Nicaragua

(SORRY NO PHOTOGRAPHS - STOLEN)

Border crossing a breeze and located high in the mountains at a pretty spot. The Honduran official was friendly and signed off on my vehicle. The Nicaraguan was good also. The charge was $7 USD but $3 USD change out of $10 given did not arrive before I was ushered through the boom gates.

Headed towards Managua the capital city.

Most of you now know that I got robbed at gun point later that afternoon.

The hotel where I am staying is run by a nice guy who has been helpful. His name is Alejandra Ortega ( Alex ). Married to a dutch woman who is currently in Holland looking after her elderly mother. Has the same surname as the President but not related.

Only seven rooms but they have been full every night with mostly tourists passing through for the night. Met a couple, more my age, who stayed three days and I went out to dinner with them each night. The same place, Saras, where two young women do a roaring trade having taken over from their mother. The food is reasonable and very cheap. The restaurant is actually the footpath. The cooking is done inside the house and it appears at your plastic table.

Managua has nothing to offer tourists. It is situated on a huge lake surrounded by volcanoes. The water is dead through pollution. It use to support a fishing industry but now nothing other than a dumb for sewerage and industrial waste. On the foreshore of the lake their are restaurants and cafes but I have never seen anyone in them.

The volcanoes and the lake could be beautiful if someone cared enough to tidy the place up and build some infrastructure.

Big discussions about which beer is better Victoria or Tona both 70c AUD per bottle. The local rum, Flor De Cana, is cheap also. Aged seven years??? Maybe.

Huge sprawl of shanties, commercial and residential areas. The people I have encountered are generally unfriendly and very dismissive - perhaps it is because I cannot speak the language other than a few words. All Alex´s friends, staff and associates have been good.

Even the Managuans suggested getting out of town to experience better towns like Granada and Leon. Took their advise.