Nicaragua

After arriving, I went straight to a nearby coastal town of San Juan del Sur - not much to say about this place - didnt particularly like it (was quite similar to Bocas and Puerto Viejo), so after two nights went to a place called Ometepe.

Volcan Concepcion is the one on the left.

Nicaragua has a massive lake in the middle of it. In the middle of the lake are two volcanoes, which have joined to make an island - Ometepe. While catching the ferry to the island, I met 5 irish men who asked me if I wanted to join them for the hike up the larger volcano (Concepcion) the next day. Without a second hestitation I responded yes, and was told to join them at 5 AM the next day.

Didnt do much for the rest of the day, beyond buy supplies and prepare for the hike.

I stayed in a lovely hostel which was actually just a humble house of a Nica family - they have spare rooms and so you get your own room for a great price - about $5. It felt good living local again - they didnt even have amenities like a fridge (but had a TV for the kids). I realised that this was definitely one of the strengths of travelling alone, you can meet people and join up with them for part of your travels, but if you want to be on your own away from the backpack scene, you can do that as well. Standard.

The next day we started the 11-12 hour gruelling hike. For part of the way up it was a steep climb uphill, with the path being natural steps formed from tree branches - with a dense canopy above. After a while though, the canopy disappears and you get to see a magnificent vista. You can see lake all around and in the distance the mainland. I had to stop and wait about 3/4s of the way up while the Irish guys completed the rest of the hike - just before when you had to actually start climbing rock. These dudes were actual pros, and the whole hike was completed in 7 hours, as opposed to the more regular 11 hours.  It was definitely the most strenuous physical activity I think I´ve ever done. Standard.

That night we went to a hostel bar as it was one of the guys birthdays, soon a guitar came out and a massive sing song started. We went through classics like Wonderwall, Dont Stop Believing, Hallelujah etc etc when a famous Nica guitar took the guitar and we all started signing Hero. Quality!

The day after I rented a bike and cycled to some places around the island. I felt like Ash in Vermillion when he first gets his bike. Some of the places I cycled through were quite amazing, unfortunately my camera wasnt working at the time so I couldnt take pictures - but trust me when I say there were some lovely cycling routes.

After three nights, I went off to the next city on my stop - the colonial town of Granada.