Nicaragua: Country of Lakes and Volcanoes

After acquainting myself with the highland and cloud forests in Costa Rica, it was finally time to make the leap further north, into Nicaragua. This proved easier said than done, however. Leaving La Fortuna, I found myself deposited by a kindly taxi driver on a roadside at 5.30 am, which I was assured was the place to catch the bus heading to Penas Blancas, the border town with Nicaragua. I would have preferred a visible sign of a bus stop, or shelter, or indeed anything other than curious cows, but luckily by 6 am I was joined by a Belgian couple and we were all visibly relieved at the confirmation that this indeed the bus stop. Or a giant practical joke played on tourists. The bus turned up at 7 am and we set off on a 5 hour journey along mostly dirt roads until we got to the border. Border towns in Central America are, as in many other continents, strange frontier wastelands with absolutely no signage. The onus is heavily placed on tourists to investigate each of the rundown buildings along a kilometre stretch to ascertain exactly where immigration and customs might choose to grill them about their movements before reluctantly relinquishing an entry or exit stamp. After around 2 hours of this, the Belgians and I were let loose into Nicaragua where we shared a taxi to my first stop in Nicaragua, Isla Ometepe.

Isla Ometepe is an island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, made up of two volcanoes - Volcan Concepcion (the larger) and Volcan Maderas. On the ferry across to the island, I bumped into two Canadian girls I had last seen in San Blas, Panama. The girls were on the last two days of their holiday and had fully organised their time in Ometepe, so I jumped on their bandwagon and tagged along the next day. First up was climbing Volcan Concepcion (yes, the bigger one).

Somewhat dubious, I decided to go for it seeing as a local guide had already been organised by the Canadians. What can I say - climbing a volcano is hard work. While we didn't plan to go right to the top (as it becomes very gravelly and dangerous), we did climb two-thirds of the way, which was very steep. As is often the trouble with group activities, the girls wanted to speed up and down so we could get on to the other activities of the day, so I was absolutely shattered. While I was disappointed at the complete lack of view at the top of our climb, due to clouds, the relief at starting a descent made up for it. So, I've climbed a volcano - proof that I don't spend all my time lying on beaches!

After a day or two more on the island, I decided to head further into Nicaragua to check out the two colonial cities of Granada and Leon. With both cities founded in 1524, they have a long and competitive history relating to shipping, trade and influence, with Granada being home to the landowners while León had the more progressive merchants. Following eventual independence from Spain, fighting continued between the liberals in Leon and the conservatives in Granada, eventually resulting in the building of a third city, Managua, as the capital of Nicaragua.

Both cities are littered with stunning cathedrals and churches in varying stages of decay but attempts are of course being made to preserve these treasures. A highlight of Granada was a view point from a church spire, which showed the terracotta roofs interspersed by lush green courtyards to provide relief from the heat. Both cities are exceedingly hot, and have been dry while I have been here. Temperatures peak around 38C in the day, which the locals find refreshing against highs of 47C!

Having more than satisfied any desire I had to spend time in a city, I left Leon to begin a long journey up to the Bay Islands in Honduras, where I hope to learn to dive. I am presently holed up in a hotel in Managua before catching a 12-hour bus to Honduras tomorrow. As a city, Managua has a terrible reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in Central America, and after hearing dozens of stories of taxi robberies, I opted to hire a private driver to transfer me to Managua. So far I am very pleased I was cautious, as my driver spent 1.5 hours telling me even more Managua horror stories and was pretty jittery himself while driving through Managua! I guess I'll be spending the evening hiding out and tomorrow holed up on a bus - the Bay Islands can't come soon enough!

Costa Rica highlands - Monteverde and La Fortuna

Having worked my way fairly comprehensively along the coastlines of Costa Rica and Panama, it was time to tear myself away from the beaches and head up to the highlands of Costa Rica, to the towns of Monteverde and La Fortuna, both 'must-visits' on the tourist trail.

Monteverde was originally settled in 1951 by several dozen Quaker families from Alabama seeking to avoid the draft into the Korean war. At that time, Costa Rica had abolished its national army, so purchasing land in Costa Rica seemed fortuitous. At 1440m above sea level, Monteverde today is most famous for its 'cloud forests', primarily the popular Monteverde Cloud Forest and the less developed Santa Elena Reserve. In these reserves, visitors can witness the impact on the forests of close proximity to clouds, which, as Monteverde Info tells me, provides ample moisture, often in the form of fog, which catches on the branches of the tallest trees and drips down to the other organisms below. This helps to support a complex and far-reaching ecosystem, one that harbors over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, tens of thousands of insect species, and over 2,500 varieties of plants, 420 of which are orchids alone. I chose to visit the Santa Elena Reserve early in the morning, and was one of handful of people in the reserve. A 4-hour hike led me down into misty valleys and up to observation towers that really enabled me to see the clouds rolling in, which was quite an incredible experience. The entire forest is covered in a moist green fungus, sheltering a huge array of plants and insects. Beyond insects I didn't spot much wildlife, although did catch a glimpse of an elusive quetzal!

Aside from the visiting the reserves, Monteverde is known for its canopy tours, or ziplining, something I've been looking forward to doing for months! I chose to go to the Selvatura Park to zip through its course of 18 ziplines, with lines over 1km long sending you soaring over forested valleys or through lush rainforest - it was awesome. I also visited the Monteverde Butterfly Garden and got up close to a tarantula, of which I'm told there are 'tonnes' in Costa Rica... great!

From Monteverde I moved to the town of La Fortuna, situated at the foot of the giant Arenal Volcano. Until 2010, Arenal was Costa Rica's most active volcano and one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world, with spectacular displays of eruptions every night. Unfortunately, the volcano is going through a quiet period, so I didn't see any lava or eruptions. Aside from the volcano, La Fortuna is famous for its stunning waterfall. I visited early one morning and was privileged to have the waterfall and its rock pools to myself for an early morning dip.. heaven!

The close proximity to Volcan Arenal means that La Fortuna is blessed with natural hot springs. While there are some natural pools around, most visitors to La Fortuna access the hot springs through three or four large resorts and spas. I chose The Springs Resort and Spa, which has 21 pools of different temperatures, all with a stunning view of Volcan Arenal (yes, that is an infinity pool bar!).

I'm told that rooms at The Springs range from $350-3000 a night - slightly out of my price range. Luckily for me The Springs offered day passes, and 2 days for the price of 1 - a deal I couldn't turn down! So I thoroughly enjoyed 2 full days of luxury and positively pickled myself in thermal mineral waters. I even managed to wangle a lift back to La Fortuna each evening in the employee shuttle bus, saving myself a hefty taxi fare - now that's what I call a bargain!

Costa Rica Pacific Coast

The Osa Peninsula, host to the Corcovado National Park, has been dubbed by National Geographic as 'one of the most biologically intense places on earth', with a biodiversity second only to the Amazon. Quite a reputation to live up to! I had been humming and hawing about visiting the Osa, due to the difficulty of getting there, which is probably why it remains the wilderness it is billed to be. My decision was made easier for me when I met an American called Michael and his 9-year-old son Rafa at a hostel in Boquete, Panama. Michael runs a wonderful eco-lodge called Ojo del Mar out on the Osa, not far from the main 'town' Puerto Jimenez, the main jumping off point into the Corcovado. He invited me to go out and visit them at discounted rates, so, not being able to turn down a bargain, my decision was made.

An arduous journey involving 2 buses, a border crossing and a water taxi later, I arrived in Puerto Jimenez where Michael drove me out to visit Ojo del Mar. This is a wonderful eco-lodge set in the remote jungle. Guests are regularly woken by the morning wails of the howler monkeys, after which they can spend their day doing yoga on the beach yoga platform, walk along the string of beautiful beaches, or venture into the jungle. While I was there, Michael and Rafa took me on a guided waterfall hike and kayaking at sunrise which was incredible. Michael also offered me a job during July and August as a sort of 'day host', welcoming guests and showing them around. I spent a good week being extremely tempted but unfortunately KLM refused to allow any changes to my flight plans out of Mexico at the end of July. It was probably for the best, as I'm keen to keep travelling up to Guatemala and Mexico and I did wonder if the remoteness would make me a little stir crazy.

Getting into the national park also proved quite complicated, requiring permits and hiring of guides, and an overnight stay at a ranger station, so in the end I decided that I was perfectly satisfied with the wildlife and jungle experience I'd had on the outskirts of the park.

After eventually prising myself away from Ojo del Mar, I ventured back to Puerto Jimenez where I discovered that the only way to get to my next destination, Manuel Antonio National Park, further up the Pacific Coast, was a 10 hour bus journey with 3 changes, leaving at 5am. In the end I bit the bullet and took a Nature Air flight, reducing my travel time to 1.5 hours. It was smallest plane I've ever been on and the views it afforded over the Pacific Coast made the flight well worth the extra expense.

Manuel Antonio is renowned for being one of the most beautiful national parks in Costa Rica. At only 100 miles from the capital, San Jose, it's also famous for being the most developed and commercial of the national parks. The town is certainly very resort-y, with most restaurants and bars well out of my price range. Within the park, local guides shepherded large groups of American tourists along wide, clearly marked trails. This definitely detracted from the wildness of the park, but it was still incredibly beautiful.

From there, I moved further up the coast to the Nicoya Peninsula, which again involved a bus, ferry and another bus to get to my next stop, Montezuma. Formerly a tiny fishing village, around 20 years ago Montezuma began to develop a reputation as a laid back hippie destination that, crucially, was not too easy to reach, allowing the village to maintain its charm. However, nothing remains the same forever and Montezuma in 2012 certainly caters for the tourists, with souvenir shops and tour companies only rivalled by restaurants on the main street. It does, however, still have a feeling of a place unto itself, a true destination, in many ways the Pacific Coast's slightly more developed equivalent of Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast.

Montezuma is also famous for its waterfalls, and I spent a hectic morning navigating a particularly treacherous path which required climbing up a sheer mud wall aided only by a fraying rope and an enthusiastic local who showed two of us around free of charge. This is typical of my experience of Costa Rica, with people being extremely helpful and friendly, going out of their way to cross the road and give me directions if I'm looking lost. I haven't witnessed the touting and hassling of tourists that you often see in Asia - it seems that people here definitely live by the Costa Rican motto, 'pura vida', or 'full of life', enjoying life to the max.

Panama (somewhat) encompassed

Famed as the 'adventure capital' of Panama, Boquete is a mountainous, coffee-growing region situated in the foothills of Volcan Baru. From here, travellers can go white water rafting, hiking, visit hot springs and coffee plantations and even climb up Volcan Baru - for those who attempt this epic 8-hour trek, the reward is a view of both the Pacific and Caribbean sea - if it's not cloudy. For all these reasons, Boquete seemed like a natural next stop, and a minor break from the coast and beaches that have comprised my trip so far. At 1200m above sea level, Boquete gets a lot of rain and the lush mountains are often hidden in the clouds - it reminded me a lot of misty Nyanga in Zimbabwe. I had a relaxing few days here, with visits to a coffee plantation and to the nearby hot springs. The town is a nice mix of people, having evolved in recent decades due to a high percentage of Americans retiring in Boquete due to the pleasant climate. The coffee plantation I visited was being run by a retired couple from San Francisco - certainly an interesting project to take up later in life!

My original plan was to do a small loop into Panama to visit Bocas del Toro and Boquete, before heading back into Costa Rica and continuing my journey north. This proved shortsighted, as everyone I met told me I would be nuts to leave Panama without visiting Panama City and venturing out to the San Blas islands. So, a mere 8-hour bus journey later, I arrived in Panama City and found my way to a hostel in Casco Viejo, the historic district. Many people say that out of all the capital cities in Central America, Panama City is the one not to miss due to its fascinating contrasts. A thriving economic hub since the construction of the Panama Canal, modern skyscrapers today dominate the skyline while the dilapidated colonial buildings of Casco Viejo are being slowly restored to their former glory. Rundown and ragged, there is a sense of a vibrant history and passion that won't sink quietly under the encroachment of the modern world.

From Panama City, most travellers either sail down to Colombia, or take a few days in the San Blas Archipelago, a series of 378 islands of which only 49 are inhabited by the fiercely independent Kuna Indians. The Kunas run all the islands as an autonomous province with minimal interference from the national government, have maintained their own economic system, language, customs and culture, with distinctive dress, legends, music and dance and thus have avoided traditional tourism development. This may be true in most parts of the San Blas, but unfortunately the affordable islands that are frequented by backpackers have certainly been influenced by the outside world and are beginning to be affected with litter, albeit hidden behind the Kunas' huts. The chief on my island spent a good twenty minutes talking to me about America's Next Top Model, while Adele's music proved inescapable even in this part of the world. I have no doubt that a more traditional way of life exists but, perhaps as it should be, it is very difficult, and expensive, to stay on such an island.

The San Blas, and indeed Panama and Central America as a whole, are extremely popular with Israelis who travel following completion of their military service. Several islands are designated as Israeli hotspots and other nationalities are warned to avoid these by locals and tour agencies! The island I was on, Naranjo Chico, only accepted Israeli couples, rather than big groups, so there were 3 Israeli couples, a Swedish couple and 2 Canadian girls, which was a lovely mix. The accommodation was basic, with beach cabanas offering only a mattress and sand floor - but what else do you need?

This part of Panama is extremely hot and humid with temperatures averaging about 32C every day, and an almost guaranteed thunderstorm every evening, and we had one full stormy day where we all read, a lot. Overall it was extremely relaxing and at the time of writing, I am back in Panama City psyching myself up for a long bus journey back into Costa Rica - more to follow!