Adventures in the North: Somoto

We waited outside the pharmacy gas station for almost an hour, our heads pounding. Not so much from rum, but more from dehydration and lack of sleep. We grabbed breakfast of little corn cookies and pastries from the station and waited. Finally, someone told us it was best to go to the actual bus station, which was a 2 minute walk down the road.  Once we got there, the bus was leaving,so we jumped on. I sat next to a very nice man who offered me part of the Prensa.  La Prensa is one of Nicaragua's newspapers.  I read about the canal, a flood, Snowden, and baseball.  We talked about Nicaragua.  He asked me all about what I was doing here, if I liked it, would I come back.  I asked him about his life. He lives in Managua and owns a ferreteria, or hardware store.  He is from some town near Somoto and was going to visit family.  He sad he has never been in th canyon, and if he could he would join us.  I also talked to another guy who was an illegal immigrant in the US.  Somehow, he managed ot get from Nicaragua to California with literally nothing.  I asked him what made him decide to risk everything, and he put his little girl on his lap. He said that he was always told that if you want to make anything of yourself, you have to risk everything.  He was starting a family, and he wanted to be able to send her to a good school so she could have everything she needed when she was older. He thought the US was the land of dreams, so we went for it.  He said he struggled in California. He was homeless, could barely find work, and was treated like shit.  Finally, he met a girl in her 20's.  She was on vacation in San Diego.  They met randomly and she saw that he was a good person.  She and her family owned a restaurant in Knoxville, TN.  She said come with me and we will help you out.  Somehow she got him across the US to Tennessee and moved him in with her family.  He worked in the restaurant and when he made enough money, he came back to Nicaragua.  He also learned English and other skills that would increase his chances of being able to get a better job.  He was reunited with his daughter recently, and they were on a daddy-daughter trip to the Somoto area to visit his family. He is a great man. And whoever that family is deserves a medal of honor or something, because that is just amazing. He said he liked the South.  He was mistreated at times because of his heritage and legality, but still found the people to be kind, hospitable, and Godly.

The bus ride was great.  We had to take two to get to the Finca that we were staying at.  Eti's uncle knows a guy from Managua who owns a pretty big piece of land right on the river bed of the canyon. He was going to let us stay for free on his property. So nice. Our second bus dropped us off on the side of the Pan American highway.  We didn't really know where we were supposed to go, so we asked the driver if he knew of the finca. He did and told us to walk straight up the road.  We were in the jungle. I loved it.  The weather was cool. Sunny. Dry. Awesome. We walked and walked until we got to a little house on the side of the road.  We asked the people inside if they knew Saul. "Si! Si! Si!"  One of the men grabbed his motorcycle and zipped down the road yelled, "I'll be right back!  Have a seat on the porch!".

Saul came up with his motorcycle and greeted us.  He escorted us through the jungle for another mile.  I didn't do a lot of research for this trip, because I wanted to be surprised, and let's be honest, my spirit likes to be free. This place is my paradise. 

We get to the Finca, and I am just amazed. I took too many pictures to put on here. So visit my Flickr site and they will be up on there soon. We got a tour of the main house and our cabin, complete with mosquito nets. And we had lunch.  We messed around with some turkeys and geese. They were a bunch of a-holes... the birds.  Eti, Anne, and I got a good laugh from their quackiness :P 

Next adventure was a hike through the mountains and a swim through the canyon.  Eti brought his camera since it was waterproof, so I will add those photos later.

The hike was great.  The land here is so green and fertile.  So many fruit plants and trees. The air is fresh. just amazing.  Once we were in the canyon, the guide and his 2 sons helped through some really tough class I rapids. It was cute. We traversed rocks and rapids all day.  We got to a place in the canyon where you can jump 5 meters, 8 meters, 10 meters, or 20 meters.  I chose the 8m and Eti chose the 10m jump.  I wasn't taking any risks on my last weekend, but now that I have seen it done (by the guide's son), next time is 20m :)  The water felt amazing.  I haven't been cool really all month.  So this trek was well worth it. We spent almost 4 hours in the canyon.  Angry bats flew at our heads. Weird little fishes nipped on our toes.  

We took a canoe type boat through the last portion of the river, and hiked back to the house.  Then we decided we weren't finished with fun and rented some 4wd. Some of the paths were a little dangerous, so one of the guides came along with us.  Eti and Anne on one, and me and guide on the other. I drove it some. Up one kind of steep hill, too.  Then I handed it over to the guide.  Sometimes, it's more fun to be the passenger. 

We went to 2 lookouts and really enjoyed the views.  

Afterwards, we came back to a nice dinner of scrambled eggs, gallo pinto, nica cheese, and a tortilla. Rum and Coke, and the biggest limes I have ever seen (see below).  We were exhausted and passed out hard.  For all of us, it was one of the best nights of sleep ever.  And we needed it for the chicken bus return trip of 6 hours.  I will never forget this place, and I hope I can return soon.  Somoto is awesome. 

Etienne and Anne were great travel companions.  I will really miss them when I return and on future adventures.  They have invited me to Bordeaux France to have more. I will definitely take them up on that. Both are great people and will be great doctors.