Wrangled our luggage, surfboards and car seat. Got our rental car, met our escort and began our three hour trek to the coast. Great to have someone show us where to stock up on certain things in local areas. Stopped for groceries at the Maxi Pali. Little M had fallen asleep, so i stayed in the car while hubby ran fast and furious to get our weeks' worth of groceries. Our destination has no grocery stores near by. The closest one being an hour away. The bigger one being in Managua, so we stocked up.
Our normal eating habits go out the window. Case of beer, lots of pasta, lots of chips with seasoning. A flat of eggs, nutella, 'treats'. There is obviously fruits and veggies here, but surfing once or twice a day requires some carbs, and fresh fruits/vegs can also be a source of digestive things too. Produce also goes bad quite easily here, so we get what we can, but stock up on non-perishables too. We also have our own 'from home' things like oatmeal, granola, nuts, etc.
We wove our way through
the countryside. Soon we were off the paved
highway, on to the dusty orange dirt roads. Wooden carts pulled by bulls,
livestock wearing triangular stick collars (so they can't get through the fences), children in bare feet,
corrugated metal, brick, patched plywood, or cardboard shacks with
clothes out to dry and a consistent ribbon of littered plastic bottles,
bags etc., line the road.
We slowly made our way
through a bustling town. Locals looking in the
car to see just another set of foreigners. Proud, stoic faces, hardened
by a devastating history. Two relatively recent and catastrophic events: The
not so long ago civil war over a ten year period of time in the 1980's
to early 90's, costing "60,000 lives, $178 billion dollars and the
Nicaraguan infrastructure and economy" (Standford Univ.)
And 1998's catastrophic Hurricane Mitch: 11,000 killed, 11,000 missing,
and 2.7 million people left homeless. Yet when you take the time to see
a person, give your respect and smile, a different kind of smile
than I have seen anywhere in the world is returned - one that is
innately deep, but also fought for so dearly. 
We reached our destination, greeted by our property manager and his team. It is in an area that has private homes and apartments, many of which are rented out to foreigners (including ours). We are approx. .7km from a surf break. We lugged our things to our new abode and then hightailed it to the beach - unpacking is for sissies! Both of us got in the surf. It was pretty big. DISLIKE the first sessions of a surf trip! I think I actually flashed the beachfront homies (didn't have my rashguard unpacked). ah well, giddyap. Little M reunited herself with the beach and all the critters on it. She is so in love with the ocean.
To sound sleep...
sounds like a lovely start to a holiday..... take me with you next time - lol.
ReplyDeleteAmber