The End of the Road (plus a Flying Cat)

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After about 18 months of travel, it is time to ditch my backpack and wandering ways and head home to find a job - scary!

About 10 days ago at 3am, our alarm clock went off - it was time for Scott to get ready to leave on the Paxeo shuttle bus to the airport. From here, I was on my own. I got a few extra hours of sleep before packing and checking out to head to San Juan Del Sur, my backpack bulging from the extras I´d inherited from Scott - mosquito net, blanket, plus I had the full set of toiletries which we´d previously split. Travelling as a couple certainly has its advantages!

I sat on the bus for three hours before it set off as it had mechanical problems. Still, that´s nothing compared to Africa! After a seemless transition in the scruffy town of Rivas, I made it to San Juan. Within a couple of hours I´d found a guesthouse, handed in my laundry, eaten lunch, and signed up for a week of Spanish classes complete with homestay. Given that I´d just committed to a week of gallo pinto (rice and beans) I decided to head to Big Wave Dave´s for a Western food fix that evening. I ended up sampling the lively San Juan nightlife with a guy from New York (who comically referred to himself as Rrrraymundo Miguel) and his Nicaraguan cousin. I think they were a little disappointed when I mentioned that I was married - he he! They were hilarious, though, and fun to hang out with.

The next day I checked out of my lovely hospedaje and met my host family. There were 12 of them in all, all the way from a 5 month old baby to the grandparents. It was like living with the Waltons! Remembering all the names was definitely a challenge. They were super nice and accommodating.

The Spanish classes went well, or so I thought. I still have a hard time speaking in anything other than the present tense. Oh well, at least I tried! After class, I´d go back home for lunch with my host family and then head to either an email cafe to look for a job or to the beach on the shuttle bus. I met a lot of nice travellers on the bus including Dennis (German) and Valerie (Swiss). The three of us plus ¨Raymundo Miguel¨ and two Norwegian girls from my Spanish school (Trine and Mona) ended up going out together quite a few nights.

On the weekend I went to stay at Playa Majugal with Dennis. Although only five or so kilometers from San Juan town, it felt a world away. The hostel was right on the beach with lots of hammocks and lounge chairs to hang out on. Most of the men staying there were hardcore surfers. That was fine apart from the fact that the dorms were a pain as they all set their alarm clocks for 6am in order to catch the morning surf!

We spent two days there exploring the many beaches and rocky tidepool areas and being entertained by ¨Happy Loco¨, a dog that would spend all day happily running all over the rocks chasing the crabs and waves or anything else that moved, the whole time his tail spinning around and around like a propeller. I wish I had that kind of energy! Evenings were generally spent swinging in a hammock, a rum and pineapple juice in hand. It´s a hard life! I just wish I had found this place with Scott as he missed it, but I know he'd have liked it.

Before I knew it, it was Sunday and time to head back to stay with my host family for a night. It was wierd to sit down and eat a meal as we'd been living on pineapples, oranges and coconut biscuits on the beach. Dennis got to stay a third night as he cleverly arranged to have his Monday Spanish class in the afternoon, lucky thing! Still, by spending the night in San Juan, it gave me the chance to get on an early bus back to Granada the next day. It went unbelievably smoothly this time. What took six hours coming took only two and a half hours going back. That meant I had plenty of time for eating a nice relaxed lunch. At the next table I overheard a group of girls talking about having a camera stolen. When I asked where it had happened, they said it was here in Granada (not what I was hoping) and that it had happened just off the main square at 9am. More alarmingly, the guy had pushed her to the ground and started to strangle her in broad daylight! There were people all around so they helped her and called the police but there was nothing they could do because he is a minor. Honestly! I feel as if I have heard way too many robbery stories here in Central America. Practically everyone you meet has one. It is worse than Africa (almost!)

I had a full day to spend in the Granada area. At first I thought I´d go to the volcano but, after hearing yet another crime story, I decided against it. Being a blonde chica hiking alone is probably not a good idea, and the organized trips cost an outrageous $35. Instead, I thought I´d take a bus up to the pretty Pueblo Blanco villages until I saw a postcard of them. It looked as if it would be just another church gauntlet. In the end I decided to stay very local and just have a relaxing last day.

After a giant plate of fruit and copious amounts of free coffee refills, I went to explore the local market in Granada. After seeing big hunks of raw animal parts hanging from hooks and swarming with flies, it reaffirmed in my mind that it was better to be vegetarian! I did, however, manage to get something useful done - I replaced the stud earings I´d lost diving on the Corn Islands for only $1, bargain! I´m hoping it doesn´t backfire and I wake up with a green ear!

Later on I jumped on a local bus to do some last minute shopping at the Masaya craft market. I didn´t end up buying very much, just a few gifts and a hammock, but it was fun to walk around.

Well, that´s about it for me...I am going to sign off now and head for something to eat, my last meal of the trip as I leave for the airport at the rediculous hour of 3:30am tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. How did 18 months go by so quickly? However, I will wait to publish this blog until I get home as I feel the final photo should be one of Scott and I back at home. We will try to smile, I promise! 😊

Thanks for reading the blogs or looking at the photos (I know that´s what most people probably do and, as they say, a picture tells a thousand words). Hopefully we will add to the blog again at some point, but just for two week holidays. It is time to get serious and settle down...I think!... 😉

ADDITIONAL BLOGGING!

Well, I was going to leave my final blog as above, not expecting anything noteworthy to occur between 6pm (when I left the internet cafe) and 3:30am when was to leave Granada for the airport. I was wrong.

Over dinner I ended up running into the girl and her two friends who I'd overheard talking about the camera stealing incident. I hung out with them a bit and it turned out that she had also spent Christmas here (just a month or so prior) and had had another camera stolen then, too. As if that was bad enough, she'd also been here a year prior and had had a small bag stolen containing everything important, including her passport. Nuts! They were here on business and took me to the house their boss had arranged and paid for. It was absolutely gorgeous, with Spanish tiling throughout and a beautiful plant-filled courtyard with a big fountain. It made Hospedaje Cocibolca look rather pathetic in comparison!

The three girls had to go back to work on their laptops and I had to figure out how to pack my purchases from Masaya in my already bulging backpack. Amazingly everything managed to fit in. I have no idea how and keep worrying about what I must have forgotten!

However, the reason for me expanding this blog was what happened next. I hopped into the bathroom to take my last cold shower for quite a while and everything was going routinely until suddenly something big and heavy fell on my head. It was part of the ceiling closely followed by a cat! I was so shocked that I let out a huge squeal before quickly finishing off my shower. When I went into the bedroom the cat was no-where to be seen so I presumed it was cowering under the bed, just as startled as I was. It had left a big wet patch on my bed by the pillows - lovely! I was just glad it wasn't on my clothes, which were all laid out ready to travel in the next day.

I then had to hastily get dried and dressed and run down to reception to explain the situation in Spanish. I'm not sure they quite believed me but luckily they had a spare room and I got to switch. After all that drama I soon fell asleep only to be awoken at 3am by my alarm clock. I was soon ready for my 3:30am pick-up. By 4:30am there was still no sign of the bus to I was convinced they had forgotten me. I was just starting to inquire about a taxi when, predictably, it arrived - hooray!

So, here I am on my Continental Airlines flight from Managua to Houston, Texas writing this blog by hand (I typed it up on the web later). It's so obvious it's an American-owned airline. First of all the only breakfast choice was a scrambled egg and ham burger (offending the Jews) and for lunch the only option was a soggy microwaved beef burger (offending any Indians and just about anyone else who doesn't like to eat microwaved beef burgers!!!) There were no veggie options much to my annoyance. Isn't this supposed to be a multi-cultural society?! In addition, the inflight shopping magazine was a dead giveaway. Insead of sticking to the usual array of perfumes, chocolates, and jewellery, they had to go one step further and indulge in the most useless and overpriced gagets imaginable. For example, a classic was the "Continuously refreshing feline drinking fountain" which filters the water and reduces the risk of your furry friends developing a urinary tract infection or kidney disease. I mean really! Most of the world's people don't have access to clean drinking water. I'm sure an American cat can cope with drinking plain old tap water! Or how about the "Million germ eliminating travel toothbrush sanitizer", yours for just $29.95. I've never actually heard of anyone getting sick from their toothbrush. For this price I'm pretty sure you could provide ten African families with mosquito nets. Now which use of the money is more beneficial? We are sooo pampered (and lucky) in the west it is unbelievable!

Anyway, as I jet back to "civilization" and my comfy life filled with ample food, hot showers (can't wait), and fancy gadgets far beyond the imagination of most locals I have met in the last 18 months, I'll say "adios" for sure this time. Thank you for reading. I've enjoyed sharing our travels with you - the good, the bad, the funny, the frustrating, ad the downright bizarre! I hope my tales of scary bus rides or corrupt officials haven't put you off travelling. Although rather trying at the time they often turn out to be the most memorable and funny experiences. Instead, I hope my desriptions of all the exotic sights, sounds, people, and places we've encountered along the way have encouraged you to set caution to the wind and indulge in that once-in-a-lifetime (erm, or three-times-in-a-lifetime for us!) trip that you have always dreamed about but never quite gotten around to. We've had several people ask us, "But what about your careers? Aren't you worried?" The answer is yes, sometimes. However, you never know what fate will bring so it is better to enjoy now and worry later. As the saying goes: You most regret the things you didn't do in life rather than the things you did do. Or, according to Bob Marley, Don't worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing, is gonna be alright.

These are both so true. My advice: get out there, travel, and see the world! You won't regret it!

The End

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Comments

[Andi and Paul]

Animals
Can't believe you actually got some enjoyment out of watching an (evil) dog. Wow, it must have been super-cute. Was also half expecting your cat story to end with you getting stopped at the airport for trying to smuggle a cat out of the country (thought it might have jumped into your rucksac!) Guess it's back to reality now - good luck with the job hunt x