Enough with the monkeys

After Granada I stayed on a large island called Isla Ometepe. Plenty more monkeys. I am now remembering that whenever I visit a country with monkeys, I return with half my pix of them and am trying to show more restraint this time. I was at a place that runs a free English school for the kids on the island. The owner and I had many discussions about the challenges of getting the kids motivated. He actually had the funding and benefactors, it was just getting the kids to show up regularly and take it seriously.  Its an impressive place to kayak because you are inbetween two volcanoes.

Next I moved on to a beach town in the south called San Juan del Sur. Its a quirky little place with an interesting mix of people. You have the cooler-than-thou surfers sporting future melanoma, manly jewelry and naturally walking barefoot on the roads. The risks of this sort of thing btw, I think are well explained on this hilarious sign.

There are of course the gringo travelers in their 20s and 30s looking for a cheap place to stay, the town Nicaraguans some of whom are suddenly doing quite well, and then above all this (literally and metaphorically) are these ridiculous mansions on the hills surrounding the town. Since I have been here, I have done some surfing, snorkeling (glad I didnt blow my money on diving, because I couldnt see a thing), and atv renting (easily the highlight).

Charming, beautiful, etc. but I feel like I have done everything this town has to offer and I am ready to move on. The line between relaxation and boredom is fine.

Volcanoes, monkees and mango trees

For those of you that I didnt have a chance to fill in, I (along with a lot of other folks) got laid off from the library. So I bought a ticket to Nicaragua. I can only be here for a couple weeks because I already had teaching obligations (weak).

First, I can report that this thing about the "rainy season" seems to be quite accurate. But its not endless, usually just a few hours a day. I´ve been in Granada for four days now and reveling in all there is to do here.

The first day I took some sort of old army truck to the top of an inactive volcano. The craters (more than one) are all filled in with plant life now. The best part was really the rainforest experience. All sorts of funky plants. That hike was an all day deal.

The next day I kayaked around the tiny islands outside the city. Some are privately owned with houses. Others, people hangout and fish on. Many have mango (everywhere around here, people eat them like apples) and plum trees for the picking and one had monkees that would take food right from your hand! Too cute, but I was advised that monkess are not for hugging.

The third day I took a tour with an opera singer which was novel but exhausting. Then to another volcano, quite different from the first. This one is active and therefore considered, "adventure tourism". Checkout the plumes!

Next to a bat filled cave that really tested phobias I didn´t realize I had. Apparently the sonar thing means they will not fly into your head (if ever in this situation, repeat this to yourself over and over). On the way out, we saw this funky looking creature that we didnt recognize. Any guess?

We also stopped at market selling mostly touristy shlock but with some hilarous but sad knick'knacks.

Today I explored an old cemetery, a crumbling abandoned hostpital, and a cigar factory.   Interesting, but it was dripping gross hot.

Tomorrow I am off to a big island south of here. So far I have met a Canadian traveling for a few mos before starting a PHD in astrophysics, a woman doing her grad thesis on displaced Jewish communities around here (appar. Nic still has 30-50 Jews), a volunteer engineer building a variety of solar powered things for a village in Honduras, a couple nurses doing aid work, a guy traveling around the world convinced he doesn´t need guide books, and some other random folks.

This is a charming little town. Excited for whats next.
Hope you´re all well,
-Dan