Nicaragua embraces backpackers with volcanic views, colonial cities, incredible surf beaches, Caribbean seas and cloud forests. Nicaragua straddles both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts giving travellers options of diving in warm turquoise Caribbean waters and wild black sand surfing beaches. This wonderful country in the centre of Central America is boarder by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. It’s a relatively cheap country and it’s very easy to get around with reasonable shuttles or dirt cheap chicken buses. You won’t need to do any ten hour buses to get from one place to the next. Getting there If you come via air you will fly into Managua airport where you will be able to get buses to your next destination. Coming from El Salvador? Hop on a small boat from Potosí. Coming from Honduras or Coasta Rica? You can get local chicken buses or a Tica bus, which is a bus company that run coaches through Central America. We came from D&D brewery in Honduras all the way to San Juan del Sur in one day. We got a taxi to a petrol station to meet the Tica…
The one and only gym I hit up in my ten days in El Salvador was in Santa Ana. It was called Mega Gym. There were a few options of gyms in Santa Ana. Mega Gym was right opposite my hostel, in fact their 6am aerobics class served as a good alarm clock. I have never heard music so loud. Sounded like I was standing outside BCM in Magaluf minus the vomiting and semi naked teenagers. Aside from the music, it was a decent gym by Central American standards. It’s spread over one floor and a few rooms. Part of the gym with the one and only squat rack is outdoors. All the equipment hails from the 70s but is kept clean and fully functioning.They have four ellipticals and four stationary bikes in the cardio section. They had another room with treadmils but they were all out of service at the time. They have a good selection of weighted machines, cables and free weights. The outdoor area is the court yard provides some space to work out with free weights.It’s opening hours are 5am- 9pm Monday to Friday, I’m not sure about…
Surprisingly on this small island there is a gym. I opted for natures gym in La Ceiba and at Lake Yojoa where there was amazing hiking. Bush’s boxing and fitness center is the only gym in Utila and is located over Bush’s supermarket. The gym is basic enough like most of Central America’s. It’s small and all on one level. They had a few treadmills and an elliptical but the treadmills were out of service when I was there. They have a good selection of free weights, two squat racks, boxing bags and machine weights. They price it per hour rather then per day which is strange but I wasn’t kicked out after an hour so I reckon it’s not strict. For an hour it was $4. Opening hours are 7am-9pm Monday to Saturday…
Leon is Nicaragua’s second largest city and the culture and political capital of Nicaragua. It’s home to some of the countries most beautiful historic buildings and the revolution that shaped Nicaragua as we know it today. Leon and Nicaragua in general has taken a downturn in tourism due to the civil unrest and street violence following the government announcement that it would reform its pension system and reduce benefits by five per cent. The demonstrations and protests began in a peaceful manner but quickly descended in bloody and deadly protests which saw police officers brutally force protesters to their knees and brutally execute them. This made Nicaragua and it’s main cities dangerous destination for tourist and forced hostels to close their doors. Thankfully peace has been restored somewhat and the UK, USA and Canadian governments to name a few have lifted their warning against travel to Nicaragua. During my time in Nicaragua, I found it to be very safe and peaceful, albeit sparse of many other backpackers. Leon is a beautiful colonial city in the north of Nicaragua. I spent a wonderful two days in the city roaming around and two days on the…
Honduras lies between Guatemala to the north, El Salvador to the west, the Caribbean to the east and Nicaragua to its south. It’s another country that’s often omitted or hurried through en route to the Bay islands due to its dangerous image. It’s listed as the second most dangerous country in the world and its capital San Pedro Sula is ranked the worlds most dangerous and violent city, outside of a war zone. I don’t want to jinx myself now as I’m writing this whilst still in the country but I have found Honduras really safe and the locals I’ve come across have all had much better English compared to Guatemala and El Salvador, and really willing to help with directions and answering questions. I was certain I wasn’t going to let such sensational scaremongering put me off discovering such a beautiful country. Honduras is one of the most biodiverse and gorgeous countries in Central America. It’s made up of beautiful national parks, rain forests, amazing waterfalls and a lot more to offer then just the Bay Islands, where most backpackers go to dive. I spend…
I had been told by many people to bring as little as possible and really only bring the essentials as you will be carrying it around and unpacking and repacking every few days. I knew I would struggle with this as I like to have options for every situation and am not a minimalist. At one stage I owned over 30 pairs of jeans so that will give you an idea… Within the first week I met a friend who is a seasoned backpacker and had a 55L backpack for her 10 weeks around central America. She advised me to get ruthless and start binning/donating clothes. I packed a 85L backpack to the brim and a day pack which is 35L, also stuffed. At 5’6, a 18 kg backpack is not easily lugged around the world. I would suggest no more then 65L for a female and 75L for a male. No idea why backpacks are measured in litres. Tips for packing Lay out the things you need to bring and pack your back pack. Unpack it, remove half of the clothes, repack and repeat this once more. Invest in a decent backpack. The Osprey backpacks…
This is the part where I start sweating buckets and probably don’t stop for the next four months. First impression of El Salvador, it’s warm. Very warm and I’ve resigned myself to the fact I’m going to have a SUL (sweaty upper lip) for the remainder of my time here. El Salvador is the second least densiely populated country in Central America and currently the most dangerous country in the world due to having the highest murder rate in the world. Reading about El Salvador’s high crime rate and shocking murder rate should have been a deterrent to heading off hiking and running on trails alone but after a few days here I felt very safe and found the people so genuinely friendly. Not like other countries where if someone is being friendly I was always thinking right, what is it you want? It seems here people are nice for nothing. I’ve been running and hiking alone and have come back unscathed. So far so safe in El Salvador, touch wood. I’m still in the country so I’m afraid of jinxing it. El Salvador…