Eva and I stayed in Granada for four days, including a visit to nearby Lake Apoyo, formed inside a volcano. After we went to Leon for a couple of days and lastly in a place by the sea, Pochomil, near Managua. A strange town with a gray and threatening sea. Also, being low season, me and Eva were literally the only two tourists. In Managua we stayed only one day, to take the buses, I to El Salvador, she to Costa Rica.

I passed through El Salvador, stopping just a day in the capital, San Salvador, not much to tell. And now I’m in Antigua, Guatemala. Let’s see the photos.

The Cathedral of Granada. Granada, founded in 1524, is probably the oldest European city in America. Since then, however, it has been destroyed many times.

A funeral carts through the streets of Granada. Yes, sooner or later… also us.

Bus station in Masaya.

Bus.

Yellow bus under the blue sky.

Woman.

A street of Leon, the eternal rival of Granada, the first liberal, the other conservative. Depending on the political power, the capital passed continuously between the two cities. In the end, the trivial Managua was chosen as the capital to conclude the dispute.

Little boy in Leon.

Sandino, the national hero from which is named the Sandinistas. He was active in the ’30s against the continual invasions of the U.S. Marines. He was treacherously murdered at a government dinner to which he was invited. About the colors of his flag, he said: “It’s red on black. Black is the death. Red is the resurrection.”.

A motorcycle with the license plate of the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front), now an ordinary party in power. It was the principal architect of the revolution in 1979 that finally got rid of the Somoza dynasty, ruthless and corrupt dictators supported, of course, by the United States.
The revolution gave birth to one of the most outstanding social achievements of humanity. The country in ruins was reconstituted in a few years. Illiteracy dropped from more than 50% to 13%. The land reform redistributed the wealth and gave work to most of the unemployed. Health care was free for all etc… etc…, but this was obviously unacceptable to the United States, who created, trained, and financed the Contras, terrorist groups whose sole purpose was to sabotage the Sandinista revolution.
The atrocities of the Contras are unspeakable. The tortures before killing defenseless people were the norm. The country plunged into a civil war which caused over 50,000 civilian casualties in a country of only 5 million inhabitants. Compared to which the victims of the attacks of September 11 seem like a drop in the ocean. But again, (as I said in a previous post about Panama), being Nicaraguans dead and not U.S. dead, no one wrote that it was the “most heinous crime that humanity witnessed”, “the return of the era of barbarism”, and similar. No. Instead, in the mainstream history books, we read that the U.S. support for the Contras was necessary to save democracy and freedom from the red menace. Plus, of course, to prevent the Sandinista army from marching towards the United States (I am not delirious. It has been said!).

Girls passing among the workers.

Antigua in Guatemala. In the background, as often, a volcano.

A photo exhibition in front of the facade of a church.

The first night in Antigua, I met two gentle girls: Rita and Sara.

Cultural differences of attitude in front of the photo camera.

Square in Antigua.

A crossroads.

And now go, Don Dekaro dismisses you. And remember to click on the “I like”, otherwise it could be dangerous…
 

In La Fortuna, it is possible to do many activities: trekkings, tours, extreme sports. One day I went hiking on the volcano, and after, when it was already dark, we walked back into the forest in search of the typical Costa Rican frog (photos after).
One of the most remarkable experiences was a night swim in a hot volcanic river in the forest. It was a little surreal to bathe in a hot, flowing river surrounded by the woods. The only lights were our torches. They were creating a discotheque effect. Among the hot water’s vapors were appearing Scandinavian girls bathing joyfully, like nymphets in the forest. Meanwhile, the guide made us cocktails. It was almost oniric.

A couple of days after, I did the rafting. I’m now almost a veteran of rafting, with experiences that include the Himalayas in Nepal and the source of the Nile in Uganda, in the heart of Africa. This rafting in Costa Rica was not very difficult, although, at one point, two guys fell from our boat. The scenery was spectacular, with the wild forest dropping sheer to the river, wrapping it.

From La Fortuna, I completed a sort of circle, returning to San Jose. There, I met Eva again, and together we went to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua where there was Aparicio. A German guy joined us along the way, and we went to the magical island of Ometepe, in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, with two volcanoes, one of which active. After, Eva and I went to Granada.

Now I’m in Antigua, Guatemala, but I will tell you about it in the next post.

The Arenal volcano, seen from La Fortuna, Costa Rica.

The most typical of Costa Rican frogs.

We found it thanks to the guide, coming down from the volcano when it was already dark, following its croaking.

My sweet little frog, give me just a kiss… after, you will seem to me like a princess!

The view of the lake from the Arenal volcano.

The rafting in Costa Rica, on a stretch of about 10 km of the river Balsa. Pretty simple compared to that, for example, in Uganda (fotostory here).Or maybe it didn’t seem that difficult to me because, by now, going down the rapids it’s like walking in an English park on a warm summer evening.
“Eeeeeehhhhh…”

Rafting.

In Nicaragua, San Juan del Sur.

We arrived in San Juan del Sur on June 24, just in time for the feast of the city’s patron saint, and also mine: St. John. A very alcoholic celebration, on these circumstances I don’t disdain to celebrate Christian ceremonies. Though, as you see, someone went too far. That’s not the way to celebrate my saint, I’ll send an official protest to the Vatican, as well as pointing out that it would be time to catch up with the times and rename it the feast of St. Dekaro. Martyr, I might add.

Football match on the beach of San Juan del Sur.

This gentleman was unusual. After the photo, he asked me facebook’s friendship, email, etc … He said he was working for Interpol and had been a Sandinista revolutionary. Although, it seems to me to be more a Contra.

Unbelievable, this monkey said: “Dekà, what are you doing down there? Come back on the trees!” Eheheh, fun, but I will not accept these ironies on my own blog from now on.

Welcome to Ometepe. Fun assured.

On the bus.

In the bus mirror.

On Omepete island. In the background, one volcano.

The spectacular view of volcano Conception, from the other volcano, Madras, reached by horse riding.

The volcano Conception.

“Italia desnuda a Alemania y va a la final” (“Italy strips Germany and goes to the final”). Throughout all the world the silliness of Germany is equal only to the glory of Italy.

Market in Granada.

The active volcano Masaya.

Mirror, Masaya coach station.