Nicaragua Adventures #6: Down on the Farm
Welcome Back My Farming Passengers:
I loved this gal. She had a produce stand on the side of the road between Rancho Santana and Iguana and we stopped there twice to get fresh, locally grown produce. She didn’t speak any English and I really struggled with my Spanish so I resorted to pointing and having Christy help with the translation each time. She was so lovely and agreed to take this super cute pic that makes me so happy to look at. Finn and Ivana stopped by one day after I left which I absolutely love.
We started the day with torrential rain which I thought was going to be very interesting for Finn who planned to spend the morning working at Quinta Malibu Popoyo.
Finn brought their hiking boots, a water bottle, and a light rain coat, all which ended up being useful during the two hours they spent removing the flowers from basil and picking it for the restaurant at Malibu Popoyo (Christy’s friend Jade owns the farm and the resort) as well as others like Casa Ananas, the restaurant we ate dinner at on Monday night (pictures further down).
We brought it back after it was picked and the truck smelled so good.
Once we left the gates of Iguana, we were in rural Nicaragua with pigs and cows and chickens wandering the road. We had to wait for this one to cross the road before we could drive on. This one might have been within the gates based on the condition of the road the the fence and trees.
We saw this proud cow who seriously didn’t have any f#$%s to give.
And this pig must have had some fun in the mud based on its two-tone color scheme. And yes, that’s a chicken just wandering around. These guys were definitely outside the gates, just hanging out alongside the main road between Iguana and Malibu Popoyo.
I thought it might be helpful to get a sense of where all of these places are. Iguana is where we stayed with Christy. Yesterday’s post was on Rancho Santana which is north of Iguana. And then the farm and Malibu Popoyo are north of there.
We had a break in the weather when we got to the farm and the sky was gorgeous until it wasn’t.
Christy and I set up shop under this overhang as we waited for Finn.
Christy was working on retreat logistics and I was getting my docs ready for my trip home including scheduling the required Covid test to get into the US. There was no wifi so I was grateful for the $10/day international access through Verizon. There were spots that it didn’t work in Costa Rica but I was fine in Nicaragua.
Finn went off with Eliezar to work with the basil in between torrential downpours. He wanted Finn to get out of the rain to avoid getting sick. Christy said it was a local supserstition. At first, Finn went under cover because he asked Finn to and then because it was raining so hard. Eliezar worked on his English and Finn worked on their Spaniish.
Finn was all smiles once they were done and I was a frizzy hot mess. But not for long.
We debated whether to take the beach road to Malibu Popoyo or the regular road and opted for the regular one so we wouldn’t get stuck in the sand. We cooled off in the air conditioned truck as we traveled the 15–20 minutes to the eco-resort where we were greeted with this beautiful view.
We had the place to ourselves until two guys from New York showed up to lay by the pool (in the shade) as they waited for their surf lesson.
How do I know they were from New York you might ask? We got to talking (might have been once the rain started again) and we got their story and I asked what they did for a living. Can’t remember what Garrett did (he’s originally from DC) but Miles works for Ogilvy and I know folks in the Ogilvy New York office. Turns out Miles does too so we took this picture and I sent it to Ritesh commenting on how small the world really is. Yes we connected on LinkedIn.
After lunch (I had fish tacos yet again) and some cold beer, as we waited for Finn’s Spanish lesson with Harold, I got into the pool.
Eventually I order a margarita and then another as Christy and I chatted by the pool. It was a deep conversation that required margaritas. These were perfect margaritas other than I was stressed about drinking out of glass poolside.
I totally leaned until relaxing while at Malibu Popoyo but only after taking some pictures of the property. This is the view from the restaurant and I loved the architecture.
This is the cozy area in the restaurant that looks through the hole in the last picture. While I was tempted to hang out here and catch up on blog posts, I opted for the pool.
The resort grounds were lovely and we were surprised that Miles and Garrett were the only guests. Christy’s friend Tito manages the place and when we left we had a chance to say goodbye since it was unlikely I would see him before I left (I didn’t).
One more picture of the pool from another angle. I could have stayed there a week. It’s a bit off the beaten path but close to the beach and the food was fantastic.
This was the mural in the women’s bathroom.
This too was in the bathroom. Cute way to get the message across.
Finn and Harold took over the cozy corner for Finn’s Spanish lesson that went nearly two hours. He charged $8/hour which is insane. He’s been meeting Finn in Iguana so Christy doesn’t have to drive Finn for the lessons. He was lovely.
Christy ended up sharing Nica tourist info with Miles and Garrett. (I shared my sunscreen) She is so generous in sharing what she knows and loves about her adopted country. My hope is that they share what she is doing with the folks in the Ogilvy office and start hiring her to do retreats with her company, Venture-Within.
On the way back, we saw more pigs and if you look closely at the folks on the motorcycle, there are two adults and in the blanket was a very young baby.
Speaking of babies, this chicken had a bunch of chicks with her and we were nervous about them running into the road. And yes, this is the main road…all dirt…and super bumpy.
I’ll leave you with one last picture from that day. This is the guard house at the golf condos where Christy lives. They were adding tiles to the top of the building and the guy on the ground was throwing them up to the guy on the roof who then placed along the roof spine. This took talent. Crazy.
I lied. Here’s the second to last picture which was from dinner that night at Casa Ananas. We went out with Terra who not only had read my book, but has the only spa in Iguana (Pure Spa which is next door to the restaurant and I had a fabulous massage there the following day).
The basil on the linguine carbonara was picked by Finn earlier that day at Quinta Malibu Popoyo. Gotta love it!
And that’s it for that day, Monday, June 7th. We ended it sitting on the back balcony looking up at the stars and watching the electrical storm in the distance. Nature’s fireworks.
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: Down on the Farm by Tim McGraw
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