Today we took the bus again !
We started the day late (yesterday was a cool but long day), and we spent the rest of the morning writing yesterday’s article (there was much to be said). After a quick lunch in a nice little restaurant near the market, we took the bus.
Ok, it wasn’t very long this time, we only went from Granada to Masaya (about 20km, but still over an hour!). We still had the old school bus and kids seats, even smaller this time so the big backpack didn’t fit under the knees, so we had to pay an extra seat for it (which is common practice here in Nicaragua).
Masaya is mainly known for the volcano (we saw yesterday) and the artisanal market. It’s a bit like Otavalo in Ecuador : small artisanal villages are scattered around a main city with the touristic market where local and made in china stuff are tossed together. We went there in the end of the afternoon, just before closing time, and some wood crafted objects are really nice (our backpacks might get a bit heavier here 😉 ).
Most tourists only come here on day trips from Managua or Granada, mostly on organised tours combining a stop at the artisanal market and another at the national park to see the volcano. We chose to sleep here because the city seemed less touristy than the other ones we’ve been since we entered Nicaragua. The city itself isn’t great, but the atmosphere is nice, it feels “real” and aside from the artisanal market, you see much less gringos than in Ometepe or Granada!
And the hostel is probably the cheapest we’ve seen on our trip (10$ a night for 2 persons in a room with shared bathroom). But there was only the 2 single beds room available, so tonight we sleep a bit less like sinners!
Phew, that’s all for today and we’re not even late on the blog ! With the sun going down at 5pm, we tend to go to bed early and often postpone the redaction to the next day 😉