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Published: April 21st 2011
Our breakfast comedor.
It was quite pleasant thanks to the breeze.This morning we have some errands to run. We have to withdraw a substantial amount of money because there aren't ATM's on Little Corn Island where we will be spending over a week & will need a lot of money. So, we found the ATM we need & for whatever reason it let us withdraw a huge sum of money in one transaction. Usually we can only get $185 at a time. But today we got $300 at a time! People must spend money here.
Next stop the book exchange to get some new books for our Little Corn time. We turned in a couple books we've read & got a couple new ones. The typical exchange rate is: give two books, get a new book.
Last stop, food. We went to a different comedor, out on the street, because the breeze is too good to pass up. Inside the market there isn't even a draft. Our breakfast was good but not as amazing as yesterday. Paid the price for the breeze....
After eating, I talked with the bus helper dude sitting next to the bus to learn the schedule of buses for our impending departure. Now we have
a plan, leave at 11 & home to pack. At least we have clean clothes now. I just wish I could talk someone into using a little Downy or something. My clothes are always clean but don't ever smell like clean clothes. I've even been buying 10 cent packs of laundry soap & giving it to the person who washes our clothes but I'm not sure they use all of it or what. Who knows, maybe our clothes are past the point of being able to smell good anymore...sad sad day.
We packed, sat around & read until it was time to go.
We got to the bus & had our bags literally tossed up on top of the bus with a loud thump. That's a first. Honestly, our bags are usually handled with care. Not much breakable gets carried with us anyway. While sitting around waiting for the bus I wandered around & took pictures & looked at some dresses. While talking with a lady about her dresses, my bus starting driving away!! Thank god the back door was still wide open & the bus helper dude was standing back there. I ran to the back of
the bus, grabbed the handle & the guy pulled me on, all while the bus was moving!! Like something out of a movie. Really the bus was only moving at maybe 2 mph but it was still exciting to me. I've never jumped on a moving bus! I got to our seat & Geoff said he was just sitting there wondering what he should do. Stop the bus, grab both our backpacks. While he was thinking about his move I was chasing down my bus. It was awesome & definitely got the adrenaline pumping.
Lesson learned. Stay next to the bus while waiting for it. Do not wander too far!
We arrived in Rivas where we had to change buses to Managua. The thing I love about traveling here in Central America is the bus process. Like today, it's very common to get off the bus to a group of guys yelling out names of the city their bus is headed to. It's usually the bus helper dude sent to retrieve people from arriving buses. What's lovely about it is that we don't have to wander around & ask about our bus. They come to us. And, when
Tummy Time!
It looks ridiculous, but it totally works. (We've tested the theory) you're a gringo it's even easier. You stand out & they know you need direction. So, we walk off the bus, point to the guy yelling Managua & say "Si, Managua," then they grab our backpacks & we follow (quickly because they do not slow down for a second) to our next bus. So simple.
This bus ride we were too complacent & laid back. We didn't sit next to our bags & have learned, days later, that our carabiner, a lighter, & Geoff's baseball hat are MIA. Nobody's fault but ours. It's just been so safe so far, we got lazy. Lesson learned though. At least it wasn't anything too important that got stolen. We actually talked about it on the bus, but it was soooo crowded, there was no easy way for us to move closer to our bags.
Arrived in Managua. It's sweltering. We are surrounded by taxi drivers offering their "TAXIS!!!." Of course, in big city fashion, the prices we are quoted are ridiculous for a taxi. Something like $10 was the first offer. We laugh, say no, walk away, and then they drop the price, another taxi driver offers a lower price &
so on until you get a price you like. For $3.50 (still overpriced) we agree to go with a young taxi guy. Another scammer. These young guys are the worst. He tried to talk us into a $50 a night hotel, changing neighborhoods from where we wanted to go, blah blah blah. All in Spanish until finally Geoff, from the backseat says, go to the hotel we are asking for. Then taxi guy stopped hassling. Macho culture, only listens to other men. Funny stuff. He also kindly offered to take us to the airport the following morning for $25 which we declined. Our hostel took us for $12. You would think that if a scammer was going to be successful he would at least try to keep prices in the right ballpark. But, I imagine these ploys must work sometimes on unlucky gringos.
Managua is another big city. Sketchy, dirty, busy, noisy. Not really our cup of tea. Everyone has locks on their doors, locks on their outside gates, barb wire on their fences. Just not inviting. We're staying in a little hospedaje (like a hostel attached, or a part of, someones house) in a neighborhood called Barrio Martha
Quezada, the hostel is Casa Vanegas. We dropped our bags in our room & headed out to check out the city. We ate lunch at a little comedor on the corner of a busy street. Steak & rice & beans all for 25 Cordoba, or $1.25. Best price! We figured since arriving in Nicaragua we've been spending on average $35 a day for everything, food, lodging, travel. We could stay here a very long time....Prices are about to go up on Little Corn Island though. Oh well. It will be worth it.
We spent the afternoon walking all over. Buying sunblock, bug spray, Excedrin & such for my post diving headaches. I love just walking into the pharmacy & self prescribing meds. It's so simple. The pharmacist who helped us was very sweet. It took us awhile to get on the same page about what I was looking for to deal with my headaches. He offered codeine, I declined because I can't dive on narcotics. Not safe. Finally we figured it out & I left with Bayer. We went to the Supermercado & bought some wine & stocked up on toiletries. Then the long walk back to our hostel
My new friend on the bus.
We were playing a version of "I Spy" in Spanish. It was super fun & involved a lot of "hojas" (= leaves). There were a lot of trees during this part of the ride. before it got dark.
On our walk back we passed several drunk people in the streets. Men & women. Very interesting. I think people get drunk quicker here because they are already so dehydrated from the heat that one beer & they're done. We got a little lost on our way home because we tried a shortcut. Ooops. But we made it eventually. After doing a little blogging & research for the S. America part of our trip we headed out to dinner. At a comedor around the corner we shared a grande Tona & fried chicken. A drunk homeless guy asked us for money & used all his English phrases at once. Hi friend, how are you, please give me a dollar, and so on.
Back at our room I used the shared shower. I have to say I am amazed at myself & how ok I am with sharing bathrooms now. I never would have thought I could overcome all my germophobias so easily. I still love soap & hand sanitizer, but I'm not afraid of showers & bathrooms anymore. As long as they are clean enough anyway. It's just so much easier to find places
with shared bathrooms & cheaper.
Off to bed. Up at 4:30 (eeks!) to catch our flight to Little Corn! Yipppeee!!!
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