Roughing It

The most popular destination in Nicaragua is, I think, the beach.  Any beach, in fact.  San Juan del Sur is especially popular with the surfing community.  I've heard that it's overrated, though, and depending on where you are, the beach is rocky, and full of litter.  Friends who came to visit spent one day there before blowing town and heading to Corn Island instead.  Other friends felt like they were in San Diego or some other US surf town...full of English-speaking surfer dudes (or as my friend Stefano likes to call them, "dreadlocks").  I suppose it all comes down to what you can put up with....if you want to have a really low-budget weekend at a hostel, you can't expect too much.  Other friends rented a nice house and loved it.

At any rate, I knew I wanted to take the Parental Menaces to the beach while they were here.   I hadn't been to the beach yet, but the Mini Menace had and loved it.  My family are not really beach-going people--I think the last time I was at the beach was 2nd grade when we visited relatives in Florida--but since this vacation was all about new experiences, I thought I'd drag them along  Hell, after ziplining, I figured they'd be pretty happy to sit around and relax.  I'd heard great things about Los Cardones, an eco-friendly surf lodge about 90 minutes from Managua, so off we went....

Los Cardones is definitely one of the most environmentally-conscious places I've seen in a country that has a terrible problem with litter.  Honestly, there is trash EVERYWHERE and people think nothing of just throwing garbage out the bus window, etc.  It's a shame, because the county has amazing natural resources and stunning beauty. So I thought we'd support a business that is trying to minimize it's negative impact on the environment.  No electricity, solar power only, use well water, compost toilets, and the buildings use local materials and methods, and are designed to blend in to the surrounding vegetation.  We stayed in a gorgeous wooden lodge on stilts, with a thatched roof, a spacious deck, bunk beds, and hammocks.  Meals and drinks are included, and one thing that I really liked was that dinner--for the whole lodge--was served at the same time.  Guests placed their orders earlier in the day, and at 7:00, we all showed up, had a few drinks, and sat down for dinner together....it was a great opportunity to meet the other guests.  They also had several shelves of books, games, a basketball hope and--to the Mini-Menace's delight--a ping-pong table.   We pretty much sat around, ate, drank, walked on the beach, went swimming, napped in hammocks, and played a lot of ping-pong.

You are roughing it, though, so at night, there are no fans, no electricity, just you, the sound of the waves, and if you're lucky, a breeze to cool things off.  My parents were real troopers, though, and had a great attitude, despite the heat.

Close Encounters

So, on Day 2 of my parents' vacation, we again availed ourselves of the services of a guide and driver, mainly because I was too damn lazy to drive and explain what we were seeing. We had another busy day, hitting a pottery workshop:

My parents also deserve a TON of credit for letting me con them into ziplining.

They deserve even more credit for not killing me for posting VIDEO of them ziplining.

Although truth be told, my mom sounds like she's almost sort-of kinda enjoying this....or maybe that's just because this was the last line (of about 8 to 10...I stopped counting after I the upside-down Spiderman thing. I was pretty much just thankful to be alive.) Anyhow, they definitely cemented their hold on the title of Coolest Parents of All Time.


We also hit one of the Mini-Menace's favorite sightseeing activities, sailing around the small islands (Las Isletas) in Lake Nicaragua. This time, we got up close and personal with Lucy the Monkey. She noticed that we had cashews and fresh watermelon and decided to come maker herself at home.

Poor Mom didn't think this was nearly as entertaining as the rest of us, who were giggling away as she was fervently hoping that the cashews and watermelon didn't cause Lucy any sort of gastric distress.


It was worth it, though, because Ms. Lucy kindly obliged me with a nice photo before abandoning ship and heading back to Monkey Island:

Next up: forcing my parents to rough it at a eco-friendly surf lodge and then realizing that yes, there ARE places in Nicaragua where you need a light sweatshirt (aka Selva Negra).   Also, if I can figure out how to edit the video to a more manageable length, I'll post the video of Lucy getting cozy in my lap.

Adventures in Parentsitting

Yes, I *am* referencing an old Elizabeth Shue movie, thank you very much. 

My parents came to visit for Semana Santa; I was lucky enough to be able to take about a week and a half off work to hang out with them...not parent-sitting at all.  Actually, I didn't even have to use that much annual leave, because Holy Thursday and Good Friday are Nicaraguan holidays, and since the Embassy observes U.S. federal and local host nation holidays, I had two free days off.  Score!!!

This trip was a big deal for both my parents; I don't think either one had been to a country that doesn't speak English as its primary language.  In fact, I know my mother had to get a passport for this trip (she'd been to Canada years ago, before passports were required).  At any rate, I took advantage of the VIP Lounge at the airport....for a fee, someone meets you as you disembark and escorts you to a lovely lounge with free food, drinks, comfortable couches, and flat-screen TVs.  You wait while someone takes your passport and immigration forms, gets everything stamped, gets your visa, and picks up your luggage.  Once they have everything, they come get you from the lounge and you're on your way!  It worked really well, I thought, especially for folks who may not have a lot of experience with international travel or who don't speak the language. 

I didn't really give my parents much time to rest....they arrived at 9pm one night, and we were off with a guide and driver at 8:30 the next morning.  On our first day, we went to the Masaya volcano, craft market, "real" market, and the Catarina viewpoint that overlooks Laguna de Apoyo.

At the Volcan de Masaya

It was much easier on the way back down...

Hammock-weaving, in action.

 

I broke down and ordered myself a custom hammock.  It's really for the Mini-Menace, in his favorite color, with both our names woven in on the fringe on either side.  It only took a week to finish--I haven't seen it yet, I have to go get it and then get myself a hammock stand; unfortunately, as awesome as my house is, there really isn't a decent place to hang a hammock--the trees are too far apart, and there's no decent place to sink hooks into the walls.  I'm not letting that stop me, though.....I plan to exploit that hammock to the fullest!

Next post:  Day 2: Pottery, Granada, Ziplining, and a monkey in my lap.  Stay tuned, folks!!

Paczki Day

Lest anyone think Í'm ignoring my Polish heritage in favor of my current abode, I decided to spend the day making paczki, since Paczki Day (also known as Mardi Gras to you non-Poles) is coming up this week.  You really can't go wrong with doughballs fried in hot oil and then smothered in sugar and stuffed with fruit jam.  A cardiologist might disagree, but I'm pretty sure one from the Motherland would have to think about it for a few minutes first.  I did have to make do without my favorite filling--cherry jam--in favor of the local specialties: passionfruit and guava.  But you know what?  Sometimes you just have to take one for the team, and I was not about to go paczki-less on Tuesday.  Even *I* have limits, people.

Witches' Brew

Last weekend, the Mini-Menace and I joined a group of about 6 other Embassy folks and went on a horseback ride--we drove about 30 minutes to a farm, saddled up, and then went on a trail ride through this small town and then up to a small viewpoint overlooking the Laguna de Apoyo, one of my favorite spots.  I hadn't been on a horse since I was about 16, and the MM had never saddled up.  The ride up to the viewpoint took about an hour, so this was no pony ride at the county fair.  There may have been been some trotting and / or cantering--I'm not too sure since I was more focused on not falling off and cracking my head open.  At any rate, we had a great time, enjoyed a lovely lunch at the viewpoint, and I astonished even myself by partaking in a non-bottled beverage: chicha bruja, or witches' brew.  It's some kind of fermented corn beverage...where I come from, we call it white lightning; it did have that charming moonshine aftertaste, with undertones of nail polish remover.  The floaters were an especially nice touch:

For part of the ride, we were cutting through town, but for most of the ride, we were on dirt roads, rambling through the woods:

But as you can see from this second picture, moto-taxis will go just about anywhere.  My rear end might have been more comfortable the next day, but I wouldn't have had as much fun in a moto-taxi.

Hi, Dad!!

My Dad reminded me that it's been a while since I updated the blog, so I'm going to throw just pics up and just give you a quick summary.

After 102 days, my HHE finally arrived on Friday:  120 boxes, and I'm  happy to say that at 7 pm on Sunday night, I'm pretty much unpacked.  The house smells like a cardboard box factory, though.  For my first international move, this has been a pretty positive experience.  Nothing was broken!  Nothing went missing!  In fact, things came that should have gone to storage.  So now I have a porcelain Christmas village to store for the next 2 years, plus a box of winter clothes.  Yeah, those winter running tights and the snowboarding pants are not going to get much use around here.  Still, I guess it's not a bad thing to have a few long-sleeved shirts and sweaters around, for when we head to Cleveland next winter. 

I'm not sure why I thought I'd want my college diploma, though.  Or why I brought 2 rakes, 2 shovels, and an electric weed-wacker / trimmer, 'cause Lord knows *I'm* not doing any gardening around here.  I also discovered that I apparently own a really nice table saw.  That should tell you how often I actually went into the tool shed at home.

But the HHE gods were smiling on me, because the last boxes that the movers brought in (last in, first unpacked!) contained this:

The wine took a little longer to find, but eventually I did find it and showed remarkable restraint by waiting until I found wine glasses to start drinking.

Nicaragua seems to be a pretty popular destination for friends from home; in three months, we've had three visitors.  And all of them have shown up with alcohol...the first (a family) brought Finlandia and a bottle of Johnny Walker Double Black, the second brought a coffee & almond flavored Absolut, and the most recent brought a bottle of my favorite sangiovese...and bagels!!  Believe me, those bagels are worth their weight in gold--all you can get down here are the frozen-in-a-bag-at the-grocery-store kind.  Blech. 

The 2nd visitor is one of my closest friends; we met at work a few years ago; I like to say he's the older brother I never wanted.  He cruised around Nicaragua with a guide for the few days  he was here, but I managed to take a day off and we went sandboarding at Cerro Negro.  I realized that 3 months of not running has made me weak--the hour-long hike up the volcano just about did me in.  The ride down was a lot of fun--not nearly as scary as I thought it would be, given the steep hike up.   We also cruised around Leon, an old colonial city with a beautiful old cathedral.

We also went to the Laguna de Apoyo to spend the day swimming at a place called San Simian.  It's definitely off the beaten path (literally!  A couple of km down a dirt / gravel road, and I was starting to hear banjoes, or whatever the Nica equivalent would be).  The lake is gorgeous, and there was a great dock, a catamaran, kayaks, and inner tubes for us to use.  There's a small bar and kitchen on site, so you can just eat, drink, swim, or just nap in a hammock all day.  You can spend the night in these little rustic cabanas, which I'd love to do the next time.  Maybe when the Parental Menaces come to visit in April....

Now, the Mini-Menace and I are kicking back, watching the Super Bowl.  My best friend is from NY, so we're cheering on the Giants; this is the first time the MM has sat and watched the SB, and he's enjoying the commercials and the half-time show.  He can't believe Madonna is 53, though. Just wait 'til you see her close up, kid. 

And on that note, folks, I'm outta here.  Btw, Dad, I'll post more often if you leave a comment once in a while.  What goes around,comes around :)

A cruel joke

Anyone who's spoken to, written to, or emailed me has undoubtedly heard--in excruciating detail--how much I've been looking forward to the arrival of my car.  Not only do I love that thing, but Managua is not a pedestrian-friendly city, so having transportation is more or less essential to getting to know the city and, perhaps more importantly, getting out of Managua to enjoy the rest of the country.  So you can imagine my extreme and utter joy at the news that my Jeep was arriving on Friday...sweet freedom was on a shipping container, headed for the embassy.  There was a little delay, and my car would be coming in at the end of the day....I skipped the shuttle ride home, not wanting to wait until Monday to pick it up, and was already mentally planning all the places that the Mini-Menace and I could go this weekend.

You can guess where this is going, right?

There I am, sitting in a golf cart, watching the shipping container back up to a big ramp, and barely able to contain my joy, thinking that I'm mere seconds away from driving my own butt home for the first time in nearly 2 months.  The GSO guys cut the seals, opened up the container and.......

NO JEEP.

Despite the paperwork and bill of lading with info to the contrary, the shipping container did not contain my car.  Instead, there was a brand-new white panel / cargo van, just like the kind your mother warned you kidnappers used to snatch disobedient kids like you.  Or me, rather.  I think the guys realized this was probably not my car when I failed to dance with joy as I'd promised.

So, where is my car?  It could be anywhere, for all I know.  GSO assures me that this is just a mix-up with the paperwork and they'll know where my car is on Monday.  We'll see....

Attack of the Zombie Sock Monkey!!!

We knew we'd be arriving in Managua two days before the Embassy's Halloween party so of course the Mini-Menace insisted on packing a costume in our luggage.  He'd been begging for a Zombie Sock Monkey costume this year, but I had terrible luck finding one.  Beebop (aka my mom) came through once again and saved the day, buying and mailing the costume to us before we left.  Here it is in action: 

Definitely a little gruesome, but oddly cute at the same time. 

The party was a lot of fun; we had our first trunk-or-treating experience--people really went all-out decorating their cars, adults in costumes, and tons of candy to be had.  Although we rapidly learned that chocolate candy--the mainstay of my Halloween diet--is something of a rarity here.  I suppose it might be because of the temperature and the ease with which milk chocolate melts. At any rate, the few people who'd gotten their hands on chocolate candy to hand out were mobbed, and not just by kids.   After the trunk-or-treating, the Marines hosted a pizza party (with a DJ), haunted house, and chili cook-off, all at the former Ambassador's residence on the compound, locally known as Casa Grande.  It's not so much a big house as it is a mansion.  It's not occupied; the Ambassador (when we have one) actually lives in a smaller, less opulent house elsewhere, but Casa Grande is still used for official functions, etc.  It's gorgeous, and we really enjoyed getting to celebrate Halloween in such comfortable surroundings.

I still missed trick-or-treating in my sister's neighborhood, though. People sit out with coolers of beer, fire pits, and regularly hand out FULL SIZE CANDY BARS!!!!!!  All in all, though, this was a very good alternative, and a great way to jump right in to the Embassy's social scene.

A month later....

I'm alive!  I have internet!!  I also have some amazingly generous and patient co-workers, both FSOs and LES.  (Dad, that's foreign service officers, the US staff, and the Locally Engaged Staff, the Nicaraguans that work at the embassy).  I'm finally starting to feel a little less lost; the more time I spend at the window interviewing visa applicants, it becomes a lot more mundane.  I'm not really planning on blogging about my job that much though; this will be more about our lives in Nicaragua.  All I'll say is that I am learning more, and enjoying my work.  Not bad, right?

Outside of work, things are going well.  We're still without our household stuff and the Jeep, but we're doing pretty well: the welcome kit had everything we really needed, and folks have been generous with their time and vehicles whenever I need to go shopping.  There's a shuttle that takes me to and from work, and the Mini-Menace has his own school shuttle.  And while this may come as no surprise to anyone who's had the misfortune to experience my housekeeping skills, I've adjusted QUITE well to having a housekeeper.  She cooks! She cleans!  She does the laundry!  She does small grocery shopping!!  I love coming home to a clean house and being able to spend quality time with the MM without doing laundry or cooking his dinner, or trying to stay on top of the cleaning. 

We've only done one small day trip, to Granada, with friends.  Once we have the Jeep, expect more posts about our adventures.  Next up, though?  I--vegetarian since 18--will be attempting to cook a turkey breast for my son and 2 Peace Corps Volunteers that we're hosting for Thanksgiving. 

Let's hope they all survive. 

The final countdown....

FSI training done and checkout completed?  Yes.

Packout survived?  Yes again.

Holed up in a hotel with son and dog for 48 hours?  Affirmative.

On the ground in Managua in roughly 36 hours?  Si.

Blogging at you later, folks!!!!!