Local Flavour - Blogabond

After a one-night stopover in Tegus (grim - redeemed only by the fact that I had company in the form of a guy called Pete who I met on the bus, Jana and I having sadly parted ways after Utila, and by the fabulous rice dish we ate at 'La Terraza de Don Pepe') I made the insane border crossing to Nicaragua. Hectic doesn't come close. From the minute the bus pulled close to immigration and the money changers spotted a gringo onboard, the vehicle was engulfed by screaming men fighting for my business. By the time I had battled through them and turned round to retrieve my luggage from the roof it had gone - but luckily only as far as a nearby tuktuk whose opportunist driver had snaffled it to assure my custom. Given the situation I decided to go with it, and told him in no uncertain terms to stick to my side while I dealt with everything else. Getting into my stride, I screamed at the crazy men to shut up and be civil while I got my passport stamped and managed to be so indifferent and determined that one of them, accordingly to my calculations and his disgruntled colleagues, actually ended up changing my currency at a loss to himself!

Savvy traveller - 1
Intimidating Nicas - 0

The drama didn't stop there though. My bus onwards, delayed by an hour while some locals stufed it to the gunnels with some undefined cellophaned packages from the market, was raided by the police who were less than impressed by what they found and proceeded to unceremoniously confiscate everything on the bus - except my bag, which he deemed harmless. Cottoning on to this, the women around me started passing stuff my way to be subtly secreted about my seat, out of suspicion's way, and they got away with it ... so I am now presumably guilty as accessory to some breach of import laws or something. Meanwhile all hell was breaking loose behind us as two women, clearly watching their dubiously earned fortune slipping through their fingers, went at it hammer and tongs hurling blame at each other and screaming abuse across the bus. Just as the poor harried policeman rushed up to intervene, "Tranquillo, tranquillo, que pasa? Calma, calma!", one woman burst out of her seat and flew down the bus in full fight mode and started clawing at her adversary's face. A gripping struggle ensued and ended with the policeman wrestling her off, handcuffing her and escorting her, spitting and sobbing, off the bus. Welcome to Nicaragua!

written by

Alex Kent on September 25, 2007 from Somotillo, Nicaragua

from the travel blog: On the Varieties of Nature

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