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After we saw for the first time in our life lava boiling in a crater at the Masaya volcano, we left Granada. We remained on the Nicaraguan tourist trail and took the public bus towards Ometepe: an Island containing two volcanoes in the immense Lago Nicaragua. For many travellers, who only briefly stay in the country, this stretch is the only experience with Nicaraguan public transport; the so-called ‘chicken bus’. These chicken buses are often old American school buses that are fully packed with people and goods, and in where sellers try to find their way through the aisle to sell their goods; from street food to drinks and from nail clippers to medication. The old American school buses are designed to transport little children, and not full sized American and European tourists. This means that the legroom is very limited. This is a good opportunity to see how our fellow travellers, who are normally traveling by air-conditioned minivans between the tourist hotspots, deal with this situation. When we enter the bus we see that a male backpacker holds a seat for his girlfriend, who is standing outside the bus enjoying a cigarette. When she comes in, the drama queen starts complaining when she sees her seat. “What a shitty place!”. “Do I really have to sit on that terrible place for two hours!”. The girl is about 20 years old, 25 inches shorter than Edwin, but crying like a spoiled baby. What we further notice is that many travellers want to have a window seat. So travel couples split up, both take a window seat, and demonstratively put their bag next to them on the bench to show that the seat is ‘taken’. Some travellers put ear phones in their ears and start looking outside or on their devices, without removing their bags, even if the aisle of the bus fills up with other passengers. We hear one guy telling his companion traveller that “Nicaraguans have a bad smell”.

The bus route from Granada to Rivas (for the connection to Isla Ometepe), is popular among backpackers and that means that the price is inflated. The bus boy even asked us to pay extra for our luggage, a novelty for us in Central America. When we disembark the bus in Rivas, we are jumped by a horde taxi drivers. Illegal taxi drivers off course. After some negotiations, one of them brings us to the harbour of San Jorge, where we take the boat to Ometepe. The Island is quite tourist, but it still is an enjoyable place. We hike, watch beautiful birds and encircle the island on a rented scooter (see also the Photo impression: Isla Ometepe). After Isla Ometepe, we decide that it is the time to leave the busiest part of the tourist trail. We spend a few days in the vast capital Managua. In 1972 a huge part of the city is flattened by a terrible earthquake. President Somoza filled his pockets with international aid funds and fanned thereby Sandinista revolution, which was followed by the Contra War. The result was that the city centre was never really rebuilt, which means that you still see large bare pieces of land in the city centre. These are the places where driving schools take their students to practice driving without the risk of hitting something or somebody. But the last decade, some building activities are on their way, like the Boulevard on the shore of Lago Managua. It gives the city a nicer appearance and the Managuans that we spoke are proud of the latest developments.

Lunch spot with view on the Maderas Volcano on Isla Ometepe

A hike in the wet and dark cloud forest of Selva Negra (Black Forest) near Matagalpa