Somoto
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Luckily I could store my non-water-resistant backpack at a local eatery, but that didn’t solve the issue of my travelbuddy not having proper footwear… so he just had to deal with it and suffer. And he did. Where I crossed the river in five minutes, he was twenty minutes later still standing in the middle with an agonized face cursing his entire existence. Although I must say: Once it gave me the opportunity to play the ‘savior of the day’ when diving and breast-scrolling behind his lost flip-flop, which was satisfying enough to claim credit for the rest of the day.
Talking about satisfying: The canyon itself was absolutely overwhelming. In this stunning piece of nature you can do nothing but internally reflect and put your ego aside… You are just a tiny flea in the pelt that’s called the ecosystem, and reality teaches it’s even better off without us anyway. All that’s left to do is be submissive and be grateful to be a part of magnificent natural manifestations like Cañón de Somoto.
I closed my eyes and jumped off a cliff before being swallowed by the muddy waters.
Talking about satisfying: The canyon itself was absolutely overwhelming. In this stunning piece of nature you can do nothing but internally reflect and put your ego aside… You are just a tiny flea in the pelt that’s called the ecosystem, and reality teaches it’s even better off without us anyway. All that’s left to do is be submissive and be grateful to be a part of magnificent natural manifestations like Cañón de Somoto.
I closed my eyes and jumped off a cliff before being swallowed by the muddy waters.
Fast-forward to Cañón de Somoto. Even though the infrastructure of this touristic highlight is not as developed as it could be, the adventure gives it an extra touch. Just make sure you come prepared, like I didn’t: Bring a swimming suit, clothes that are comfortable when wet, a waterproofed bag and oh my god, good shoes! Sneakers, surf shoes, sandals, for this one time in the history of humanity you can even get away with crocs… ANYTHING but flip-flops. There are no bridges and you will actually have to cross the rivers by foot. The stones are sharp and the current is ridiculously strong and will drag you down whenever it feels like it.
Backpacked on the back and front I roamed around town to locate the house of Couchsurfer Juacar, who I would oddly enough not meet at all during my entire stay… triggering fantasies of being trapped in some wicked game of a psychopathic serial killer looking at me via hidden cameras to see how I would behave in his evil social experiment. The reality: His house was under construction and he lived elsewhere, but in the meantime he allowed not too picky travelers to use this almost empty studio as a temporary homebase. Which is actually a very nice thing to do. To enter and exit I depended on his friend Carlos, who also slept in the same space and held the only key… although I figured out how to break into the house on the first day already, which left me with more worries than it actually solved.
In Granada I stumbled upon a daytrip-offer to breathtakingly beautiful Somoto, an 8,5-hour-drive each way. As that seemed to be a tad over the top, I decided just to pass by on the way to Honduras. I determined to stay three nights here, which is a bit much if you consider the canyon is basically the only touristic attraction in this further quite boring town. Especially if you have to come back for another two nights because you can’t cross the border*…
* For that story, check this blog!
* For that story, check this blog!
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- Colonial towns in Nicaragua: León & Granada
- Volcano-hopping in Nicaragua: Isla de Ometepe, Mombacho, Masaya & Hervidores de San Jacinto
- Nicaraguan hiking adventures: Matagalpa, San Sebastián de Yali, Mombacho & Laguna Apoyo
- The most authentic beach place in Nicaragua: Playa Gigante
- Places to avoid in Nicaragua: San Juan del Sur & Managua
- Corruption at the Nicaraguan-Honduran border
- Canyoning in Banos, Ecuador
- Where time stood still: Stewart Island, New Zealand’s third main island
- Check out Budget Bucket List's FAVORITE HIKING DESTINATIONS worldwide!