Day 19: Jesus and unborn children in San Juan
This morning started off with a walk. First to Pelican Eyes to see how expensive a direct shuttle would cost, and then walking up to the higher pools to see how good the view is, an finally to the beach that turned into a full on hike up a very steep mountain.
Overlooking the bay and town is a statue of Jesus (edit: in the Image of the Divine Mercy, a famous portrait of Jesus first painted in 1931 by St. Faustina). We had to take a few shortcuts through an abandoned hotel and a neighborhood but eventually we got on the right path to the top of the hill. 15 minutes later, the five of us—Robert, Andrew, Cassandra, Molly, and I—were at the best summit lookout we had seen yet. We could see the full horizon on the ocean as well as several coves and bays neighboring our token gulf, San Juan. We spent half an hour at the top and then hiked down to check out of our hostel and get our bags. We arrived at Cafe Expresso around noon, and we planned on meeting there at 1pm to catch a bus. I enjoyed a frappicino, which more or less was the taste and quality of a drink with the same name at Starbucks. I got a ballin sandwich on pesto bread and some cooked potatoes, too. My entire meal cost 240 cord with tax and tip, which turns out to be $12 US. Our waiter knew our group well by now, so when we ordered a bowl of fruit, he knocked the price down from 87 cord to 50, because Molly was so pretty, young, an because he wanted to have her children. Laughing, we agreed because we really wanted some pineapple and watermelon. By far the most expensive meal of the trip (that is, my entire stay in Nica) but well worth it, since it was very hot, humid, and we had a full day of travelling ahead of us. No one wanted to risk eating bad food before squeezing back on a four hour bus ride.
We found out that the direct bus left or Managua at 12:30, which is inconvenient since we met at 1pm to head for the bus station. We ended up taking three cabs to Rivas, the lakeside town closest to SJDS. From Rivas, we got on a nicer yet still crowded bus to get home. To our surprise, the driver put on Three Kings on the two television sets on the bus. Not only did this provide a source of (moderately gory) entertainment but it also kept everyone quiet. There seemed to be less stops on the way to Managua, which might gave been because it’s a Sunday. I didn’t care why, however, and simply enjoyed the more direct route. All in all, the five out trip cost about 95 cord, just shy if $5 US. While expensive down here, I can’t help thinking this what a trip downtown on the light rail in Denver would cost. True, it’s a lot less crowded and definitely less sketchy, but American public transport is definitely expensivo.
Our bus seemed to be outfitted with a police siren instead of a horn. Bus drivers already love to be loud and obnoxious, and given the opportunity to make a school bus sound like a cheap and loud carnival game, our bus driver had a hayday in traffic. Whenever passing another bus, or for that matter, any moving or immobile form of transportation (or other offspring), the immediate radius of at least a few hundred kilometers was aware of our large yellow autobus. Honestly, it wasn’t that loud but by the end of a long drive, it was wearing but definitely still ironic and funny. The cacophony of horns in Managua is simply part of la vida nica, and having a unique horn adds to the uniqueness which has rebuilt this city earthquake after earthquake.
All in all, the weekend ended up costing about $70 US, for everything from food to hostel to zip lining through the rain forest. Hostel was $20, zip lining was $25, and transportation was less than $10 round trip. That leaves $15 for six meals and a whole lot of snacks. Definitely not your average weekend trip in the states.
We were picked up by our awesome PD’s micky and nikki, and booked it back to the house. We got food and chilled. The manna house is definitely welcoming and has its home comforts, despite being in a third world country.
