The Epic Northern Loop!!!

A tad over a month has gone by since we last logged, and we can only say that our trip has been so overwhelmingly stimulating at times, that we have been busy drinking experiences in, and resting to acquire new ones… Let’s see… where did we leave off? Ah Yeah! We were headed to  Isla de Ometepe, and then looping back North to hit our destinations of Matagalpa, Jinotega, Estelí, León, and then back to Managua… before heading to beautiful El Salvador.

Ometepe Island was, yet, another paradisiacal place in the midst of Lake Nicaragua, which was formerly known as “Lake Cocibolca.” We arrived by ferry to the little port of Moyogalpa, via the little port of San Jorge, and stayed a few nights at a quiet little hotel run by a cooperative of peasants and small farmers of the Island. The following day we rented bicycles and rode through town ‘till we reached Punta Jesús María, a desolate point of the Island that protrudes into the lake as a small dark sanded road that turns into a thin, subtle tongue into the green water.

On the third day, we hiked 1000 meters up towards the top of Concepción Volcano. That was a six-hours round trip serenaded by monkey howls all the way up, as we, and our travel companions (a trio of sweet Swiss girls) stopped every now and then to take in the beautiful views, sounds, and steep ways to the top of the Volcano. At the end of the hike we were spent, ready to relax, and we couldn’t wait to move on to our next destination: Matagalpa. 

A fellow traveler told us in San Juan del Sur that the best way to reach our destination was to take an early bus from Masaya to Matagalpa, as we did not want to be forced to go back to Managua. We listened, and followed our newly found friend’s advice. We stayed a night in Masaya, again, woke up at 4:30am to get to the bus which was expected to leave at 5:30. When we arrived to the bus depot someone told us that the bus didn’t go to Matagalpa on Thursdays. We were considering our alternative options to reach Matagalpa, when voilà our bus came, and we managed to get to Matagalpa at about 9:00 a.m. Apparently, the Thursday service is a new commodity stemming from Masaya these days.

Matagalpa has great energy and is a bustling city-town in the mountains. It is also a thriving political hub for the Frente Sandinista, the leftist party in power right now. One of the key figures in the Nicaraguan Revolution was born there: the famous Carlos Fonseca Amador. We visited the humble house that serves as a museum, and walked away moved by the depth in thinking, and the relentless commitment of this revolutionary leader who sacrificed his life to beget the New, Free Nicaragua dreamed by many at the time. We went to a youth concert at the hottest Sandinista hang out, La Casona, and spent the evening with fellow travelers who told us about Selva Negra, an eco-coffee plantation in between Jinotega and Matagalpa. We also continued the search for Kat’s Central American wedding ring, and this time fortune was smiling upon us, and the Universe kissed our eyes!!!

We found a lovely silver & gold Italian design ring at a small jewelry in town, and we had it adjusted so that Kat could rock it, no doubt! We finally were married in the eyes of all those smirking Nicaraguans (more to come on this Telenovela, or Soap Opera) thanks to this lovely ring.

                                                      

Matagalpan themselves were a tad more interesting than people from other regions we had met along the way. For instance, we ate at Toro Bravo, a nice Bar & restaurant, where we met & hung out with a matagalpan family who has a coffee finca and a very active 2 year old. They immediately invited us to spend time at their finca, and wanted to host us for as long as we wanted. Our hotel owner lived at the Hotel, as many families do, but he was a retired OBGYN who also has a pharmacy attached to the hotel, with a private practice. He is quite known in town, and he is very Christian, but also very interested in the religious views of ALL his guests. Finally, Matagalpa gave us the gift of a yummy Italian meal accompanied by Passion Fruit juice! Because of all these things Matagalpa and its people have a special place in our hearts…

Next, we went to Selva Negra a very eco conscious farm and Coffee Finca (plantation) which was began by German immigrants and still run by their descendants. Our last morning there, we met at breakfast with the owner, a retired architect turned historian: Eddy Kuhl. Ario and him had quite the chat about authors and literature. We learned on the Hotel’s coffee tour that instead of discarding the coffee skins into water or ground which pollutes, they mix the skins with bacteria found in the rumen of the farm’s cows and make methane gas which they use to cook with on the farm. Another innovation we heard of was that they have a special kind of worm that can eat 11 times its weight in one sitting (imagine that!!) and is utilized to make the fertilizer for the coffee trees. Their coffee is among the selected ones to be sold in some U.S. Whole Foods stores.

Technology was not on our side on this side of the country. We spent about 3 hours (oh! crud!) downloading a movie from iTunes which in the end we had already seen and didn't want to watch again. L

On our way from Selva Negra to Jinotega, we were waiting for the bus by the side of the road, where some cops were having a laugh at the expense of a rookie. Nicaraguan Police men seem to be waaaay too relaxed for a law enforcement group. We have seen cops asking for a ride to get from one place to the next many times over. These police officers we are talking about were teasing a guy who was complaining that he had not even been given a gun for his job, and that right now, his “enforcing” weapon was a baby machete and a stick. The other guys, clearly outside of this other guy’s predicament, said to him: “don’t worry man… your day will come, you’ll be like us, and surely you’ll rock a shiny little gun like ours…” We looked at the alluded firearm. It was a pretty beat up Russian Makarov PM pistol from the 40’s. It looked like the holster was what held the poor thing together, but they were all laughing so heartily about it, that we wound up laughing with them as we waited. The one thing the rookie had that the others didn’t was two cell phones, instead of one, and that, the others admitted, was pretty cool…

Jinotega was a disappointment on so many levels, it’s not even worth speaking about it. We did like the surroundings of it, but the town was quite strange, and we really did not care for it… a first in our trip. 

So we took the bus to Estelí and after many hotels had said they were full, we found one that seemed decent. We ate a dish of really yummy vegetable pasta and then took a little nap before hoping to watch the Olympics, but the TV menu lied and gymnastics wasn’t on. L So we went out to dinner at Vuela Vuela Restaurant and came back. Unfortunately we had company: little crawling creatures. Another first in the whole trip; we took care of them and tried relaxing in our room. More buggies came out, and we lost our patience for them…

At this juncture in our trip, we were reaching our point of needing to be pampered, and wanted to gather as much energy as possible, as we had walked and traveled around so much, and we were about to meet up with Ario’s family, who were driving from El Salvador to hang out together for the last little leg of the trip. So at 11pm we called Hotel Escuela Los Arcos and made a reservation to go there that night. So we got to the new hotel and found more company in the bathroom, but we felt better, and we really didn’t care anymore. Clearly, the heat was making them come out, but once we flushed them away, they didn’t come back.  When we finally told them about this, as we checked out, they said we should have told them right away and they would have moved us. Oh! Well… being tired had made us shy, perhaps, right? Either way it was a really nice hotel.

The next day we enjoyed breakfast there and then went back to sleep ‘till the afternoon. Later we went and walked around, visited the Museum of Mártires and Heroes and Ario found a really elegant Guayabera (or “Safari Shirt”.) 

 Later Edenilson (Ario’s nephew), his wife Yeka and his friend Chapetilla (or Chape) arrived to Estelí, and we hung out at the hotel and later went to eat.

After being together for a tad over a couple of weeks (just the two of us), we both welcomed having more voices than ours at every meal, and when making plans for new and exciting destinations. Getting lost in a foreign country is more fun when in a large group, don’t you agree? It was also nice that we were going to be able to drive to places now (since they had driven from El Salvador) making it much easier to visit places off the beaten path. The day after they came to Nicaragua to meet up with us, we went to Miraflor, a small farming community outside of Estelí. There we found a really awesome river with a pool to swim in. We took lots of pictures along the way and ate lunch at someone’s house next to the poza (river pool), which were delicious... we mean both the water from the fall and the lunch.

On Friday we drove to Managua, ate lunch at Casa San Juan, where we had left our bags while we traveled around, and Kat napped (really? J) while Ario and Chape went and got tickets for the Mejía Godoy concert that we were going to go to later that night. We had a great time at the concert again. The next day we drove to León and found a really nice hotel, Hotel Enrique III. Kat really enjoyed walking around León (although it was really hot), and would really like to go back to see more. 

On Sunday we drove back from Nicaragua and arrived in El Salvador at about 7:30pm. We stopped for Chinese food in Honduras, and while we all enjoyed it, our fearless driver, Edenilson, didn’t seem to do too well with it…

Stay tuned to hear about our next iteration of adventures in El Salvador, a.k.a Guanacolandia…  

We send each and every one of you lots and lots of love, and passion for life, and the best wishes ever…

Hasta pronto!!! XXO!!!

Kat & Ario

Coyolito Juice and other delights

Well… I can’t believe we’ve only been here a week and a half because it definitely feels like longer with everything we seen and done so far. Here are the highlights and recap of what we’ve been up to:

-Carlos Mejia and Los Palacahuina in concert in Managua

-Fresh fruit and a really yummy juice made from a fruit called coyolito (first had it in Laguna de Apoyo)

-Masaya and Caterina lookout to Masaya Lagoon

-Granada’s Archipelago tour

-Laguna de Apoyo mani/pedi

-Relaxing at San Juan del Sur beach

Managua was hot and made us feel caged in as everyone recommended we take taxis everywhere we go for safety. Where we stayed was close to the UCA (University of Central America, run by the Jesuits) so we were able to walk there and to the Metrocentro (mall) where we bought a cell phone. Our highlight in Managua was seeing Carlos Mejia Godoy and his band Los Palacaguina at La Casa de los Mejia Godoy (Their concert space where other Nicaraguans perform as well). It was so fun and we were second table from the front. The concert was like a theater show as in between every song they said jokes and told stories. The songs were great and the whole band had amazing voices. I knew some of the songs from being in El Salvador and through Ario and of course, Ario knew them all. They also had a 9 year old boy sing with them who had just recently won some American Idol- like competition and he had an amazing voice.

Arriving to Masaya on Sunday was like a breath of fresh air as it was much cooler and we could safely walk around. Madera’s Inn where we stayed is run by a very sweet family who we enjoyed chatting with (and when I say we I mean Ario did the talking about politics and such and I listened). Masaya has an awesome Mercado Artesania (handicrafts market) with lots of items we will eventually buy however this time I just got a headband and Ario found his Nicaraguan wedding ring. I’m still on the search for mine. Masaya also has a beautiful mirador that looks over the Masaya lagoon down below. There’s also a baseball stadium right there that I enjoyed checking out. I can’t wait to go to a baseball game! The family took us on a tour to the Masaya Volcano which is apparently the second most dangerous volcano (glad I told my Mom that after) and for which we had to where hard hats to be able to visit. One of the craters is currently smoking. There are three craters in total and one of them just exploded on April 30^th. They also took us to a couple towns where a lot of the handicrafts are made.

After that they drove us to Laguna de Apoyo where we had our own little cabin- room with a hammock right outside and were ten steps away from the slightly salty lagoon water (which was very warm, especially compared to Priest Lake). We had a delicious dinner there and chatted a lot with the Swiss owner, Daniel. The next day I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure done by the fabulous Rosita who lives in the town.

Next we headed to Granada which was hot in comparison to our previous two locations and after our splurging in Laguna de Apoyo we had decided to save and go sin air-conditioning. We were a sticky mess. We enjoyed walking around a lot, reading in cafes (where I’m now on book #2 of the hunger games), and took a tour of the archipelago (over 360 little islands, only one of which is owned by the state). One of the coffee shops we went to called Smiles Coffee is a nonprofit that employs youth who are deaf and hard of hearing. On each table are pictures customers use to order and basic ASL (American Sign Language) signs to say thank you, etc. They also sell hammocks that are made by the youth. We also enjoyed some yummy non-Nica food in Granada including oatmeal cookies, pizza, pasta and Mexican enchiladas at the famous strip called La Calzada.

Next we bused to San Juan del Sur on Friday the 20^th and spent all day Saturday (yesterday) sitting on the beach reading and chatting it up with different folks. I’m definitely looking forward to going back as we really only spent time on the beach. Today we made it to Isla de Ometepe which is sure to be another chill place like San Juan del Sur. The patron saint festivals are happening in the town we’re staying and we’ll at some point rent bicycles and ride around the island, hang out at the beach and who knows what else! Hasta pronto!! Big hugs from us to you!! xoxo

South to North Loop Itinerary in Nicaragua

            Hello again dearest Family & Friends! Here is the semi-high tech navigational tool that will allow you to follow, if not step-by-step, at least destination-by-destination where we will be Sowing the Seeds of Love during our first three weeks in the lovely land of Nicaragua, a country known for its good coffee, lakes, volcanoes, poets, revolution, and brotherhood.

            For your convenience, we have hyperlinked each one of the destinations listed below, in our humble rendition of an Interactive Itinerary. That means that when you point your cursor right over the name of either one of the nine cities we will be visiting between July 12 and August 5, 2012, you will be taken to an informational site that will give you a sense as to what the landscape is like, the people, their cultural traits, their celebrations and the region’s major tourist attractions. 

            What follows is a quick hyperlinked run down of the different sites we’ll visit, and the lodging and people we’ll be meeting along the way. Oh! By the way: don’t worry about your rusty Geography skills: here’s a map of the Central American Isthmus so that you know where to look for us when browsing through Google Earth.

On the Way to the Southern Corridor

We’re flying United Airlines from Seattle to Houston, Texas, and from there we fly to Managua, the Capital City of Nicaragua. We’ll land on Thursday, July 12, at 11:00 a.m. We will be picked up at the Aeropuerto Internacional de Managua by Don Marcelo Prado, the proud owner of Casa San Juan (Casasanjuan.net), a family owned business started in 1972 by his grandad, Don Francisco Mejía, a man fond of providing hospitality and respite to mochileros, or backpackers, who back then were passing through Nicaragua as much as they are now, us included in the bill. We’ll be staying there from the 12^th through the 14^th.

On the night of the 13^th, we’ll be hanging out at the famed La Casa de los Mejia Godoy, home to the famous Carlos Mejía Godoy y los de Palacaguina band, a group of musicians who started writing and composing emblematic songs with a social justice punch in the 70’s. We will be front-row, basking in the light of such a legendary artist and his pals on such a night. In between, we will get acquainted with the city and its history by visiting different sites, including the famous one known as Huellas de Acahualinca.

After this relaxing yet active entry into Nicaragua, we head down South, to the town of Masaya on Sunday, July 15, where we hope to visit several sites, including the Mercado de Artesanías, or Artists & Crafters Market for which the twon is well known. While there, we’ll be staying at Hotel Monimbo.

After this quick stroll through Masaya, on the 16th we’ll be visiting beautiful Laguna de Apoyo, one of the most visited lagoons in the region (did we mention that Nicaragua is adorned with a plethora of small lakes and lagoons throughout its territory?) While there, we will stay at San Simian Hotel (Sansimian.com). We’ll be enjoying the hospitality of Daniel, the Swiss owner of the hotel, who has given us the Watermelon Bungalow (or “Sandía”, in Spanish) not knowing how much Ario enjoys watermelon.

Continuing down South, we’ll be heading to the City of Granada, where the sites are many, and the activities to be had, plentiful. We’ll be arriving there on the 17th, and we’ll stay there ‘till the 20th at the much hailed  Hotel Maltese (ph # 2552-7641), where we hope to rent bikes if the weather is not too hot (Kat is afraid she’ll melt in these latitudes!)

After spending some time with the bohemian crowds of Granada, we’ll be making our way down to the border of Costa Rica, where we will be visiting San Juan del Sur for a much needed visit with the beaches and the ocean. While there we hope to stay at Hotel el puerto (our reservations haven’t been confirmed at this point!) We’ll be hanging out here the 20th and the 21st.

On the 22^nd of July we’ll be heading to enchanted Isla de Ometepe, where we hope to partake in the Annual Festivities in honor of Santa Ana, the Patron Saint of the isle. While in this island, we’ll stay at the ecologically run and conscious Hotel Escuela Teosintal. We will leave this enchanted piece of paradise on July 25.                  

Looping Back North, and closing the circuit

            At midnight, on Wednesday, July 25, we’ll be testing the Ometepe-to-Granada Ferry System, which hopefully will place us in Granada at 4:30 a.m., where we’ll have breakfast to subsequently find our way to our first northern destination: the town of Matagalpa, where we will stay for two nights (the 26^th and the 27^th).

We’re specially interested in this town because we have heard so many good things about it, including the fact the climate tends to be a lot more temperate, there’s excellent coffee, and language schools crop up as much as the coffee beans in the nearby plantations, thus making this location an excellent candidate for us to spend most of our time in Nicaragua within its borders… we shall see, but know that you’ll be fully informed whether this is the case or not in the long run. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!!!  

On the 28^th and the 29^th we’ll be visiting the nearby town of Jinotega, referred to as “the City of Mists,” a nice little location enclosed on all sides by mountains dappled in cloud forests crowned with granite ridges and pocked with deep gorges. Sounds like Kat’s kind of town, right? Well, we shall see…

On the 30^th and the 31^st we hope to make it to the border town of Esteli. Legend holds that if there is such a thing as Eternal Spring in Nicaragua, you shall find it in Estelí. Home to the oldest coffee plantations in the Central American region, being a Sandinista stronghold, having a University campus, and a market center for thousands of farmers, Estelí seems to abound in possibilities as well for our potential stay in Nicaragua… it will be hard not to put all our eggs in one basket, don’t you agree?

On the 1^st and the 2^nd of August, we close the northern loop by visiting the intensely political, and overwhelmingly charming city of Leon, a destination known for its awe inspiring churches and streetscapes that lead to stunning little eateries and an intense nightlife any day of the week.

After two or three days in León (we’ll let the political muses and the holy ghost guide us), we’ll head back to Managua where we will take a Tica Bus bound to San Salvador, where Ario’s family will be waiting for us to sit down and enjoy twice told tales and pictures of our cultural immersion in the land of lakes, poets, and revolution: Nicaragua. Also, we will be arriving to partake in the National Annual Festivities of El Salvador’s patron saint, El Salvador del Mundo.

Stay tuned to hear our impressions of that new adventure…

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Oh the Places We'll Go!!

Welcome Friends & Family! This is your sure portal for effectively stalking us while we make our way through a year filled with adventures, discoveries, insight, and a whole lot of beans and rice (with fried plantains as well, of course!)

We want to begin by deeply thanking each one of you for your kind support in making this adventure happen for us. Some of you have contributed financially to it, and some have done so by giving us the deepest expressions of encouragement and inspiration to embark on this trip. To us, both manifestations of support are just as important, and we cannot thank you enough for being there for us in one way or another.

Because of that, we hope to establish a conversation with each one of you through this vehicle. We’d love for you to always feel free to respond to our postings, send us messages, and/or just simply tell us how many Passion Fruits (on a scale from 1-5) you give a particular posting that you liked reading.

A little bit on the name of our Blog: Passion Fruits are a prevalent crop across the Caribbean, Central & South America, much like Apples are the emblem crop for Washington State. Since we are going to be on those latitudes (the famed Intertropical Convergence Zone, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator), we’re hoping to etch, in time, vignettes that leave on your spiritual palate the sweet sensation that “a thing of Beauty is a joy forever,” as Keats would say.  Thus, the “fruit” of our “passion” for travel and adventure will materialize through our Blog entries, each one of them conceived with a passion for what lays beneath what at first meets the eye.

We look forward to you joining in our experience, either physically or virtually, at any given point of our adventure. Our casa is your casa as well. No doubt. 

With all the love and warmth in the world,

  

Kat & Ario