Category: Nicaragua

One Saturday in Managua: Tiscapa and Zip lining

Today is my only day in Managua. I did a lot of research and everything told me that traveling around the city on my own was not safe. I didn’t want to come to Managua without seeing any of it though, so tried a number of tour operators but no luck as a singleton. So, I came up with another plan and spent my one Saturday in Managua zip lining at Tiscapa Lagoon.

tiscapa lagoon

This morning, after check-in, breakfast and a short nap, I hired a taxi to take me to Tiscapa Lagoon. A volcanic lake on a mountain, this preserve offers views of the sprawling capitol city, and a canopy tour of the lake itself. So a visit to the lagoon offers views and adventure, which sounded good to me. The taxi driver waited for me while I enjoyed the activities at Tiscapa.

Managua view
View of Managua and Lake Managua from Tiscapa
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Surprise Layover in San Salvador

I’m supposed to be in Managua right now. I am not in Managua though, I am at a Quality Hotel near the El Salvador airport, outside of San Salvador. I was only supposed to be in that airport for 50 minutes but plans change. My flight was cancelled. The airline did right by us, however, and bussed us to this very decent hotel, gave us dinner and are bussing us back, albeit at 3 am (!),  for our early morning flight to Managua. Fingers crossed!

The Positives About the Surprise Layover in San Salvador

Some good things came of this unexpected stop: I got a new stamp in my passport, tried the local beer (not that good), watched some Americans do karaoke in the bar, and met two Nicaraguans who were sooo nice and made me more excited to live there! In fact, one of the people I met over dinner runs a small hostel in San Juan del Sur with his wife, who is American and is in DC right now to do the Women’s March. Small world!  So the surprise layover worked out fine. Just wish I could have used the pool – it looks nice.

school bus
Our transport to the hotel
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Being Scared Of Solo Travel

So there’s that saying “do something that scares you” and I do agree with it. To me, there are benefits to being scared. In this case, it’s about being scared of solo travel. I want to try new things and sometimes I can only do them alone. That is not going to stop me. Before today, I thought this trip to Nicaragua didn’t scare me. Colombia scared me! I had never travelled alone before Colombia. But I did it! I figured, I’ve done it, and being scared of solo travel should be off the table for me now.

Nerves

Wrong. I am so scared. I don’t want to be away from Brian for 6 weeks. That’s too long! Too late now. I leave today. He’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I will miss him to bits though, wow.

Last night, we went out for dinner and to a gallery show for my last night in town. The art exhibit was really great – it was a collective of design students showcasing their senior projects in process. And this one quote caught my eye and fits this moment for me right now. I don’t know: it is making me feel better about going on this journey alone. Plus, Brian supports this completely, and I know a bunch of you reading this do too!

Quote Being scared of solo travel
Yes!
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