Tag: chicken bus

Somoto Canyon Day Trip

Ever since I read about Somoto Canyon, I have wanted to visit. As you know, my Somoto Canyon day trip was intended for Wednesday, but I messed that up big time! I tried again yesterday and the day started fine; I got a taxi and held onto my wallet and bag for dear life.

Chicken Bus Win!

Once I boarded and  saw a woman carrying actual chickens onto the bus, I knew it was a good sign! Some people go whole vacations without seeing a chicken on the chicken bus, and I got two chickens on my 4th chicken bus! The day was going to be good!

Chicken Bus
The woman with 2 chickens on the chicken bus to Somoto
Chicken bus
Zoom in on the chickens
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Matagalpa Solo Travel Fears

I asked around and did online research, and the only way to get to Matagalpa was two and a half hours on the chicken bus. So I made the plan to take the bus but barely slept on Friday night because I was so nervous about the morning bus ride. I worried about many things, including but not limited to getting a seat, losing my bags, missing the bus, and getting robbed. You know what? It was awesome! And now after my experience in Matagalpa solo travel fears are much smaller.

Leon to Matagalpa solo travel fears
Leon to Matagalpa

bus trip from leon to matagalpa

I got to the bus station early so I could get a good seat, and it worked. The bus driver gives out assigned seats! I got a window seat (score) near the back door (double score!). I was able to put my bags above me and a woman sat next to me and that was it for the whole trip. Easy peasy. Nothing like Rivas! I had worried for nothing.

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A Kayak Tour of Ometepe

One day of rest was enough! Yesterday Lyna and I wanted to get out and see more of the wildlife of the Ometepe Islands. We biked our way to the town(?) of Mérida to meet up with the people at Caballito’s Mar Kayaks for a kayak tour of Ometepe.

Overview of the Day

It was not an easy bike ride or kayak but wow was it worth it. Perfect weather – sun and some wind, and tons of wildlife! I am not an experienced kayaker, so it took me a little while to get the hang of it. For most people, including Lyna, it isn’t hard. The bike ride was also mainly difficult because of the potholed roads and worn bicycles. This isn’t the Alps or anything folks!

Here is a partial list of what we saw: a caiman, turtles, blue herons, monkeys, ospreys, sleeping bats, egrets, ibises, tiger herons, magpie jays, and parakeets. There were more but I can’t remember them!

About the Kayak Tour of Ometepe

The kayak tour took about 3 hours and we paddled from the lake into this beautiful river where we were able to get up close with the birds and other creatures. Once we were in the river, which was very calm and fairly narrow, we went really slowly so we could watch the animals and try to get photos. I did my best! Here are the photos of what we saw on our kayaks.

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A Quick Tour of Rivas, Nicaragua – It’s All I Needed

The school took us on a field trip to Rivas. I try to do as many of the activities offered as possible to keep myself busy. When there was an opportunity to do a quick tour of Rivas, Nicaragua, I took it.

Rivas is the closest big town, between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, and has a population of just under 50,000. Compared to San Juan del Sur, it’s HUGE.

About Rivas

Rivas doesn’t get a lot of tourists. It’s mainly a stopping off point to switch local buses from San Juan del Sur to Ometepe, Granada, and Managua. We took the local bus, aka “chicken bus” and stayed in Rivas.

bus
Our group from school on the bus, before it filled up

Taking the Chicken Bus to Rivas

The chicken bus cost 17 cordobas, which is about 60 cents US. We got there early so we could have seats. Glad we did because the bus left before 8am, was packed the whole way, and took more than an hour with all the stops to pick up and drop off. The return trip was a little better but not much!

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