Nicaragua 10/16-21

So before heading out on this trip I did a little weather research on the Internet. All three countries were pretty much the same - mid 80s or so with scattered thundershowers. Perfect. Plus, everything that I had heard from folks in Costa Rica was that it is hot and dry in Nicaragua. It hardly ever rains and its always hot they said. So you can imagine my surprise to find it raining lightly as I got off the plane in the Managua airport. Blake had arrived a few hours earlier and finding him was not a challenge as there was just 2 baggage carousals and only a handful of people waiting on the other side of the glass wall. He had picked up the rental car - a little 4 door car about the size of a Geo Metro, which we named the Silver Bullet - so we were on the road. Okay, that's it for the play by play.

WEATHER - It turned out that the rain was not just a welcome surprise. In fact, it rained about half of the 5 days we were in the country, and was cloudy and looked like it would rain the other half. We did see a bit of blue sky and sunshine the morning we were at the beach in San Juan del Sur (which did make for a great morning run on the beach and a little play time in the ocean afterward) but the door to sunsets at the beach and great photos was slammed in our faces by the overwhelming presence of clouds and gray skies. Bummer.

TRANSPORTATION - Nicaragua is home to the most wide variety of transportation methods I have yet to see. In the capital and largest city, Managua, one must maneuver through the roundabout with the likes of bicycles, pedestrians, donkeys and horses pulling little wooden carts, men on horses, guys pushing little ice cream carts, cars, big trucks carrying produce or people, plus the public buses. It is quite a sight. The roads themselves were quite the scene as well. Although they have a major highway that is paved and marked with lines and all, the streets through the cities are pretty much all made of paver stones, and the "roads" out to the beaches and to the volcanoes - well lets just say that we would call them dirt paths with more potholes than anything else and large rocks or other hazards scattered throughout. Another thing that one must be on the lookout for at all times, whether on the highway, city streets, or dirt paths, is cows and horses. Its not uncommon to come across a herd of cows along side the street, or in the middle of the street. And sometimes it wasn't a herd, just one lonely cow taking a stroll down the center line. Another thing you are likely to see is little children in the middle of the road, filling in pot holes with shovels of dirt and trying to get drivers to use their "repairs" and hopefully offer some sort of monetary compensation in exchange. That should give you a good idea of the overall state of affairs in this area...

LIFE - Nicaragua is definitely much more undeveloped than Costa Rica, and far-less Americanized. We didn't see McDonalds nor Pizza Hut, and definitely saw a lot of signs of poor, rural, farming life. Many people would spend their days watching over their 1, 2, or small herd of cows as they grazed along the side of the road. Or would drive the donkey cart with produce or goods from their farm into town to try and sell it. It was evident that all of the political problems and civil wars and issues that the country has suffered over the years have proven to inhibit its growth and development. One interesting note though is that in the beach town of San Juan del Sur there are more real estate offices than restaurants. Seriously. Not only can you find RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, and Century 21, but there are a boat load of local spots as well. Soley focused on the beach houses and tourist properties I am sure, but still, that was more than I have seen in 6 months in Costa Rica!

SIGHTS - Unfortunately Nicaragua became known to us as a deserted land with "roads" to nowhere. We ended up spending a lot of time trying to get to places, i.e. the beach, volcanoes, etc... only to find that there was nothing at the end of the road. Signs for hotels or natural reserve areas or restaurants didn't seem to prove accurate, or at least up to date. Two different treks over bumps and dirt to the beach were met with abandoned hotels and/or closed down restaurants. There was defintely some of what appeared to be very pretty countryside along our way, but b/c of the rain and clouds we couldn't really see or enjoy much of it. In conclusion, I feel like we definitely but out our best effort to see the best and the most of the country, but the country did not keep up their end of the bargain. Bummer.

FOOD - I have 2 favorite dining experiences from Nicaragua. The first is a traditional dish called "Repocheta." We had it our 2nd night in the country when we were out on this island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Ironcially we had met 2 other pairs of Americans who were travelling and the 6 of us were the only ones staying at our hotel/cabinas. Anyway, repocheta is a big, thick, corn tortilla that has cheese inside, then they deep fry it and serve with a cabbage salad on top and a cream that is kind of like a sour cream sauce, only a little bit sweeter. One of the guys ordered one and asked the cook if they could put blakc beans in it as well. The man was a little confused by the request, but obliged. After sharing samples with the group, we ordered 3 more b/c everyone loved it so much. (And we suggested that the cook permanently alter his traditional recipe to the new and improved version 'con frijoes'.) Probably sounds a little strange, but trust me, it was good. And turns out I think we found the best place to eat them, b/c I ordered repocheta another day and it turned out to be a thin slice of cheese between two hard corn shells (like the folded ones we have for tacos - only these were flat) with the cabbage and cream on top, plus "salsa de tomate" which is really just sweet ketchup (nothing at all like the real Heinz stuff). The other great dining experience was a little place in Leon that we like to call "BBQ ladies." (Its actually an official name, according to the hand-drawn map of the city that was on the wall at our hostel.) So I am all about eating, and in these kind of situations I am all about the traditional food, the stuff locals eat. And I figure the best way to experience that is by hitting up the street carts. Street Fair, Street Food, Street Tour, you can call it many things but this is my preferred style. So our first night in Leon we had seen some street side stands (little carts or makeshift table with a bbq or hot plate or just a basket of goods, whatever it may be) as we drove into town. Upon finally getting our hostel and unloading our stuff and setting out to eat though, it was getting late and our street search proved to be fruitless. Quite disappointed I was, and my dear brother, despite his hunger, suggested we try one more spot near where we had seen the market earlier. Oh what find. On a dark abandoned corner of the street there were 2 women, a coal bbq grill and a table full of goods. She even had a table set up for dining, and there were locals gathered around - a sure sign of a true Nicaraguan experience. All the stuff was premade and precooked, as as you ordered it she would put it on the grill to heat it up. Our smorgasbord of treats included grilled beef and chicken, fried cheese (sounds weird but is really good), friend plantains, chayote (a veggie) grilled with cheese, plantain patty of sorts with cheese inside, tacos, a chicken empanada of sorts, and gallo pinto. Pretty much all was delicious, and it was really the perfect environment. Sitting outside on a picnic table with locals walking and driving up, getting food to go or eat there on the street, and these 2 woman just buzzing away throwing food on the grill and then wrapping it up in banana leaves and in a plastic bag to go, or on a plate for "in house dining". I loved the experience so much that we went back the next night as well. A little slice of heaven for me. THey have some other good things in Nicaragua - chicken soup (nothing like campells, trust me) and cheap (in price, not quality of course) national beer, for those who like that sort of thing.

So, overall review = it does in fact rain in Nicaragua, good street food, bad roads, deserted beaches, lots of modes of transportation, and make sure you are on the lookout for cows!

Central America Tour / 06

Hello all. Greetings from Costa Rica, once again. I am here safe and sound after adding a few new stamps to the passport and some new foods to the list of favorites. Blake and I had a great trip for the past two weeks. Saw, did, and ate a lot, and of course took a ton of pics along the way. Everything will be a bit more interesting when I can get the pics posted, but in the meantime I will have to try and amuse you with a verbal run-down. I am going to try and hit the highlights of each country so as not to bore you, nor exhaust the allotted space on this free blog site. (After hosting my page they are really going to consider charging for someone as wordy as myself). So I'll try to get the stories up as soon as I can b/c I know you are all just dying to dig in. Ha.

My Saturday night....

Two interesting things that happened to me on Saturday night. First, as I was waiting at the bus stop to catch the bus home after the youth group activities at First Baptist Church two nice looking young Amercian guys joined the crowd. They were dressed in the typical black pants, white collared shirt, and tie, making them very recognizable as Mormon missionaries. They got on the same bus as I did and sat down in the back. At first I just took my seat as usual, but after a second’s thought figured that I might as well take the rare opportunity to speak to someone from my own country. And considering they were missionaries, I figured it couldn’t be too much of a risk to approach them. So I got up and walked to the back of the bus and said “So where are you from?” One was from Las Vegas and had only been in Costa Rica for 2 months and the other was from Utah and had been here 10 months. So we talked about what we were doing here, where we live (turns out pretty close by), how often we talk to our families (they are only allowed to call on Mother’s Day and Christmas), and they asked me if I have met many other Americans here in Limón (no). Kind of a random little encounter, but always nice to talk to a fellow countryman when far away from one’s country.
The other thing that happened to me was a colorful reminder of the fact that I am, indeed, far away from my home. About 10:00pm that night I was in my room reading a book when I heard a faith voice on a microphone and thought that someone must be wrapping up some activity nearby. Turns out I was only half right in that assumption. About 5 minutes later there suddenly came the sound of a 5-piece Latin band (complete with microphone, speakers, the whole works) as if they were performing a private concert on the patio right outside my window. I had been right about the fact that there was an activity but wrong about it wrapping up…things we just getting started. What’s more, “nearby” turned out to be next-door neighbor who shares a backyard wall with my house here. I don’t know what the occasion was (sadly, I had obviously not been invited) but whatever the event, our gracious host had determined that live music was a necessity and why should it matter to him if it meant sharing his musical taste with the entire neighborhood. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I laid there on my bed and thought “you have got to be kidding me…” Surely this sort of thing would never fly back home – you’d have just about every neighbor without a hearing aid or a some of those noise reducing headphones they sell in those in-flight magazines full of “must-haves” on the phone with the police before you finished your first attempt at Salsa. Only by the grace of God was I able to fall asleep at some point during the whole shin-dig, but I woke up again at 12:45am to find out that the party was still hopping. I can’t give you many more details except that when I woke up at 2:45am that had finally called it quits and the next morning there wasn’t a peep of activity or life to be heard from that direction. Good times. If only someone who have given me fair notice I could have polished up my shoes and practiced all my Latin dancing moves in my own backyard.

The Day of the Scooter (El día del moto)

When I started this day, I knew that it was slated to involve a little day-trip down south to the beach for lunch and some R&R and conversation with my friend, Pastor Armando. I had no idea, however, the adventure that was in store for us, nor the priceless memories that would come out of it. In the months I have spent in Limón, Pastor Armando had invited me to lunch on a few different occasions, to chat, discuss ministry opportunities and challenges in Limón, and just to get to know each other better. The last outing we had decided that one day we should go down south to the beach at Cahuita – a beautiful spot about an hour or so south, and I had told him that this time it would be on my tab. Since my time in Limón right now is running out, when I visited his church yesterday we decided to do it today, his “day off.” We met at 8am and hit the road in a southerly direction. About halfway toward Cahuita, Armando suggested that we trek a bit further south to another beach, Puerto Viejo, where we could rent scooters or bicycles and relax and ride around the little beach towns.

We arrived in Puerto Viejo around 9:30 am and stopped in at a rental shop to inquire about bicycles and scooters (or moped, or whatever you want to call it). I was thinking, hmmm, this could be fun – either bikes or scooters – but it was a bit cloudy and looked like it was going to rain at some point, and I thought surely the day would not hold out for 6 hours of riding. After a breakfast of toast (from homemade bread) and coffee at a cute little café owned and operated by Italians, the sky had cleared up a bit and we made our way back to the rental shop. Armando was all about the scooter, and I thought sure, that’d be great. The rental shop guy (who was from Colombia – you meet people from everywhere down here) started doing the paperwork and setting us up with a cute little red scooter (only $15 for 6 hours – not bad huh?!). I was thinking, this will be great, I’ll hop on back, just relax, maybe learn how to drive it a little, how perfect. Then Armando said, “Don’t we both want our own?” and I thought, “Well that could be quite fun too…” but the man said he just had one available, so I was back on board my original train of thought. And then the guy that was working for the rental guy said that we could use his own scooter so we could each have one. So just like that, in a matter of a few minutes and a bit of paperwork, I was looking over the red scooter and inspecting for pre-existing scratches and damages to record, as you would when you are renting a car.

Now let’s keep in mind here that I have never ridden a scooter or this sort before, nor have I ever driven a motorcycle, and I only had a little experience with ATVs when I was a kid. But I thought it couldn’t be that difficult, it is a simple-looking little thing and we weren’t going to be driving on any major roads or anything. The thing is though, the guy who was sending me off of the scooter failed to really inform me at all how to operate the thing – only “here is the starter button, push this and then twist the handle bar like this to give it gas.”

So here is where the fun begins. I am sitting on this scooter, helmet on (thank the Lord), and I am about to make my first tracks out of the rental shop and up the slightest of inclines and onto the road. Well, even this little slight incline proved to be a bit of a challenge and my first little twist of the handle didn’t do much and I started to roll backward, so I twisted it a little more. But that turned out to be a little TOO much of a flick of the wrist and I sort of darted out (not really at a fast pace though) of the driveway and into the street and then there came this little truck in the other lane and I realized that I didn’t know how to stop my little scooter and my first reaction was to twist the opposite way on the gas handle. Well, guess what? That doesn’t do anything. (I know that some of you more experienced scooter/motorcycle drivers are probably dying right now, but wait, it gets better, or worse…) So in a split second I am on this crazy little machine I can’t seem to control and I am headed in the path of a vehicle and I am not stopping. All I can do now is offer my best at describing the scene that unfolded: me trying to turn the scooter away, I don’t think I ever really found the brakes but I definitely remember myself pulling backward on the handles (as if that was going to do something), and my leaning body and turning the handlebars causing the scooter to tip on its side as my front tire hits the front left tire of the truck and I manage to let out a little scream and the scooter comes to rest on the road and I manage to keep my balance as I hop away from this “possessed” contraption. In the meantime, I have seen my life flash before my eyes (well not really) and I am thinking that before making it out of the driveway I have not only lost my $100 deposit but gotten myself into an accident with a real motor vehicle.

The guy at the rental shop came out to rescue me as the man in the truck got out of his vehicle and everyone within sight and sound of the area came out to see what all the excitement was. The man in the truck was a nice guy – he gave a quick glance at his car, said “nothing happened,” asked if I had hurt myself (I said no), and wisely told me to take it a little easier on the gas next time. Obvious, but true. The guy at the rental shop help me get the scooter up and this time decided to give me a bit more instruction as to the operation of such machinery (where the brakes are for starters) and told me that I needed to be a little gentler with the accelerator. Once again, obvious but true. Armando of course came out and made sure everything was alright, and then we both made it successfully and safely into a forward motion along the road. Needless to say my heart was racing from the little brush with disaster, and I definitely felt more than a little bit embarrassed about my lack of scooter skills. So as we scooted off down the road it became a little more comical, and even more so as we fled further from the scene and my heart and pulse assumed a more normal pace.

So now we just got to enjoy the pretty tropical scenery and beach views on our fun little motor scooters. The weather kept clearing up for us and it was turning into a beautiful sunny day as we puttered off down the road to a couple beach towns further south. The great part about the road here was that it was practically deserted as far as motor vehicle hazards. We definitely passed more people on foot, bicycle, or scooter, than in a car. A common Costa Rican hazard that we did face, however, were the potholes in the road or sometimes the little road among the potholes. It’s kind of a unexplained phenomenon to me. On this one little road that dead-ends at the last beach there are portions of great road, portions scattered with potholes, portions where there are more potholes than road, and other portions where there is no road at all – rather sections of dirt, gravel, and rock. You are going along smooth, cemented road and then it transitions to dirt and gravel and you might think, “okay, this is where the road ends and now its gravel for the last few kilometers” but no, suddenly its nice and smooth and paved again, then potholes, then gravel, and then one of those famous one-lane Costa Rican bridges. Always an adventure.

Okay, so Armando and I made it about 10 kilometers or so down south to the beach at Manzanillo, sat on the beach a little, rode around some more, and then decided to have lunch at a great restaurant called Maxi’s. It may be popular because it is really the only restaurant in Manzanillo, but it also has good food. I had eaten there both of the first 2 times I had been to Manzanillo – back in April during my first weekend in Costa Rica, and also in July when the group from Colorado came on their beach day. We had a great lunch, including some fabulous grilled corn on the cob, some sort of squash purée-mix thing that I don’t know what exactly it was but it tasted good, grilled veggies for me, baked plantains, salad, and the popular Caribbean dish of “rice and beans” that is made with coconut milk. After our lunch, which took quite a bit of time because although the food was good the service was anything but prompt, we headed back to the scooters to make our trek back to Puerto Viejo. Mine started up just fine but Armando had a bit of trouble getting his going. After several failed attempts to use the automatic starter, he remember the rental guy had told him that sometimes it had troubles starting and had explained a way to start it using a foot pedal thing. Well that didn’t work for him either, so there we were, 10 kilometers away from our rental shop and with only one functioning scooter. It was now almost 4:00pm and I had to be back in Limón for my English class at 6:30pm so we definitely didn’t have a lot of time to dealing with a dead scooter. Armando called the rental shop and the guy told him to give it about five minutes, then do a couple little things and try the foot-start method again and if that didn’t work, then he would come down and pick us up. As we were waiting this guy with a table full of handmade jewelry and the like was trying to sell us his goods. He was a nice enough guy but we weren’t really in the mode for shopping, just for getting our scooters back on the road.

After five minutes we were definitely praying for some life from our little friend Blue Scooter as Armando gave it another shot. This time it sputtered to life and Armando gave it some gas to keep the motor running. Only thing was, out of enthusiasm and excitement that it was back in action, he forgot to squeeze the breaks as he did so. So the scooter leaped in a forward motion, and once again my heart when into a panic in a split second as I saw the scooter heading straight toward our neighbor the entrepreneur and his table of carefully laid-out jewelry. I had visions of impending doom as the scooter would crash with the table, knock off the jewelry, and maybe even continue in its destructive path into the bar and patio behind. Praise the Lord though that it all came to a halt with the bike stopping at the feet of the salesman and at the edge of the table, and the only damage being a glass bottle that broke as it fell off the railing that Armando had a slight collision with. As I realized that no major damage to person or property had occurred, my only thought was “let’s get out of here.”

Once we were safely scooting ourselves far, far, away, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter as I relived the scene in my head and pictured the startled face of the jewelry man as the scooter came darting toward him, only to halt a hair’s length away from his table of goods. Plus there was Armando’s equally startled face followed by a look of relief and embarrassment. I suddenly had an idea of what I must have looked like during and after my whole scene with the truck in the street, and how Armando must have felt as he watched me, unable to do anything. We both laughed our way home, as our racing hearts were brought down to normal speed once again. Now we knew exactly what it was like to be on both sides of the story – the one to be having the “out of control” moment and the one to be useless and helpless as they watch with visions of destruction flashing before their eyes. We both were ready to get back to the rental shop, turn in our scooters, get our full deposit back (please, please), and be back in the car where it was safe! Ha! But we did indeed make it back without further incident (and enjoyed ourselves along the way, too) and upon complete inspection of both scooters, the rental guy did return our full deposit. So by 5:00pm we were back on the road headed toward Limón, a little later than planned, but safe and secure and quite pleased with our great day and the adventures and stories we had added to our repertoire. Lesson of the day: Scooters are very fun to ride and appear simple to operate, which is true if you know where the brakes are and remember to apply them when starting. And as a helpful hint: don’t try and make your first tracks on the scooter in an uphill fashion while trying to turn and merge into traffic, nor attempt starting within 10 feet of a jewelry salesman and his stand. Happy scootering!

Happy October

Well it’s October now and I have only 10 more days left in Limón, so I am trying to take advantage of the little time left and do as much as possible. The past 2 days have been a prime example. On Saturday I was invited to join the congregation of Getsemani Baptist Church on an all-day outing. Kind of like an all-church, family picnic – Costa Rican style. We met at 8am and boarded buses for the 30 minute ride out or town to our destination. As people had arrived and loaded the buses with coolers and Tupperware containers I began to wonder – hmm, what kinds of things do Ticans take on picnics? Probably not the same potato salad and cold chicken thing that may be common at similar activities in the US. Turns out I was right – not quite the same. I was quite impressed with some of the things that were revealed and made available for the hungry after we had arrived at our location. Quite the smorgasbord really, with more traditional foods such as arroz con pollo (a rice with chicken dish) and beans (black or red and prepared in a sort of home-made refried style, and trust me, they taste WAY better than the canned stuff), plus “snack” foods like diced potatoes with chopped onion and cilantro and served on mini tortillas and one of my new favorite things: peyibijes which are really hard to explain but it’s a type of food that looks like an acorn and you boil it then peel off the skin and then eat it with a sprinkle of salt and/or a little mayo. I don’t really know how to describe the taste either – they are kind of dry, and it is a little bit stringy-like. Its orange in color and I would say that it might be kind of similar to what a pumpkin might be like if you cooked it (not the guts inside, but the shell part, minus the outer skin of course). Anyway, I think that is probably a really bad description, but chances are you might not like the taste so much anyway (my parents were not a big fan) but hey, I like it. So anyway, truth be told that my first experience with a Costa Rican “picnic” was quite impressive. People even brought their rice cookers to plug in and heat up the rice dishes and water heaters to make coffee. There were even some American standards as well: pasta salad, tuna salad, crackers, cookies, chocolates, and the like. So the day was spent at this private park place with 2 pools, water slides, soccer field (of course) and tables and chairs, etc. Oh yeah, and one very non-American side item: a monkey on a leash. Seriously. I guess the owners of this little place have a pet monkey because about halfway through the day this guy walked out with a monkey on a rope and then tied him to the fence post. It really was quite the sight to see a monkey leashed up like a dog or something. It did provide quite a lot of amusement and entertainment for us though, we were all taking pictures and some people were even petting it or letting it sit on their shoulder. Everything was hunky-dory until the monkey got mad and grabbed onto a girl’s leg and bit her foot. Yikes. No major damage though, she made it out alive and was a lot less freaked out than I would have been! All in all it was a good day though of hanging out, getting to know some of the members better, and definitely feeling like I was a welcomed part of their “family.” And that is not to mention another ever-important life lesson learned: “It’s all just fun and games until the monkey decides to sink his teeth into your foot.”
Now today is Sunday and I have already been at church for 6 hours today and will be leaving here in a few minutes for a few more. Some may think that I am crazy, or have a lot to confess, but it really has been quite a blessed day. I started off by visiting the Progressive Baptist Church for their service at 8:00am. This is one of the churches that had participated in the Youth Camp we had back in July, and I had been wanting to go back and visit them but for various reasons had not had a good opportunity until today. It was great to see Pastor Armando and also a lot of the young people who I had met at the camp. Pastor Armando had a great message to share with the congregation, and I had the opportunity to share with them just a few words of thanks to them for welcoming me so warmly and how appreciative I am for the opportunity God has given me to be here and how I have learned just how much He loves me. That service ended just before 11, so I grabbed a cab and headed over to my regular stomping grounds at the First Baptist Church in time for the 11:00am service there. Then it was home at 2:00pm when I was good and ready to eat, and my little Sunday afternoon treat: Grey’s Anatomy. Of course they are about a season behind here, but I got on board the Grey’s train late anyway, so to me it feels like new material on prime time Thursday night television. And now I must sign off to finish off what has become my typical Sunday in Limón by attending the 6:30pm service at Getsemani Baptist. Before I came to Limón, I don’t think I had ever attended a Baptist Church in my life, and now I made it to 3 in one day. Just another of the many unexpected blessings of this whole experience