South America
MexicoNicaragua
Nicaragua was the only truly poor country we drove through on this trip. It was still trying to recover from a ruinous civil war. The road we took to the city of Leon was terrible, full of potholes and in desperate need of maintenance. Along the way, kids dressed only in a tattered tee shirts (nothing else) begged from the passing traffic.
We stayed in a dilapidated hotel in Leon. It had once been a splendid colonial edifice, with high ceilings, pillars, vast foyers and large airy rooms, but like the rest of the country it was in dire need of a bit of TLC (Tender Loving Care).
Food
Food plays a central role on these truck trips. As well as eating in local restaraunts and cafes along the way, we cooked a lot of meals for ourselves.
The quality of truck cooked meals varied considerably, from very good (I'm personally very proud of a couple of meals that I've help prepare on this and other truck trips) to barely edible (I've been responsible for some truly terrible meals along the way). I've eaten barbecued chicken for Christmas lunch when in Columbia, and been served banoffee pie (the toffee part was made using condensed milk boiled while still in the can) on the top of a wild escapement, overlooking the Pantinals in Brazil.
The one thing I learnt while cooking from the truck, was not to be scared but to have a go (oh, and always make more than you think you'll need).
Jim (my room mate) and I went out that evening, in the rain, looking for somewhere to eat. We ended up in a bar / restaurant which seemed to be a student hang out. We ordered beer and pizza, which was okay but nothing to write home about. Part way through our meal the local drunk started bothering us. He wanted money for beer, but we ended up giving him some pizza, as that'd do him far more good, and the bar staff served him glasses of water.
Volcano
The next day saw us in the capital Managua. We stayed some 20 minutes (all that the place really deserved) to look around some of the sites, before heading off to the Masaya national park. Here we setup for the night in the grounds of the old park visitor centre (12 00 12.25 N, 86 08 54.62 W). Like everything in this country, it had been abandoned and was in need of renovation. This was a great pity as it was quite a modern building, built high on a hill, with great views.
From our campsite it was a short drive to the Santiago Volcano (11 59 03.54 N, 86 10 03.99 W). This is still gently smoking, but hasn't erupted for sometime.
We made a brief stop next to lake Managua so that we could take some photos, before continuing on with our trip.
After a brief visit to the market in Granada, we continued on south to the border and Costa Rica. We hadn't stayed long in Nicaragua, but then there's still very little to see, thanks to their recent civil war.
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