Pik-too-rays: The Side Trips

12:17 am -- Well, I discussed Granada, our home away from. I really loved it there, heat and all, but of course there were some things we really had to see outside of Granada since we were in the country. I mean, how lame would "There are tons of volcanos" "How many did you get to see" "None really, but I hear they're nifty" sound? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Amn't I cute? I loved those hammock chairs. I loved them so much that I bought two when I got the chance. They're sitting in the corner of my room. I hear you're supposed to use them, but meh. N-E-wayz, here is me on El Mango Falls, my uncle's island.

Here's a nice shot of the island...

...and another...

...and another, from a distance this time.

When we visited another island, this was the view we got. Lovely, neh?

Oh, the irony of life. The room we were invited to stay in on the island was called "The Spider Room." It was pleasant though, with air-conditioning, and I'm happy to say that I encountered no spee-drays. (That's "spiders," for the Rebeccalese deprived) Which means either that there were none, or they waited until night to attack with their knives.

Aren't they cute? Uncle Gerard and Maria Celia on El Mango Falls. There was a nice plaque in prominent view on the island sporting that name, which I still didn't realize was the island's name until someone drew the connection for me. I...thought it was a random tiled display? Score a point for Rebecca's deductive reasoning.

This tour was handy-dandy-notebook fun!!!! We drove up one side of the Mombacho volcano, where they had these zip-lines set up between trees. We were harnessed in, and got to zip from tree to tree on these ropes, really high up. I can't even stress how fun it was!!! And I'm pleased to say that I don't look totally ridiculous in a harness, though the helmet was iffy...I'm sure I could have survived smacking into a tree...George does it all the time....

Well, no one really said, but it sure looks like bamboo to me!!!!! Bamboozled!!!!! :D Bamboo makes me very happy. This was on the hike back down the volcano, as the truck desided to go and flatten all its tires. Lazy little minx.

Xavier y Susana took us to Caterina one weekend. Isn't it lovely? Oh, and the water's quite nice as well. This photo also features the elegant half-liter water bottle, the near constant companion.

Aw, aren't they cute? These were the taxis in Caterina, and yes, we took one. I mean, no stealing or anything...just went riding in one.

This picture demonstrates a few useful pieces of information. One is that when we biked to Laguna de Apoyo, the bikes only took us so far. We had to hike the rest of the way. Secondly, we did said hiking (and almost everything else) in those fantabulous Adidas flip-flops, that had incidentally already seen us through a six month trip, with equally a great deal of action. Impressive little shoes, those. Only excepting those are in fact not the same flip-flops...OoPs. Well, I'm wearing the Adidas. You just can't see them in this pic, but that's...completely not important. So thirdly, Elizabeth seems to have been more affected by that monkey bite than we had realized.

Dali kept claiming all the mischief ocurring in the water was pescados (fish) and not himself, throwing rocks and attacking us under water. Psh. I'm holding one of said pescados. It's such a rocky looking fish.

Dali, Angelica, and Elizabeth on their bikes on the way back. The way back was pleasant. The way back was easy. The way back was downhill. What of it?

Our trip would not have been complete without seeing Ome Tepe, the largest island there, with two volcanos. This require more time than other side trips, so we spent two nights away from home sweet Granada. Here is one of the volcanos as we're approacing the island. And yes, there always seems to be smoke around the top of the volcanos there. Very cool.

I kid you not...they're frogs. We were crossing a little bridge, and saw a largeish puddle with swarms and swarms of weird black beetle looking thingies. Hopping. As the others walked away, I bent down to look closer...well, I'm sure you can see. They're frogs.

We were able to get even more out of the way at the mineral pools of Ojo de Agua. It was quite lovely and relaxing.

And also someone provided Elizabeth with birthday cake, since it was her birthday and all. Couldn't have planned her birthday better if I tried.

Later that night, our newfound friends (Ryan and Rebecca) had dinner at the same place we'd been eating for every other meal...it was locally run, cheaper, and much much tastier than other places. Well, THE other place. We really didn't have many options. There's that Tona beer again. And the giant water bottle that had by now replaced the small one. Forget the pain of having to lug that monster around...it was way better than the pain of a dehydration headache.

12:16 am -- Seviche. I'm going to get that typed before I forget it. I'll be back in a mo' to explain further.

12:55 am -- Ah. Here we are again. Seviche is a traditional appetizer dish with fish, garlic, onion, seasonings and citrusy stuffs and then crackers to dip in it. Of course, it ended up being our whole meal rather than an appetizer, due to some confusion, but it was quite tasty, so we weren't complaining.

This was the view from our hostel's deck. It was very nicely situated. I have to say, much as I loved staying in one place for most of this trip, hosteling it for a few nights reminded me of Europe, and it was far from an unpleasant reminder. Part of me misses the crazy moving around. Just part of me.

Uncle Gerard took us to a crater. It smoked a lot. I guess no one warned it against lung cancer.

O shut up. It was funny.

Having been invited on many adventures by our dear friends, we were happy to return the favour and invite them out to the island. All six of us had a blast!

Dali noticed some people fishing around a neighbouring island, and called them over to buy some fish off them. We cooked them, seasoned them (they used salt on most of them, but I insisted on Tony Chacheres), and...

...ate them.

Our final side trip, right before heading to Managua and then home, was San Juan del Sur. Not really my cup o' tea, as it's a beach town, but it's just one of those must sees. The town though, was actually quite pleasant. I don't suppose it's its fault for being next to a beach. The pink bottle there is mayo. They call it creme. Weird.

They were actually quite good. Nothing all that special, but we were hungry, and the sauces were really nice.

I suppose I couldn't really get away without a picture of the actual beach. So here I am, getting about as close as I wanted to. Of course I did walk along the beach several times. And what most people would consider to be not a great beach (it's much "nicer" on the other side where the nice beach houses are), I was rather pleased with, since most of the sand was damp and therefore not hot and sharp and sinky and irritating. But it still got everywhere.

Aaaaahhhhh. When it's that hot, you have to appreciate frappuccinos. It had been months since I'd had one.

Nacatamale is a traditional breakfast there, especially on Sundays. It's quite good, and we had it several times. On Sundays, of course. Also cafe con leche, which is very good there.

Now this is my idea of fun at the beach. I beautiful beach house, where you can effectively shut out the beach and enjoy a lovely pool instead. Complete with hammocks.

Well, that's it for the side trips. Only one post remains.

Next Up: ............I don't know...something.

Did you know...?

When you look in a mirror, you can see what's behind you. Unless it's a vampire.

Thank you for choosing Lod's Little Tidbits, and have a nice day.