Nicaragua-January 2016

So I am playing catch-up once more!

A few weeks after New Years, Will and I were able to go to Nicaragua for a few days. His parents and brother Clancy were there for the whole week. We were able to go for part of the week- like we do with most trips! We always want to make our trips longer, but by splitting them up we are able to see more family, more often- so it becomes a win-win I the end! A little less sleep never hurt anyone, when it means you get an extra adventure!

Nicaragua was most certainly a new experience! We did several activities, tried lots of food, and walked a lot! (Which is fine by me! The driving in Nicaragua was not to be matched with even the most stressful drive you can imagine any where in the US! Cars don’t really use stop signs or stoplights, and they LOVE horns. There is no way I could have driven while on this trip!)

So to make the most of our time, we had a very early flight out of Memphis, but we did get served breakfast! The flights were all very smooth for us, with no problems!

While on the flight, we actually saw an erupting volcano! It is in the picture I used with the quote at the beginning! That was really fun to see!

We finally arrived and Will’s Dad was waiting to pick us up at the airport. They do actually charge you $20/person to get in to their country! We had about an hour drive back to where we were staying and had a late lunch once we arrived. I had an Eggplant Parmessan sandwich for lunch (pictured across from Will) and it may have been my favorite meal! We got a kick out of the fact that we were given Bass Pro Shop koozies!

After lunch we had our first official picture of us taken, standing with the volcano Mombacho behind us! (I may be spelling some of these names wrong!).

We were also given the grand tour of many of the churches, along with a bell tower that you could climb; no ringing the bell at the top of course! The view was amazing!

We then moved on to trying some EXCELLENT gelato! I ate a small cup of the coffee gelato pretty much every day! Will really like the hazelnut gelato!

Below is a picture of the strip of restaurants that are most well-known when visiting, along with where street shows and vendors set up each day.

One night we saw a fire show:

Another night there were new street performers, shown below! There was also a circus one night, but it really was not the best circus, and somehow I don’t even have a picture of it!

To finish off our first, short, but very eventful day we had dinner out, and then pretty much went home an slept!

The first full day we were in Nicaragua was a day on the water! We got in kayaks and kayaked all around Lake Nicaragua! The last time I was in a kayak was on a beach trip with Lenise when we were little. All I remember is pretty much going in circles non stop, and never being able to go forward! I warned Will ahead of time, and then did great! (At least I think I do! Maybe he was paddling more than me.. Who knows!)

While kayaking around, we ended up in trees and saw birds, their nests, houses, and even wild monkeys! The monkeys were my favorite part of the kayak trip!

There were pet monkeys-

And wild monkeys!

These are the bird nests in the picture below! The birds would actually dive in to what you see hanging!

Before heading back, we did get to stop on one of the islands and have lunch! By the way- cool fact- all of the little islands we kayaked around were created by rocks that the volcano erupted and threw long, long ago!

The second day we got to hike up Mombacho, the volcano! Will and I enjoyed this part of the trip the most!!! The hike was maybe 3 miles? It could have been shorter or longer- I really am not sure! The end of the hike was incredibly narrow and steep, and basically like climbing stairs!

There were natural steam vents from the volcano that you could see on the way up, and feel the heat from!

We made it to the top!

Andddd back down we went! We saw coffee beans and two sloths on the way back down!

After that hike we had a well-deserved lunch!

The last and final day 3 was the same day everyone else was leaving or supposed to get to leave! Ted and Clancy got away just fine. Will’s mother, Ann, was not nearly as lucky! While in Nicaragua, many places on the East Coast were getting covered in snow; DC included. Her flight got delayed and cancelled for that Saturday, and then again on Sunday. She stayed the night Saturday and was able to at least get a flight to Memphis on Sunday!

Will and I used Saturday as a day to explore on our own! We went on a day trip to Laguna de Apoyo.

We had lobster for lunch- and it was extremely cheap!

Dogs and chickens were wandering around the whole time-

Our room that night had a fun balcony!

Nicaragua was a great experience! There are a few things I don’t miss- like being able to flush toilet paper, and drink water without worrying where it may come from! Unfortunately there is a lot of poverty, and you often see children selling things for their parents. School is not something that many families push their kids to work hard at. In the park there is one area where everyone sits with their phones-they can use wi-fi for free.