Me Encanta la LLuvia

In costa rica, it consistently began raining in the late afternoon. In nicaragua, it consistly pours in the morning. Me encanta la lluvia.

The rain washes the dog shit off the cobble stone streets. It pits the dirt roads. It wets the tile side walks. My new pair of flip flops don´t do so well on wet tile. Its more like trying to walk across ice in sneakers. The rain also wets the tile stairs.

I slid down the stairs in my hostel, CasaOro, this morning...it wasn´t fun, but it was funny...to others. It was a slide of about 5 feet, and 7 stairs...however, going down, i said ¨motherfucker¨instead of ¨weeeeeeeeeee¨.

(As an adult, if i find myself at the top of a slide, i have to pretend i got there by accident. Oh well, guess i´ll have to go down. When having fun, its also common to refer to yourself and other people. - MH)

I met a local in a bar, Luis, who knew a little more english than i knew spanish. We helped eachother out...in exchange, he took me to a late night local bar where we drank with 20 other locals and 1 girl in little black shorts and a revealing white top who enjoyed gyrating against a stone pillar that supported the wood planked ceiling. In exchange, i gave him my pair of reef flip flops...the ones with a bottle opener on the bottom. Turns out he´s the local salsa teacher and hosts classes for two hours each day. In exchange for being a good drinking buddy, i get free salsa lessons...my first one is today.

I only meant to stay here 2 days as a restover after being treated like a beached carcass torn apart by hermit crabs as i crossed into nicaragua. My backpack makes me a huge target. I had up to 8 people following me around, selling me ¨services¨. It was an entourage without the perks. But now, after meeting so many amazing people...locals, travellers, ex-pats...i keep finding an excuse to stay another day.

San juan del sur has delved its hooks into me. I hope to writhe and wriggle free tomorrow, head north to granada...and perhaps take a week of language courses in Esteli before heading into honduras. Peace.