We love, love, love traveling with Lisa B and Andy B for so many reasons.
So we decided to take another trip with them in one year (yeah!) and head to Nicaragua, a place all four of us have always wanted to go. The time that worked best for all was the week of Memorial Day which was coincidentally also our fifth anniversary week. We left on a Saturday and arrived in Managua, Nicaragua around 9pm. Jeff and I both packed in my small pink carryon and it turns out we could have packed even less considering I barely wore any clothes besides my bikinis and my cover ups. So we walked right through baggage claim and then to pick up our rental car. They didn't have the Toyota pick up truck we had asked for but that was ok because they gave us a Land Cruiser instead at no up-charge. Thanks so much.
Just as we had picked up the car and parked it in the parking lot, Lisa and Andy arrived. Yeah!! We were off to find our hotel, the Heeelton Preeencess. All of us have traveled extensively in our short lives yet we embarked on this trip to Nicaragua with little navigation preparation. To navigate our way to the Heeeelton Preeeencess, we were armed with a map that the Hertz guy gave us that was hand drawn and a map we got at the Hertz desk, both proved to be worthless. We realized quickly that the map would do us no good since Managua doesn't have any street signs at.all.anywhere.
We realized we were in a really bad part of town pretty quickly so we pulled into a gas station that was being patrolled by a guard with a giant gun. Andy jumped out of the car and showed him the Hertz map and said in Spanish, "Show us where we are on this map." The man said, in Spanish, "I have never seen those street names before." I guess that is because there are no street names. Awesome. So we got back on the road and quickly found a taxi and asked him to lead us to the Hilton Princess, two words we had to repeat until Andy said them with a Spanish accent, Heeelton Preeeences and then he knew exactly what we wanted. On the way we experienced/witnessed the biggest clusterfuck (there's that word) we have ever seen. We came to a four-way intersection that had working traffic lights...that every single driver ignored. We didn't want to lose our taxi so we followed him right on through a red light and became part of a somewhat working giant car puzzle that Jeff navigated like a pro. The crazy part was no one was honking at each other. It was just normal. It was the car version of this:
We finally made our way to the hotel, checked in, dropped our stuff and went straight to the bar to sample our first cold Tonas. Glorious.
View from our Managua Hotel Room
Then it was off to bed because in the morning, we drive to the beach.
We were up so early on Sunday morning because we were so pumped to get to la playa. We grabbed some breakfast to go off the breakfast buffet in the lobby, checked out of our hotel and, using a hand drawn map we had gotten from the hertz car washers the night before, navigated our way to San Juan Del Sur. We made only one wrong turn and arrived in San Juan at 10:30 or so.
We were hungry so we had a second breakfast on the beach and won the SUCKER award for buying our first souvenirs off the kids selling items on the beach. After that, they were on us like flies. In hindsight, we actually wish we would have bought more from them. They had some quality stuff.
After breakfast, we were on a surfboard search for Andy so we popped into the various surfboard rental shops to see what was available. It turns out, the best item for rent was at the place where Jeff had rented online so both guys were able to pick up their boards at the same place.
After the board situation was taken care of, we stopped into the Pali for quite the interesting grocery shopping experience, We grabbed what we thought we would need for breakfast, lunch and a few dinners. We grabbed some wine and a lot of beer. In Nicaragua, they don't use olive oil, only vegetable oil. We are two couples who consumer a lot of olive oil. We were at a loss.
It was then time to head off to find our villa. As we followed the instructions sent to Lisa by the owner, the conversation turned to a bit of apprehension. You see, the villa we rented looked AWESOME on the website, but none of us could find any reviews of the place. Not one. We are such a social networking society now and I cannot remember the last time I went somewhere without checking out the reviews online first.
We pulled up, gave the security guards our papers and then proceeded to find out that not only was the place awesome, but it was EVEN BETTER than we could have possibly imagined. Our view was amazeballs, the villa was so nice, the walk to the beach was short, we had an infinity pool to ourself, we had a waterfall in the backyard, we basically had the beach to ourselves. It was perfection. Andy's reaction was the best considering he hadn't really done any research on the trip and didn't really know where we were going. He said, "WHO FOUND THIS PLACE?" Uh-Liser did. HELLO.
We pretty much dropped our stuff, unloaded our groceries, put on our bikinis and board shorts, slathered on sunscreen and took off for the beach. Lisa and I sunbathed and chatted by the bar while drinking tonas and the boys surfed.
By the way, this was the day that never seemed to end. Every time I looked at my watch, I expected it to be 3 or 4 and it would only be 12 or 1. SO great. The guys came in because Andy didn't love his board, so we trekked back to the house, sat on the porch in the sun, swam in the pool, and lounged about. Then the guys decided to head back into town to switch out Andy's board. Lisa and I were perfectly content to sit on the porch and watch the sunset while they were gone.
When they got back, we grilled up some pollo and carne asada tacos and ate in our bathing suits.
Basically we only wore bathing suits the entire time. We only took them off to shower and put on pajamas, i.e. my perfect scenario. Did I mention I love to vacation with Lisa and Andy?!
Day 1-I loved you.
Day 2:
Day two of our vacation started early with breakfast and then we decided to explore some other beaches in the area. We loaded up the surfboards, grabbed our gear and drove first to the little surf hostel around the corner from us at Playa Maderas. The guys surfed at Playa Maderas the day before.
We ran into some American guys who recommended some surf breaks but the waves at Madera looked pretty good so we spent the first half of our day at our home break. The guys surfed, I surfed a little and we sunbathed. We ate lunch that we brought and we had a fish taco from the little restaurant before going into town to inquire about a surf charter for the next day.
When we got into San Juan Del Sur, we stopped by San Juan Del Sur Surf and Sport and chatted with Dario about taking a surf charter to a surf break the next day. We got it all lined up and asked for a recommendation for a beach to try out for the afternoon. He recommended Playa Hermosa so that is where we headed next.
We drove and passed some Nicaraguans paving the road by laying one brick at a time. I can't imagine how tedious and hot that job is and how many years it takes them to pave a road. To get to Playa Hermosa, you have to pay a fee to a little caretaker family at the beginning of a dirt road. We paid for four people and got what we thought were four tickets. Fast forward to the end of the dirt road when we pulled up to the beach. It was beautiful and a little Nica man came out to take our tickets. Uh oh. We only had three. We explained that we paid for four but he didn't buy it so we had to pay again. We were a little put off, but brushed it off and unloaded our stuff to head to the beach. At that point, the man came up to us, told us he had radio-ed the family and that they had confirmed our payment. He refunded us the extra fee and we were so happy and thankful that he had come through.
We found a spot on the beach, but it was hot and the waves weren't great so we moved a bit down the beach. Playa Hermosa is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. There is one little surf hostel on the beach and a little bar and that's it. We learned that it is the beach where Survivor Nicaragua was filmed.
The beach was so wide and so gorgeous. The boys took their boards out again and surfed while Lisa and I continued our usual sunbathing. Jeff motioned to me that the waves were a good size for me so I swam out only for a giant set times five to roll in so I swam my little tail right back on in to shore.
After their surf, we went to the bar and had a beer or two before getting back in the car to head back towards home.
We were up so early on Sunday morning because we were so pumped to get to la playa. We grabbed some breakfast to go off the breakfast buffet in the lobby, checked out of our hotel and, using a hand drawn map we had gotten from the hertz car washers the night before, navigated our way to San Juan Del Sur. We made only one wrong turn and arrived in San Juan at 10:30 or so.
We were hungry so we had a second breakfast on the beach and won the SUCKER award for buying our first souvenirs off the kids selling items on the beach. After that, they were on us like flies. In hindsight, we actually wish we would have bought more from them. They had some quality stuff.
After breakfast, we were on a surfboard search for Andy so we popped into the various surfboard rental shops to see what was available. It turns out, the best item for rent was at the place where Jeff had rented online so both guys were able to pick up their boards at the same place.
After the board situation was taken care of, we stopped into the Pali for quite the interesting grocery shopping experience, We grabbed what we thought we would need for breakfast, lunch and a few dinners. We grabbed some wine and a lot of beer. In Nicaragua, they don't use olive oil, only vegetable oil. We are two couples who consumer a lot of olive oil. We were at a loss.
It was then time to head off to find our villa. As we followed the instructions sent to Lisa by the owner, the conversation turned to a bit of apprehension. You see, the villa we rented looked AWESOME on the website, but none of us could find any reviews of the place. Not one. We are such a social networking society now and I cannot remember the last time I went somewhere without checking out the reviews online first.
We pulled up, gave the security guards our papers and then proceeded to find out that not only was the place awesome, but it was EVEN BETTER than we could have possibly imagined. Our view was amazeballs, the villa was so nice, the walk to the beach was short, we had an infinity pool to ourself, we had a waterfall in the backyard, we basically had the beach to ourselves. It was perfection. Andy's reaction was the best considering he hadn't really done any research on the trip and didn't really know where we were going. He said, "WHO FOUND THIS PLACE?" Uh-Liser did. HELLO.
We pretty much dropped our stuff, unloaded our groceries, put on our bikinis and board shorts, slathered on sunscreen and took off for the beach. Lisa and I sunbathed and chatted by the bar while drinking tonas and the boys surfed.
By the way, this was the day that never seemed to end. Every time I looked at my watch, I expected it to be 3 or 4 and it would only be 12 or 1. SO great. The guys came in because Andy didn't love his board, so we trekked back to the house, sat on the porch in the sun, swam in the pool, and lounged about. Then the guys decided to head back into town to switch out Andy's board. Lisa and I were perfectly content to sit on the porch and watch the sunset while they were gone.
When they got back, we grilled up some pollo and carne asada tacos and ate in our bathing suits.
Basically we only wore bathing suits the entire time. We only took them off to shower and put on pajamas, i.e. my perfect scenario. Did I mention I love to vacation with Lisa and Andy?!
Day 1-I loved you.
Day 2:
Day two of our vacation started early with breakfast and then we decided to explore some other beaches in the area. We loaded up the surfboards, grabbed our gear and drove first to the little surf hostel around the corner from us at Playa Maderas. The guys surfed at Playa Maderas the day before.
We ran into some American guys who recommended some surf breaks but the waves at Madera looked pretty good so we spent the first half of our day at our home break. The guys surfed, I surfed a little and we sunbathed. We ate lunch that we brought and we had a fish taco from the little restaurant before going into town to inquire about a surf charter for the next day.
When we got into San Juan Del Sur, we stopped by San Juan Del Sur Surf and Sport and chatted with Dario about taking a surf charter to a surf break the next day. We got it all lined up and asked for a recommendation for a beach to try out for the afternoon. He recommended Playa Hermosa so that is where we headed next.
We drove and passed some Nicaraguans paving the road by laying one brick at a time. I can't imagine how tedious and hot that job is and how many years it takes them to pave a road. To get to Playa Hermosa, you have to pay a fee to a little caretaker family at the beginning of a dirt road. We paid for four people and got what we thought were four tickets. Fast forward to the end of the dirt road when we pulled up to the beach. It was beautiful and a little Nica man came out to take our tickets. Uh oh. We only had three. We explained that we paid for four but he didn't buy it so we had to pay again. We were a little put off, but brushed it off and unloaded our stuff to head to the beach. At that point, the man came up to us, told us he had radio-ed the family and that they had confirmed our payment. He refunded us the extra fee and we were so happy and thankful that he had come through.
We found a spot on the beach, but it was hot and the waves weren't great so we moved a bit down the beach. Playa Hermosa is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. There is one little surf hostel on the beach and a little bar and that's it. We learned that it is the beach where Survivor Nicaragua was filmed.
The beach was so wide and so gorgeous. The boys took their boards out again and surfed while Lisa and I continued our usual sunbathing. Jeff motioned to me that the waves were a good size for me so I swam out only for a giant set times five to roll in so I swam my little tail right back on in to shore.
After their surf, we went to the bar and had a beer or two before getting back in the car to head back towards home.
Before we left for the trip, I had read about a particular pizza place and had told everyone about it. So basically all we wanted to eat was pizza. We decided tonight would be the night so we left Playa Hermosa and made our way to where I had made a note the pizza place was. We drove back and forth by it and it wasn't there. WHERE WAS THAT PIZZA PLACE??
We ended up eating at a restaurant at the Mango Rosa hotel. It was ok, but not great because basically all we wanted was pizza. And I am pretty sure that meal gave Andy and Jeff the Churro for a few days. BUT Lisa and I drank red wine and it was glorious.
When we got back to the house, we hung out per usual and drank more wine and had more beers and loved life being on vacation.
Day 3:
On the third day, we woke up extra early to head out for our surf charter day with Dario. Excuse the horrid photo, but I just had to rub in the fact that I got to look at that view behind me every morning while eating breakfast. Actually I got to see that view whenever I wanted that week. Moving on...
We left out of the San Juan Del Sur port. To get in, we had to sign our names, put our passport numbers, etc. on a sheet of paper. We had a very Italian moment when Dario told us that we could basically write whatever we wanted on there. Who cares. So we did. Then we loaded up the little boat, put on our life vests that thankfully were only required as we left the port, and headed off into the open sea.
Dario was such a great guide. He is Nicaraguan but moved with his family to Florida when he was five during all the turmoil the country experienced. He lived in Florida for 35 years, had a job in wealth management and decided he wanted to move back to Nica and live a simple life. He had so much information on the history of Nicaragua. We actually spent our trip back to the port listening to him as he provided a history lesson.
Here the guys are getting ready for an epic 5+ hour surf session. In the lineup at Playa Yanqui: Dario, Jeff and Andy. Perfect.
When the waves died down a bit, Jeff called me out so I went. Just like the day before, the waves then got huge again and I got stuck in the white water for a bit. But I survived and again paddled my little tail back to the boat.
At one point, the three surfers came back to the boat and we thought they were done. They ate some bananas and chugged some powerades and then to our surprise, they went back out for more.
When they finally called the surf session done, we dropped the fishing lines in the water to do a little trolling and the Churro I mentioned earlier hit Jeff like a ton of bricks. He gave about a minute warning before jumping off the boat to add a little organic matter of his own to the Pacific. Can you spot him in the photo below?
When we got back to town, we unloaded and then tried to get PIZZA for lunch and the damn restaurant was closed. AHHH. So we ate at a little beach front spot instead and then headed back to the house for some relaxation.
A fish jumped on the line and I reeled him in.
And here is my fishy in the kitchen getting filleted.
For dinner that night we had fish tacos and regular tacos and relaxed more. That night we played cards with several breaks for Churro attacks. Then a storm looked like it was rolling in so Jeff and I did the dishes because the Californians were jumping up and down like little kids the night before Christmas. Apparently it doesn't storm in San Diego. :)
Day 4:
On Day 4, we were up early again to take a day trip to Ometepe, an island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. The albinos in the group (Andy and me) had gotten a little too much sun on the boat the day before so a day out of the sun was in order. We left, you guessed it, early in the morning and drove to San Jorge to get the ferry over to Ometepe. San Jorge is definitely NOT the nicest city in Nicaragua, in fact, it was a bit scary. I am thinking we got tourist trapped when a guard ushered us over to a little tourist office to a man that spoke English. He said for a certain amount of money, his friend would meet us on the island and be our tour guide for the day and for a little extra, his friend in San Jorge would watch our car and make sure no one stole it or broke into it. Like the suckers we are, we paid for both. Fast forward: it turned out to be a good decision.
Below is the port in San Jorge
The ferry ride over was...SLOW.
The shores of San Jorge.
Passing another ferry.
When we pulled up to Ometepe, a Nica man dove off the boat with the big boat rope. Then he tied the boat to this big piece of furniture. Meanwhile, there is another man who throws a boat to someone at the dock. Then they pull the ferry in by hand. It was crazy.
When we got off the ferry, it was has chaos. There are taxi drivers wanting you to hire them, people renting out motor scooters, etc. Jorge, the guy we paid for on the other side, found us and we followed him apprehensively to his taxi and got right on it. Suckers. For the first half hour or so, I was pretty convinced he was going to rob us. Fast forward: Jorge was awesome.
The moment I definitely thought we were going to get robbed happened here. Jorge pulled off the side of the road, told us to hand him our cameras and he would take a group pic. Lisa, Andy and I all had the thought that he was going to grab the cameras and take off leaving our dumbasses standing on the side of the road. Jeff was convinced Jorge was a good hombre. Jeff was right.
Basically it is obvious that the taxi drivers on the island have a deal with particular restaurants and tourist destinations on the island. So they take the tourists there and obviously get a little piece of the pie. We were ok with it, though, considering the fact that we got to see everything we wanted to see and Jorge was pretty knowledgeable. Plus he had a really nice Pito that Jeff really liked. In fact, Jeff told Jorge how much he liked it.
After the above photo was taken, Jorge brought us to a restaurant on the shores of the lake where we enjoyed some good Nica food and some tonas of course. Then it was off to Ojo de Agua. A pool fed by a natural spring. We enjoyed a nice swim with some weird hairy blobs in the water and then had to awaken Jorge from his siesta in la hammock to get back on the road.
On our way back to the ferry, we stopped to pick some pretty flores and then we stopped at a black sand beach to take some touristy photos in front of the Volcan Concepcion.
Afterwards, we grabbed the slow ass ferry back to San Jorge and drove back to San Juan del Sur in search of PIZZA! Finally-we found an open place and ordered our pizza and it was SOOO good. I forgot to mention that our fourth day in Nicaragua was Mother's Day and it was a national holiday. How cool is that? No one was at work and the kids were out of school. All the churches were having special services for moms and there were heart and balloon decorations all over.
As we were finishing our pizza, we realized that there was some set up going on for an event in the main square in front of the church in town. We decided to stick around to see what was going to happen. Basically San Juan del Sur was having a big Mother's Day celebration with music and poetry. We found a nice young Nica boy who explained everything to us. We also bought the BEST fruit ever off of a toothless old Nica woman. Momones were the fruit and they look like grapes with a thick skin and you peel the skin, suck on the fruit and then spit out the giant pit. So good.
It was such a great night to experience the local culture in town. We all agreed it was our favorite night yet.
Day 5:
Day five started with the chefs whipping up a yummy breakfast.
With some mom ones for dessert.
We spent day five at our local beach break. The guys and I got some surfing in. I got smashed in the head by my board which started my day of clumsy. The day was a bit cloudy so we really just enjoyed the beach and then some time up at the house chatting, drinking tonas, listening to music, having a momone pit spitting contest, and hanging out with the best friends. I think every day at some point I would say, "today is my favorite day." And I know I said it this day.
Here Jeff is making a coconut cocktail. Yumm.
Icing my noggin.
In the first video, I am sucking on a momone and watching Liser's mad spitting skills and then getting jealous of her skills.
In the second video, I am failing at momone pit spitting.
After awhile, we decided to explore the rock in our view. We found lots of interesting wildlife so different from anything else we had seen. Sea urchins, sea anemones, etc. So cool. Jeff jumped into a canal to walk to the other side. I was a nervous nelly. We wanted to see if we could walk to the shark fin. We couldn't unfortunately.
We all were going to jump in the canal at some point so I took a photo of our stuff thinking that if someone found our cameras, they would see what belongings we left behind. I know I am weird.
On the way back to our villa, I slipped and fell on the rocks. It hurt but I tried to be brave. But seriously, my knee still isn't back to normal and it hurt to put any pressure on it for probably a month after we got back. Secretly, I know the tonas are to blame.
That evening, we cooked our final dinner of pasta and sat outside amongst our favorite singing leeezards and played cards, drank tonas and drank wine. The best.
Day 6:
Our last day was so sad. I woke up soooo sore from my stupid fall. We ate breakfast, walked over to our local break, and the guys surfed while Lisa and I did our usual hanging out and having fun. We came back around 11, packed up the rest of our stuff and said goodbye to Villa #1. Oh how we loved it. On the way out of town, the boys stopped on the side of the road for some tshirt shopping. We had decided to stop in Masaya for some souvenir shopping on the way back to Managua. We found it, shopped til we dropped, bought hammocks, masks, paintings, and more, had one more Nica lunch and then made our way to Managua.
We spent our last night in the bar where we started laughing and enjoying our last moments together.
Lisa and Andy-this was the best trip ever with the best friends ever. I can't wait for our next adventure!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment