BubblesandBugs.com - Travel and Scuba

Finally…the Beer of Nicaragua

2 things Central America does have going for them is that they serve their beer ICY cold.  Nicaragua follows suit here.   I would hate to try one of these nasties warm.

The other is that the beer is only 75 cents to a 1$.

In Nicaragua they have one major brewer called Cerveceria de Nicaragua.  Apparently the company dates back to the 1920’s and they employ a German brewmaster classically trained at Weihenstephan brewing school.  I bet he is proud of producing millions of gallons of “beer”…that most people wouldn’t bathe their dogs in.

Here they are…looking rather delicious as Cindi and I snapped pictures just before checking out at a small pulperia in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua.  

People… don’t let those glistening bottles, shiny labels, or our superp photography skills fool you.  These beers also follow the standard theme of Central American beer. 

The Tona on the left is a “Lager Especial” that is a ultra pale golden color that carries a 4.6 alcohol by volume.  According to the Tona website, it is produced… “using only the finest North American and European malts and hops, certified by world renowned laboratories (Siebel Institute of Technology, Chicago and Brautechnische Prüf- und Versuchsanstalt, Munich-Weihenstephan).”

Their marketing department could sell shit to pigs.  It is terrible, horrible and after a hot day hiking Volcan Mombacho, sweating bullets, Tona only tastes good because it is cold.  If you never drink this beer consider yourselves lucky.   1/2 star on the Opdycke beer scale.

The Victoria on the right is labeled a “Pisen Especial”. This is definately the best of the Nicaraguan beer line, but still only pulls 1 star on the Opdycke beer scale.  I would say that this is the most popular and most widely available beer in Nicaragua.

Later All…Costa Rica and Panama to follow!

jason

Perro Frito por fa vor!! -

yes…that´s right…fried dog would be better than the food in Nicaragua.  The best meal we had in the last week has been a 1$ hotdog in Granada.  There has been pizza, with what we think was rat tail sausauge, cheese that doesn´t seem like a dairy product, weird squash salad, spagetti that you could classify as radioactive, and i had some bacon that might make me never eat bacon again.  I have been utterly disappointed in the lack of street food in Nicaragua.  Everywhere else they have had grilled meats and typical dishes in abundance.  We had trouble finding anything local to eat.  Hopefully CR will be better.

That being said,  I wanted to give everyone an update on where things stand:

• we have just arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica
• It took about 11 hours by bus from San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
• We had zero trouble at the border and were welcomed very warmly into Costa Rica
• We spent the last week in Nicaragua…Granada, Laguna De Apoyo, and San Juan Del Sur.
• Our readers were right, Laguna De Apoyo was great.  We went totally blind based on a comment from a reader.  Thanks Sean!!
• If you are ever in Granada, make a stop at Crater´s Edge resort.  Most comfortable we have been on the entire trip.
• The beach in San Juan Del Sur proper is very pretty, but pretty much sucks.
• We finally figured out where everyone goes.  Maderas beach (just took the shuttle from Casa Oro).  Maderas was amazing.  Huge cliffs, clear water, fun waves, and lots of surfers (of all skill levels) to watch.   We went to the beach 2 days in a row.
• we slept like crap the last 2 nights in San Juan Del Sur.  we learned our lesson in staying for cheap next to a bar.  The first night was ok, but the 2nd they had a loud metal band playing and last night a poker tourney that sounded like Armageddon.  I swear there were 40 surfer guys singing Bob Marley at the top of their lungs for like an hour.
• We still can´t upload pictures.  The computer I am on now is locked in a huge Military grade cage, so I can´t plug in the USB reader.  More to come, I promise
• We are picking up Willits, Julia, and Travis at the airport tomorrow.  Can´t wait guys!!
• Then we are off to La Fortuna and Volcano Arenal for some zip lines, whitewater rafting, hot springs, and maybe a beer or 2…haha

Later

jason

Taking full advantage of free, semi-fast internet in Granada

Yes, that’s right. Our hostel, Hostel Oasis, offers free internet AND a free 10 minute phone call each day. So last night I got to speak with my parents and my niece McKayla (hi Kayla!) - it was awesome.

First off, a huge shout out to my friend Jenny @ www.jen-and-steve.com for creating a lovely, new banner for our site. If you don’t see it, just hit refresh. Jenny has offered her services to keep our banner fresh as we travel throughout the world. And if you are in need of a graphic designer, check our her site www.pumpkinjuice.com. She’s amazing!

Today Jason and I woke up at 6 AM and headed to Volcano Mombacho. We paid 190 Cordobas ($1 is about 20 Cordoba) for entry to the park and a ride to the top. At the top we hiked 1.5 kilometers around one of the craters and then stood on a platform for an amazing view of Granada, Lake Nicaragua, Laguna de Apoyo, and Volcano Masaya.

We decided to do the Canopy Tour on the way back down the mountain. It was only $28 for 16 zip lines, and Jason had never done one, so we went for it. It was awesome! However, the guides kept insisting we give them our camera and we kept insisting on taking our own. I finally agreed to let him take a picture of Jason and together on a bridge near the end of the trip - and the guy took off with our camera. He kept saying he was going to take a video of us at the end and I told him about 9 times, very forcefully, to give me back the camera. He didn’t. We did however get the camera back with some videos, but the guys lost their tip for being such jerks about taking our camera. We are a little over protective, but I think we have the right to be. The afternoon ended on a high note when we spotted about 7 howler monkeys in the trees above.

We are heading to Laguna Apoyo tomorrow, hopefully to stay a night if we can get a room. Then it’s off to the beach and some surf lessons!

Nicaragua…my first time…

…this is Cindi’s 2nd time. We barely made it however….more on this in a bit.

So at the time of last update, we were in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. A beautiful little town with cobblestone streets. We stayed at a small place call Hotel Guest House for 2 nights. It was ok…but we didnt’ have water. Bastards…I know they had water in the sistern…but they were playing games turning it on and off to our room. Not sure when they thought the ideal time for a shower was…but we obviously didn’t agree on this matter. For 16$ a night…you think water would be included.

The Ruins were spectacular. Below are a few pictures. We spent about 4 hours walking around the structures and taking pictures. It was a great first time Ruin experience. Cindi said she appreciated it more the 2nd time around…but maybe only because she had been to 6 or 7 sets of ruins the last time she came to Central America. Mom, I think you would have loved this place.

We tried to find a place to take tortilla making lessons, but failed miserably…so we just decided to get on a bus towards southern Honduras and make a pit stop at the highly recommended Pulaphanzak Waterfalls. We were also told about a cool Hostel/Brewery called D and D. American owned…this place was supposed to serve great Home Brewed beers and offer good tour service. It was ok…I got a cot for 2 nights and Cindi was sleeping on a couch….for 2$ a night. There were no other hostels or hotels anywhere clost. The owner was kinda rude at first…but they said he was relapsing on Dengue fever…guess that could piss anyone off. The food was great…and after the first day the owner offered to show me his collection of handmade honduran guitars and Mayan pottery. He took me into is Marijuana hot boxing room…i could only tell because I couldn’t see him 2 feet away…but he did play slide guitar amazingly. I had to get out of there quickly. The beer was extremely tasty..but after 7 or 8 home brews you should be singing to the birds…we weren’t. I guess it was really weak.

He set up a bird tour for us on Lake Yojoa. It blew. Don’t ever take a bird tour here. Birds are boring enough…without the shitty boat, non-english speaking tour guide, …for 4 hours? Who does that? Maybe this is why he smokes so much pot. Cindi got a good picture of the boat all 5 of us sat in…

So by this time, we are frustrated with the place and these waterfalls better be worth it. Holy Shit they were. I would say this is one of the top 10 things I have ever done in my life…a few slots behind running with the bulls in pamplona. They are about 160 feet tall…and roaring. Looking is an experience in its own. They a young guy on a bike asked us if we wanted to see the cave behind the falls. Only 5$ per person. People…this is by far the best 5$ I have ever spent in my life….It was 30 minutes of crazy, chaotic, scary, insane, and fun. He takes us to the bottom of the falls…only in swimming trunks and strap on sandals…and climbs over a few rocks…then gone. Where is he? Oh just jumped down 20 feet into the falls…and now he is smiling and waiting for us. Oh yeah…for about 30 minutes we made our way through the falls amidst the pounding water, crazy mist in your face (i lost a contact lens), and rocks you can’t see. We then powered our way under the main stream (all while making sure you don’t go over the edge to your death) to a small cave. Cave was lame…but getting there and back was awesome. If you are ever within 3, 6, 9 hours of this place…come…enjoy, you won’t reget it. Here are a few pics:

From the falls, we took 4 cabs, 5 buses, spent some time in Tegicigalpa, and a night in Managua…we are now in Granada, Nicaragua. Crossing the border by bus showed us some beautiful scenery and Hillary Duff in Cinderela story.

And yeah…we almost didn’t make it across the border. They were claiming we overstayed our Honduras Visas…I know we didn’t. The guy at the airport in San Pedro Sula wrote that we had 60 days on our passports and visas…we stayed about 50 days in Honduras. The guys at the Nicaragua border wrote over the 60 days and made it 30 days. And now they are telling us we might be stuck here…and maybe we have to pay more money. After some help from some Miami based americans…we were allowed through the border into Nicaragua. The entire bus had to wait for us for about 30-40 minutes. Hopefully we will be ok when we go to leave Nicaragua…who knows.

Ok…off to explore Granada.

later jason