Karie's Visit

After not having much on the agenda for quite awhile, my weekend was suddenly full of adventure. One of my professors from Western Oregon was visiting Nicaragua and she invited me to join her to show her around my digs. She is fluent in Spanish and has made it her goal to travel to all of the Spanish-speaking countries, and Nicaragua was next on her list.


I left early to meet Karie in Managua where she was staying and then we headed down to Masaya. We met up with Kellie and took Karie to all of the local attractions, including the Nica market and the cleaner tourist market. Kellie showed us the mirador in Masaya, the one I hadn’t seen before, and it was beautiful. The lake is bigger than the one in Catarina and the view was breathtaking. Thanks Kellie! We hung out in the park for a little and enjoyed the tranquility and people watched. Later, I took Karie to Catarina to see the mirador there, where you can see Granada (Karie will be going there later) and Lake Nicaragua, and then we checked out some shops. I promised that the pottery is best in San Juan de Oriente (my training town) and she agreed once we arrived. We both bargained and bought some pieces. We also went to a workshop and the local artisans showed us everything in their shop and the process of making the pottery. They were very eager to share their work with us and this was a very neat experience for both of us. After a long, hot day, we headed back up to Managua to catch the bus to Boaco.

We finally arrived in Boaco in the evening, just in time to walk to Boaco arriba and find a restaurant for dinner. I invited my little sister to join us and we had a great time and good conversation. It was fun because we spoke Spanish—usually when I’m around other Americans we speak English, but it made more sense to speak Spanish since my host sister was there. I enjoyed this and I feel like I was able to learn some things from Karie too. After dinner we hung out at my house and relaxed because we were very exhausted from the travel.

The next morning, I cooked breakfast for us—oatmeal, eggs, tajadas (platanos fritos), and fresh pineapple. Delicious :) After breakfast, Karie did the dishes while I heated water for bucket baths. The water in my house is freezing, so I figured bucket baths wouldn’t be terrible as long as we could have hot water. I think this was Karie’s first bucket bath, so she got to enjoy a little bit of the Peace Corps experience.

Fresh and clean, we headed out to explore Boaco. I took Karie to Boaco arriba, now in the light, to see the park, church, the lighthouse, and then to the panaderia for a snack. We sat in the park and enjoyed the scenery and the gentle breeze. Then, we walked to Boaco abajo to see the market and take pictures. It was such a fun experience because I haven’t taken pictures of the market yet mainly because I live here and I usually don’t take pictures when I’m walking around by myself. Karie inspired me and we got a lot of great pictures, played with the kids in the market, and talked to some locals. I made sure to direct Karie to some shops with sacos (strong Nica bags made from plastic) so that she could carry her pottery easier on the way back to Managua. We then headed back to the house and Karie packed up her things. It was then time to say goodbye. We took pictures with each other and then with my host sis and mom. They seemed to enjoy having a visitor. I then took a taxi to the bus terminal to help Karie with her things and made sure she got a seat on the bus. It was so good having a visitor and playing tour guide and I was sure sad to see her go. She has plans to visit Granada, the Isla de Ometepe, and a place near San Juan del Sur. Sounds like some fun Christmas plans :)

Although I was just in San Juan was a short visit, I’m still planning on going back for Christmas to spend time with my old host family. I’m really excited to see my family there and hang out with friends, including Kellie who’s going back too. It should be fun!

I’m posting pictures on Facebook so make sure to check them out!