We lugged our bags up to Reception and piled them high by the desk...requested our passports back from the safe and sat down for breakfast.
We decided on typical Nicaraguan breakfast again today...complete with rice and beans, juevos, and plantains with a single slice of starfruit :) Did I mention that starfruit just makes me happy?? Tamarind was el jugo del dia but it was a bit too bitter for my taste...Andrew met us and decided to do the Totoco tour with us...Mary, he said, was enjoying an hour long massage on their porch with Yolanda. A massage sounded wonderful- as I was quite sure I was suffering from a mild case of whiplash after 3 successive days traveling up and down these roads- but we were pressed for time and I wasn't sure I could handle someone even touching my sore neck right now :(I popped 2 Aleve after breakfast (and discovered I was running low) and the 3 of us embarked on the tour...(see separate blog entry: Totoco Eco-lodge)...afterwards Martin led us to the gate where our taxi driver was waiting patiently for us...with our bags already piled on top of his ancient Jeep. He didn't speak any English...and was conversing in Spanish to a woman who sat up front. We dropped her off at the beginning of the paved portion of the road and waved, all saying adios. The driver seemed concerned with the noises the car was making...once we were on pavement I guess I expected it to sound better as well, but it still sounded like we were riding on the dirt road. He pulled over and tightened the lug nuts. He was somewhat satisfied with his work and hopped back in but the car was still making noises. It was 10:30 already (the tour ran a little longer than we expected) and we had to get to the ferry by 11am...
We drove another mile or so down the roads of Ometepe...coasting along the shore now near Playa Domingo (the only developed beach here according to the guidebook). We passed by hotels and guesthouses, hostels and homes. Children walked or rode bikes down the road in their uniforms and we had to stop now and again for cattle, horses, ox, chickens, dogs etc.
Our driver waved at a friend- an older man sitting out front of his house with presumably his wife and son and dog. He pulled over and started talking to him...he said something to us and we realized that they were about to change the tire. This was an impressive 5 minute tire change...the new tire was smaller than the old one but not quite a "donut". The tire they took off had a huge slice down the side of it....no wonder it was making that horrific noise. 
Back on the road with the Nicaragua radio station playing...did I mention that they really seem to like the Black Eyed Peas here? The driver was speeding and beeping at people, cars, animals, etc...we were obviously in a hurry now to make it to the ferry on time. I could now separate the banana trees from the plantain trees...thanks Francisco! To add insult to injury we arrived in a town and now there was a succession of speed bumps. So the driver would still speed but then slam on brakes just before the bump or he would try to veer around it: my poor neck!
Just when we seemed to be in the clear...we pulled up behind policia who had a big truck pulled over and were standing in the middle of the road. It was obvious we were not allowed to pass. We stopped behind them for a moment and the driver then decided to pull right up to the officer. A short pleading of our case, an intense stare from the officer, and some cordoba later and we were back on our way...pulling around the vehicle and being waved off. It wasn't far now...
We finally arrived at the dock and he unloaded our bags. I apologized "Lo sienta para muchas problemas, muchas gracias" and handed him 50 cordoba extra ($5)...we paid another 15 cordoba each to get on the ferry...and climbed aboard. They were strapping down a large truck as we squeezed passed them and up the narrow metal staircase to the interior of the boat. The day was windy and overcast so I opted to wait inside while Brian scoped out the rest of the ferry. A few women appeared at the top of the staircase with bags full of food wearing aprons...shouting "plantains, mangos, helado"...we jumped on the opportunity for plantain chips this time :) I sat inside and blogged, leaning on our stacked up luggage, half-heartedly watching a dramatic Nicaraguan soap opera where a woman delivered a baby at home while the FOB paced outside the bedroom. A woman dressed in white with a hat on wrapped the baby up and tried to hand it over to the mother but she wanted nothing to do with it. The man (dressed in a suit) entered the room and held the baby...was very excited and the woman just looked miserable and kept turning away from him...and then it was over. I wish I could have understood what they were saying!!! The other passengers seemed very into it.
Brian got some good shots of the fading volcanos, then came back inside and rubbed my neck for me :) This ferry ride seemed a lot shorter than the ride over to Ometepe...the sun was peeking through the clouds when we docked in San Jorge and as promised, our driver was waiting for us with a sign: "Totoco". 
The driver of the truck caused a ruckus when he tried to pull off the boat while he was still strapped down...we noticed a couple sitting in their car with tags from Virginia...We got into Pedro's car which was clean, with cloth seats and like many cars in Nicaragua had manual windows that no longer had the mechanism to roll them up? I wondered if this was just because the cars were so old or if it was a way to prevent cars from being broken into? We passed by "tricycletas" or...basically the Nicaraguan version of the Thai tuk tuks...a tricycle with a seat in front for tourists. We pulled into a gas station where men walked around trying to sell us large bags of cashews...he filled up the tank and we continued on through La Virgin (a town just beside San Jorge) with a huge baseball field...
this is where the windmills are located. We talked to Pedro about the roads on Ometepe and he told us that the roads to Mango Rosa weren't much better....ugh :( 
I managed to fall asleep again...what can I say? And woke up when we hit the dirt road, Calle de Chocolata...Brian pulled out the map he printed and for the first time we realized that we were going to be pretty far away from the city center. Details. The roads were dusty and not quite as bad as Ometepe but still. We passed by a large landfill where plastic bags must come to die. The place was covered in multicolored plastic bags drifting around in the wind. The sun was shining now and Pedro turned on the AC...the roads were too dusty to keep the windows open. We occasionally passed by houses, but mostly it was wide open spaces...with horses, chickens and cattle roaming...
We turned left off of the main road and followed signs towards Mango Rosa. We pulled into the parking lot and were surprised to see a big man wearing an orange "Seguridad" vest...Security. Otherwise the grounds seemed very nice...landscaped with palm trees, bright flowers as well as almond trees (I recognize them now!). We paid Pedro and thanked him, then headed toward reception where a girl grabbed our keys and showed us to our room...P4.
We passed by the open air lobby and swimming pool and she led us down a stone paved path towards our bungalow which had a stone porch complete with table and chairs out front.
She led us inside and we were surprised at how big it was! A huge living room with a large sectional couch, wide screen TV, open kitchen with a large island and the bedroom with vaulted ceilings. 2 air conditioner units and a real toilet...this was definitely not an eco-lodge! She said to keep our valuables in the safe and keep the door locked at all times...this place was so desolate, I wondered what kinds of safety concerns we really faced here...?
We quickly changed into our bathing suits, slathered on a layer of SPF 50, and headed back to the lobby...leaving most everything else in the safe. We planned on sitting by the pool the rest of the day. We ordered lunch...Brian got the "must have" fish tacos with mahi-mahi. I opted for the vegetarian nachos. We sat at a couch and swatted away flies as we ate. There were a few other guests here too...mostly Americans. It was hot, but dry and windy...and Black Eyed Peas played in the background. (I'm sorry but in my personal opinion...Time of My Life is not a song that should be re-made, especially not the way they did it!). Greg- the bartender and apparently part-owner of Mango Rosa- introduced himself and invited us along for a ride to La Playa Madera. He was taking a few other guests down there to surf...planned to stay for about an hour or so...we finished up lunch and figured what the hell? Why not? We followed Greg and a few other guys around to the front of the hotel...Greg was a big burly guy, probably pushing 50. I was surprised to learn he was a surfer and Mango Rosa's surf instructor...he didn't really fit the surfer stereotype. They chose some surf boards and piled them onto the pickup. He let us sit inside with one other guy from Georgetown...he was a teacher, here for his friend's wedding which was apparently taking place at the beach on Saturday. We drove down the dirt road and eventually came to a traffic jam. People were stopped and backing up. One guy said something along the lines of 'no pasar' and Greg decided to pull into the hotel parking lot which happened to be just to the right. We descended down the dirt path on food and discovered a truck whose axel basically detached coming up a hill. Several men were trying to re-attach it and get the truck up the hill...it seemed as though they'd be at it for hours...
We continued down to the beach. Greg assured us it was safe to walk here from the hotel but the teacher inquired about an "incident" that happened in the fall and mentioned that a young kid had told him it wasn't a safe road, particularly to walk on alone...Greg brushed it off but I decided to heed the local's advice. This beach seemed too far to walk to anyway.
We arrived to a party like atmosphere and lots of Americans. The beach was relatively small with a hostel situated on the left and a beach bar/taco place on the right. Dammit, why didn't we bring any money?! Everyone was just laying on the beach on towels or blankets...there were no chairs to rent (what kind of place is this?) and certainly no umbrellas in the drinks. The sand was super fine and the waves were HUGE. The beach was bordered by rock formations on either side...and by now there were few clouds in the sky which meant little refuge from el sol. The water was crammed with surfers...tons of them! I wondered how they weren't colliding into each other left and right? This was certainly not the place for an introductory surf lesson, I thought. Brian got in the water first...and I decided to lay down and settle into my book...I no sooner got situated that a strong wind gust blew sand all over me...from head to toe in one stinging, painful blast. The SPF 50 was like glue and I was instantly covered and uncomfortable. Ugh. Sand.
By the time he came out I was anxious to get in...I was surprised at how warm the water was (definitely 60s) for being the Pacific. It was also really clear...I was in above my waist and could still see my feet! The water was just beautiful...the waves were perfectly formed and when they would crash would leave behind an intricate design of foam that the sun danced and shimmered off of...the water seemed to go on forever...
I scrubbed off the sand that I could, but it was no use. As soon as I got out of the water I was whipped by a sand storm again and instantly covered. My ears were even filling up with it! We laid around for a while and I tried to read but it was far too windy. As beautiful as the beach was, I couldn't wait to jump in the pool back at the hotel. We turned around to see that Greg must have retrieved the truck at some point and was standing up by the taco shack place. We started to gather our stuff together to leave just when we ran into...Janet and Peter.
They were staying a short ways away and asked us if we wanted to join them for dinner at El Timon in San Juan del Sur (SJDS). They offered to pick us up around 7 :) We headed back with Greg and by the time we arrived at the pool (around 4:30 pm) the sun was almost dipping below the trees. I rinsed off what sand I could in the pool side shower and scrubbed off the rest with the clear, warm pool water...laid face down on the wooden lounge chair and promptly fell asleep. I woke up about an hour later when the sun was no longer keeping me warm...we headed back to the bungalow for a real - hot - shower. Afterwards, I relaxed on the porch while Brian headed up to the bar to grab us a few drinks...Mine was a slushy white rum drink with a thick pineapple slice on the side. Yum, good choice :) Sitting outside didn't last long because I realized I was dinner for the local mosquitos. We moved to the living room and the pumping AC.
We hung out in the room for a bit, enjoying the free (if not shotty) hotel wi-fi and soon Janet and Peter arrived. We showed them our bungalow, finished our drinks and headed out...down the pitch black Calle de Chocolata. El Timon had a variety of fresh fish dishes and we sat close to the beach. It was warm but still a bit windy. Brian and Janet both ordered the lobster...Peter had the whole red snapper...and I went for boring chicken. The food was really good and really cheap. The fish dinners all came with dessert which was a tres leches with a bright green maraschino cherry...
We piled back into the car and headed back towards Mango Rosa...overall was a great evening...Thanks Janet & Peter! I was So ready for some sound sleep with air-con no alarms, and was looking forward to our completely UNPLANNED Thursday :)
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