16/6/23
After a chilled morning of watching Spanish nature documentaries, we headed out for a bougie brunch with Aisling. After an exrended brunch, Gi and I moved to our new place before hitting the local market. It was very typical only selling fruit, veg, meat, rice, and dog food along with various bits and bobs, but no artesanal stuff. We got a sweet tamales with honey and cream, which was fairly strange and not to be recommended! The bustling market also felt like a risky place to be with so many open wounds to be knocked! Afterwards, we headed back to chill in our hostel. I had tomatoes on honey bread, and then we played a game of Ticket To Ride – what a game to find in a hostel! Later, we got some cocktails and played cards. We went our for some pupusas around the corner before returning to chill. Gi played some guitar in the room, which sounded super nice, and then I played a bit, too. A chilled day.
17/6/23
Today, it was time for Gi to head home. After a hostel breakfast, we said our goodbyes and Gi headed to the airport. Aisling was still in town, so I had booked to stay in her hostel for a few nights. Aisling came to assist me with my big backpack (what an angel) to move hostel, and then we tried to find the walking tour. We never found it, but we did find a women’s art collective and walked to the edge of the lake. Afterwards, we went to our brunch cafe for coffee frappes and then to Pita Pita, an Israeli place for lunch. We got a falafel pita and a lamb pita, and they were both glorious. We went back to the hostel in time for our three free drinks and socialised, mainly with our Scottish roomie, Sam. Afterwards, we cooked pasta and ate.
18/6/23
Today, Aisling and I had decided to do an art class, and Sam, our Scottish pal, decided to come along too. After a pancake breakfast, we went to our 9am till 12 noon class, which it ended up being just us. We each packed out a photo to paint and then got started. We sat out on a shaded patio with music in the background and with art covering all the walls. Our teacher was from the US but had been living in Nicaragua for more than ten years. It was super relaxing, and we ordered coffee halfway through. As always for me, I struggled to finish my master piece in the time. The teacher said if she painted the way I did with so much attention to detail, she’d go nuts!! I more or less finished by 12 and was pretty pleased with the outcome! Sam’s and Aisling’s were cool, too! After our class, we shamelessly went back to Pita Pita for round two of the lunch deal. I had a chicken schwarma pita this time, and it was yummy!
After lunch, we headed back to the hostel and played some pool before it was time to head out for our sunset volcano tour to Masaya. Lots of hostel folk were going, and Aisling knew a fair few of them already! We climbed up a volcano and watched the sunset over another, watching the plumes of smoke appear from its crater. Then we went back down and stared into the depths of hell. (Not quite, but we did look into the crater and see the bubbling orange lava!!) After all the volcano fun, we went home and made another pasta dinner and then had an early night. Travelling is tiring!!
19/6/23
Today was mine and Aisling’s last day together, and we were going to a nearby lake to chill. After a traditional hostel breakfast, we got the bus to El Paraiso and hung out in a double hammock reading. After a few hours, we went kayaking before returning to the hammock for mango daiquiris, followed by a coffee. I had half an hour of sunbathing before we got the bus back again. A nice chilled day. We played some pool when we returned before claiming our free drinks. Then we got ready for dinner. In the evening, we went to a restaurant that Gi and I had been meaning to check out when we got distracted by a pupusa stand in the street. The restaurant was set in a beautiful courtyard but was rather quiet. We played Uno and then ate tasty but simple traditional food.
20/6/23
Moving day! I was off to El Salvador via Leon. I arrived there in the afternoon and was taken to my ‘in-transit’ hostel. I could sleep here a bit before my 2am pick-up. I had nearly 12 hours. I chilled, took a nap, and then got up for food. Apparently, there was good food on the corner of the street, which, of course, I explored, and it was good! Then I headed towards Mañana Mañana cafe, where Gi and I had been before. I was hoping to see if I could go on the church’s roof. I could, so up I went! I had timed it well for golden hour as the sun was setting. Sadly, I had also timed it well for the rain! After waltzing around the almost empty rooftop, suddenly the few people left and I were soaked in less than 20 seconds! Soaked to the skin!! I headed for Mañana Mañana coffee shop to warm up. I ordered a cappuccino, which came with free biscuits, and I was offered a roll of kitchen paper to dry off with too! What a win!! While I was sitting, sipping, I heard a few loud bangs outside. Strange..
Afterwards, I wandered back past the church to find a large event being held in the park with a big stage set up, bunting, lots of food stalls, and plenty of flags! Apparently, it was a celebration for a revolution that had started in Leon more than twenty years before. The songs sounded quite like they could be in Les Miserables, so when an older man told me they were revolution songs, it all made sense! I enjoyed some revolution snacks of popcorn and a choco-banano, a strangely cold, cooked banana dipped in chocolate and dipped in nuts or sprinkles. After a few more songs, I said goodbye to the guy I had been chatting with and headed home. I needed to sleep early since I was getting up so early!
wanderingwelshie2 travels 