nicaragua in a nutshell

I spent almost 2 months in Cloud Forest in the Nicaraguan jungle at an organic coffee plantation called Selva Negra. Truly an incredible place. I hung out with a 10 year old girl and her 4 horses, 3 rabbits, 5 cats, 1 dog, 1 deer, 4 ducks (am I missing something?) in her huge house overlooking the entire city of Matagalpa. I tried teaching myself Spanish with Rosetta Stone on her dads (his name is Roy) computer in his own top of the line bakery. I took hikes into the jungle with my custom made machete and holster that Roy had made for me. This is where I had my first ever run I with a tick (I quickly decided me and that tick weren’t friends). I saw wild parrots, and huge hummingbirds, and see through butterflies, and hundreds of different types of orchids. I ate fruit off trees and drank coffee picked fresh from the plantation. I tried doing my own laundry but the maids did it for me, right after they cleaned my room… and the entire house. We didn’t drive. We had our own driver who drove for us. We never cooked, someone cooked for us and all of a sudden, there was food on the table. Truly vacation.

I left that jungle paradise and headed to the beach. I hitched a ride and it was a 5 hour drive in a pimped out jeep weaving in and out of cars, trucks, horses, ox carts, buses, stray dogs, you name it, its probably in the road. But I made it to my destination.

San Juan Del Sur. Its supposed to be a hot spot. THE hot spot for Americans coming to this country. I stayed for 3 hours, recruited a jolly fun group and we squished in a taxi and headed north to Playa Popoyo. Spent about 5 days there watching through my mosquito net as bats flew to and from the rooms probably catching bugs and pooping on us. We tide pooled, swam with crazy colored tropical fish, did yoga on the beach with a tiny little Argentina lady, cooked the most delicious food, and painted masterpieces all over the hostel walls. Then, we left.

My mom came to visit. She hated the traffic, any food that wasn’t cooked, people looking at her (she thought they would rob her), leaving the rental car parked, driving the rental car, buses, dogs in the roads, the roads in general, the markets, the language, etc. etc. Overall I think the experience shocked her. She didn’t like anything except being at Best Western (across the street from the airport) and at the very expensive condo-golf resort I took her to on the beach. She made it though. Happy and smiling when she finally received her luggage after 5 days of being without it right before she departed back to Alaska.

That left me alone. I headed to the beach to work at a restaurant. Made friends, got people buzzed, ate good food, didn’t pay for rent and lived in a lux bedroom WITH my own bathroom, I might add. Surfing every morning until work at 12pm. Nothing lasts forever, I sadly, got fired and had to move out of the room the same day.

Surfer Mike let me live in his house for a few days. I met Vero, an Argentine artist/yoga instructor who I ended up traveling with for the next 2 weeks and Brad, from the band Dispatch.

That day, I was walking on the beach and I met a guy named Stu who invited me to a condo south of here. I would live with him, an artist named Colleen from California and Vero. I would cook, clean and practice yoga and meditation in between surf sessions. For free? Ok. I left that day.

One week at the Iguana Condos surfing Playa Colorado and Panga Drops. One day they rented a boat to take us up to Lance’s Left and Playgrounds to surf waves that no one else was at. Perfect. We swam out to the boat, got in and there we went. Once we got to the waves, we jumped out of the boat and paddled to the break. This too shall end.

Got a free ride to the airport from there where Vero and I headed off to Little Corn Island on the East side or the Caribbean side of the country. We flew from managua to bluefields to big corn island and then took a little boat with 15 other people to little corn island 30 minutes away on the most terrifying ride of my life ( i thought i was going to die) and then i spent 3 wonderful days there. we circumnavigated the island in an 1 ½ on foot. We lived on the beach in a bungalow in the rain so deafening i couldnt even hear vera talk to me 5 feet away and then we took another horrible boat ride back to big corn and stayed the night in the ghetto where it poured down rain and flooded our hostel room floor and then the next day got on a tiny toy plane that i was sure was just going to fall apart piece by piece in mid air back to Managua

then today, i went to an old Sandinista prison from the 80s war and i only made it 1/2 way through the first level and i got so pale and feeling so creepy i asked to be escorted out of the prison because i refused to go on with the tour. the energy was so intense for me. i was told later, the 2nd level was full of torture chambers, blood on the walls, people being hung, beaten, raped, etc. Then, they told me the prison was on the tv show ghost busters and it was full of ghosts, or spirits or whatever you want to call them.

when i was in there, i could hear the sound of shackles, chains, the sound of the barrel of the guards guns running up and down the prison bars. the screaming and crying... .it was horrible. i know it was all in my head but i felt the energy. i heard those things. it was horrible. im so glad i didnt continue with the tour because my mind just cant handle things like that.

Now, im back at Gran Pacifica where the energy is healthy, happy, peaceful and the air smells like salt and the waves crash outside my casita window, and I fall asleep to the sound of crickets and wake up to the rising sun telling me its time to surf.

I only have 9 more days here in this little tiny paradise.