Author: ajgaines

I got up in the hostel dorm, played a quick game of mancala with one of the Dutch guys and then we all went to eat. Got the desayunos típico and then said goodbye to my new friends as they were taking the bus towards Managua and I was planning to go deep in some jungle.

I packed and shot off for Penas Blancas, the last spot I plan on visiting in the north. The ride was pretty dry which I was happy about but 10 minutes out it was like someone turned on the rain all at once. Huge drops of rain smacked and froze my chest and since I was so close I just pushed my sunglasses down, tilted my head down and squinted through the rain. There wasn’t much I could do but hope that my phone would survive. Any attempt at stopping would have meant more rain in my phone. I arrived at Finca Don Chico and was immediately amazed by the place. The whole place is ridiculously gorgeous. I left a drippy trail as I walked through the dirt floors and the kids balked at the motorcycle asking me how big it was.

I met the owner of the place, Don Chicho who I find impossible to understand. But I ate some lunch while soaked and listened to Don Chico talk as I came across my 1,000,000th Eureka moment realizing Don was not a name here but basically the equivalent of Sir or Mr. So Sir Chico walked me out to the the little cabin and advertised his price of a whopping $6. I hung my stuff up to try to dry and then passed out into a classic deathnap. I woke up wet as its so humid everything just collects water. All my things were pretty wet too.

I threw on my sandals and walked towards the sound of water. There was a little trail out there through a little coffee farm. My mind was boggled by the life teeming everywhere. Green grows on absolutely everything. When you put your hand in the dirt and look at it you can see everything moving. The stream I found had some cool series of waterfalls that I scrambled up for a bit sloshing in and out of little pools.

I then walked down the road for a while and then back to the Finca. They were making dinner and I met some gringos there surprisingly. A guy from Arizona who had married a Nicaraguan girl and a girl from Canada who was one of 12 kids and was traveling with them. I ate and chatted with them and then I retired to my little cabana. I’m planning on doing a 3 hour hike tomorrow