You are Here. . .

Today began in the dark, wee hours of the morning (2am to be precise) when I peeled myself out of bed to face my bleary eyed self in the mirror. As I was zipping my suitcase, I happened to look down at my hiking boot clad feet, and the thought “You are Here” crossed my mind. You know the type of map you see in a mall or airport that shows your current location as a big red x?  That was my thought. It made me smile, because in a few hours that red x would be a few thousand miles away.

My red x is currently positioned over Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. Our plane arrived around 2:30pm.

View of Lake Nicaragua as our plane was on final approach.

We quickly cleared immigration and customs and found Jose, our non-English speaking driver. I attempted to speak with Jose, but my Spanish was exhausted after the usual greetings and asking him if he lived in Managua.

After touring the local volcano (yes, it’s a tourist attraction, and yes, it’s still active) we were taken to a local hotel, where we will spend the night. Jose will be back to pick us up at 8am to drive us to San Juan del Sur, a town about 3 hours to the south where our rental house is located. In the meantime, we are on the back porch; enjoying some Nicaraguan beer, swinging in the hammocks, and watching the bats drink from the pool.

I am loving this.