Day 25 - Ripping through Granada

Packed, fed and waiting for our taxi ride to the ferry. With the arrival of our taxi we said our goodbyes to Ryan and Angela and the other guests of the retreat. Our departing taxi was the same van that broke down on our arrival. We loaded our gear and set off for the dock. We stopped a few minutes into our trip for another passenger. The skies were clear and the views of the two volcanoes was exceptional. When we made the dock the ferry was just loading up with trucks for the trip across. We hauled our stuff up a flight of stairs and sat in some seats. The differences between this ferry and the lancha we took earlier in the week were drastic; bathroom, canteen, TV, no sooty smokestack and a smoother ride.

Once on the otherwise of the lake in San Jorge we were greeted by the usual taxi driver looking to whisk us away in his taxi for a fee. I said we were going to the bus station for the bus to Granada and he gave us his rate to Granada of $30. We decided to use him instead of the bus because the bus wasn't leaving for another 2 hours. In the end it was a good decision as he took us to see the central park in Rivas when I mentioned we were to visit the central park in Granada and then when we were pointing out the size of the papaya at the fruit stands on the side of the road we had to stop at one for us to try a fruit called sapote. We didn't want to eat it in the taxi so we just took the fruit with us for later.

Arriving in Granada in about an hour from Rivas we were let out at a hostel to stash our bags for a couple of hours while we checked out the city. We did a stroll through the stalls in the parque centro looking at shirts and crafts. We bought Elliot a baseball shirt with Nicaragua stitched on the front. In front of a large Nicaragua flag we did a video of Tegan's Irish dance and then we hired a horse and buggy to take us around the city. The tour was enjoyable, but not as extensive as I would have liked. We were showed no more than a dozen sights on our circular ride. I had Tegan and Elliot do a video Christmas message for Escuela Collingwood.

After our quick tour we stopped at a gelato place for a treat and the left to retrieve our bags. The taxi rate to Managua was much more than the $20 estimate given by the manager at the hostel. Instead we got a $40 taxi ride instead of the street price of $50. At least we were again on our way. Being a Saturday night we saw many people dressed up at the bus stops in Managua. At our hotel we noticed something big was happening in the outdoor terrace. We went to our room, Elliot somehow had grease on him from the horse and carriage and got that grease on the bed and rug. Not good.

The kids got into their swimsuits and we made our way downstairs for a swim. Something big was definitely happening on the terrace. Now there were girls dressed up with Santa hats on and all sorts of people in suits or dresses. We made our way past all of them, feeling a little out of place. We proceeded to the pool where the kids got to jump in, swim for 10 minutes and then staff approached Correen to let her know they had to get out. Upstairs to get dressed to go eat at the hotel's restaurant. After supper we just sat in our room watching TV and then we packed our stuff for tomorrow's 4am wake up call.

Day 24 - Waterfall by horses

Last night I set out my camera to photograph the stars. Unfortunately the clouds moved I while we were sleeping and then it started to rain. I had to jump out of bed to rescue my camera. I was really hoping to get some nice shots of the stars with the volcano in the background, but it wasn't last night.

After breakfast the horses arrived for our horseback ride up to the waterfall. Tegan got a horse name Mariposa, Correen had a horse names Raton and my horse's name was Conejo. We started off at 9:30 am. Elliot started with me for the first 10 minutes, but switched over to our guide's horse as there was more room. I am sure Conejo didn't mind the weight reduction. We descended the driveway to the main road and took a left, passing by the beach we were at the day before and continuing for about another 2 kms before entering a the grounds of a research farm.

From there we started our ascent of the volcano following a trail through citrus trees. The guide led the way with Correen following. Conejo and Mariposa lagged behind and went their own pace on hill sections. Despite my words of Spanish encouragement, Conejo stalled when it came to downhill sections. I even got off of her to give her a break, but I couldn't budge her. I concluded that riding was more productive than pulling and stayed with that for the remainder of the journey. Tegan and I caught up to Mom and Elliot, they had already dismounted and were ready to do the hike to the waterfall.

The hike started off on a riverbed and then into a small canyon. It was very lush, rocky and moderately steep. We made the waterfall in 10 minutes or so and that sight was awesome. Literally that is what was first uttered by Elliot and then a minutes later when Tegan saw the same sight. The San Ramón waterfall is 50m in height and because of the dry season is a little less impressive. Correen and the kids went to the pool below the waterfall to stick their feet in the water. I did my best effort to photograph the waterfall from a vantage point on a large boulder. There was also a dead python lying on the site and the guide picked it up to remove it to the fringes.

We only spent about 15 minutes there and decided to return to the horses. I am not sure Conejo was happy to see me but that's the life of a trail horse. On the descent Tegan and I led the group back down the volcano. Where we were at the waterfall was only part way up the volcano and not the actual trail to climb it. The waterfall is also fed from a lake that rest in the crater of the volcano and you can actually swim in its waters.

As soon as we hit the road Conejo and Mariposa set off on a race. Conejo just entered into a gallop and I quickly held him back as I didn't want Mariposa to follow suit with Tegan riding. When we reach Finca Mystica we were all happy to have enjoyed the horseback riding and happy to have ceased the horseback riding. Now it was time to hydrate and rest for a while. I went to take a shower and ended up lying down for a 4 hour nap in the 30C cabana. Correen, Tegan and Elliot went down the driveway to the house at the juncture with the main road. There, Tegan and Elliot shared some clothes and books they brought from home to give away. When I finally woke up from my nap I was feeling a little off and decided to skip dinner entirely. We made our taxi arrangements for the next day and Correen and the kids made their dinner choices for the evening meal.

This was the third evening in a row for a splendid sunset and talking with guests of the retreat. Tomorrow we decided to head to Granada and see the old city instead of any other activities on the island. The kids got to try some more homemade baked goods and a homemade chocolate before bed.

Day 23 - Laying low at Finca Mystica

The howler monkeys started their vocal choir this morning around 4am and they sounded like they were no more than 50m from our cabana. The whole jungle sounded as though it was waking with the coming sun. I stayed in a half sleep state until Elliot woke up and we went up to they in the hammocks and play his DS.

We had a good hour or more to ourselves and it was very nice. When Mom and Tegan stumbled up the walkway, we got to ordering our breakfast. The food here is very delicious and everything seems to be grown locally or onsite. I spent some of the morning updating the blog, Correen enjoyed her coffee and reading online updates from friends while the kids played with everything.

After a equally yummy lunch experience, we set off for the beach where there were suppose to be tons of kids for Tegan and Elliot to play with. However we went to the wrong beach and it was just the 3 of us. Correen stayed back to baby sit the coffee and pay me back for leaving the kids with her back in SJDS. The beach we were at was of black sand and rocks. Entering the water with bare feet was challenging as there were bands of sand and rocks, the later being uncomfortable on the feet. We played with the soccer ball we brought from the retreat in the water. Monkey in the middle was fun and keeping Elliot out of the middle required some creative cheating and play.

No kids ever did show, so we went back to Finca Mystica. On the walk back we saw a mom and her young Howler monkey. While back relaxing in the common area I stumbled upon a large quantity of ants moving across the front of the steps. It was like a super highway for ants and there must have been many thousands crawling down the path. The kids and I spent a good amount of time observing the ants. We tried to find where they were coming from and the direction they were heading. We were told by Angela that sometimes the ants move across the property and they will cover the entire walls of the cabanas. They basically clean out the spiders and other insects as well as any food they can find. We observed the ants walking on spider webs and crawling down the tunnels made of webs. We even shot a video of the action.

The sunsets were incredible and you could sit and watch the dropping sun cast shades of red and orange onto the clouds as it sunk deeper in into the horizon. Thinking that the sky might clear up and stay clear throughout the night I setup my tripod and camera to photograph the stars. Up to the common area for a snack and then to bed.

Day 22 - Isla Ometepe by rocks and rope

Our last morning in SJDS and I skipped breakfast to pack and get a couple of things transferred over to the iPad. Tegan set out with Mom and Elliot for breakfast and to locate a flag of Nicaragua and managed to get one outside the market down the street. Once they returned, we got our things together and said our goodbyes to neighbours and Abuela Rosita. She even came out with a bracelet for Tegan and Elliot that read "amor mio". We loved our stay at Rosita's and would recommend it to anyone.

The bus was just down the street waiting. So we got our luggage thrown up onto the roof and boarded the bus to find a couple of seats for us. After a 10 minute wait the half full bus took off for Rivas. After about 20 stops down the road our bus was now standing room only. It was a good thing the trip only lasted an hour or so. In Rivas, we exited the bus at one stop past the intersection leading to the wharf. We ended up sharing a taxi with a couple of backpackers to save some dough and time. At the wharf it was a short walk from the taxi to the boat that would carry us over to Ometepe. The boat itself didn't look like much. A bit of spit and twine held it all together. I read somewhere that below deck you were sure to get wet from waves splashing through the windows, the sun seemed to be the only enemy on the deck.

The ride itself wasn't that bad. The waves did throw this boat around a little, but not enough to make me nauseous. We sat just behind the smoke stack and it streamed out a steady flow of black diesel smoke and soot that fell onto us. The trip took just over an hour to reach the island. We decided to save ourselves the agony of long bus ride around the island to Finca Mystica and took a taxi instead. We loaded our gear and 2 other ladies loaded there belongings as well for a trip to their homes. The volcanoes of Ometepe loomed overhead as we round the north part of the island and then onto rounding the volcano on the southern part of the island. Just about 10 minutes onto the dirt road and a noise came from the back of the van.

The driver stopped to check it out then returned to his seat and continued driving. We only made it another kilometer, when the backend of the van slammed down onto the road. Needless to say we didn't go any further. We all got out of the van and the driver had a look underneath and he didn't like what he saw. I had a peek myself and the whole axle had detached from the suspension because the U bolt had broke. The driver called for another taxi to come and pick us up and said it would be 30-40 minutes. I asked the driver if he had a jack and he went and got it. I used international hand signals, as I didn't know what a jack would be in Spanish. I fetched rocks to use as blocks to support the van when he repositioned the jack. We managed to get the rear end off the ground and then he went and grabbed a small amount of rope he had stashed in the van. He used the rope to tie the axle to the suspension.

With the van safely lowered down to the ground and the remedy applied to the rear axle, we took off. I knew we wouldn't get too far before that short rope would shear and break. We did manage to go another 5 kms and there the van sat once again. Jacking up the rear of the van commenced again. Only this time there was no rope remedy. The backup taxi arrived after a 10 minute wait and we were once again off. A couple of stops to let out our companions and then finally we made it to our destination, Finca Mystica. Angela and Ryan are the owners of this retreat, Angela took us around and showed us our room. The buildings were all created from a building technique called earth bag construction. Bottles were creatively used to create shapes of light in the colour of the bottles displayed.

There were about 4-5 other couples staying at the retreat and we treated them all and socialized with them prior to the 7pm meal arriving. The kids enjoyed ordering drinks and wholesome treats from kitchen as well as engaging with others at Finca Mystica. The evening meal consists of 2 options, basically you choose one of the options earlier in the day and then the staff set to work making it for you. It is kind of nice how everyone sits down and has their meals at the same time. The table next to ours had a surprise guest during the meal when a large tarantula scurried across the floor and stopped near their feet. The spider was shooed away by Ryan with a broom in a frantic bit of sweeping action.

We hung out after supper discovering what others had chosen for activities and playing new games found on the shelf. The kids enjoyed themselves and they looked quite comfortable socializing and hanging out in hammocks. We selected to not do anything the next day but go to the beach. We planned to do the horseback riding the following day up to the waterfall. Off to bed with a few things sorted.