Over the past week or so we’ve spent a lot of time in buses making our way from Lago de Atitlan, all the way down to Granada in Nicaragua with short stops in Antigua, Copan, San Pedro Sula and Leon.
We moved quickly through Honduras as by all accounts, aside from the Copan Ruins and the Islands up north, there isn’t really a lot here for family travelers. We’ve already had our fair share of island and beach life over the past month so we decided to skip the islands and B line it straight down to Nicaragua instead.
Our stop in Copan was very pleasant. We checked out the ruins which were located very close to town and are quite unique to other Mayan ruins due to the ornately decorated buildings, making them the ‘Paris’ of Mayan ruins according to our guide Fidel. I remember such things as poor Fidel had a tendency to repeat himself about a half dozen times over the three hour tour, which could easily have been covered in less than an hour if he said everything he had to say just once. Thankfully, I had treasure hunts for the kids to organise which was a welcome distraction while Iris and the others were politely feigning interest in the repeated stories.
One of the big differences between the Gen X travelers and the Gen Y ones is the colour of the credit card that we travel with, which enables us Xers to splash out once in a while. We decided to do just this by staying overnight at a finca just out of Copan where we enjoyed the excellent company of Carlos, some excellent meals, and of course making Sofia a very very happy little girl with a horse trek. Good fun was also had exploring the huge property with the kids and relaxing at the pleasant Aguas Caliente hot springs just up the road.
We found that there are no real good alternatives to getting down to Nicaragua from Copan so we had to travel North to San Pedro Sula to catch a 5am bus down to Leon. This meant an overnight stay in a San Pedro hotel which resembled a small fortress. This was probably a good thing given the reputation of the city. The owner also picked us up and dropped us off at the bus station which was well worth its wait in gold at 4am with backpacks and kids!
11 hours later we arrived in Leon, Nicaragua, which is a very lively and friendly kind of place. The highlight for me there was a Volcano boarding trip on ‘Cerro Negro’ which was worth it for the company and the views, but not so much for the boarding which would be better named ‘Volcano tumbling’ in my case.
After all this travel, the plan now is just to slow back down and do very little in the beautiful town of Granada for a while. We’re staying at the excellent ‘Casa del Agua’ which is a very special little guest house just off the main plaza with a pool, great hospitality and friendly fellow guests making for a very cool place to hang out and relax.
Sofia and Liam loved the butterfly house close to Copan
A Ceiba tree at the Copan Ruins
Our guide Fidel at the Copan ruins who has been guiding there since 1984
At La Finca Cisne close to Copan
Liam liked riding on the ute as much as the horses
For Sofia though, it was only about the horses as her face would suggest on this walk to the stables with our host Carlos
Around the finca
Relaxing afterwards at the homestead
And relaxing even more at Aguas Calientes hot springs a little later in the day
At the boarder crossing between Honduras and Nicaragua during an 11 hour Tica bus ride
Remarkably, still not a single complaint has been heard from the kiddies after a few dozen hours in the bus in the space of a week
Volcano boarding at Volcan Negro, close to Leon
One of the few moments when I wasn’t on my bottom or on my head
Sofia playing with a new toy in front of the Leon Cathedral
Around Granada
A wind funnel appeared briefly over the town
…shortly after, the skies opened up and the Main Street turned into a river. The rainy season has begun.
