Corinto, Nicaragua & Beyond

Most of the events I will relate to happened last week but we have been busy and unable to blog.  So on Tues 26 Nov we arrived in Corinto around 10am.  Most of you know we do NOT do tours but this one was arranged privately.  There were only 9 people in the van and it cost only $30/person.  So not knowing anything about Nicaragua, we went touring.

Our first location was Chinadega which is the 2^nd largest city in Nicaragua.  Our guide escorted us through the huge market and it was wonderful.  The products ranged from kid’s hand painted toys to live chickens.  The whole family is present in the vender booth.  The baby sits on the bananas, the young children shyly stare and the grandmas sell their wares.  The people were wonderfully friendly without being intrusive or pushy.  The market was a kaleidoscope of color, sound and ordor.  After traversing about 1 mile through the market we walked over to the park with public bathrooms.  School seemed to be over for the day and kids were playing and romping in the park.  B noticed some boys about the age of 13 plying on 1 kid.  There were all laughing and leaping onto the pile.  B went over to join them, but they wouldn’t let him play…  A local old lady observed the whole situation and laughed and cackled for about 2 minutes – she was literally lhao!!  HA!

Next we were allowed in this gorgeous Catholic Church and sat for a few minutes, resting, cooling off and taking photos.  Our tour continued with a stop at a local cookie production house.  4 ladies were making cookies by hand: rolling and shaping them like mini-pretzels.  Then the man took them and put them in a huge fire oven similar to a stone pizza oven.  B went back to see what kind of pizza there was, but alas, only cookies…  lol!

On our return trip the driver took us along the coastal route and we stopped for photos and a bit of bird watching.  We saw an egret, a stork and a spoon something, that is somewhat pink in color and is the state bird…very pretty.

There was supposed to be a meal stop, but we asked to be let out at the ship and the other folks went on with Miguel for a beer on the seaside.  Corinto was one of the few ports this trip that we docked near town.  So B & I walked a bit more and shopped – of course!  He bought beer and chocolate for the crew and I found a box for my collection and a piece of art to hang on my travel wall.  All in all it was a good day and private tours are definitely the way to travel.

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

On the Wed before Thanksgiving, we arrived in Guatemala at a port that is way out in the boonies.  About an hour and a half away is the World Heritage UNESCO city of Antigua.  Everything I read about it said it is a must see in spite of the travel time.  HAL tours offered a DIY Antigua tour which was essentially a shuttle and we opted to go this route so we would not be late getting back to the ship (but if we were, the ship would HAVE to wait as it was an “official” tour.  The bus ride was long but the scenery was lush and panoramic.  We saw sugarcane growing/being harvested and volcanoes burping smoke.  Unfortunately we had a VERY enthusiastic guide who felt he should talk all about Guatemala the whole trip! UGH!  I guess most people thought he was interesting but we just thought he was annoying and he kept interrupting my nap…lol!

However Antigua was a wonderful city.  It is a walled city with very narrow streets that are paved with cobblestones, but not smoothly – almost a hodgepodge of stones with no mortar in between.  One had to walk with great care and head down so you didn’t trip.  We walked about 3 miles that day and explored the whole town.  Of course we went to the market and I bought a few souvenirs, then we wandered down some back streets and came to the main square.  It is a wonderful plaza full of greenery and locals enjoying the park.  The natives are Mayan and wear very colorful clothing.  They are friendly but shy and don’t like to have their photo taken as they fear “losing a piece of their soul”…

B found a huge grocery store but when he took his purchases up to the register they did not take dollars so he was unable to buy them.  We never did exchange dollars for quetzals as all the other shops took US currency.  We finally started the long trek back to the bus only to arrive about ½ an hour early.  Just across the street was a pizza place so we had lunch Italian style (sort of-it was a Hawaiian pizza)in Guatemala!  I only had about 2 slices but it sure tasted good to me…  As we boarded the bus to return to the port I tried to sit in the front seat but these folks are crazy and insisted it was THEIR seat – cause that was where they had sat on the way to Antigua…  I am such a rebel!  Lol!  Once again Erwin, our guide insisted on talking the whole way back but I just allowed the drone to pass over me and managed to rest a bit.

I think it is safe to say that we enjoyed both ports but would not hurry back to visit them again.  Nicaragua was more my style: friendlier but a bit dirtier.  While Guatemala is architecturally beautiful overall it was pricier. 

Today we are in Manzanillo, Mexico and tomorrow in Puerto Vallarta.  I will blog again then and try to post some photos too…

Vaya con Dios