Nicaragua

Monday 24th October 2016 – 7.30, I was awoken by the sunlight filtering through the cracks in our window and the sound of gently lapping waves of the ocean. After breakfast of cocoa pops and steaming hot coffee we dipped into the refreshing, clear water, sunbathed, read our books and napped to the heartbeat of relaxed Caribbean life. Sitting on our verandah with a pure white beach and the mosaic of blues rippling before us I was truly at peace. The tranquillity touches your soul and serenely lulls you into a tender sleep. Walking to the shops we stocked up on food…cereals, drinks, sausages for the dogs, milk and a snickers bar for a treat. Yet again it was tuna and pasta for dinner…our aim was for this to be our cheapest week yet…so spaghetti was the only way to go! That evening we spied a hermit crab making his way across the beach…he was a lovely specimen and showed some feistiness when Aaron picked him up by threatening him with his formidable claw. My insect bites were still bothering me, so in order to dull those pesky itches I took a couple of paracetamol hoping for a better nights sleep…even in paradise you have a price to pay and often it’s comfort that is compromised.

Tuesday 25th October 2016 – What a wonderful nights sleep…popping those pills last night really did the job…I don’t even think I moved an inch in the night, waking up in exactly the same position as I went to sleep. I felt refreshed and energised again. After breakfast we paid for our last night on Little Corn Island…our paradise retreat. It had certainly lived up to its name. Once again our resident doggy was fed his favourite…sausages…he would sleep right outside on our verandah and protect us every night, barking at anyone or anything that dared to come near us…he really took his job very seriously bless him. Later we blogged, sunbathed and had an early dinner cooked by Aaron. For a whole week we had eaten spaghetti and tuna…we were so looking forward to devouring different food when we left the island. Tomorrow we would leave Little Corn…I’m sure there would be a lump in my throat when we did. Relaxing in bed that evening Aaron was laying on his front reading his book when all of a sudden he shrieked like a little girl…it was a cockroach that had landed from above right on the back of his neck…I couldn’t stop laughing…he really does make a fuss, but I must admit that the cockroaches always seem to hunt him down and somehow leave me alone…strange but true. It was a beautiful night…the smiling moon glistened down at us as we danced in the dead of night under her steely gaze…our toes caressed by the soft, golden sand…romance was in the air that night.

Wednesday 26th October 2016 – Torrential rain welcomed us from our sleep…oh dear…our plan was to catch the panga to Big Corn today and it looked very likely to be a soggy, wet encounter for us. We vacated our room and set up camp in the restaurant which was well protected from the elements above. We were hoping for a lull in the weather to walk the 20 minutes to the west side of the island and the dock. The rain didn’t let up so on went our waterproofs again and off we trudged through the deluge. Luckily by the time our panga left at 1.30pm the rain had stopped, half an hour later we were back on Big Corn and heading towards Morgan’s Hotel. It was just as wonderful as we had remembered…TV, comfy bed, lights that worked and the adorable cats whom I fed some left over cheese we had…they loved it and licked their lips with glee. Popping into town we picked up two cans of beer, coconut bread, cheese, Coca Cola and chocolate bars…not healthy I know but we had hardly any money left and what it did mean was that we had succeeded in having our cheapest week so far…yay…we celebrated by watching films on TV and snacking on our limited supplies…happiness comes in many forms…we have learnt that on our travels.

Thursday 27th October 2016 – Up at 6am, we needed to buy tickets for the once a week boat back to the mainland, Bluefields. As we didn’t know how busy the boat got it was imperative that we got in the queue at 7am sharp for tickets…otherwise we could be stuck on the island for another week…and we didn’t much fancy the idea of that! It was actually quite quiet and by 9am we had the best seat on the boat and were off once more. The crossing was a bit stormy at first and a few of the passengers were really suffering from seasickness. I felt really sorry for them…must be awful having motion sickness like that…as the daughter of a sailor I have never suffered from travel sickness but was aware it must be pretty miserable. The weather soon cleared up though and soon enough we were back on dry land. The boat had made good time, it was only 3pm so we decided to jump on the last panga of the day back to El Rama. As we sped down the river…Rio Escondido…the evening sunshine illuminated and showcased the vivid reflections in the water. It was such a contrast to the mundane 6 hour crossing we had just endured. Water…it seemed…was the mirror of nature…transcending its beauty perfectly. This was Aaron’s favourite boat journey of our whole holiday so far. Two hours of feeling like Indiana Jones as the small panga swerved and manoeuvred along the river…you really felt completely in the wilderness and akin to the locals who were used to such picturesque journeys. Once in El Rama…with darkness upon us…we booked into a local hotel and bought a ticket that left at 4.10am to San Carlos. It would be an 8 hour journey but would take us to within half an hour to the border crossing at Aduana and then into Costa Rica. After a quick bite to eat, with a beautiful kitten enjoying a little of Aaron’s left over fish, we tried to sleep for a few hours knowing that we had a very early start the next day.