A Nicaraguan journey in photos:

Waiting for the Quick Coach bus in Surrey.

A great (ie: easy) bus ride.

 
Seattle was a materialist’s dream (rightfully a separate entry, which realistically I will never get around to)—I couldn’t help but admire the craft and efficiency of Southeast mall, with its elegance and child-friendliness. Note the child-sized toilet and sink. After a chorus of cries and excursions into restricted areas at the US border, we decided child tethers were a good idea. A woman at a child’s store (something-8) called about 10 different stores, and then offered to loan me her car so I could drive to Target—she definitely gets the most-helpful-sales-person-ever award. We also had the best Thai food of my life, outside of Thailand, at tastefully-decorated Racha.

A short walk at our luxury hotel, Cedarbrook Lodge (the deal made with Asheya for the savings of flying through Seattle).

The hotel. I visited the grand piano to the right (not shown) each evening. They served the most gourmet breakfast I’ve ever had (ex: fine Italian sausage and smoked salmon).

Two medium-long plane rides and a couple of delays. The kids were great.

Houston.

Our first Nicaraguan meal, breakfast—desayuno—at Hotel La Pyrámide. I always love eating new fruits, like the purple pitaya, which I believe is essentially the Dragon Fruit I enjoyed in SE Asia.

The principal story of this precious photo is obvious. See if you can find the secondary story in 2 parts.

I would normally shy away from the tourist-gimmick style hotels, but this was rated #1 online, and security/helpfulness were worth paying for, for our night in Managua. Manfred, the owner, picked us up from the airport, helped us buy cell phones and change money on the street the next day, and even drove us to San Marcos, where he coincidentally owns a small farm (he had to pay his workers this week).

A gem of a restaurant (the restaurant), in San Marcos. I’m very pleased to discover they serve great Mexican dishes, as I had heard this style of food was not part of Nicaragua.

 
Compared to the grand piano I was just playing in the world we have left, this photo embodies the world we are now in.

After a few days of sprinting everywhere (literally), we had our house packed, our house cleaned, and our bags packed, and that’s that.

The flight to Vancouver went amazingly well:

• Eowyn was able to nap on me (quite easy for her, seeing as she distracted my final packing by waking up repeatedly from midnight to 1:30am, until I finally let her join my work by putting her in a backpack carrier).
• Elias enjoyed watched some kid shows (he’s only watched a very limited selection of movies, mostly nature, in his life).
• Later, Amadeus napped on me.
• I therefore managed to watch a whole movie (totally unexpected).

At one point, Elias turned off his movie and tried to nap (of his own volition), but after trying a few postures on the seat and the ground, concluded it was not possible.

On the way down, Elias cried loudly due to the pain in his ears. He illogically refused to try any technique to help himself: “I just want the pain to go away all by itself!” he declared between cries. That was frustrating. Finally, another (no doubt irritated) passenger gave him a stick of gum. Of course that worked.

The rest of the evening was spent in Toy Heaven at Gramma and Grampy’s house.

PS: Eowyn is learning to talk, and my current favourite word of hers is “peppa…roni”.

My parents contributed to our double stroller / bike chariot in the spring inadvance of Amadeus’ birth, which has received great use through the latest three seasons of the Yukon.

I put together a thank-you slideshow, which I thought I’d share with the world at large. Though not the intention, It’s almost an advertisement for MEC double chariots and the Yukon Wildelife Preserve—both deservedly.

For those interested in the approximate timeline and steps we took to prepare for our winter away, here you go:

March

Travel clinic re: immunization planning

July

Eric/children passports
Compassion Canada sending info about sponsor child visit

August

Immunizations
Passports photos & applications
Buy Nicaragua Tickets

September

Transfer sold businesses
Rent House
Notify credit cards of trip
Vancouver plane tickets
Fill out Temporary Absence health care form
Setup Canada Post to forward mail
Book Seattle hotel
Change vehicle/home insurance
Oil/propane details
Phone details
Register with Govt of Canada
Immunizations

October
1

Begin house pack
Book Managua hotel
Travel health insurance

5

Backup computer data, setup laptop
Change relevant addresses
Schedule internet change

9

Oil change

11

Wash van
Clean house

12

Store van: fill gas tank, add preservative, disconnect & store battery, plug exhaust with steel wool, no parking brake, recirculate air

14

Book airport taxi

15

Leave to Vancouver!

16

Book shuttle to Seattle

25

Confirm Managua hotel

26

Bus to seattle

28

Fly to Managua!

Detailed, yet grossly simplified… You may have noticed packing was absent—that’s another list.

I first learned what Ibex are from watching Planet Earth with Elias. The Sunday before last I had an encounter with an Ibex of another sort.

I’m heavily constrained by family on which days I can go adventuring, so when Asheya’s grandmother came for a visit, I carpe’d the diem, if you know what I mean. I had hoped to overnight near Haines, and get in two hikes, but the weather was against me. Come Sunday, and the last full day of her visit, I ignored the rainy day and the warning against biking the Ibex Valley in wet conditions, and off I went.

The valley itself is a 33km one-way trip, but I had to add another 20km given my single vehicle. As I’ve noted to myself many, many times before, foul weather bums me out before the trip begins, but hardly affects my enjoyment once I’m there (unless the views are heavily obscured). I got only a little rain splattered, and otherwise supped the crisp Yukon fall day time and again.

The warning against biking the Ibex Valley when wet proved to be unfounded, at least with the sort of moist days we’ve been having.

I noted bear sign in the same area I’ve seen it before, near the end of the valley—a popular stomping-ground, I suppose.

The leg along the road was miserable, especially with the gravel stretches (who enjoys eating gravel dust?), and I hope to never bike this part again.

All in all, yet another amazing Yukon location, and just 20 minutes from home. I tried hard not to take my surroundings for granted, knowing that I would be somewhere completely different, for a long time, starting just 3.5 weeks from then…