Nicaragua

Nicaragua, the land of horses. Some people say that the riders here prefer their horses to their wives at home. Yes, we have seen a lot of horses here and they were always ridden by men (except of course tourists). The approximately two-week stay in this beautiful but also very poor country, which - unlike many people would believe - is the safest country in Central America, has shown us its best side during our stay. Better roads than a few years ago, green meadows, friendly people and good surfing spots.

After an intensive border crossing from El Salvador via Honduras to Nicaragua - in only one day - we stayed in an ECO-Hostel in Jiquilillo for about one week. Here we encountered great surfing conditions and almost empty beaches. Perfect for improving our surfing skills "undisturbed".

As luck would have it, we met Dave in the hostel next door, whom we met for the first time in Mexico. Spontaneously we let him persuade us to accompany him to Las Pepitas near Leon for a night and toast life with his Irish friends. It was a really cool night that we will remember well. Contrary to our plans, we have - under the pressure of the Irish friends - made a stopover in Leon. That was definitely worth it. Compared to Granada, this city seems to be less dependent on tourism and showed the differences in architecture.

Parking in larger cities is always a challenge. In Leon we had to leave Douglas in a busy backpacker street - with a rather uncomfortable feeling. In Granada we were kindly allowed to park the van at the local fire brigade after an unsuccessful search for a secure parking place. If things are not over-regulated, such cases are also possible. We really appreciated it.

We spent our last days in Nica in the region around San Juan del Sur. One night in the very touristic city, where we stayed next to the (for 3 years) provisional police station. San Juan del Sur, a well-known surfing stronghold, has meanwhile burst at the seams. Although you can still feel the surf vibe, this was too much for us. Even though the neighboring surf spot "Playa Maderas" is quite crowded during the day, especially in the water where many surfers are fighting over the waves, the crowd is looking for their way back to town in the evening and camping and early morning surfing will be quite pleasant. We spent the last five days here behind a restaurant where we were allowed to park and stay overnight.

After two weeks, another chapter of the journey ends in Nica. Apart from the many sculptures that it swirls through the air here and which can be found again and again on the roadsides and beaches (like in Guatemala and El Salvador, by the way) we were impressed by the country. We take many nice experiences with us on our journey to Costa Rica.