Nicaragua Adventures #3: PYL In-Flight (Jun 3, 2021)
Welcome Back My Bucolic Passengers:
My husband Zeke is slightly confused by the posts since I am a few days behind on sharing our adventures. Fortunately the last two days were pretty basic but Monday was amazing as we ventured out of the paradise bubble (as Finn calls it) to see the countryside.
Most of the roads are not paved and it’s not unusual to see cows, pigs, chickens, and horses either in the road or on the side of the road either tied to a tree or running (grazing) loose.
Christy said that a lot of the locals live off the land and can’t afford to feed the animals so they tie them up outside their places to give them access to grass. And yes, we did see a chicken cross the road.
Christy continued to point out where bridges were washed out, houses flooded and in some cases, were completely destroyed by hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020. There are trees that traveled distances in the waves of mud and water. We’d made a small donation to support the hurricane relief efforts so Christy took us to where that donation went.
As we drove through the small villages and saw the produce stands, simple structures, laundry hung to dry on clothes lines, and outdoor kitchens, I was reminded of many parts of Mexico that I’ve visited. In Mexico I saw more cinder block buildings and stray dogs. I should have gotten pictures of multiple people, adults and children, on motorcycles. It was not unusual to see up to four people on a single motorcycle or scooter.
One of Christy’s friends has a finca (farm) called La Quinta at Malibu Popoyo where Finn will work a few times starting next week.
There we met Eliezar and he walked us through the gardens and learned the Spanish names for the herbs and plants. They focus on sustainable farming and he is going to teach permaculture to Shea and Maria at another place we visited while out exploring the countryside. We are working on getting Finn over to their property to participate in that. More in a sec.
We purchased herbs (mint, lavendar, rosemary, culantro, thyme) from Eliezar and 8 pounds of frozen mango which we used for mango/ginger margaritas last night. Mango + ginger + tequila = deliciousness.
Culantro isn’t cilantro but it’s similar enough that we put it in the slaw we prepared last night for our poke bowl dinner along with carrots and green onions and freshly squeezed lime. We are starting to make a dent in the 10 pounds of fresh tuna we got on Tuesday. The chicken we purchased (and had delivered) went into the freezer; we’ve got to eat the tuna before it goes bad.
We stopped for lunch at Mag Rock and while the food wasn’t great, the view was spectacular and well worth stopping for. We’d been driving for a while on dusty roads and the breeze and sea air were refreshing (as was the beer at lunch).
Christy said that this is beginners bay for those who want to learn how to surf. The surf near us is for more advanced surfers and it’s fairly dangerous to swim in the ocean so besides putting our feet in the water at sunset, we’ve not ventured into the ocean. We may try boogie boarding over the weekend.
After lunch, we went to Shea and Maria’s place, Tierra Nahua, to buy some tahini so we can make hummus. Check out their Facebook page.
From their page: Tierra Nahua is a small family business that was born from the inspiration to live in a natural and sustainable way. Our houses are built it from natural resources like coconut fiber and earth. The roof of all our houses are made with the traditional rancho.
We had a lovely conversation with them as their two small children played the drums and guitar located on the counter and built with blocks on the ground.
This is where we learned about the private permaculture class they are taking from Eliezar and I asked if Finn could join them even though it was going to be in Spanish. They said yes and even offered to translate. They are going to work on building a compost toilet so fingers crossed Finn gets to help them. Their property is about a 5 minute walk from the finca. I will be going with Finn and Christy on Monday to learn more.
We got back and I think we enjoyed time in the pool before going down to watch the sun set. We made it in plenty of time to get the 3x2 happy hour special at Pili’s. Christy continued to introduce us to her friends and we sat on the stairs in front of Mike’s house as shown in the picture above. His friend Martin came in from surfing and we later saw him and Mike at dinner where we learned he was from Potola Valley.
But that wasn’t the end of the small world in Nicaragua experience. We had dinner at Casa Ananas, an amazing Italian restaurant that I hope we go back to again and someone overheard me mentioning Redwood City as I was talking to Martin at another table.
The guy said he was from Redwood City and the guy at the table next to us said he was from San Carlos. As this guy in the picture (Jon)was leaving we learned he was not just from Half Moon Bay, but from El Granada and knows our good friends Oliver and Lele. I had to take a pic and send it to them. So random.
I will leave you with this picture of Finn in their happy place on the hammock.
And a picture of my happy place out on the back balcony, feet up on the railing, looking out over the golf course. I start my day here with blue skies, clouds and sunshine and end my day looking at the stars in the sky and the lightening in the distance. It doesn’t get old.
Right now Christy is making us poke bowls for lunch (so yummy!) before we go to Pili’s for the afternoon to strategize about where she wants to take her business, Venture-Within. There could be worse places to think big and dream bigger.
Hasta luego, mis amigos and amigas.
With much love and gratitude,
Terri
P.S. Take the controls and be the pilot in your own life. It’s a beautiful day to fly, and you are cleared for takeoff.
Song: In a Big Country by Big Country
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