Granada to Rivas to San Juan del Sur to Playa Hermosa

Beach cows on Playa Hermosa

To catch one of the chicken buses leaving Granada, you first have to make your way through the busy street market. It's dirty and crowded but I think if we had more time I would have enjoyed wandering around its stalls. When we got to the bus headed to Rivas, it was empty and we waited about an hour before it left. There is a schedule for the buses but we were always early for everything because we were paranoid about missing the bus!

Standing room only on this chicken bus...and lots of sweat...from me

If you've never been on a chicken bus in Central America, here are a few things I have learned:
1. If you can determine which side the sun will be shining on the bus, sit on the opposite side,
2. Sit near the back if you can. These buses do not follow the "stay behind the yellow line" sign that is posted prominently on all yellow school buses and they do not have a definition for "full". There will be at least 2 people in each seat and during busy times, the entire aisle will be full of people as well. The bus will stop many times before you reach your destination. Dropping people (and sometimes full mattresses and bed frames strapped to the roof) off and picking up additional passengers. If you plan on staying on the bus until it reaches its destination (in this case, Rivas), sitting in the back will be less hectic.
3. Go to the bathroom before you get on the bus!
4. People will get on the bus regularly selling snacks and drinks. I don't trust drinks in plastic bags with a straw sticking out, so I always make sure to bring water. Sometimes the food they sell is pretty good but I prefer getting something from a street vendor beforehand...it's usually fresher.

We were on the bus for several hours before reaching Rivas and by the time we arrived I was tired, hot, sweaty and worst of all: I had to pee so bad it hurt. Several people directed us to the public restroom but we passed it and walked in a giant circle until some kind bicycle taxi guy led us there and pointed it out. 5 Cordoba later (for toilet paper, the urinal was only 3) and I was a happy Brandy. We caught the next bus for San Juan del Sur (standing room only by the time we got on) and marveled at the beautiful landscape from Rivas to SJDS.

San Juan del Sur

In San Juan del Sur, we immediately headed straight for the ocean. We spoke to two hotels, side by side, and chose the one that gave us a room with an ocean view balcony for $20/night with breakfast (the other was $80/night). The Hotel Estrella has a surly staff but it was worth it for the price and the view. Lonely Planet and Frommer's say it's derelict but compared to most places we have seen, it was just fine. Don't take their advice for dinner though! They directed us to the expensive, bland restaurants on the water and the next day we found much better food just a few streets away. Ryan ordered the lobster ($8 for lobster?! Holy crap!) but was very upset when it arrived and the 4 lobster tails were undersized. We looked online and found this article from 2002 that discusses how Nicaraguans are risking their lives to find lobsters for tourists and with little regulation, are overfishing the reefs. Ryan has been going to the Keys for lobstering with his family his whole life, so he knows an undersized lobster when he sees it. This is very unsustainable and I urge you to not be tempted by the cheap lobster if you head to Nicaragua!

San Juan del Sur

The turn off to Playa Hermosa

The next day, we contacted Playa Hermosa Beach Hotel to make a reservation. Transfer from SJDS is included in the price of the room ($50/night...our big splurge!) as well as breakfast. The ride to Playa Hermosa makes you realize how remote it is and as we bumped along the unpaved roads through the forest (over more than a few creeks with running water and no bridge) a slight panic set in. I'm so used to having the freedom to drive/walk/bike anywhere, at any time. Being "stuck" out in the middle of nowhere kind of freaks me out but once we reached the water, that feeling mostly dissipated. Ryan rented a surfboard and gave me a kiss before running directly to the main reason to visit Playa Hermosa: the surf! Side note: I asked Ryan for some cool surfing terminology to use here and he just made fun of me and told me to use "the tubular tubes" and the "righteous waves". Jerk.

Playa Hermosa

I made friends with the beachside bartender, Manuel, and got frustrated at all of the words I don't know in Spanish. Being such an active conversationalist (big mouth) it is unbelievably infuriating not being able to communicate effectively! I can take care of the easy stuff like ordering food, asking how much stuff is, etc...but actual conversation? I'm screwed! Eventually I gave up and took to reading on the beach (Divergent Trilogy completed during this week).

Playa Hermosa

 That evening we enjoyed some of the best food we had during our trip and a romantic walk on the beach....awww. In the morning, we explored the beach together and witnessed the majesty of the beach cows. Sporadically throughout the day, these four cows would come from the forest and take romantic beach walks of their own. They were very curious about us but maintained their distance and eventually meandered back into the forest.

Trying not to scare off the beach cows

When we got back to the hotel, we were shown some baby sea turtles that had been rescued by the hotel, I even got to hold one! Apparently, the hotel decided to take a unique approach to sea turtle egg poachers who would sell the eggs to restaurants. From their website: Most areas of Nicaragua have problems with egg poachers. Even though the sale of turtle eggs is illegal in most parts of the country, the black market is alive and well and unfortunately, restaurants all over the country still serve the eggs. After several attempts were made to stop the poachers, the owners of Playa Hermosa Beach Hotel decided to use a different strategy. Rather than treating the thieves as thieves, they basically gave them the job of harvesting the turtle eggs and paid them a good sum to give the eggs to the hotel. The staff then puts the eggs in holes in a fenced-in and guarded hatchery where the baby turtles have all the time they need to hatch and grow.

This is up there with the finch eating out of my hand in Paris!!

After our animal adventures, it was time to leave Playa Hermosa but it was hard to say goodbye to such a peaceful and beautiful place. There are tourists who make day trips here but before they arrive and after they've gone, it's a quiet and incredible slice of heaven!

Arriving in Nicaragua

Famous Cathedral of Granada that you'll see on every postcard

Forget everything you've heard about Nicaragua! Unless you've heard that the people are kind, helpful and genuine and there is an overwhelming sense of community and camaraderie usually only found in small towns in the Midwest!

We absolutely loved the time we spent in Nicaragua even though we had a bit of a bumpy start: the driver who was supposed to pick us up from the airport in Managua at 12:30 am never showed and we didn't know how to get to our Airbnb lodging in Granada, about an hour away! Our phones did not work, there was no WiFi and there are no public phones in the Managua airport.

Instead of panicking, we accepted the $35 cab ride from one of the many taxi drivers waiting outside of the airport and except for a brief moment (where we exchanged psychic thoughts that we were being driven to a remote killing site...the drive from Managua to Granada can seem that way at 2 am) we had a lovely ride and our cab driver was super friendly and chipper. When we arrived in Granada, we drove to the street where our Airbnb lodging was located, according to the confirmation email I had saved on my phone. Unfortunately, this did not include a street address and none of the (many) people on the street knew where it was! Luckily, our friend the cabbie did not tire of asking people for help and the people of Granada did not tire of helping us. We ended up in a beautiful, clean space with a kitchen and dining area for $20 and the front desk guy sleepily accepted that we only had $15 left in cash and would pay him the remaining $5 in the morning. Side Note: Almost everywhere we went accepted USDs but you can sometimes get a better price in cordobas.

Beautiful courtyard at OK Corral on Calle St. Lucia in Granada

Note the open air concept...Ryan thought ninja robbers would sneak in and attack us while we slept

Kitchen at OK Corral

The next morning, we walked up and down the street and could NOT find where our Airbnb spot was! We took a break to grab some breakfast at Pan de Vida, whose outside sign proclaimed Sunday to be Cinnamon Bun Sunday...easy decision. Unfortunately, their internet was down, so after scarfing down delicious buns and coffee, we headed to The Garden Cafe for some internet and a chat with a US man who had been living in Granada for the past month. The WiFi worked just long enough to pull up a photo of our Airbnb house and this was enough to find it! Hooray!! Our host was so apologetic and absolutely mortified that the mix up had occurred and refunded our money for the night we missed and the second night as well. I loved Casa Jardines and the host has a dog and a cat who allowed me to pet them, so I was in heaven. Crazy cat/dog lady.

Pixel the Cat hunting ghosts

Our host arranged for a driver to bring us to Laguna de Apoyo, a lake situated in a crater on Apoyo Volcano. We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing at The Monkey Hut which was nice for an hour, but we had arranged with our driver to pick us up 4 hours later! I'm too antsy for that, I should have known better :) Note to self: When you only have a week in Nicaragua, do less relaxing by lakes and more exploring volcanoes and artisan markets. If you ask the locals for things to do, they will point you here because it is absolutely beautiful and it's what all the other tourists do.

Trying to sit still

Laguna de Apoyo...and a bunch of tourists

We're IN the volcano?!

Corn tortillas with cheese in the batter...yum

That evening we took a stroll in the Parque Central...for exactly 10 minutes and then it started pouring! We knew it was the rainy season but somehow were always shocked when it started raining. We enjoyed 4 corn tortilla things with cheese mixed in the batter and cooked street side for about $.50 before heading to the nearest restuarant for a Nicaraguan staple: gallo pinto. Basically beans and rice.

Walking to Lake Nicaragua

Our new friends are on the left

The next morning, we walked down to Lake Nicaragua and made friends with a local man playing fetch with his dog in the water. At one point, the man took off running after the dog was pretty far out in the water. Thinking I know everything, I immediately thought, "How sad, he must be abandoning the dog". I watched as the dog grew frantic and swam as fast as she could to the shore before running into the street to find her human friend. A local policeman tried to explain to me that they were playing but my Spanish is terrible (Ryan was further away looking at rocks or reading or something) and so I didn't really understand until the man came out of a bush and reunited with the dog in a collision of happiness. The man, who I suspected might be homeless, came up to us and struck up a conversation. My guard went up and I waited for the inevitable ask for money that usually accompanies unsolicited new friendships. Don't get me wrong, I love a new friend but my cynicism has grown over the years as I have learned that strangers don't usually come up to you unless they want something. This man only wanted to introduce himself, ask our names and where we were from and tell us that he had family members living all over the US. He told us about his dog and that she had recently had puppies. He then wished us a good day and went back to throwing sticks for his dog. Lesson learned?: Yes, you have to be careful of strangers but stop being such a judgmental jerk.

After Nicaragua had renewed our faith in humanity for the millionth time since we arrived, we went back to Casa Jardines to pack our little backpacks and head to the market to catch our chicken bus to Rivas.

Gorgeous Casa Jardines

If only I could make this happen at Casa Brandy and Ryan

Packing for Nicaragua/Avoiding Spirit's Luggage Fees

4 years ago

As mentioned in this previous post, we are going to Nicaragua next week to celebrate four years of mawwiage. We have a rule that for each anniversary, we have to travel somewhere we haven't been before. Year 1: Brunswick/Jekyll Island/St. Simon's Island, GA, Year 2: Cape Haze, FL, Year 3: Charleston and Beaufort, SC, Year 4: Nicaragua!!! 

We only have our first 2 nights planned (staying in Granada at an Airbnb place) and we will figure out the rest when we get there. This is my favorite way to travel because sometimes you think you need 3 days in a place and when you get there you discover that 3 hours is just fine (Copan Ruinas, Honduras for example).  

This week we have the challenge of paring down our luggage to fit into two small backpacks. We want to avoid paying carryon fees on Spirit and to make our lives easier as we will be using a lot of public transportation (chicken buses). It's really not as difficult as I thought it'd be and helps me to focus. It's so easy to overpack for all of those "just in case" scenarios but ultimately, all of that stuff just weighs you down! We are bringing some laundry detergent to hand wash anything that gets nasty and we have invested in a quick dry travel towel and some quick dry pants for the both of us that can be worn and washed daily (if needed). 

Note: I just typed up my pack list and it seems like a lot when I type it but, you guys, this is still pretty good! Second note: Just typed up Ryan's list and he is obviously the winner of packing light. Whatever, I'm a girl.

My bag:
-1 pair bright pink athletic shoes...won't stand out in any way *Edit: Just found a black pair of Merrell shoes (on sale!) that aren't quite so obnoxious. I love my pink shoes but they should probably stay in Florida.
-1 pair Tom's, for comfy walking
-1 pair Kino flip flops
-1 quick dry shirt
-3 black cotton short sleeve t-shirts, 1 long sleeve
-1 pair  Columbia quick dry capri pants (just came in the mail, thank goodness they fit!)
-1 pair black linen pants (they never get dirty. The longer you wear them, the blacker they get)
-7 pair underwear (Technically this could be 2 pair and they could be washed but gross)
-1 pair athletic shorts, lightweight and quick dry
-1 pair black cotton leggings
-1 jersey cotton dress and 1 pashmina (just in case...)
-4 pair white cotton socks, 4 pair black foot liner socks. *Edit: Now that I'm not bringing the pink shoes, the black liner socks will be plenty!
-Travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash and laundry detergent
-Coppertone Water Babies Pure and Simple sunblock, which according to EWG is the bee's knees.
-Waterproof camera and charger
-Toothbrushes and toothpaste
-Fleece jacket, will wear on plane so it doesn't take up space
-3 sports bras, 1 sports bra tank, 2 bandeau bras
-1 swimsuit
-1 UCF hat (b/c I went to school there once), 1 bandana, sunglasses
-Passport/money holder thing to wear under clothes. So dorky looking but makes us feel safer.
-Lara bars, Clif bars and trail mix
-Need to get a poncho, so that will also be in here

Ryan's bag:
-1 pair Sperry slip on loafer things
-1 pair Vibram toe shoes (NERD)
-1 dry bag (for his fancy camera)
-1 fancy camera
-1 pair quick dry pants
-3 pair boardshorts
-2 (or 3?) t-shirts, if it's 2, I'm going to make him bring another
-1 pair travel/quick dry underwear that he plans on washing each day....have fun with that
-Rain jacket (sorta, it is waterproof on accident)
-First aid kit, bug spray with DEET, CVS generic equivalent of Skin So Soft, Neosporin
-Clothesline and a few clothes pins
-Bungee cord
-Quick dry travel towel

So, that's it. For one week, we will get to live like vagabonds and it will be beautiful. I'll post pictures and stories when we get back. Hasta entonces!

Ocean Friendly Garden

This is what 2 tons of rock looks like...didn't fit in the hybrid

If you read my past post about Home Improvement Adventures, you know that Ryan and I have been slaving away to transform our yard from this:

Not our car...this picture was taken by the previous owners

to this:

Looks like we added palm trees but they were always there

It took a lot of hard work and we still have a few loose ends to tie up (note the grass growing in the gravel parking area...whoops) but we are nearly there! The plants growing in the dark brown area (where the pine straw is) are kind of hard to see but eventually will cover the brown area and will be green...and pink and yellow...they have little flowers! We also hope one day to make our driveway permeable (by cutting into the concrete) to further prevent runoff. 

Our front yard now requires no mowing, is drought resistant, salt tolerant and is not a wuss when it comes to massive amounts of wind (welcome to the beach). It also retains rainwater, preventing runoff into the ocean and river. We used no pesticides or fertilizers and followed the directions set out by Surfrider Foundation on their Ocean Friendly Gardens website. 

It may seem like more trouble than it's worth to create an OFG until you read about the problems plaguing our waterways, like the Indian River Lagoon. There are massive unexplained deaths of manatee and dolphin in addition to the decimation of sea grass beds and the proliferation of harmful algal blooms :(

If you want information about how you can make your yard more environmentally friendly, it is fairly simple! In Florida, there is a lot of information available about "Florida Friendly Gardens" here and Surfrider has a lot of information about "Ocean Friendly Gardens" on their website (which started in California but whose principles can be applied elsewhere). It can be a lot simpler than our yard (we did this to ourselves!!) or as complex as you'd like it to be. The main idea is to reduce the pollutants that can get from your yard to the waterways by reducing runoff, using less or no pesticides or fertilizers, conserving water and using native plants. 

Here are a few photos of the process:

Shovel champion

Dug up with one shovel...including all the St. Augustine grass

Putting down cardboard is an eco friendly way to keep weeds from growing through rock

More cardboard

Ryan takes better pictures than I do

Pink purslane is native and considered a weed by some

Perennial peanut

Plants we used:

In the mulched areas (lighter brown): texas sage, yellow bulbine, adagio and one olive tree. 

In the pine straw area (dark brown): ice plant, pink purslane, perennial peanut. 

Have you tried to make your yard more eco-friendly? Let me know in the comments! I'm always willing to learn more :) 

Sirloin Pepper Stir Fry with Baby Bok Choy

Ever since we bought a house, our adventures seem to be more of the DIY landscaping and culinary variety. I promise I didn't start this blog to post recipes but it is what it is :) I grew up in a house that did not see much home cooking and so I am constantly amazed at what I'm able to make with my bare hands and (very) little skill. I'm starting to enjoy what I cook at home more than restaurant meals...mine usually seem to have a lot more fresh ingredients and a whole lot less salt. 

This past year, Sundays have been a great opportunity for me to spend some time in the kitchen and create. It's meditative for me and when I'm done "meditating", there is usually something delicious to eat! Today it was a stir fry that I compiled from a few other recipes and just made up as I went along (how I make my best meals!)

I felt very proud of this mishmash recipe and it was invigorating to create with all of its bright colors, so I thought I'd share it with you! 

Brandy's MishMash Stir Fry Recipe

(Or we could just call it Sirloin Pepper Stir Fry with Bok Choy, sounds a little less silly)

Marinade:

(I began by adapting this marinade recipe/steps for beef prep and marinating the beef for 4 hours)

10 oz Humane Certified beef sirloin, cut into thin strips

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

5 Tbsp gluten-free tamari (soy sauce)

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp peeled, grated ginger (I love this part, makes me feel like a chef)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cloves of pressed garlic (you could mince instead)

2 Tbsp Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/4 tsp dark sesame oil

Stir Fry

1/2 chopped sweet onion

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 green bell pepper, julienned

1 bunch baby bok choy, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 bunch of chopped scallions

3 cloves pressed garlic

Heat 3 Tbsp coconut oil (or other high heat oil) over medium-high until nearly smoking. Then add  drained beef strips (but retain liquid to add later) for a quick stir around the pan (about 1-2 minutes). Remove beef but keep remaining oil in pan. Add onion and cook for 1 minute. Add peppers and cook for 2 minutes (or longer if you like your vegetables cooked more, we like them crunchy!).



Finally, return beef to the pan and add baby bok choy, scallions and garlic. Cook until baby bok choy just begins to wilt. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice and enjoy! (Note: For a more flavorful dish, you could make another batch of the marinade to add to stir fry near the end for a saucier dish. I enjoy the flavor of basmati rice so I try not to overpower it with too much sauce...which also cuts down on sodium which is a big issue for us!)