Las Penitas (part dos)

The second night we were invited back to the Cocco Bar because Carlos, Thommas, and Patrizio were having a small get together for the official opening of his bar. Cody and Erika did not go, so it was just Anna and I. We got there and there were no more than maybe 15 people. When we got there Patrizio was about to start grilling the chicken in an old flat school desk. They had taken to top off and placed some kind of chicken wire on top. He shoveled the coals from the fire into the bottom of the desk and started to grill the chicken.

I talked with Thommas for a while and found out that Carlos was kind of a big brother to all the local kids there; he was always watching out for them. One of the kids got a blank surfboard, but had no fins, and did not have any money to buy some. So Carlos, Thommas, and Patrizio all put their money together to buy him some fins. I don't think I have ever seen any one person that was more happy than this kid. He did not have the money to buy a board, and then when he finally got one it did not have any fins, so now he was able to surf. The people here are some of the kindest that I have met in all of Nicaragua, everyone was very accepting of us and did not look at us as intruders to their homes.

The next day, which was our last full day, we were at the beach again and when we went into the water there was an older french woman playing in the waves with us. She was maybe in her mid fifties, but seemed like she was 17 in the water. She was a slightly robust woman who seemed to bob in the waves. There was another woman with her who was even older than she was, maybe in her mid to late sixties. We think she was maybe her mother, but either way they were definitely there together. After the younger one had her fun, she went back to the beach and grabbed her friend/mother/family member and they went hand in hand into the water together. The younger woman never let go of the other's hands to give her support in the waves. They got in about knee to waist deep, and just stood there at the waves, enjoying every moment of it. They were there for about thirty minutes laughing. After the older woman had enough, they walked back to the beach, and the younger woman went back out to play in the waves again, once again returning to 17 years old.

(The younger woman on the left and the older on the right)

(I have never seen bigger smiles on someones face than after this wave crashed into them)

Las Penitas (part uno)

While on the bus to Las Penitas, we met a guy named Thommas who was from France. He lives in Las Penitas on the beach at a place called the Cocco Bar. They rent out surf boards, give lessons, and have a tiki bar on the beach. We asked him where some cheap places were, and he said the cheapest place was on the beach. He told us of some other places too, but as got off the bus and walked around for a bit, we ended up coming back to the Cocco Bar, and the guy running it told us we could stay up in the tiki bar for two dollars a night, so that's what we did.

(Our view from the tiki bar)

(Our sleeping quarters)

Once we got settled in we went out and swam for a bit, walked down the beach for a while, and then made our way back to the bar. That night Anna and I slept on the beach for about half the night because of how bright and vivid the stars were, but ended up going back up because it got kind of cold from the breeze.

The next day we went to a another hostel called Barca de Oro that was more expensive, but we had to move because Carlos (the guy who was running the bar and surf shop) was opening the bar, plus they had no water. We checked in there and ate some breakfast before going back out to the beach. That day was spent mostly at the beach. We started to dig a hole in the sand, but the sides kept on collapsing, we settled for burying me legs in it.

(The beginning of the hole)

(Childish fun is the most fun!)

(The task completed)

Leon to Las Penitas

We stopped in Leon only for a day and decided to finish our trip off on the coast. After leaving our hostel in Leon, Cody needed an ATM so we started walking "towards" the bank, but there turned out to be no bank in that direction, so we just walked around in a circle for ten minutes. They finally found out where one was, but Anna and I decided to wait at a church for them (Anna's pack weighed about as much as I do). They were back in about ten minutes. We sat on the steps of the church for a bit longer, took a few pictures and then headed off to catch a taxi to another bus station across town. We caught the bus for about ten cordobas and made our way to our next destination, and our last of the trip.

(The gang re hydrating on some mango nectar mixed with orange juice...so tasty)

(The church we waited for Cody and Erika at)

(Erika and I being what we are.....awesome!!!)

Laguna de Apoyo

Today we all decided to check out this place called Laguna de Apoyo. It is a crater lake that is surrounded by mountains, and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It reminded me a lot of Lake Como in Northern Italy (clear water, surrounded by mountains). We were slightly apprehensive about going at first because the Bearded Monkey had a sign up sheet to go to their sister hostel there (the Monkey Hut) and it cost five dollars for the bus ride and then you had to pay six dollars just to get into their facilities, and that was not including food. We really did not want to pay that much money. We talked to a guy at breakfast the day before, and he told us that you can take a chicken bus to Masaya and from there you can take another bus to the lake. So we decided on that since the chicken buses are always cheap. It cost us no more than two dollars to get there, and the last bus stop was at a local/public spot on the lake, so we did not have to pay to get in. Once we got there we swam around for a bit, enjoyed the sun, swam some more, talked, lounged in the hammocks, and chilled some more.

Cody, Anna, Erika, Jo, Staci, and Me

Cody, Erika, and Jo

We hung out for a couple more hours and then grabbed something to eat at one of the restaurants on the lake; it was a little more expensive than what we were use to paying (it cost about 6 dollars instead of 3-4 dollars) but we figured it was worth it for the hammocks and the view we had.

The newly engaged couple enjoying some hammock time!

The view from my hammock while waiting for some dinner, che bello huh!?

After we ate, we laid in the hammock for a bit longer, and then decided to go back before the market at Masaya closed. Masaya has a large market and is known for their hammocks, or so the book says. We got there and looked around for a bit, and realized that the market was huge, they had everything there from food, machetes, hammocks, to just about everything else. Staci decided to ask a woman there if she could direct her to where to "colorful bags and hammocks were", as soon as she smiled I knew that she would want something in return, so Cody, Erika, Anna, and I kind of slinked back and made our own way through the market. When we saw Jo and Staci again sure enough the old lady was following them around because she wanted them to buy something from her when they were down and she wanted to make sure that they came back to her stand when they were done. They finally convinced her that they would come back so she would leave.

We all got our hammocks and began to make our way back to back to the bus station to go back to Granada. Once back at the Bearded Monkey, we all showered and chilled out for a bit. Once Jo finished packing (she was leaving for England the next day), we all went to this pizza place that was pretty cheap and had fantastic meal to end the day.