hola amigos,
i think i may have to post more often. i don´t have enough time for everything i want to write in a 2x/week format. so much is happening here that i want to capture for future reference. i don´t even have time to proof read my work.
friday we came into town for our spanish lab and stopped to get an ice cold cerveza with our teacher. not such a good idea . . . his spanish is definitely
easier to understand without beer. his attention span goes out the window whenever a pretty woman walks by, which is often in this town. we will be keeping him away from beer from now on. we had pizza that night at our favorite italian restaurant (gorgonzola, salami, tomatoes).
saturday we got a taxi (4-wheel drive, a must here) and went to a fishing marina up the coast. there we boarded a scuba boat with our friend, olesia, and another american couple. after our first dive (where we saw an octopus out in the open and three more hidden, three different types of eel, plus a myriad of fishies). paulo, the captain, took us to a uninhabited island with a small silky white sand beach.
we got to swim to the island to explore while our tanks were refilled. the second dive was more of the same with the addition of porcupine fish and puffer fish. paulo has the unique talent of being able to gently capture these fish and scaring them into puff balls. i was horrible and mean, and yes i pet them. extremely cool experience. then he let go and they deflated while swimming away. everyone got stung by jellyfish. our friend olesia is apparently allergic . . . blisters everywhere. my friend at work says urine helps diminish the octupi sting . . . kinda gross, but whatever helps!
some things cannot be replicated because of their spontaneity. the night of our dive turned into a comedy. we were standing at our favorite spot chatting with locals when i heard the clippity-clop of horses. not an unusual sound, as the horseback tours go through the middle of town.
it took a second for it to sink in that these horses didn´t have people on them, with them, nor did they have halters or saddles. they looked like kids trying to sneak out . . . trying to look innocent . . . walking in formation. i said ¨hey those horses got out¨, and all hell broke loose. all in all about 8 horses came down to the corner when a dog started barking and trying to turn them back. half the people in town grabbed their cell phones to call the owner. one man started waving his arm, yelling YA! YA! while talking to someone on his cell. the last horses caught up with the first ones, and they all started trotting in circles around the rickety jewelry tables. people scrambled every which way, dogs barked, horses scidded on the pavement. i prepared to climb up on the bar stool. finally the horses turned around and went back up the street, but they cut through an alley to make a break for the park. 10 guys ran every which way and disappeared into the darkness. 30 minutes later 3 horses went trotting past our restaurant, trying to look cool and collected as they squeezed past cars to freedom.
sunday would have been better if we could have gone to church. unfortunately the one church in town is only open for funerals! we ate a late breakfast and wandered up the beach to play in the waves. i met a darling nicaraguan girl, 18 years old. she sat with me in the sand, and taught me spanish while i taught her english. last night we went back to our italian restaurant.
the howler monkeys are everywhere, or they just sound like it. it´s rare to see them. joe and i saw one . . . it was a black blob hanging from a tree top. the sound is bizarre. imagine a basset hound barking like a toad croaking. sorry, that´s the best i can do. sometimes it sounds like a basset, other times like a giant frog, and other times like a combination. the sound of the howler monkey and exotic birds woke me up this morning.
gotta go!!
heidi
i think i may have to post more often. i don´t have enough time for everything i want to write in a 2x/week format. so much is happening here that i want to capture for future reference. i don´t even have time to proof read my work.
friday we came into town for our spanish lab and stopped to get an ice cold cerveza with our teacher. not such a good idea . . . his spanish is definitely
easier to understand without beer. his attention span goes out the window whenever a pretty woman walks by, which is often in this town. we will be keeping him away from beer from now on. we had pizza that night at our favorite italian restaurant (gorgonzola, salami, tomatoes).
saturday we got a taxi (4-wheel drive, a must here) and went to a fishing marina up the coast. there we boarded a scuba boat with our friend, olesia, and another american couple. after our first dive (where we saw an octopus out in the open and three more hidden, three different types of eel, plus a myriad of fishies). paulo, the captain, took us to a uninhabited island with a small silky white sand beach.
we got to swim to the island to explore while our tanks were refilled. the second dive was more of the same with the addition of porcupine fish and puffer fish. paulo has the unique talent of being able to gently capture these fish and scaring them into puff balls. i was horrible and mean, and yes i pet them. extremely cool experience. then he let go and they deflated while swimming away. everyone got stung by jellyfish. our friend olesia is apparently allergic . . . blisters everywhere. my friend at work says urine helps diminish the octupi sting . . . kinda gross, but whatever helps!
some things cannot be replicated because of their spontaneity. the night of our dive turned into a comedy. we were standing at our favorite spot chatting with locals when i heard the clippity-clop of horses. not an unusual sound, as the horseback tours go through the middle of town.
it took a second for it to sink in that these horses didn´t have people on them, with them, nor did they have halters or saddles. they looked like kids trying to sneak out . . . trying to look innocent . . . walking in formation. i said ¨hey those horses got out¨, and all hell broke loose. all in all about 8 horses came down to the corner when a dog started barking and trying to turn them back. half the people in town grabbed their cell phones to call the owner. one man started waving his arm, yelling YA! YA! while talking to someone on his cell. the last horses caught up with the first ones, and they all started trotting in circles around the rickety jewelry tables. people scrambled every which way, dogs barked, horses scidded on the pavement. i prepared to climb up on the bar stool. finally the horses turned around and went back up the street, but they cut through an alley to make a break for the park. 10 guys ran every which way and disappeared into the darkness. 30 minutes later 3 horses went trotting past our restaurant, trying to look cool and collected as they squeezed past cars to freedom.
sunday would have been better if we could have gone to church. unfortunately the one church in town is only open for funerals! we ate a late breakfast and wandered up the beach to play in the waves. i met a darling nicaraguan girl, 18 years old. she sat with me in the sand, and taught me spanish while i taught her english. last night we went back to our italian restaurant.
the howler monkeys are everywhere, or they just sound like it. it´s rare to see them. joe and i saw one . . . it was a black blob hanging from a tree top. the sound is bizarre. imagine a basset hound barking like a toad croaking. sorry, that´s the best i can do. sometimes it sounds like a basset, other times like a giant frog, and other times like a combination. the sound of the howler monkey and exotic birds woke me up this morning.
gotta go!!
heidi
Can you bring a couple of those howler monkeys home in your suitcase? The Sacto Zoo doesn't have them anymore, and they were always my favorite. I would "whoo-oop, whoo-oop" right along with them. A jolly good time, and when the girls were younger, they joined me. Now, they are thankful the critters are gone, but that doesn't stop me from offering up a memorial whoop whenever we pass the old cage. I'm glad they're roaming free somewhere!
ReplyDeletehehe... I can just imagine your daughter's mortified looks!
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