Leon is Nicaragua’s second largest city, with a population of over 400,000 people so though we know the country is underdeveloped, we must admit we expected a bit more from the cities’ main bus terminal.  Which, as you can see, turned out to be little more than a pot-holed dirt parking lot filled with a collection of old school buses (translate regular city buses), trucks with high, tarped roofs and chained sides (translate really regular city buses), mini-buses (translate high class transportation: a mini-van packed with only 12-15 people), and the city to city buses.  These are a cross between a school bus and a Greyhound and are the method we chose to get from Leon to the beach town of Las Penitas.  The bus waits at the “terminal” until all of the seats are full, and then until the entire aisle is crammed with standing passengers, and then until the entry way is full from beside the driver all the way down to where the bus attendant stands/hangs out the always open door.  On the way to its destination, the bus stops anywhere along its route where a person is hailing it or anytime a rider whistles out to be dropped off which prompts an intricate shifting of bodies while one or several people negotiate their way into or out of the bowels of the bus.  There is no better way to get up close and personal with local Nicaraguans! 

Our only aim was to head to the beach, and beach we have found.  Miles and miles of beautiful waves and sand, not white sand, but clean volcanic rock crushed to fine grains with an abundant mix of seashells and the occasional outcropping of rock for the waves to break upon.  And the best part: we walked the beach today for over and hour and saw a total of oh, maybe six people!  Hay mucho sol!  Even with his Italian skin, Fred got a bit of sunburn after being out for less than an hour.

Las Penitas is a fishing village, so small it doesn’t even have a market, which didn’t match our dreams of fresh mango every morning and had us questioning whether to stay.  Enter Pedro, who operates Sol y Mar, a bed and breakfast that will throw in a custom ordered dinner for $3 a night. So, as I write, I am sitting on a balcony, 50 feet from crashing waves and an uninterrupted view of the sunset.  For less than $20 a day, I get the view, a room with a private bath, dinner, breakfast with a full pot of coffee, free purified cold water, and the company of Pedro and Maria.  Sold.  We signed on for another week! 

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