We arrived in Chin with a quick stop off at my house to meet the host family and then straight to Coco Loco, my second home. We reached just in time for one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen out here. It was a perfect week to be up at Coco Loco as we were the only guests along with one other friend who was visiting the Coco Loco yoga teacher Nikki. The owners Jamie, Ben, his girlfriend Chris, surf teacher Jackie, Waves of Hope volunteer Jason, yoga teacher Nikki and the three of us had volleyball tournaments where we invited the locals to play along with us. Coco Loco's right hand man Orlando took MVP with his spikes, granted the only rule was you had to have a beer at all times. The week consisted of surfing, yoga, volleyball, walking the beach and just catching up over the years the three of us had missed since growing up together.
On Wednesday we had a special invitation to go up to a friend's farm at the base of Consiguina Volcano. Sarah, Clay, Jackie, Jason and I loaded up the truck with Orlando and drove up at 5:30 am. By 7 am we were scaling the side of the volcano in an open air four wheel beast you might know as a unimog. Branches were smacking us through the side of the truck and bugs of all kinds crawled amongst us as well climbed the side of the mountain. Once we reached the top we could peer down in to the crater and see across the ocean to the islands of El Salvador and Honduras. After hiking around the rim and taking in the view we headed back down to the ranch house for lunch.
My friend and owner of the farm Luis and his parents laid out a wonderful spread of beautifully cooked steak, potatoes, salad, rice, local cheese, avocado, and cucumber fresco with vodka. After a few more beers we decided it was time to saddle up the horses and head out in to the wetlands. All of the horses were beautiful, well taken care of and very well trained. We made our way through the wetlands wading through rivers, running across wetlands and even swam with the horses in one area. The river was covered with bright green lily pads that juxtapose the mellow blue of the sky. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever scene. As we ran through the wetlands water splashed up on and all around us catching the light of the setting sun. Jackie and I at the head of the pack just let the reins go as the horses ran releasing all their pent up energy.
My horse Gatiado, the largest of the pack had to swim across first
We continued to talk about that day as one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. The farm had so much character and a ton of history from the war during the 80s. Of course Luis' family made the experience unforgettable with their hospitality as well. The rest of the week at Coco Loco ended with a bang as we headed to Al Cielo for dinner our last evening. Two parisians moved down to Nicaragua, fell in love with surfing, and built cabanas and a restaurant on the beach close to Coco Loco. The food is absolutely amazing and they infuse their own rums and olive oils. Ben, Chris, Jason, Jackie, NIkki, Ckay, Sarah, and I made our way over to enjoy the sun setting on Nahualapa bay where we surfed each morning. We started the meal with a pineapple infused rum shot and the night just got more out of control from there. The wine, pizza, fish, chocolate mouse and more great food just kept flowing form the kitchen. We ended the night with yet another bottle of wine back at Coco Loco and a mini dance party. The next day it was hard to say goodbye, not because we were hung over, but because we had just spent the week as a close knit family and it was truly a blast!
Saturday we made our way to Granada and happened to meet up with several Peace Corps Volunteers from my group. Sarah and Clay had the chance to meet my best Peace Corps friends, which was really neat for me to mesh both families. Sunday we all watched the soccer game, toured around the city, and did a pre-birthday dinner for Clay with all my peace corps friends that were still left. Kelli went all out and got a chocolate cake to celebrate! Clay's birthday was Tuesday so we decided to celebrate in the morning with a zipline tour on Mombacho Volcano. The three of us got our own tour with two guides that were absolutely hilarious. They were constantly trying to scare us and act like we were going to fall off the platforms when we were really already attached to the line. The zipline itself was pretty mellow compared to the one I did in Costa Rica, but we got to backwards, upside down and on top of each other which spiced it up.
Granada is known for its colonial architecture which pulls in plenty of tourism. We stayed at the beautiful Casa San Francisco which is owned by a previous Peace Corps volunteer. The rooms are all unique and ours overlooked their quaint swimming pool and fountain. We decided to be the tourists that we are and take a boat tour of the isletas(mini islands) off the coast of Granada in the gigantic Lake Nicaragua. My Peace corps friends Luis joined us on what we turned in to our own booze cruise. We stocked up on beer and headed down to the dock like dorky tourists in a horse drawn carriage. Our guide ended up being a really neat guy who gave us a personal tour and history lesson on Granada. At one point we had a monkey named Lucy chillen on our boat with us a we enjoyed our cold beers. It was amazing to hear about the famous individuals who had purchased these islands and see the high quality of architectural talent that went in to building the houses that inhabited them. After yet another solid Birthday dinner of pizza and pasta we headed to a bar named Imagine where we jammed the rest of the night away to Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash, the Doors and other great classic rock hits.
Our last full day together was spent at the famous Laguna de Apollo which you may have seen in my earliest posts from training. It was a blast from the past sitting along this beautiful lake's shores deep inside the volcanic crater and looking out in to the crystal clear water. It took me back to the days of training where there was no freedom and this beautiful place was my only escape on a Sunday morning. I remember the hour hike straight up and down to reach this paradise. Funny how much has changed since then.
Over all it was an amazing trip and it was hard to watch Clay and Sarah leave. It was just like the good old days when we spent our summers together growing up. I'm really lucky to have such an awesome brother and cousin! You guys rock! Thanks for coming to see my life down here! And special thanks to Sarah for teaching us the drunk shakey face!
