05/14/24 Managua, Nicaragua

May 14, 2024

Yesterday I visited the Ticabus terminal to find out about tickets north. I was told, rather rudely, that I’d have to disassemble my bike and wrap it in plastic in order to get it on the bus. That’s an even bigger hassle than it seems because of having to also haul everything through Nicaraguan immigration and customs. In spite of my protests and explanation that I was certain it would fit based on my experience in Mexico I was told “this isn’t Mexico” and too bad. It seemed to me like the clerk was actually enjoying my dilemma. I left without buying a ticket to have a think.

I decided to take the 3am bus, expecting that the tyrant would not be on duty that early and hope for both less passengers and a nicer clerk. To be on the safe side I went off to find some plastic wrap in case they were all jerks at San Jose Ticabus. But they weren’t and it all worked out fine.

Plenty of room. That’s my roll of wrapping plastic strapped to the back. I wanted this picture to use in any potential future arguments as I make my way north

The bus is even fancier than the ones I rode in Mexico. Comfortable seats with individual entertainment screens, good A/C and so-so Wi-Fi

I didn’t take many pictures on the ride, mostly slept or played on my phone and looked out the window. From the vantage point of high up in the bus the road looked small and terrifying to bicycle on. It was an odd feeling recognizing places that it took me days to traverse speed past in mere hours

A stiff wind was blowing while we did the border crossing. I had zero nostalgia or wish to be cycling this road

We crawled for 30 minutes in Granada behind this truck overloaded with empty plastic bottles. Note the person stationed on top with a stick to push the wires out of the way as the truck inched slowly forward. The load would also scrape the branches of the overhanging trees, the poor guy had to be scratched something awful. Definitely not OSHA compliant

Made it to Managua 2 hours early. I bought a ticket for Tegucigalpa leaving at 5 am tomorrow. There’s a hotel attached to the bus terminal but it looked unappealing so I went back to the place I stayed previously, only a few blocks away. I’m even in my same room

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Karen PoretSafety first, David!
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