Havana Club

Touching down in Cuba you got a sense right away that things were different here… the relic terminal posed few problems and we were greeted at the entrance by our prearranged friendly taxi driver who of course was driving an old 1950’s car. After nearly choking to death on the diesel fumes we made it to our casa (house) which was a cool old apartment with everything we needed. 

Breakfast consisted of freshly made donuts for 8cents and bananas which were the cheapest yet at 25 for a dollar! Walking the streets of old Havana was great fun the cars and buildings are fantastic if a little strange as they are all so grand but there are so few people. We visited the revolution plaza complete with huge faces of Che and Castro as well as an old sugar barons house which has been turned into a museum. Lunch was a 25 cent pizza and a much needed cold juice before we continued our walk towards the sea. Although the streets in Havana were much cleaner than in neighbouring Central America the waterfront was not. The crystal clear waters were spoilt by rubbish including tar which had clearly just been dumped over the edge. 

Continuing on with the local street food theme we were out wandering the streets when a persistent local sold us a plate of the usual rice and beans accompanied with either pork or chicken, avocado and banana. Also included was a cold drink, home baked cupcake and cigar and an inflated tourist tax and it still only came to $4! 

Unfortunately the diesel smoke or some other more sinister bug took nick down and he spent the next 2 days more or less in bed with a fever which is very unlike him! We did manage to get out for an ice cream which are excellent and dirt cheap in Cuba but didn't make it to the local botanical gardens though not through lack of trying… Every time we went they said it had just closed and come back in the morning..

Nick managed to drag his sorry arse out of bed and we took an early morning taxi to the bus station only to find out our ridiculously overpriced bus wasn't going for another 3 hours therefore turning the already long 6 hours bus trip into a very big day. Milking tourists for all they are worth, the bus stopped for an hour at an elaborate buffet restaurant before continuing on the journey down the huge four lane highway in each direction without a single other vehicle in sight. 

Finally making it to Trinidad bus terminal we were greeted with the most desperate and aggressive touts yet trying to sell accommodation. Pushing our way through the hordes and walking off we were approached by a quietly spoken, friendly lady who offered us a room for a tenner so we took it. We were more or less forced to buy dinner from our casa but it was a reasonable price and turned out to be pretty damn tasty. The old colonial streets were in parts very run down making it particularly hard to ride our hired bikes over but we managed to dodge the potholes and countless horse poo and find our way to the beach for a welcome swim. The uphill slog on the way home was a hot affair but the lobster for dinner replaced the burnt calories. 

The two of us have been together for nearly six years and in that time Nick has never been convinced to get on a horse, whether or not it was because he was still suffering from his mystery bug or it was just the very pushy nature of our casa host I'm not sure. What did happen though was we saddled a couple of old nags and headed out into the countryside. Never having ridden a mule before Nick was not particularly comfortable with being on a horse but did manage to hang on and only complained about having a sore bum after the SIX HOUR tour had ended! We did plod up to a nice waterfall where we had a refreshing swim though bypassed the optional pressured lunch.

The return leg from Trinidad to Havana was undertaken in a 1962 v8 Ford station wagon shared taxi which was considerably smooth and comfortable given its age. Being back in Havana we hit the streets to see the port area which we had missed on our previous visit and stocked up on cheap Cuban rum for our trip to London. We certainly did just that, in total we got 7 bottles of aged Cuban rum for less than $30 (we opted to avoid the local fill your own litre bottle for 80c). 

80c rum for 750ml...

Everyone's a car mechanic 

So with bags stuffed full of rum and our stomachs filled with the worst tasting hamburger ever we headed out to the airport early only to be greeted with a 2hour line for checkin which extended out the door. After one final unexpected tax, a broken bag escalator and a passenger who lost their passport we departed almost on time. 

Cuba was certainly a buzzy country that is well worth visiting and we are richer (not literally) due to the experience. 

The Nicaraguan Hangover

Kia ora, last time we left off the surf was inflicting wounds on boards so it's with pleasure to report that although hard work, we conquered the waves and left with huge smiles and a sense of accomplishment! It took a long shuttle ride to reach Leon in Nicaragua which included popping back into Honduras briefly. We were pretty amped for the much reported volcano boarding that we were booked in for the next day.

As usual in this neck of the woods the day dawned warm and sunny although a little cloud cover kept it slightly cooler for the hairy truck ride and walk up Volcano Cerro Negro. The views on the way up and from the top were grand and you could clearly see where the lava had flowed in the not too distant past. After a few photo snaps with and without clothes (our guide celebrated his birthday with a naked pic) it was time to don the oversized orange overalls and mentally prepare to rip back down to the bottom. With high expectations of clocking 60+kph we gritted our teeth and sat back for the wild ride to the bottom. Well what a let down we bumped, skidded and crashed our way down and struggled to make any reasonable speed. Not only this we then found out that it was a one hit wonder and we couldn't make our way back to the top for round two. 

Nick did manage to clock 38kph and receive a free cap and a chance to line up the lava shot challenge which consisted of 3 shots of rum laced with seriously hot chillies and ACDC raged. Upon completion a victory singlet was presented which will happily replace one of the rather tatty singlets now in his possession. 

We thought we would sneak away to the beach for some more surf and relaxation only to turn up and find all the staff of the hostel in the pool and well under the influence. If you can't beat em join em so it was back on the horse. Little did we know that this was the start of a large weekend to celebrate Nicaraguan Independence Day. Let's just leave it at that and say there was not too much surfing done, only a wee bit of eating and far too much drinking rum occurred and both of us were a right off for a day or two……

Best hangover feed ever, 5 crabs, 1 whole lobster, 1 whole fish and some random crustasions thrown in the mix.

Hostel on the beach 

With our tails between our legs we snuck off to the craft town of Masaya which appeared easy to get to. However as usual in these kinda countries it was a bit more of challenge. 3 chicken buses, a taxi and city metro bus plus a small walk and we made it. We walked around the town the next day and stumbled upon a wee nipper baseball competition where we parked up for an hour to cheer on the little boys. We were impressed by not only their outfits but also their coordination with catching and throwing, we put it down to using a big mitt to catch the ball…

Masaya is known for its beautiful hammock factories 

The next day we were off to Laguna Apoyo (a crater lake) which is the biggest in Nicaragua and great for swimming. Little did we know that the locals were not only celebrating their independence but they also had the Tuesday off to celebrate Central America Day. We stayed in a cool hostel that runs a volunteer education program for the locals. We managed to catch up on some much needed admin, did a fair bit of swimming and went for a large kayak and even watched a movie in Spanish with a bunch of local kids which was great practice for us!

Hitching a ride back to the main road with another tourist couple we hopped on the bus for the short journey down the line to Grenada. Although stifling hot we had a great wander around the bustling  local market and got enough big fruits to last us for days all for less than $6nzd! There is only so much eggs, rice and beans you can eat so fresh fruit with rolled oats and yoghurt was a delicious change. The central square with its large cathedral is a real highlight of Grenada as too the many other beautifully restored buildings. Like many other places in Nicaragua there were plenty of horse and carts about town and a fair few with big carriages. Unbeknown to 99% of the local population the Rugby World Cup was kicking off so we popped down to the local Irish bar only to find that they had no internet or sky tv as a power poll was being replaced. After much dashing about in the midday heat we had no luck (although we did find women's basketball, football and Aussie rules) we had to opt for plan B a skype call to NZ. Thanks to a very quiet hostel and great (free) internet we watched the game with the company of the Hartstones which was a novelty! 

Joining us on our next excursion to the volcanic island of Ometepe was Sarah, a Kiwi friend who Lucy used to work with. With so much to catch up on the couple of hours long trip flew by and before we knew it we had checked into a nice hostel, tucked into some epic pizza and were cooling off with a cold beer in some hotel’s pool! 

A quiet Saturday night followed as we prepared to tackle the tallest of the two volcanos on the island. With fresh donuts for breakfast and backpacks loaded with amazing fresh bread we set off through farm land and progressed into the monkey filled cloud forest. We certainly sweated a ton as we quickly gained some altitude and eventually burst through the forest to reveal the very step but grassy slope above. The breeze provided some welcome relief so too did some water and our chocolate biscuits. After a quick phone call our guide informed us that due to the cloud and the recent earthquakes in Chile there was too much activity to safely summit so we opted a different route down. It was a great blowout and we certainly deserved our mojitos and an early night. 

After cold pizza for breakfast we boarded a bus bound for the other volcano. After a bit of bargaining we opted for a $3 hammock out the back of a small restaurant right on the beach. The lake provided some welcome relief from the heat as too did a few cold beers over a few rounds of cards. The family running the restaurant were great hosts, served excellent food and the kids took a great liking to Sarah's camera and ipad. Hiring bikes we set out on a mission to a waterfal the next dayl. Along the way we stopped off at a farm where they were drying tobacco which was interesting to see and the slightly eccentric Israeli chap who had joined us for the ride took great delight in sampling some, Nixk wasn't as keen…

The 3km walk to the waterfall seemed much further and was quite a trek up hill through the cloud forest. The butterflies were out in force as too were the howler and white faced monkeys. Even though it's the middle of the wet season the waterfall was no more than a trickle but there was enough water at the bottom to have a refreshing dip. After a bite to eat we began our return just as the heavens opened and we were treated to torrential rain. The second nights sleep in a hammock was much better than the first and we even opted for a hammock upon our return to the main town on Ometepe. We also made another visit to the local bakery which had the most amazing bread, donuts and pizza and was so cheap. Good bread is a real novelty here so we got stuck into the freshly made veggie and ham twists and custard filled donuts. 

The next stop on our tour of Nicaragua was the famous San Juan Del Ser for Sunday fun day. With a little luck we managed to check in and have just enough time to catch the All Blacks game at the local bar which was a real highlight! To satisfy Lucy's new found love for motorbikes we rented the Nicaraguan version of a dirt bike and set off to discover some of the famed surf beaches. We had gone more than 10km before we met a police check point who wanted to see our drivers licence which the rental company had kept. After a little persuasion and some very broken espanol we were remarkably let go without having to pay anything. Surely nothing else could go wrong… Well flying up over the crest of a hill the front wheel started to wobble furiously… A flat front tyre. Although the hill had a steep decent it had enough of a runout to be able to downshift and back brake without stacking. After hitching back into town and getting a replacement bike we had an enjoyable and uneventful day at the beaches. 

The day before the big pool/hostel booze crawl was spent stuffing our faces full of pancakes, watching two games of rugby (including the big Welsh upset) and body surfing at the beach which was all of half a block from our hostel. Sunday dawned hot and sunny and after a stomach lining of pancakes it was time for a dip and yarns with plenty of other kiwis over a quiet beer or two. Things heated up when the 7 Anos flor de Cana (7 year old rum) came out. The rest of the day and evening was spent poolside at various hostels around San Juan and generally misbehaving. 

After a slow start to the next day and feeling slightly dusty we piled into the back of a truck for a bumpy ride North to playa Maderas for the night. This popular surf beach has 3 eateries and one hostel on or occasionally in the tide. Although the surf wasn't huge there was some great waves to be had with Lucy showing up plenty of the other gringos. After a long day in the sun and surf it was time for us to think about heading to Costa Rica but not before another night in San Juan where were meeting our long lost kiwi experience driver mate, Nige (his real name is Mike but that's another story). Over pasta we caught up on each other's travel stories from the last 5 months.

After a quick bite to eat we piled onto a chicken bus for the second to last time and headed back to the main Central American highway, upon arrival at the junction we were dumped out as the bus turned North and we waited for the next bus heading South which was by far the most dungery chicken bus yet. As usual the boarder crossing provided a few curve balls as to enter Costa Rica you must have an exit ticket back out of Costa Rica. Luckily we had a photo of our flight details to Cuba but there were plenty of other backpackers (most needing to leave Nicaragua in order to get another 90 day visa) who didn't have departure tickets having to fork out for bus tickets which they would never use – stupid bureaucracy. 

Not only was the standard of living and infrastructure noticeably higher in Costa Rica the prices matched. Although the buses looked much better they still stopped every few hundred meters to pick people up and the drivers were still as bad! Our destination for a couple of nights was Tamarindo nicknamed tamagringo due to the vast numbers of american tourists who visit. Being low season we checked into a very nice room complete with a kitchen, pool and free breakfast for $9US and had the place to ourselves. 

The beach here was nice even though there was none of the famous waves to catch although plenty of punters were trying to catch the tiddlers which made for entertaining watching. Mike had kindly brought us a 1.13kg jar of delicious american peanut butter so we whipped up a big satay stir fry and sampled the overpriced, foul watery local beer. With no surf to be had we didn't hang around long and instead opted to say goodbye to the Pacific Ocean for the foreseeable future and head to the cloud forests of Monteverde. The final 38km bus ride to the township was very scenic but snail pass slow due to the incredibly steep, narrow, rough roads. In the pouring rain it took us 2 hours to cover this 38km stretch! 

The morning was relatively cloud free as we headed out for a spot of zip lining. We all had a great time soaring through the tree tops with the 1500m superman wire a real thrill. The cheeky boys even got Lucy onto the 20m rope swing producing a few screams and obscenities. Next on the days to do list was to find the famed hollow ficus trees. These trees are a mish mash of vine like branches woven together to form a hollow trunk. Thus making them perfect to climb right up through the inside. We managed to reach the canopy on one which was a good 40m up and provided a great outlook. However as the misty cloud rolled in we scampered back down and scoffed a quick burrito before embarking on a mission to find someone playing the rugby. Unsuccessful again we had to settled for a skype call to NZ where we caught the Hartstones fresh off the plane from Hawaii. What a game, what an upset, what a way to crash out of your own tournament, I need say no more!

La Fortuna was our next and second to last stop in Central America and the easiest way to reach it was via a 4x4 ride followed by a boat across a lake and then another car ride. The scenery along the way was choice and could easily have been in New Zealand with steep hill, green pasture and lots of forest. In need of a good blowout we set our sites on an old volcanic crater lake and set off in very humid conditions. Luckily we could refill our water bottles along the way as we had sweated out all our water and some within the first few kms. The trail steepened and the steeps turned into giant leaps as we hit the forest and slogged on up. The cool crater waters provided welcome relief as we satisfied our hunger before our decent down which proved to be much easier. Having spent hours unsuccessfully hunting the famed 3 toed sloth which apparently were everywhere we hoped to catch a glimpse of one here. Although we did find plenty of huge iguanas we failed to spot a sloth so we had to settle with a stuff toy version…

We said goodbye to La Fortuna and with an early flight out to Cuba the next day we opted to stay at a small town Alajuela next to the airport. We celebrated our last night in central america at a very americanised Mexican restaurant and a glass of the local brew.

Time has flown by over the last 11 weeks in Central but we're looking forward to checking out Cuba and cheering on the AB’s in Cardiff!