Lots of borders and Somoto Canyon DIY

Friendly cats and kittens

We left San Salvador at 5am on a bus. After multiple changes and crossing into and out of Honduras, we arrived at the Nicaragua border. For some reason, this turned out to be the most annoying border crossing so far. According to the official at the border, we should have informed Nicaragua we were entering a week in advance. After finally establishing that we didn’t have to, we were let through the border. We hopped on a bus for 5 minutes to our destination: a homestay/hostel near Somoto Canyon.

Somoto Canyon is a reasonably well-known attraction in northern Nicaragua. Although most people join tours to access the canyon, we opted to do the canyon ourselves as we are confident swimmers and the route is easy to follow.

We set off at 8.30 in the morning and walked along the road for about 30 minutes. We arrived at the river near the small village of La Playa, and set off up the river. In hindsight, we probably should have taken a track just before the river, however, since the river leads into the canyon, it was easy to follow.

Greg tucking into some lunch in the canyon

Swimming through the canyon

We started in a flat, pebble strewn riverbed that was mostly dry. The walls quickly closed in and we soon had to take our first swim to continue. We followed the canyon downstream, dipping in and out of the pools and across rocks and the canyon eventually changed to a “proper” canyon with vertical walls. On reaching the main river we took the right fork and Greg had a go at jumping off the “small” 3-meter jump. We ate our lunch at another narrow section after passing a family washing their clothes and fishing some of whom thought us crazy for going without a guide. We stopped for lunch just past the half way point. Our hosts had packed us a large plate of chicken, gallo pinto (rice and beans) and platanos. We fed some small fish that were in the pools around our feet.

We continued down the river and came to the proper part of the canyon where the only option was to swim for a while. Finally, we met our first few groups of tourists who were jumping from the big 20ft jump. We then met some tourists who were swimming while holding their valuables above their heads and swimming with one arm, disaster seemed inevitable.

Unfortunate viper

The canyon widened again, and although we were expected to take a boat, we decided to swim the rest of the way. We also came across the body of a hognosed pit viper- Porthydium ophryomegas, that had been mostly eaten by a bird.

After swimming for about 20 minutes, we arrived at a beach and walked down a path for 20 minutes until reaching the road. Our hostel was right at the entrance to Somoto Canyon, so it didn’t take too long to walk back, although we wanted a choco banano and no shops were open!

In total the trip took about 6 hours including stops for jumping and lunch. It was a good decision for us to go without a guide. However, hiring a guide means that they can show the places to jump which may have rocks and provide life jackets and waterproof bags. Although we would have happily paid the entrance fee, we never saw the entrance, and no one asked for money, so the trip was completely free. The canyon was beautiful, very quiet and peaceful.

Hotdog!

After a couple of nights near Somoto Canyon, it was time to head off and we were tired of rice and beans which we had had for the total of 5 consecutive meals. We caught a couple of buses to Esteli where we stayed for a night. We visited the cathedral and the Casa de la Cultura. The Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture) had a brilliant exhibition of art and loads of local children practising their instruments. We ate some food at a street truck- hot dogs with relish and iced tea with a free refill and returned to our hotel for the evening.

The next day we were told that there was a bus straight to Leon. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the bus station there was no direct bus, so we ended up taking two. The change between the buses was interesting: our bus honked at a bus in front and both slowed down, we then leapt into the other while still moving.

We watched Expendables 3 on the bus to Leon (in Spanish)

We arrived in Leon and were rapidly accosted by about 5 lads with bicycle taxis trying to give us a lift to our hostel. We decided to walk but asked for directions. They wouldn’t tell us unless we got a ride with them! We walked in a direction we thought was correct and eventually made it to the hostel as it got dark.

Roof of the cathedral, Leon

The next day we set out to explore Leon and buy a tent. We visited the cathedral and went on the roof to see the white domes. We also visited the Revolutionary Museum across the square where we were shown around by an ex- guerrilla. The museum is in the old military command post where bullet holes can still be seen in the walls. We were even taken up onto the rickety tin roof to see the view of the city and other military strongholds. Greg bought a new sleeveless shirt with Toña, the Nicaraguan beer brand, on the front. We were now ready to go to the island which would be our home for the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading. Like and subscribe for more adventures! Nicaragua part 2: Carpe Diem coming up next.

Stay Frosty,
Bryony & Greg

The roof of the Revolutionary Museum