Nicaragua - driving north

In good company. They all knew what to do.

After San Carlos, with the narrow streets and not so pleasant surroundings, we set off to go to Juigalpa. The drive was easy, with very light traffic and only two police checks along the way.

Our first stop was in the middle of the road where Harold rescued a turtle. Unfortunately it was injured but not worse than that it could walk away once it was placed in the grass at the side of the road. Then by luck we found the branch of heaven, Acoyapa. We know it is the branch of heaven because the sign for the Central Park says so. This was a cute town with pretty houses and very tidy - a real contrast to San Carlos.

The way we went north was from San Carlos, via Juigalpa, Matagalpa to Esteli. We stayed in those places. We also went through Acoyapa, San Jose de Los Remas, Jinotega and San Rafael del Norte. San Rafael del Norte is the birth place of the wife of Sandino, the original Nicaraguan revolutionary guy.

We were blown away by the beauty of nature through this stretch. Mountains and valleys, fertile land for a variety of crops, changes to climate so that up in the mountains it was +19C high while at lower levels it was +30C. In one place the locals had road side stalls of flowers and vegetables arranged in very artistic ways. All up a very worthwhile few days.

We have eaten excellent food, and some that perhaps was a bit on the bland side. All cooked well. We will return to Nicaragua towards the end of this Central American leg, and we believe it will be much hotter and dryer there.

Next will be the border crossing into Honduras, in the next few days. Esteli, still in Nicaragua, is not really a place of great attraction, but it seems the big places aren't.