We met our new friend, Maria, at Surfing Turtle Leon just in time to take the shuttle to the beach lodge. The “shuttle” was just a taxi and I was actually amazed at myself for learning to just ignore the insane recklessness that drivers in Nicaragua exhibit. No Passing lanes seem less like rules, less even than simple suggestions, and more like dares. A sharp curve 100 feet ahead? Seems like the perfect time to pass. Yet somehow, even though I have an intense fear of taxis back home, I’ve learned to just look away. Ignorance is bliss, right?
The taxi drops us off at a small boat launch ramp and heads off while we wait. Another taxi drops off two more girls and moments later, a small blue boat shows up. There are five of us now, each with a backpack of luggage, and he shows up in a boat that I would assume can hold only two very skinny children and their equally skinny mother. But alas, in typical Nica fashion, it seems like the impossible will work. The boat driver piles in our luggage, stacking it high enough to give me flash backs of my pack rolling off the roof of the shuttle to León. *Shudders.* We set off on the 20ish minute ride across the river/lake, going at a pace that might barely outrun a snail. At the other end of the river/lake, we pile out and wait for our carriage to arrive. No, seriously. A horse and cart arrived shortly, putting our luggage in the cart and riding off into the sunset while we walked along behind it. The walk was only about 15 minutes, but man did this place feel remote. Considering we took a taxi, a boat, and then a horse and buggy to get there, I suppose it actually is pretty remote.
That’s the boat that took 5 guests, 1 driver, and alllll of our luggage, across this river/lake. HOW.
I just couldn’t help myself…
This was our home base for our stay.
We changed immediately, doused ourselves in SPF, and ran to the beach, soaking in the sounds of the waves ravaging the sand ahead of us and basking in the glory that would be the next 3 days.
The next morning we woke up early and headed to the yoga deck so I could teach a class. Of course, there were people sleeping on the yoga deck so I taught quietly between the hammocks, amazed that teaching came back to me so quickly. I was so happy, I could’ve floated off of my feet. We set our things down by a little hut off on the side of the beach and spent the rest of the morning warming our skin under the blazing sun, waiting for our surf lessons.
Well, almost the whole day.
After dinner, I, half asleep, retreated to our cabin to use the bathroom. I was taking my sweet time when Alison returned, begging me to open the front door before mosquitos ate her alive, so I quickly finished and ran to the front door to let her in. It was her turn to use the bathroom, so I grabbed my hand sanitizer off the bed and let her head in.
The moment she passed the threshold, she screamed. “OH MY GOD.” Running out, and pointing to the sink, I instinctively retreated from the bathroom. We’ve seen a lot of nasty things on this trip and I was honestly too tired to deal with another cockroach.
Eventually, she went back in, looked closer (I later found out she also blew on it at this point(????)) and proclaimed that we had a toad in our sink. Toads>giant spiders>cockroaches so I dragged my exhausted body to the bathroom, peered over the edge of the sink, and……… yeah it was not a toad. Poop covered the sink, this thing had a tail, and that’s pretty much all I could assess before I bolted out and slammed the door. After much discussion, we realized we wouldn’t be able to get it out alone, so Alison went to find help while I stood watch over our new foe.
SO. MUCH. BAT. POOP. (Also, how did Alison think this was a toad…?)
She texted me updates as she struggled to find anyone willing to help get the mystery animal out of the sink, but eventually one of the workers, whose English was the weakest, came in, immediately recognized that it was a bat, and left to get the proper tools, which was basically a latex glove and half of a soda bottle. Excuse the language in the following video. (I’m sure you’ve all heard worse!)
He saved the day, and released the tiny bat into the wild, but unfortunately, that bat was not alone. The rest of the night, we were kept awake with chirping and scratching and finding random bat poop around our room. Honestly, I was so tired that my emotions had completely shut down and I didn’t really care much about the damn bats. BUT THEN THE WHOLE NIGHT BECAME INCREDIBLE.
Surfing Turtle Lodge buys turtle nests from poachers and keeps them on site, releasing them into the ocean when they hatch. Hatching cannot be planned and so you never know if you’ll get to experience it but BOOM I GOT TO SEE 78 BABY TURTLE WADDLE INTO THE OCEAN AT 10:30pm ON JANUARY 12th. It was incredible. As there wasn’t much of a moon, the biologist on site used a flashlight to guide the babies towards the ocean and we watched as the waves captured each one, pulling them away into the wild. The stars were incredible, only rivaled by those I had seen while crossing the Atlantic on Semester at Sea. I could’ve watched the stars all night. After seeing a shooting star, I got so excited to tell Alison that I forgot to make a wish, but honestly, in that moment, under the stars, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted. In hindsight, I should’ve wished for the bats to leave me alone.
Crappy quality, but imagine 78 of these bad boys making their way to the ocean.
The next day, we spent the day lounging under the sun, letting my bruised and battered ribs recover from surfing. At 4:30pm, the lodge had a volleyball game (winners got free drinks), and if anyone knows me they’d be floored to find out that I willingly participated. I was awful, but my team won & I did actually hit the ball on several occasions.
On the last night, as we curled into bed at 8pm, covering our beds with mosquito netting, the bats revisited. Hearing them scratch at the roofing and squeak around each corner of the room, I had resigned myself to not caring………. until one peed. On my face.
The only thing that could make me even consider wanting to leave this beautiful place had happened.
I fell asleep shortly after, with a blanket covering my body from head to toe, too tired to even consider moving to the bottom bunk, which wasn’t covered my any netting but did have the luxury of a bed covering my face, and I fell fast asleep.
The next day, dragging our feet, we packed up, set up our shuttle, and took the horse/boat/reckless taxi back to León. With every intention of buying souvenirs that day, we quickly learned that everything is closed on Sundays. Sorry to friends/family who wanted souvenirs.
We finished the evening with a bottle of wine, a delicious meal, and a 2 hour drive to Managua.
For now, I’m just left with the memories of one of my favorite trips I’ve ever been on.
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