Nicaragua at last

For the past 10 months, I've listened to a giddy Dinh constantly rave about Nicaragua. The expressions on his face and the excitement that came when he talked about Nicaragua made me very curious to see this mystery land. Approximately 5 years ago, Dinh purchased a house in Nicaragua, west of Managua, after searching for the ultimate surf spot. He had found it on a beach resort called Gran Pacific. This turned out to be his Disneyland. He was happier than a pig in mud in Nicaragua. The surf was consistent, and best of all, there was no crowd. A perfect wave, all to yourself. This is a surfer's dream. There is no other place he would rather be, if you don't count Hawaii. I had a certain picture in my head of how Nicaragua would be. 

Dinh's house

We arrived late on a Sunday night. The black skies opened up and rained on us relentlessly for the last 3 hour stretch. So close, yet so far away. Dinh's house isn't in the most convenient location. You must endure pothole-laden dirt roads in order to get to this slice of heaven. Although, this is Nicaragua. 
We had driven for over 12 hours that day. We left El Salvador early in the morning and plowed straight though Honduras. We had no business in tumultuous Honduras. Making sure our doors were locked at all times and that we used the bathroom before crossing the border, our sights were set on Nicaragua. Even though we were only in the country for a couple hours, I was able to pick up on a strong sense of misery among the people. They didn't look very cheerful. They looked very rough around the edges. They had been through a lot in life. Nobody chooses what life they are born into. It's so sad that these people have to experience so much strife in their lives. I wish I could show them a better life, how beautiful life could really be. 
On average, there are 20 murders a day in Honduras. 20!! That's huge, if you think about how small the country is. Population: less than 8 million. It's called the "murder capitol of the world". I don't know about you, but I value my life enough not to spend any significant amount of time in such a chaotic country. 
See ya later Honduras!!

By the time we rolled into Gran Pacifica that night, Dinh was as hyper as a 2 year old that had gotten into the sugar jar. He had been away for about a year and had missed it more than ever. He was pointing out everyone's house as we bounced by on the dirt road. I felt like I knew these people from all the stories Dinh had told me.
"Uh-huh", I sporadically mustered out with my eyes closed, my head in my hand. 
It felt like someone had tied 5 pound weights to my eyelids. I was utterly exhausted from the long drive and from being on such high alert while in Honduras. Not to mention the hassle of 2 border crossings. I. was. pooped. 
The forerunner came to a halt in Dinh's driveway after 5,739 miles through 7 countries. The 200,000 mile engine drove like a champ and never once gave us a problem. 
I only had enough energy to ask Dinh where the bed was. I plopped down on it and was sleeping before he could even put the sheets on it. 
Sleeping sounder than a hibernating bear, I arose the next morning, feeling refreshed. 
I could finally take in my surroundings. Dinh was right, it was beautiful here. His house was set on a private spacious lot with nature in all directions. A hop, skip and jump away from the ocean. 

The 2 bedroom, 2 bath house was simple. Tile floors throughout. 
Dinh was up at sunrise, out in his backyard checking out his papaya trees, along with his pepper, basil, and mango trees. 

Throughout the course of the next 2 weeks, we were quite the little gardeners and managed to plant banana trees, lemongrass, watermelon, more basil, mint, more papaya, tomato and jackfruit. There's just something about the taste of your own vegetables that you've grown in your own backyard. No chemicals will ever touch our precious plants. 

the papayas get pretty big here!

We're thoroughly enjoying our green papaya salads.
They are umm-ummm good!!!