Nicaragua - Epilogue

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It's been a week since my return and now that I've had time to process this adventure, I thought I would share some final thoughts with you.

I know my last entry ended a little sad with me crying on the plane. I sat next to a nica developer and actually started lecturing him about not ruining his beautiful country. He told me to stop crying because I was making him want to cry!

Nicaragua is extremely poor, but, I found it's people, land and country filled with warmth and beauty. With the exception of Managua, I always felt safe and there was always someone to help me. The law of attraction says that the intentions you put out are what comes back to you. I traveled there with no expectations other than to have a great adventure and encounters with nice, interesting people. I wasn't disappointed. It was such a brief journey, and I will always remember the people I met who touched my life and made it so extraordinary.

Coming back to the US is such a shock. On all my journeys to 3rd world countries, I come back overwhelmed by our excess, and, I feel somewhat guilty on many levels -- by how much stuff I have, the easy life, the things I worry about, which, in the grand scheme of things are really trivial, and then I feel guilty about not appreciating what I have. For some reason, on this trip these feelings were magnified. I remember walking into the grocery store a few days ago overwhelmed by all the stuff, standing for 15 minutes in the toothpaste isle (an entire isle is dedicated to tooth stuff) trying to pick out a tube of toothpaste! I dread going to the local mall to do Christmas shopping!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my travel misadventures. I sure enjoyed sharing them with you.

Eric - muchas, muchas, muchas gracias for coming through the back door border crossing with me. If not for you, I'd probably still be trying to figure out the water taxi, ferry, plane connections! Oh, and for the sluething you did on my nica ex-fiance 😉 I owe you at least 1,000 free salsa lessons!

Karen - what can I say. Without you, I would have never made that plane! I'd probably still be languishing on Ometepe without money. Thanks for the manefestation lessons! And for checking in on Stimpi!

Charles - it was you who inspired me to go to Nicaragua. Thanks for the advice on places to go. I can see now why Nicaragua is your favorite country to visit. It is mine as well!

Randy & Victoria - thanks for taking care of Josie! The only way I can enjoy my travels is because I know my dog is in such great care!

Until my next adventure ... Adios mis amigos!

LuAnne

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