Return to Leon Via Managua and Via Via

After my encounter with Moses I cleared out of my hotel room.  My timing was excellent as I headed back to parque central with my backpack because the Managua express was just leaving and I got one of its last seats.  In Managua I transfered right away for a microbus to Leon.  Unusually, this micro was airconditioned, so it was a nice cool ride.

As we approached the city I could see storm clouds coming in, and I wondered if I really wanted to continue as far as Chinandega.  To put off the decision, I decided to take a taxi into the center for coffee.  It was only 1.00 p.m. or so and I had plenty of time to continue my journey.

But in the city we passed a hotel that I'd noticed before, having walked past it many times.  If I stay, I'll try this one, I thought, rather than go back to the "widower's" place.

That's how I found Via Via.  Though I didn't choose it from my guidebooks, it turns out this place gets very high marks from the Lonely Planet.

I like it for a number of reasons.  First, the bar and restaurant seemed very inviting.  Second, I could tell the place was popular with a certain type of young, western traveler.  Third, even though a bar was attached, the hotel was far enough away from that potentially raucous action, that it wouldn't matter to me.  And fourth, the rooms were really nice, cozy and inviting, with high ceilings, a very clean bathroom, a large bed, and (I always like this rare touch) a reading lamp!  The fan was in great shape, and the room was really big, too.  I was immediately sold on it.  Best of all, it cost only 350 cordobas.

So that's my plug for Via Via--a fine place to stay, especially if you're a traveler of a certain age, and want to meet others like you.  As an added bonus, the restaurant/bar turns out to be popular with young locals, too.  Remember Willy?  He spotted me last night where he was seated at a table with a young woman (his Salvadoran girlfriend?).  "Yo, man, whassup!"  Believe it or not, it took me a moment to remember his name.

"Willy!"  I finally said, as we shook hands.

Via Via has nice large maps on the wall of Nicaragua including a bumpy topographical one with the mountains rising out from and around the country's principal geographical features of the very large Lake Managua and the even bigger Lake Nicaragua.  The walls of the place are full of other useful and not so useful information.

According to one notice, Via Via's clientele in 2008 consisted of the following:

Europeans 53.25%
Americans 19.29%
Canadians 10.41%
Asians 6.07%
Latin Americans 5.85%
Oceanians 4.84%
Africans 0.29%

Via Via has a book exchange with volumes in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Japanese.

I met a couple Quebecois Canadians, Max and Hugo, who were watching England beat Slovenia 1-0 this morning while the U.S. beat Algeria, also 1-0.  Ghana managed to hold mighty Germany 0-0 until the 60th-something minute.

In Via Via's bar/restaurant and in the courtyard where the magnificent rooms are located, I hear the accents of other Americans (and possibly Anglo-Canadians), British, Scottish, and Europeans including Belgian and Scandinavian.  This smorgasbord of young backpackers reminds me in a nostalgiac way of my younger days as a backpacker in Europe and Asia.  What happens to our youth?!  sigh. . .

An Economy Roars Back To Life

Last night I read My Car in Managua (1991), a book by an American sympathizer of the FSLN--popularly known as the Sandinistas--who worked for an aid mission in 1980s Managua.  He paints a very frank picture of how the post-revolutionary FSLN completely messed up the national economy with failed socialist policies, a lack of work incentives, and a hyperinflation that impoverished everyone and drove the most skilled and talented people to other countries.

Today it's clear that in the 20 years since the opposition came to power by election, the economy has roared back to life with the cordoba--Nicaragua's currency--stabilizing at 20 or 21 per dollar, and there are signs of a dynamic economic life everywhere in towns and cities such as Leon and Granada.

Even with the FSLN having returned to power in the past decade and with controversial, albeit popular, president and former commandante Daniel Ortega up for reelection in 2012, this economic activity appears to continue at a healthy pace.

Contrast this to the situation in El Salvador where there appears to be plenty of economic activity but perhaps not of the sort that can grow the economy over the long term.  Acording to my trusty Lonely Planet guide, a big chunk of El Salvador's GDP comes from remittances sent from abroad, principally the USA, and of that amount it's estimated that up to 80% is spent on consumption--basically for paying bills and buying groceries.  The LP writer speculates that by such dependence upon friends and family working abroad for their daily living expenses, Salvadoreans have created a sort of "welfare" economy that cannot grow over time.

In Leon, Nicaragua (Day 18)

Visiting old colonial Leon is a no brainer for me since I consider myself to be a ¨collector¨ of colonial cities in Spanish America.  Among the attractions here is the largest cathedral in Central America but the central district is dotted with surprising old buildings from history.

I decided at the last minute yesterday to forgo Perquin and focus on making some miles toward Costa Rica.  A couple buses got me to the Honduras border at El Amatillo, and the crossing was relatively hassle free.

On a very hot day I caught the slow bus for a 2 hour long trip to Choluteca in southern Honduras.  This is cowboy country with plenty of cows, horses, and the men who ride and drive them.  By now we´re also out of volcano territory and in a dryer landscape marked by short trees and scrubgrass.

Choluteca, the largest town in this part of Honduras, had everything I needed within a block of my hotel, itself not far from the bus station.  Restaurants, internet, and gloriously an espresso shack!  This morning I had the best coffee I´ve tasted since way back in Ataco, El Salvador.  Buen sabor!

Much needed aircon and not so needed TV were cut off last night with sudden thunderstorms which cooled the area considerably.

South of Choluteca on a microbus this morning the landscape changed yet again into a much more lush version of 5 or 6 different shades of green.  Cloud cover kept temperatures bearable for the travel.

The Nicaragua border at Guasaule was mercifully also very easy to cross without much bureaucratic fuss.  Seven bucks and I was in for 30 days, though the experience was marred slightly when I was grossly overcharged for a cyclo taxi.  Yet it´s the first time in 18 days that I´ve been grossly overcharged for anything, so I reckon I´m doing alright.

Another fast microbus took me to Chinandega where I connected for my final bus to Leon which is about 60 miles northwest of Managua.  The countryside here changes yet again with 3 or 4 massive volcanos visible in the distant clouds.  It´s still cowboy country but the land is much less dry than in southern Honduras and the soil appears to be very rich.  Viva la cultura de los vaqueros. . .

Leon is a premier destination for me, along with Tortuguero and Caribbean Panama, so I´m privately celebrating my arrival here.  I was so charmed by my short walk around today, I´m sure I´ll stay at least 2 or 3 days.

I have just 34 days to get back to Guatemala.  In the week ahead I plan to hit Masaya, Granada, Rivas and San Juan del Sur before I go to Costa Rica perhaps a week from today.

Still Looking for the Bus in San Miguel (Day 14)

I'm posting this from San Miguel in eastern El Salvador, gateway to Honduras & points further southeast. This town isn't as bad as Lonely Planet makes it out to be. Sure, it's blisteringly hot & humid, but so are a lot of other places.

From my perspective San Miguel has a lot going for it. For one, I'm staying in an excellent hotel just across the street from the bus station and the central district with the usual central plaza, cathedral & market is just a short walk away. True, the hotel is a bit above my budget, but at least they accept credit cards. Even better there's a Pollo Campero right across the street. Pollo Campero is Central America's answer to KFC and though this is my third trip in as many years to Central America, I still haven't tried Pollo Campero but I think I might do so tonight.

My room has all the amenities including the most important one, air con. The hotel also features free high speed internet and a nice courtyard with a swimming pool. And we have our very own hired guard, a "special forces-type" gentleman dressed in civvies who totes a very lethal looking double-barreled pump action shotgun.

My only problem, as I see it, is I'm still looking for the first class bus to Managua & beyond! But this town is small enough that I was able to invest a couple hours today on foot, trudging my way around for some 3 or 4 miles, still looking for the Tica bus--or at least the Tica bus office so I can book a seat for tomorrow or the next day.

I did manage to get a clue from a couple helpful citizens along the way, and I've been advised to show up at 8.00 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning at a certain location in town near the main road going south, etc. etc. So hopefully in about 14 hours I will know if I can get a seat on one of these elusive "avion de terra" buses!

Meanwhile, this is not at all a bad place to be. I'm not too far from the town of Perquin which was the headquarters of the anti-government FMLN during the civil war and which the Lonely Planet recommends as a destination in its own right. I may take a day or two there before I continue--depending upon what I learn in the morning.