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.

Day 20 - A day in San Juan del Sur

Last night the sound of firecrackers and fireworks existed for much of the night. Our door exited directly onto a street and traffic up and down the street was brisk, so vocal noise was high as well. At least the air conditioner buzz drowned out a bit of the noise and made sleeping at least attainable.

After an ok breakfast, I went to work on posting some photos onto Flickr and moving all the photos to our hard drive backup. The computer I was working on was an older Windows XP version and 40+ minutes into an upload I got the blue screen of death; remember those?! Well I spent the better part of the day inside this little Internet café and it wasn't sitting well with Correen. Explaining that it was no fault of my own didn't seem to make a difference either. I guess the kids had their fill of TV and their DSes. They went out for lunch without me and when they returned, I still had about 40 minutes left with the posting. Needless to say the Internet was extremely slow with the sending.

Finally completing the photo transfers and posts; we went down to the beach for sun and sand fun. The kids and I were swimming in the waves when a group of younger boys came up curious and eager to talk to us. They kept asking me to have a swimming race against them, but continued to turn them down. Tegan and Elliot played Marco Polo with a couple of expat kids that were there until everyone was tired of it and went their own way. Elliot went to the beach to play in the sand while Tegan came out and swam with me a little longer.

We joined Elliot at playing in the sand and I helped Elliot at building a castle. The mound of sand grew and then I just decided to create a Mayan temple from the mound. The tide was rising and the waves were threatening the construction. We completed the temple and got some photos of it prior to it being knocked down by someone walking by; which happened not 5 minutes afterward. We stopped by to book some surf lessons for the next day and we picked up a t-shirt from Chica Brava an all girl surf camp in SJDS. Correen and the kids booked a turtle tour for the following evening as well.

We cleaned up and made our way back to Rosita's as we took an offer to move to a room at the back of the property and hopefully quieter. We vegged out a little bit in the room before supper and then we went for the walk along the street fronting the beach in search for food. We chose one of the pizza places and it was beside another restaurant that had a live acoustic act performing. We struggled ordering a pizza as they had weird combinations of sauces, crusts, ingredients and sizes. It was very odd. The kids pizza ended up being twice the size of the one we ordered, it was a cheese pizza, but neither Tegan or Elliot liked it. Our pizza was smaller, but equally disappointing.

We hoped that a gelato dessert would help us wash down the food we just ate, but we were disappointed when they still hadn't opened. Guess they are closed on Monday. The best we could do was hit the Eskimo ice cream place down the street. It was a pretty generic feed of ice cream.

Back to our room so the kids and I can battle it out in a game of Life on the iPad. G'nite

The last weekend in Canada this year

Elliot was home with a cold/pneumonia the week before last and just returned to school this week for his last few days of school prior to leaving. I picked up where Elliot left off and managed to contract the cold that he had. We are hoping that this is the last of the sick'ies for the next 2 months.

Elliot is off to his last dance class today, then we have company coming over today and tomorrow. Our guinea pig is heading out tomorrow to the daughter of a friend of ours. Then there is 2 more days of school for Tegan & Elliot, 1 night of Spanish lessons on Monday night (Tegan is coming along with me), and then Tegan has a single Irish dance class on Tuesday night. Correen is off to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert on Monday night while Elliot has a play date at a friend's house prior to us picking him up after Spanish lessons.

 

Then it is an attempt at a good restful sleep prior to waking at 3:30am to assemble ourselves for the early trip to the airport, customs and our boarding. Can't wait!

 

1 week to go

The family is very excited to hop on that plane next week. The kids only have 3 more days of school left and tonight we are going out for some drinks with friends to wish us "una gran vacaciones". With everything planned and packed, the final challenge is waking up on time next Wednesday morning for our flight.

It looks like the country of Panama is being hit with constant thunderstorms now, during our stay and right up until we leave the country. Hopefully this doesn't affect the start of our trip.

Some places we are visiting will be receiving more than 60mm of rain. The garbage bags that we packed, ya, are clothes are going to be sealed away inside them when traveling.

Less than 2 weeks to go

In 11 days we will be checked into our first hotel in Panama City. Time is swiftly passing us by as our departure day approaches. This week we have packed all of mine, Tegan's and Elliot's clothes as well my camera bag is packed. We are also getting a bag of clothes and other items to donate to children of Central America.

I made my attempt to get some school supplies donated from big box stores, but no luck came from that endeavor. I believe Correen has gotten our dentist to donate a bunch of dental care products. I am sure anything we do will be worthwhile and I know the experience of giving will be a valued lesson for our children.

So far we will have 2 bags checked in and 3 carry ons. The first aid kit and our toiletries are the only items left for the large checked in bag. Tegan's bag was only about 2/3 full when we finished packing; she will have room for some souvenirs. Elliot is bringing a small backpack for books and the both of their DSs. Correen has yet to fill her pack and so we are unsure how heavy or how bulky her bag will be. All in all it is looking like we are traveling light for this trip; as planned.

With less than 2 weeks to go; I have our travel insurance to purchase, prepping the house for the time we are away and a send-off party to attend.

We are getting so excited around here and can't believe it is nearly time to begin this journey. Nearly time to amp up these blog entries!

 

Airline Tickets to Central America Booked

Today marks a big milestone as we have officially booked our tickets to Central America.

We will be leaving on Wednesday, November 21st, 2012 and returning to Calgary on Sunday January 13th, 2013.

We managed to get our tickets for just under $2800 including the taxes.  I am pretty happy with the cost since we have elected to fly into Panama City, Panama and fly out of Belize City, Belize.

Now I can get down to the itinerary and specifics of the trip.

!Centroamérica aqui vamos!