resort in Central America". (This is its website.) It is built into a mountainside right outside of town and has three infinity pools, all overlooking the ocean. We got a cabana for only $140 a night.
On Sunday we went to a beach outside of town, which was very pretty but otherwise unremarkable. We got our share of surfers, though, since this town has emerged as a real surfer's haven. They can be pretty annoying at times, too. Our hostel in town was a huge step down from the resort. It wasn't gross but the wood box we had would have been pretty uncomfortable even if we hadn't spent the night before in air conditioning on firm mattresses.
We came back to the resort yesterday to hang out at the pool all day - the non-guest charge for that is only $10! We stayed for the sunset (spectacular!) and dinner, though all the creamy American-style food hasn't been sitting well in my stomach.
I start my Spanish school in a few hours, and that will last until Friday. I am doing a homestay, too. I doubt any room I get could be as bad as some of the crappy hostels I've stayed in so far, but it's a little strange not having a guide book to lean on for cleanliness, comfort, etc.
On Saturday (or Sunday, depending on whether I take surfing lessons [!] here), I'll bring the Nicaragua part of my trip to a close and cross the border into Costa Rica. My plan is to spend a night in San José and then transfer to a bus heading to the Carribean Coast. Costa Rica's Carribean is much more accessible and safe than Nicaragua's, and I'm heading to a pretty touristy town, so I think things'll be fine, if a little rainy. There I'll burn off a few days before Marc arrives next Friday.
It's hard to believe I've reached the halfway point on my trip already! Hope you guys are enduring the heat up there. I'm surprised New York hasn't had a blackout yet!
Matt