WanderingWhy…

I am finding the hardest part of our trip so far is learning how to relax. Everyone who knows me knows that I have a hard time doing that anyway. On the way to the airport, my watch broke, and we did not have time to get a new band. Subsequently it is in the backseat of Cousin Bob’s car. Maybe that was a sign for me to just let go. So for two days I looked for a cheap watch at the market. Then I realized that my cell phone was still keeping local time. Now my cell phone has died and I need to recharge it. So right now I do not know what time it is. I am trying hard to accept that, but we are conditioned to be places at certain time, appointments need to be kept, dinner dates to keep on time. Now I have none of that. I am not sure even how long we are staying in our current hostel. What I do know is that old habits die hard, so I am trying to hurry up and relax.

Right now we are in Laguna de Apoyo in Nicaragua. It is a lake in a crater of a volcano. In the US this place would have condos, restaurants, and shops. Here it has two hostels and four restaurants and one little market that did not even have water. There are no ATMs, very little car traffic (in fact the roads are dirt). But what it does have is quiet. Total tranquility. There are howler monkeys all around, and if you have never heard them, they sound very scary. And if you get too close they will fling their poop on you. Seriously!

Our hostel is very nice, and the view is incredible. They have kayaks, and intertubes, and a floating dock. The water is very warm and soft from the sulfur from the volcano. We went kayaking twice yesterday, did some hiking, and relaxed. Last night we experienced our first scheduled Nicaraguan blackout. Every day the electricity goes out for a few hours all over the country because they do not have enough power. The times change per region every week. We did not feel the effects in Granada because our place had a generator. But here at 7pm the electricity went out for 3 hours. We had candles and headlamps because by 5:30pm it is already dark here. So we hung out, had a nice chat with a new friend from Vienna, and passed the time in a hammock. Not a bad way to spend the evening. And we get to do it again tonight.

We have met a lot of travellers, mostly from Canada and abroad. Not many Americans. But the caretakers at this hostel are from NYC. And they will be returning to the US next month. Any takers on their job? I am trying to talk Sean into it, but it is a little to early in our journey to sprout roots. Although this would be a beautiful place to work for 6 months.

Bookmark To: