Nicaragua

I was stressed at the end of Costa Rica so my first stop was a secluded beach hideaway on the Pacific. Gorgeous and definately got the stress out by jumping and being pummeled by waves! Nicaragua is green, poorer, beautiful, lively and a lot more adventurous than Costa Rica and I definately preferred it. It was so easy to get off the beaten track and just lay back and relax in old colonial buildings, relaxing in hammocks (and watching the football)! Granada and Leon, beautiful old colonial towns were my pit stops in Nicaragua for exploring the nearby countryside, doing a full moon hike up an active volcano and just pottering.

The people are friendly, the country beautiful and the bus stations chaotic and exciting at the same time. The old US school buses are the main buses used and are brightly coloured inside and out with blaring music systems, and constant streams of people selling food and drinks passing through the buses.