The Bus and a Stop in Leon

The plan at the end of the last post I was to head out from Boquete, Panama, to San Jose, Costa Rica the following morning. This didn´t happen. I realized that I really liked Boquete and wanted to stick around for another day and enjoy the town, because there was no real need to rush. So thats what I did. The extra day wasn´t all that exciting or action packed, but rather relaxed. I sat around reading and drinking coffee for a while and after a bit I met up with one of the other guys from the hostel. After chatting we decided to go for lunch with one of the Dutch girls there. We had a filling lunch at a small family resturant, and then we decided to head back to the hostel and chill there, and thats what the day consisted of. Relaxation, music, and conversation. Again, this was not all that productive a day, but it turned out to be one of my favourites.
The next morning, bright and early, I did force myself to leave the little mountain village and head down to David, Panama in order to catch my connecting bus towards San Jose. The Tracopa Bus ride north is very normal. Boring and long. Nothing much exciting happens along the ride, and all that you do is pass the time with reading, music and if your lucky, sleep.
Once we arrived in San Jose, I had to go through the unfortunate but necessary experience of negociating a taxi over to the Tica Bus terminal, were I could catch my next bus up to Nicaragua. Catching a taxi is the bane of my exsistence. They can charge whatever they want because your white, and because you need it, and they know it. So I find one that is reasonable and make my way over to the other terminal to set up my next ticket.
When I arrive I find out that the early bus I want to take is full and I am forced to take the afternoon coach. The downside to this is that I would arrive in Managua, Nicaragua,(the capital) late at night. This is undesirable because the big cities are not the safest, even in day light, and it also would mean that I will be later getting to Leon. But there is not much that I can do about this, so I book and head off to find a hostel for the night.
The next morning before I head off to the bus, I went to search out some food. I came across the main street, where a festival was in full bloom. Everyone around me was eating plates of gallo pinto (a typical dish, consisting of rice and beans mixed together). I asked around to see what the festival was all about and how much the plates of gallo pinto were going to cost me. It turns out that this is the Gallo Pinto Festival. Yes, thats right, its a rice and beans festival, where they try and break the record for the most gallo pinto made. People come from all over to celebrate with music, street preformers, and the obligatory eating of gallo pinto, which by the way is totally free! Eat to your hearts content. I went around getting plates from various vendors who all added their own little flavour or sauce to the mix. Quite a neat thing to be a part of the worlds largest rice and beans festival (possibly the only).
The bus ride was again uneventful until we got to the Nicaragua side of the boarder. I had intended to get some money in San Jose to cover the boarder crossing, but was distracted by the rice and beans. So I ended up at the boarder 1$ short of what I needed. I thought this would be fine, because I could just take money out at the boarder ATM. It wouldnt accept my card. So I was then forced to ask a fellow travelling Canadian for a few bucks to get me through. It was a bit of a hassle but once that was over the ride went smoothly. I decided to get of in Granada because it was safer and familiar for me to do in the dark.
The next morning I caught a series of buses to get to Leon, which is another colonial town in Nicaragua. I wanted to take a day or two off in Leon so that I wasnt spending my whole time on the bus. The town is beautifully colonial. I stopped into some different museums in the area surrounding the FSLN (Left wing "rebel" party) and the revolution that took place in the country in the late 70´s early 80´s. These places were quite moving. The first was run by mothers of fallen soldiers. The room was filled with pictures and write ups told of the revolution here in Leon. Talking to one of the mothers who lost two of her children and four of her brothers to American backed Somoza dictatorship was sobering to say the least. Its incredible to see first hand what happens to these countries that have their politics meadled with by the Americans, and how it destroys lives for some foreign agenda. The next one I went to was run by former rebels, in one of the Somoza strongholds during the revolution. They told of the battles in the area, with my guide proudly showing off the scar he had from where a piece of an exploding bomb ripped into him. Just 12 when he joined, he pointd out pictures of many of his friends that died in the fighting who were of similar age. He was proud to have served and he let me try on some of the equipment used during that time, along with a rocket launcher that they used during battle. The experience was so facinating but so very sad. It showed me a lot about the reality of what many have had to live through here in Central America. It makes me rather thankful for the upbringing that I have been given in Canada.
I will leave Leon today and continue to head north on the Tica Bus, with the untimate destination being Guatemala. If all goes well I should be there Thursday afternoon.
Thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed.

Bye for now

Mike