Home sweet home?

Jess just asked me whether I was sad to be going home.

After a moment's reflection, my answer was, "Not sad to be going home, no... just sad to be leaving." Does that make any sense?

For starters I can't wait to see you lot. Technology has made it so easy to keep in touch, what with Skype and WhatsApp and email, but, however good it is, I am looking forward to some un-pixellated smiles and some proper hugs that I can feel. So, start limbering up guys!

Oh, and a cup of tea would be nice too, if it wouldn't be too much trouble?

I'm pleased to report that I'm keeping a promise that I made before I left to come back brighter, stronger and happier. Mission accomplished! I'm me but in HD :)

And I intend to try to keep another promise... to engage in a period of calm over the rest of the spring and summer - no adventures, no mad challenges, no life-changing decisions for a little while. Wish me luck with that one!

I will be sorry to leave Central America and this travelling lark behind though. I believe that people are the sum of the experiences they've had and what they've taken from them... and I hope that I've learnt a lot.

But the final word has to go to my travelling companion, Gemma. Her insatiable curiosity, talent for negotiation, organising ability and beautiful smile have made this trip what it was. Awesome! Thanks Gem :)

That's all folks! Adios e hasta luego...

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Location:Managua, Nicaragua

And the winner is...

There is a clear winner in the best sunset of the holiday competition. Victory was snatched by the sun's slow descent into the sea on Monday 26th March, as witnessed from a log on the beach (with an ice cold G&T) outside La Princesca de la Isla on Big Corn.

The natural world really knows how to keep the best til last.

The water looked silvery like liquid mercury and the sky above was alive with the full spectrum of the rainbow. And it was made all the more atmospheric by the wispy clouds which absorbed the dying sun's rays and created a whole new colour palette of their own.

And having only just blogged about food not doing it for me, I then found myself in food nirvana. The Roman couple who own the guest house, produced mouth-watering Italian-inspired cuisine, including a cheese and mango chutney based appetiser which made me very, very happy. The tiramisu was rich and chocolatey and melted in the mouth... and did I mention the pasta...? Delicioso!

So, today is in essence our last full day as we fly back to Managua tomorrow and then back through Miami to London on Thursday/Friday. As my thoughts turn to home, I know I will take with me so many cherished memories from Central America. How lucky I am!

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Location:Big Corn Island, Nicaragua

Practically perfect

I could get used to starting every Monday morning the way I started this one:

1. Wake up early feeling fully rested
2. Remember that there is nothing that I have to get up for and lie there for an hour daydreaming and enjoying the feeling of the cool white sheets on my skin
3. Stir from my thoughts and get out of bed to put on my bikini
4. Walk the 50m from our room to the water's edge. Observe that I am the only person on the beach.
5. Briefly contemplate running along said beach. Think better of it.
6. Wade out until the water is waist deep and then plunge into the cool water headfirst
7. Swim and float and splash to my heart's content.
8. Spy a really cool starfish in the water
9. Return to shore and dry off under a palm tree whilst a nice young man brings me a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
10. Be joined by two really good friends for breakfast

There's not much missing from that picture. I'd just like the National Theatre to come on tour here once in a while.

But before you think it's totally perfect on Big Corn, I thought I'd share with you some details of one of the harsher realities of 8 weeks' travel - hand washing...

A quick tally of how many days we had remaining and how many items of clean clothing I had left led me to the unfortunate conclusion that my hand washing liquid was going to come in useful one more time.

Once the scrubbing was over, I then had a difficult dilemma... is it bad form to hang out your underwear to dry from one of the pagodas at a smart Caribbean resort?

In the end, necessity overcame scruples and our little beach shack has been much improved by the addition of some colourful decoration!

In any case I am mighty glad that I live in a time and place where washing machines are commonplace. How our grandparents' generation coped without and managed to get everything so clean is beyond me. Although I haven't yet tried Gemma's interesting technique of stamping on things in the shower... perhaps that's the secret!

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Location:Big Corn Island, Nicaragua

Missing out

I think it was when my brother announced that the plate of food in front of him was "phenomenal" that I first realised I might be missing out on something.

Since then, I've watched and listened intently to other people's reactions to food and have concluded that I am, indeed, under-enthusiastic in my use of adjectives when it comes to describing whatever passes my lips.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a well-cooked steak or a nice roast chicken or a bowl of rich and creamy cheesy pasta but it doesn't ever send me into raptures. Food can be tasty and put a smile on my face but it is always the experience of dining out or with friends and family that I enjoy and remember more.

The reason I mention this is that I have this afternoon witnessed Gemma and Jess' pure and utter delight at tucking into the fresh lobster which is in plentiful supply here on Big Corn. It's a joy to behold them licking their lips and clearing their plates but I do feel a little pang of regret that food doesn't do that for me.

But watching this sunset does do it for me. I wish I could bottle it and take it home with me...


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Island life

I think you might have to send someone to drag me kicking and screaming off this beach on Wednesday. In fact I might bury myself in the sand and refuse to budge.

Look at it for goodness sake!




I am writing this from the shade of a palm tree under which Jess and I have retreated from the full glare of the midday sun. And we're pretending to only be a little envious of the deep, even golden-brown colour Gemma's skin is turning as we watch her lie out in it! Humph!

It's called Picnic Beach and that turquoise water is every bit as inviting as it looks. It's like having a very large warm bath to swim in... which we don't have to share with anyone else. And when we emerge from the water after a swim, it is strangely reminiscent of that scene in Die Another Day with Halle Berry... any one of us could have played that role you know. She just got lucky!

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Location:Big Corn Island, Nicaragua

The best seat on the bus

And then there were three amigas! Jess has just arrived tired but cheery after her epic three-flight journey. She has brought with her Dairy Milk (thanks Avgi x), crossword books and gossip and we are generally delighted to have her with us.

Today I had the best seat on the bus from Rivas to Managua... perched on top of a cool box squished between the front seats and the driver's compartment. It had a panoramic view out of the windscreen and was the best spot for watching the comings and goings of all the other passengers. I even had an open window behind me providing a cool breeze down my back. And I only had to get up a few times to let the conductor retrieve a cold drink!

I was actually quite disappointed when a kindly, elderly gentleman signalled to me that he was soon to get off and I should make a beeline for his seat. A wonderful and animated but wordless conversation ensued based entirely on smiles and hand gestures but in the end I capitulated and plunged headfirst into his seat once he'd somehow wriggled his way out of it. His parting shot was to pat me on the arm and smile such that it lit up his whole face. If only everyone back home was so easy to please!

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Location:Managua, Nicaragua

A gap in the market

It's fair to say that tourism isn't as developed in Central America as it is in other parts of the world I've travelled to. That, of course, is part of the attraction in coming here but it also means that Gemma and I have spent the last six weeks spotting potential (and often gaping) gaps in the market. In fact, it's become a bit of a running joke.

What this region desperately needs is two intelligent, business-headed women with exquisite taste to sort it out!

Take our hotel here on Isla de Ometepe as an example. The location is spectacular - remote, lakeside, on the edge of a lush banana plantation, with beautiful unspoilt beach spreading out in both directions. And the building itself is attractive - sort of hacienda style with rocking chairs dotted about on cool terracotta-tiled porches.

But they've got the rest oh so wrong. It takes at least 45 minutes to walk to the next nearest restaurant, so the food here ought to be exceptional, right? It's not. In fact, I would struggle to call it mediocre. And it's expensive. We're having cookies and crisps and beer from our emergency supplies for dinner.

The service is chaotic and slow. And the decor in the rooms bland and uninspiring. Which is unfortunate as there's nowhere else to go after dark!

We're the only people staying here.

You want to knock their heads together and show them how the money could be rolling in with just a few tweaks here and there.

But, on second thoughts, I expect if I come back in 10 years time, this beach will be lined with well-run, commercially successful luxury hotels... and will be a lot worse for it. I take it all back... as you were folks!

Walking along 'our' beach this afternoon was good for the soul. We met just a few other people, all locals, doing their washing in the lake's fresh water or simply playing with their children. We also ran into all manner of farmyard animals... a pig, a goat, some hens... and some majestic horses taking respite from the afternoon heat. And it's all in the shadow of Ometepe's two awe-inspiring volcanoes - Concepcion and Maderas.

Carrying on around the headland we reached Ometepe's equivalent of the Costa del Sol. There must have been ooh about 5 hotels... and at least 6 or 7 tourists sunbathing on the sand. We found it all a bit much and retreated to blissful isolation.

Now where's that hammock? Time to work on my business plan...

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Location:Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua