About my weekend...
My last night in Leon was unforgettable. Uri, Yael, Adi, Michael and I celebrated Chanukah, sang a few lullabies, and stayed up all night playing a very cool card game that Uri taught us. I have to write down all the rules before I forget it. They were determined to stay up with me until 6am when I had to wake up Oren to catch a bus south. I was flattered by their determination. It was an intense evening and while some bizarre and mean things were said (mostly due to the heat of the competition at the table), it's a night Ill remember for the laughs, stories and connections that the 5 of us shared. Uri and Michael eventually conked out on us around 4 or 5, but the night guard at the hotel joined us and even made up some fresh coffee.
Oren and I took a shared taxi to Managua and then a bus to Rivas. Another taxi ride later and we were in San Juan del Sur, on the southern coast of Nicaragua. I was not prepared for such an abrupt change in ambiance, but I grew to like San Juan as well. San Juan is a surfer beach town, not so different from beach towns across the world. There's the predictably ubiquitous shell jewelry, Bob Marley music and scantilly clad beach bums. Still, I enjoyed another chance to veg out and do very little.
For some unexplicable reason, we had discovered France in Nicaragua. With very few exceptions, our hostel was full of people from France and Quebec. I was thrilled, although I felt bad that Oren doesnt speak French. SO I found myself speaking mostly French this weekend, and ocassionally Spanish with sdome Italians. Its exciting to be living in this International world where Spanish can be the common denominator-language between any two people... Im certainly a long, long way from fluent, but I am proud to say that I can converse in Spanish and communicate what I need to.
The first night, (Friday) Oren and I went out for a fresh fish dinner that cost $3. Then I went out dancing with several people frm the hostel. Barry, Helene, Thomas, "eduardo" and I found a local bar that wasnt touristy. We drank way too much and were shocked when the whole bill was under $10 at the end of the night. Then we headed out to go dancing. The night ended on the beach under the stars around 3:30 am.
Saturday, I awoke early and Oren and I headed to a more remote beach after a leisurely breakfast in the mercado. We vegged out seriously on the beach - I mostly slept and worked on my red head's tan. The water was colder than I expected but I had fun jumping in the waves. Our cab driver waited for us at the beach for 4 hours - the road was so bad and his car so beat up that Im still in shock that we made it to the beach. Along the way, we passed many small homes with children and animals mingling outdoors. I tried to imagine living in such a place - where a bike ride to the beach must be an adventure and a trip into San Juan a special treat. There wasnt electricity or plumbing in some of the places. Ive had several discussions here about the whole money and happiness thing, and I am sure that many of these people are happier than people up in Newton or Greenwich.
Speaking of Newton, I met two Newtonites (newtonians?) in San Juan and as it turns out, this is the town that Newton high school students come to on the Nicaragua trip. I had applied to go on this trip during my senior year, but my spanish was not up to par. I thought of my friends who had gone - it was cool to know that they had been in this town.
New Years Eve, we all bought some fresh fish and vegetables. Alex (Quebecois) and Marco (from Rome) cleaned all the fish while Yacine (Paris) and I managed the salad. It was so much fun cooking for 17 and we all enjoyed the feast. I was exhausted, so Yacine and I went out for some coffee and ice cream. Before midnight, we headed to the beach where we celebrated with champagne, hugs and a great view of the fireworks that were going off all around town. THe rest of the night/morning, I went from bar to bar, met some people from Flagstaff Arizone, and ended the night with a dip in the Pacific. Only problem was, most of my clothes, my money and my passport enjoyed the waters as well and are still drying out.
A classic Rachel moment: Sunday morning, I discovered a rash on my stomach. Tiny bright pink circles appeared, although they were neither itchy nor painful. The didnt come off, and still havent, but I have discovered the culprit. My new skirt has hot pink yard around its little mirrors. Apparently, the yarn bled on me, on my shirt and on my money belt. Good news is, I dont think its dengue fever and I doubt its fatal.
Sunday, my cab driver didnt show, but I found a cheaper ride to the border. At 8 AM, there were no other cars in sight, I got a view of the Lake of Nicaragua along the way. Crossing the border was relatively quick because only one bus was there. Still, it is less than obvious where I am supposed to go. There are no signs and it took me awhile to figure out which way I had to walk to get to Costa Rica. You pay at one place, walk 200 yards or so, wait in line to check out of Nicaragua. Then, there's a long walk to the other country where it feels quite clearly that you could walk right in. Inside a restaurant, was the immigration office where I had to get admitted to Costa Rica. From this office alone, I could tell that Costa Rica is more used to tourists than the other countried I had visited. It was air conditioned, and far cleaner than the other offices. There were several people working there. After that, I talked my way onto a bus to Costa Rica and passed out for the next 5 hours.
Last night, I finally ate around 6:30 for the first time. I had had so much trouble finding food. I met a very cool French girl and we vegged out watching 13 going on 30 - a much better movie than I would have thought.
Now Im off to the mercado. Maybe Ill find something I want to bring back... Then its off to the airport at noon.
I hope youve enjoyed my blog! More to come...on my next journey.
Wherever you are in the world, I hope this year is a happy, healthy and exciting one. This world is one that is ever easier to navigate and I hope to see each of you soon, whether youre in New York or Im off in your part of the planet. To those Ive met along the way, thanks for helping make this trip to incredible.
