[CHINANDEGA] Budget and Itinerary

SATURDAY: 11 December 2021

Expreso (León - Chinandega) - 37.00

Tricycle (Market Terminal - Downtown) - 30.00

Hotel Cosiguina (2 Nights) - 2,886.11

Subway (6" Combo) - 225.00

Water (Hotel Cosiguina) - 30.00

NIO3,208.11

[CHINANDEGA] Towards the Nicaraguan Border

But why are you going to Chinandega, it’s boring and there’s nothing to do there! Said every other person you told that you are heading to Chinandega after León. I understand the concern, people, but uncle here is getting too old to endure bus rides that last 5 hours or more, which is probably more than what a León to Tegucigalpa land transfer would be if you factor in the border crossing. And so, I decided why not just split the trip into several legs to avoid the long bus trip? León – Chinandega – Choluteca – Tegucigalpa.

[LEÓN] Budget and Itinerary

THURSDAY: 9 December 2021

Expreso (Managua - León) - 71.00

Taxi (Market Terminal - Downtown) - 40.00

AirBNB (2 Nights) - 2,622.85

McDonalds (Burger w/ Fries & 4 pcs Nuggets + Coke & Sundae) - 244.00

Super Express (Groceries) - 104.50

NIO3,082.35

[LEÓN] Cathedral Rooftop View

Since I’ve already been to Granada, I had very low expectations for León. After all, how different can these two colonial towns be, right? If you’ve already visited many others in Latin America before like Antigua or San Juan, the pattern would probably be stuck in your head by now. I don’t know if the low expectations were to blame or if León is really just the better of the two, but I enjoyed the lion city more than Granada. Personally, I’m guessing it is because of the views from the cathedral’s rooftop.

[MANAGUA] Budget and Itinerary

TUESDAY: 7 December 2021

Aventón (Airport - Colonia Centroamérica) - 255.00

AirBNB (2 Nights) - 3,058.31

Bottega (Bolognese & Carbonara + Coke) - 590.00

NIO3,903.31

[MANAGUA] Puerto Salvador Allende

I was supposed to go out after my shift at 9 AM, but despite sleeping 7 hours the night before I felt really dizzy. And so, I thought it was about time I listened to my body and dozed off. Whatever time I wake up, I don’t care. Sightseeing in Managua will be incidental. After 3 hours, I woke up. Apparently, I only needed a nap. I had to tweak my itinerary a bit and started the day by calling an Aventón to drive me to Galerías Santo Domingo which was apparently just 10 minutes away by car.

[SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN COAST] Budget and Itinerary

SUNDAY: 5 December 2021

La Costeña (Managua - Big Corn - Managua) - 7,120.15

Domestic Travel Tax (Airport) - 71.00

Casa Canada (2 Nights) - 5,684.99

NIO12,876.14

[SOUTH CARIBBEAN COAST] So Where's the Corn?

Don’t ask me, I have no idea either. It seems to me that random trips brought about by impulse buying of flight tickets can turn out to be a good or bad decision depending on how well you plan things spontaneously. In the case of Corn Islands, the return flight ticket from Managua seemed a bit steep, but I thought hey we’re already here so why not try out our luck, right? And so, I purchased the flight ticket and booked the hotel online. We land at Big Corn, and then take the boat to Little Corn. Easy, no?

[MASAYA] Budget and Itinerary

FRIDAY: 3 December 2021

Taxi (Granada - Masaya) - 300.00

Airbnb (2 Nights) - 2,178.85

NIO2,478.85

[MASAYA] Uncle Lucifer, I'm Home

When Mother Earth handed out natural resources in Central America, Costa Rica received many of the rainforests and beaches while neighboring Nicaragua went gaga over the lakes and volcanoes. I’ve been to three regions so far and all of them have their own volcano. Rivas has Ometepe’s twin peaks. Granada had Mombacho. Masaya shares its volcano with Managua right there at the border but gets the honor of getting the national park and the volcano itself named after it.

[GRANADA] Budget and Itinerary

WEDNESDAY: 1 December 2021

Taxi (Rivas - Granada) - 1,056.75

Airbnb (2 Nights) - 1,768.65

Peso a Peso (Groceries) - 210.00

NIO3,035.40

[GRANADA] Meet Antigua's Sister

And the resemblance can’t be any more similar. I already forgot where I read it, but it was mentioned once that Antigua and Granada were, indeed, considered as sister cities. Town layout and overall Hispanic character aside, the two also share other similarities such as the presence of a volcano in the background and the ubiquitous colorful houses which make you feel as though you’re roaming the streets in the New World of the 1500’s on the other side of the Pacific.

[RIVAS] Budget and Itinerary

MONDAY: 29 November 2021

TicaBus (Liberia - Rivas) - 1,020.00

Immigration (Municipal Tax + Tourist Card) - 460.00

Airbnb (2 Nights) - 2,820.00

Vila's Rosti-Pizza (Chicken Fried Rice + Coke) - 230.00

NIO4,530.00

[RIVAS] Almost Ometepe

The officer looked at my passport. Asked a question. Ran to his supervisor. The officer looked at my passport. Asked a question. Ran to his supervisor. The officer looked at my passport. Asked a question. Ran to his supervisor. We arrived at Nicaraguan immigration at 12:05. I exited the building at 13:35. In that hour and a half, that immigration officer only managed to process TWO people, me included, as opposed to his other co-workers. While I’d like to think that he was just power tripping or being strict, he did stamp 90 days on my passport anyway. Perhaps it was the guy’s first day at work?