Baby Parrot

Our hotel in Granada was home to a couple of little green parakeets and two larger parrots like this one. I never saw the older and larger parrot, but I did see lots of the younger, newer addition. My first morning in Granada I woke up to find this parrot sitting on top of a chair outside my room. He sang the same three notes my childhood cockateal sang and so I whistled to him. He seemed to like this and walked along the top of the chair to me and then lifted up his foot. I took this to mean he wanted a lift (his wings were clipped) and put out my hand. He hopped on and looked at me while making chatty little bird noises. I walked towards the main courtyard where his food was waiting and showed Papa my new friend. The fun didn't last for long however, as he had made his way up to my shoulder and refused to get down! The manager eventually came over to forcibly remove him from me. Matt and Papa were no help. They thought it was just too funny.

That evening when we got back from our day hiking in the cloud forest the parrot was sitting in the courtyard and whistled to us. I whistled back and I think he must have remembered me because after I walked back to my room to shower I heard him outside. He had followed me and was sadly standing on the ground looking up at me. I had learned my lesson that morning and would not pick him up, so he settled for standing on my feet. It was so cute, but sad at the same time. Everywhere I walked he tried to run after me while pathetically squawking. After a while I hid in my room with the hope that he would eventually find a new mommy to imprint on.

Mombacho

This morning we went to Volcan Mombacho. It is high up in a cloud
forest so while we were unable to see far, the forest was filled with
orchids and moss and thick with trees. It was even chilly up there! We
walked around the crater up steep, wet wooden steps. I managed to stay
on my feet and not plummet way, way down. Thank goodness.

Granada

Today we dropped Joe off at the airport and made our way to Granada. We stopped at the Masaya volcano - it is still active and we were not able to get a great view due to all the sulphurous smoke. It is not a very high volcano - just a really big crater. After walking around the lip of the crater we drove to the oter side to meet up with a guide who took us into a cave. I really don't like the idea of being deep underground near an active volcano, but decided to tough it out. We were given little construction helmets and very weak flashlights before hiking down into the cave. The ground was damp and craggy and there were fruit bats above. We walked 200 meters into the cave until it opened up quite a bit. The guide told us that this was where virgins used to be sacrificed to the volcano. And then he had us turn out all our flashlights so that we could see how dark it really is. I inched closer to papa and grabbed his hand. It was so dark that I felt as if it was closing in on me. My breaths came deeper and faster until I just couldn't stand it and had to switch on my light. I was happy to turn back and walk towards the light. 

We arrived in Granada this afternoon after lunch overlooking a beautiful lake in another volcano crater. A walk through the city and central square left me feeling sticky and gritty (kind of like NY in the summer!). It was nice to use a real shower and not have to layer on sunscreen or bug spray after. 

One more day in Nicaragua before home. I am going to try and soak up all the warm weather I can!! 

Nicaragua is a wonderful place. We have been in a few different places
now and I have enjoyed everything. The first night was the hardest. We
stayed one night in Masaya at a little hotel before heading to the
coast. I did not like the look of my room from the start. As I crawled
up the bed I kept telling myself 'i've slept in worse places. I'll be
fine. So long as there are no bugs." I pulled back the coverlet and a
scorpion was scared from its hiding place!! It was a baby scorpion,
but they can still sting (fortunately I did not find out how hard they
sting)! After a thorough search for other critters turned up nothing I
was able to put it out of mind and get to sleep just fine, thankfully.

The next day we drove to the Pacific coast to Los Cardones surf lodge
where Joe joined us. It turned out to be a beautiful and peaceful
spot. We were in little cabins with no electricity (they did provide
very important mosquito nets that also keep out scorpions). The beach
was endless and empty. Perfect. Each morning we took a long walk
before the real heat set in. It was a gift to walk on a beach so clean
and empty. We took a surf lesson on Tuesday from Austin, the young and
very nice surf guy/bartender. It was hard. The waves were rough. As
difficult as it was we all had fun.

Four days with no electricity or distractions was lovely. I turned my
phone off and forgot about everything for days. I think I will miss
the peace and quiet almost as much as the beautiful beach and waves.

Nicaragua!!

I am in Nicaragua with Matt and Papa. We spent the first night in a
town called Masaya. This is the outside of a little market that we
walked to. I didn't find anything but Matt bought some Nicaraguan
cigars and Papa found a hat.

We are off to the Pacific where we will attempt to surf! I am not sure
how it will work out for me but we'll be on a beach on the ocean!