Home for a rest:)

We are heading home for a rest after our amazing Nica adventure! Unfortunately I wasn't able to update my blog from Nica but now you can check out the blog updates for the complete play by play and photos. Nica was more than we could have imagined and we feel like we were away for months as there was so much to see and do while we were there. We will be returning again for sure...

Feliz Navidad!

Sara:)

Final Nica Update: Las Penitas

The boys getting ready at sunrise for their big fishing trip...ate well for the next couple of nights!!
Playing in the sea all day...
Seriously?
Kayaking up the mangrove estuary at sunrise...
Bird in flight...they were always one step ahead of my camera!

Fantastic sunsets every night...

Orange tree at C&P's...

Another sunset at the rocks...

Our Nica 'family'...Cathy with baby Sarita and older sister Jexira...
Sweet Jexira...
Sunset on the deck...
Action packed tree falling session. Brought down a giant 100year old rubber tree with only a machette, an axe and a rope...yeehaw!
View of estuary from the deck...

26 babies to be released at sunset! Cutest thing I have ever seen...
Reserve area where turtle eggs are relocated and watched around the clock...


A sand tortuga...

Oh Las Penitas...the final leg of our Nica journey...we finally arrive at the Pacific for some beach time! We had a fantastic time hanging out with friends Cathy & Peter and Leno. A quiet fishing village that only get's going on weekends when the locals come to the coast for a day at the beach, Las Penitas is a gem...Highlights:

• Staying at Qtr Sarita's (Cathy and Peters big green house)...daily orchestra of chickens, piggies, bats, and songbirds...limes right from the tree...sunrise and sunset views from the deck.
  





• Kayaking up the mangrove estuary within the protected reserve...hundreds of birds including white and blue herons...2 aligator sightings!! 18kms of undeveloped sandy beach...





• Surfing and body surfing in the warm pacific ocean for hours each day...I still have sand in my hair:)





• Delicious meals at Casa Patricias...giant bowls of fresh fruit and fluffy pancakes...fresh fish from the sea...fresh squeezed pinapple and grapefruit juices every day...we were seriously spoiled and took a break from rice and beans while we could...




• Long beach walks...endless beach means endless beachcombing every day.




• Bike ride with Cathy on the road to Leon...great ride to the farm lookout!




• Visit to see the baby tortugas at the reserve across the river...26 babies were ready to go the day we went for a look...they hold them until sunset and then release them into the sea.




• Just hanging out in the hammock reading and visiting with our friends...a great way to end a fantastic adventure.

Nica Update #6: City of Leon

The local Nica gym...reminding me of my fitness dreams to look like this babe with Arnold...
Angels at sunrise...

Colourful, spanish style streets...
Central Park, with Lions for 'Leon' of course...

Next we were off to Leon for an overnight before heading to the beach to visit our friends in Las Penitas. Leon and Granada are similar cities with similar architecture and timelines in history, however, they have evolved into unique cities over the years. Leon has a very liberal political and social history and is home to the University. Although Leon has many similar grand cathedrals and buildings as Granada, it has not received the same foreign investors and thus has not received the updates, renovations and fresh pain that the city of Granada is blessed with. Here is the untouched version of Nicas colonial past...We stayed at a good hostel/hotel that is affiliated with Oasis-Lazy Bones was a comfortable place to stay with all the fixins we needed...and a pool to cool off in:)

Nica update #5: Masaya Market & Volcano

View from the craters edge of Volcan Masaya...
Amazing scenery as we walked the rim of this crater...
Stairs took us to a viewing point above the active crater and the third crater...The Spanish placed crosses at the edge of all craters when they arrived in the Americas because the believed that volcanos were the entrance to hell...makes sense...
Sulfer or something else toxic burning out my nose and sinus cavities...
Snake crossing??

Heading to Masaya via Expresso bus...the best way to travel! Sights at the bus depot...gotta get a chicken home? What's a girl to do?
Looks calm enough...should have added a video of this scene to give you a real taste...with smells too...2.5hours of torture...'POLLO! POLLO! ARROZ! ARROZ! GASEOSAS! AMIGA! AMIGA!
Mercado in Masaya...pinatas are huge at Christmas...
Hmmm...rice or beans?

We ended up visiting the area of Masaya twice on our trip-once on our way to Las Penitas and once on our way back to the airport. Masaya is a pretty big city of over 150,000 and offers the best markets in Nica-for locals and tourists alike. You can find absolutely anything you need and plenty of stuff you absolutely don't need in these markets:) We brought a few key souvenirs home but none of them are dust collectors and I am sure they will all be eaten or drunk before we are too far into 2008...In addition to the lively (and stinky) markets we checked out a lively (and stinky) volcano- Volcan Masaya which is within a national park and contains...get this...3 craters!! With one very active crater, this was a must see...burnt the inside of my nose and I am still dealing with the painful aftermath...but it was definately worth it! We were pleasantly suprised by the high standards of protection, staffing, signage and information presented in this park-just like a national park at home! Except for the snake and armadillo crossings! No bears or elk here...

Nica Update #3: SJDS and the night of the Turtles!

San Juan at sunset...soccer game on the beach...

She was massive...
Brad gets up close and personal with the video camera on night shot...stay tuned for the u-tube video...
Her eggs...they are the size of golf balls with a flexible leathery shell...
This would never happen in a protected area in Canada...

Filling in her nest with sand...
Back to the sea she goes...

Unreal national geographic experience in San Juan Del Sur (SJDS)! Came from Ometepe to this beach town that is probably the most touristy that we have seen in Nica so far...but that really isn't saying much as we have not seen more than a handfull of travellers. The cruise ships stop here and wisk away cruisers to local markets so this spot is hitting the raidar with Americans. Surf town with a few surf beaches in the surrounding areas and your basic needs are met including internet, good accomodation, good food options and even a bar or two. We only stayed one night as we are not here to party or rub shoulders with yankees and we were only here for one reason...the Tortugas!! The turtles come to shore to lay their eggs each year at a protected beach area-La Flor which is about an hour on a bumpy dirt road (which road aren't bumpy). So we hired a guide with another couple-brother and sister from Colorado and made our way at night on a crazy safari truck to the park...the visit was from 8:00-12:00midnight as this is the only time to view the turtles in their natural habitat...to avoid predators. Stay tuned for a little video of the action...amazing experience and not one we will soon forget...Only this past year have the turtles been protected as they have entered the list of endangered species. But, the harvesting, selling and eating of turtle eggs has been a way of life for the Nica people for hundreds of years and there is much conflict regarding this current situation. Tough one... Here are the highlights of SJDS:

• El Puerto-good accomodation, patio view of town, clean, coffee and cookies in the morning! $25per night for private with bath...


• Tortugas for sure! Check out the pics of this amazing national geo experience...After making it all the way to shore, digging a deep nest, laying 100-150 eggs, packing it back up with sand, struggling back to the sea the eggs incubate for 45-60 days and the babies break free to the surface...only the strong survive and the lucky ones make their way to the sea for a shot at life...

Even more pics from Ometepe

Map of Ometepe Island...
Volcan Conception...had been active and blowing ash for 4 days!
Rush hour on Ometepe...

Brad and our guide Felix on the way up Volcan Maderas...local petroglyphs...
Frijoles plantations (red beans)...
The best view of Ometepe...looking down from Maderas over to Volcan Concepcion...
The jungle mist...
Brad goes for a dip in the crater lagoon!