The Spaces in Between

How did we get here to this place?  This place being this planet, this era, these friends around us because of certain choices made or unmade.  Such a huge question that it begs being  asked periodically.  Otherwise, we begin to take it for granted.

This place also meaning here, physically, in Castillo.  How did we get here from Big Corn?   It was quite the process, though not nearly the ordeal as getting out to Big Corn from Managua and included a series of the minute details and unexpected surprises that comprise our lives regardless of where we are but are often accentuated while traveling.

After a quick easy flight, we were the first ones out of the airport with luggage, eschewed the first taxi offer of $20, and got one for $6 who took us to the Mayoreo Bus Station where we were led directly onto the bus for a seven hour ride.  Getting off in the town of San Carlos, we called Philippe, who sent a panga as soon as one was available, to take us to his "eco-lodge".  The lodge seems to focus more on fishing and on his cuisine rather than on other amenities like running water or queen-sized beds or fans, but he rented us two kayaks and a guide, and we took off immediately the next morning.

Going down river we spent our first night at a remote lodge in the hills above the river. We shared our room with the bats that live there. I'm afraid one was given a start when it accidentally brushed up against my arm when I got up to pee in the middle of the night.  This lodge had been arranged in advance by ...... an employee at the Esquina del Lago lodge where we hired the kayaks and guide.  The river lodge with the bats appeared like a peanut butter Jesus sandwich....Christ's face swirled in the Skippy bringing us so much divine joy after an intensely grueling day of paddling without current into a fierce wind.   Franci, the owner, has chosen and set up a beautiful place with individual wooden bungalows set in a row, all with a river view, down the hill from the kitchen and bar so that it was easier to stumble home after a tasty meal.  The next morning she served us organic coffee at 5 am from her personal stock, sat and chatted with us about her vision for the next steps in the process of remodeling the place, much as Angeline would have done back home, and refused my handshake in favor of a huge, smiling hug.

Smooth connections, a restful haven, an exuberant, generous woman taking care of us after a hard workout, each comprises a part of the memory of this trip that encourages us to be smiling and generous in return.