A run in with the Golden Girls and a bandito

Today we decided to go to Ometepe.
 It's an island in the middle of lake Nicaragua made by two volcanos. This
island offers hiking, waterfalls,a nature preserves, volcano climbing ,coffee
farm tours, a natural spring swimming hole and beaches and restaurants to name
a few. With its many hostels, its a favorite destination for the young and
green to go and spend a few days hiking around the island.
 It was a long drive through the mountains on winding roads. I think it was
probably very scenic and had some great views but I was kind of nervous about
taking my eyes off the road for long enough to enjoy it.    We got an early
start so we could catch the 9:00 ferry across lake Nicaragua.
 The traffic at the ferry was tight. Car were parked in line just inches from
each other. Taxis were trying  to squeeze there way in to pick up passengers
getting off  the next ferry. One of the attendant came up to the car and our
interpreter informed him that we planned to park, ride the ferry across and
have a guide show us around the island. He showed us where to park and
introduced us to Hector.
 Hector was a slick, nervy ,little nicaraguan. He spoke pretty good English
and used it often. I think it made him feel cool or worldly. He'd tell stories
like how he was shotgunning beers on a booze cruise and say " I'm pretty
crazy,right. " Or the time he and a friend jet skied across lake nicaragua,
which has very big waves and the worlds only fresh water sharks. "That's pretty
crazy too right. "
  Because of our lack of time we were leaning toward doing one thing like a
hike around the volcano to a 160ft. Waterfall. Hector said we could squeeze in
3 or 4 locations so we could see more of the island. Since we had never been
there , we took his advice.
 After boarding the ferry for our ride to the other side we realized Hector
had another group touring the island with him today.
 They were four elderly Belgium women we referred to as the Golden Girls. As
luck would have it they wanted to see the same places  as Hector suggested to
us. A coffee farm, a natural spring swimming pool and the nature preserve. He
also told us the 4:30 and 5:30 ferrys were canceled and we would have to take
the 3:30 to get back today. Trying to squeeze everything in and stop for lunch
, at a restaurant of his choice, before 3:30 was a rat race.
 When we got off the ferry in Ometepe,the golden girl went in a van with
Hector and we were told to get in another van with a young local named Luis.
Luis instantly had his eye on Lindsey and once he found out she spoke his
language he ask her to sit up front him.
 The rest of the day is kind of a blurr.
 Drive- coffee farm- drive- eat - drive- spring pool- drive-nature preserve-
drive- ferry - drive home.
   Although coffee is out of season this time of year, no bean not even a cup
of coffee  at the coffee farm ,the day was not a total waste. We did see some
monkeys and I swam in a natural spring that is suppose to make you look five
year younger. You can let me know how that worked next time you see me.
   The long drive back through the dark ,winding mountain roads put us back in
Pochomil late again. We decided to stop at our favorite bar/restaurant for a
bite to eat and head home to pack our bags. Tomorrow we leave the beach house
and head for Muy Muy. Another long drive but we get to hang out there for two
days before flying home. We get to experience "Lindsey's  Life In Nicaragua"
first hand. I can't wait.

A Taste of Nicaragua

After 3 long days of travel and bad roads we decided to take a much shorter
trip. Five minutes up the road to Masachapa, a small fishing village on the
pacific coast. Once there ,  we walk along the beach and watched the local
fisherman at work. The only thing resembling any modern convenience were the
motors on there boats and they were old. The beach here is a very busy place in
the morning.
By 10:00 the fishermen have already filled their nets and are  unloading there
catch into tubs and hauling them onto shore to be cleaned ,weighed and sold.
Some are bent over a small stream doing the final clean and rinse of todays
catch.
When the boats are empty they are pulled back onto shore. First the motor is
removed and placed on a cart crudely design just for carrying them to dry land.
The boat is pushed out of the water onto logs and rolled ashore. As one log
rolls out the back it's is placed  under the front and the push continues. It
takes about five men to push a boat and leap frog the three logs  200ft. onto
shore. Not an easy task but by noon their work day is done.
We decided to leave the beach and takes a walk through
town. The school day in Masachapa starts at 1:00 so there were a lot of
children on street at this time. Three tall,blonde,white women and  a short
bald white guy seemed to draw a lot of attention for some reason. A few kids,on
their way to school, followed along side on there bikes for two or three blocks
maybe out of curiousity or until they had enough courage to ask  "un doe lar?"
There are plenty of fish in the sea and nobody here appeared to be lacking for
something to eat.
Mid afternoon gets hot in Nicaragua so we decide to cool off with a local
treat. Doesnt everybody want to try some alotto. Alotto is kind of like
chocolate milk frozen in a sandwich bag. To eat alotto you must bite the corner
off the bag and and drink the juice as it melts. The flavor was cacao,
more like Ovaltine with a little cinnamon.
Alotto did very little to quench our thirst. We headed down to the beach in
pochomil and parked ourselves at a table under a grass roof. The
bar/restaurants on the beach are basically no more than wood poles holding up a
grass roof, no walls. Sitting in the shade and taking in the sights,sounds and
breeze of the ocean was a pleasant break. This particular bar is owned by the
same family that runs the restaurant just off the beach in town.The same place
we stopped for directions when we first rolled into town. It became a regular
stop for us during our stay in pochomil.
We ordered a sample plate and some shrimp and fish ceviche for lunch. Beside
rice and beans most of the food down here consists of little more than grilled
meats with a little lettuce tomatoes may  a few sliced beets on the side.
Ceviche is made from finely diced onion , cucumber ,cilantro and tomato mixed
with lime juice and your choice of fish. Delicious and very refreshing. Then
there's fried plantains. It's their version of potato chips. Some are thinly
sliced and actually do resemble chips. Others are sliced in a little thicker
disc and and are a nice side to any meal.  We spent the rest of the day there
swimming in the ocean and enjoying a few beers.
  When we return to the house Sergio said he could get lobster tails for
dinner. Becky and I offered to drive him into Masachapa to pick up the
lobsters,some wine, and a few odds and ends Martha wanted to whip up a side
dish. We drove right into the heart of the village to a locals house to pick up
the main entree. The streets were brick paved and very narrow. Hard to drive
down and even harder to make the corners. There were quite a few people out
walking or just visiting. We got a more personal look at their way of life.
   One more stop ,at what I guess was a liquor store , to pick up wine. Sergio
threw in a bottle of rum and ice and we returned to home. As Martha began to
prepare our meal , the four of us took a
Predinner stroll on the beach. Out of nowhere came Sergio walk down the beach
holding  a tray with four tall glasses. They were iced pineapple , rum
smoothies and they were delicious. A dinner of grilled lobster after that was
the end to a perfect day. We're going back on the rode tomorrow to do some
sight see on the island of Ometepe.

Do you know the way to Leon?

We haven't been in nicaragua very long but it's already a given fact that maps
and road conditions cannot be taken for granted. Our plan on this day was to
head north to Leon do some sight seeing, climb 2200 ft. up an active volcano
and ride a half inch piece of plywood to the bottom.
Choosing a route to anywhere in nicaragua is always a crap shoot. On one hand
we may have already taken one way. On the other hand another way looks shorter
but may be unpredictable. Since we have easy access to an interpreter, we
decided to ask a road side local before committing to either. Her suggestion
was the shorter way, which also has less traffic. Sounds like a win-win
situation. We soon found out why there is less traffic. What started out to be
a nice highway and a brilliant choice turns out to be a dirty ,rutty, rocky
road with horses or cattle standing in the middle.
Bouncing around in the car like the marble in a spray paint can gets old real
fast. The road was so untraveled we started to question if we were even going
in the right direction. With no one around  to ask ,Becky did the next best
thing. The only local in sight was a horse standing in the middle of the road.
This time there was no need for an interpreter. She pulled up and asked " hey
do you know how to get to Leon ". The reassuring look on the horse's face was
enough. We kept on. What should have been a hour trip turned in to three.
The unexpected length of the trip gave us less time for sight seeing and just
enough time for a quesadilla and cervesa. We stopped at one of the hostels to
book our trip to the top of Cerro Negro. Twenty one brave souls. Ninteen of
them under thirty. That left Becky and I to fill the forty-fifty something age
gap. We all ,including our guides, climbed onto the back of a big truck and
took the hour trip to the Cerro Negro Nature Reserve. Seeing the size of these
volcanos made me wonder if they were even possible to climb. Sledding over the
edge seemed insane.
A short stop at the Reserve office to pay our entry fee and we were off to the
volcano's bases. After climbing from the back of the truck we all grabbed a bag
with a full length orange jumpsuit,a pair of safety goggles and one foot wide
by four feet long half inch piece of plywood with a short rope and with a
handle attached.
The climb to the top was intense. The whole volcano is one giant pile of black
rocks and gravel.  The steep incline
and loose footing made travel exhausting and extremely hot. The words "death
march" may have slipped out once or twice. Plenty of breaks to catch our breath
and rehydrate and we were at the peak. The awe inspiring view and sense of
accomplishment made the gruling trip to the top much easier to forget.
Looking down the hill and seeing the
sled path disappear over the edge was very intimidating but there was no way I
was walking back down. As we put on our jumpsuits and goggles
Our guide explained there were two ways to approach this ride. You can get
yourself straight, lift your feet , lean back and go for fast time. My choice
was the Flintstone  method. Steering while braking with my feet.
After watching a few of the younger crowd take their turns, I plopped down on
my board ,grabbed my rope , leaned back and took off. The initial use of feet
is a necessity just to straighten out. As I began to pick up speed the decision
to keep my feet out for steering skis seemed like a good idea. The trip to the
bottom was short but awesome. A hour up for a two minute thrill ride seems like
a fair trade now. The radar gun said 31kmph. Not the fasted time by far but
still in the top five.  Besides a few people loosing control and rolling a
little.LINDSEY. Some minor scraps were all the casualties our group had.
We all received a couple of cold beers for our truck ride back to the hostel.
Upon arrival there were mojitos for everyone. As the rest of the group prepared
for drinking games we decided to make our exit.
There was no way we were taking the same road home that got us there.
We decided on a longer drive and a much better road. We felt bad about our 9:30
return but  Martha and Sergio were happy to accommodate. Grilled shrimp kabobs
, a bottle of wine and off to bed.
I think tomorrow sounds like a good day to stay around here on the beach.All of
us could use a little time to recharge for the next adventure.

Just pass him

Have you ever looked at your passport picture and said that doesn't even look
like me. After 16 hours of traveling its does. It's a long trip to get here.
But I have to admit things went pretty well. There was a minor incident at
Ohare. Apparently someone left a small pocket knife in his shorts in his carry
on bag. I guess it got past me and the washing.
A half hour of running my underwear and short though the x-ray machine and we
were back on our way.
The rest of our air travel went well. Besides a few power outages in Panama
City, which delayed us about an hour, three ups and downs and we were in
managua. The worst thing about taking off is knowing your going to end up in
another airport. I was glad to be on the ground,in the car and on  the road.
Until we got in the car and on the road.
Managua look like one giant accident. Rundown scrappy buildings, vacant lots
and trash everywhere. Cars swirving in and out of lanes, motorcycles with no
headlights dodging cars and people crossing or standing in the middle of three
lane roads. It was enough to give me road rage and Becky was driving. Bad maps
and no road labels or street signs left us driving around aimlessly. Good thing
we had our interpreter , Lindsey ,with us. A quick stop at a gas station and we
were pointed in the direction of our hotel.
The next morning we found a grocery store, loaded the car with supplies and
headed for our beach front destination. The road leaving managua was nicely
paved. The landscape was beautiful, mostly hilly ,almost mountainous terrain
with houses , more like shantys , scattered among the hills and road sides. The
steep grades made it difficult for the bigger trucks to get up to speed.
Apparently we had follow one of these trucks long enough for Lindsey to say
"Just pass him mom". We hadn't even completed pass and there was a police in
the road waving for us to pull over. Upon arriving at our car, he and Lindsey
began discussing the fine art of paying a no passing zone violation en
espaniol. I couldnt understand much but I did pick out 800 and back to managua.
To which Lindsey responded " Es Necessario?" A little dickering and sad puppy
eyes and we were back on the road for 400 cordobas. This amounts to about
$16.00 U. S. dollars. That's only a little more than Illinios got out of me in
tolls on our way to Ohare airport. No harm done. Now if the directions we have
to the beach rental are accurate it's smooth sailing. Not so fast now.
We made all the right turns ,crossed the right bridges and veered in the right
vees. One more turn and its the first house on the right.
We had a couple beers and took a potty break at an open air grass hut bar in a
small brick paved town circle. It was very quaint, very real and a very much
needed break from sitting in the car. After our interpreter ,Lindsey ,got the
proper  directions from the locals we were back on the road. Fifteen minutes
later we were met at the gate by the caretaker and cook. Paradise at last.
Forget the airports,the driving ,the bad directions and maps. This made
everything all worth it. A beach front villa with a pool, a cook and a care
taker. It didn't take us long to change our clothes and hit the beach. No long
johns...shorts.
No snow... Sand.  No wind chill... A nice ocean breeze.
We wander down the shoreline to a little outdoor bar on the beach. Took another
beer break and headed back for a little time in the pool. The caretaker ,
Sergio, offered to run down to the market for fresh fish. Dinner was Red
snapper wrapped in banana leaves and steamed on the grill. Everything was
perfect. If I had to leave tomorrow I couldn't complain. But tomorrow it's off
to Leon for volcano boarding on Cerro Negro. What could go wrong. Right?