Nicaragua: Land of rum, rice and beans

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Nicaragua. The land of hammocks, rum, rice and beans. I arrived in Managua airport after enduring a decent 35 hour journey, crossing 3 continents within 48 hours. Departing Mumbai after 5 months of traversing India, via a London quick step onto LA City of Angels. An overnight stay in Venice, having my aura read by hyper color hippie and almost marrying a mexican later, my flight departed sunny California to the jungle heat of Nicaragua. One time I wish I'd done my weather check. The most obvious reality upon entering the country was the heat. The dirty, sweaty, sticky humid heat. Unlike the smoggy slums of Mumbai, Nicaragua's humidity was at 80%, translating to cow licked hair, shiny skin, mud splattered legs and a plethora of strategically placed and radiantly red mosquito bights. Needless to say I was devastated. From living in crisp mountain air in the foothills of the Himalayas with Avatar scenery whisking me away at every breath, I paraded right into what seemed to be Hell's kitchen. I couldn't see beauty anywhere, my eyes were numb. My first impressions of Nicaragua were to say the least, unimpressive. I went on however to live there for 8 months embracing Nica life. A true test in patience due to the lack of basic utilities including running water, wi-fi and power. Enter Survivor Nicaragua. I had some wonderful experiences filtered throughout including volunteering with kids via the Barrio Planta Project, a project conceived and brought to life by one passionate woman. Read all about her story here http://barrioplantaproject.org/. What began as a one on one English tutor class manifest into a full scale school in the Barrio. I taught photography and final presentation night was a memorable occasion to see how far we'd all come. On the other spectrum trying to run my clothing business in a country where manana translates to 'when power returns' or 'when i feel like it' via house wives sewing out of chicken houses, to being mugged by 3 men via machette, I lived some more unique experiences. The contrasts to my cotton candy life in Australia and friendships formed were priceless, when else would I live such a life again? Embrace. Enjoy. Freak the hell out, repeat. Living la vida loca. After 5 months it was time to take a vacation to neighboring Guatemala, I crossed borders just as my Canadian friends were heading back the other direction. News travelled of being held up by gunpoint on their Tica bus. The same time my mother emailed me warnings about dangers in Guatemala. Dear mothers intuition. Life happens and at the end of the day when traveling in these territories always expect the unexpected, stay in tune with your intuition, carry a machette, and roll with life. Magic and mystery is everywhere. Straight into San Pedro via Antigua felt like I'd returned to India. Blissed. The mountain air and lake elevated me to another realm, inner peace and tranquility came over me. A decent 1.5hour hike up the mountain to the Indian's Nose is a must. Truly breathtaking scenery elevated to an Avatarian level of bird like butterflies and eagles. 3 months later filled with surf trip days, rum & reggae fuelled Nica nights and a short trip to Costa Rica, my journey crossed borders to Mexico.

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