Hello again world outside of Nicaragua! Big news this week: I have recently seen off two visitors from my hometown of Farmington, New Mexico after their two week stay here with me in paradise. That news is big, but what is even bigger is that they were none other than my brother, Nathaniel, and my cousin, Eli! They came down for a couple weeks to learn a bit of Spanish, live Nica style with a host family, and get a little taste of what Nicaragua has to offer in the way of adventures. They were remarkably successful in all 3 areas! We packed too much into the two weeks to fit into a single blog entry, so this first one will just cover the first week or so. Here is their story in pictures and a few words:
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| We started out the touring with a walk down to the lake with Christian, one of the host brothers of Nathaniel and Eli |
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| The epic walk down the lake front...no, this wasn't staged, I just caught them looking this cool |
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| Break from the merciless Nicaraguan noon hour sun |
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| Eli testing the waters in Nicaragua |
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| Eli going out on a limb in Nicaragua |
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| Nathaniel and Eli with their first bagged drink. This is something that is very common if you would like a soda to go, as the glass bottles can be returned for a little money |
You may have been wondering why this post is titled "The Fantastic 4" and not "The Terrific Trio" or something of the like. The reason is because Austin, a Casa Xaltevan student joined the three of us in many of our endeavors this first week, so we were indeed four. And yes, we were indeed fantastic.
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| Subiendo el torre de La Iglesia la Merced |
For our first weekend we decided upon the destination of San Juan del Sur, a town on the coast of the Pacific well known by tourists for its beaches and surfing, as well as a very happening night scene. There aren't any pictures of it, but the during the night that we spent in the hostel in San Juan del Sur there was a concert going out literally right outside our lodging on the street. It went until 2:30 in the morning. You were able to hear it going until 2:30 in the morning through our walls.
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| Not great quality, but it gives you the idea |
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| We had a fancy bus on the way from Rivas to San Juan del Sur and were able to watch some of the most well known Spanish music videos. I guess they were meant to get us in the mood for the beach scene. |
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| A nice $C50.00 ($2.00) breakfast at a local place in San Juan del Sur. This picture is post consumption unfortunately. |
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| Making a stop to cross the Golden Gate Footbridge of San Juan del Sur |
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| ...Rio de Janiero Jesus' baby brother was watching the whole ordeal... |
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| Maderas beach, a very popular surfing location. The waves there that day got up to 5 meters (about 15 feet) tall I would think). San Juan del Sur was also the location of this year's world surfing championships. |
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| Off to try our hand (or maybe feet?) at the whole surfing thing. We weren't able to take lessons, but by the end of the day we had all stood up a few times |
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| The epic question: to surf or not to surf? Eli ended up ripping up the waves a bit. |
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| From the balcony of our hostel, you can see a few of the tents from the night before's concert |
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| ...and in the other direction we see the ocean. |
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| Off to tour Las Isletas |
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| Our guide feeding one of the monkeys on Monkey Island |
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| Pausa para comer frutas |
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| ...and later a coconut break. |
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| Mombacho volcano from the water |
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| The bike ride back into town. |
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| Start..... |
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| .....your.... |
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| .....engines!!! |
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| This was a week of climbing church towers. This is on the way up the tower of the cathedral. |
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| The stairs got narrower and narrower the further up you climbed |
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| The cathedral from arriba |
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| La Iglesia San Francisco...newly painted |
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| The boys taking a look at the museum next door |
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| Ending the week off with a nice refreshing visit to Euro Café to wind down a little and get ready for the next round of frantic activity |
To be continued....
