Nicaragua: almost mishaps and back flips

My trip was off to an interesting start before I even began. Checking in at LAX, the rep of the airline informed me that even though I had a flight out of Guatemala two months later, I needed proof I was actually leaving Nicaragua. She told me I had to show her proof of a bus or plane ticket out of Nicaragua before she would give me my ticket. I had 30 minutes until check in would be closed so I pulled out my laptop and stupidly picked an open piece of floor next to the overweight baggage security man. Overhearing my conservation to Ginger the Taca rep, he laughed at me said “better hurry up!” Seriously what an asshole.

I discovered that you can’t book any buses online within Central America. Fuck. I looked at flights Managua > Guatemala City for a grand total of $380. FUCK. I know mishaps like this are going to happen, you’re going to misread the menu and spend $30 on a pitcher of Sangria in Noosa, Australia or pay extra to get your bags home from Germany. It happens. I just wasn’t expecting this much of an expensive and EARLY mishap. I kept looking for lower prices and found an airline that would allow you to “reserve a seat” without paying. I reserved my seat and even got a confirmation email with a fancy random 8-figure configuration of numbers and letters. I hopped up, carried my laptop over to Ginger and pointed to my newly reserved flight focusing her attention to the confirmation number and away from the sentence “for your convenience pay with any visa or mastercard in the next 48 hours”. She bought it. Exhaleeee. Thank God.

The chubby baggage security man applauded my success as I handed him my pack and now there was no turning back. In the airport terminal I sought out my favorite type of camp out, by a window, on the floor, away from everyone else. One of my hidden sanctuaries in the world and a prime time for people watching in which I noticed I was already a minority. When boarding started, I rummaged through my bag in search of Ambien and realized I had packed in my pack. Damn. I discovered I had two Zanax that would have the same effect of calming my nerves and putting me to sleep.

Arriving in Managua my first fear became a reality. Multiple groups of men bombarded me to inform me I was lucky enough to have them there to take me to wherever I needed. I have read that Managua is one of the most dangerous airports to take a cab from because many people pose as a taxi and then take you to the outskirts of town and rob you. This has been my biggest source of anxiety since booking this trip, getting from the airport.

I kept asking for the shuttle service I booked with and all of them told me they were in fact that shuttle service. The effects of Zanax were still present so I stayed calm. One man was extra persistent in that I was he guy and did in fact have a shirt on that matched his car. I noticed an officially dressed guy that resembled some type of airport security and he gave me a thumbs up. Ok, here we go..

I tried to use some type of sense of direction and minimal Spanish I knew to read the signs along the way. I knew Granada was 45 minutes away so it shouldn’t take more than that. I hid my ipod and camera within my pack and prayed I had made the right decision, I mean my dad would probably hunt me down and never let me leave the states again if he knew I got robbed the first day.

Exhausted from a month of anticipation and 10 hours of travel I kept falling asleep in the car, awakening in jolts and silent panics and looking around for a signs of the correct direction. When I finally saw a sign for Granada I breathed for the first time in 40 minutes.

Hostel check in was easy and the mini tour revealed a pool, fan, free wifi, kitchen and a level of clean that is above average. I went straight to seek out my assigned bed and was happy to find this 10 person dorm to be one of the nicest I’ve seen. Super open complete with your own locker and Spanish doors to great you. Shorts on, shirt off, sports bar on, lights out. I napped for a solid 3 hours which is really good for me, I’m bad at napping, especially now that I was in a new climate of 80% humidity. After my snooze I set off on a solo trek to officially introduce myself to Granada. Along the way I stumbled upon a man named Martin who owned a different hostel about a half mile away. He approached me as a took a picture of his colorfully pleasing porch and invited me to tour his hostel, I let him try to sell me a room then redirected his attention to must sees and do’s in Granada. We took a seat on his lovely porch and the maid brought us some type of juice that definitely had mango in it. Martin told me all about Granada and when he learned I was alone he offered some free tour guiding or free company with free juice. I liked him, and I didn’t get an airport creep vibe.

Returning to the hostel I decided it was time to meet friends. Two English girls decided I was nice enough to accompany them to the grocery store. Officially in travel mode saving we split a loaf of bread, ham and tomato which totaled $3. So yes today, I ate my full gluten meal for the first time in a year and half. How was it? My stomach instantly bloated, cramped and felt off for the rest of the night. A headache set in a few hours later which kept me up for part of the night but I woke up in the morning a felt fine.

The rest of my night consisted befriending two girls from South Africa that would be my next day adventure partners and eating some type of French food that Francis and Damien let share. The five of us talked travel, life and theories on aspartame then called it a night.

Laguna De Apoyo

The next morning I realized my debit card was missing. Awesome. I checked my account online and luckily no odd charges had been made. I called Chase and put a hold on my card and prayed it would show up somewhere. I mentioned my rough start of a morning to Fabia and she said that she had forgot her ATM card in Costa Rica because the ATM’s here give you money first then your card, when at home it’s the opposite. OMG that’s exactly what happened. I ran down the street to the bank I had last withdrawn money and somehow used the little Spanish I knew to communicate to the banker what had happened. They had my card. Wow, I’m truly off to an amazing start.

Off to more exciting endeavors, Fabia, Natalie and I decided it was a great day to go to a water filled volcano, otherwise known as Laguna De Apoyo. After enjoying some coffee and book reading lakeside Fabia and I ventured off to take advantage of the free kayaks. It was Fabia’s first time kayaking and being inspired her first time was in an once active volcano she challenged me to go with her to all the way to the other side. I knew I liked this girl, but a girl that was down for a strenuous activity, I liked her even more. After completing mission kayak with South Africa we returned our trusty modes of transport and immediately swam to the floating dock we somehow hadn’t noticed on the way out. The rest of the afternoon concluded with me learning how to do a back flip into water. I’ve always wanted to do that. Where better to learn, then from a South African, in Nicaragua, in a lake, in a volcano?

Perfect first day.