It was a lot of fun having Bari come visit in Nicaragua. I was really glad that he got along very well with the other people at camp. It was another pretty standard relaxing week. We went snorkeling (Wiley caught more fish that I made into ceviche), surfing, walking around, etc. We had an epic walk up to the top of a huge cliff that I wanted to wander up but was too nervous to go all the way up myself since it is pretty remote and nobody would know where to look if I had disappeared. I finally felt comfortable walking around everywhere barefoot; we went across the barnacle/snail-encrusted rocks on the way to the beach break at Colorados! It felt like a rite of passage – from tender-footed cubicle girl to outdoor explorer. There were definitely some hammock naps and Scrabble-ing.
My last full day in Gigante was spent running errands in town, lounging around, swimming in the ocean during sunset, cooking a little dinner and lounging out at the local bar down the street. Bari and I had head over to Managua (2.5/3 hour drive) on Tuesday since our flight was at 6AM on Wednesday. Goodbyes were a little sad since I don’t know when/if I will see any of them again, but I really enjoyed my time with them and they really made my experience in Nica one that I will always look fondly back on.
We had originally planned to all go to Managua and make it a night out on the town – going to watch a movie in 3D and maybe the casino. However, the SUV was still at the mechanics and they only had the red pick-up truck which is a little sketchy and not road trip ready. As in, the red pick-up dies fairly regularly and you can only hope that you are on a hill so it will roll start again (if not, you have to get out of the car and give it a good push).
Bari and I went to the Best Western located across the street from the airport but unfortunately it was totally booked so we had to try a different hotel and suck it up and catch a 430AM taxi. Hot water! Air conditioning! We went to Tip Top (a Nica fried chicken chain similar to Pollo Campero). There really wasn’t much to do in Managua (you could tell that even the tour book was having a difficult time making it sound fun and exciting). We saw a group of guys walking around a plaza in mariachi outfits (studded pants and all) so decided to stick around and grab a drink. Flor de Cana Rum is the national drink of Nicaragua so we got a few R&C’s – they turned out to be less than $1 each. And I thought drinks were cheap on Austin’s East 6th street! Bonus: the Mariachi band came over to our table for a serenade, ha.
The flight home was uneventful; direct flight MGA to Houston, whatup!! My favorite part is when the immigration officer says, “Welcome home.” My mom came to pick me up from the airport and we stopped for Mediterranean food – baba ganouj mmm! We saw Erica, one of our a family friends there with her fiance but I was too zoned out to notice until I heard her call my name. Welcome back to America.
