The Iguanas Won! That’s right, after weeks of dealing with our noisy and smelly co-tenants, we came to the realization the iguanas weren’t moving out and our landlords weren’t ever coming back. So, we’ve moved again. Third times a charm, we hope! But before we moved we decided it was time for a vacation- a little holiday from house hunting and iguana wrestling. Thus we headed to Nicaragua. (Plus, we have to leave Costa Rica every 90 days for our tourist visa.) Nicaragua was beautiful, friendly, full of culture- cathedrals, plazas, crafts, but also very poor.
We started the journey with a 9 hour bus ride from San Jose, CR to Rivas, Nicaragua. We arrived in Rivas on the night of a pre-Christmas festival- loud fireworks, carnival rides, burning Virgin Mary float. The boys were in heaven!
The next day we headed to Ometepe, an island composed of two volcanoes on Lake Cocibolca. We stayed at Chaco Verde Resort, right next to the Chaco Verde Reserve. It was gorgeous! The whole island is very lush and green, overshadowed by the volcanoes. We spent the days swimming and kayaking in the lake. Soren didn’t get out of the water. At night, we ate fresh fish, sometimes by candlelight due to the rolling electricity blackouts going on in Nicaragua.
Our next stop was Granada, the oldest city on the continent. Granada is full of charm and history. We stayed in a backpacker hostel, all packed together in one room (actually, we all were packed in one room for 12 of the 14 days, often with three of us in one bed- apparently Central America isn’t set up for traveling families of 5!) trying to keep the boys quiet early in the morning and our neighbors quiet late at night. Catherine enjoyed the ‘fast’ internet connection and caught up with her friends in Skype. Late
in the afternoon we caught a carriage ride around the city and saw some of the significant landmarks, all narrated in spanglish by the driver. We sought out some different dining fare while we had a chance to take advantage of being in a larger city. We tried to find Mexican of all things, and found a decent place, but it wasn’t cheap. We found that it isn’t as cheap overall in Nicaragua as we thought it might be. We did have exceptional luck on our date night, when Catherine took a bullet for us and watched the boys so we could go out. There was a small Thai place on the corner that turned out to be great, with soft cushioned low couches, throw pillows and little tables. It was very romantic, with dim lights shaded with reds and golds and really cool ambie
nt/trance music in the background. The Phad Thai was close to the best we have ever had, or maybe it was just that we have been steeped in beans & rice.
We took Lucas to have his haircut in a local shop. We had heard that the salons were very
cool here and wanted to have that experience. We walked in and there were about 6
people in the place, most of them old, fat and very much asleep. We assumed that they all either worked there or lived there. Nobody jumped up to greet us, actually they seemed a bit irritated and aloof to us. The man asked who was to get the haircut and assumed it was Soren with his wild, tortured hair. We pointed to Lucas and he sighed and pointed to a woman in the back. Bonnie instructed her to take “un poquito” to match his style now, and she took a mass of his hair and just lopped it off. We were horrified. We looked at each other both thinking how we were going to navigate this one. She butchered him pretty bad and we just had to take it as another bit of local flavor. Lucas didn’t mind so much, he was after the ice cream that was promised as reward.
Next off to Laguna de Apolla ~ This was probably our favorite stop. A half hour from Granada, this laguna is a clear blue lake formed inside the crate of the Apoyo Volcano. The volcano still has some underwater thermal vents, so the water is warm! It had a slight taste of sulfer and was home to two species of fish found nowhere else on earth. The boys were literally in the water from 8 am (Soren started asking at 7) until 5pm. We kayaked, played on inner-tubes and jumped off the dock. Soren took turns towing everyone on the kayak, perfecting his skill as a water taxi.
We headed north to the beaches of Las Penitas next, southwest of Leon, a very rustic beach town, a favorite holiday destination for Nicaraguans. We saw families making little houses on the beach out of dead palms by burying the stalks in the sand and picnicking on the downwind side. Nicaraguans have no regard for cleanliness. They litter and just abandon their debris wherever they are. We played in the estuary and the boys had a blast. Soren took to floating down on the current on his back, only his face above the water. He looked like a corpse floating to sea. Lucas has really lost his fear of the water and is taking new risks every visit to the water. We attribute this to regular exposure to ‘sneaker waves’ and efforts at pure survival in the breaks. He hates the salt water in his eyes and mouth and protests vigorously.
The long journey home- Leon, Managua, San Jose, Cobano. It took 3 days, 5 taxis, 4 busses, a ferry, and a ride in the back of pick-up. Hind-sight is always 20/20, but perhaps we got ourselves a bit too far north. J
Now we are back home- our third and final we hope. …..
We miss you all! The holidays feel a little odd here in the tropics, and despite all the adventure, we find ourselves homesick! Keep the email coming- we love to feel in-touch!
Wishing you lots of holiday joy!! Love- Eric, Bonnie, Catherine, Soren & Lucas
We started the journey with a 9 hour bus ride from San Jose, CR to Rivas, Nicaragua. We arrived in Rivas on the night of a pre-Christmas festival- loud fireworks, carnival rides, burning Virgin Mary float. The boys were in heaven!
The next day we headed to Ometepe, an island composed of two volcanoes on Lake Cocibolca. We stayed at Chaco Verde Resort, right next to the Chaco Verde Reserve. It was gorgeous! The whole island is very lush and green, overshadowed by the volcanoes. We spent the days swimming and kayaking in the lake. Soren didn’t get out of the water. At night, we ate fresh fish, sometimes by candlelight due to the rolling electricity blackouts going on in Nicaragua.
Our next stop was Granada, the oldest city on the continent. Granada is full of charm and history. We stayed in a backpacker hostel, all packed together in one room (actually, we all were packed in one room for 12 of the 14 days, often with three of us in one bed- apparently Central America isn’t set up for traveling families of 5!) trying to keep the boys quiet early in the morning and our neighbors quiet late at night. Catherine enjoyed the ‘fast’ internet connection and caught up with her friends in Skype. Late
in the afternoon we caught a carriage ride around the city and saw some of the significant landmarks, all narrated in spanglish by the driver. We sought out some different dining fare while we had a chance to take advantage of being in a larger city. We tried to find Mexican of all things, and found a decent place, but it wasn’t cheap. We found that it isn’t as cheap overall in Nicaragua as we thought it might be. We did have exceptional luck on our date night, when Catherine took a bullet for us and watched the boys so we could go out. There was a small Thai place on the corner that turned out to be great, with soft cushioned low couches, throw pillows and little tables. It was very romantic, with dim lights shaded with reds and golds and really cool ambie
nt/trance music in the background. The Phad Thai was close to the best we have ever had, or maybe it was just that we have been steeped in beans & rice.We took Lucas to have his haircut in a local shop. We had heard that the salons were very
cool here and wanted to have that experience. We walked in and there were about 6
people in the place, most of them old, fat and very much asleep. We assumed that they all either worked there or lived there. Nobody jumped up to greet us, actually they seemed a bit irritated and aloof to us. The man asked who was to get the haircut and assumed it was Soren with his wild, tortured hair. We pointed to Lucas and he sighed and pointed to a woman in the back. Bonnie instructed her to take “un poquito” to match his style now, and she took a mass of his hair and just lopped it off. We were horrified. We looked at each other both thinking how we were going to navigate this one. She butchered him pretty bad and we just had to take it as another bit of local flavor. Lucas didn’t mind so much, he was after the ice cream that was promised as reward.Next off to Laguna de Apolla ~ This was probably our favorite stop. A half hour from Granada, this laguna is a clear blue lake formed inside the crate of the Apoyo Volcano. The volcano still has some underwater thermal vents, so the water is warm! It had a slight taste of sulfer and was home to two species of fish found nowhere else on earth. The boys were literally in the water from 8 am (Soren started asking at 7) until 5pm. We kayaked, played on inner-tubes and jumped off the dock. Soren took turns towing everyone on the kayak, perfecting his skill as a water taxi.
We headed north to the beaches of Las Penitas next, southwest of Leon, a very rustic beach town, a favorite holiday destination for Nicaraguans. We saw families making little houses on the beach out of dead palms by burying the stalks in the sand and picnicking on the downwind side. Nicaraguans have no regard for cleanliness. They litter and just abandon their debris wherever they are. We played in the estuary and the boys had a blast. Soren took to floating down on the current on his back, only his face above the water. He looked like a corpse floating to sea. Lucas has really lost his fear of the water and is taking new risks every visit to the water. We attribute this to regular exposure to ‘sneaker waves’ and efforts at pure survival in the breaks. He hates the salt water in his eyes and mouth and protests vigorously.
The long journey home- Leon, Managua, San Jose, Cobano. It took 3 days, 5 taxis, 4 busses, a ferry, and a ride in the back of pick-up. Hind-sight is always 20/20, but perhaps we got ourselves a bit too far north. J
Now we are back home- our third and final we hope. …..
We miss you all! The holidays feel a little odd here in the tropics, and despite all the adventure, we find ourselves homesick! Keep the email coming- we love to feel in-touch!
Wishing you lots of holiday joy!! Love- Eric, Bonnie, Catherine, Soren & Lucas
