Michelle Trip Part 3

This, our third team blog post, brings you dear readers to Thursday.  Or more commonly known as the Regional Business Plan Competition Day!  My three school districts and seven others participated.  What did you think of the other schools’ teams?

MK: I could barely even look at them, I was so emotionally invested in ‘our’ teams, which we had just selected over an intensive three days of competitions. However, there was definitely a range in quality, just like among the Pala, Yala and Condega teams. Although Pala did win ‘Best Business Plan’ none of your teams won first/second (and so will not be going to Nationals). Condega in particular was so sad – I was sad for them! Being a teacher is hard! Did you agree with the results?

Michelle becoming emotionally invested in just 4 days

PS: Unfortunately, yes.  None of my teams had revoluntionary ideas.  For example, one team that won created some sort of rechargeable car battery and the other made a kind of coffee, mocha beverage which was delicious.  But yeah, I’m not looking forward to Monday when I have to console my losing teams…But then Michelle and I moved our headquarters to Esteli.  How do you like Esteli thus far?

MK: It’s great! As a city, I don’t think it is my favorite we have visited – however, it does have the most beautiful church and we are staying in our most fachenta (pricey/upscale) hotel so far. It has hot water, poor quality internet and air conditioning that neither of us is entirely sure works. Living the Nica dream. Last night we had dinner at a Cuban restaurant where we were not one of two couples in the restaurant (a sign that people in Esteli have slightly more money to spend on amenities like eating out?). Great food and a nice ambiance (that ambiance being the second floor of the owner’s home).

PS: GREAT FOOD.  We both ate Cuban sandwiches and two Nicaraguan beers.  The good food continued into Friday morning where our hotel had a buffet breakfast!  I ate two helpings of ham, eggs, toast, gallo pinto plus some bananas, pineapple and a bowl of cereal.  Then with our first day off of work, Michelle and I hiked to a…

Michelle is visibly excited for a...

MK: WATERFALL! When we blogged about our earlier waterfall, I did not know that was a mere TRICKLE. (see photos!!) So our Moon Nicaragua guide described our 90-minute hike/walk as “an easy walk, but with lots of ups and downs.” Pete thinks this is a legitimate description, however, I would like to contest something that was about 70% uphill (an a 85-degree angle?) is not ‘easy’. Legs. Are. Still. Burning. However, lots of incredible views and jokes about the variety of farm-like we saw on the way made it doable. After paying 15 cords a piece at the waterfall entrance, and hiking down another fifteen minutes, I could hear it and knew I was about to see my first REAL waterfall.

Rocky?

Waterfall!

PS: Real waterfall indeed.  It was a 50 foot FREEZING cold cascada.  We took too many fotos to attach but here are some of the greatest.  After capturing the awesomeness on digital film, we braved the pool at the bottom of the waterfall.  It proved to be a very quick swim because we were clearly too spoiled with the hot water at the hotel.  After an awestruck hour at the cascada, we began the trek back to Esteli.  And how did we get home, Michelle the hypocrite??

MK: Jerk. Ok, so basically anytime Pete tells me that he has hitch-hiked to school, I get on my sassy soapbox and go off about the dangers, ending with the potential for a pack of hombres to drive my gringo boyfriend, and his pretty face, into the Nicaraguan wilds for some non-consensual love. However, today, after two hours hiking uphill to the waterfall, swimming through the powerful current generated by our cascada/salto and hiking halfway back, I was too tired to care. We flagged the first pick-up that drove by and hopped in the back for a bumpy, SAFE (ARE YOU HAPPY PETE?) ride back to the entrance.

PS: HAH, I win again!  Hitchhiking is perfectly safe under the correct desperate circumstances.  Which was good because I’m not sure if I could have put up with more “Caaaaaarry me, I’m sore” talk.  All tangents aside, lunch certainly made up off all of hard work didn’t it?

MK: This restaurant was the cutest of anywhere we have eaten so far, and prompted at least a fifteen minute tangent from me about how with $2000 (USD) I could move down here and open a similar spot. It was next to a ‘babbling brook’ (Moon’s words, not ours) and had the healthiest food we have eaten so far (banana smoothies, yogurt with granola, whole wheat bread with mystery-heaven jelly and with cheese/tomatoes/cucumbers). A nice break from the constant Nica-carbo-loading and a good chance to fatten Pete up.

Organic and delicious!

PS:  So yummy.  To continue our trend of tasty food, we drank wine and ate tapas (again!) at our hotel.  Then we went out for Chinese food.  There wasn’t a single Asian looking person there but the sweet and sour pork was great and they had Halloween decorations up.

MK: It is strange how eating on a patio at plastic lawn furniture with beach umbrellas seemed fairly classy/upscale.

PS: I know, right?  Well after breakfast I think we’re off to go tour a cigar factory.  Place your orders now!

MK: Also, Pete MIGHT come home ever so slightly earlier for Christmas. I’m starting a bombard-Pete-with-demands-for-his-presence-four-days-earlier campaign now. And….go!

PS: That was a nice shameless plug.  We’ll talk to you guys tomorrow!