A Final Score in Nicaragua

Our final two days in Nicaragua went so quickly!  Yesterday we let the torpor of the tropics have its way with us.  We were still in the beach town of San Juan del Sur so we slept in, spent a couple of hours ambling around the town from top to bottom and then returned to our lovely little posada in the afternoon for a dip in the pool and a looooooong siesta.  We woke in time to splurge on a grilled seafood platter at an oceanside restaurant at sunset and then it was time to take care of some unfinished business.  We still had the soccer ball we’d been carrying around with us since Granada.  We walked down a street on the outskirts of town and found a few kids playing soccer with a plastic handball.  When we presented them with the brand new soccer ball they thanked us quickly and then got down to the serious business of playing. Goaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

We wrapped up our night by hanging out in the small plaza in front of the church.  There was a wedding going on in the cathedral, a dj was spinning music out in front and in the plaza dozens of children were playing tag.  It was so beautiful to see kids playing outside instead of sequestered indoors in front of a computer or tv.  Sometimes, simple pleasures really are the best…

This morning we took two local buses for the return trip to Granada.  On one of the rides we met a lovely young Dutch couple, Mirta and Matthieu, who are traveling for four months through Central America. When we told them about TWB’s mission they said they hoped to buy a ball, give it to some kids and post the pictures on our fb page.  Thanks, Mirta and Matthieu — hope the rest of your journey is fantastic!  When we pulled in to Granada, our room at Patio del Malinche was waiting for us and we were greeted by Lidia and her staff with warm smiles and questions about how we had liked the rest of the country.  After we settled in we took a carriage ride around the town at dusk and then went to our favorite pizza joint, where the waiter, Jorge, remembered us from a week ago and gave us a hearty handshake.

Early tomorrow morning we fly to Costa Rica.  The next part of our journey will be quite different.  We’re renting a car there, which will allow us to get places more quickly, but I will miss the local buses — it’s such an intimate way to explore a country.  CR will also be much more expensive, so our dollars won’t go nearly as far.  Still it will be interesting to return to a country I visited over 20 years ago; to see what has changed and what remains the same.

Both William and I are sad to be saying goodbye to Nicaragua.  It is a beautiful country with incredible people.  Our hearts are filled with gratitude for all that we experienced here and all the beautiful people we met along the way.  We will MISS Nicaragua but we will remember it fondly and cherish our memories.  We hope to return one day.

Peace & Blessings,

Jan