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.
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