Touchdown: The Happy Wanderer is HOME!

I'm back in beautiful, chilly New York! I wandered around the beautiful town of Granada with Jeff another day yesterday, and this time we walked down to the waterfront. I took some pictures of the island from the mainland, and of the town. I'm going to add some photos as an afterthought. The dial-up at home is not much fun for photos.

After we wandered Granada, I took a bus from the station to Managua. On the way, I was highly surprised to see a Quizno's (even bigger than some of the ones in NY!), and a big mall on the way to Managua! What is this??? It was way too weird being on an old school bus, coming from an island with dirt roads, to a huge food place I usually see in the US and a huge mall! This was way too weird.

We got to the bus station, and I had been sitting next to a nice lady and her little son. He kept hiding behind Mom because I was trying to say hi. :) They wanted to help me find a cab, and showed me where they would be. I said thank you and that I would look for a little food first. (I had been previously warned to be careful in Managua, because people have been robbed here). I grabbed a tamale (mashed corn? in a corn husk, then cooked over a fire) because I figured it would be safe for me to eat. Apparently my stomach is not as strong as I had thought (remember how I ate street food at the border and got sick? And then got sick from being dumb and drinking sink water in Granada?). This lead me to be VERY paranoid about what I ate.

After that, I took a ride from a taxi driver, and ate the tamale on the way. He put the radio on after I stopped asking questions, and my favorite Enrique Iglesias song was on! I don't remember the name, but it has the lyrics 'cuando me enamoro' (when I fall in love) in it. We were soon at the airport, and it was air conditioned. (I didn't miss air conditioning; it dries out my hands). I bought a few last-minute souveneirs with my remaining Cordobas, and got some more food. On the plane, I met a Mom and her daughter returning with a group that had gone to Nicaragua to build a school. They were going with a group because each party in the group had lost a child. I think that's a really great way to celebrate the lives of their children. That plane went to El Salvador, and the second one left soon after we landed. The whole plane ride I was SO excited to finally be going home. I practically ran (I ran) through the airport to get out to Mom and whoever was there to pick me up. It was Mom and Gram, and Gram was calling me so loud. I am so happy to be home! We went to Connecticut on the way home by accident. :) I'm so happy to be home!!!

I still have some updating to do about the trip. I had an awesome time at Ad Astra, a rocket company in Costa Rica, and there are some other cool things I still have to transfer from journal to blog. Keep looking for photos, too!