Nicaragua 08 Day One

Sorry, but it'll take me a few days to get this trip blogged. Think of it as a mini series. I'm sure you'll be on the edge of your seat.


Travel Day

You can't go on this trip without first signing your very own passport. Not everyone gets to do this on Daddy's messy desk...


This trip contains many firsts for Julianna and she had compiled quite a list of possibilities. The obvious ones that came true were:
first airplane flight, first trip out of country and first trip to beach. She had also hoped for others, like first horse ride, that just didn't come to pass. Others occurred that she hadn't planned on but enjoyed very much such as first ride in bed of a pick-up truck (yeehaw!), first mosquito ride(more on this later) and first boogie board ride.


Julianna and Bethany got thier wings from the ticket counter.


Had to touch base with Mom from the first plane (Yeah baby, we got a window seat!). Actually thanks to cell phones it was much easier to keep in touch throughout the trip this year. In years past it required special trips to an internet cafe to make calls to the states, but now this part of Nicaragua is covered by 3G networks and it is very reasonable for locals to call the states. US roaming fees are ridiculous, but there were plenty of church members who allowed us to borrow phones. They are all pay as you go, so we just added the minutes we needed plus a bit more and everyone was happy.


Julianna learned her way around the airport really quickly, or at least she learned to just follow the pack.

Moving walkways (or runways) are great entertainment, especially your first time. Who can fault a kid for this? Besides, it helped pass the layover time.


Still chugging along after dark in Nicaragua.

The local minister, since there had been some recent reports of wrong doings to Americans in the area, asked the Chief of Police of Diriamba what it might cost for a police officer to ride on our bus back from Managua. The Chief said no problem, I'd be glad to, and brought a pick-up full of big gun-toting officers as police escort for the hour and a half drive. Some thought they just wanted a reason to get to the big city for the evening.

And finally we made it to the hotel. It was really nice especially for the area. We had a A/C window unit (knobs were all missing, but I've used pliers before), cable TV (we turned it on the night we arrived and never did again. I was looking forward to reruns in spanish, but didn't find the time.), and occasional hot running water (occasionally hot and occasionally running). Yes, that is a shotgun in the guard's lap behind Julianna. I don't think she ever noticed...

Stay tuned.