The Final Chapter: Nicaragua: First Impressions

I (along with my friends/fellow supervisors, Seth and Doug) have arrived safely in Managua, Nicaragua, after waking up at the equivalent of 2:30 am Nicaraguan time-- or, in Doug's case, flying through the night! We found ourselves in the scorching hot at humid capital city, immediately charged 20 US dollars (!!!!!!!) to get a cab from the airport to our hostel. Thank goodness we're only crashing here one night, because we were over this city after the first hour. I have to admit, we didn't really give Managua a chance since none of us were running on very much sleep...but the first place we found ourselves after stopping by our hostel was a ginormous mall, complete with American "FOOD COURT," as we searched frantically for a bank to convert currency or ATM to withdraw it. Once we had money sorted out, we proceeded to the least sketchy food source we could find: a hole-in-the-wall comedor that served heaping plates of beans, rice, plantains, and various meats sitting behind glass panels, which they so generously microwaved to order. It was only 40 Nicaraguan córdobas--or $2--per plate, though, and it really wasn't the worst first Nicaraguan meal we could have had! We sat in the unlit, pretty literal hole in the wall for an hour after we finished eating at least, feeling sticky with sweat, unable to face the heat of Managua, but still so happy to be where we were and full of uncontainable excitement.

The three of us are having a fantastic time...even while doing nothing, which is pretty much what we did today. Tomorrow we will greet another friend coming in from Atlanta and go straight to Granada, an allegedly lovely colonial city, where we will see some gorgeous architecture and maybe go on a boat tour of the famous islets in Lake Nicaragua. From there, we're on to León (at which time another fellow supervisor will join us) to go VOLCANO BOARDING!!! Finally, we'll head to the youth hostel at Selva Negra, a famous Nicaraguan hotspot for coffee, birdwatching and hiking, for a relaxing two days before things get crazy at our work site, Matagalpa! Should be a fantastic week-- except I realized today how ridiculously hard it's going to be to pack and re-pack my camping backpacks every time we move. Also, I forgot a LOT of things (including but not limited to: a hairbrush, flashlight, first aid kit, and razor). Regardless, we should be in for a super awesome week of travel!! But, honestly, I just can't wait to start working!!!