Backpacking In Nicaragua

First off Nicaragua pronounced properly (i.e. not the way the English say it - I keep getting told off) is "Nicaragwa", not "Nicaragooa". Certain parts of Nicaragua are becoming very popular with backpackers and especially surfers.

We flew into Managua (i.e. "Managwa") which is not all that nice a city since it was leveled by an earthquake in the 1970's. We traveled by local bus to Granada for $1.50. Granada is a quaint Spanish colonial town and seemed to be abuzz with tourists and tour groups.

GRANADA

Granada is close to Lake Nicaragua and there are cloud forest walks, kayaking and lots to do nearby. We decided to take a boat ride visiting the 365 (one for every day of the year) volcanic islands ($10 each from Oro Travel). There were lots of nice houses on the islands - many for sale. We saw loads of monkeys and mangos in the trees - though we later found out the monkeys were put there for the tourists so that took the edge off it a bit (we had wondered how they lived and got to such a small island.).

OMETEPE

A few days later we traveled to the large volcanic island of Ometepe . We wanted to stay in the Hotel Villa Paraiso but it was full with two tour groups (who didn't seem to know where they were going as their leaders were doing everything) so we ended up at Hotel Istiam. We soon got chatting with the tour guide there - Faber - who took us horse riding to see Petroglyphs (ancient symbols carved in stone) for $4/per hour.

The next day we hired him as our guide again and he took us up to the top of the smaller volcano, Maderas. We are both fit and enjoy hiking but this was very hard, sweaty work. When you reach the top you climb down ropes into the crater and can have a swim in the lagoon (sounds lovely and it is, but it's really a very muddy crater lake full of silt). It is a new law on the island that you must take a guide as several hikers have gone up the mountain by themselves and not come back.

SAN JUAN DEL SUR

We then went off to San Juan Del Sur for a few days of relaxation - a surfer town - before heading home. Most people were traveling in Nicargua as part of an extended tour of Central America . It felt as though Nicargua is fast becoming a more mainstream destination for travelers. It was a great country to visit - especially on a budget. The poverty levels struck me as very high and many homes were of the corrugated-iron variety.

Nicaragua felt like a safe country to travel in and the people were extremely friendly. If you don't speak Spanish make sure you go with someone who does!

BY: Scott