NICARAGUA-COSTA RICA-PANAMA

NICARAGUA

After a first night in Managua , we drove through the capital to the Panamerican highway. 

Heading Northwest we went along the lake Managua with some beautiful views on the famous Volcano Momotombo.

Momotombo

 We arrived in Leon ( created in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba) early in the afternoon, to check-in at the  Hotel in the town center: El Convento, old benedictin (monks) place, beautifully restored.

Iglesia de la Recolección    /   Hotel El Convento

Take a walk through town, see churches: la Asuncion in beautiful light, Iglesia dulce nombre de Jesus ( 3 big crosses with Jesus and 2 sinners in entrance) Recoleccion church (nice fassade), Stroll through streets and mercados….Shopping in supermarket, get some food for “picnic”, not very tasty…

Iglesia Dulce Nombre de Jesús el Calvario

Cerro Negro

Day 3: Hire a guide ( Julio tours), for Cerro Negro ascent and Leon Viejo.

Cerro Negro, 726m youngest volcano, walk up, very dusty, black lava-sand, and get down, scramble (Geröllfeld). On the way drive through little villages, huts, schools, horse carriages…see pigs, “chancho” or chanchito with wooden sticks around the neck, con ortecas, (cerdo con palos).See the Cordillera de los Maribos ( volcanos: San Cristobal the highest, Cosita, Pilas, Telica….). Get back Hotel, extremely dirty from black dust…

Leon Viejo: ruins, historia de Cordoba….The 2 Avilas, Cordoba’s beheading place (plaza mayor) , when he tried to take over the power…

“Jicaro”Tree: yellow fruit, like pomelo, very very rich in proteins ( they feed the cows on it, so the milk gets very rich…) fruit also very hard, used for carvings or maracas percussion instruments. 
Leaf like a cross, for the indigenous the 4 elements, for Christians the holy cross. 

“Malinche” tree ( with the bean-like fruit) Old legend: Moctezuma’s daughter, called Malinche, married Cortez, told him everything about her father’s warfare, (Atztec), so Cortez could fight and win. So today they say : no te haz malinchero= verrate mich nicht, sei kein Falschspieler…)

Day 4 : Driving up from Leon to Matagalpa

See Momotombo, San Cristobal…on our way, blue blue skies

Rice fields, very green, then the road starts winding up, we see coffee factories, the drying of coffee-beans outside…

San Cristobal

Momotombo

Drive briefly through Matagalpa, white Iglesia cathedral San Pedro, get fuel and change money at petrol station.

Driving up to Selva Negra resort. Get little map and walk “mosquitia”-trail, quite steep and slippery.Weather changes, wet and cold with the falling mist, over 1570m high.come down “Peter and Helen” path. Take a last short stroll towards coffee plantations.

Dinner in the lodge, see folkloric representation . Seeing for the first time agoutis.

Matagalpa / Selva Negra

Day 5: Driving  from Matagalpa to Masaya National park. On to direction Masaya and Granada, end up in overfloated street (road leeds straight into river), search for alternativ way, end up in one way street+market, but win over the busJ

Drive up to the Masaya volcano, see huge “Santiago” crater. Don’t stay more than 20 minutes!!! Walk around, see overgrown crater of San Fernando, 

Masaya volcano 

Granada: Hotel Plaza Colon, beautiful, center of town, plaza mayor in front of the balcony and cathedral in full view (plaza independencia , parque central)

Following the lonely planet tour towards the Lago de Nicaragua, biggest sweet water lake in central America.

Walk back and pizza

Day 6 : To Catarina, mirador. Park in wrong place, but no damage on the car, uff. See Laguna de Apoyo, at the back volcan Mombacho (nat. parc 15km from Granada). Drive on to San Juan de Oriente, original place where they produce pottery. Buying some souvenirs.

Come back Granada and walk over local market, quite dirty but busy. Take a horse carriage (together with the love and marriage…) ½ hour tour with a stressy driver. See upper part of town, very nice, old colonial houses, churches, William Walker’s house… Buying cigars (puros) at “Doňa Elba” Cigars ( man offers one to Gast…) Eating Pizzeria, smoke puro on balcony and get sick J ….

At about 4 in the morning, hear a lot of noise, sounds like shooting, but it is bombas y  cohetes, firecrackers and rockets, for a procession to a saint in the village close by……

COSTA RICA

Day 7 : Drive from Granada to Penas Blancas. Find petrol station out of order, so we cannot deliver a full car…

Lago de Nicaragua 

Queue for stamp at “ salida” office, then walk with full luggage through “noman’s land” queue again for “entrada” to costa rica. In that long queue Ricardo from Adobe walks up to us, uff. Get car ready and off to Rincon de la Vieja!!!

Rincon de la Vieja, get to Canon de la Vieja Lodge. Nice little cabin, have a walk over little bridge, get familiar with the area, then drive to Liberia. Change dollars to colones, walk around, then have dinner at “Paso Real”, central parquet; great food ( lonely planet) ,  find supermarket for water etc and drive back to have a rest.

Day 8 : Parque national de Rincon de la vieja, 10 $. First white nosed coati.1 agouti.after a while hear a strange sound of « mmmmmhhh » , a gran curaçao, black bird, bigger than swan, yellow buldge on the peak, brown female, nice tail, .lizzards, blue morpho butterfly, big black bug, monkeys: white face capuchin. Let feet dangle into warm river, see “fumaroles” smell of rotten egg, se strangler fig (tree). 

Day 9 : Drive to Monte verde , Santa Elena.  Hard non-paved road. See bird of prey with a snake in its peak just in front of our car. Before that in the morning drive to waterfalls, “Cataratas de Llanos de Cortes” . Gast has a happy swim, then we have a long ride to Monte Verde.

 Llanos de Cortes 

Arriving at “Hotel Belmar”.

Deciding to do the “hanging Bridges” ….find trail, bridges, climb through strangler fig, watch humming birds at feeding place. Very hungry have pizza at “Johnny’s” (lonely planet).

Day 10 : Early to Parque nebuloso Monte Verde, all alone.Map and senderos…Beautiful forest, but not a single animal, only hearing monkeys (howlers), walk for 4 hours or more, return Belmar, go to frog and butterfly gardens…."eng mouk vir 10 dollar….".stroll through Santa Elena and have cheap dinner in “Maravilla” (lonely planet) , very cold wind, go back hotel and pack

Get up 6:15 , leave very early, find electrical supports on the road, luckily get not blocked, but drive straight over cables, non-paved road, then interamericana….. Drive over a bridge on the way and see big, big crocodiles underneath…. 

Day 11 : Arrive 12:00 Manuel Antonio, Hotel “Villa Bosque”, nice room, go to the parque nacional, very busy, many many visitors, see little white faced capuchin at entrance, iguanas, coati ( very smelly) monotiti ( dark brown, but not black like the howlers…), on the beach rancoon (Waschbär). Pacific ocean, Gast has a swim, Back hotel, shower and take public bus to Guepos to have Mexican dinner there, public bus back.

Monte Verde

Day 12 : Get up early in Manuel Antonio, have a nice walk over beach, swim in pool, and start drive (172km) to Esquinas rainforest lodge.

Arrive, have a little walk in the area, beautiful primary forest, see at garden first “Basilisco”!!!! beautiful flora.Full board, surprise , at lodge. Book cycling tour for the next day

Day 13 : 6.30 in the morning, noise deafening with birds etc.. Start at 8:00 bicycle tour with José.

See toucans and humming birds in the trees and flowers in front of cabin…

Basilico

Cycle to the waterfalls, Gast has a nasty fall...

Just see the tail of “Tyra” ( no foto), a cat like animal. No sloth (sid), too many ocelots, they kill the slothL. José shows us his house, gives us a taste of “guanàbana” fruit, (soursop in English, a sauer fruit, apple family), skin of fruit looks a bit like a jack fruit (smaller) .   José shows us the “Night Agoutis” with big eyes. See the 2 caimans in the pond, “Lorencito”…See the gran Curaçao and female in the lodge garden…

Day 14 : Get up 5:45 , walk the bird trail, but see nothing spectacular. Enjoy the pool and leave for Paso Canoas.

In Paso Canoas meet adobe (car rental) man, hand over car and all……and get blocked at the border, closed by the Costa Rica Government.

In panama there had been an upraise of the  Ngobe-Bugle Indians. They blocked the interamericana because they were threatened to lose some of their territories. Foreign mining companies wanted to exploit the cupper found on their grounds. Their protest was as well directed  against the construction of hydroelectric facilities.

No phone, no car, no hotel, nobody waiting for us at the Panama side,  talk to a “freak”, talk to other travelers, walk over noman’s land to Panama, Gast gets net to call Miller, police helps with mobile phone, call Ara, get aquainted with a guide who has a taxi, go to hotel that Ara indicated, in “RIO Claro, Palmeral Dorima."

Very nice welcome, German couple Doris and Manfred owners…

Plan: go San José and fly to Panama City???

Border still blocked.

Day 15 : Golfito, get a lift from Manfred. Take little ferry (crammed!!) Go to Puerto Jiminez. Walk beach, town, find a little trail with crocodiles and red macaws. See the lizards that can “run” on the water…

Return ferry Golfito, take local bus Rio Claro, have a nice batida in Rio Claro and walk up the hill back to the hotel.

Day 16 : Golfito, get a lift from Manfred. Take little ferry (crammed!!) Go to Puerto Jiminez. Walk beach, town, find a little trail with crocodiles and red macaws. See the lizards that can “run” on the water…

Return ferry Golfito, take local bus Rio Claro, have a nice batida in Rio Claro and walk up the hill back to the hotel.

PANAMA

DAY 17 : After being the 2 days stuck in Costa Rica, border open again. Take taxi Paso Canoas, pass border and meet “National car” man. Drive to David, to get car. Contact  Ronald of Gapa tours, change tour: skip “Las Lajas” go for 1 night to “Boquete”.

Loooong drive, building on the road, slow traffic

Hotel Isla Verde, go to the “hot springs” “los pozos de Caldera”. Search for a while, hot spring very hot, meet Lesley, a Belgium traveler, long talk, interesting, monkey steals his bread…

Come back Boquete for dinner, very cold, rain, search for “Tammy’s” (lonely planet) that is now called “Mike’s”, have dinner.

Day 18 : Get up early, fotos in hotel garden (Isla verde), and looooooong drive towards “Pedasi” .

Road terrible,  building constantly, get lost driving through “Chitré”, do better job driving through “Las Tablas” and arrive very tired in Pedasi.

“Villa Romana”, very nice, beautiful place .

Walk to beach, hard waves, no good for a swim (dangerous). Walk along a dusty road to Puerto Escondido, so small, no wonder gps couldn’t find it….

Nice dinner, beautiful sky, see fabulous moon rise over see….watch stars…

Sleeping with the soundtrack of a roaring pacific ocean….

Day 18 : Up early, nice Columbian girl from the hotel calls for us Gapa Tours to get an hotel in Panama City and cancel “El Valle”…..“Suites Ambassador” is the hotel for 1 night . On the road again, but this time without getting lost,…

Arrive over Las Americas Bridge, drive into City - Nightmare - GPS not working, driving around in a circle, roads closed, “chantiers” everywhere….

Find hotel at…..4o’clock!!!!

Walk through that part of the city, find the “Huaca” Jewellery shop (lonely planet) “Reprosa”, buy beautiful huaca, a frog and a gift.

Walk on through city, early dinner at “El burger”.

Go to top floor to the pool of hotel, meet Ecuador woman “Litoba” , exchange mail address, she invites us to her countryJ

Day 19 : Get up early, Taxi to “Canal Bay and Tours”; bus ride up to Gamboa, get on boat there and start canal trip. Lunch etc on board. Passing 2 locks (Schleusen):  -   Pedro Miguel -     Miraflores

 See “Culebra Cut” where canal is  narrowest, lots of excavation….See the work for the expanding of the canal…Come back to Canal bay and tours.

Walk the “Causeway” very nice and windy, take then taxi back to Ambassador, get the luggage and the car and drive to other hotel, “Country Inn and Suites”. Long and hard search.( have another passage over the bridge, hehe). Plan how to bring car to National next day. Dinner at little restaurant “Fridays” next to the hotel.

Day 20 : Get up and find roads closed because of triathlonL no excursion possible. Take taxi to “Casco Viejo” : See golden altar in “Iglesia San José”  see”plaza Francia”, see “parque Bolivar”, teatro nacional, palacio municipal, French ambassy, …very nice buildings, UNESCO heritage. See street vendors with colourful “Molas”, (Stickereien)

Walk to “Plaza del 5 Mayo”, search for “Mercado de artesanias y buhanerias”, disappointed!

Try and walk up “Cerro Ancón” but don’t get to the summit. Food at petrol station. Get back to hotel and leave for “National cars”, get fuel and return car. Get melatonin (jet lag)  in mall.

Rest at pool, snacks in hotel….

Day 21 : Wait for transfer to airport, driver late, but ok. Fly home via Caracas, Frankfurt.