Nicaraguan Treehouse Adventures
After only receiving a 15 day visa from the immigration official in Costa Rica after my trip to Colombia I have to admit I was a little irritated with the stress of having to leave the country again in 2 weeks. However, now I have realized that what I thought would be an inconvenient border run turned out to be a blessing in disguise and created a very memorable 3 days.
I arrived in Granada, Nicaragua after a 7 hour bus ride from Puntarenas, including 2 hours at the hot and quite unorganized border. When I arrived in Granada I had no plans, no reservations and no expectations. I did however have a pamphlet a friend had given me of a tree house hostel 10 km outside the city, so I jumped on a bus leaving the city, got off at the landmark and hiked up through the jungle to Poste Rojo Treehouse. After arriving and picking out the hammock with the best view (which cost roughly $3/night to sleep in) I went to the yoga class they held during sunset. That night I ate a communal dinner with the other backpackers and met some amazing people who were so much fun to get to know over the course of the next 3 days. We made our own pizzas and then cooked them in an outdoor oven before feasting.
The next day I hiked up Volcan Mombacho with 2 boys and 1 girl I met at the hostel the night before. They were part of a group who had been traveling in a communal bus around Central America for a few months now. Basically, they had each met this bus and the driver at some point during their travels and he invited them to ride with him South letting them sleep and eat on the bus along the way. I thought this was such a cool concept and really admire the compassion and love of travel the driver Tim had, as well as the amount of time and energy he invested to make this dream a reality for him and fellow backpackers.
The trek up the volcano was no easy task for me but after reaching the top and seeing the view of Lake Nicaragua, Isla Ometepe, and the forests that lived within the craters it was worth the pain. Later that day we hitch hiked into Granada and went for a swim in giant Lake Nicaragua, another great reward to an exhausting day.
The next day I went to the Masaya Market located in the small town of Masaya. This market had everything I could ask for, from fresh pineapple to handmade dresses to wooden carved table ware. I bought a beautiful handmade floral purse, a hammock, some earrings made of turtle shells, and some head scarves. The market was so vibrant and bargaining with the different vendors in Spanish made the experience memorable.
My last day in Nicaragua was spent exploring Granada with a Dutch boy who had worked as a film maker there for 2 months before. It was such a relaxing day just walking around the city, sitting in the Central Park, seeing the market, eating local food from street vendors, exploring the Cathedrals, and walking along the lake. That night after a meal of spaghetti and garlic bread at the hostel, a lot of the musically talented travelers played on the deck over looking the jungle. It was so nice to hang out with my new friends for one last night in such a chill environment and realize that maybe fate was working in my favor.