Arenal Volcano...La Fortuna to San Jose

Today I went to the Arenal National Volcano Park. Again, I woke up early and packed up my stuff. I then checked out and went to find food. I ate at a spot not to far from the bus station as I only had 39 minutes before the bus came. I went to the bus stop a little before 8 am and waited. I met 2 girls from Toronto at the bus stop who were also going to the park but didn't speak Spanish and wasn't sure what bus to take and where to get off. So we got to chatting and they told we they were going to tag along with me. The bus driver let us on at 8:30 am (schedule says 8) and off we went. We got off at the stop to get off at the park and prepared for our 2 km walk. While we were walking a guy pulled up and gave us a ride to the park entrance. We got to the entrance and paid the fee and got maps. The guy gave us all maps begrudgingly. I guess he thought one was enough for all of us but I paid so I want my map. Then we began our hike around the park. I like this park a lot better than the cloud forest. We hiked a bit and were at first disappointed by the first view point so we were a bit wary of the rest of the park. However the next view point redeemed the park. The park wasn't that difficult to hike and we saw a lot of lizards and maybe an iguana. We also saw some animal that I can't remember the name. It didn't run away when we came near so I am almost positive that it's someone's pet that they put there to attract the tourist. We also saw some really old huge trees which were awesome. We also climbed into a couple of tree which I am not sure if you are suppose to. Then there was a branch that looked like a swing that was high up off the ground (over my head). When we came upon it a little girl was sitting on the branch with her family taking pictures. So we decided we would try to get up. There was a tree nearby so you can use the tree to get up. When I first tried I couldn't get up. The next time I tried I could only hang from it. I took a break while the other girls tried then I tried again. I finally got up (my accomplishment for the day). We got done with hiking early so then we rested for a bit. Then we decided to start to walk back down the dirt road to go wait at the bus stop. We talked about hitchhiking but none of us really tried. We had walked maybe 5-10 minutes when someone that had been driving by stopped and reversed. It was 2 older gentlemen and they asked us if we wanted a ride. Of course! They asked us where we were going and we told them into town but to drop us off wherever and then we could walk or catch the bus. They had just come from ziplining while their wives had a spa day.  Their hotel is actually before town but they took us all the way to town and dropped us off. This was great because we got into town around 1:20 pm and now I could catch the 2:45 pm bus straight to San Jose. The other option was to go to a different town and then catch a bus to San Jose (a longer day). So I went back with the girls to their hotel and rested for a bit. We exchanged emails and then I went back to my hostel. I grabbed my stuff and walked to the bus station to wait. Oh I forgot to say I have a friend in San Jose that I had contacted to stay with. I had told them I was going to be in around 7:30 pm or so as the bus ride takes around 4.5 hours and sometimes longer (per the girls I met today). The bus ride seemed long but I actually got in around 6:20 pm. So then a lady let me use her phone to call my friend and they came and got me around 7:45pm. My friend came and got me and we went to their place. And that's my day. Buses, buses, buses. Travel, travel, travel...

Fire truck with name backwards...

Montezuma to La Fortuna

 

canopy route and lines



Today I am a little excited and a bit scared. Today I go ziplining aka canopying with extremo tours. I have ziplined before but when I was flipping through the pamphlet I saw you also repel down once and do a tarzan swing. Now I wasn't not sure about the Tarzan swing. It actually worried me a bit but I had decided not to think about it and see what happens. I woke up early and packed up all my stuff. My clothes weren't dry so I put them in a bag. I went downstairs and ate breakfast. The owners brother let me hang my clothes on the line so u don't have to vary around wet clothes. The tour people came to get me a little after 8 am and drove the van of us to extremo tours. When I got there I was told that the price was $45 and not $40 like I had been told. I explained that the lady had told me she was giving me a discount and that she had called in. I even had them call their boss and the lady that gave me te voucher but to no avail. That kind of pissed me off and almost ruined a good day. I met a girl from Rochester (yeah) and her friend from Australia also. I went with the canopying group and we were shown the proper way to zipline, taught how to brake, and shown all the safety measures. Then we were off. It is 13 canopy lines, 1 rappel line, 1 Tarzan swing and then if you pay $5 ($40 canopy + $5 superman) you can superman. We went pretty fast through the canopy/ziplines. At 2 points we went 2 at a time where there is one person in front and the person in back wraps their legs around the other persons waist and off you go. I was fine with the ziplining but the rappel line was a little scary as I'm not the keen on heights. The Tarzan swing was terrifying. They told me to step onto the edge and I was like "I am on the edge". They got me in position and just pushed me. Didn't even warn me. I screamed when I went. When I got off the swing my legs were a little shaky. Then we got to do the superman. You would think it would have been scary for me but once I started going I was fine. The superman was pretty cool. We finished after 11 am and then were brought back to town. I walked to the office where I had gotten the vouchers to ask the lady about the discount. She gave me some garbage story about how the owner had now said they wouldn't give discounts and they went also wouldn't for my jeep-boat-jeep tour that I would be taking in the afternoon. That annoyed me a bit. I went to my hostel and asked them if I could still get the discount but was told that the lady (who had lied to me) was just making trouble and it would just be an issue if I tried to cancel to get it cheaper as it's a small town. I didn't push it because I didn't want to make trouble for the owner of the hostel who is a nice guy. I walked it the bank and got money then I went to eat. I ate at a cafe (don't remember the name) but it's up on the hill. It was delicious! The carrot cake was awesome as well. I then walked back to the hostel and waited. A little after 2 I was picked up for the jeep-boat-jeep tour. Well it's not actually a jeep. You get picked up in a van but I guess van-boat-van doesn't sound as cool. It was me, a older couple and their son, another lady, and then a you guy Indian guy from Toronto (mentioned his ethnicity because we talked about how Indians don't really backpack like that and other stuff). We talked about traveling and backpacking. We also talked about how people assume he is Spanish (Americans) beacuse people don't like to think outside th box. We then set off on our bumpy trip to lake Arenal. The view of the volcano is amazing.  The closer you get the more you appreciate the tour. When we got to the lake the view was breathtaking (maybe an exhaduration). We waited for our boat and then got to take a scenic boat ride. I think the jeep-boat-jeep is worth it. You get to La Fortuna faster and you get to see a beautiful view that pictures can't capture. I also think that the trip from Monteverde to La Fortuna is better because you get to ride toward the volcano. While we were on the water our boat engine stopped working. So the guy driving the boat had to go sit at the back with the engine and drive from the back while the other guy steered it. All in all a good fun travel experience. We had to dock and then another boat came and got us. When we got to shore a van picked us up and took us to our hotel or hostel. After I checked in I asked about hot springs (thing to do here) but the free ones and was told you shouldn't go at night as it doesn't have lights. Also you have to take a taxi to get there. So I gave up on that idea. The hotsprings can cost up to $100, with food included, but I really don't want to pay and I didn't really care that much about hot sprigs. Also I'm not sure if the hotsprings at the expensive resorts are real or man made hot tubs. So I used the internet and then went and found something to eat. I had a typical Costa Rican meal. Or so they said but in not sure if mash potatoes are typical food especially when they taste like they came out of a box. I think it wasthe  typical Ameircan Costa Rican food kind of like Taco Bell is typical Mexican food. Then I came back and used the internet in the room as much as possible (signal was terrible in the room) then went to bed as I have to wake up early yet again. I really need a sleep day.



Volcano Arenal

Boat to Fortuna

Driving from the back...

 



 

Monteverde

Let's just say I didn't make the early bus. I woke up early and then went back to sleep. Per Lonely Planet they only let about 160 people (or some number like that) in at a time and readers were advised to go early. But I had a voucher so I wasn't worried as I was told I could get in anytime with the voucher. So I got up and got ready and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Afterwards I walked to the grocery store and bought some fruits and cookies to take with me. I then went to wait for the bus. On the bus I met 2 girls from Amsterdam. Well they lived in Amsterdam but they were originally from other places. They were also going to the cloud forest and were actually also staying at the same hostel. So we took the 30 minute or so ride to the Cloud Forest. We paid the entrance fee of $18 and walked around exploring the Cloud Forest. Now I'm not going to say that this place sucked but I will say I personally thought it was a waste of my $18. I also don't think there was a limit to how many people could go in...I think it's a tourist scam. Or it's not that popular that 160 people (or whatever the number is) are breaking down the door, so to speak, to go. Also the trails aren't that well marked and it was a bit confusing. The view points were okay. When we got to the red bridge (in all the tourist pictures) we were also disappointed. It's kind of short and throughout our whole trip we didn't see much fog. Now I'm not saying some people won't like it but I'm just saying the 3 of us all shared the same sentiments of "ehh". We actually got through the park pretty fast. I thought I would stay until 4:00 but decided after not to long I would leave at 2:30pm. We also walked to the waterfall which was not that impressive. We took the bus back to town and went our separate ways. I then spent the rest of the day trying to figure out my plans and make everything fit into the time frame I wanted. It was not working! In fact I gave myself a headache trying to make it work. Also at this point I didn't know if I wanted to see anything else in Costa Rica but I had a couple of days to do something before heading to Panama.  I want to go to Boca del Toro for my birthday (April 5). After giving myself a headache I washed some clothes in the sink and put them on the balcony and in the room to dry. I was trying to sneak and put it in the balcony as I'm pretty sure they don't want you washing clothes in the bathroom sink. They also have a laundry service downstairs that you pay for but I didn't feel like paying. I then went to eat and came back. I browsed the internet and brought my clothes into the room as the wind was picking up and I thought my clothes would blow away. All in all not such a good day. I didn't even feel like doing anything the rest of the day since I was so disappointed.

Montezuma to Monteverde

Today I made my way to Monteverde. Far, far, far, far....away. Well not that far but as you can see my life is living on the buses. I woke up and got ready. I went to check out of the hostel but was told I couldn't  check out until 7:30 am and the bus comes at 8:00 (per the schedule). I was told the bus actually comes at 8:15 or so but I was still worried. So around 7:15 I walked down the hill to get breakfast. I had pancakes again not because they were great but because they fill me up and I have a long day ahead of me. After I ate breakfast it was maybe 10 minutes to 8 so I walked back up the dreaded hill to check out. After checking out I got my backpack and walked down the steps (remember the steps I talked about), down the hill (remember that hill I keep having to climb), and walked to the bus station. It was after 8 but the bus wasn't there. I asked to make sure I hadn't missed it and I hadn't. A taxi driver tried to get me to take his cab to Monteverde but I declined and told him it was to expensive and I would take the bus. We chatted for a bit and when I told him I was traveling alone he told me it is best to have company when you travel and asked if I would like company. I declined. The bus came after 8:30 am and drove us to the ferry. I got off and bought my ticket then waited for the ferry to come. I think I waited almost an hour and then i got on the ferry for the couple hour ferry ride. I dozed on and off during the ferry ride. When we docke I got a quick snack and then tried to find a taxi to drive me to the bus stop. I found one and was driven to the bus stop and then waited about 45 minutes to an hour to get on the bus. I am not sure if I told you how the buses differ in Costa Rica than in the other countries but they are like the buses we have in the USA. They don't use old recycled school buses. Since I left Nicragua I have only been in buses that look like the long distance buses we have in the USA or public buses. Well our bus driver finally let us board the bus. He had been sitting on the bench waiting for the scheduled time I suppose. Our bus driver  had a slightly unbuttoned shirt and a gold or silver chain on with jeans. I mention this because I was amused. Anyways we piled our luggage on the floor (all the foreigners that is). Apparently this bus doesn't  use the luggage compartments and instead we just piled it on the floor where the handicap wheelchair lift is. Afterwards off we went for our 3 hour trip that turned out to be longer. Along the way we picked up other people and some more travelers piled their bags on the pile so the pile got bigger. I was hoping we were all going to the same place since my bag was on bottom but I assumed we were. Monteverde is a tourist hotspot. The roads got more bumpy and turned into dirt and gravel as we got closer to our destination. We bumped along for quite a bit and took some windy hills. The view was beautiful! When we finally arrived I got my bag (after most of the bags had been cleared off) and walked down the hill to find my hostel (I had reserved one yesterday). Along the way a hostel owner told me about his hostel and I told him I already had one booked but if I didn't like it I would come back. I stopped and booked some tours :-( then continues on my way. I went and check out my hostel and decided that I would look around. It wasnt a bad place but the guy, I had met on the street, rooms were the same price but offered a private bathroom. So I walked and looked at 1 other place that was too expensive. Actually this place is a tourist trap and they have a lot of expensive places. I then walked back to where I had began and checked out the guys hostel (guy off the street). It was pretty good. Large rom, good sized bathroom, wifi receiver right outside the room...so I booked it. I was also told I could get tours cheaper with this guy. So after I had settled in I went back to the tour lady (like 1 door down) that I had booked the tours with and told her I could get it cheaper elsewhere (I hadn't paid her I just had vouchers). She called the companies and told me I could get it for the cheaper price (so she said). I then went and found soemthing to eat then went back to the hostel. I called my mom and then found a website to catch up on Scandal (the show). And watched at least 4 episodes of scandal before going to bed. So I went to bed around 1 am or so and I am trying to catch the bus to the Cloud Forest at 7:30. Yeah...

Parque Nacional Cabo Blanco

Today I made my way to Cabo Blanco national park. I woke up and went and got something to eat. I had pancakes! They were okay but filled the stomach. I then waited for the bus to pick us up at 10 or 10 something. The bus came early but wouldn't let us on until it was very close to the time for us to go. The bus ride took maybe 30-45 minutes and dropped us off at the entrance to the park. Well kind of the entrance. It dropped us off at the end of a dirt and gravel road that we had to walk up to the park entrance. I paid the entrance fee, filled up my water bottle and started booking it. So there are only 3-4 buses. One at 8 something, one at 10 to get to the park. The last bus leaves comes to the park at 3:30 pm and the park closes at 4 pm. There are a couple of paths you can take also. 2 short paths and one path that leads to the beach. The problem is that the beach hike is 2 hours (per lonely planet) there and 2 hours back. So basically if I have 30 minutes to see the beach if it takes 2 hours. I had tried to wake up earlier but I was tired. I woke up at 7 something but it didn't give me enough time to get ready, eat, and catch the bus. So I opted for the next bet thing. And the next best thing, to be able to see the beach, was walk really fast. Let's just say it was quite enjoyable. The hike itself wasn't that bad and i saw a coupes of birds.

 Again I was walking fast so I'm sure it would have been better if I allowed myself to breath a bit. Well walking fat paid off because I made it to he beach around 12:00 pm. So it took me about 1hour and 10-15 minutes. So I got to enjoy the beach for 2 hours before I had to walk back. The beach is nice overall and it is rewarding since you do the hike. Around 2 pm I started to walk back but this time a bit slower. I was just beginning to think that I wasn't going to see any animals when a whole bunch of monkeys started jumping around from tree to tree. So I probably spent 10-20 minutes looking at the monkeys then decided I would have to walk fast again to make the bus. Also my phone had died so I had no idea what time it was. I walked to the end of the path where it splits into 2 paths so you can go either way. I decided to go the way I hadn't one before. Well that want a good choice because when I got done maybe 5-10 minutes later the path ended. I am still not sure if it ended or if I didn't see the rest of the path but I didn't have time to explore as I was running out of time and I still had no idea what time it was. So I had to go back to the fork in the road and take the other path. And yes, you guessed it, now I'm walking faster because I had wasted time. When I finally got to the entrance it was only 3:05. So I must have really made good time. I then rested for a little bit and then walked to the entrance where the bus picks us up. When I got to the bus stop the bus was already there but we weren't able to get on until close to 3:30 pm (I'm guessing at the time). I rose back to montezuma and went back to rhe hostel. I had eaten snacks at to beach so I was okay. I then decided to walk to the waterfall. I had decided I would leave tomorrow and had to catch the bus at 8 am. So I booked it to the waterfall in flip flops...not a good choice as you have to walk on rocks. The waterfall was okay and not wonderful as the random guy, who was returning from the waterfall, had said. So then I juries back as it was going to get dark soon. I went back and showered. Then went to eat. It was before 9 so I dicided I would go back and chill at the hostel until 10 where I would go watch a fireshow. However I was super tired and after I laid on the bed decided I would just relax and call it a night.

Nicaragua to Costa Rica

So today I made my way from Nicaragua to Costa Rica! 12 + hours of travel! 5 buses, 1 taxi, and 1 ferry later..

I woke up around 4:15 am and jumped in the shower. I got dressed and got all my things together. Mike and I walked to the bus station together. We said our goodbyes and Mike got on his bus. Mike is going to Leon. My bus came less than 1 minute later and I got on the bus. The guy that collects the money recognized me (its a small town) and told me where to get off to take the next bus to get to the border. I guess I must have asked him about getting to the border the other day. I then waited by the side of the road for maybe 5-10 minutes before getting on a bus headed to the border.

When I got to the border I didn't realize we were there and had to be told to get off the bus. I changed some money and then walked to the border. The border wasn't open and so I had to wait. I then got swindled by letting someone fill out the form to cross the border because I though he worked with the border. But apparently people will help you fill out the form for a fee or a tip. I got through the Nicaraguan border pretty fast and had to pay a $2 departure fee. Then I walked to the Costa Rican border and went through without problems. I was a little bit concerned as I had heard that sometimes if you don't have a ticket showing when you are leaving they will make you purchase a ticket. I then got on a bus that was headed to Liberia. The bus ride was a couple of hours and then I was dropped off at the Liberia bus station. From there I waited an hour for the bus to Puntarenas. This bus also took a couple of hours. When I got to Puntarenas I had to take a cab to the ferry. Luckily there was another foreign guy traveling and we split the  fare. I was dropped off at the ferry dock and bought my ticket. The ferry wasn't ready to leave yet (we had an hour wait) and after 15 or so minutes we were allowed to board. After waiting 40 or so minutes the ferry left the dock. The beach was pretty and the ferry was wonderful because you had a breeze. I forgot to mention it is hot here as well and you are basically just sweating. We got to the other dock 1.5 hours later and from there I got to take another bus. This bus is suppose to go straight to Montezuma but we had to get off and change to a smaller bus. This bus also took a couple of hours. I finally got to Montezuma around 5:30 pm.  I then got to walk up a nice hill with my heavy backpack to the hostel. Now when I first got to Montezuma I was a little disappointed. It was small. I mean very small. The center of town is basically a couple of streets and you can walk around it in no time. Also there are a lot of foreigners. I know we are in Costa Rica but still. Also the beach I saw didn't look that great. Anyways I checked into my hotel. Did I mention that I also had to walk up a bunch of stairs? No? Well yes I did. First the hill then the stairs. After I had settled in I went and got myself something to eat. I called my mom... I'm still alive! Later I figured out my plans for tomorrow and went to bed.

 

San Juan del Sur and beaches

So today I woke up early to go to the beach. We decided to go to Ostional beach via the bus.

So that means we have to catch the bus at 7 am. The info office had told us that Ostional was a good beach so we decided to go there. Our other options were Maderas beach, surfer beach, and Hermosa beach, tourist beach and surfer spot. Both of the beaches I just mentioned you have to pay a shuttle to get to and Hermosa beach you pay to get in. So we decided free is best. We caught the bus and it took us over an hour. When we arrived after 8 am and walked down to the beach in search of food. The hostel that is on the beach was under construction so they weren't serving breakfast. So now we had to go find food. Unfortunately for us they don't really have restaurants and have a whole bunch of stores. We walked to one place and the lady said she could make food but it didn't really look like a restaurant so I decided I didn't want to try it. We ended up going to the grocery store and buying fruits and water to eat. I also had a pack of cookies and granola bar so we split it. The beach was nice...not the best beach...but it was still nice.

I found some pretty cool shells and dead starfish!

I found some fossil looking things also.

If anyone knows the names please feel free to let me know. Then I got to take a nap on the beach in a hammock. We then tried to catch the bus back to a different beach but when we walked back to the bus stop the bus wasn't there. We waited a bit and then I was told we had just missed the bus. Now I was a little annoyed because the bus had come earlier than it had told us it would and now we still had no food. So we went back to the store and bought snacks and ate that. Then chilled for a bit before going back to wait for the last and only bus back for the day. We packed up our shells (and my dead starfish) and walked back to the bus stop. Lucky for us this bus came around the time it was suppose to and we were able to get on the bus! We went back to San Juan del Sur and the first thing we did was ate. We then relaxed for a bit before going back out and eating again. So later I took out the shells and what do you know but it's not a good idea to keep a dead starfish. So I had to throw it away. I went to bed late and had to wake up to catch the bus at 5 am. So sad.

Ometepe to San Juan del Sur

Today I make my way from Ometepe to San Juan del Sur. I woke up and got all my things ready. Mike decided he would leave and Verena was going to stay a couple more days. So we ate breakfast and then tried to check out. It took us a while to check out because the lady that runs the hostel was doing God knows what. So after we finally checked out we said goodbye to Verena and walked to the dock. We bought our tickets and got on the boat. We saw the 2 girls from the Netherlands at the dock as well but didn't sit with them because Mike wanted to sit below as he gets sea sick. The trip only takes an hour or so. We got off the boat and got assaulted by all the taxi drivers trying to get us to take their taxi. After talking to a couple of taxi drivers I found the best price and we decided to pay to take a taxi to San Juan del Sur. When we got to San Juan del Sur we couldn't find the hostel. We drove around for a bit and then decided to just get out and walk around until we found it. After a good little bit we finally found the hostel (it was hiding behind a bus). We then walked around for a bit looking at other places and then decided to come back and stay at the first place. We then walked around to explore San Juan, ate, and found tour places. We stopped at a couple of places to find out how to get to the beaches. San Juan del Sue is a surf town. It also has a beach but it's not a nice one. We stopped at the info office and found out about beaches we could get to via the bus. Later we went by the park and I attempted to play on the playground but the security guard told me I couldn't. :-( Apparently it's only for children. So we hung out for a bit then went back to the hostel to call it a night.

Volcano Conception

Did I tell you what time I went to bed? Well....let's just say it's not enough sleep. I woke up at 4:15 am and jumped in the shower. Then I got ready. I'm still half sleep when we got into the bus. Verena didn't come in the end because she couldn't find shoes to wear (she hadn't brought any hiking shoes and couldn't find any that fit). Joshua rode to the volcano with us but then did not go on the hike (like he had told us he would). Why? Because he had stayed up to late....kind of like a couple of us. Our group consisted of 5 people (Mike, Florian, Anna a girl from Germany, Daniel, and I) and our tour guide and his 2 sons who were also tour guides I guess. So we started around 5 am. Now I don't know how to put into words the difficulty of the volcano... Let's just say it was hard.

Some parts we hiked, some parts we were almost like bouldering and crawling up rocks. The wind got pretty bad and you couldn't stand up at some parts. Basically it was difficult. Daniel went ahead of us because I guess we were too slow for him.

I struggled for a good part of the volcano first because I was half sleep at the beginning and also because it was hard. Mike kept talking about if he faints to leave him and keep going. The other thing was the backpack. Like I said it was so heavy. Mike and I shared one because I don't have a backpack besides my large one. Mike carried it most of the time, like a gentleman, so I know he must have almost died. Thanks Mike! First we were hot then it got cold so we put on jackets. We stopped several times for breaks and to eat. When we got to the top we couldn't see much because of all the clouds.

We all went to the top. There was an option for staying in the middle but we all decided to brave it and keep pushing past exhaustion. One of the guys from another group did a headstand at the top of the volcano. I didn't see it but I am impressed since it was quite windy and I'm not sure how he accomplished this task. So the way up was hard...well the way down was difficult. I dont even know which was worse. The way down we did some sliding down on the butt, we also did a lot of accidental sliding.

We also did some crawling and a bit of tripping. Okay I think the way down was a bit harder on the knees and a bit more dangerous. I also hurt my finger. By the end my shoes were so dirty and I had rocks and pebbles in them.

 I had to stop a couple times to get the rocks out of my shoes. I also carried the backpack down from about the middle point. Daniel again went ahead. I think we were messing up his flow. I also saw some monkeys in the way down. We finally made it back to the bottom around 2 something (I think Daniel had taken a nap while he waited for is) and we were driven back to the hostel tired and dirty. After taking a shower I took a nap as I was very tired. I didn't want to hang out with anyone as I was to tired. Way to tired. Later I ate some dinner and watched a movie with Mike on Netflix. We started watching a Will Farrell movie...still no idea the name...but the Spanish one. I then went to bed later. Oh also the people across the street were having another party and played the music to 10 pm. They were playing like a 70's to 90's mix. It was a bit at strange. But at least it ended at 10!

So the plan tomorrow is to go to San Juan del Sur for a day or two. Mike thinks he will go but not sure and we aren't sure what Verena is doing...maybe she will go and maybe she will stay...we find out tomorrow. 

Exploring Ometepe

Today we rode scooters and motorbikes. I woke up early, for some reason, and then hung out for a bit in the lobby area. Joshua brought the scooter over to the hostel. We paid him and then he left. I
got ready and then ate breakfast. We then went to test the scooter and realize one of the brakes didn't work. So we brought the bike back over to Joshua and got the bike switched out.

 So then the 4 of us started riding around the island. About 15-20 minutes into the ride the scooter stopped working. So Daniel had to drive back to tell the people that the bike stopped working. A new bike was brought to us and then we started off again. We drove to one area where they have a nice butterfly garden and then Daniels bike started leaking gas. So we tried to patch it up with chewed gum (yup) then he rode back to town (again) to switch his bike out. Man what a day! So Verena, Mike, and I hung out until Daniel returned then we continued our ride. We rode to Santa Domigo Playa and hung out at the beach for a bit.

 The beaches here are okay. It's not the most beautiful beaches but we still had fun. Then we went to eat at a restaurant. We tried to explore the rest of the island but the roads were to rough so we split up. We later met back up to return the bikes. We talked with Joshua about going on the volcano hike and were told we needed to bring food. So we went in search of food. I'm not sure where Verena and Daniel went so Mike and I went and bought food for the trip. We bought a lot of food. When we got back to the hostel I saw Florian (German guy I met in Masaya). We chatted about hiking the volcano. Joshua came by and we have him a deposit. Hike starts at 5 am and we will be picked up at 4:45 am. So early! Afterwards I ate dinner we packed up the backpack. After packing the backpack it was super heavy! Since it's the weekend there was a party across the street. Literally! I decided to go check it out since the music happened to be right outside my room and I didn't think I would be able to sleep. So I went over with Joshua, Florian, and 2 girls from the Netherland. I must say the place was pretty lame but it was an interesting people watching place. Saw a couple of guys dressed as women and some men in some pretty tight yellow pants. Mike came and joined us later because the music was so loud he couldn't sleep. The party was suppose to end at 12am but actually ended at 1 am. When we walked back across the street we had to knock on the door a couple times before we we're let back in. So I went to bed around 1 something...not good for a volcano hike.

Granada to Ometepe (Island)

I woke up early today and got ready to go. I went with Mike to buy food then walked around town taking pictures of everything.

Verena decided, early in the morning, that she wanted to go to the islets with us. So we had to figure out how to get to the port as 2 people had come to pick us up in motorcycles. So they first took Verena and I first and then returned for Mike.

The tour took about 2 hours and it was very nice.

 We got to pass by Monkey island where they have monkeys living on a small island. They aren't naturally there and were actually put there by a zoologist that comes and feeds them. Mike didn't get off like he said he would (he played a game called monkey island as a child and was super excited about the island) beacuse he didn't feel that great as he gets motion sickness. We also passed by some to the islands with really nice houses where the rich people live. I think the best story, and I'm not sure why we were told, was about the 70 year old man wih the thirty something year old woman. So apparently a older foreign man had married a younger Nicaraguan woman but needed Viagara. The Viagara didn't work so he became an alcoholic. Great story!

After the tour we ate lunch on the shore. Then we had to find our way back and very quickly as we were suppose to catch the bus by 1:30 pm and it was a little after 1pm. I asked the price to get back by carriage and was told C20 but a taxi would cost us $5 for all. I told them we wanted the carriage but then we were told soemthing or another so I got annoyed that they were trying to swindle us and we decided to walk. A few minutes later a taxi passed by and I asked how much it would cost to take us to the center of town and was told C100 which was way over prices so I asked if we could pay C20 each (price it should be around) and was told okay. We went back to the hostel and grabbed our stuff and hightailed it out of there. We had to walk very fast with our big backpacks to get to the bus on time. in

In the end we were sweating buckets in the heat. When we got to the bus station we were told the next bus to Rivas left at 2:30pm (not how lonely planet said) and that we could catch this bus to a different town then catch the bus to Rivas. So we took the bus since we didnt want to wait for the 2:30 pm bus as the last ferry leaves at 5:30pm (says lonely planet but that isn't the case). So we sweated some more on the bus and got off on the last stop. We then took another bus to Rivas. Now this bus was very crowded and I got pushed around a lot and we had to stand the entire time. Also Verena got her camera stolen. It was on a string attached to the camera and on her waist. They stopped the bus to let the police search the people Verena thought stole the camera but in the end it wasn't found. We got off in Rivas and were told that they don't have a bus going to San Jorge (not sure if this is a lie) from this bus stop so we took a taxi for $5 for all 3 of us to San Jorge ferry dock. We got there close to 4 and were told the next ferry leaves at 5pm (not 4 and 5:30 like lonely planet says). So we sat down and had a drink inside as the beach at San Jorge blows sand in yor eyes and was really annoying. I thought it best to leave and go wait for the ferry just in case. So we went and sat by the ferry dock with sand blowing in our faces. Lovely! We then figured out which ferry we were suppose to take and after maybe 20-30 minutes of  sitting on the dock got on the boat. The ferry left around 5pm and took an hour to get to Moyogalpa on Ometepe island. We then got directions to the hostel and checked in. This place was super hippy but had a good feel. They didn't have my room ready so I had to wait til they got it ready.  Once we were settled we got food to eat and met Daniel, a guy from Austria. We also met Joshua. Joshua is an interesting character. Joshua and I had a good chat about him and his wife. And how men cheat and why. All sorts of stuff. Then he told us he wanted to be a tour guide in the future and could get us discounts on motorcycles and scooters. Verena wanted to rent motorcycles and Daniel had already talked to a guy about renting 1. Mike didn't really want to rent a scooter as he had accident when he was younger. However we decided to rent scooters the next day. So after going back and forth with Joshua about leaving him a deposit (Daniel thought we shouldn't since we really didn't know him) we agreed to pay him the next day. We ended up hanging out for a bit and then going to bed to prepare for our next day of adventure.

Volcano Mambacho

So today we decided to go to Volcano Mambacho. I haven't really slept well in this heat so I kept waking up during the night and early into the morning. So now I'm tired. I ate some snacks and I had some fruit. Then drank some coffee and off we went (Mike, Verena, and I) to find the bus to Mambacho. After talking to a couple people, and asking directions along the way, we found the bus stop. We had to walk through an interesting market  to get there. They sold food and a little bit of everything else like clothes, piggy banks, and soap. We got on the bus, which I assumed had been waiting for us, and rode to the stop to Mambacho. We then paid a motortaxi (in Guatemala it's also called tuk tuk) to the volcano entrance. We then decided that we would walk to the volcano ($3 instead of get driven up $16). Now this all seemed like a good idea in the beginning but as we began to walk and shuttles passed us I think we all thought twice. It was a hard long walk up some steep hills. Every time we thought we were done it just got worse and worse. We stopped at a pretty view point and met some tourist that were amazed we had walked.

When we finally reached the top...some hours later...we were exhausted. We had taken many rest break along the way. We had even, at one point, laid in the middle of the road and only got up when we heard a car coming.

I think the most annoying thing about the trip was the tourist getting driven up in the shuttle and staring at us. Some even waved. If your not giving us a ride then don't wave! When we got to the top we walked around the crater rim. It was okay.

Most of the time you couldn't even see the crater as it was covered by trees and the trees blocked out view. I think we were all pretty over it by that point. I think it would have been more impressive if we didn't walk all the way up...not sure. Then we walked back down! Now normally you think waking down isn't bad but it was. Walking down hurt my knees. It was hard beacuse you have to try to walk in such a way that you don't roll down the hill. We stopped to grab soemthing to eat at the midpoint of the volcano. I had a smoothie which was nice. Then we finished our terrible walk down the rest of the volcano. When we got to the entrance we didn't see a motor taxi so we began walking to the road. Finally a motortaxi came along but was trying to overcharge us so we just walked the rest of the way down the road. We waited for the bus and when it came took the bus back to Granada. By this time it was evening. I thought we would be gone a couple hours and return in the afternoon but this was not the case. Afterwards we all kind of just laid around as we were very tired. Then I handwashed clothes! Mike and Verena hand washed a couple of their stuff as well. Then I went to the Central Park to buy street food (yup I am back at it). I went back to the hostel, ate, and I spent the rest of the night chilling with Mike and Verena and browsing the web. All in all a long a$$ day!

Volcano Masaya

Today I woke up early to go to Volcano Masaya. I got up around 7ish and packed up my stuff. I went and ate breakfast, finished getting ready, and checked out of the room. At breakfast I chatted with one of the guys, Nuno, that worked at the front desk about stuff to do here. I then waited go to the volcano. A little after 9 a taxi was called to take me to volcano. I thought it would be an actual tour with other people as I could have just hired a taxi myself and paid less but you know what I already paid. The Taxi guy drove me to the volcano and explained stuff to me in Spanish...so I can't tell you what he said...:-). No, just joking. I got most of it but at this point in my trip everything blurs together. I was driven to the museum and signed in, in case i got lost, I think. Walked around the  museum then got driven to another part of the volcano where you can hike and do trails.

I climbed to the top of one part of the volcano and got to take some pictures.
I walked along a trail that wasn't too good and tried to make sure I didn't fall off. At the top I got to see the views of  the lake and the town.

 Afterwards I was driven back to the hostel. I hung out for a bit and charged my phone then I walked around town and saw some sites.

I saw a restaurant that is pretty well known for their smoothies that have big chairs. I was told by Nuno they had big chairs so people can't come and bother you and ask you for money while you eat.

I also went to the artisan market. I couldn't remember which stores I had been to because it is kind of large so I am sure I went to a couple of the stores more than once. It's like a big outdoor market where people have stands. I saw a wallet that I wanted but didn't want to pay the price. I haven't really bought anything on this trip. I have so many thing I really don't need anything. Pictures will be my reminders. I ate and went back to the hostel. I met Nuno again and we ended up chatting again and then he showed me the park. He actually doesn't work at the hostel and is a friend of the owners and was hanging out on vacation. He also wants to start a travel company in Masaya and a smoothie stand in San Juan del Sur when he finishes school which I think is cool. He has a lot of other business ideas as well. I mention this because there are a lot of tour companies in a lot of Central American countries but most of them are foreign owned. So when you pay $20, $30 or whatever, which is a lot in these countries, the guides don't actually make that much. So to me, when I see local businesses, I think it's awesome. So if you are ever in Masaya or San Juan del Sur you should check him out. I then talked with this German guy who I had seen walking up volcano Masaya. I asked him how it was because today had been a very hot day and the hike is at least 7 km from one point. I don't know how much it all is in total but in this heat it would suck. He told me, as I suspected, it was hot and hard. He also got sunburned. While we were chatting we got to be involved in a little marriage dispute. So this younger Nicaraguan woman had married an older American guy. The problem is that she only spoke a little bit of English and he only spoke a little bit of Spanish. So...we got involved because the lady wanted to tell us her story. She told us they had know each other 7 years and he would come back and forth from the US. They had recently married. The issue was that he wanted her to go to the US and she didn't want to. But I don't think that was the whole story since I had overheard some earlier from the guy. Basically, long story short, she didn't want to go to the US because she had no security there and didn't have family there. Also I think (what I gathered from his side) was she was not in the will. She also hadn't changed her last name and wasn't sure if she would have problems when she tried to go to the US. She also said she would change her last name if something was done...I'm not sure if that involved being out in the will or not. All in all a great story! Then I decided I should leave as it was getting late. Maybe 5 ish. So I said goodbye to my new found friends and took a taxi to the bus stop. Now the buses come every 15 or 20 minutes or so to go to Granada but I let a couple go since they were full. And when I say full I mean people hanging out the door on the step. I finally got on a bus and after a bit was able to sit. When I got to Granada I took a taxi to the hostel. After I got settled I checked my email. I met a girl named Adriana that invited me to go out to eat. She is from the US. I think Oregon. I then met 2 people from Austira, Mike and Verena, who were also invited. We met up with some of Adriana's other friends and went to have Pizza. We also got to enjoy some kids playing drums...banging on the drums is a better word and some some strange dancing. At one point it was a bit sexual and I thought it very inappropriate for kids. Then we saw some break dancing. It was really good. Like NYC quality good. Afterwards Adriana, Mike, and I hung out for a bit and then went back to the hostel. Mike and Verena had talked about going to volcano Mombacho and since I had planned to go to we decided to go together the next day. 

Matagalpa to Masaya

So today I set off for Masaya. I woke up and walked to the other park and around the town. Its not that big and I didn't see much. I returned to the hostel and waited til close to 2 pm to take a taxi to the bus stop. The taxi dropped me off at the bus stop and I waited at the bus station for a bit. The bus came maybe 30 minutes or so later. The trip took about 3 hours to go from Matagalpa to Masaya. There was 3 people to a seat on one side (side I was on) and two to a seat on the other. It was also hot and sticky. There were also some guys in the back horsing around and making a lot of noise. When I got to Masaya I took a taxi to the hostel. I put my stuff down and booked a tour with the hostel. I then went and got food. I waited for the water to come back on (water wasn't working when I got to the hostel), took a shower, and went to bed. So not an exciting day. Travel day!