After our strenuous ride yesterday - which was immensely fun coming back - like flying by bike - I have deep chest congestion and a runny nose. Feel crummy. Waaaa! Yehudah is pretty much over dealing with his post-dental surgery bleeding and energetically is just fine. I am the one who had a day of intestinal discomfort and now a cold. Welcome to Nicaragua!.
Since today is Shabbat it is a good down day. Perhaps we will get massages from the blind masseuses not too far from where we are staying and go to a museum. And sleep. Yehudah prepared good old oatmeal this morning with papaya and mint tea - all very welcome. At least one of us is functional. Hopefully I will be better by Monday, when we leave for Managua. Did not mention that we passed a large group of folks batting Xmas pinatas on our ride back - and exchanged hola,s with whomever we passed.
From Yehudah:
I awoke to a mosquito buzzing me a 6 AM. Not sure if I got him, but he went after easier pickings and I awoke an hour later none the worse for wear. Yesterday, I did notice a lot of dots covering my feet and ankles, but none on Joanie´s. Very fortunately, they aren´t itchy. I do seem to get at least one good bite each day. One is square in the middle of my back and one on my hand that took over a day to get past. It was a loo loo.
It´s been a challenging day for two folks who always attempt to live life to the fullest, especially when travelling. After a filling breakfast of papaya (we bought a giant one for $2 and are gradually working our way through it) and oatmeal, I made Joanie a couple of cups of hot, lemon water. Soon afterward, she faded from the scene and has been sleeping the better part of the afternoon. Very unusual for her to succumb to a cold and we don´t even know where we got exposed. (The bike trip definitely put us at risk though. It was at least 20 km (12 miles) over the roughest of roads you can imagine. Not much up and down but lots of rocks.) Got some fish stock waiting for dinner that should be both healthy and tasty.
We had our biggest frustration with the computer so far - it simply would not upload our photos. The one gringo staying here and knows the computer just came by a couple of minutes ago and said it wasn´t reading my USB connection and the I should go to the Alhambra Hotel´s internet cafe where a techie can make short work of it. So stay posted for photos to be added to this week´s posts. BTW, this Brit or Aussie (I don´t know which) has about the filthiest mouth (as my mother would say) you can imagine
So with Joanie´s blessings and an empty stomach, I took off for some exploring. About the only place closed today is the cigar factory and store on our street. Too many tourista to close for the holidays every place else. I quickly got to the Central Square and checked out the other outdoor restaurant, but they don´t post their prices, so I went back to the one that contributed to Joanie´s initial problem - an upset stomach- but didn´t touch me. The entertainment in that corner are continual music videos of popular American pop tunes. I had a substantial lunch of fajita con pollo with gallo pinto (rice and black beans) y tortilla was quickly consumed all for about $2.75. Every table gets a mason jar of pickled chilies and onions. I found out last time that the chilies were more than a match for my tolerance. This time I thought I was scooping the last beans up for my last bite and quickly found out there were several chiles included. Oops! I´ll pay closer attention next time. I took some pictures of a grandfather and a young boy interacting and several siblings playing. We tourista stick out here where you can´t hide your gringoness, whether it´s the color of your skin, your backpack, your short shorts, some other obvious identifier.
Afterwards, I decided to go have a massage at Seeing Hands where blind people do massage. The clerk speaks fluent English so it´s easy to get your needs met. A very large, Nicaraguan man gave me a deep working over for an hour for $15! The top of my thighs were super tight from the bike ride and there was still that little trigger point in my low back. He did lighten up enough for me to relax - most of the time. He knew when 60 minutes were over as the CD of Gheorghe Zamfir playing pan pipes stopped. Wanted to get a picture with him, but he wasn´t around when I left.
While I was working on the blog, it suddenly got very park. Whenever I looked down at the keyboard, I couldn´t see the letter because the screen was the only light in the space. It was a sudden downpour. They are saying it´s unusual for this time of year, but every afternoon there´s been a brief shower. Though the one our first day was a gully washer.
We got a friend of the owners to ask where they went for Midnight Mass. She told us that they go at 8 PM at the Guadalupe Church, a huge fortress converted to a church. Probably a good bet for an early to bed. We can always go a second round at the Catedral de Granada. There have been firecrackers going off all day.
Happy Chanukah and Merry Xmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment