In the spur of the moment while visiting Liberia, Costa Rica, my travel partner and I figured we should visit Nicaragua while being in Central America. Having no clue where to go and what to do, we knew we wanted to test the waters considering the distance between the two countries. As this would be my first time backpacking, we started to ask around from the moment we got to the resort the possibility of us backpacking to Nicaragua and how safe it would be. A bit skeptical on the answers we received, we decided to backpack to Nicaragua either way.
Keep in mind, there is a tour that will take you into Nicaragua from Costa Rica and back. You have the option to spend the night or just purchase the Day tour. This tour will cost you around $160 USD or more and that was way out of our budget. We both went with $100 CAD and we were able to sustain for the 2 days we were there including our transportation.
Our Journey started on a Sunday morning. We caught our first ride to the central bus station at 630 am. That cost us around $25 USD each as we bargained to be dropped off and picked up Tuesday Morning. The bus ride to the border was long and boring but we got there safely. Not knowing what our next step should be we started to ask around. At that point I was aware that we had to pay an entry fee for Nicaragua. The entry fee was $7 USD and I believe this Tourist Card was valid for 90 days.
I remember this medium built guy asking if we needed help. Hesitant at first we said nope, we got this. He didn’t stop there, he kept on insisting and stated that he could help us bypass the long line up. I must admit I was interested in what he had to say as it would help cut down time at the border. After only being at the border for half hour, we thanked the guy and we were on our way to Nicaragua.
Finding a bus wasn’t so hard as there were plenty available once you got outside the official section. Finding a bus to trust was the scary part. The bus we decided to take was a school bus that was almost ready to take off as the busses did not move until they were full. So we had no choice but to take what was being offered to us (on our budget). I believe this type of bus was called the Chicken Bus (known as the local bus). The man (conductor) told us that we could enter from the back of the school bus and we mentioned that we rather enter from the front of the bus. He agreed after awhile and I remembered praying to God at that point in time as I did not know what I got myself into. Yeah, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t take a cab or turn back. Well for starters I was on a budget and I wasn’t about to travel that far to turn back. What a waste that would of been.
After getting off the Chicken bus, I was relieved that we had made it this far. Almost in San Juan Del Sur, I couldn’t believe I had backpacked for the first time. I was so excited and could not wait to see San Juan Del Sur.
We waited for about 45 minutes and there was no second bus in sight. I remember a girl pulling up to the side of the road in a cab, asking if we needed a ride. She stated that the cab was charging her $20 USD and he’s willing to add on only another $10 if we would join. So we would each pay $10 USD each. After waiting so long, we decided to take the offer. If I was to ever tell my mother this story she would faint, literally.
On the way to San Juan Del Sur, the cab driver who had limited English told us that we would have to pay $20 USD per person and not $10. We expressed that that was not what we had agreed upon but he did not seem to care. I had asked that he pulled over and let me off and that we would wait for the bus to arrive as we were on the same route. He said no. Worried at this point, we decided to all stare at each other. The remainder of the ride was quiet and when we got to our stop, we gave him $10 each and said our good byes. He wasn't too pleased.
Yay we had made it!!! Getting into San Juan Del Sure it reminded me of a movie set (not that I had ever been on one before). The city was small and everything looked petite. I remember the first meal I had were 2 tacos at the TacoStop for $4. I was hooked on Tacos since then. Every meal I had after that consisted of at least getting a taco within my meal.
Our next thing was to figure out where we would sleep while staying in Nicaragua, which brings me to the first time I’ve ever stayed at a Hostel. We found this one little place called Rosie’s Hostel and it was extremely affordable. When I say affordable I mean cheap, immensely cheap and run down. Because it was so last minute we ended up getting the private room with the broken door handle. It did not bother me as much as I did not bring any valuables besides my phone with me.
Before the night dimmed, we decided to walk over to the beach to enjoy the sun. The Beach was extremely windy and sandy. Definitely not my favourite beach, ever. I think it took weeks to get the sand out of my hair. The land was extremely flat and I felt like I was in the desert getting beat up by the sand.
We later on ate at this really cute restaurant called Barrio Cafe. The food was great and I truly enjoyed how affordable the restaurant was. I could eat a decent amount of food and would be paying less than $20 CAD at the time.
I also enjoyed the city being awake during the night. Sellers auctioning off their talent at night made for a very nice touch. I ended up buying a anklet from this man and ended up wearing it until 2016. It was made out of wool and black star dust. I think it brought me luck.
The next day was pretty repetitive, we ate, drank and tried to attempt visiting the beach one last time. Night life I would say consisted of the bar setting, which I do not mind at all. But I most certainly did not want to Bar hop a second night. Shout out to the Canadian Bar that exchanged my currency as I did not bring enough US currency.
You remember how I stated that I didn't mind not having a lock on our room door. Well some who was drunk tried to come into our room. He kept yelling a name neither one of us was familiar with. It turns out the person staying in the exact same room checked out that morning. Nonetheless we were creeped out and lets just say we were happy to be leaving the next day making our journey back to Costa Rica.
We paid the exit fee of $2 USD. Getting back into Liberia was hassle free and I remember once we got to the hotel we were staying at called the Allegro Papagayo All-Inclusive Resort, we felt relieved and satisfied that we made it back safely and that we did it in the first place.
This impromptu trip to Nicaragua definitely was not one of my favourites. Every and anything went wrong. Nonetheless, it taught me new experiences and life lessons. Would I ever go back to Nicaragua? Most certainly yes, but I would have to choose a different location, spend more time in the country and go on excursions.
Date Visited: February 2015
Love,
Kissy
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