details of trip

Day One in Bluefields.Quite an adventure to get here, but nothing beyond my original expectations, which were based on my previous travels in Central America with a little more fear and annoyance added in, and a little more of the Monica factor (you know….), since I am completely alone this time. The day started with a 2 am wakeup call from my mom on Sunday morning, which was less than desirable since I had stayed out past my curfew to hang out at the Corner Bar…not a good idea. So, on one and a half hours of sleep, we go to the airport, which I slept most of the way to. I get to the airport and go through check in, and then I start to wake up, and not feel so great. I barley make it to the ladies room, and get sick. Great, I am thinking, perfect start to my trip! Same thing happens again on the plane to Miami. I try to go in the bathroom, but it is full, the stewardess is sitting near, she gets me a bag just in time…. Despite the way I was feeling I still made conversation with some people sitting near me and find one girl, Kate, who is going to Nicaragua to research as well. She is a PhD student at the UofM doing research for [something] international education [something], in Managua. She has done travel research before, but seems very impressed/astonished that I am going all of the way to Bluefields, alone, with little Spanish, for thesis research…..Then I start to wonder, “Is this a good idea?”But I am half way there so too late for second thoughts. The flight to Managua was scheduled to leave just 30 minutes after landing, so not much time to chat, but Kate gave me her e-mail and wished me luck. We board the plane to Managua and get ready for take-off when to pilot says he has found a leak and needed the mechanics to check it out. Then it started storming and the mechanics couldn’t check it because of the lightning, so 3 hours later we are still sitting in the plane at Miami! The even worse thing was that I was stuck sitting next to this old man that smelled really bad! I still manage to sleep most of the time and finally we get to Managua. I had been planning to fly to Bluefields, since I heard that the bus was at night and dangerous. However, due to the delay, I missed all of the flights for that day. I could either get a hotel and go the next day, or be adventurous and go for the bus/boat trip. So I decided bus/boat. I get a taxi to the station, arrive at 5 pm and the bus doesn’t go until 9pm. So I wait more. By this point I am starving after eating nothing all day, but see no place for food and don’t want to venture out since it is starting to get dark and this bus station is very dodgy looking. So I wait more with a growling tummy. For the most part I felt safe; only one freaky man approached me. I think he wanted my phone number, but couldn’t figure out what he was saying. First I ignored him, but he kept asking and went and got a piece of paper, so then I thought he was maybe part of the bus company so I tried to understand him and be nice. But really I think he was just a creepo, and finally he left me alone. Finally 9 pm comes and we load the bus. With luggage on the top, this scares me a bit, since to lonely planet book warns of thieves on these night busses, but what is there to do? Not much but hope for the best, and pass up my bag. I am lucky on the bus, it is not completely full and I get a whole seat to myself. Oh, and the bus is an old school bus, no luxury. I am happy that I have traveled Central America before to [somewhat] prepare myself for the journey. The ride was not so bad, I slept as much as possible until my legs or arms would fall asleep from the cramped seating. We did come across an accident on the way, a fuel truck had gone off the road into the ditch which was very steep, and they were attempting to use a crane, or something to get it out…very strange. We then continue on and later stop at a break station for food and bathrooms, its about 2 am. I get a bag of platinos, my first food in over 24 hours, yum! We arrive at the boat station at 4:30 am and it starts to rain. There is a place to sit under cover and watch horrible Spanish soap operas. I am so confused by this time, because I don’t know where the boats are, if we have to walk there, or when they leave. I must have looked very confused and lost, because one woman tries to tell me to just stay where I was and the boats didn’t leave until morning. More waiting. Morning comes and I can see the river now just across the street, it is wide and dirty with mud and trash. We line up to get on, one man from the Corn Islands speaks English and talks to me, and he is very nice. We all cram on two boats. They are small, wooden; open toped, powered by huge 200 horse power motors. The boat ride is 2 hours it is cold and starts to rain. When the rain gets hard we put a thick sheet of plastic, like a clear tarp, over top of all the people, it doesn’t attach to the boat, so everyone just holds on to it. Then the rain stops and the plastic is taken off, this happens 2 more times as we run into sporadic tropic showers. Finally we arrive in Bluefields!!! I made it!!! Just as we get off the boat the rain starts again, very hard. I stop under the overhang of a store and watch and wait. My plan was to find a telephone and call the Marvin Taylor place I had arranged to stay at. But the rain doesn’t seem to stop. It’s 9 am, and I am so tired I decide to just find a room to sleep in for a while and then call the Taylor place. I grab a cab and find a dingy hostel. I don’t think the electric works at this time, everything is dark and there is not water. I wanted to brush my teeth so badly too. I pay for the room (about $9) and sleep until 3:30. Finally I get up and find a phone to call Marvin Taylor. I say that I am here and will come tomorrow, he says come now and any cab driver should know how to find it, just say 3 cross Marvin Taylor. Ok, go back to get my stuff from the room I didn’t even spend a night at. I ask 5 cabs if they know where Marvin Taylor is, all say not. Oh great! Finally one says to get in and it starts pouring rain again. The streets flood, but we drive through. We pick up and drop off 4 other people and soon I get the idea that his cab driver doesn’t know where Marvin Taylor lives. He is trying to talk to me but knows no English and I can’t understand him. Finally figure out he just wants to know where I am from. We have to stop and ask people where Marvin Taylor is and finally find it. The place is nice. From what I gather so far there is Marvin, his wife, some kids, and maybe Marvin’s dad. So it is a full family I am staying with. They speak both English and Spanish, they are very nice and seem like they will take good care of me. I fell asleep again when I got here, then Mrs. Taylor (Joan) made me flour tortillas and hot chocolate. It was so good since it was the first meal in 2 days. The room is $15 per day, but not that I have seen other hostel conditions that seems ok. My room is big, with 2 beds and my own bathroom and shower. They will make me breakfast and for $20 per day I can have all meals. Tomorrow I will find internet and a bank that hopefully has an ATM (if not I may be in big trouble since I didn’t take out much money before coming here). Then it is on to research.