"Waiting for my flight in Houston. This place is a zoo," Tim said under his breath. "I am going to stay at a hostel in Managua tonight, but you should probably give me directions to the place we are staying just in case something goes wrong and I need to get out there by myself."
"Sounds good, I'll text you it right now. Let me know if any plans change. I have to run, see you tomorrow afternoon. I'm pumped. See you on the other side," I said in one breath as I glanced down at my watch and realized I had a meeting in five minutes.
Little did he know, but in a fit of excitement and procrastination from my daily obligations, I had ordered sunscreen on Amazon, Bull Frog SPF 36, weeks in advance.
Flying the cheapest option through Central America to a remote country and meeting someone with no means of communication turned out as dubious as it sounds.
Flying the cheapest option through Central America to a remote country and meeting someone with no means of communication turned out as dubious as it sounds.
Five hours after leaving JFK, my empty flight landed to the elated clapping of the native Salvadorians and news of the cancellation of all the day's connecting flights to Managua. Envisioning Tim moping around the Managua airport for hours waiting for me arrive, I quickly found wifi and sent out a slew of emails telling him to make his way to the beach without me. After an hour of feeling like a derelict older brother, my iPhone vibrated, alerting me that Tim had skipped town soon after arriving in Managua the evening before and gone directly to the coast.
"That fucker! what if I would have showed up on time? " I smiled in relief.
A free night's stay, three complimentary meals and a 200 dollar flight voucher later I landed in Managua at 9am the next morning. Eager to dump my backpack, I converted the kilometers to miles in my head as the cab sped through dusty roads towards Popoyo.
Moo.
The ocean's spray and my brother's sheepish grin quickly made me forget about my travel hiccups. For a week, my brother and I enjoyed the carefree attitude of the handful of other surfers, drawn to this remote beach in Nicaragua. When the tide was right, we surfed. When it was cool, we skated the mini ramp. When it was hot, we read.
Mangos, freshly knocked down from a tree.
The miniramp, a stone's throw from the beach.
Blue and Yellow.
Starched with Salt.
Meet me in Nicaragua.
Here are some more links,
Nicaragua Dos (Picasa),
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20 comments:
the picture of the chairs... amazing. the one of the horse... even better. jealous of your trip, foster.
Tim,
thanks for the kind words. Looking back at the pictures and writing the piece made me want to go back. it was very special. i will be back
foster
I've been looking forward to this update since you first mentioned you were heading back.. it did not disappoint! Surfing, mini ramps and quiet beaches; I cannot tell you how jealous I am. Awesome pictures as always. The horse picture is killer!
glad you like it. The moon was so bright that night. i took a slew of photos but settled on the one of the horse. I am considering posting another down the line. thanks for the kind words,
foster
You shoot travel well. Very well. I'd pitch these to Travel & Leisure or at least the Times. I'm not kidding.
John,
id love to do some projects like that. i love to travel. thanks for the kind words,
foster
That 5D mk II does a great job of color recording. The lighting in that still of the chairs is as close to perfect as it can get.
You really do have a knack for harnessing the feeling of your adventures in imagery.
One day you'll stop running this blog, but don't ever stop recording your life on film. Ever.
Rohan,
The Mark II does a great job of capturing colors, especially when shooting raw. The colors with fixed lenes is so much more vivid and life like than with zooms. Your praise is very flattering. thank you. I shot that photo of shirts on the chairs right after the sunset. I new it was going to look good on my view finder. I dont think i will ever give up photography. its one of the few things in my life thats here to stay,
foster
i left for nica a year ago this week, gone for the week of my 17th birthday. your caption on the photo of the hands in the tree, "time slowed," so poignantly captures exactly that aspect of the mentality, the culture and the day-to-day life in nicaragua. thank you so much for these photos, your trip sounds incredible.
i left for nica a year ago this week, gone for the week of my 17th birthday. your caption on the photo of the hands in the tree, "time slowed," so poignantly captures exactly that aspect of the mentality, the culture and the day-to-day life in nicaragua. thank you so much for these photos, your trip sounds incredible.
Elie,
will you ever go back? where did you go?
thanks for the kind words,
foster
A wonderful trip and fab pictures. Thanks for sharing. So funny, though-- this is how travel used to be (little communication, more on the fly) and it was no big deal (or at least we thought so). And you guys coped beautifully!
Diggin the colors, the vibe and especially the skate ramp. Always seek.
your totally right. Modern technology allows people to be more spontaneous and impulsive, but for that you give up some the easy going philosophy of "old travel."
next week, i am posting some photos of skating, https://picasaweb.google.com/foster.huntington/Skateboardin#
i hope you like them,
thanks for commenting,
foster
I love the blue and yellow photograph :)
I love the horse, too.
I dream of going to latin america, especially in mexico. But that's like really across the globe from where i am. hahahaha!
Salamat for taking us there.
very evocative photos and words. a short story, a poem, with lovely illustrations. you said and showed just enough, leaving us to fill in the blanks with our imaginations. Gracias!
Panjandrum,
i am flattered by your comment. I am glad you like my story and my photos.
Abbie,
Central America is very special place. The air feels different, everything feels different. You wont regret visiting,
Foster
reading Meet Me in Nicaragua is like watching a dream. i wonder if all of the photos here start to move suddenly, like that little surprise in the french new wave film, La Jetée, where a series of still shots of a woman sleeping suddenly became a moving picture--she opened her eyes :)
I don't know about modern tech allowing people to be more spontaneous-- it seems the kids are more tied to gadgets and to having to know where everyone is at all times-- you've been trained by machines. I used to travel with just a passport, b/c pills, and a wallet, and let whimsy take me where I was going to go-- midnight trips to Paris or Morocco after a night of clubbing. When I make plans with my younger friends, if I'm 5 minutes late, they freak and have to call me. "Where are you?" Granted, we didn't have the TSA and all their equivalents to deal with (this was the 80s and 90s).
great post. currently trying to plan a central american surf trip, mind sharing where you went? looks like a pretty ideal spot.
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