Nicaragua - Roatan, The Bay Islands

Roatan - Bay Islands, Honduras

The beach at West End (Half moon bay)

The bay islands are made up of several islands but there are three main islands which draw the most crowds. We opted to go to Roatan, although this isn't the cheapest island it is meant to have the best beaches and we wanted to get away from the backpacker scene on Utila. It didn't disappoint! We arrived early in the evening after a two hour ferry ride and a taxi journey but as it was dark we didn't get to see any of the scenery. The next day we were blown over, golden sands and crystal clear water greeted us in the early morning sunshine. We immediately hired snorkelling gear and headed out into the Half Moon bay.


The quiet main street through West End.

The following day we decided to walk 45 minutes along the beach to the most popular and beautiful beach on Roatan - West Bay. It is a stunning stretch of golden sand but full of tourists and all the paraphenalia that goes with it. We later found out that cruise ships choose this beach as a stopping point on their Caribbean tours. Despite this, we made the most of our time relaxing and snorkelling and at the end of the day we had the luxury of enjoying it after all the people had to go back on their cruise ships!

I wanted to stay for longer in the Bay Islands exploring this paradise but due to time constraints and also because I wanted to do some diving in Belize we had to leave after only three days. Oh well next time!


Stawberry daiquiri please.


The amazing sunset in West End


The beach at West Bay

Granada & Leon - Nicaragua

Granada

From El Salvador we took a bus up through the border and back into Nicaragua to visit the colonial splendor of Granada Nicaragua's forth largest city. In parts, Granada's buildings have been beautifully restored but due to the nations economic collapse in the 1980's there are still many areas and buildings a little neglected and in need of financial funding for restoration. This adds a certain charm and character to the place though and we really liked the 'rough around the edges' feel. Whilst there, we visted the chocolate museum and sampled one dollar mojitos at a local bar. They were amazing.

The colonial rooftops

The cathedral of Granada

Leon

Poor old Leon is Granada's neglected, runty little brother. Any funding that Leon should have had in the past for redevelopment and restoration has obviously been delivered to the more tourist-friendly Granada. It still has a few charms though but we're glad that we only stayed there for one night. It didn't take us long to look around the city and we spent most of the day organising a bus ticket out of the place.

The next day we awoke at 3am to catch a 4am 'King Quality' bus to take us to El Salvador. Whilst waiting in a petrol station for the bus to arrive, we were joyfully entertained by two drunken guys having a bare knuckle fistfight while their punchy friends looked on. The atmosphere was really ugly and thick with violence and we felt pretty vulnerable sat there as gringos under the petrol stations lights with our backpacks. It also didn't help that the bus was almost two hours late but needless to say, it was a genuine relief to get onboard.

The cathdral of Mary's assumption

The lion sculpture outside the cathedral

San Juan del Sur - Nicaragua

San Juan del Sur
We left Santa Theresa early in the morning along with 5 Isralies that we had met in our hostel. The journey to Nicaragua started with two (one hour) buses to get to the ferry port, when we got there we discovered that the ferry was 'out of service' so had to wait another two hours for the next one. We finally made it to Barranco and got dropped off by a knackered looking bus stop, and were informed that this is where we catch the bus to the Nicaraguan border. As there were enough gringos waiting for buses we decided to share a taxi to the border, hoping to make up some of the time we had lost. The taxi was extremely slow and broke down 40km from our destination. The wheel axel was coming apart so the only solution was another taxi!

Thankfully we finally made it to the border before it closed, we were feeling hot and tired. After another 45 minute taxi drive we were in San Juan del Sur and checked into a hostel!

The town was small and still felt authentic and not too touristy

The beach town, San Juan, is the premier destination in Nicaragua for surfing. It's also a colourful town with very friendly people. We were staying in Mama Sara's house, she is a wonderful woman who insisted that I call her Mama and her husband Papa. Mama Sara also made us typical Nicaraguan food everyday to try! We made friends with other backpackers and also met up with some friends we had met on the yacht trip from Colombia to Panama. The days spent here consisted of going surfing at a nearby beach called Remanso in the day and heading out for rum and cola in the evenings in the towns drinking establishments.


Mama Sara's hostel is the green one in the centre


Wonderful sunset over the town beach


Another sunset picture (we have hundreds like this)