Nicaragua: crazy border

50C = £1. $ also widely accepted.

Kurt was lovely enough to give us a lift down the hill and we got the 10am bus to Liberia (1,500C; 2 hrs). We met an Argentinian couple (Tati & Sabina) who we agreed to share a cab with the other side of the border and became our travel buddies.

The landscape was mainly fields with some trees and a few cattle. All was going well until the bus came to an unscheduled stop just as we were nearing our destination. Most people got off, the driver propped open the engine with a broom handle but failed to fix the problem and the rest of us were told it was the end of the line. Luckily we were only a 10 min walk from the bus stop.

We had a short wait and then boarded a bus to the border (~1,800C; 1.5 hrs) to Penas Blanca. The place was full of lorries, tons of them. Some ladies tried to grab us but we ignored them and went into the migration office and were told we had to pay a $7 departure tax first. They pointed to a machine but nobody could get it to work. So we had to go with the ladies who led us behind some lorries where they fought over us for their $1 commission. Very strange system!

We got our exit stamp, walked along the road a bit (no river to cross for once) and then paid $1 for something and $12 for something else before we could get our entry stamp - the most expensive border crossing yet! (The Argentinian couple had paid the small fees in Panama which we had somehow escaped!) Then our luggage was scanned and we had to show our passports to at least another 3 people. Crazy border.

We got a taxi for $5 each to San Juan Del Sur. On the half hour ride we caught our first glimpse of Lake Nicaragua and the twin volcanoes on Ometepe. The roads were really good and there were tons of wind turbines - quite unexpected for what we thought was a less developed country.

We checked into the same hostel as T&S who said it was the cheapest they'd found for an ensuite - Hostel Suenos del Mar; $16. The staff were uber friendly and the room was basic but clean, with free coffee, drinkable water and wifi good enough to play netflix. Anna managed to scam a welcome coffee.

We went for a wander to the beach and caught the last of a beautiful sunset, then we checked out the restaurants. SJDS is a small, surfy town (though the surf beaches are a shuttle ride away). The beach is lined with Western, expensive restaurants (though cheaper than CR) while the cheaper eateries are a couple of streets inland. There is a street full of bars - the town has a party reputation - and far more gringos than we've seen in most places.

We ended up at the Taco Stop, a cheap street-food type place and both had burritos (225C). I was then very excited to find cheap ice cream again (55C, yummy chocolate gelato to rival any Italian one). We watched an amazing Mariachi band play on the streets for a while and then went to the Cevicheria for Anna to have a craft beer which is brewed onsite. A Saturday night and we stayed out beyond 9pm - just!Read more