Abroad in Costa Rica

I thought waking up daily in Costa Rica to birds on my tin roof and the screeching of geckos was bad. Little did I know a marching band would be my final wake-up call in Nicaragua.

At four in the morning, as I lay in a sleeping bag on the hard tile of a Nicaraguan doctor’s balcony, a 15-person band began marching up and down the street, blasting songs of celebration and fireworks that sounded like gunshots. The cacophony of instruments and explosions resounded in my ears for more than two hours.

Three days earlier, at 5 a.m., I had climbed into a 12-passenger van with a family of six “Ticos” (Costa Ricans) and four “gringos.” Destination: Nicaragua. After a friend invited me to go with her and her host family, I was excited to see what this four-day road trip would have in store for us.

On the road, we listened to a mix CD of popular hip-hop, reggae tone and Latin music. Shaking their hips and whirling their arms in the air, both the Tico grandmother and great-grandmother got down to tunes like “Gold Digger” by Kanye West and “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls. The entertainment kept us occupied for six hours until we reached the border.

In Granada, a volcano provided a backdrop for the bright colonial architecture, horse-drawn carriages and bustling market. Our final two nights were spent in Masaya with friends of the Tico family. Folk dance competitions, break dancers and carnival festivities awaited us there, complete with popcorn and cotton candy. In the morning, we visited the renowned artisan market. The smells of leather and woodwork, corn and acrylic paint infiltrated the poorly lit aisles. The last sights were the Masaya Volcano and Lagoon Apoyo.

With only a few hours of sleep, our Nicaraguan experience was over and a final fumigation was all that was left before heading back home to Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

All in a weekend abroad.