Costa Rica

It would be a huge oversight to judge an entire place or people by an unfortunate incident. With my track record thus far; credit card stolen in Monteverde, mugged in DC, robbed in Nicaragua - my list of desirable locales would be unfortunately short.

Despite a harrowing experience in the country and recognizing that Nicaragua does not top the list of popular tourist destinations, it is unarguably a BEAUTIFUL country with kind people (note my Good Spirits far outnumbered the isolated Evil ones I encountered during my time there).

To recap the sunny memories we had in a country that has yet to be fully discovered and appreciated by the masses (perhaps that's why the special moments we had there felt so special): Tim, Kate and I boarded a bus heading off the mountain at 445am - pobrecitos - Tim and Kate clocked about 10 hours of sleep during their first three days of travel here. I, on the other hand, was well rested and raring to go and I think also the last one out the door to the bus, still rubbing sleep from my eyes. We took the bus to our favorite small, Tico town Las Juntos and spent a day with Roy exploring a deserted gold mine and basking in hot springs, or rather drowning in too many cervezas than is publically acceptable before 12noon. We had a blast. It was the best 9 hour layover between buses that I could imagine. Around 3pm, we headed back to the highway (aka, our bus stop) to flag down the Nicabus heading north to the border. After a few buses roared by us without a second glance, we admittedly became worried that perhaps this "flagging down the bus routine" was not as easy as we expected. Finally, we boarded our luxury coach and settled in for a five hour trip to Granada. Got through customs and over the border without much of a problem.

GRANADA - recently competing for a top seed on my "must see" list, this city has a little bit of everything charming and desireable in a place. The architecture is reminiscent of the old churches and high ceilings I saw in Spain. Front doors typically opened into airy atrium areas with columns and colorful walls. The sidewalks were littered with rocking chairs and chatter, people sipping icy beverages in the midday heat. The streets were a mixture of paved and cobblestone roads and alleys. The heat was oppressive, but the omnipresence of open-air courtyards and porches and parks made our walks and our days feel breezier than they probably were in actuality. We had some good meals in Granada, lots of whole fish dinners, tilapia and bass that threatened to tumble off the sides of our plates. We had an interesting bocadillo (sampler platter), of all things fried and unidentifiable. I took the approach of trying everything, questioning nothing, and using lots of salsa. Flor de Cana rum was cheap and everywhere, but I seemed to prefer a cold Tona (local beer) over a bucket of rum and coke most nights. We smoked lots of cigars, courtesy of Tim's friends who worked in the cigar factory in Estelli, a small town a few hours north of Grenada. They came to visit for the afternoon, toting a not so inconspicuous cargo of Nicaraguan made, but not sold cigars. I enjoyed ending my lunch (ending my night, beginning my day, finishing my hike, etc) with a cup of tea and a kaluha dipped cigar. When in Nicaragua...

After Granada we went to OMETEPE, an island famous for it's two (one active, one not) volcanos in the middle of Lake Nicaragua. Ometepe was picturesque and muy tranquilo (Mario). We met Berman, my boyfriend also a National Geographic featured guide and small-town hero of Ometepe. We hiked Maduras, the inactive volcano, a 6 hour roundtrip, muddy climb to the crater...where a thick and slimy lagoon and incomparable views awaited us at the top. We rented bikes one day and road the 1 km...errrrrr, 2 hours out to Chaco Verde, a beach cove where the pina coladas were smooth and the sunset serene. Unfortunately, we ended up hitching a return-ride in the back of a presumably cow-carrying (though fortunately empty) flat bed truck after suffering some bike-difficulties on the way home. That night, we went to Ometepe's "Party of the Year"...an outdoor festival of live music, Flor de Cana, memorable characters and lots of dancing. Caught the ferry back the mainland the next morning.

Ometepe was followed by a trip to SAN JUAN del SUR. During Semana Santa this town is the equivalent of Cancun during American spring break. It was insane...almost more than we were ready to handle after three days spent on a quiet island in the lake. Besides good restaurants, beachwear shops, and a long narrow coastline, San Juan was bursting with reggaton music, half-clothed girls, and bars open all day and all night, serving shots around breakfast. It was madness, but interesting to realize that American teens/coeds aren't the only ones that find otherwise sleepy beach towns, haul in oversized speakers, and drink themselves into an oblivion day and night during their vacations. Nica guys and girls may have us beat. Luckily we found a slightly quieter and far more beautiful beach about 40 minutes from San Juan where we spent the day sunning and surfing (well, Tim surfed). Kate and I drank and I chased PanMan, the Argentian baker, around the beach trying to buy a whole grain tomato and cheese biscuit.

After San Juan, we were tanned and tired and not ready for what awaited us in Rivas. In a nutshell that was our trip. I hope to make it back to Nicaragua soon - this time I'll wear my money belt.

Heading back to school today to say some final goodbyes. Hoping to head to the beach for a couple of days before my parents and Karyn arrive on SATURDAY!!!

Espero todo esta bien...con mucho amor,

Kat