"Cartago city was founded in 1563 by the Spanish and was the capital of Costa Rica until 1820 when it was moved to San Jose. The original centre was destroyed by earthquakes in 1841 and 1910; the present city, though pleasant, I found to have little of special interest.
 
After my 3 easy days in San Jose, it was back to the bus station again for an early morning bus on to Managua. It turned out to be a much more scenic ride than on the previous section from Panama, with a particularly attractive stretch where the road ran along the edge of Lake Nicaragua, and one could view an impressive string of volcanoes in the distance. I also had the good fortune to sit next to an interesting American who was living in Honduras. Talking with him and hearing what he had to say about Central America gave me a lot more confidence for my planned route, as well as making for an enjoyable ride. On reaching Managua in the early evening, I managed to get myself booked into one of a number of rooms provided at the bus station for passengers making a through journey, even though I was stopping two nights. Although, the building the rooms were in was more like a prison, at least it was clean, safe and convenient, and only cost me £1.25 a night." - MH