Padres en Nicaragua II

Pedro:  So while Dad and I slept like the little angels that we are, Mom learned some important Nicaraguan customs.

Donna:  First I learned that it is apparently not customary for hotel guests here to make any attempt whatsoever to be quiet at night and courteous to other guests who are trying to sleep.  Listening to the men in the lounge area outside our room laughing and talking loudly to each other well after 11pm was even more irritating than listening to the snoring of you “angels” in our room.  Second, if I hadn’t have been so sleepy I would have been more terrified by waking up at 6am to the sound of the loud air raid siren going off here in Esteli.   I was trying to figure out if it was an early warning system for an impending earthquake or whether Nicaragua was being invaded by nasty people from Honduras.  But since you and your father both somehow SLEPT THROUGH IT, and no one else in the hotel seemed fazed by it, I decided to ignore it.  So, can you explain what was going on?

Pedro:  Of course!  The “tornado siren” is a convenient way to let the residents of Esteli know it’s 6am.  A lot of people don’t have alarm clocks so the city just decides to wake up everyone.  Not a big fan huh?

Donna:  Seriously?  They do this every morning at 6am?  No, this is not a Nica custom that I am fond of.  After a nice cup of coffee, though, I was sure a big fan of the adventure you took us on today at the nature preserve outside of Esteli.  The waterfall was so pretty!  I don’t think our poor little rental car liked the unpaved, rutted road we had to drive on but it was worth it to get to such a remote, beautiful place.  Your father and I could not believe that in the middle of that lovely rainforest there was a Nica family that served food and drink to tourists.  And it was a great lunch!  The senora brought us a platter of grilled chicken, potatoes with onions and peppers, beans, rice, cheese and fresh salad with tomatoes and cucumbers – yum!

75% of a happy family

Dad and the rocky road

Pedro:  Dad said it may be some of the best grilled chicken he’s ever had.  All for the great Nicaraguan price of $12.66 for the three of us, including several cold cervezas!  Gotta love this country.  Then we napped and showered up for dinner.  Though we may be about as far away as possible from Italy, we went out for some pasta and pizza.  Did you enjoy it?

Donna: Yes, the Italian food here in Esteli was surprisingly good.  I am going to see if I can try to get a decent night’s sleep tonight, looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures in this pretty country.