Las Penitas and Masaya

I was ready for a day of R&R following the hectic pace in Leon so I headed the short distance to Las Penitas, a small town on the Pacific Coast about 20km from Leon. It is a very small town and there is not much going on. I wandered down the road just at the right time when the fishing boats had come in with their haul and there was a flurry of activity in the water. Everyone getting their fish and cleaning them - the women had all come out to check out what was for dinner and there were pelicans and dogs all getting in the mix as well.

The beach at Las Penitas is black sand and the day so hot it wasn't worth risking burnt and blistered feet to go for a walk along it. The only people I did see out there were sprinting across the sand as quickly as possible to avoid getting burnt. The water was quite rough as well, similar to the Pacific beaches in Costa Rica - good for surfers but dangerous and exhausting for swimmers. It was nice however to be somewhere near the beach and to listen to the waves crashing as I chilled out and read my book.

In the evening I enjoyed a few beers with my new friend Ivan, a Canadian who has lived in Costa Rica for the past 12 years. He has had an incredibly interesting life and had lots of stories to tell. Currently having problems with his Colombian lover, we were both happy to chew the fat while the retro Nicaraguan radio station played favourites from the '70s and '80s in the background (read more ABBA).

The next day I caught a collection of buses, collectivos, minibuses and taxis to get to Masaya. A smallish town famed for its market which stocks a large collection of Nicaraguan and Central American handicrafts. The market sits within a beautiful old gothic fortress and is very pleasant to walk around. Not the hectic bustle of similar markets in Asia and other countries, there were more vendors than shoppers and there was no-one shouting at me to buy their goods. The town is very pleasant to stroll around and observe typical Nicaraguan small town life as there aren't too many tourists.

This morning before I left I took the short walk from the centre of town to the Malecon (waterfront) to the Laguna Masaya which looks across to the volcano - the most stunning vista.

I am now in Granada, a beautiful preserved colonial city and the pride of Nicaragua, where I will spend the next few days.