XXVIII. Bitter Coffee, Sweet Goodbye

So, finally I come to the conclusion of the reports about the family visit. From Masaya, we went to León, my future, or rather now present, home. We spent some beautiful days there, exploring the impressive city with its many churches and its rich revolutionary history, lounging by the pool, and enjoying delicious food.

But there will be more to read about León in the future (very soon!), so I prefer to write about our trip to Las Peñitas beach on December 31st - we have finally reached 2017!

First, we paddled along the canal in front of the beach in a kayak. There were many mangroves, herons, and later on the beach, even a few baby turtles - but there were already photos of them!

In the evening, we had incredibly delicious fish for dinner, and then we danced into the new year at a hostel party. There we learned about the tradition of burning an effigy of an old man to bid farewell to the old year. Overall, it was a very different New Year's Eve, and I enjoyed it very much!

After a relaxing day in León, on the second of January we took a day trip to Matagalpa, the city of coffee. With a bit of luck, we found the coffee farm of an incredibly lovely family. One of the daughters showed us the entire farm, including the coffee and cocoa plants, the processing, and some interesting facts and stories - one of the best tours I have ever experienced in my life!

Then we had a wonderful lunch with a musical performance by the family's parents.

At some point, we had to leave and drove on the Pan-American Highway to Managua. We spent the night in a normal hotel opposite the airport. The next morning, Mama, Papa, and Franzi went to the airport very, very early, so for me it was very, very early to say goodbye and very, very early to go back to Granada.

The farewell was, at least from my side, very relaxed, not tearful like in Berlin, but with a big grin. After all, I had a great time here in Nicaragua so far, with no homesickness at all, then two wonderful weeks with family, and now there are even more adventures ahead - it couldn't have been better!

On the bus to Granada, I reviewed everything and arrived at the Casa de las Botellas totally happy at eight o'clock in the morning while everyone was still sleeping. There was a great joy of reunion and a big pile of work waiting for me.

For what? For the next step towards the present: the Berrinche! But more about that in the next blog entry.

Hasta luego!