We got up at the usual time to finish packing. It wasn't very chaotic but I did manage to forget a few things (like my water bottle!). Rachel, Mike, Kaleb & I drove to Omaha and met up with Cory & Joe at the airport. We didn't bother to look at directions before we left home but found the airport pretty easily. After waiting for a couple hours in Omaha, the flight left about 30 minutes late so we had to hustle in Houston. Keegan didn't show up in Omaha and we were a little worried that he might miss the trip but it ended up that he was on a different flight and met us in Managua. Whew - we all made it!
The runway in Managua must be really short or the pilot was new 'cuz he really stood on the breaks as we landed. Once we arrived & deboarded I had my first experience with Immigration - what a cluster - even on a Sunday night! It probably took about an hour or so to get through Immigration. After that, Customs was a breeze.
We stepped outside the airport & a wall of warm air hit us - wow, just like summer in South Dakota! There were lots of people standing around with signs for various motels or people's names (this part is different than SD). We were also met by the smell of fresh flowers! Juan Carlos (our fabulous guide) found us and Julio (our fabulous driver) pulled up shortly thereafter in our van to deliver us to the Casa San Juan.
It was an interesting ride from the airport to the hotel; for some reason they typically don't put airports in the best parts of town. We saw a bizillion taxis (the good ones are the ones with the red stripe on the license plates), lots of people, crazy pedestrians & motorcycle drivers & one horse-drawn cart. It was dark by this time so I'm sure we missed a lot of sights, too. They have 'rotundras' that are kind of like round parks. The first one we came across had a Christmas tree lit up. I didn't know until later but these were left up by the government so celebrate the 30 year anniversary of something.
When we arrived at the hotel (pictured above), Marta & Francisca made us grilled ham & cheese sandwiches (with ketchup) and some white pineapple (I had never seen white pineapple before but it was very good!). We sat around & BS'd for a while, then went to our rooms. Rach had to fill me in on all the rules (get bottled water to brush your teeth & wear shoes at all times, even inside). I speak VERY LITTLE Spanish (Rach laughs when I say that) but I was feeling challenged already about my inability to communicate. At least with sign language, I can spell the words I don't know how to sign! Rachel, Cory, Joe & Mike were pretty fluent.
That's it for tonight!
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