07.18 We are still in Liberia, Costa Rica. I do not know if we are so much wiser regarding our breakfast. However, we do know that we need it. Today we will leave Costa Rica to visit a new country. Today the world has got a new country. Southern Sudan is from today an independent nation.

08.04 A brilliant breakfast plan was created by Christer. Go and buy soft drinks for US$5 and use the change in colón to buy our breakfast. This didn’t work. The store is closed.

08.41 We opted out of the "set" breakfast options and picked among the dishes, Gallo Pinto, which is, rice and beans, fruit plate and coffee. Now the question is, will we get enough of money in change?

08.58 All things worked out, it was even cheaper than expected. Now we have some money. Now we are considering the next currency. What do we do, a total withdrawal of 6000 córdoba from an ATM or a small exchange with US$60?

09.39 We left the room here at the Hotel El Bramadero leaving only a small wall-running lizard behind. We walked the short distance to the bus station and are now rolling out from it with the bus. The bus to the border stood politely and waited for us when we came into the bus station area. There was no waiting it was just to get on board. Adiós Liberia!

10.46 We have been in the town of La Cruz and let off some passengers. We are approaching the border.

11.04 We are just around one kilometer from the border post Peñas Blancas which forms the border with Nicaragua. Right now, we are now standing still in what appears to be a long line of vehicles.

11.35 We got going and passed over one hundred trucks from all over Central America. Now we´ve stepped out of the bus, jumped past a few mud puddles and we are in a new queue. This time it is for the departure from Costa Rica. This seems to take time. It is a long queue. In addition, the sun is frying us. I rejected the first official money-changers who walk around here. Christer gave it a thought and realized that a small amount of local money probably is needed, so now we have changed some money. It was wisely thought of him. A moneychanger with an official ID hanging around his neck can usually be trusted.

Christer is sweating in the long queue at the border.

12.20 We came into the small house, filled in our departure papers which Christer got get after asking a policeman, we were stamped out, they didn´t even look at the departure papers and now we are heading on foot towards the next border post. Right now we are being customs- and security checked on a wooden table out in the open air. We have put our luggage on a table and the men here are doing a brief check.

12.32 It is time for a queue again, this time to be stamped into Nicaragua. A young girl was holding the entry papers and wanted some money to give us any. We did not care about her and used the card which they didn’t want at the Costa Rica border. Furthermore, we have no small money to give to her. There is a customs union between some of the countries here and the papers will do in more than one country.

NICARAGUA

12.58 The queuing came to an end and it was our turn. We have entered a new country, Nicaragua. This is Christer´s 80th country. The entry fee is 12 USD but according to the receipt, we paid only $2. Where did the other ten go? Now we will find a bus that takes us away from here.

13.16 We are at a wide open area with vendors and selected parking lots for buses. Unfortunately, the buses themselves are absent. An old man with a cane has shown us a note in Spanish and asked for some small change, something we unfortunately don't have yet in this currency.

13.40 We've been thinking badly again. We had sat down in the wrong place. Now we have asked several different people and Christer have received some information. The buses are apparently not going from here but from the other side of this huge building.

14.02 Today everything seems to turn out bad. We have obviously done wrong again. However, we had the help of nice people. They showed us out through a gate where a small fee was paid. Finally we are in the right place and on the bus to Rivas. Our mistake was that we thought we left the area and had reached where the buses were supposed to stand. It is only recently that we left the border area.

14.12 We talked a bit with an American who was on the bus. He was to say the least skeptical about the high fees at the border. We just have to agree. The American seems experienced and he is travelling light, he had hardly any luggage at all with him.

14.25 We are going in yet another converted American school bus. Along the way, we have seen Lake Nicaragua, a volcano and several wind turbines. It was full speed on both bus and the bus host. At each stop, he went off the bus and got on board people and their packing before the trip continued.

A bicycle taxi in Rivas.

In a few countries in the world we can afford staying in the best hotels, photo from Nicarao Inn.

A street in Rivas.

15.26 Chaos, chaos, chaos! Our bus arrived at Rivas and the dirt lot that was the bus station. Everyone wanted to offer us things, a taxi to the coast, taxis in town, bike taxis to and from. Christer was trying to locate where we should walk with the help of a compass, but we were quickly surrounded by nagging people. We fled the chaos and went on a hunch away from the bus station. Eventually we arrived at our hotel. We navigated to the center with the help of the church tower in town as we caught sight of it. The room number we have now is 6 and the hotel's name is Nicarao Inn (http://www.hotelnicaraoinn.com.ni). Now it is time for a shower. It was a long time since we sweated this much, first at the border and then during the walk through the town. The girls here at the reception started to back off when we came bursting into the hotel. This was probably due to the fact that we looked quite wild with the sweat running and something desperate in our eyes.

16.34 We finished cooling down and looked at the TV where it was shown a promotional music video for the Socialist Party FSLN (Sandinistas) and President Daniel Ortega in the coming presidential election. It is a cover version of the old song "Stand by me" and you can not avoid it, the song gets stuck directly into the head.
Listen here: Nicaragua Triunfará

16.48 Now we had a power outage for some seconds, or did the hotel’s generator kick in? What about ATMs, internet cafés and restaurants do they require electricity? Now we discovered that the air conditioning has been set on +30˚C.

16:58 Mission one is accomplished. We have withdrawn córdoba from an ATM. Now we are having a bench break in Parque Central in the town center. It is getting cloudy, the dusk is soon here. We are seated next to the city's main church, Iglesia de San Pedro Parroquial. Now, an ice cream man biked past us.

Parque Central, Rivas.

Iglesia Parroquial de San Pedro.

Rivas just before sunset.

Christer is having dinner (but not pizza) at Vila’s Rosti Pizza.

17.52 We have photographed some buildings here in the town, including the blue and yellow church Iglesia San Francisco. We also know where to find internet and food. Beverages were purchased in a pharmacy, Farmacia Maria Immaculada. At first they thought like many before that we would pay together. I bought a small drink for tomorrow and a great common beverage. I received a handwritten note saying 45, the price of córdoba. That is around US$2. The drinks were placed on the counter and I took the slip and went to a small kiosk/cage inside the pharmacy. I paid, returned to the counter, handed over the slip and went with the drinks. Smooth or? We have just returned to the hotel room.

19.04 Happy children are heard from the next room. We are now at an eatery on the square, Vila's Rosti Pizza. We will not have pizza, we will have meat. Both dishes cost the same and meat is preferable to pizza.

20.04 It was good and lots of food, maybe the best I've eaten so far on this trip. First we got a salad and a small soup. This was followed by great meat. Towards the end of the meal we heard languorous tones from a band here in the room. It is a band with guitar, accordion and trumpet.

20.37 We have left the restaurant and we sit outside on a park bench. It's dark out here and difficult to see to write. However, we can barely see and foremost to hear the band from the restaurant. They are now on the sidewalk and play.

21.29 We're back in our room and we look at Canal 4. They have talked about and with president Daniel Ortega.

Peter in our nice hotel corridor.

Sunday 10th of July

07.13 I became so tired immediately after yesterday's final note. No reading for me. During the night we both woke up because of the heat in the room. Christer did however mannege to fix the air conditioner. Now we'll regroup, first here at the hotel and later within the country.

08.51 So another breakfast is served, consumed and completed. There were pancakes and some other stuff in the hotel dining room. It was pleasant, overlooking the street. The coffee, however, could have been better or am I spoiled with coffee in Panamá and Costa Rica?

Peter is eating hotel breakfast at Nicarao Inn.

Sunday is here and a new day starts in Rivas.

09.31 It is time to leave Rivas. The town has played its part, a place where we can sleep, recharge and get the first impressions from Nicaragua. We checked out and started walking towards the bus station. We first thought that we'd take a taxi but felt fit and in a walking mood. We accepted a taxi offer nevertheless and now we are going in it. Now we stopped at the roadside and a guy wearing a green cap got in and sat down. He is probably a friend of the driver. This is probably an unlicensed taxi. Here you never know for sure which is a taxi and not.

09.47 The car ride took us past a baseball game, out of Rivas and we reached the small town of San Jorge on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. Here we have paid our driver and then bought a ticket each for 60 córdoba, around US$3 for the ferry which we soon are going with. The lake is really big.

09.57 According to the time table the ferry is supposed to depart at 10:00. There are probably a bit so-so with that. We've talked a little with a girl of unknown origin, she might have been from Australia. She needed help to buy a ticket and we sent her to the ticket office. Apparently you don’t need to buy it there, you can buy tickets on board, too.

The bus to Rivas and Managua is waiting for the ferry passengers.

Peter is waiting for the ferry in San Jorge.

Finally it arrives!

10.21 The ferry finally came and emptied its contents, tourists and various vehicles. Our seat is blue. The backpacks have been set down in another place. Now we just wait for the ferry to get going. Before we boarded a motorcycle from Chile left the boat. Last year we saw a bicycle and a rider from Chile. Chilean citizens like to be on the move.

11.03 It has taken some time but now we have started yet another voyage. We headed out over the waves. Lake Nicaragua (Lago de Nicaragua) is Central America's largest and Latin America's second largest lake. The lake has volcanic islands and the only freshwater sharks in the world. There have been plans to build a canal between the lake and the country's west coast, which would provide a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific. The construction of the Panamá Canal did, however result in that "Nicaragua Canal" never was built. This lake also has the world's largest inland fleet.

11.42 Why is it always extremely bad action movies when going with speedboats and ferries? Such is the case right now and we remember that we have been subjected to similar sufferings during trips in Asia, such as in the Philippines.

12.25 The ferry has reached Moyogalpa, main town of the island of Ometepe (Isla de Ometepe) which is the largest island in a lake. Out in the water is a man swimming around. He disappeared beneath the surface when Christer was about to take a photo of the man. Is he engaged in some sort of fishing? We took our backpacks, went ashore and walked briskly past the various offers. They accepted a no thank you for an answer without any nagging. Now we checked in at our pre-booked Hotel Ometepetl and room 5. The hotel is supposed to have a pool, cool! The island consists of two volcanoes that are joined by an isthmus giving the island the shape of an hourglass. Ometepe is 31 km long and between 5 and 10 km wide and has an area of 276 sq. km.

Inside the "Ferry Ometepe No 1".

We are approaching Ometepe island with the 1610 metres high volcano Concepción.

13.15 So typical, our hotel has a pool but the pool has unfortunately no water. We have left the hotel and we have been taken some photographs of the little town. Moyogalpa actually consists only of a street from the harbour up to the church and a number of side streets. Now it will be island lunch for us, spaghetti for Christer and burgers with fries for me. We are at the restaurant belonging to the accommodation Hotelito Ali. A short distance away are a few people from the United States. What is it about Americans that have to talk so loud? They are ten meters away and I hear every word they say. The city seems to have siesta right now or is it closed on Sundays. It is quiet and peaceful everywhere.

13.46 It might not happen much out there in the town, but here things are happening. First came a big rainshower that got the staff going. They ran around to save all the laundry that they hung out to dry. When the food came, I got a ketchup bottle. I did not get any ketchup. The waiter helped me out and I got plenty of ketchup and some of it landed on my shirt. The man apologized and wiped away the ketchup. It's probably no point in complaining to the owner either because it probably is the same man who served the food. Earlier, we heard a man whistling the melody to "The Final Countdown".

14.09 After buying postcards from a lady in a small souvenir shop, we are now home safe again. The postcards were a bit expensive but who cares?

Peter is waiting for the food at Hotelito Ali.

Our lunch restaurant had a good painting showing Moyogalpa town and the active volcano Concepción.

Outside our room at Hotel Ometepetl.

15.18 The sweat is dripping from me. We are sitting in the hotel café and have written our postcards. It's a long day today. I feel tired. lazy and the insect bites on the legs and ankles itch infernally.

15.42 We have been to and shopped at Pulperia Elba. A Pulperia is a small business that has the greatest need. We have bought much needed drink for now and then. Now we are bringing the drinks with us and go out and to read outside our room. In the store a man bargained down the price of a tomato from 5 to 4 córdoba. Each coin is important!

17.00 The drinks are finished and the books have been read in. We also tried to photograph the local wildlife. There have been photos of a hummingbird and a few insects.

Moyogalpa

Iglesia Santa Ana, the yellow church in Moyogalpa.

17.32 We are looking at football again. Mexico has just taken the lead, 1-0 over Uruguay in the U-17 World Cup final.

18.49 Giovani Casillas makes 2-0 to Mexico in extra time. This might make them the world champions of the U-17. Congratulations!

19.03 Mexico won for sure. Now we are at Chido's Pizza for dinner. Today we ordered pizza. We could not only choose type and size but also if the pizza would be in Italian or American style.

20.17 A medium Italian pizza was quite enough to satisfy a man. On the way home we met and saw people from all age groups. It's pretty nice that everyone can join in. Children play on the sidewalk and the older generation watching over them from their rocking chairs while watching TV. The bill from Chido's by the way is dated for tomorrow, mysteriously.

21.44 The fan spins back and forth while the air conditioner pumps out cold air. On the wall there are some ants running around. Soon it's bedtime, but first we will listen for a while on the radio. There are also ants in my bed.

Monday 11th of July

08.14 The island night has been calm. The bed has been ant free, at least I hope so, and my sleep has been strengthening. Today it is planned that we should do what we did not do yesterday. We'll see what it is.

09.05 Things are not going according to plans. We had intended to eat breakfast. There were several others as well. There is no free table. We went and sat on chairs outside the room. Then the lady that checked us in came and said something in Spanish. I did not understand a thing and Christer only a fraction of what she said. Now we just wait for it to be free.

09.23 The place is still crowded. Some sit and talk. At some tables there are small white boards. Is there a conference going on or what? We have been placed by a small glass table and in a rocking chair each. The table is not in the breakfast part but more secluded. We have ordered the American breakfast and black coffee.

We saw this beautiful decoration above our breakfast table.

FSLN support in Moyogalpa.

09.56 It was served pancakes, fresh fruit and coffee for breakfast. When it was time for the payment there was a problem. There was no change. One person was sent out on the streets of the city to fix it.

10.20 We have now paid for the breakfasts. Now we need to get started with today's various duties. What will happen?

11.20 Now it begins to flow quite well. It went well at the internet cafe and we have bought drinks for the next scheduled day's outing. Here at the hotel the meeting, the conference, continues. On the door to room 8 hangs a handwritten note telling that the men's room is there. On a pillar outside our room hangs a piece of paper saying "auditorium."

11.59 It has been read in our books by Jo Nesbø and Ian Rankin. We sat outside the room. Outside, there has also been read in Spanish from a local textbook. The reader was of American origin and his reading tempted some laughs from his company who was a gang of schoolchildren who had gathered to do their homework. The American is a restless man who lives here at the hotel.

12.17 We have walked out to get us some lunch. We have ordered two lunch specials, a "Chicken Sandwich Deluxe" and "Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. We are at a place called American Cafe run by the American Robert and his wife Simone. They are both around 60-70 and really nice. Robert gave us some tips for the bicycle excursion we plan today. It is clearly important to check that the brakes work. The restaurant which is also a small guest house is in a large white room in a white building. Out on the porch we met a three-legged, black dog which happily greeted us. Here in the room a speckled cat just ran away.

13.11 With our lunch in the stomachs, we now start to gear up for the rest of the day. We have plans to rent some bikes and look around on the island.

Lunch at American Café in Moyogalpa.

Cattle on the road.

Information about the escape route in case of volcano eruptions.

13.39 The bikes are rented for US$4 each and we have left the town. We rented bikes at a restaurant where a helpful girl helped us so that we got our bikes and had them pumped and the brakes checked. Right now we are making a stop just outside the town because there is cattle on the road.

13.44 We have made a new short stop. There are no cows this time. However, it is a cool road sign that caught our interest. It is diamond shaped, yellow and shows the evacuation route in the event of a volcanic eruption. Given that we are on an island and have an active volcano behind your back, it feels as important information.

13.54 As soon as we stop we are being attacked by mosquitoes. We hardly have time to take photos. Our daytrip with bikes is similar to the one we did on Siquijor in the Philippines in 2006. We are on an island and the locals wave as we swish through the villages.

14.01 The bikes are parked. We reached the small peninsula and the beach Punta Jesus Maria. The last bit was along a dirt road through a lush forest. It was like a huge avenue all the way to the lake.

The road to Punta Jesús Maria.

Peter has reached today´s destination.

Christer and a sign warning us about deep dangerous water.

14.36 The sand on the beach is dark gray. It is a mixture of sand and volcanic ash. Moreover, there are countless shells. The Concepción volcano which we had plans to take pictures of is hiding behind a cloud. We become extremely dirty from the sand here and we are warned of deep and dangerous waters. We will skip the swimming.

14.52 We have walked along the small peninsula into the sea and photographed the lake, beach and peninsula itself. It has been a pleasant excursion though the swimming never happened.

15.05 It started raining, so unusual! It's probably best to lock up the bikes and head home.

15.15 We took the same route back. We have made a stop during the trip home and we seek shelter from the rain. The protective trees have thorny growths in, from the bark. There were pigs and roosters on the beach so we had to have control when biking through.

A narrow sandy peninsula heads into the huge Lake Nicaragua.

Two biking tourists on a lakeshore.

Christer made a short stop during our bicycle trip.

The volcano Concepción without its "cloud hat".

16.21 The rain held up and we decided to look a little more around here before we went home and biked on and finally we decided to turn back in the village of Esquipulas. It was an eventful journey home. We met an Argentine guy who stood before Christer as we were crossing the border two days ago, a small boy greeted us cheerfully and I was about to ride over a chicken. It is good that it didn’t kill it. I had not been able to replace it. I can not lay eggs. At home in Moyogalpa again we left our bikes and went and bought soft drinks. Now that we have just arrived home, Christer just noticed that his sunglasses are broken. Two screws and nuts have been released, detached.

17.18 The hum of a passing bus, a lizard smacks and the sky is gray. Not much happens. Well, two minutes ago the electricity just left us. It's dark in the room and no air conditioning works. How serious is the failure? Does the power shortage go for the hotel, the city or the island? The sunglasses have gone on to the world beyond this one.

18.19 The rain pours down out there and it flashes with lightning. The power returned in the same time as a flash. The main street through town is most similar to a spring creek. We are somehow remembering our stay in Saigon three years ago. We have heard the "Save Tonight" by Eagle-Eye Cherry. It is a lot of Swedish music here.

Hotel Ometepetl, Moyogalpa.

19.20 First went the lights, but the TV and air conditioner stayed with us. Pretty soon they disappeared as well but now everything is back. On TV, it is 0-0 in the match Argentina - Costa Rica in the Copa America.

20.01 We left the match with Argentina in a 1-0-lead. After looking at some different places, we sat down at the pizzeria Buon Appetito. The pizza baker has a strong chef's hat and there are some foreigners sitting at the table next to us. The place lacks a beer serving permit. We are seated by a square table which has a small, circular table on top. That's where the pizza should be. Here as elsewhere on the island is the company's mission and vision presented on a neat sign on the wall.

21.01 A twelve-bit pizza was consumed to the sound of Bee-Gees. Our table neighbors were from Spain, Australia, USA and Latvia. The Latvian guy looked like Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings. Now we have returned to our room to make up plans for tomorrow's tasks.

21.33 Now I will pack no more tonight. I gamble that my newly washed shirt will dry outdoors. Plans for tomorrow are made.

Heavy rainfall outside of our hotel.

Tuesday 12th of July

07.02 The electricity as well as the rain has come and gone during the night. I got up during the night and fetched my shirt. It was all but good drying weather. Now I wonder what will happen with breakfast today and by the way the rest of the day.

07.19 Well, this is some start. Now there was a power failure again. Nothing bright here, neither in room nor for chance of getting coffee and pancakes for breakfast.

08.29 The power came back and we were lucky to have our American breakfast. Now almost everything packed and soon we move on to places with more stable electricity supply. However, we will miss this island, a peaceful wonderful place where it feels impossible to rush.

08.45 A few young men are throwing themselves, diving into the water. An engine sounds louder and louder. We have checked out from our hotel and walked the 50 meters to the port. We are waiting for the ferry to the mainland. Now a man came by and we had to fill in a passenger list. A bearded German had written first but we were number two and three on the list. The locals gather and the ferry honks.

The ferry has arrived. It´s time to leave Ometepe island.

09.42 We're on the ferry. The return journey on an almost mirror-like lake is just fine.

10.11 We're back in San Jorge, got off the ferry and immediately boarded an old, yellow school bus. The bus goes to Managua but also stop in Rivas, where we intend to change to another bus. The bus host wanted us to go further and change in another place but it feels a little too unplanned for us. We like to know where we are and what we do. Now we travel to Rivas.

10.38 The short distance to Rivas went fast. The bus did not stop at the bus station, but at a street corner somewhere in the middle of town. We had to find our way to the bus station on our own. We immediately received an offer to go by taxi but we said no, looking for our bus. A new offer was given and we decided to take the offer. It was said that no bus to Granada in a while. We don’t know if this is true or false. Right now, the "taxi" stopped to refuel.

11.11 The taxi or whatever we should call our car drives past almost everything; horses, cows, people, cars and the bus which took us to Rivas. Maybe we should have been stayed on it or, what now? Is it a new petrol station stop? Yes, and now cleaned the car window.

Vårt rum på Hotel Kekoldi.

Hotel Kekoldi, a nice hotel in a nice city.

11.55 We had good speed and reached our destination, the tourist city of Granada. The taxi stopped at the Parque Central and Christer paid in U.S. dollars. The driver dismissed the colourful 20-dollar bill. It had a little pink on one edge and had to be replaced. No sooner had we started walking as a guy and made the Caribbean hello with us, fist to fist. Now we are in room 7 at the Hotel Kekoldi (http://www.kekoldi.com/granada-e-index.htm). We got good information in brilliant English by a nice girl as we checked in. We are as mentioned in Granada, the oldest colonial city on the American mainland.

12.52 The room is great and the hotel is clean and nice. On the wall in our room is a painting with something that looks like a deformed rabbit. Now we are ready to familiarize ourselves with Granada. There are, as usual, a lot of things to be done.

13.47 If there is something we have done for almost an hour is it to find a restaurant. Christer had read about two places in the guidebook papers and none of them was to be found. Now we have finally found and sat down at Café Isabella Restaurante y Bar.

We ordered a typical Nicaraguan lunch.

14.56 It was really great with local food. Behind us, I am sorry to say, sat some retired Americans and acted as if they owned the city. Now we are in a Ticabus office to arrange with a bus ticket for a future trip, that trip out of Nicaragua in a week or so. The Bus Company's office is in the other end of town so we've been walking a part in the scorching sun. Ticabus is a Costa Rican bus company with coaches running through all of Central America.

15.52 It went just fine to buy bus tickets. After that we had planned to buy some soft drinks and go home. This didn’t go that well. There was a lot of walking before we found some refrigerated drinks in a small shop, it must be cold. The nice lady there opened our glass bottles and stuck a straw in each. Now we are home to a gain power in our hotel room.

Christer and a local bus in Granada.

Granada

17.38 We have been sitting and drank great Nicaraguan beer and read detective stories in rocking chairs outside our room. Sometimes it feels good to do little. Now it has unfortunately begun to rain.

18.51 While waiting for a halt in the rain, we monitor the match between Uruguay and Mexico in the Copa America.

19.30 Now it's decided. We defy the rain and head out. We need food. I will leave my small backpack and also the journal in the room. It is very seldom that we are separated, but now it will happen.

21.04 After a bit of jumping over puddles and swinging of umbrellas, we came to the restaurant Nuestro Mundo. We had chicken and pork dishes. In addition, John Fogerty once more asked about the rain, "Have you ever seen the rain". Why is he whining about it this summer. The answer is now just as before, yes, yes, we have seen rain and much of it is also during these weeks.

22.15 It's nice and quiet at the hotel. We are watching a sports broadcast on TV. It looks bad for our old home country of Costa Rica to advance in Copa America.

The beautiful Xalteva church in Granada.