Day 14 - Nicaragua (Managua)

The next few posts aw likely to be a bit shorter and more boring. I'm on the road for a bit and hopefully not too much will be newsworthy.

I started out from Ilas de Ometepe. Caught one hour ferry across lake Nicaragua to San Jorge and waited for a bus to Managua. It was one of the old US school buses and it took about two hours to get to Managua. By the time I'd waited for both ferry and bus, it was 3.30pm when I arrived in the Nicaraguan capital. Reputable taxi to the Ticabus terminal and booked a ticket to SPS (I was relieved they still had a seat available!! I tried and failed to book online). Ferry was $2.50, bus was $2, taxi to Ticabus $7.50, Ticabus ticket $41. I stayed in a hotel just around the corner from the terminal. I decided not to skimp on accommodation in Managua. It's not a great town to be in if you don't know what you're doing, although not on the scale of SPS, or many other Central American cities in fairness. Anyway, I needed to check in with Ticabus at 4.30am for a 5.30am departure and despite the short distance, the hotel owner provided his armed security guard as a bit of company for me en route. 

Here's a point that might have been missed by some. Solo travel needs more thought than group travel. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's more dangerous perse, but you're the only one who can keep an eye on your bags. If you go to the loo, you have to take everything with you. If you're walking down the street, you have to have eyes constantly scanning. If you're looking in a shop window, or stood at an ATM, you have to be more careful. If the bus gets stopped, you're no better or worse off alone than in a pair or more but you ARE more of a target for mugging or worse if someone with a mind to, can't find anyone better. This is all meladramatic of course. The actual chances of falling foul of such trauma is slim but better than on the streets of Reading and being aware of that is probably a healthy mindset. 

My bus to Managua

Ironically, the best room I've stayed in so far was the Managua hotel