Jiquillio, Nicaragua

The 

We spent a peaceful week in the very remote fishing village of Jiquillio. It was lovely to be without the distractions and to just enjoy the sea.

We arrived effortlessly by arranging a taxi through the the homeowners. He picked us up at the airport, took us to a grocery store to provision for the week and to change money, then to the house in tiny Jiquillio.  I was expecting tranquility but we were greeted by an enormous backhoe and a dump truck in the process of building a giant sand dune to protect the house.  The previous week Jiquillio had experienced a high tide coupled with huge waves, not sure what that is called, but it flooded many homes and properties.  Luckily not the house we were in but as a precaution a sand dune was being built.  It was kinda ugly and didn't look like the VRBO photos of the view....but nature can't be predicted and so we just had to accept the situation.  

Just a few photos of the house.  We spent the first 2 nights in the 2 bedroom house but moved to the 1 bedroom house right next door.  The smaller house had a better vibe because of the floor to ceiling windows facing the sea.  The house is equipped with small fans and there is no AC, it's also open to the elements and so we get to experience nature in the hottest part of the country.  Afternoon breezes during the siesta hours saved us.

Jiquillio is dirt poor,.  People live in thatch roofed shacks with either cement or plastic sheeting for walls.  There is no running water, so people get water delivered by truck a few times a week which fill tanks as in the case of the house we stayed in or just in buckets and barrels like most of the villagers.  There is no trash service out of Jiquillio and so there is mostly plastic trash EVERYWHERE.  Paper can be burned and food waste is eaten by pigs, but the plastic is unbelievable.  

Pretty bleak. In 1992 a tsunami wiped out the entire village so sometimes you see the concrete remnants of civilization being reclaimed by the beach.

It is a fishing village and they work pretty hard.  The boats go out at 4:00 pm, fish all night, and turn at 6:00 am every day.  The use dynamite and nets to fish and its obviously not sustainable.  Folks are living hand to mouth every day.  

Towns people gather on the beach to help bring the boats in which are rolled in on logs. It takes like a dozen people to bring a boat in and as you can see even the elderly pitch in.  You get paid in fish.  Looks like a pretty hard life.

Despite the extreme poverty and near total lack of services we found plenty to do.  The homeowner hooked us up with surfboards for the week and a few tours.

The boys went fishing resulting is a 4.5 lb red snapper caught by Jack which we made into a huge fish taco extravaganza on our last night.

Maya and I had a lovely horse back riding adventure along a seriously deserted beach.

We swam and surfed tons on the very deserted and surprisingly clean beach right in front of the house. And of course those Pacific sunsets are breathtaking.

  

Just on the south side of the house the beach goes on like this for miles. To the north of the house lies the town.

Lots of hanging around. Fruit and vegetables can be purchased from trucks that roll though town a few days a week.  You know they are coming when you hear the loudspeaker announcing the various foods for sales and prices.  

Luis is such a good sport celebrating his birthday in another country.  I brought candles as usual, but in Jiquillio there aren't any bakeries or anything available to buy for a cake.  So I asked for something sweet from a tiny store run out of a neighbors house and got what tasted like a white flour hamburger bun with some sugar in it.  We sang happy birthday, took a bite, and threw it out it was so yucky! 

All in all is was a sweat drenched blissed out week that we miss already.  We took 3 busses and 2 taxis to leave.

Now in Esteli where it's chilly and drizzly in a cozy hotel where we are all entranced with our screens.

We will be here for 2 nights before moving on to a home stay in the Miraflor Nature Reserve where we definitely won't have wifi because we won't have running water or electricity either.