So, got back from Nicaragua a couple of days ago. Our purpose was really just to get her a passport stamp, so there wasn't much pressure. This trip was particularly relaxing. Not a whole lot of doing, which is really nice these days.
We started off our first night in San Juan del Sur, where I have been before. We really wanted to go to the island of Ometepe, but couldn't make the last ferry on the first night, so settled for a cab ride into SJdS, where we had a really nice dinner on the beach and stayed at the Hotel El Puerto. After a mediocre breakfast the next morning at the famous "Big Wave Dave's", we negotiated a taxi back to Rivas to catch the ferry for Ometepe.
Side notes: I love negotiating here. Everything is negotiable, and it's generally pretty fun with low consequences for failure. For the cab ride back to Rivas, though, I was tired and didn't feel like negotiating after being offered a pretty fair price for the ride at the onset. Ashley wouldn't have it though, and told me I have to haggle. It reminded me of Monty Python's "Life of Brian," where Brian was comfortable with the asking price, but the vendor wouldn't let him go without haggling. In any event, as we almost got into the cab, I reneged on my agreement to price, offered 20% less, and as other cab drivers closed in hoping for a rebound, our driver reluctantly accepted quickly to ensure he didn't lose the fare. Sometimes it's really easy.
Also: Ometepe is a freaking awesome place. It's an island in the middle of the enormous fresh water Lake Nicaragua, and is comprised of simply two volcanoes and the lowlands formed by years of weathering. It's truly a unique and very special island.
Back to the trip though. Ashley and I, after taking an hour ride on an old wooden ferry hardly worthy of Lake Hefner, negotiated a ride with six new friends we found also trying to negotiate. We headed for Santo Domingo, which is more or less on the beach in between the two volcanoes. We spent the next couple of days relaxing in hammocks, swimming in the lake, playing gin rummy, and drinking rum. We stayed in a place called Buena Vista, which was more or less a super cheap hotel with a lot of hammocks. The rooms could easy be confused with rooms of a monastery, or of a crack house. I could envision a monk laying down to bed surrounded by the bar brick walls or a prostitute laying back after a hit (is that what they're called?) of heroin supplied by her pimp. In any event, it felt perfect. And it was. Christmas themed sheets and tarantulas and all. We managed a zip line outing, but other than that, did almost nothing. Sweet.
If anyone does make it to Ometepe, I would highly recommend the Buena Vista. But don't eat there. Trust me. Eat at Julia's, just a 30 meter walk from the Buena Vista. It's a tiny thatched hut with huge portions and good, typical flavor.
After a couple of days, we made our way back. Slowly. A wreck on the highway delayed us several hours, and it took us, all told, 13 hours to make it from Santo Domingo to Jaco, which is about 140 miles as the crow flies.
Like any trip, it seems the best part is coming home. It's good to be back. Might be nicer if I actually had a home, though. Maybe someday.
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