Merida, Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua: Made it out of El Salvador on Monday morning. But no before heading to El Tunco, a beach town in El Salvador. Two other friends I was traveling with had been there before, and let's just say, made good friends with some of the locals, so they knew most of the crowd. The town itself was fun, beaches are always fun. There are pictures on facebook. Its tough to transition from doing something purposeful everyday, to just laying on the beach. I felt kind of lazy, but I enjoyed my time there.

On Sunday night we went back to San Salvador, to catch the bus to Managua, Nicaragua the next morning. It was also the last night that I would travel with Clarrissa and Cindy, together. I'm supposed to meet up with Cindy somewhere, eventually. But it is nice to travel on your own. Its a different kind of experience. Although it never lasts long, its the time when you get to discover the most about yourself. And you get to think about things, and ponder, and just learn. Though being alone does not last long, you always find some people to travel with.

Monday morning I left El Salvador, and headed to Managua. The bus left at 5am, or was scheduled to leave at 5am, we didn't hit the road til about 20 past. The bus ride was 12 hours long, and I slept most of the way. I sat towards the front and by myself, which allowed me to lay down and sleep. The border crossings were fun. Show your passport, pay a fee, sometimes, get out to get inspected for H1N1. This mostly consists of a visual inspection.

Once I got to Managua I was dropped off at the Tica Bus station. Let's just say it wasn't the nicest part of town. Because my initial plans were to head to Honduras, I had no idea what I was going to do once I arrived in Managua. I also forgot to look at my travel guide for hostels during the 12 hour bus ride.

I arrived with no idea of where to go or sleep, or anything. As soon as you get off the bus, you're bombarded by taxi drivers asking where you're going. I don't know! I really didn't. So I walk out and a kid asks me where i'm from. El Salvador? no. Nicaragua? no! Honduras? no!!! I never told him where I was from, but I did let him show me a place to stay near the bus station.

I paid ten bucks for a basic room. Very basic. I need to remember to take pictures of these places. I'm sure 90% of you would never stay in such a place. It was quite a dump, but i'm getting used to staying in rooms like it.

I put my bags down, and headed to the mall, called inter-plaza. Read later that the route I took was very dangerous, and I should avoid it. Besides some mean stares from some guys, and dogs barking at me, I had no problems. The mall was ok, I walked it in half an hour. I then walked over to the Crowne Plaza hotel, just to check the rates for kicks. 50 bucks a night! Forget it! So I walked the streets a bit more, before it got dark and decided to head back. Even without reading anything about the neighborhood, it was obvious it was not a place to be after dark.

The next day I decided I would head to the tourist information office, and find out a little about the place. I woke up at 5am, to do some more walking, and avoid any rift raft ( I assumed no one would be up at that time). I was right, except dogs never sleep, so they kept barking at me. Dogs are mean in Managua, at least in the neighborhood I was staying in. Never quite made it to the tourist info office, but a taxi guy offered to drive me around town, and show me the highlights of the city. That took all of ten minutes. The truth is, Managua is not that nice. Its a place to land and move on. I think most travelers would agree with that statement.

I then was dropped off at the bus station, where I caught the next bus to Grenada. Grenada was a 45 minute bus ride from Managua, for 2 bucks. Grenada is a lot like Antigua in Guatemala. A colonial town with lots of old buildings and churches. It was ok, but not that exciting. I'll upload pictures soon. I stayed at the Bearded Monkey, a backpackers hostel, but didn't meet anyone I cared to travel with.

I guess I like to be alone at times. Or i'm kind of picky with who I travel with. Had some people ask me to join them, but wasn't feeling it, so I declined. I stayed in Grenada and toured the city alone Tuesday and Wednesday. Visited museums, a convent, and a cultural center, as well as the pier and some restaurants.

Wednesday I headed for the islands. Asked a local how to catch a bus there, and I was on my way. It was a nice walk to the bus station. The coolest part of the trip is walking through dangerous neighborhoods, but there will never be pictures of these scenes, because I dare not take my camera out when i'm walking through.

The bus ride to the island was lots fun. Nothing but locals, except for three gringos. Which is a change from nothing but gringos, except for three locals, like in towns like Grenada. The bus to Rivas took about an hour, then a connecting bus to San Jorge took an additional 20 minutes. I met a girl from London named Rachel, and we made the trip together. From San Jorge, we took a ferry to the island. The ferry drops you off at the main port, named Moyogalpo, and from there you can choose to go to any small town on the islands. For a price, of course. The taxis were very expensive on the islands, but we were able to get to Santa Domingo for 15 bucks, between 4 people. The taxi dropped us off at Buena Vista Hotel, and that was our place for the night. Nothing eventful the first night, but the next day, which would be today, was fun!

Woke up and headed to a place called Ojo de Agua. It was a cool watering hole about 2 miles from our hotel. Most of the terrain is dirt, check out pictures on facebook (I will try to upload soon). The place was cool, but even cooler was meeting two girls from LA. One was from Lennox! Small world, after all. I would not have thought in a million years I would find someone out here from Lennox! The other girl was from Long Beach. They both were really cool, and we hung out the rest of the afternoon. We went swimming in the lake while waiting for our food, since it takes an hour to prepare your food here. No joke, one hour!

After lunch, Rachel and I caught a bus to Merida. To be honest, I wanted to stay in Santa Domingo, but I had told Rachel I would go with her. Rachel is from London and is traveling alone.

So here I am. There are plenty of people here. I jumped online as soon as I got here, so haven't had the chance to meet anyone yet. I'll do that soon.

The islands is amazing. I'm sure it'll be lots of fun here in Merida. I'll take lots of pics, and upload the ones currently on my camera.

Someone asked me the other day if I prefer to see nature or history of countries. I told her that I think I like a balance. I think I was wrong. I definitely prefer the nature and and natural scenery of Latin America. Some places out here are absolutely beautiful. This island is one of those places!

ps, Clarrissa, if you're reading this, thanks for the scent balls, or whatever they're called. My bag smells great!

I love you all,

Michael

pss, internet is unlimited here, so I should blog more often for the next few days.