THANKS!

Thanks to all the new friends we met on this trip for making it a
truely unforgetable experience! Especially our scuba instructor for
helping us fulfill a dream, Gretty @ Casa Iguana for being such a
gracious host, the "bartender" at Casa Guana for turning us on to Vic-
Tona (YEAH!), Walker The Wonderdog for guiding us to our casita on
those dark jungle nights, Manfred for building an oasis in his back
yard, and Sofie & Kim, our kindred spirits from Belgium.

Also, thanks to our friends and family for tuning into our travel blog
and inspiring us to tell the tales of travel.

Till next time!
Dave & Bo

Home Sweet Home!

The flight from Miami to JFK was (thankfully) the only one pn our trip
not delayed. We landed in plenty of time to get settled in and enjoy a
half-day at the office.

Dinner in Miami

This was the (unintended) last dinner of our trip. American Airlines
paid for our hotel in Miami. Going from lobster to soup-in-a-cup was
an awkward transition, but we made the best of it!

DENIED!

Our American Airlines flight from Managua was over 2 hours delayed,
making it impossible to complete this leg of our journey.

The irony is this: We spent five days trekking through the roughlands
of Nicaragua, only to be kidnapped in Miami.

Trail of the Dead

We're making our way back to Managua from Big Corn. Things will have
to run like clockwork in order for us to make it back to New York on
time... and our 1st plane is already running a bit behind.

Last Lagostas

Bo & I had a competition to see how many lobsters we could eat in one
day.

Bo: 7.5
Dave: 5.5

Porch view from Casa #4

La Piscina Infinity

Last Night in Nicaragua

We're spending our last night in Nicaragua on Big Corn island. We
started out at Anastasias By the Sea, but the room wasn't quite what
we had in mind for our last night, so we kicked it up a notch and went
to Casa Canada. Hot water, A/C, wooden roof, king size bed, and "the
only infinity pool on the island" had us sold. It was a whopping $85
per night, but worth every penny.

Sophie & Kim

We had a great time hanging out with you guys! We're looks g forward
to a rendezvous in Belgium soon. You have friends in New York anytime
you decide to visit.

Keep in touch!

Ayuda Se

We met a couple of friends (Kim & Sophie from Belgium) for dinner at
small Cuban restaurant, then got a bottle of rum at this shop to take
back to their place. After some slight translation difficulties, the
shopkeeper told Bo to come back and help herself to whatever she wanted.

Diving Shark Hole

After completing 2 hours of instruction and shallow water diving, we
were ready for the real thing. A 30 minute rocky boat ride led us 40
feet down to an underwater coral garden.

Parts 1&2 of PADI Certification: Completed.

Thanks Dive Little Corn!

Roughing it in Little Corn

After 2 days if deet and saltwater, it was time for a nice scrub in
our state-of-the-art, cold-water-only shower:

World's Greatest Cup of Coffee

This is just local coffee... "nothing special", they say. The best
dang cup I've ever had.

Bushman

Nicaragua is a funny place where local dogs act as guides to the
beach. Bushman, The Dictator (extraordinarily bossy dog), was ours.

Tin. Roof. Rusted.

We got a 5am wakeup call from the rain pounding our thin tin roof.
From our pillows, we were welcomed with a tropical rainstorm being
overshadowed by a miraculous sunrise. There's something
special...almost spiritual about this place.

Casita #12

The other side of this little jem faces the ocean.

Casa Iguana

Soon as we landed on Big Corn, we took a small 25min boatride to
Little Corn ($7), then took a 15min hike through the jungle (there are
no roads, thus no cars) to a little village called Casa Iguana. There,
we lucked out and found an amazing little casita (#12) just in time
to grab a couple of cold cervezas and catch the sunset.

Check out the view from our little porch!

Apple Juice and Cookies.

Pollo Plane?

Turns out, the only chickens on the plane were us! It was actually
quite nice on the inside. We had a stewardess who served us apple
juice and chocolate cookies.

All Aboard!

This jalopie should get us to (Big) Corn Island in less than an hour
and a half.

Sappo Grande!

Back on Track!

We're on our way to the "pollo plane"!
Ana(?) picked us up at the hotel and took us to a local market to do
some shopping before making it to the airport. (I sooo didn't pick my
dad up a box of Cuban's.) Bo bought a Sappo Grande (big stuffed frog).

Ana, thanks for the ride! You have friends in New York anytime you
decide to visit.

Authentic Dining @ ElGarabato's

Manfred suggested we eat here last night for an authentic Nucaraguan
meal. It was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel, and some of the
best Latin food we've ever had. One dish was wrapped in plaintain
leaves and we had to squeeze it out like toothpaste....YUM!

Meet Manfred!

Manfred picked us up from the airport at the last minute and took us
to his hotel, "Las Pyramides". Along the way, he gave us a personal
perspective into the Nicaraguan way of life. His kindness (and amazing
hotel) turned our layover in Miami into a blessing.

Managua Airport

They even have a welcoming committee!

View From Above

First thing we noticed while flying into Managua was the lack of tall
buildings. From what we can tell, noting stood more than a couple
stories high.

Going homeless to Managua!

Our origional plan was to take a small "pollo plane" from Managua to
Big Corn Island, then a boat to Little Corn. Looks like we're held
over in Miami, which will make us miss the last shot out of Managua.
Fortunately, we heard about this guy, Manfred, who runs a small hotel
in a "hip" area of town. With a bit of luck we should have a roof over
our heads before nightfall :)

See you there!

4:30 Wake Up Call

We fought to get up, but made it to the airport in good time. The next
9 hours will certainly be an adventure: 2 trains, 3 planes, 2 cars, 1
boatride, and an hour-long hike through the jungle lie ahead...

Here's The Plan:

Bo and I buy a tourguide book (We recommend Hunter Travel Guides for this one), do a couple clicks of basic research, and jet to a remote island off the coast of Nicaragua for 5 days. Hotel reservations? Nah, we'll wing it and see what happens. We're aiming for a beach bungalow on Little Corn Island, which apparently has no roads. It does, however, have "glowing" spiders, boa constrictors, and an hour-long jungle hike to get to our hut. Wifi? We're not sure, but we'll update this blog as often as possible.

Enjoy!
Bo & Dave