Playa Madera

It took me practically a week, but I finally got to one of the beaches of SJDS. I went to a hostel that I knew didn't have a minimum number of passengers requirement to go to Playa Madera. Unfortunately, that shuttle was full and I almost just decided to head to the pool at Pelican Eyes again instead. But I popped into a nearby surf shop to see if they had any shuttles going and, as it turned out, they had one leaving in 10 minutes. I'm kind of glad the hostel shuttle was full because it would have been a 25 minute, wooden bench, un-air-conditioned, super bumpy ride. The shuttle with the surf shop was in a proper SUV, air-conditioned, and took less time because we could go (a little) faster. Isn't it nice when things work out?

It was high tide when I arrived, so there was just a little rocky spit of beach. I got maybe a hair more sun than I was planning on getting the day before, though, so I was pretty happy to see the one sandy section of beach covered in shade. (It was kind of on a slight hill, too, but oh well. Beggars can't be choosers.) I watched the surfers and read and dozed and swam and dozed some more before deciding to move out of the sun entirely. This little beach-side bar gouged you with their beer prices ($1.70/beer? What?), but at least it had a view:

The sunset was lovely, but I just couldn't wait to get back to my hostel. I desperately wanted a cold shower to wash off the salt and sand...and two slices of pizza. (Hey! The heart wants what the heart wants!) Two full days of sun have left me browner and sleepier and I think I'm finally ready to move on to Costa Rica ready to go to Costa Rica on Wednesday.

** I realized too late today that I forgot my camera, so all of today's pictures were taken with my phone. They still turned out pretty nice, but the sunset ones could have been better, I think.

Slice of life

(Party like a Nica, tip like a gringo!)

I sent an email to a friend the other day that I thought was a pretty good story, so I decided to share it here as well. This actually happened on Friday night, not "last night," but it was written on Saturday, so.

Yeah, so, last night all of the electricity in the entire town went out (although I didn't know that at first and thought it was just my block). I was just kinda gonna wait it out and see if it came back on, but I realized the battery on the computer I was using to play solitaire would only last so long, so maybe a beer was in order.

That's when I found out electricity was out all over because it was DARK walking down those streets. Most places were closed, but there was a small generator here and there providing a wee bit of light. I ended up going into a bar I walked into the other night and the owner, Mandy, even remembered my name (I *love* that). She introduced me to the gang of regulars and we all sat around drinking and playing Family Feud on her phone (not sure how that worked without an internet connection, actually, but whatever). Mandy was trying really hard to keep the refrigerators as cold as possible and was loathe to open it for just one beer, so she'd yell at the whole bar (probably a dozen of us in all) to give her their orders. Cracked me up because every single time there was a guy who didn't want a beer and then one and half minutes later he did and Mandy would curse up a storm. 

After a few hours, all of the lights and fans came whirring back on and everyone cheered. We were all looking forward to being able to go home and sleep in relative comfort with the help of our trusty fans.

I got back to my hostel and had to ring a bell to be let back in. (A couple of the bar patrons had said it sucked for my hosts to have to be woken by a bell late at night and I said if they didn't want me to ring the bell, then they shouldn't have let me leave! Ha.) Just a quick ring, not too disturbing, wait a minute or two, no response. Did that a couple of times and was inching into seven minutes of waiting for the door to be unlocked when I just let the bell rip. Did the trick, but the gal seemed stunned. I guess I would be too if a fire alarm sounding bell yanked me out of sleep and a gringa was there at the door, smiling sheepishly to be let back in.

[What's really funny is that my hosts just gave me a key to the front door. I've been here for four days already and just now got the key. I guess they don't want me to ring the bell after all!]

*     *     *     *     *

As cheap as beer is here (usually less than a dollar; an "expensive" beer is still less than $1.50), you just really don't want to drink it all day long. Lucky for me, I found this awesome smoothie place and have made it part of my daily routine to go there for a smoothie and some Duolingo practice. So far I've tried dragonfruit/strawberry/mint, pineapple/celery/lemon, carrot/orange/mint, and cucumber/ginger/orange. That last one is my favorite and now I don't have to try any other iterations. :-)

*     *     *     *     *

A lot of the kids here have those toys that were popular in the 80s in the U.S. You know the ones with the two ball, rock-like things attached by a string or hard piece of plastic that when you move your hand in such a way they clank together over and over again? Yeah, those. At times the sound is annoying as all get out, but it's also kind of amusing seeing little kids as entertained by a toy that I was entertained with nearly 30 years ago. Aw, the 80s have finally found Nicaragua! 

*     *     *     *     *

As you may have guessed by now, I'm still in Nicaragua. I was going to leave on Sunday and then I was going to leave on Monday. But at some point on Sunday I realized that a Monday departure just wasn't going to happen. I'm not exactly looking forward to the greater expense of Costa Rica and Panama. (For comparison purposes, my daily budget in Nica is $20-50, but I've never come close to $50 and there have been quite a few days that were below $20. The range for Costa Rica and Panama is closer to $35-75/day and it seems like it will be pretty easy to be within that range on a regular basis.) Plus, I haven't exactly figured out my route through C.R. and it looks like transportation could be difficult. Yeah. So. Not exactly in a hurry to leave the ease of San Juan behind. Maybe Tuesday... 

Shopping and swimming

San Juan del Sur is mostly on the map because of the surfing (which I don't do), but it's a pleasant enough place to while away a few days before heading to the more expensive countries of Costa Rica and Panama. For sure, it's one of the more gringo-tastic places I've been to in Central America. On the one hand, that's bad because prices tend to be more inflated than they should be (a room advertised online for $6/night was actually $15); on the other hand, communication tends to be a little easier because more of the locals speak English. Give and take, right?

I've done a little bit of souvenir shopping over the past couple of days and have been reminded, as I was when I was doing the same thing in SE Asia, that sizes are a little bit different here than in the States. I bought a shirt for myself that fits perfectly...as long as it doesn't shrink in the wash...it's an XL. At home, all of my shirts are either small or medium. And no, I didn't accidentally buy a child-size shirt because I asked if it was for women! :-) It's a good thing I don't have any hangups about the letters on the tag, huh?

I wanted to go to one of the local beaches either today or tomorrow (or both). The beach in SJDS proper is just a couple of blocks away, but it's not the nicest for swimming or hanging out so most people go to Playa Hermosa or Playa Maderas, both about 30-40 minutes away. The most common way to get to the beach is by colectivo or shuttle (which also typically has a requirement for minimum number of people). So, I again find myself in the situation where it's quite expensive to be a solo traveler. I ended up deciding to go back to Pelican Eyes Resort (where all of today's posts' pictures were taken) instead, because it's such a chill spot. The resort is built on a hill and there are three different levels, all with infinity pools overlooking the Pacific. I went last night and had a pretty decent sunset (nothing like in Ometepe!), but tonight's was overcast and cloudy and looks like more of the same for tomorrow (I guess I'm glad I didn't go to the beach after all). Actually, as a matter of fact, torrential downpours have just started as I'm writing this...

My current plan is to get some errands and other shopping done tomorrow, and then head to Costa Rica on Sunday. What are your plans for the weekend?

The Naked Tiger Hostel

I've been in San Juan del Sur for the past couple days and I'm staying at The Naked Tiger Hostel. Go check out my full review HERE.

Ojo de Agua

I'd mentioned having a plan and indeed I had one. Yesterday, Sunday, I wandered the town, stopping for the occasional pic and beer and reading breaks, but that was the extent of my energy expenditure. One of my dorm mates crammed his day full - volcano hike from 6a-12p followed by a guided tour of the island til almost 6p, then he walked around a bit, had dinner and didn't get back to the room until after 8. It made me tired just hearing about his day!

(Believe it or not, there's actually a pretty big volcano behind that church)

Since I wasn't really interested in paying $45 to go on a tour-guided motorbike to a gray sand beach called Playa Santo Domingo on the other side of the island, today I took the "direct" bus there instead. (I laugh in the face of whoever called it direct. It is a chicken bus, after all, so the 25km ride took nearly an hour and a half and, in reality, had a lot of stops. Oh well, it was pleasant enough.)

Upon arrival at the beach, I found that the water was...less than nice for swimming. It wasn't the Ganges River or anything, but it looked a little squicky along the water's edge. Rather than spend a few hours there as I expected, I found a place to grab a juice and read for a bit before I set back out. This time my destination was Ojo de Agua, two thermal spring water fed swimming pools in the middle of the forest. 

The water was COLD, but after a nearly 3km, mostly unshaded walk, it was a welcome relief. It wasn't too crowded, so it was a relaxing place to chill out for a while and listen to the monkeys above us in the trees...until it started pouring rain, that is. Even the monkeys were annoyed and were howling their protests. Oh well. It had been a long enough day, anyway. Plus, I knew that by the time I got back to town and showered, I'd be *starving* and *way* ready for dinner. Guess what time it is now? ;-)

Caught it!

 My general rule is that I like to see a place with my eyes for a day or so before trying to capture it through a lens. So when I arrived on Isla de Ometepe a little after 4pm today, I left my camera in my room with the rest of my things before setting out to see more of the town of Moyogalpa.

I wandered a bit before stopping at a colorful, cheery looking place for a beer. My beer was just about finished when I happened to look up...and saw some crazy pink clouds. I looked in the other direction, saw more of the same, and got excited - THIS was going to be a good sunset! I practically sprinted back to my hostel to grab my camera (I can break my own rules!) and then kept sprinting to get to the dock for optimal viewing.

I said a couple of weeks back that I'd been on a glorious sunset mission and, well, let's consider it mission accomplished. I can't even believe how intense this sunset was. I also can't believe that besides me, a couple, and a guy playing guitar, there were no other people hanging around to see it.

The only other thing I've done since being here is check out some options for things to do. Although there are two volcanoes on this island that can be climbed - Concepción at 1610m and Maderas at 1394m - I...won't be doing that. It's 6-10 hours of steep, hot climbing and I just can't be bothered! But I've also found that nothing is exactly cheap here, either. Sixty dollars for a taxi to the waterfall on the other side of the island or for an afternoon of horseback riding; forty-five dollars by moto to a beach and nearby fresh water pools? I realize those are not super large numbers, but keep in mind that my daily budget is $30 and that's supposed to cover everything including accommodations and food. Sure, I occasionally go over (because there are days I'm well under, so it balances out), but I'm not sure either of those activities will be worth it.

Don't worry. I have a plan...

More Granada

Granada definitely has me under its spell. I'd initially planned to leave yesterday, but only because I'd wanted to take the ferry from Granada to Isla de Ometepe and it only leaves twice a week. Then I realized that I could take the ferry from San Jorge instead and not only would it be faster and cheaper, but it's also more frequent. The plan, then, was to leave today. However...I woke up and my very first thought was, "oh, I'll stay just one more day."

Ever since my walk past the Convent of San Francisco the other day, I'd been wanting to get back to see if I could get better pictures, ones that weren't being shot directly into the sun. I don't know if my timing was much better today, but it was a pretty morning and there's a good breakfast place across the street from the convent so it gave me a good reason to go there.

After breakfast it was still pretty early (and also not too hot yet), so I took advantage by doing a bit of shopping for a few essentials I needed. I took a bunch of random pictures along the way (as evidenced here) and had to laugh when a guy stopped me and asked "Are you just taking pictures of doorways or what?" Hey, buddy, are you the picture police? Let me take pictures of randomness and pretty colors if I feel like it! :-D

Other than that, it's pretty quiet around here. I've been hanging out in the courtyard of my hostel, enjoying the cool, shady breezy and the crazy intense smell of the guavas that keep dropping from the trees all around me, occasionally taking breaks to get another refresco, or water, or beer. I do intend to leave tomorrow, but let's see how I feel when I wake up...

ZIPlining!

Yesterday I alluded to fun plans for today and if you're paying attention (and read the title!), you've figured out by now that those plans were to do a canopy tour and go ziplining. My friends over at LaAventura Project had told me how much fun they'd had doing it, so I set out to find a tour company practically upon arrival in Granada. 

It wasn't easy, though. After deciding to use Leo Tours (because it's 100% Nica owned and operated, and because Leo was so awesome), I had to make multiple trips back to their office. You see, there was a two person minimum and clearly I'm only one person. I put my name on a list with Leo and checked back with him three times over two days to see whether any other groups had come along that I could join. Finally, yesterday he told me that he'd arrange for me to go today, even if it was just me, and it would be the same price. Awesome! Guess who's getting a five star review from me on TripAdvisor? :-)

This morning it was a short drive to the foot of the Mombacho Volcano and the Cutirre coffee plantation. The staff were really great about getting us safely strapped into the gear and explaining how the ziplines worked. The cables were up to 100 feet above the ground, with 17 platforms that had ziplines and bridges connecting them. The platforms give you pretty good views all around. I saw a baby falcon and a family of howler monkeys (who stared at us and seemed very curious about what exactly we were doing).

The guides take pictures with your camera so you can take it all in (and brake when necessary). You also have options to travel the ziplines in different ways:

(The "wonderwoman")

(The "monkey")

But most of the time, you're just right side up and zipping along. I don't know how fast you go, but you really move!

In that video, the guide just told me to keep looking at him (which is why I kind of look like a goon)...this is why I crashed into the other guide at the end of the line! You can hear me laughing as I say sorry. Whoops!

The last cable was probably the most fun, I think. It was the longest of all the cables and one guide was at the end, rocking the cables. This meant that I got bounced all around, swinging and swaying like crazy. It was really fun. :-)

It's pretty warm right now, so I'm lying low and taking it easy. But in a couple of hours I have a massage scheduled at Seeing Hands. Seeing Hands is one of those initiatives that trains blind Nicaraguans to give them a way to support themselves. I did this once before and really enjoyed it, so I figured I'd give it another try. Plus, why not? Massage. Who needs an excuse for that?

A Balm and a Salve

Granada. Granada is my balm and salve right now. Yes, I know those two words essentially mean the same thing, but I needed a lot of healing after the last few days so I'm using both.

I'd been looking forward to Granada since way back when, so I was bound and determined to shake off the last bit of funk that was hanging on. I added my two favorite albums to a playlist and that cheered me immediately, but as if that wasn't enough - air conditioning on BOTH of my buses! So unusual and such a treat, I couldn't help but be happy! Then...I first laid eyes on the cathedral at Central Park and I just could.not.stop.grinning. 

I spent today wandering around contentedly, taking pictures, drinking refrescos (cold drinks made from everything ranging from grains and seeds to fruits - I had dragonfruit and a variety of passion fruit), and making plans for tomorrow (how's that for foreshadowing?). I'll share some of my pics, but I apologize in advance for the quality - first it was overcast/cloudy and then I shot into the sun later.

(The aforementioned cathedral, built in 1712)

I took a bunch of pictures at Iglesia La Merced which I'd heard and read had a tower that you could climb for awesome views of the city (and for only C$20, i.e. <$1).

(A close up of the outside of the church)

(Coral loves Granada, too!)

(Selfie shot that took some *amazing* maneuvering) 

After meandering for most of the morning and early afternoon, I ended up back at my hostel to rest a bit and it was around 3pm that I realized I hadn't eaten yet today. Whoops! The heat dulls my appetite, I think. The last few days I've been eating one meal a day, usually around 4 or 5pm. I got gallo pinto con cerdo (gallo pinto translates as painted rooster, but really it's rice and beans, with pork) and another refresco. Then it was back to the hostel for more resting and blogging and chatting, and the plan for later is a drink with some of my dorm mates.

Finally, how about a couple of my favorite shots from today, however random they may be?

(Convent of San Francisco - I like the light and dark colors with the telephone wires coming from all over)

(Just a man in a doorway with his bike...but I like it!)

(Random stairway to nowhere behind bars in the stairwell up the tower of Iglesia La Merced - I was digging how the shadows and lines were playing together)

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Churches of Leon

This morning, the only thing on my mind was finding a panadería for some bread and finding a shady spot to eat and people watch. I had no idea what the filling was in the sugar-crusted bread that I pointed at and requested two of, I just hoped it wasn't icky. Caramel! Oh my god, it was this yummy, not too sweet, not too sticky caramel. Why I've never seen or heard of this creation before, I don't know, but it was GOOD. It was also just the smile I needed after my last few days.

I hadn't specifically set out today to do a walking tour of the city's churches, but that's somehow what I ended up doing. I suppose it was even appropriate since it's Sunday and that's where most of the city's citizens were anyway. ;-)

First, though, let me show you what it's like trying to find your way around León. Here's a picture of a map that the city has posted at Central Park. Let me know if you notice anything...strange about it:

Give yourself a round of applause if you noticed that there are no street names on this map. The guidebook says that, unusual for this area, Leon actually has street signs. It does, but they are very randomly placed and you can't exactly rely on them. My strategy is to consult the map when there ARE street signs and count the numbers of blocks to my destination or turn.

My map shows ten churches and I think I only saw half of them. The cathedral located at Central Park is the largest in all of Central America and seemed as good a place as any to start, (especially since I was already there in a shady spot with my bread). It took almost one hundred years to construct (beginning in 1747) and definitely shows signs of its age and being battered by volcanoes, although it is currently going through a renovation.

 I don't really know much about the history of the other churches, unfortunately. So I'll just share a couple of my favorite shots of the day.

(La Merced Church in the background)

(The facade of La Recolección church dates back to 1786)

Other pics are posted, go check 'em out if you feel so inclined.

Tomorrow I'm off to Granada for a bit of adventure!

Isla del Tigre and travel to Nica

It's kind of hard to know where to start with relaying the events of the last few days. On the one hand, I'd like everyone to keep feeling envious of my travels and all the wonderful people I'm meeting along the way; on the other hand, sometimes there are just hard days and hard situations. For the sake of fair and objective reporting (you mean I'm NOT a journalist? Oh. Oh well.) and the hopes that maybe the full telling of the story will be therapeutic, I'm gonna share all of it...

Wednesday started with a bright and early 6am bus. By about 10:30am I'd arrived at Comayagüela, just outside the capital of Tegucigalpa...and was thoroughly disgusted in relatively short order. I'd been warned that a taxi here from where the bus dropped off was absolutely necessary because of the danger. I don't know about danger, but I was completely gouged by the taxi driver (who charged me almost the same amount for a five minute drive as what I paid for a four hour bus ride AND laughed in my face when I called him out on it) and then practically attacked by touts who were grabbing at me to go with their bus company and not the other guy's. I was then routed onto one particular bus where I got to wait for the next hour until we actually left. That wasn't so bad, kinda comes with the territory in these parts. What WAS bad was that during that hour I got to basically see the worst of humanity. Touts harassing anyone in their grabbing vicinity, blatant littering of the worst sort (trash cans were *right* there), lots of nose picking, junk grabbing, and spitting. Plus, it was hot and dusty.

Multiple bus changes later and I was in the town of San Lorenzo which I knew to be the closest place to Isla del Tigre to get money from an ATM. I haven't had any problems at ATMs thus far, but of course this was the one ATM that wouldn't work for me. (Did you know that MasterCard isn't as widely accepted in Central America as Visa? Guess which one I have...) I was still an hour away from the island by this point and I was quickly convincing myself that if I could find a hotel that accepts credit cards (did you know that's not particularly common here, either?), I was going to suck it up and pay a lot of money for a private room with a/c. It took multiple attempts, but I did eventually end up in an overpriced, somewhat run-down room in a currently-being-renovated-hotel. But at least it was icy cold, was right on the water, and had sunsets that looked like this:

(When the tide was in, that little spit of land in the foreground completely disappeared.)

For my two days or so on the island, I was indeed the only foreigner visiting. Actually, during some parts of my wanderings, it felt like I was the only person on the island, foreigner or otherwise. It was almost creepy how few people were out and about. Aside from the roads in the main town of Amapala, the island just has one road that goes all the way around it, about 18km distance. After spending some time at the pool (too icky to go in, so I just sat next to it) trying to wrap my head around what the next five weeks will look like planning-wise, I took a tuk-tuk almost halfway around the island to Playa Negra - my first black sand beach, as far as I can remember. It was nice enough, but nothing too special if I'm being perfectly honest, and not much to it. The people there mostly just gathered around me and gawked, staring, not trying to make conversation even if I initiated. And the quietness was shattered when a boy who was old enough to know better tossed a glass bottle into the air and let it smash into a million pieces on the sand, right where people were walking and playing. I know it's kind of mean, but I almost wished that he'd cut himself. He would've deserved it. Lucky for him, my wishing had no impact.

(Playa Negra, pre-broken glass)

Friday came and it was to be another long travel day. The guys at the hotel front desk told me I could pretty much get a lancha any time, but that on the hour would be my best bet. Unfortunately, they hadn't told me that the boats are colectivos which means they don't leave until there are enough people to fill them. After waiting for about a half hour, one of the drivers offered to take just me for 50Lps instead of the usual 15Lps (more than triple the price, yes, but still only about $2.50 and I figured it was worth it since I had such a long travel day ahead of me).

That was actually the most waiting I had to do for the rest of the day because I was pretty much shuffled along without incident from there. In fact, in Guasaule I was shuffled so quickly onto a minibus that I barely had time to realize there wasn't really a seat available for me. I was essentially sitting between a guy's knees, facing him like we were in a marriage counseling therapy session, except it would've made the weirdest session ever since we'd never even seen each other before. There were about 20 people on that 12 seat bus and I had a cramped knee and an asleep leg about 10 minutes into the 45 minute trip. At one point there was a security checkpoint - fairly common, but it was my first where we all had to pile out so the bus could be searched. I still don't know what exactly happened, but one less person got back on the bus than got off.

Next came la frontera and it was probably one of the more maddening border crossings I've ever experienced, if not the most. A guy in a pedi-cab snagged me as I got off the bus and was cycling me from point to point, telling me what to expect next. By the time he told me about the fee to cross into Nicaragua, I'd already exchanged my Honduran lempiras for Nicaraguan córdobas and was beginning to feel panicky that I wouldn't have enough ($12). (Not that I wouldn't have enough, exactly, but I also needed money for my bus into León, etc. and didn't want to have NO money.) The ATM at the border also wasn't working for me, but I managed to piece together enough dollars, lempiras, and córdobas to pay the fee AND have some left over. As my pedi-cab driver and I were officially driving over the bridge into Nica, we were stopped by some soldiers. I'm not really sure what the point was - were they trying to bribe me? search my bag? something else entirely? - but I didn't even have to play dumb because I really didn't know what they were trying to say to me. It was mildly intimidating because the one soldier had this baton that he kept tapping against my leg, but the whole situation was over in probably less than a minute and a half. I finally got to where the buses into Nica were parked and this tout tried to gouge me, too. He was suddenly insisting on 200Lps, more than ALL of my travel up until that point had cost, combined. I gave him the rest of my lempira, about 80Lps I think, still too much, but I'd had enough and wanted to get away from him. As I thanked him and walked away, he was still calling after me that I owed him more money, but he did eventually give up and bike back the direction we'd just come.

My arrival and first 18 hours in León have presented their own challenges, but that will have to wait for another day because this has already gotten long enough. Suffice it to say that I have cash now and can eat something substantial for the first time in a couple of days, so things can only go up from here, right?

Sorry if this was a bit of a downer of a post, but I had to get it all out. Here, about a cheerier picture to wrap things up?

(Because how can you not smile with this guy staring down at you like that?)