Mayela, Aimee, and I packed our bags, and walked to the outskirts of town. The west side of San Isidro is bordered by the Pan-American highway, the region's most well-known, and best-maintained international expressway. It is, of course, what we would call "a road".
I'm just happy that it's paved. And yes, that's a donkey grazing across the street. I love this place.
Our first stop was Granada. It's a old missionary town that has lots of colonial buildings, including more churches than I've ever seen in any city, ever.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. It's time to breakdown the greatest of all Latin American traditions: the intercity bus ride.
Nicaraguan buses embody the same characteristics that I've seen in Argentina and Mexico (near-suicidal drivers, people packed like cattle, and a critical lack of air-conditioning), but this country has one-upped its competitors. The bus drivers don't stop for anything more than to pack on more passengers. That means that if you have to use the bathroom, you hold it until you reach your destination (or revise your destination, accordingly). However, if you're hungry, they've got you covered. For the small price of an oven-baked snack, most bus drivers will let on every imaginable type of vendor. The drivers drop off the salespeople whenever they finish their pitch, and they presumably catch the next bus in the opposite direction. Repeat. The goods for sale are usually edible, but I've seen everything from miracle pain-relieving cream to DVD laser cleansers (both for sale by the same guy, by the way). Aimee's even seen some pills that can cure AIDS. Impressive.
Here's a more benign offering.
The stations are equally impressive, packing in any number of revived ex-schoolbuses. Some drivers bother to paint over the name of their bus's former owner, but more ofthen than not, they sport the title of one US school district or another. For the record, if there's anyone from Clark County or Midvale school districts, your former coaches are disproportionately well represented.
Back to the trip. After a night in Granada (where we met up with two of Aimee's Peace Corps friends), our newly enlarged group went to Laguna De Apoyo. This amazing lake was formed by the cave-in of a former volcano. The water is thermally warmed, and it's the cleanest that I've seen in this country. Apparently, due to its isolation, there are four fish in this lake that aren't found anywhere else in the world.
Unfortunately, our ground level hostel was great for swimming, but not for taking photos that capture all of the spectacle. But I've found a picture taken from an elevated location that does. It's here.
After a great day of lazy-laguna swimming, we headed for the coastal retreat of San Juan Del Sur. It's a city that's built along a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's a popular local retreat that is gaining significant international fame. Here's why:
This is a local fisher that's on his way to catch lunch for himself and his family.
And one more picture at night.
The logo on the side of the lifeguard tower is for the local rum (of which I'm a huge fan, by the way). Flor de Caña apparently sponsors the whole town. Their logo is on everything from buildings to street signs. Accordingly, San Juan del Sur is one of the cleaner, and better maintained towns that I've seen in the region.
Here are a few shots of the hilltop resort that we stayed at. We rented out a fully-stocked house overlooking the ocean (for less than each of us would have paid to stay at a Motel 6 in The States). I've had a grin on my face for the last three days.
We're back in San Isidro for the night, but we're heading out again tomorrow. If the last side trips are any predictor, we'll have a great time.