The Excursion Begins!

I've flown enough that I wasn't worried about my flights. I went from NOLA to Fort Lauderdale FL, and then to Managua. On the second leg of the plane I looked out the window. It was dark and looked like we were flying over some little islands. They were like so many stars in the ocean. My first thought was maybe Cuba. I later found out from my phone's GPS tag of the photo I took that I was over the Bahamas.

My $5 nest for the night, taken the morning after.

I was nervous about getting off the plane. I imagined a rush of people trying to take my bag and put me in a car. I arrived around 1 AM though, and there weren't many people around the airport. I looked around a bit, and a man approached me asking if I needed a taxi. The time to use my Spanish skills had come, and it was fine! I did spit out some Wolof as I was trying to help with directions, but overall it was ok. I arrived at the hostel where I had made a reservation, The Backpackers INN. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding and the young lady at the counter didn't have me reserved for that night. If you reserve for 1AM Saturday, that means Saturday night, not Friday night. I was a little worried because where else was I going to go? She was really nice though and we made a deal. I could stay on the sofa in the front hall for $5. DONE! I was so tired and didn't know where else I could go so I was very grateful for what I got. I got some mosquito bites, there were some loud boys (definitely U.S. guys), and for some reason I was really worried someone would take my shoes. Maybe a lingering worry from Senegal. Am I always going to worry about people stealing my shoes when I sleep in a foreign country? Maybe, but maybe that's not a bad thing. I got a few hours sleep regardless and got up around 7 to start my day.

They had a community shower there. Cold water only, but it was warm out so it was fine. I had brought some granola and munched on it while I asked other people in the hostel where they were from and what they were planning to do. There were some sights I wanted to

The Hostel Pool

see and decided to just to go find them on my own. My pack was pretty heavy though, it was very hot out, and taxis are expensive when you are alone. So, I went back to the hostel after about an hour of walking the city. I decided to spend some more of the hot morning hours swimming in the pool and talking to people. There were people from Finland, Massachusetts, Canada, and D.C. Then a few of us decided to go get some lunch. We walked around for a while, maybe an hour and a half checking some sites as we went. The big statue of Sandino being one of them. Managua does not have many sites. The city is kind of busted from earthquakes and there is some gang violence.  I ended up being glad I had a couple guys walking around with me. It was also very empty as it was the Easter holiday and most people go to the beaches. This had the effect of making the city a bit more desolate than it may seem at other times. We were hot, hungry, and a bit tired when we finally went to a little restaurant in a shopping mall. I had myself a Victoria Classico beer, chicken, and rice. It was really good.

This is a statue of Augusto Sandino. He is considered a national hero in Nicaragua. He was a rebel in the 1920's. Pretty interesting. The statue is HUGE. This was taken from the other side of the lake the statue sits next to.

We decided to split a cab back to the hostel. There were some new people there then. A guy from Mexico who was really cool and nice, as well as a guy circumnavigating the globe on a bike. Crazy awesome. It sounded like he was having the trip of a lifetime. Then I tried another Nicaraguan beer Tona. I told them about some of the places I still wanted to see in the city, but hadn't made it to yet, and a group of us decided to go. We shared a taxi and saw El Parque de Revolucion. There was a really old church you could see cracks in from the earthquakes, a beautiful palace, tombs, statues, and lots of Christmas type lights. There were these big trees that light up all down the main stretch of the city. Then it was time for dinner and there were not many options. This was the worst part about people being gone on holiday. There was no one selling street food! I ended up trying TipTop. A fried chicken place similar to Canes in Louisiana.

These are the "yellow trees" that line the streets. 

At night the trees light up!

My new friend Curtis

We made it back to the hostel where I continued to chat with other travelers waiting for my groups plane to come in. Finally I headed to the airport where I met a guy from Germany waiting for a friend to come in. Managua was definitely a meeting ground for people from all over! None of them seemed to be sticking around long though. I learned later that was because there are so many more beautiful and amazing places to go in this small country.

My group finally arrived. It included LSU faculty and staff, graduate students, and undergrads. JC and Ivana were in charge. There were two other grad students Shelli and Cristina. All four undergrads Chelsea, Brad, Peyton, and Myra, had been in a class a TA'd last fall. Just a small group of 10. We also met Lorenzo for the first time. He was a tour guide, facilitator, translator, and by the end of the week a friend. We headed out of Managua to Granada very late. Chelsea and I decided to room together. The hotel was a beautiful open air place with a pool. They had nice showers, and after my long day I was ready for bed.

Inside the hotel courtyard, the next morning.