Mistakes Were Made

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Last night we paid extra for A/C, and we learned why that is not worthwhile. The electricity went off in the middle of the night for a few hours.

I made another little mistake this morning: asking the lady at the front desk how much a taxi costs to Santa Cruz. She said she didn't know but would find out. I went to the room to take a shower. A few minutes later two men are knocking on our door, their minivan running on the street outside, ready to take us to Santa Cruz for $25 (with, presumably, a commission for the hotel). Melody has to answer the door (I'm dressing) which naturally makes her uncomfortable. And it's my fault. And in hindsight it's not a good price either.

We got in and headed for Santa Cruz and our third mistake of the day: not having a good idea of where to stay tonight. We had in mind El Encanto, but reserved the right to change our minds after inspection. On the way we should've reviewed our notes and guidebook about the options. Instead we just looked out the window. Once we got near Santa Cruz (which is hardly even a village) the pavement ran out. A little further on we glanced at the faded sign for El Encanto and the unpainted concrete buildings and told the driver to keep going (for an extra $5). The road got worse. Soon we came upon a nice, new sign for Little Morgan's and told the driver to turn in, and down the steep driveway toward the lake.

Sure enough, Morgan (an Australian) had a cabin for us for $35. Yeah, it only had three beds, but he could bring in a fourth. With no mosquito net, and the cabin is not sealed from bugs. Maybe the fan will keep them off. Oh well. Here we are. You can walk down to Lake Cocibolca. There is food, coffee, beer, and even Internet service.

Benjamin and I signed up for a fishing trip this afternoon "using traditional methods". I wasn't sure what that meant. It turned out to mean rowing out on the lake in a seriously leaky wooden boat and using sticks for fishing rods. But we both caught a few fish, rowed home at sunset, then back at Little Morgan's the crew of two built a fire and grilled our fish for supper, so it was pretty magical.

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Photos

Fishing Success
Who says you need fancy equipment to catch fish?

Fresh Fish Dinners
and look at the gorgeous wooden table

Unique Architecture
A and M descend from The Lookout. Young people sleep on hammocks inside.