Happy Freaking Birthday

This past Wednesday marked my twenty-third birthday and what better place to spend it than in Nicaragua, right? Well, I'll let you all be the judge of that after reading this post. My birthday started off like any other day here in Nica, I woke at the wee hours of the morning (well, at least for a 22 year old!) covered in a thick layer of sweat, and made my way to the internet cafe in the center of town for some coffee and connection to the world. After setting up my computer and ordering my usual Cafe Americano, I took a trip to the bathroom where I was treated to my first of several surprises of the day. As I was taking care of business, I felt something graze my backside and before I could make out what it was, a rat scurried through my legs and out of the toilet. After a few moments of screaming and trying to avoid the rodent, I grabbed my backpack and went back to my seat, finding myself alone in the cafe with no one to share my story with. Happy freaking birthday to me. Later on, I was welcomed by Allie and Jill, who, after a great amount of difficulty explaining (in Spanish) the concept of birthday candles, brought along one of my favorite banana-chocolate chip muffins with a large religious candle on the side (it was too big and dirty looking to put in my food, Allie explained).  

Later that day, Allie made sure that I was taken care of on my special day by taking me out to a delicious lunch and a great dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in town. We had practice where the girls decided to introduce me to a Nica tradition where the birthday girls gets a number of eggs broken on top of her head! We were doing a heading drill and when I went to demonstrate the other coach threw an egg instead of a ball as I was diving towards the goal - when I was on the ground the girls came over and showered me with 4 or 5 more! It was pretty hysterical and so much fun, but not exactly a tradition I plan on bringing back to the States..especially given how much I HATE having stuff in my hair haha. After practice the girls presented me with a poster that they had all signed and sung Feliz Cumpleanos to me. Then 3 of my favorite girls "took me" out for ice cream (I ended up paying because they couldn't afford it). After dinner we found ourselves ending the night playing all sorts of games at a bar downtown with a couple of Nicas, two Italian guys, and a couple of British people - pretty crazy combination of people! This weekend were going to a beach town in the south that is apparently a huge hotspot for big time surfers to carry on the celebration!

Thank you to everyone in the States who reached out to send me birthday wishes in whichever way possible - it always goes greatly appreciated!!! I know I don't make it easy running away to another country!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July and were able to celebrate Americanism a bit easier than we could down here!

And Off We Go!

This weekend began like all others, with a Saturday morning activity with the girls. We spent all week preparing for a Dia de Los Juegos with the girls, or the equivalent to "Field Day" in the States. We split the girls up into 2 teams, pink and green, and came up with 4 games followed but Capture the Flag and Tug of War. The girls were in great spirits, competing against and laughing with each other throughout the activities. As always, the egg toss and water balloon fights brought about the most laughs as the eggs broke all over our hands and shirts, and the water covered girls from head to toe.

After the activities, we were finally set free for the next couple of days, which we couldn't help but take full advantage of. Allie, Jill, and I set off to a city North of Granada called Matagalpa. This city, in the mountains of Nicaragua, is well-known for its production of both coffee and chocolate, two of our favorite things. Needless to say, it was trip that just could not be missed. After five hours or so spent bus-hopping, waiting along the side of the road, and running through more than a few above average puddles, we made it to our hostel, only to find out that we were going to be given the boot the next day in order to make room for a larger group (so much for reservations, right?). We were also quick to find out that the hostel was out of towels, leaving us to use a set of spare sheets to dry off from our showers.

After cleaning up (and sprucing up quite nicely if I do say so myself), we made our way to the highly recommended Mexican restaurant down the street that we had read so many great things about. We couldn't wait to relax, chow down on some chips and guacamole, and throw back a margarita or two after a long day of less than ideal traveling! We, once again, were disappointed by the restaurant's inability to live up to our expectations based on what we had heard, and the lack of any margs really added to our frustations. Instead of hanging our heads, we did what any hungry, unsatisfied young women would do and went for a second dinner at the yummiest Italian place around. After a fulfilling, but exhausting conversation about altruism, connections, our purpose in life, and anything else completely cliche yet right up our alley you could think of, we made our way out to a few places...and let's skip to the next morning!

On Sunday we made our way to one of the area's most famous coffee plantations where we rode horses around as we took a look at and got to learn about the coffee plants. The horses provided a great view of the plantation and of the mountainous area on which we were located. It was a great, relaxing ride (with a trot or two thrown in the mix), before we went back and enjoyed a cappuccino and two slices of cake, which were out of this world! In an unlikely but incredibly lucky run in with the owner, we came to find out that the plantation exported its coffee exclusively to the United States, and after asking about to which company (with little hope that we would be familiar with its destination), we found out that it we were sitting in the home of the suppliers to Whole Foods! Not soo shabby, eh?

After waiting on the roadside for a good amount of time, we managed to pick up a ride with a group of Nicaraguans passing by in their pickup truck (Mom cover your eyes!). We cruised down the mountain in the back of their truck as they provided us with drinks and entertainment. We learned that one of the men was about our age and was a scuba diver that traveled around (and kept saying lobster, so not sure where that was going), the woman in the car was his mother, and then we didn't find out all that much about the quiet driver and the man in the front seat dressed like he came straight from starring in a rodeo - cowboy boots, hat and all. Because they insisted, we joined them at a local restaurant/bar where they proceeded to buy us over $100 worth of drinks/food and went on to invite us to their home in the south of Nicaragua on an island where they have a boat and fish for a great deal of their food. Constantly (and I must admit, sadly) we questioned their intentions, skeptical of the Nicaraguans giving so much to a few strangers one random afternoon. We expected to have to pay some part of the bill, and feared a bit they might expect much worse out of us (though having a mother around definitely put our minds at peace), but were pleasantly and completely surprised to find out that they took care of every last bit of what was owed (and gave us the initial ride back to town) before we exchanged numbers and they left. Talk about a random act of kindness right?! We were then left to watch our beloved Spain lose to Brazil in the Confederation's Cup final amid a large number of Brazil supporters before we found a new hostel and passed out for the night.

The next morning, our final day in Matagalpa, we went on a brief trip to a famous chocolate farm (really only to snag a few chocolate bars to satisfy our hunger needs) before going to a stunning waterfall outside of the city. At the waterfall, called La Cascada Blanca, we met an intriguing couple who have been on a trip camping from Brazil up through Central America for the past month or so. We took pictures around the waterfall, played around in a cave set behind the water, and ate lunch as we admired our view. This little trip fittingly wrapped up a truly wonderful weekend full of exciting encounters, wild adventures, and most importantly, some delicious coffee and chocolate.

Well, this week is my birthday, so let's see what kind of great adventures we could come up with this time around!!

Nos vemos,
Leigh