Nicaragua - The Maria Adventures (part 1)

Well, after over a month of traveling through Guatemala, it's time to move on. Next up, you guessed it, Nicaragua. To get to Nicaragua, we had quite the day of travel. Wake up at 1:30 in the morning(and yes, we did go to bed. early, in fact. as always.) and hop into a private shuttle(only private because who the hell else decides it's time to change countries at that hour?!), then get onto a coach bus for the next 16 hours. It's a hell of a long time to be on a bus, but the seats were super nice. They reclined pretty far back, and there were foot rests to put out, so we were able to get a little sleep. Correction, I was able to sleep. Also, to pass the time, they showed a few movies. First was Vertical Leap(terrible movie about mountain climbing), then Never Back Down(terrible movie about street fighting), and the grand finale was a straight to video Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen thriller about youth soccer!! (Luckily it was dubbed in Spanish, so I didn't have to listen to their whiny voices!)

The trip consisted of crossing into El Salvador in the morning, where the border cross was pretty quick and easy. Then moving into Honduras after a few hours, where the border cross was equally easy. (We didn't even have to get our of our seats. Though, it would have been nice!) Then, finally into Nicaragua, where we all had to unload from the bus, and open all of our luggage to be checked by customs. This took about an hour for the whole bus, even though the check was mostly just a glance.

Anyway, by 10 pm we arrived at the bus station in Managua, Nicaragua!!!! (Upon the purchase of the trip, we were told we would arrive by 6 pm. Another guy we met on the bus was told he'd be in by 4:30! Anyway, I predicted 8 pm, and was still waaay off.)

After all that, the last thing we wanted was to have to get a taxi and find a hostel. Good thing our Savior, Maria, was there to meet us at the bus station, and drive us to her parents house in Managua. Maria totally understood how we felt after a bus trip like that, because within the last year, she went on a similar trip through the Americas. In fact, the pictures of her trip may have been the final tipping point that made us decide to go on this adventure.

Below is a picture of our great and wonderful friend.

So, upon arriving to her home, we met her wonderful mother Yalile (yah -lee-lay) and father Justi (who-stee). We were also shown to room which would become ours for our stay, with a full, private, bathroom. This is a big deal, because in hostels, the bathroom is generally down the hall, and who knows who or what is in them. Even though we were quite tired, we sat up for a little and had a beer with Maria and her parents, while rocking away in their very comfortable rocking chairs. They have six rocking chairs in their living room. They seem to be quite popular in Nicaragua.

The next morning, after a good night's rest, we were provided an excellent breakfast of an organic turkey egg, accompanied with a dish called gallo pinto. Gallo pinto is an excellent combination of red beans and rice, cooked with love by Yalile, and quite filling.

After breakfast, Maria decided to give us the driving tour of Managua.

Here we are out on a pier over Lake Managua. In the background is Momotombo Volcano.

It was a bit of a whirlwind tour that gave us a little feel of Managua, but also brief, as we still wanted to rest up a bit.

Well, Maria is quite the planner, and she arranged to go to a beach house (shack really, but on a beach nonetheless) with some of her friends. So the next day, we piled into an air conditioned truck, scooped up her friends, and headed out. Here is Laura and I immediately upon arriving. Don't we look so happy/smug?! This is the first glimpse of the ocean on our trip, so we were very excited.

Why waste time? Laura and Maria have cracked a few, and are ready to relax.

Below is a picture of what we would become our sleeping quarters. Hammocks provided by Maria's incredible planning skills. She also hung them for us, as we are helpless without her.

The shack is on a hill overlooking the beach, so we decided to take the party a little closer.

It was a good time of the night, and we were provided with a really enjoyable sunset.

We didn't want to leave the beach, but we couldn't see. So, we decided it was time for a fire.

As speaking Spanish is not one of my strong points, but making fires is, I finally felt like a contributing force. Below, like a true boy scout, I play with the fire.

Once the tide went out, small pools of water were left along the shore. Here our fire is reflected in one of them. Another really fun thing about the tide pools were that they were full of algae that glows in the dark due to some mysterious chemical reaction. When agitated, the water sparkled. It provided us with hours of fun. (We honestly did spend over an hour kicking through the water. After a few beers, the novelty of the event does not wear off quickly)

After falling asleep for an hour or so on the beach, we relocated to our beds for the night. As Laura is getting ready, I'm pretty much already asleep. And wearing my sunglasses at night.

The next morning, since I had hit the hay a little earlier than most, I was up early. Hammocks aren't the most comfortable beds to be found, so I decided to get out of it and take a walk on the beach. I walked perhaps a quarter of a mile down the beach, took some photos, and drew in the sand. I was getting bored by myself, so I thought I would go back to see if anyone was now awake. I turned away from the water, and no more than 20 feet away, spotted a crab!! I was so excited! When I was facing the water, I don't think he cared how close we were to each other, but when I turned and faced him, he froze. The previous night, we spotted one or two smaller crabs, and they ran from us, so I proceeded with caution.

I made big circles around him to avoid scaring him away. But once I felt that I had documented this event sufficiently with photos, I crept closer. He still didn't move. I chuckled a bit as we faced one another, his pinchers outstretched in front of him. It was as if he was waiting for me to make the first move, which I did, but he didn't react. A one way duel. I moved closer, and couldn't help looking around to see if anyone had by chance come down. Nope. No one to help me catch him, as this was now my main objective.

Getting closer still, I noticed that he began to lean back with every step I took. I continued, and he slowly leaned farther, until, finally, I was so close to him, that he fell over on to his back!!

I've never actually confused crabs with intelligent life, but this was too much! Face to face with (as far as he knew) a possible hostile life form, he literally rolled over. Wow.

Clearly, this was my opportunity to have some fun with my new friend. So, I scooped him up with a piece of driftwood, and carried him back to show off. Only Maria and Laura were awake, and they were extremely impressed. (Except that they weren't really at all.)

There was a beer can still sitting out, and I couldn't pass up this photo op. I had ideas to put him next to all sorts of things and take photos, but as I was the only person excited by this, I returned him to his natural habitat. When I put him down, the dummy was still petrified and wouldn't move. You'd think that after all I put him through, he would be ready to flee.

I like to pinch!!! Maybe a little pinch?!?

Here's a photo of Laura standing in front of the tide pools which provided us with the sparks of light.

It was an excellent first encounter with the Pacific ocean. We hope to do this much more in the very near future.

The day after our adventure on the beach, we went to the movies. Avatar had just come out, and we were anxious to see it. Here in the parking lot, is an enormous tree that we began calling the "Home Tree". We are too funny for our own good.

But actually, the tree in itself is quite neat. When this site was being developed to be paved and a parking lot created, it was decided that this tree was just too precious to destroy. Thus, it has become a fixture of the lot. Saving trees within developments. What a novel idea.

Next day, our lovely tour guide had more plans for us. Here we are at a lookout point over volcano Masaya. It is really just a smoking hole in the ground, but there are many great views to take in.

The hole. With smoke.

There were some nice hiking trails to explore, even if it meant ignoring caution.

The cross in the distance is where we were standing in the first photo. It signifies the location where a certain Nicaraguan regime executed dissenters by hurling them into the volcano. Brutal.

Maria is looking over a nearby lagoon, with another volcano in the distance. I think it's Mombacho.

After the volcano, we were driving along, and I spotted this. There was something ironic that I don't think I have seen elsewhere. The brown horse is grazing in the middle of a roundabout. The white one, next to a gas station. Neither is tied up, and we saw them a short time later in the middle of the road. The real kicker is that this road is very busy and full of traffic.

Maria's mom packed us some lunches, and with a lack of nice picnic areas, we decided to just pull over and eat in the back of the truck.

Laura eats as highway traffic buzzes by.

Our last stop for the day was to Catarina, a lookout point over Laguna de Apoyo.

There was a small market as well, where we had a little fun with hats.

Maria sure keeps us busy!

To be continued....