Day 65 7/26/13 (I got sleep?, scrambling to get ready, getting scrambled eggs, catching the 8 AM bus, riding in Vin Diesel’s Nicaraguan father’s taxi (not officially confirmed) and a classy hotel in Managua (the last stop in Nicaragua))

So the day sort of continued from like 3 in the morning and then I maybe got some sleep before it was my 5:50 AM alarm. I turned the alarm off to my credit but then passed out until 6:40 AM where Dan asked across the room if I thought we could still make the 8 AM bus. I said yes and jumped up to shower and tell Sol we could use a quick breakfast. The power was still off at this time so I had to take a candlelit shower (with a solitary candle sitting on the sink). It was kind of interesting and felt somewhat medieval or something. Dunno. Anyways breakfast came up quickly and was avocados and egg whites, B&R, scrambled eggs and bread and milk. Very solid meal. After that I had to finish packing the last of my bags (laptop bag and LL Bean suitcase) as we were going to head to the bus station at 7:30 AM. We asked Sol if she could get us a taxi, but it never showed up, so Dan and I legged it over there in the rain. We got to the station around like 7:40 AM and the nice bus for Managua was sitting there just waiting to leave at 8. The ride cost 150 Cord ($6) for the 6.5 hour endeavor northward. Anyways we had said goodbye to the family and thanked them for everything. The ride was actually not that bad. It seemed to go by quite quickly (as 20 minute and 40 minute naps helped to erode the 6 hours). It wouldn’t be a complete Nicaraguan adventure if we didn’t have some minor problems, so at one point the bus even had some engine trouble, but they fixed it or duct taped it together and it worked fine for the rest of the trip to Managua. The trip also featured music (every song seemed to be about love, heartbreak, wanting women or a combination of all three). The bus was one of those old greyhound buses without air conditioning. But the windows opened so there was quite a breeze if need be. The only real complaint I had about the bus was that the legroom was the smallest I’ve had one any bus like that and that made it slightly uncomfortable. Otherwise I can’t complain as I made the trip from San Carlos without issue and am now in Managua. The bus stopped at this bus station that seemed to be way the heck on the far side of the side (Northward I suppose) as we passed the airport and then drove for an additional 20 minutes +). After that Dan and I grabbed our bags and got a taxi for like 150 Cordobas for us both to the hotel where we’ll be staying on Saturday night (with the group) and tonight on our own. The taxi ride to our hotel took a good like 30 minutes almost (O.o as we trekked a good ways back towards the airport and down these side streets to find the place which seems to be like an old rustic place with an upscale flair to it). The taxi ride was pretty legit as the dude was cruising through the streets and taking some turns with ease and dodging potholes at speed. It was sick (somewhat like Fast and the Furious in places). Anyways there’s also a security guard at the gate to let folks in so security is top notch here and the interior is like this old marbled place with nice staircases. We talked to the receptionists who were trying to figure out a room rate as they were confused about us being here a day before we had a reservation (tomorrow night with EWH). Anyways I think one of them called the owner (named Carlos) and he came strolling out front (nice dude who speaks English) and he gave us a pretty good rate of $50 for the two of us to have this huge room for the night with breakfast included and of course blazing fast wifi. This works for us and we paid them and went upstairs to this sick room with 3?!? beds and a nice bathroom with a hot shower (A HOT SHOWER!!!!!!!). Anyways we’ve been chilling since then, trying to figure out what we’re doing today for food (last food at 7 AM) and it’s now 5:41 PM. Today has been a god day all things considered. Looking forward to tomorrow and finishing up this shiznit (and presenting 30 things you could have been doing if you hadn’t contracted Dengue tomorrow). I will be writing two more entries on this blog (tomorrow’s and Sunday’s, so I’d like to thank all of you out there for taking the time to chill and read this blog. Hopefully you guys have learned something (either about fixing equipment or about how not to do something here) so far! Keep up the fantastic work! Peace!