DAY 11

Started Day 11 by driving 4 hours south to the market town of Masaya, which is a short distance south of Managua, where we started our trip, which meant that even though, for the past 10 days, we have felt like we were in remote countryside, we were never more than a few hours from the big city. When I got home I figured out that the the whole of Nicaragua is 7 times smaller than the province I live in.

At Masaya we bought groceries at the Pali Supermarket, a big flourescent-lit chain store that was our first indication that we were back in civilization. After that we were allowed one hour at the Masaya tourist market (thanks, Robert, we know you hate that kind of thing) where, among other things, we managed to find a good map of Nicaragua. I bought a light woven blanket that the vendor assured me was made in Nicaragua but which we both knew was made in Guatamala.