6 April 2009

Today we packed up and headed south to the small fishing village of San Juan del Oriente. Before leaving I made a quick visit to the market in downtown Granada where the Nicas, not the tourists, shop. In my travels, I find these kinds of places a truer picture of where I'm visiting, and this was no exception. I never photograph in these public areas because you never know who might be offended, but it's wonderful to weave through the usually tight little aisles, looking at the food, supplies, and clothing for sale. The people are all very busy trying to sell their wares, cooking made-to-order tortillas, mixing herbs and natural medicines, talking with their friends in the next stall--all very vibrant and alive. I got much more of the feel of what life is like everyday for Granadians, sites that the tourist markets and fancy hotels can't possibly show us.

San Juan is close to the border, a small fishing village surrounded by tall cliffs. I don't know how to describe the resort we were in except to say that we referred to it the rest of the time as the OMG resort and said thanks to Elon and Linda every hour! Its official name is Piedras y Olas (rocks and waves), and we all thought we'd died and gone to heaven, and actually quite reasonable during non-holiday seasons. Of course you have to factor in a flight to Managua. . . . Some of the girls are already planning honeymoons here, and it's on my list of places to revisit. Our large group was divided into four smaller groups: the 6 guys, the 10 girls into 2 groups, and Carmen (our Meso representative) and me. Each group had its own casita (little house--although they weren't very little), complete with kitchen, views, porches--absolutely beautiful in every aspect. The only drawback--or not, according to whom you talk--are the stairs--hundreds of them. We all certainly got our exercise. I took many pictures of the architectural elements to steal later! But more than being an incredibly beautiful place with gorgeous gardens and views, this place supports various community resources through its Brugger foundation and runs an animal habitat for rescued animals, including cats, dogs, and monkeys, that could not live any other way. It's one thing to create a beautiful place for people to enjoy, but an entirely other thing to help the community and animals in addition to catering to tourists.

This weekend was Final Four (and if you're from North Carolina, you know what that means!). We did a bit of good-natured trash talking with a group that dared to wear Michigan State t-shirts, but they were pretty quiet at breakfast the next morning :)
Some of us cooked dinner in our kitchens, while others enjoyed margaritas at sunset and a beachfront dinner in the village (where the realities of hungry children found us again), and returned to our perch to enjoy the evening. In the morning after a huge breakfast, most of us took advantage of one last session by the pool, and then reluctantly climbed aboard the bus for the not-looking-forward-to border crossing and the long bus ride to San Jose. Fortunately, thanks to Carmen's maneuvering, we were able to get through customs in half the time and stopped for an early dinner break, where we all ended up in a Subway. We looked so American that I had to take a picture of us on a platform in the parking lot beside a strip mall, eating our subs.

All in all, this trip was amazing in so many different ways. Our visas were refreshed, we were refreshed, but we had seen many troubling things that are very different from what we've experienced in Costa Rica. The roads seem better in Nicaragua, but other than that, we feel pretty lucky to be in Costa Rica.