Sunday January 14, 2018
It was lovely to sleep in a wee bit this morning as we are still a bit tired from the journey and our busy tour yesterday.
Following breakfast we get a taxi to take us to the UCA (pronounced ooca) microbus ‘station’, which is more of a collection of stands on the side of the street. We are wanting to get the schedule to Leon and on to Las Penitas on the Pacific Ocean – our next stop. One minute later we are on our way to the Malecon or sea wall on Lake Managua. Our taxi driver was very chatty and was keen on driving us all the way to Las Penitas tomorrow. We hesitated as his taxi was pretty small (Fero had to double himself in half to get in 😄), dusty and no A/C. We told him we would think on it.
We wander the Malecon and decide it really is a lovely place for people to come on a day off. They are food vendors and tables galore and a beautiful breeze coming off the lake. It is mid-morning on Sunday and pretty quiet – we suspect it was hopping last night and will be busier later this afternoon. The wind has picked up and not as pleasant so we text Silvio the taxi guy to pick us up to return to the hotel. Another quick stop at the supermercado and then our hotel. The quick stop became a fairly long one as there were long lines everywhere. Fero was waiting with Silvio so I sent a text in Spanish ‘Estoy en cola’ which means I am in the line up. Before too long, Fero comes in, a little annoyed, and announces, ‘I don’t want a Coca Cola’. Apparently Silvio showed Fero the text and he assumed I was asking – too funny, guess I should have written it in English!
Finally back at the hotel, we make a b-line for the pool. Before long we are both sound asleep and I awoke an hour and a half later! I am flighting a sore throat, and combined with travel and early mornings, I must have been pooped.
We have been thinking about our disjointed journey tomorrow – taxi to UCA, microbus to Leon and bus/taxi to Penitas. Silvio’s offer to drive us direct was very tempting, however we both decided we would much rather see if Gerald could take us. Thankfully Gerald was free and we agreed to meet him tomorrow morning at 10am. Hooray!!!!
With the warmer temperatures (it’s been 30C each day), we haven’t felt like eating much but the Nica people feel otherwise. The food portions are huge and we have yet to learn to order half of what we want. We don’t want to wander far so we head to the lively pub next door and find a seat on the patio with a wonderful breeze. Fero orders a nice cold Tona (local beer), and it arrives frozen solid – hilarious – now that’s cold! The second one went back to the bar spewing frozen beer like the volcano Momotombo. On the third try, he was actually able to have a sip. We ordered natchos and they were amazing. The chef/cook in the kitchen took the time to actually arrange each corn chip on the plate, layer with refried beans, cheese and chicken, covering every chip and repeating for at least 3 layers. They were the best natchos we have ever tasted!
Stuffed again, we waddle back to the hotel and crash. Another day in paradise!
