San Carlos

After an hour or four sitting in the bus, I arrive at the reasonably well-arranged bus station in San Carlos. The city that was founded by the Spaniards after searching for the right passage from the Caribbean Sea to Lake Nicaragua after a few years. I walk past packed shops and stalls full of fruit and know that I walking in the direction of the harborfront but where exactly, no idea.

When I see a nice wooden hostel with a large wooden balcony with some rocking chairs and flowers, I walk inside. The woman speaks German (she lived there for a few years) and she shows me two rooms. They are not gems but for one night I can stay here, I think. I bargain about the prive and get a reasonably good room although it’s windowless and is located next to the toilet / shower. First I take a shower which turns out to be a bucket one.

The woman explains to me that water only comes out of the tap in the morning. Please don’t throw soap in the big water tank and if you’ve been to the toilet flush with a bucket full of water. She says I can also take a dip in the river, but I just read the story about the bull sharks in my travel guide and I leave this up to someone else. After this, I walk through the town which is actually built against a hill. The harbor front which is now the boulevard is a bit too neat for this city and Nicaragua. It is a park with three round stone buildings where shops and snack tents are located. Unfortunately, the information center is closed.

The town is a bit boring and lacks the "naughty and bad" atmosphere of "Bluefields", a city where I regret that I have not stayed a bit longer. It’s really Spanish here again, and I've seen two casinos as well, it's just too neat. I walk past the perfectly designed central park where a very large coloured climbing frame for children has been built. All around there are no terraces what you could have expected and what should have happened but just some boring shops.

Behind the gigantic shiny climbing frame they have painted the stairs to the old Spanish fortress in all colors of the rainbow - it is just not looking right. The entrance to the fort with two stone steps on both sides is still original but a lot of the actual fort is gone unfortunately. There is a whole group of some kind of delegation present and everywhere you see guys walking in suits. On the four corners of the old fort they have built watchtowers but because of the vegetation and buildings the best view is blocked.

Even though it becomes clear why the Spaniards chose this place to keep an eye on the pirates and to really protect Granada (something that did not work). You do not have to pay anything here fora n entrance fee. After looking around for a bit I walk back to the bus station where it is really busy and I walk up a stairs to a kind of open cafe-restaurant. I sit down at one of the tables where food is served. There is "comida corriente" which means that there is a fixed dish - chicken, rice and some salad.

You would think so close to the water that it is not so hot here, but it is humid, hot and stuffy. Time for a cold beer.

After my dinner and cold beer I walk to the nearby office where boats leave for "San Juan de Nicaragua" and “El Castillo”. I even thought about going to SJ de Nicaragua but because that is far too far and there is not much to see and do I decide to skip it. There are fast and slow boats and I write down all the information to sail up the famous and infamous river tomorrow.

I read something about a dispute with neighboring Costa Rica not long ago that was discussed in the Hague. In the end Nicaragua won. Above the casino is a bar where loud music comes from and I decide to climb the big wooden staircase and take a look. There is a breeze here and even though the music is not what I prefer, I decide to order an ice cold beer (20 C $$). I look a bit strange to these guys I see here; they wear cool cowboy shirts (which are by the way very expensive) and hats and even cowboy boots.

Next to that they sing along with the reverberating, doughy, sad almost Mexican Mariachi music I've heard in Nicaragua before. It is perhaps a mix between country and Mariachi which they like to listen to. Boys hung with watches, belts, mobile phones and sunglasses come in and occasionally a young boy with a wooden bench that wants to brush your shoes. After three beers, it's time to go and I'll make another round through the somewhat boring town. There is an "Eskimo" store and I order a delicious ice cream (15 C $).

Back in the hostel I nestle myself on the balcony in the rocking chair and watch life from here until the sun goes down.