Nicaragua 2022

Tuesday8November

Day after tomorrow, it's the big departure! For this penultimate day, we decide to enjoy the natural attraction of the north of the Country, 70 kilometers from Esteli, the Somoto canyon awaits us for a canyoning session! The start of the hike begins 10 kilometers west of the city of Somoto, and after a few minutes along the road, we enter the paths leading to the mountains.

We go through the agency "Somoto Canyon Tours" and it is Luis who accompanies us during this small expedition.

The slope facing us, two kilometers further, is southern Honduras! The río Coco in which we will swim later traces largely the natural border between Nicaragua and Honduras.

Here is the Coco River and the beginning of the Somoto canyon.

It is here that we will enter the river.

Cameras and phones go in the blue waterproof bag.

We have to go. Other canyoners who left further upstream are arriving...

And off we go!

The water temperature is correct and we let ourselves be carried by the river while avoiding the rocks that crop out or are well hidden at the bottom of the water. Ouch!   First stop on a pebble bank.;

We are joined by two other tourists.

And off we go again. The rock walls can reach up to 200 meters in height in some places.

New stop. And this time, the restart can be done for the most daring, from a high rock, via an angel jump...  

And hop, we throw ourselves into the void. But for once, I'll pass my turn!  

After more than an hour of wet wandering in the more or less strong currents of the Coco, we arrive at a much calmer part, which we will have to travel by boat.

We are now gliding on the mirror of water of the Coco.

After a quarter of an hour, we disembark to start the last walking part of the hike.

The río Coco is the longest river in Nicaragua, with a length of 446 kilometers.

Short refreshing of the legs...

Second and last crossing on foot of the Coco.

Return to the starting point. We drop our bags in the trunk and go enjoy lunch served on the terrace of the blue house.

Rice, red beans, tomatoes, chicken leg. Simplicity and tradition.  

Return to Esteli, to the "parque central" in front of the cathedral.

The monument to the Mother created in 1959. And we find a "Gordita" this time by sculptor Juan Carlos Sanchez Limay.

The very small local market...

Wednesday9November

Last day of the trip! Before joining the capital Managua, we finish our exploration of the north by taking small mountain paths. We start with the paleontological site "El Bosque" which we found on the internet with the following description "The fossils found in this place and the remains of teeth belong to prehistoric animals (Megatheriums, glyptodonts, mastodons, sea turtles, mammoths, giant sloths more than 6 meters long and armadillos weighing about 2 tons). Human-made instruments were also found, such as axes or spear points, these discoveries confirm the existence of the oldest human being in Central America.  

The path to get to the site. Two hours from Esteli.  

Admission is free and a volunteer accompanies us to the excavation site where the fossils were found.

The guide shows us documents on the fossils found... and explains to us that everything has been transferred to Managua...    

As for the rest of the site, it is the trees that occupy the front of the stage...

We nevertheless take advantage of the trip to explore other paths at random from the gps. The landscape remains as nice as ever.

After lunch in Esteli, and a last pass in front of the cathedral, we take the road to Managua. Three hours to reach the capital.

Approaching Managua, a real deluge falls on the road!   We can't see more than 20 meters. We barely follow the taillights of the car in front of us.  

Then night falls, with its share of Nicaraguans walking without lights on the side of the road. Vigilance at 200%!

Last dinner of the trip at the restaurant "El patron del buen Gusto".

Our last Airbnb at Mirian's.

Thursday10November

Before joining the airport, we must "abandon" our travel companion to its renter Sixt... We try to avoid a supplement for the underbody which is damaged. Sixt refuses but finally, they will never charge us the invoice!  

1916.5 kilometers on the odometer for our little Nicaraguan roadtrip.

A taxi later, here we are in the international airport Augusto Calderón Sandino. At 2:22 PM we will take off to reach Paris via Panama City. And finally find our home in Nantes and surroundings... All that remains is to choose the next destination, prepare it and leave again!     See you soon!