We headed south toward Rivas. Along the way, I used my limited Spanish to make small talk with the driver. Bex! speaks better than I, and there were a few times that she bailed me out when I got in over my head. I'm good at asking basic questions, and my accent is pretty good. So a couple of times, Ramon started answering in SS - Speed Spanish - and... Bex! to the rescue.
Ramon pointed out the fields of caña de asucar (sugar cane) which is one of the major crops here, as is the rum they make from it. He announced the name of each town as we passed through, pointed out the road to Masaya (also on the 'must visit' list) and anything else he thought we may be interested in. As nervous as I was about Spanish school and teaching and volcanic islands, I had a reassuring sign that we would be a-okay here in Central America when I looked over and saw Bex! sound asleep. Me, I tend to not be able to sleep when I'm nervous, anxious, scared. I know my wife was feeling all of those things, but a full stomach and the white noise of car tires on pavement - and she's out every time. I love her.
As we approached the town of Rivas, we were able to catch glimpses of Isla de Ometepe, the island in Lago de Nicaragua that would soon be our home for six weeks. The sight of it was more than a little surreal. Before visions of island exploration and volcanoes took over my thoughts, we turned westward and headed for the Pacific coast. It's about 12k from Rivas to San Juan del Sur, most this expanse filled with farms and ranches lining the two-lane road. It's hard to describe how green and lush it is. In the undeveloped areas, the jungle runs right up to the road and appears so dense that you could get lost if you wandered in 15-20 feet.
We rolled in to San Juan del Sur about midday and stared wide eyed at what would be our home for the next week. It's a small town, about 18,000 people and that counts everyone from up in the hills around town. It sits aside a beautiful crescent shaped bay that is postcard perfect. There is one main road that runs in from Rivas and it crosses the four roads that run perpendicular to it. There are some other side roads, a lot of them unpaved. Tourism is the thing here - fishing charters and great surfing beaches to the north and south. It's a weekend getaway for locals from Granada and Managua, too.
Fortunately, the home of our host family was the least difficult to get to. Up a few steps then a concrete ramp to the gate. Carmen Maria came to the gate to meet us and we could tell right away that we would like her very much. She was warm and welcoming - and she already had lunch waiting for us! It was delicious!
Whole fried fish, rice, beans, a cucumber and tomato salad and calala to drink. This last is juice from a fruit we know as passion fruit. It is fantastic! I was a little concerned when Carmen Maria brought our plates out because the fried fish was the entire fish (cleaned, of course) - head, tail, fins. I was fine with it but wasn't sure how Bex! would feel. She's frowned before at having food that looks back at her. But once again, she surprised me by digging right in. And when she finished one side and turned it over: "Hey, look! More fish!"
Note to my brewery peeps: New beer name for ya - Kona Calala Ale. Go ahead - say it: Calala Ale. See? Your tongue has so much fun with that. It's exotic, has a fun bar call and I bet y'all could develop something tasty, beyond Wailua Wheat. You're welcome.
While we ate, Carmen asked us some questions - I think she was checking out our Spanish skills. Among other topics, she asked if we were okay to eat 'cerdo' (pig), 'pollo' (chicken), 'pescado' (fish), 'res' (beef). I pointed at my stomach and replied 'todos!' (all!). She laughed - she liked us, too.
After lunch and a little unpacking in our room, we decided to walk around town a little and get down to the beach. Carmen seemed a little worried, asking if we knew where we were going and reminding us not to take too much money. Carmen's home (our home now, too, come to think of it) was a couple of blocks south of the parque central. In fact, our school was right across from the park. After zigging and zagging through the four streets that make up the core of this cool little town, we found ourselves at the beach.
And it's gorgeous. Sandals off and feet in the warm soothing water. After enjoying that for a bit and smiling from ear to ear that we were finally here, we celebrated with a drink at one of the dozen or so beachside restaurants/bars. We had Toña's first, then switched and had micheladas, a beer concoction we discovered in Portland. Back home they are made with tomato juice, lime juice, a little hot sauce and beer. Quite tasty. The ones they make here have less tomato and more lime and more heat. I like them better but that may be because of the location in which I am drinking it. ;>)
We made our way back home and got a little more organized in our room. Although we were doing a home stay this week, our room was actually detached from Carmen's home. Our place was more like a studio apartment. It shared the same porch, essentially, but we had our own room - complete with bathroom, even! We visited with our hostess and her family some more, getting to know each other. It was fun as we tried to communicate. There would be a flurry of conversation in Spanish with some English, then silence for a bit, while each of us absorbed new information. Carmen was wonderful, as she coached us along.
After a bit, it was time for dinner. One of the national food treasures here are nacatamales. We must learn to make these! They are prepared like a regular tamale, except the masa has onion, peppers, rice mixed in and they are filled with more goodness - these with onions, peppers and pork. And they are big! You could see the dent in the nacatamale where the banana leaf had been tied around it. I will not return to the US without knowing how to make these!!
One thing to note... From the time we arrived, and all day until the sun went down, there were big fireworks going off, every 15-20 minutes. Just one big 'BANG' each time and the location around town changed, or seemed to as best we could tell. My assumption was that it was to keep birds from roosting and we were worried that this was going to go on every day during our stay. My son and his wife can attest to how much Central America loves them some fireworks. I suppose we would get used to it. But no fears - other than an occasional random 'boom' and one evening a guy setting them off in the parque central, we didn't hear anything the rest of the week.
Maybe, just maybe San Juan del Sur was celebrating our arrival? If so,...
Gracias!!
Plenty more pics and vids coming, but to give you an idea of SJdS, a pic from the northern bluff:
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