León, Spanish classes and a (belated) farewell to Nicaragua

Just wanted to do a little wrap up of my time in Nicaragua.  Even though I spent close to 7 weeks there I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface of the country.  I didn't even make it over to the Caribbean coast and spent only a few days in more mountainous Northern parts of the country.  This lack is partly due to my taking several weeks of Spanish classes but mostly because there is so much to see in Nicaragua.  It is a truly amazing country and I would love to return one day to see everything I missed the first time around.

One of the many old churches around Leon

My last two weeks in Nicaragua were spent in Leòn taking 20 hours a week of private Spanish lessons.  The lessons ran from 8am 'til noon and then after lunch they would organize activities for us in the afternoon.  These could be things like trips to various museums or exploring the painted murals around the city depicting Leon's history.  Sometimes we would go to the nearby beaches to get a little reprieve from the heat and humidity of the city.  The nightlife in Leòn is good though I imagine if you stayed there long enough it might get a little repetitive.

Giant beetles at the entymology museum.

The hostel I stayed at, Hostel Albergue, was great as well.  It was a little more relaxed than some of the other party hostels, was Nicaraguan run, and had a kitchen.  Since I was staying so long they were nice enough to give me a discount on my stay and the staff was fantastic.  I would often go out with one of the staff members and he introduced me to many people and places that I would otherwise have missed if I had been going out with other travelers to the normal, touristy spots.

My teacher, Jairo, giving me my Diploma at the end of my Spanish classes.

Unfortunately, my flight out was from Managua at 1am.  I  postponed leaving Leon for as long as possible but since I didn't want to arrive in Managua at night, (when it is much more dangerous) I ended up taking a bus and getting to the airport around 7pm meaning I had a lot of time to kill.  I made sure to pick up a couple bottles of Flor de Caña, a truly excellent Nicaraguan rum, to bring back to the states.  

The main Plaza

 After eating dinner and reading my book for a while I still had some leftover Cordobas which I needed to get rid of.  The local Nicaraguan currency is essentially worthless outside of the country and even neighboring countries like Costa Rica and Honduras won't exchange money for Cordobas.  I ended up taking my money to the bar where, after talking with the bartender for a while, I asked her to teach me how to make a good Michelada.  Armed with my new knowledge I felt ready to return to the States though I'm sure I'll be back some day.     

New favorite drink

I've recently fallen in love with the Michelada, a horrible sounding concoction that is surprisingly delicious.  I first encountered Micheladas in Mexico a few years ago but hadn't tried one again until I saw them on the menus here in Nicaragua.  There are many varations to the drink but they usually include some or all of these ingredients:

Beer, salt, lime, pepper, chili, worcesteshire sauce, tomato juice, clam juice, and hot sauce (Personally I can do without the clam juice).

 Served in salt rimmed glasses, the Michelada is Latin America's answer to the Bloody Mary.  Touted as a hangover cure, this savory drink doesn't appeal to very many people but I've found I enjoy it quite a bit.  If you like the occasional Bloody Mary then see if a local Mexican restaurant will serve you one of these, you might be surprised.  Everywhere has their own take on the drink; at one bar the salt on the glass's rim had been doused in worcesteshire to give each sip a little more bite.  It's definitely a drink I'd like to learn to make for myself once I'm back in the States though I doubt my first few efforts will be palatable.

photo from: http://hipogrifos.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/cerveza-michelada/

Gorilla on a motorcycle? Gorilla on a motorcycle.

I just had to post this picture:

This photo was taken in Esteli, in Northern Nicaragua, where I went after dropping Lene off in Managua.  I was walking around town looking for something to do when I heard a bunch of motorcycles coming around the corner.  I guess they were having a parade of some sorts and there were even some young kids driving miniature motorcycles.  Towards the end of the parade I did a double take and had just enough time to snap the above picture.  I just have to say that I really approve of that guy's decision to dress up in a Gorilla suit and drive his motorcycle around.  It also seems kind of strange that the guy sitting behind him is not dressed up at all, almost as if it's just a normal day for him.

Central Plaza in Esteli

I ended up not liking Estel too much and left for Leòn a couple days later but it was worth the trip just to get that picture.  I'm here in Leòn for two weeks now and taking four hours of private lessons a day.  After that it's back to the states and then onto Alaska.

More of the motorcycle parade.

San Juan del Sur and the Pitaya Festival

There were some beautiful sunsets around San Juan

  After our travels in Granada and Omotepe we were looking forward toward being back on the coast.  A chance meeting in Granada with a musician named Matty Powell helped to fuel this anticipation. It turned out he was one of the organizers and performers for the Earthship Pitaya Festival in San Juan which was slated to begin on the 19th of February.

Matty, Gavin and Mitch Jammin' after the surf contest

San Juan del Sur is one of the biggest tourist locations in Nicaragua because of it's enviable location.  Though the beach at San Juan itself is nice, it's the beaches North and South of town that are the real attractions.  Beautiful and secluded beaches make for great day trips and there are some incredible surf spots around as well.

Lene playing in the sunset

 There are no high rises along the horseshoe shaped beach of San Juan and many of the waterfront bars keep a cool, relaxed feel.  We checked into the wonderful Rebecca's Inn which let us come and go as we pleased and gave us access to a kitchen.  Even though Lene and I aren't great cooks it is nice to have a few things around to at least make snacks.  In touristy places like San Juan the food prices are a little higher as well so we can save money by making our own.

Catching a wave during the contest.

The Pitaya festival had quite a few events leading up to it including a surf festival at the beautiful Playa Hermosa.  Many of the beaches around San Juan are renowned for their waves and people are just starting to take advantage of them.  The owners of Playa Hermosa have put in a restaurant and are building some dorms just off the beach.  Otherwise the beach is completely unspoiled and there are no other buildings in sight.  We got there early in the morning and stayed all day watching the competition in between swimming and lounging on the sand.  The festival closed with a jam session on the beach between a few of the musicians playing in the festival.  It was a great way to end the day; watching a beautiful sunset while listening (and dancing) to good music.

Dancing

We took it easy that night in preparation for the festival the next day.  The festival was being held in a field outside a sustainable home called the Earth Ship.  Built from things like old tires and glass bottles and equipped with solar panels on the roof the building works towards being as low impact on the world as possible.  They brought bands from all over Central America (and Canada) to play and the music varied from Reggae to Indie rock.  There were vendors all over the place selling cheap food and drinks and all told some 3000 people came out.  This is only the third year they've done the festival and there were a couple hiccups as a result but overall it was an incredible experience.  I'm sure the festival will continue to grow over the years and I hope that I can come back and check it out one day.

Fire spinners infront of the stage at the Pitaya Festival

After our time in San Juan, Lene and I headed for Managua where she was flying out from.  I'm now in Leon after a brief stop in Esteli and I'll be taking two weeks of Spanish classes before heading back to the states myself.  Hopefully I'll be able to kick my Spanish up another notch before I go and keep practicing it once I'm gone.

The beautiful and secluded Playa Coco

I'll see about getting some pictures up but for now you'll have to be satisfied with what's on Facebook since I don't have a cable to connect my camera to a computer.

Edit: Photos up