Surf practice has been put off in favour of intensive reading and coffee drinking (usually by torch light as the electricity keeps failing). The winds have brought in very cold water, big waves and lots of scary sea animals (jelly fish, stingy sting rays), so not really for beginners without wetsuits.
The first day the wind picked up we took a very scary boat trip from Isla Ometepe to the mainland...10 foot waves on a flimsy boat. Disembarking involved a single plank of wood; one end on the dock, and one end rising and falling by several feet along with the boat deck. A handrail was thoughtfully provided by one man on land holding the end of a bamboo pole, the other end held by a man on the boat (obviously also rising and falling fairly dramatically too!). Process complicted by immense waves rolling towards us, whilst carrying two rucksacks and a large bottle of water. The picture below is of a slightly nervous Steph & Derek just as we got on board....little did we know the worst of it!
We heard yesterday that a boat sailing from Isla Ometepe to San Jorge sank....! Apparently all passengers were ok....can't find news about this though. Maybe would frighten away the tourists?
5 comments:
Damn, Steph. Did you not get a copy of the rules when you landed in Central America?
Rule Number 1: Never board dodgy boats in bad weather in the 3rd world.
Rule Number 2: NEVER break Rule Number 1.
Rule Number 3: If you break Rule Number 1 and Rule Number 2, ALWAYS ride on deck so you can jump clear and swim when the boat goes down.
Rule Number 4: Always take a pack of smokes with you, double wrapped in ziploc plastic bags. Even if you don't smoke, they'll come in handy when you get bored on the desert island. Also, they'll serve as currency in certain remote locales.
Rule Number 5: Do NOT ride the dolphins, even if they smile and act all sweet. They are tricky, devious characters who resent humans lording over them with their fancy opposable thumbs.
Rule Number 6: Cut your mum some slack and tell her the scary stories after you're safely home. (OK, I made this one up based on prior experience, but all the rest are official... ;)
i think i'm a bit wrong in the head... that all sounds quite fun!
Oh, and on a non-hysterical note, did you see the stone idols on Ometepe? They're supposed to pre-date the Maya/Incas, si?
Oh dear....i broke rule number 1....and therefore by default, number 2....and number 3, oops. Wow...number 4 too....
Aha! Rule number 5! I have laughed in the face of all dolphins offering rides to see small kittens (even if they offered sweets). I also waved my thumbs in a smug fashion, so perhaps should not expect any future favours from the dolphins...
Sorry about rule number 6 Mum!
(The boat ride was quite fun though :)
Stephie, can we have a different blog thing now please, I'm fed up with reading about the wind in Nicaragua!
Sparkadelic doesn't know that I think that You and Sarah enjoy frightening the life out of me!!!
Keep having fun!
LU
Moumi xxxxxxxxxxx
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