Tica Bus takes us from Managua, Nicaragua to San Salvador, El Salvador

Pictures coming soon… still posting on the run.
By this point, we’re pretty familiar with the bus system.  We like it, it´s a fun and inexpensive way to get around.

Today, our Ticabus (Ticabus is a bus company operating from Mexico to Panama)  took us from Managua, Nicaragua to San Salvador, El Salvador.  We got to Managua after another bus ride (on a locally owned express bus) from Granada to Managua (about an hour).

We arrived at the Tica Bus terminal 45 minutes early, as instructed.  However, our bus arrived 2 hours late.

To be fair, this is the first time that a scheduled bus has been late departing (at least one that we´ve been on).  Oh well.

After the Ticabus finally came, we got on.  Then we sat there for the next 11 hours.

Border crossings were interesting this time.  We never had to get off the bus.

For this trip, we crossed out of Nicaragua, and into Honduras.  At this border, the Honduras agent got on the bus and looked at all of our passports. No problem.

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Cigars, a Cemetery, and an old Compound

Today Jonathan and I set out to buy our Tica Bus tickets. On the walk there, Jonathan got distracted (which is quite usual). He was peeking into someone`s windows. I didn’t think that this was the best idea, so I kept walking.

It turns out that he was peeking into a cigar rolling facility. One of the workers came out and asked if we would like to look around and have a small tour. We couldn’t pass that up!

For once, I was actually pleased that Jonathan got distracted – and was snooping.

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Hotel Terrasol in Granada, Nicaragua: a great hotel in Granada

Hotel Terrasol in Granada, Nicaragua
Run by Victor and Kattya, a couple of locals who lived in the United States for over 10 years, Hotel TerraSol has been a great place for us to stay while we’ve been in Granada, Nicaragua.
Terrasol is about 4 blocks walking to the central park in Granada, and just two blocks from the tallest tower on the La Merced church in Granada, where you can overlook the entire city for a measly 20 Cordoba ($1) entry fee.
Despite this close proximity to everything, Hotel Terrasol is quiet in the evenings, and a great place to launch from for touristy activities during the day.
Victor was also a corporate chef during their time in the US (in California) and the meals he cooks in the restaurant downstairs are really delicious (think gourmet) and inexpensive.

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Volcano Masaya, Masaya, Nicaragua

We’ve all heard stories of people who go to see a volcano. Some go to see the vegetation, some go to study it, and some go who are just curious.

If curiosity is what you’re looking for, then Volcano Masaya is the one for you.



The entrance fee is only (US$4).

They’ll even take you up to the crater in a truck.
At Volcano Masaya, you can actually go all the way to the edge of this active volcano.

If you’re (un)lucky, you might even get to see lava as you look down into the crater.
That’s what we did today. Jonathan and I met up with our friend, Martin, for a day at Volcano Masaya.

It was a really great day.
We learned that the most major eruption was in 1772, and it nearly destroyed all the towns at the base of the mountain. But, that’s not the most interesting thing we learned.
Apparently, in the 1500s, the Spanish came to volcano Masaya. During that time, they were able to see the lava in the crater.
They saw so much lava, that they thought that they were looking at the “gates of hell”.

So, they put up a giant cross at the top of the crater to protect themselves. (You can still see the cross today, and even hike up to it.)
We went up to the top. After all, that’s where the best viewing is. We stayed up there for about 20 minutes.
There was a lot of smoke issuing from the crater. It was so thick that we couldn’t see any of the lava at the bottom. In fact, my throat still burns a little from it 9 hours later.
We also hiked the 20 minutes to see the other crater of the volcano. This one is extinct, so it’s covered with vegetation, and is stunningly beautiful.

On the way down, we stopped by the little museum to learn some more about the volcano.
From there we went back into Masaya to check out the artisan’s market that we didn’t get to see yesterday.

It’s in an old fort (supposedly built to protect the people from William Walker and other pirates).

Hello Pirates. (Hey Kevin and Annmarie!)
We were able to find some good things here in this market, but I can’t tell you what they are. Some of you may be seeing them in a few weeks as Christmas gifts, and I gotta keep them a secret.
But, I won’t keep the fantastic artisan’s market (Mercado Viejo) in Masaya, Nicaragua a secret.
In fact, I won’t keep Nicaragua a secret. It’s fabulous here.
Hmmmm…maybe I should keep that secret.

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Blind Massage in Granada, Nicaragua

I’ve never had a massage from a blind person.
Actually, I’ve never before had massage from a person who primarily only speaks Spanish.
So, getting massage from a blind, Spanish speaking massage therapist was a fun experience.
What made it even more fun?

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Ticabus Travel: San Jose, Costa Rica to Managua / Granada, Nicaragua on Ticabus

Ticabus is one of the nice bus lines which travels all over central America. (Transnica is another one that goes from San Jose to Granada and Managua, Nicaragua)
Ticabus has a couple classes of service. If you’re not absolutely on a budget and traveling here, we recommend spending the couple extra dollars and choosing the ejecutivo (executive) class of service.
(We learned this traveling from Buenos Aires to Mendoza, Argentina on Andesmar buses in 2008.
Also, if you take the Ticabus, dress warm, or at least be prepared for the bus to be cold.
It was seriously like the polar express on board (with cranked air conditioning), which is much better than it being too hot. Just dress warm, or at least in long sleeves.)
Ticabus used to pick up travelers to Nicaragua in the center of San Jose.
This is not the case anymore (at least not as of the date of this post), as Ticabus now has their own terminal…

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Granada, Nicaragua: First Impressions

I’d heard good things about Granada, Nicaragua. But most of the descriptions I’ve heard of it say that it is a “colonial city”. I didn’t really know what that meant.

I expected to see a lot of colonial-style architecture. What Jonathan and I got upon our arrival in Granada was a very pleasant surprise.

We got off the Tica Bus in Managua, Nicaragua (the capital). From there we took the “express” bus to Granada. This bus ride cost each of us a whopping US$ 1.75 for an hour ride.

We didn’t know exactly where Hotel Terrasol was, so we were dropped off at Central Park – right in front of a beautiful cathedral.

The park was surrounded by horse-drawn carriages. And lots of street vendors of all sorts – food, crafts, cigarettes, you name it.

We grabbed a taxi to our hotel. We were greeted by name when we entered, and given our pick of the rooms. We’d left our (very heavy by this point) bags downstairs, and they were brought up by the very nice hotel boy.

Our room has air conditioning. This was mandatory for us here in Nicaragua. It’s much hotter here than it was in Costa Rica or Panama.

We decided to take advantage of the day and check out the town. A quick glance at the map told us we were walking distance to anything we wanted to see.

On our way to the cathedral in central park, we saw another church. This one appears to be nearly in ruins, but their bell tower is in tact and study looking.

We saw that it was only US$ 1 to go to the top, and that they have the best view in town. We couldn’t pass it up.

It was spectacular! We could see all the major landmarks, and the lake. We could even hear the clock tick, and the bells chime on the hour. The bell tower is a must-do activity for anyone in Granada.

From there we went to the park to look around. Then something wonderful happened. We got hungry!

This is the first time that we’ve been hungry since we were in Bocas Del Toro (nearly 2 months ago). We stopped for some paninis at Café Europa.

The food was excellent, the drinks were cold, and the atmosphere was fun. What more can you ask for?

We walked around the town some more after that. What a great place Granada is. It’s beautiful, safe, and always something to do and look at.

Also, Nicaragua is cheap! This was a nice change after coming from Costa Rica. Here we can buy sandwiches, dessert, and drinks for under $13.

We spent some time in the cathedral and the walking plaza and then it was back to Hotel Terrasol for a delicious dinner and early to bed.

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